SEPT 2, 3 & 4 CAMP MEETING at The House of Prayer on Hiway 623 (south of New Sarepta & east of Hiway 21) Friday & Saturday 7:00 pm; Sun 10:30 am & 2:30 pm

     JESUS

IT IS HARVEST TIME IN GOD'S VINYARD:HELP US TO GATHER IN THE HARVEST OF PRECIOUS SOULS ACROSS THE WORLD. PRAY FOR OUR  UGANDA CRUSADE SEPT 13-18

Dear Christian Friends:       

                                                                                                      

     Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! It is with great joy that I share these wonderful truths with you, knowing that within each of us there is a desire to know and love God more deeply.

     We have been correctly taught that we must reverence God with holy awe and respect because He is the ‘Judge of the entire world’, as well as our Creator, Saviour, Healer and Life giver!

     What many do not understand is that God is LOVE and desires to bless us and also hungers for our love to be expressed to Him. Unlike the Old Testament prophets, Jesus Christ brought us a new understanding of the Almighty. He came to earth to show us what God is like. He wants us to know Him as He did. He taught us to call Him ‘Our Father’.

OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN!

     The Jews believed that God was holiness. The Romans believed that God was power. The Greeks believed that God was wisdom. The Pagans believed that God was mystery. Scientists believed that God was energy. God is all of those and He is more. He is LOVE!

      The Bible says, “For God so loved that world that He gave His Only begotten Son - to suffer, bleed and die as our substitute – that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3: 16): “For when we were yet without strength (hopeless), in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet SINNERS, Christ died for us.” (Rom.5: 6)

      God’s Word states, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us ETERNAL LIFE, and this life is in His SON.  He that hath the Son hath LIFE and he that hath not the Son hath not life. “(1 John 5: 11-12); “He (Jesus) came unto His own, and His own (Jewish nation) received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:11-12)

     Ever since the tragic FALL of our first parents, Adam and Eve, man has been in need of a SAVIOUR! Prophet Isaiah put it in perspective: “All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa.53: 6)

     “Surely He hath borne our sicknesses (heb. makob) and carried our pains (heb. nasa): yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed.” (Isa.53: 4, 5)

    “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. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ…For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.” (Rom.5: 9-21)

     The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom.3:23); “There is none righteous, no not one.” (Rom.3: 10); “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)

                                               BECAUSE HE LIVES WE LIVE ALSO!

       St. Paul explained: “Much more then, being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by HIS LIFE.  Since His shed BLOOD saved us and He is now ALIVE, He pours His perfect LIFE into us!

     “We are…always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the LIFE also of JESUS might be manifest in our body… that the LIFE also of JESUS might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” (2 Cor.4: 10-11) The shed blood of Jesus Christ has purged our sins and satisfied the demands of Divine Justice, thereby freeing us from the penalty of our transgressions which was eternal separation from God. Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death for us on the cross has freed us from the ‘curse of the Law’ (Gal.3:13) and made us His children so that we are “heirs of God and joint-heirs with His Son.” (Rom.8: 14-17)

    The Bible states: “In Him (Jesus Christ), we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17: 28). And our Lord declared: “Because I live, ye shall live also.” (John 14: 19); “I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” (John 15: 5)

BY GRACE, THOUGH FAITH, IN CHRIST!

C. S. Lewis stated: "If one has to choose between reading the new books and reading the old, one must choose the old: not because they are necessarily better, but because they contain precisely those truths of which our own age is neglectful."

      One thing all the great PROTESTANT REFORMERS agreed upon was that we cannot save ourselves through good works and that God has no grandchildren! Every one of us has to come to God personally through Jesus Christ and be born again by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit in order to enter into His Kingdom!

      To them, the Holy Bible was the rule book for life, faith and morals. There was none other. They trusted in the Blessed Holy Spirit to lead and guide them into all truth and they gladly confessed Jesus Christ as the “Way, Truth and Life” and the ONLY Saviour of the world! They’re slogan was: “By Grace ALONE; Through Faith ALONE; In Christ ALONE!”

      In his letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul lays out what I call the ‘Christ Alone Doctrine’. He writes: “God Who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by His SON, Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds.

     “Who being the brightness of His glory, and express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the Word of His Power, WHEN HE HAD BY HIMSELF PURGED OUR SINS, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High..” (Heb. 1: 1-3)

                                                        THE CHRIST ALONE DOCTRINE!

    This Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ didn’t need any human or angelic help to purchase our salvation! He is the author and perfecter of our eternal salvation. When He took our sins upon Himself on Calvary’s Cross and bore our guilt, shame, fear, sicknesses and pain in His body on the cursed tree He did it all alone! His mother stood by helpless as did some of His followers. Most of them fled in fear!

     During those six agonizing hours our Saviour, “endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’(Heb.12: 2) And He does not need any help to save sinners today! We preach His Gospel according to His Holy Word and lead them to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ saves them! He is the Saviour of Sinful men! He doesn’t need the Virgin Mary, the Angelic host, popes, prelates or Men of the Cloth to save sinners.

     HE ALONE IS THE SAVIOUR! We may pray, preach, admonish and labour to bring lost sinners to the cross, but He alone saves them! The Bible states: “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins.” (Lev.17: 11); “It is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” (Heb.9; 22); “If we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sins.” (1 John 1: 7)

    It is not Christ and Church that saves! It is not Christ and the Virgin Mary that saves! It is not Christ and the saints that saves! It is not Christ and baptism that saves! It is not Christ and confirmation that saves! It is not Christ and good works that saves! A thousand times NO! It is Christ alone who saves and heals! Praise the Lord forever!

IT CHRIST ALONE WHO SAVES SINNERS!

       The Bible says: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). George Mueller stated: “Faith is the assurance that the thing which God has said in His Word is true, and that God will act according to what He has said in His Word. This assurance, this reliance on God's Word, this confidence is FAITH."   

     St Paul declared: “Let God be true, and every man a liar"(Romans 3:4).

     Before being burned on the stake, JAN HUS testified: “What I taught with my lips I now seal with my blood. My Lord Jesus Christ for my sake did wear a crown of thorns. My Lord Jesus Christ was bound with a harder chain than this for my sake, and why then should I be ashamed of this rusty one? I commend into Thine hands, O Lord Jesus Christ, my spirit which Thou hast redeemed.” - Jan Hus

      “The Gospel which we have today has come to us at the cost of the blood of Jan Hus, one hundred years ago! I live as though Jesus Christ died yesterday, arose today and is coming back tomorrow” – Martin Luther

      “I have one passion: It is Jesus, only Jesus” - Count Zinzendorf

      “Give me 100 men who love nothing but God and fear nothing but sin. And I care not a straw whether they be plowmen or clergymen. By these alone I will close the mouth of Hell.” – John Wesley

      “Go for the lost and go for the worst.” – General William Booth

     “Stoop as low as you lawfully can to pick them up rather than let them become worse while you stand on your dignity.” – Evangeline Booth

    “I gave up everything for Christy and what have I found? I have found everything in Christ” – Jan Calvin

     “Some men like to live near church bell.  Give me a Rescue Mission a yard from Hell.” – C.T. Studd

     “Give me souls or take mine.” – George Whitfield

    “O’ God, give me Scotland or I die.” – John Knox

    “If there was more Hell preached from the pulpit there would be less Hell in the pews.” – Winston Churchill

Thank God that there are still men of integrity and faith in places of prominence who like Daniel of old and Bishop Athanasius are not afraid to stand alone if necessary for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the face of the prevalent hyper liberal leftist bias and tyranny against intelligent and rationally minded people.- Pastor Max Solbrekken

"WE ARE FOOLS FOR CHRIST'S SAKE"

"We must pray for the courage to endure the scorn of the sophisticated world."
Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court Justice


Supreme Court Justice Atonin Scalla delivered an ardent defense of Christian beliefs and practice against the assaults of secular society on April 9, 1996. Addressing a prayer breakfast in Jackson, Michigan, sponsored by the Southern Baptist-affiliated Mississippi College School of Law's Christian Legal Society, Justice Scalia told the audience that Christians must proclaim their biblical faith and belief in miracles and ignore the scorn of the "worldly wise."

In unusually strong remarks for a Supreme Court justice, Scalia, appointed by President Reagan in 1986 and fourth in seniority among the nine, said the modern world dismisses Christians as fools for holding to their biblical, traditional beliefs. But, "We are fools for Christ's sake," Scalia declared.

Speaking outide of the strictures of a court case and without the burdens of legal jargon, the 60-year old Roman Catholic went on to offer a scathing portrayal of a society that is not merely skeptical but that disparages religious belief and believers, specifically Christians. Using the sarcasm and humor for which he is well known, Justice Scalia facetiously noted that "The worldly wise do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. It is really quite absurd [to them]." Continuing in the same vein, he added, "So everything from the Easter morning to the Ascension had to be made up by the groveling enthusiasts as part of their plan to get themselves martyred."

"The wise do not investigate such silliness," he said sarcastically. They "do not believe."
"A general belief in God is one thing," Scalia said, but "it is quite another matter to embrace the miracles of the Virgin birth of Christ, His raising the dead and His own ascension from the grave. Yet it is 'irrational' to reject miracles a priori," he argues, echoing G.K. Chesteron and St. Thomas Aquinas. "One can be sophisticated and believe in God. Reason and intellect are not to be laid aside where matters of religion are concerned.
What is irrational to reject [is]...the possibility of miracles and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is precisely what the worldly wise do."

Summing up, Justice Scalia declared, "We must pray for the courage to endure the scorn of the sophisticated world." "We are fools for Christ's sake." The audience of more than 650 persons, responded to Justice Scalia's remarks with a standing ovation.

Some of the attendees said they were surprised but pleased that Scalia was so personally revealing. His comments were refreshing, revealing and out of the ordinary, even for arguably the court's frankest, most publicly confrontational justice. Supreme Court justices typically speak in public about the law, sometimes about politics or culture, but almost never about a sensitive topic such as religion. In his legal opinions, Scalia has vigorously advocated a lower wall of separation between church and state and generally favors a greater accommodation of religion in public life. He favors clergy-led prayer at public school graduations and voted for state funding of some religiously affiliated programs in public schools.

The source of the "fools for Christ" phrase was lost on the Associated Press, as well as the Washington Post and USA Today, which headlined it, however, as front-page news. All three attributed the phrase to Justice Scalia himself. The shocked reporters and editors apparently didn't recognize the quoted biblical reference to the Apostle Paul which has been familiar to believers throughout the centuries. (I Corinthians 4:10) This skewered coverage of Mr. Scalia's private remarks illustrates the very point he was making: the "worldly wise" disparage religious belief and believers.

Justice Scalia's remarks drew fire from Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "This clearly undermines public confidence in his objectivity regarding religious controversies," Lynn said. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen found the justice's remarks "jarring" and questioned his competence at giving church-state issues a "fair and reasoned hearing." Rev. Robert Sirico, president of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, outlined in a Wall Street Journal editorial page article what we might expect the next time Justice Scalia rules on a church-state issue: "The radical separationists will use the opportunity to relentlessly criticize him for lacking intellectual objectivity. This will take place despite his known reputation for wide learning, penetrating questions during hearings and brilliant court opinions."

"By this 'public confidence' standard," comments Sirico, "people of biblical faith are not to draw on their beliefs when contributing to public affairs, much less are they to aspire to sit on the Supreme Court. Only those who believe nothing at all - except for a doctrinaire attachment to legal positivism and the uses of judicial power - can be truly 'objective.' This view is not just an attack on religious faith, but on reason itself. By this logic, any assertion of the capacity of the human mind to know truth makes the claimant biased."
"This liberal double standard runs rampant," Sirico observes. "When President Clinton said he prayed about the partial-bith abortion ban before vetoing it, the media did not castigate him for bringing his faith to bear on the question. There were no repercussions when liberal clerics from the National Council of Churches prayed with him at the White House to 'give him strength' [to defeat GOP budget proposals] and actually performed the ritual of the 'laying on of hands.' No, faith and belief are perfectly fine so long as the complement the secular liberal agenda. But when someone like Justice Scalia, whose opinions have generally favored a diminished role of the federal government in national life, speaks out on behalf of the credibility of miracles, this cannot be tolerated. To pass the test, religion must serve as a hand-maiden to liberal politics. Mr. Scalia's profession of faith does not."

"Yet, by using Mr. Lynn's own standard of 'public confidence,'" Sirico argues, "Mr. Scalia's speech can only increase people's respect for the Supreme Court's opinions. Opinion polls show that a high percentage of Americans profess belief in God, believe in life after death and in the miraculous. Many also still believe Jesus is fully man and fully God. If we had a Supreme Court filled with people who disregard the possibility that faith can lead to truth, public confidence in the legal system would continue to plummet. St. Paul's remark about himself and the other apostles being 'fools for Christ's sake' was meant to draw the contrast with the haughty and self-satisfied. It was a remark born of humility when faced with God's power over our lives. Contrary to the protests against Justice Scalia's speech," Sirico concludes "a responsible use of judicial reasoning, as well as intellectual objectivity, would seem to require such humility."

This is what happens when the Church of Jesus Christ backslides and stops evangelizing the heathen and the people elect corrupt, cowardly politicians who would sell their grandmother for political advantage. May this News Report be a wake-up call to the Church to begin doing the work of Christ and evangelize the lost by preaching and living His Gospel. - Pastor Max Solbrekken

European 'No-Go' Zones for Non-Muslims Proliferating 

http://www.hudson-ny.org/

---

Islamic extremists are stepping up the creation of "no-go" areas in European cities that are off-limits to non-Muslims.

Many of the "no-go" zones function as microstates governed by Islamic Sharia law. Host-country authorities effectively have lost control in these areas and in many instances are unable to provide even basic public aid such as police, fire fighting and ambulance services.

The "no-go" areas are the by-product of decades of multicultural policies that have encouraged Muslim immigrants to create parallel societies and remain segregated rather than become integrated into their European host nations.

In Britain, for example, a Muslim group called Muslims Against the Crusades has launched a campaign to turn twelve British cities – including what it calls "Londonistan" – into independent Islamic states. The so-called Islamic Emirates would function as autonomous enclaves ruled by Islamic Sharia law and operate entirely outside British jurisprudence.

The Islamic Emirates Project names the British cities of Birmingham, Bradford, Derby, Dewsbury, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Sheffield, as well as Waltham Forest in northeast London and Tower Hamlets in East London as territories to be targeted for blanket Sharia rule.

In the Tower Hamlets area of East London (also known as the Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets), for example, extremist Muslim preachers, called the Tower Hamlets Taliban, regularly issue death threats to women who refuse to wear Islamic veils. Neighborhood streets have been plastered with posters declaring "You are entering a Sharia controlled zone: Islamic rules enforced." And street advertising deemed offensive to Muslims is regularly vandalized or blacked out with spray paint.

In the Bury Park area of Luton, Muslims have been accused of "ethnic cleansing" by harassing non-Muslims to the point that many of them move out of Muslim neighborhoods. In the West Midlands, two Christian preachers have been accused of "hate crimes" for handing out gospel leaflets in a predominantly Muslim area of Birmingham. In Leytonstone in east London, the Muslim extremist Abu Izzadeen heckled the former Home Secretary John Reid by saying: "How dare you come to a Muslim area."

In France, large swaths of Muslim neighborhoods are now considered "no-go" zones by French police. At last count, there are 751 Sensitive Urban Zones (Zones Urbaines Sensibles, ZUS), as they are euphemistically called. A complete list of the ZUS can be found on a French government website, complete with satellite maps and precise street demarcations. An estimated 5 million Muslims live in the ZUS, parts of France over which the French state has lost control.

Muslim immigrants are taking control of other parts of France too. In Paris and other French cities with high Muslim populations, such as Lyons, Marseilles and Toulouse, thousands of Muslims are closing off streets and sidewalks (and by extension, are closing down local businesses and trapping non-Muslim residents in their homes and offices) to accommodate overflowing crowds for Friday prayers. Some mosques have also begun broadcasting sermons and chants of "Allahu Akbar" via loudspeakers into the streets.

The weekly spectacles, which have been documented by dozens of videos posted on Youtube.com (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here), and which have been denounced as an "occupation without tanks or soldiers," have provoked anger and disbelief. But despite many public complaints, local authorities have declined to intervene because they are afraid of sparking riots.

In the Belgian capital of Brussels (which is 20% Muslim), several immigrant neighborhoods have become "no-go" zones for police officers, who frequently are pelted with rocks by Muslim youth. In the Kuregem district of Brussels, which often resembles an urban war zone, police are forced to patrol the area with two police cars: one car to carry out the patrols and another car to prevent the first car from being attacked. In the Molenbeek district of Brussels, police have been ordered not to drink coffee or eat a sandwich in public during the Islamic month of Ramadan.

In Germany, Chief Police Commissioner Bernhard Witthaut, in an August 1 interview with the newspaper Der Westen, revealed that Muslim immigrants are imposing "no-go" zones in cities across Germany at an alarming rate.

The interviewer asked Witthaut: "Are there urban areas – for example in the Ruhr – districts and housing blocks that are "no-go areas," meaning that they can no longer be secured by the police?" Witthaut replied: "Every police commissioner and interior minister will deny it. But of course we know where we can go with the police car and where, even initially, only with the personnel carrier. The reason is that our colleagues can no longer feel safe there in twos, and have to fear becoming the victim of a crime themselves. We know that these areas exist. Even worse: in these areas crimes no longer result in charges. They are left 'to themselves.' Only in the worst cases do we in the police learn anything about it. The power of the state is completely out of the picture."

In Italy, Muslims have been commandeering the Piazza Venezia in Rome for public prayers. In Bologna, Muslims repeatedly have threatened to bomb the San Petronio cathedral because it contains a 600-year-old fresco inspired by Dante's Inferno which depicts Mohammed being tormented in hell.

In the Netherlands, a Dutch court ordered the government to release to the public a politically incorrect list of 40 "no-go" zones in Holland. The top five Muslim problem neighborhoods are in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht. The Kolenkit area in Amsterdam is the number one Muslim "problem district" in the country. The next three districts are in Rotterdam – Pendrecht, het Oude Noorden and Bloemhof. The Ondiep district in Utrecht is in the fifth position, followed by Rivierenwijk (Deventer), Spangen (Rotterdam), Oude Westen (Rotterdam), Heechterp/ Schieringen (Leeuwarden) and Noord-Oost (Maastricht).

In Sweden, which has some of the most liberal immigration laws in Europe, large swaths of the southern city of Malmö – which is more than 25% Muslim – are "no-go" zones for non-Muslims. Fire and emergency workers, for example, refuse to enter Malmö's mostly Muslim Rosengaard district without police escorts. The male unemployment rate in Rosengaard is estimated to be above 80%. When fire fighters attempted to put out a fire at Malmö's main mosque, they were attacked by stone throwers.

In the Swedish city of Gothenburg, Muslim youth have been hurling petrol bombs at police cars. In the city's Angered district, where more than 15 police cars have been destroyed, teenagers have also been pointing green lasers at the eyes of police officers, some of whom have been temporarily blinded.

In Gothenburg's Backa district, youth have been throwing stones at patrolling officers. Gothenburg police have also been struggling to deal with the problem of Muslim teenagers burning cars and attacking emergency services in several areas of the city.

According to the Malmö-based Imam Adly Abu Hajar: "Sweden is the best Islamic state."

Satan's spokesman from Iran who is known as the evil 'Little Hitler' speaks great words. How long will Almighty God allow the little pipsqueak to continue challenging Jehovah's Chosen people, and His Son Yeshua by imprisoning & killing Christians and burning Holy Bibles and seeking to contaminate Jerusalem, God's holy City? - Pastor Max Solbrekken

 AhmadiniJad: PA State First Step to Israel's Demise 
by Gavriel Queenann 

As Palestinian Authority officials prepare to make their statehood bid at the United Nations in September, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinijad said Friday the creation of a 'Palestinian state' ws only the first state to the destruction of Israel. 

Ahmadinejad, restating the position he outlined after taking office in 2005, said Israel was a "tumor" to be wiped off the map and urged Arabs in PA administered areas not to settle for a two-state solution, but to strive for a complete return of what they consider their land. 

"Recognizing the Palestinian state is not the last goal. It is only one step forward towards liberating the whole of Palestine," Ahmadinejad told worshippers at Friday prayers on international Qods Day -- an annual show of support for the PA cause. 

"The Zionist regime is a center of microbes, a cancer cell and if it exists in one iota of Palestine it will mobilize again and hurt everyone." 

"It is not enough for them to have a weak, powerless state in a very small piece of Palestine. They should unite to establish a state but the ultimate goal is the liberation of the whole of Palestine," he said. 

"I urge the Palestinians never to forget this ideal. Forgetting this ideal is equal to committing suicide. It would be giving an opportunity to an enemy which is on the verge of collapse and disappearance." 

Ahmadinijad's comments echo those of the long-Iranian underwritten Hamas terror organization in Gaza that has said any peace agreement with Israel would only serve as a prelude to war. 

Iran reportedly significant

Jesus Christ came to liberate the captives of Satan (John 10:10). Reza Kahlili is now a free man in Christ and the shackles of Islam have been broken. He is no longer a slave but a child of God. Praise the Lord - Pastor Max Solbrekken

IRANIAN AUTHOR: "WHY I RENOUNCE ISLAM AND CHOOSE CHRIST"
By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Washington, D.C, August 25, 2011) -- Today, my friend Reza Kahlili, the former Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officer, has posted an article on his blog telling the world that he has renounced Shia Islam and become a follower of Jesus Christ. The article is also running today on the WorldNet Daily website.
An excerpt: "Jesus came to me when I needed guidance. He came to me at a time when my faith in man and religion was totally shaken. His words and His love became the guiding light to set me free from sin and hopelessness. I found myself knowing there is goodness and kindness and that it comes from within us - that it is only through His love that we will find peace and eternal life. After a long journey, I have finally found my God. I feel at home now. And as I continue my fight against the evil in Iran, I know in my heart that the Lord will guide me in that fight because He loves the people of Iran even more than I do. The Iranian people are desperate for their freedom, and Jesus says, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8:31-32)."
Publicly professing one's faith in Jesus Christ is a big step for anyone from Shia or Sunni Islam. This is no less true for Reza today. Please pray for him to be strong. Please pray for him to walk with Jesus every day. Please pray that the Lord would protect him and his family spiritually, emotionally and physically as Reza takes this important step in the life of all Christ followers. Pray, too, that many will be moved to read the New Testament and consider the claims of Jesus of Nazareth and come to realize that Jesus truly is the Messiah. Feel free to share Reza's article with family, friends and colleagues who would be encouraged by his story, and with those who may be searching for Jesus as well.

Roman Catholicism is just another dead religion. Vibrant Evangelical, Pentecostal Churches like the early Church of St. James, St. Peter and St. Paul would have converted the incoming Muslims but the sleeping Catholics just asked for more wine, fun and games. The Muslim Imams are no match for the living, vibrant Gospel of Jesus Christ. O` Lord revive Thy back- slidden, sleeping Church - Pastor Max Solbrekken

Islam Overtaking Catholicism in France http://www.hudson-ny.org/ Islamic mosques are being built more often in France than Roman Catholic churches, and there now are more practising Muslims in the country than practising Catholics. Nearly 150 new mosques currently are under construction in France, home to the biggest Muslim community in Europe. The mosque-building projects are at various stages of completion, according to Mohammed Moussaoui, the president of the Muslim Council of France (CFCM), who provided the data in an August 2 interview with the French radio station RTL. The total number of mosques in France has already doubled to more than 2,000 during just the past ten years, according to a research report "Constructing Mosques: The Governance of Islam in France and the Netherlands." France's most prominent Muslim leader, Dalil Boubakeur, who is rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, recently called for the number of mosques in the country to be doubled again – to 4,000 – to meet growing demand. By contrast, the Roman Catholic Church in France has built only 20 new churches during the past decade, and has formally closed more than 60 churches, many of which are destined to become mosques, according to research conducted by La Croix, a Roman Catholic daily newspaper based in Paris. Although 64% of the French population (or 41.6 million of France's 65 million inhabitants) identifies itself as Roman Catholic, only 4.5% (or 1.9 million) of those actually are practising Catholics, according to the French Institute of Public Opinion (or Ifop, as it is usually called). By way of comparison, 75% (or 4.5 million) of the estimated 6 million mostly ethnic North African and sub-Saharan Muslims in France identify themselves as "believers" and 41% (or 2.5 million) say they are "practising" Muslims, according to an in-depth research report on Islam in France published by Ifop on August 1. The report also says that more than 70% of the Muslims in France say they will be observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in 2011. Taken together, the research data provides empirical evidence that Islam is well on its way to overtaking Roman Catholicism as the dominant religion in France. As their numbers grow, Muslims in France are becoming far more assertive than ever before. A case in point: Muslim groups in France are now asking the Roman Catholic Church for permission to use its empty churches as a way to solve the traffic problems caused by thousands of Muslims who pray in the streets. In a March 11 communiqué addressed to the Church of France, the National Federation of the Great Mosque of Paris, the Council of Democratic Muslims of France and a Muslim activist group called Collectif Banlieues Respect called on the Catholic Church – in a spirit of inter-religious solidarity, of course – to make its empty churches available to Muslims for Friday prayers, so that Muslims do not have to "pray in the streets" and be "held hostage to politics." Every Friday, thousands of Muslims in Paris and other French cities close off streets and sidewalks (and by extension, close down local businesses and trap non-Muslim residents in their homes and offices) to accommodate overflowing crowds for midday prayers. Some mosques have also begun broadcasting sermons and chants of "Allah Akbar" via loudspeakers in the streets. The weekly spectacles, which have been documented by dozens of videos posted on Youtube.com, have provoked anger and disbelief. But despite many public complaints, local authorities have declined to intervene because they are afraid of sparking riots. The issue of illegal street prayers was catapulted to the top of the national political agenda in France in December 2010, when Marine Le Pen, the charismatic new leader of the far-right National Front party, denounced them as an "occupation without tanks or soldiers." During a gathering in the east central French city of Lyon on December 10, Le Pen compared Muslims praying in the streets to Nazi occupation. She said: "For those who want to talk a lot about World War II, if it is about occupation, then we could also talk about it [Muslim prayers in the streets], because that is occupation of territory. It is an occupation of sections of the territory, of districts in which religious laws apply. It is an occupation. There are of course no tanks, there are no soldiers but it is nevertheless an occupation and it weighs heavily on local residents." Many French voters agree. In fact, the issue of Muslim street prayers – and the broader question of the role of Islam in French society – has become a major issue ahead of the 2012 presidential elections. According to a survey by Ifop for the France-Soir newspaper, nearly 40% of French voters agree with Len Pen's views that Muslim prayer in the streets resembles an occupation. Another opinion poll published by Le Parisien newspaper shows that voters view Le Pen, who has criss-crossed the country arguing that France has been invaded by Muslims and betrayed by its elite, as the candidate best suited to deal with the growing problem of runaway Muslim immigration. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose popularity was at 25% in July – worse than any predecessor less than a year ahead of a re-election bid, according to the TNS-Sofres polling group – has been spooked by Le Pen's advance in the opinion polls. He now seems determined not to allow Le Pen to monopolize the issue of Islam in France. Sarkozy recently called Muslim prayers in the street "unacceptable" and said that the street cannot be allowed to become "an extension of the mosque." He also warned that the overflow of Muslim faithful on to the streets at prayer time when mosques are packed to capacity risks undermining the French secular tradition separating state and religion. Interior Minister Claude Guéant on August 8 told Muslims who have been praying on the streets of Paris that they should utilize a disused barracks instead. "Praying in the street is something that is not acceptable," Guéant said. "It has to stop." Meanwhile, France ushered in Ramadan by inaugurating a new mega-mosque for 2,000 worshipers in Strasbourg, where the Muslim population has reached 15%. Construction also continues apace of a new mega-mosque in Marseille, France's second-largest city where the Muslim population has reached 25% (or 250,000). The Grand Mosque – which at more than 8,300 square meters (92,000 square feet) will accommodate up to 7,000 worshippers in a vast prayer hall – is designed to be the biggest and most potent symbol of Islam's place in modern France. Boubakeur, of the Grande Mosque of Paris, says the construction of even more mosques – paid for by French taxpayers – would ease the "pressure, frustration and the sense of injustice" felt by many French Muslims. "Open a mosque and you close a prison," says Boubakeur. But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has implied that the construction of mosques and minarets actually is part of a strategy for the Islamization of Europe. Publicly repeating the words of a 1912 poem written by the Turkish nationalist poet Ziya Gökalp, Erdogan said: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers." Reflecting on the retreat of Catholicism and the rise of Islam in France, Archbishop Giuseppe Bernardini, an Italian Franciscan who heads the Izmir archdiocese in Turkey, and who has lived in the Islamic world for more than 40 years, has recounted a conversation he once had with a Muslim leader, who told him: "Thanks to your democratic laws, we will invade you. Thanks to your religious laws, we will dominate you."

Hello Atheists: You can run but you can't hide. Imagine what it will be like standing before the Ever Living, Eternal, Everlasting, Almighty God like a stammering idiot trying to tell Him why you did not believe, when you can't stand up to face William Lane Craig. - Pastor Max Solbrekken

Christian Philosopher William Lane

Craig Is Ready to Debate, but Finds Few Challengers

By Lauren Green

American Evangelical theologian William Lane Craig is ready to debate the rationality of faith during his U.K tour this fall, but it appears that some atheist philosophers are running shy of the challenge.

This month president of the British Humanist Association, Polly Toynbee, pulled out of an agreed debate at London’s Westminster Central Hall in October, saying she “hadn’t realized the nature of Mr. Lane Craig’s debating style.”

Lane Craig, who is a professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, Calif., and author of 30 books and hundreds of scholarly articles, is no stranger to the art of debate and has taken on some of the great orators, such as famous atheists Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris. Harris once described Craig as “the one Christian apologist who has put the fear of God into many of my fellow atheists”.

Responding to Toynbee’s cancellation, Lane Craig commented: "These folks (atheists) can be very brave when they are alone at the podium and there's no one there to challenge them. But one of the great things about these debates is that, it allows both sides to be heard on a level playing field, and for the students in the audience to make up their own minds about where they think the truth lies."

But David Silverman, president of the American Atheists, believes the reason behind the cancellation is much simpler. "The fact is some people get tired of debating Christians because of the same arguments over and over again. And sometimes it’s a lot like arguing with a wall," he said.

Others have refused to challenge Lane Craig, too, including Richard Dawkins, one of the Four Horseman of the new Atheist movement, which include Hitchens, Harris and Daniel Dennett.

Dawkins, who has labeled the Roman Catholic Church “evil” and once called the Pope “a leering old villain in a frock,” refused four separate invitations, extended through religious and humanist organizations, to take part in debates with Lane Craig during his fall tour.

The controversy wafted into the British press after fellow atheist and philosophy lecturer, Daniel Came, accused Dawkins of simply being afraid, saying, "The absence of a debate with the foremost apologist for Christian theism is a glaring omission on your CV and is of course apt to be interpreted as cowardice on your part."

Dawkins responded by saying, "I have no intention of assisting Craig in his relentless drive for self-promotion."

"I've had a few conversations with Dawkins. He doesn't do debates,” said Silverman who defends Dawkins' decision not to challenge Lane Craig. “He doesn't like those staged debates, which is why he doesn't do much. ... And he gets rather frustrated with the quality of responses."

Craig argues that science and faith are connected. In his writings, he states: "I think we are living in a time in human history where physical science is more open to the existence of a creator and designer of the universe than at any time in recent memory."

In his debates he suggests that the question to ask is not whether science can prove God's existence but rather the philosophy that "science can establish a premise in an argument leading to the conclusion that God exists."

But there many in Britain who would not agree and want to debate that. And they're welcome to do it, because apparently the position is open.

St. Paul stated: "Death is swallowed up in victory.O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor.15: 55-57) - Pastor Max Solbrekken

THIS IS WHAT DEATH IS LIKE!

                                    By Dr. Peter Marshall, the late chaplain of the United States Senate:

      

      In a certain home, a little boy, the only son, was ill with an incurable disease. Month after month the mother had tenderly nursed him, but as the weeks went by and he grew no better, the little fellow gradually began to understand the meaning of death and he, too, realized that soon he was to die.

     One day his mother had been reading the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and as she closed the book the boy lay silent for a moment, then asked the question that had been laying on his heart. "Mother, what is it like to die? Mother, does it hurt?"

      Quick tears filled her eyes. She sprang to her feet and fled to the kitchen, supposedly to go get something. She prayed on the way a silent prayer that the Lord would tell her what to say, and the Lord did tell her. Immediately she knew how to explain it to him.

      She said, as she returned from the kitchen, "Kenneth, you will remember when you were a little boy, you would play so hard you were too tired to undress and you tumbled into your mother's bed and fell asleep. In the morning you would wake up and much to your surprise, you would find yourself in your own bed.

      “In the night your father would pick you up in his big, strong arms and carry you to your own bedroom. Kenneth, death is like that; we just wake up one morning to find ourselves in the room where we belong because the Lord Jesus loves us."

     The lad's shining face looked up and told her there would be no more fear, only love and trust in his heart as he went to meet the Father in heaven. He never questioned again and several weeks later he fell asleep, just as she had said. This is what death is like. (‘A Man Called Peter’ by Catherine Marshall, pp. 260–61)

Jesus warned; "If they have hated Me they will hate you." St. Paul declared: 'All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Earlier, he had been a Jewish terrorist killing Christians. Thank God there are more and more former Muslim terrorists who are now preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The followers of Muhammed will bow before Jesus Christ and call Him Lord and God - either in this life or at the last Judgment. - Pastor Max Solbrekken

Countries With Worst Religious Freedom Grades Are Mostly Islamic  

http://www.cnsnews.com/

---

Muslim-majority countries score worst across a range of measures in a comprehensive new study tracking government restrictions on religion as well as social hostilities involving religion around the world.

The study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, released Tuesday, found that nearly one-third of the world’s population lives in countries where religion-related government restrictions or social hostilities rose significantly between mid-2006 and mid-2009.

Geographically, the Middle East/North Africa region boasted the largest proportion of countries – 30 percent – where official restrictions on religion increased over that three-year period.

Digging deeper, the 117-page report reveals that countries belonging to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) dominate many of the most serious measures tracked at the end of the survey period in mid-2009.

Seven of the ten countries with the highest – that is, worst – grades when it comes to government restrictions on religion were OIC countries – Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Maldives, Malaysia and Indonesia. The other three were China, Burma and Eritrea.

Of the 10 countries on that benchmark index, six are designated by the U.S. government as “countries of particular concern” for religious freedom violations – Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.

A separate index in the Pew report graded countries according to levels of social hostility involving religion. Eight of the top ten countries in that index were Muslim-majority states – Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Egypt. The other two, India and Israel, have Hindu and Jewish majorities respectively, and large Muslim minorities.

In an index measuring official interference with religious practice, 18 out of 26 countries (69 percent) whose government “prohibits worship or religious practices of one or more religious groups as a general policy,” were OIC members – Brunei, Chad, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The other eight were Burma, China, Eritrea, Laos, Madagascar, Monaco, Tuvalu and Vietnam.

A grading of countries where conversion from one religion to another is restricted was also dominated by Islamic states, accounting for 25 out of 29 countries listed (86 percent). They were Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Comoros, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

The four non-Muslim countries were Eritrea, India, Israel and Vietnam.

Taking the conversion issue a step further, among 13 countries where there were incidents of physical violence over conversions from one religion to another, 10 (77 percent) were Muslim – Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Comoros, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria. The other three were India, Mongolia and Nepal.

Sixteen out of 26 countries/territories where “religion-related terrorist groups” perpetrated violence that resulted in ten or more injuries or deaths” were OIC members – Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, Palestinian territories, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan and Yemen

The 10 non-Muslim countries were Central African Republic, China, Congo, Ethiopia, India, Israel, Nepal, Philippines, Russia and Sri Lanka. (The report does not provide a breakdown of actual attacks, but in at least some of those countries – India, Israel, the Philippines and Russia – terror activity is largely attributed to Islamist groups.)

Blasphemy, ‘defamation’

The Pew report also examined the issue of “defamation” of religion, tracking countries where various penalties are enforced for apostasy, blasphemy or criticism of religions.

“While such laws are sometimes promoted as a way to protect religion, in practice they often serve to punish religious minorities whose beliefs are deemed unorthodox or heretical,” it said.

It found 21 Muslim countries in that category – Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Western Sahara and Yemen.

The study also found 23 non-Muslim countries where penalties are enforced for such criticism of religion – Austria, Brazil, Burma, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Iceland, India, Italy, Malta, Mauritius, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

“Eight-in-ten countries in the Middle East-North Africa region have laws against blasphemy, apostasy or defamation of religion, the highest share of any region,” it said. “These penalties are enforced in 60 percent of the countries in the region. In Europe, nearly four-in-ten countries (38 per cent) have such laws and nearly a third (31 per cent) actively enforces them.”

The report did not, however, draw a distinction between the types of penalties enforced in Muslim and non-Muslim countries for breaching these laws.

A study by Human Rights First, released last March, documented more than 70 cases in 15 countries where the enforcement of blasphemy laws resulted in problems of various kinds since 2007.

Of the 70 cases, only four were not in Muslim countries. They were in Austria (where a woman was fined for “denigrating” Islam during a lecture); India (where nine people were charged over a magazine article said to have injured the sentiments of Hindus); Sri Lanka (where a convert from Buddhism to Islam was accused of offending Buddhism); and Poland (where a provocative rock star was accused of insulting religious sentiments in the predominantly Catholic country).

By contrast, the vast majority of the cases documented in the report took place in Islamic countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan – and included lengthy prison terms and the imposition of the death penalty, as well as extrajudicial retribution such as mob attacks and killings.

‘Repressive’

One country that did not feature in the Pew survey’s country scores was North Korea – not because it is not a problem, but because of difficulties obtaining accurate information in the reclusive Stalinist state.

“The sources clearly indicate that the government of North Korea is among the most repressive in the world with respect to religion as well as other civil liberties,” the report said. “But because North Korean society is effectively closed to outsiders, the sources are unable to provide the kind of specific and timely information that the Pew Forum coded in this quantitative study.”

The religious freedom advocacy group Open Doors has listed North Korea at No. 1 on its annual World Watch List of countries most hostile to Christians for the past nine consecutive years.

The rest of the top 10 on its 2011 list were Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen, Iraq, Uzbekistan and Laos. Apart from communist Laos, all are OIC member-states.

Jesus said: "The thief (Satan) has come only to steal, kill and destroy. I AM come that they might have LIFE and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

 by Judge Roy Moore

 America the Beautiful, or so you used to be.

 Land of the Pilgrims' pride, I'm glad they'll never see

 Babies piled in dumpsters, Abortion on demand,

 Oh, sweet land of liberty, your house is built on sand.

 Our children wander aimlessly, poisoned by cocaine,

 Choosing to indulge their lusts, when God has said abstain.

From sea to shining sea, our Nation turns away

From the teaching of God's love and a need to always pray.

 So many worldly pastors tell lies about our Rock,

 Saying God is going broke so they can fleece the flock.

 We've kept God in our temples, how callous we have grown,

 When earth is but His footstool and Heaven is His throne.

 We've voted in a government that's rotting at the core,

 Appointing Godless Judges who throw reason out the door,

 Too soft to place a killer in a well deserved tomb,

 But brave enough to kill a baby before he leaves the womb.

 You think that God's not angry that our land's a moral slum?

 How much longer will He wait before His judgment comes?

 How are we to face our God from Whom we cannot hide?

 What then is left for us to do, but stem this evil tide?

 If we who are His children will humbly turn and pray,

 Seek His holy face and mend our evil way,

 Then God will hear from Heaven and forgive us of our sins,

 He'll heal our sickly land and those who live within.

 But America the Beautiful if you don't, then you will see,

 A sad but Holy God withdraw His hand from thee.

Here is the 'Key to Revival' from God's Word.!!!

SIGNS OF

THE TIMES

&

The Key to Revival!

by Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D.

           

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” (Gen. 6:5, 11 & 12)

           

“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matt. 24:37)  “And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold.  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matt. 34:12-13)

PERSONAL CHRISTIANITY IS DYING!

According to recent surveys, only one in five Canadians has enough knowledge of his Christian religion to make sense of human existence.  A staggering 43% of the Canadian population according to a recent poll feels No Answer Exists!  How tragic to think that Canadians who are basically a Christian nation would have fallen so low!

Not surprisingly, crime continues rising almost unchecked, the divorce rate climbs astronomically, violence and murder is on the increase and teenage pregnancies are running at 1000 per week across the nation.

According to Dr. James Dobson of ‘Focus on the Family’, morals in the USA are at an all time low now:  “Over 360,000 unmarried teens give birth yearly; 1 in 5 Americans over 12 has herpes virus and don’t know it; 3 million teenagers contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD) yearly”.

We shouldn’t be shocked that VD among teenagers is almost epidemic across North America, when PARENTS stop going to church and spend their time at the bars, casinos, cocktail parties and the race track!  When PARENTS have ‘no time’ for the Bible or prayer and no time for God and His cause, it is no wonder the nation drifts into chaos; violence, high unemployment, teenage delinquency, drug addiction, broken homes and alcoholism!

Pornography and smut is contaminating young as well as older minds and runs like a sewer across the world.  Moral decay brings economic and political decay!  The Roman Empire and the Golden Age of Greece rotted away morally and then totally fell apart; militarily, socially, economically; and politically.

SOCIETY IS INFECTED WITH THE VIRUS OF SIN - just like in Noah’s day - with corruption and graft in business, government and even the church! Canada’s only hope is to return to righteousness and decency!

 The church needs a revival of holiness, and an awakening to the sad conditions of the community, with a dogged determination to change things - to do something about it!

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Ministers of God need to be alerted, awakened and re-fired with the power of the Holy Spirit.  We need another dip in the fountain of blood, another experience in the Upper Room with Jesus, and a fresh glimpse of Calvary and the price Jesus paid for our salvation!

WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED? A NEW VISION OF HELL THAT AWAITS THE LOST, AND THE ETERNAL VALUE OF A HUMAN BEING!

 Laymen and church members can help turn the tide through their consistent prayers, total commitment in church attendance, consecrated giving and fervent balanced witnessing. Pray for our pastors, evangelists and theologians.  Ask God to build a fire under your pastor!  We, the ministers of God must lead the way in exemplary living and sacrificial giving to God and His cause!  Here is the key - the Blueprint to Revival!

“Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests:  howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withheld from the house of your God.  Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come”. (Joel 1:13-15)

God’s Word explicitly tells preachers what to do:  Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly and gather the people into the house of the Lord for a time of weeping and crying out to God in humility and prayer! NOTICE:  Here are the reasons why we need a Revival!

1. THE LORD'S MINISTERS MOURN!

“Why?”  Because the meat offering and drink offering is cut off (v. 9).  The priests were unable to function because there were no resources.  The priest used a portion of the meat offering in order to exist. When “Revival Fires Burn Low’ and God’s people become cold in their devotion and love to Him, the tithes and offerings are very often neglected!

How can we proclaim Christ’s Gospel if His people are not stirred by the Holy Spirit to undergird ‘the work’ with their tithing and giving?  A red-hot revival causes people to see their responsibility in giving of their substance to the Lord’s work!

        2. THE FIELD IS WASTED, THE LAND MOURNETH; FOR THE CORN IS WASTED:  THE NEW WINE IS DRIED UP, THE OIL LANGUISHETH!

The admonition again is to the shepherd, the vinedresser.  We are to be ashamed!  Why?  Because the harvest of the field is perished!  What a tragic thing!  The harvest is destroyed!  How awful to think of the prairie farmers getting hailed out, dried out or frozen out 100%.  That would be devastating!  To lose the harvest could cripple the economy!

How much worse to lose the spiritual harvest!  The Christian Church has lost much of the harvest.  Young people have slipped out of the church and gotten involved with the alcohol and drug scene - spending their time sniffing glue, popping pills, smoking hash, taking LSD, hanging around discotheques and bars!

May God help us to salvage the harvest.  It’s time for an old-fashioned ‘PRAYER MEETING’ in our churches, where we seek the face of God in order to save precious souls for God’s kingdom!

      3. THE BIBLE RECORDS THE STARK REALITY OF ISRAEL’S SPIRITUAL DEMISE AND WE SEE ITS PARALLEL IN THE CHURCH TODAY.  THE JOY HAS WITHERED AWAY!

    “The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field are withered.”

Why?  Because joy is withered away from the sons of men! (vs. 12) Why has the Christian Church lost the joy of salvation?  Why do ‘born again’ believers walk around with faces that are painfully sad and unhappy?  Why do folks appear to be enduring their salvation when they should in fact be enjoying it?

    They have lost the harvest! Let every Christian begin winning souls for Jesus Christ and the joy will return. There is nothing more joyfully glorious than leading a lost soul to the knowledge of sins forgiven though Jesus our Saviour!

      We must begin to witness to the lost, needy and lukewarm about God’s great mercy and love and we will see results.  Then we’ll have joy, and remember, “The joy of the Lord is your strength”. (Neh. 8:10)  Do you want to be strong?  Receive the joy of the Lord and you will receive great inner strength!

  The Bible 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”. (2 Chron. 7:14)

God has promised that if we do the four things He requires, revival will break forth among us!  Here they are:

1)       Humble ourselves!

2)       Pray fervently!

3)       Seek God’s face diligently!

4)       Turn from our sins!

Satan is very active and many present-day signs point to the wicked, end-time generation which Jesus foretold.  The Bible however, gives us hope! “When the enemy shall come in like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him”. (Isaiah 59:19b)

HANDWRITING IS ON THE WALL!

      Soon, Jesus Christ will return for His Church, and judgment will fall upon this sinful and wicked world.  There is HOPE, however, for the Bible says, “It shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved”.

To ‘Believers in Christ’ I say, “Let us win souls now while we still can”, and to the unconverted and uncommitted I write: “Receive God’s grace and mercy today and be saved”!  Let us return unto the Lord with humility, renouncing pride, arrogance and selfishness for the Bible says: “...God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble”. (1 Peter 5:5)

Jesus said, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh”. (Luke 21:28)

W

For special prayer, counselling or ordering cassettes, videos or literature write:

MAX SOLBREKKEN WORLD MISSION

Box 44220

RP0 Garside, Edmonton, AB  T5V 1N6  Canada

[email protected]   Websites: http://www.mswm.org/ / http://www.maxsolbrekken.com/