OumaB's Xanga

Returning to face-to-face (not Facebook)! Maybe for resurrection of real Life, not virtual. . .

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 13:39:00 GMT

Last night we heard Alex Kendrick who played the lead role (as Adam Mitchell) in the movie COURAGEOUS. What an amazing man, a godly man! He's heard "God said!" He has done what "God said!" He learned to be quiet until God gave the "how" about what "God said." He learned to wait on God's timing for what "God said!" He has seen the favor of God bless what "God says!"

The story of God's work in Alex Kendrick's life is one to encourage every person who knows Jesus Christ to come to unity with the Body of Christ to do what "God said!" This is one of the great lessons Alex shares with his audience. He challenged us!

Our world could be changed if all who are in Christ Jesus united to simply live Christ in our families, our neighborhoods, our communities, our interaction with others on every level, locally, nationally and globally.

Be Courageous to speak truth in Christ and live it before your family, friends, co-workers, fellow students, neighbors and civic workers. Do the right thing (according to God's Word) boldly, with courage, as you bring back to life those realms which we have allowed to remain in the darkness of godlessness! Redeem the time for the days are evil. Time is redemptive is believers live Christ! Use today for redemption. Discard all that is not redemptive -- eternal in significance. Someone is dependent upon you tis moment for Christ-Life to be imparted to their life. Do it now, this moment. Leave the computer, cell phone or I-pad or whatever, and interact with a human, face-to-face. Let that person hear your voice and see the love of Christ emanating from your smile and your presence. You bring Christ into their moment when you are there. Listen to the Holy Spirit for what to do, for He will make Chrsit real to the others in your presence if you love them with the pure love of Christ and act upon the Spirit's voice. Do it. . . don't just write about it.

I'm outta here~!

Back to XANGA & NOAH & THE ARK tomorrow!

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:07:49 GMT

Friday at First A/G, Ft. Myers, FL, NOAH AND THE ARK begins!

The cast of NOAH AND THE ARK, live animals with special guests, Donavan and family, begin the first of 5 presentations at 7 PM Friday, September 30. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 1 & 2 will have performances at 3 and 7 PM.

Pastor Dan Betzer -- Noah; Pastor Art Van Zanten - Heckler; Pastor Jeff Leatherman - Japheth, Noah's Son; Pastor Brandon Strickler & Pastor Corey Baker (Suprise element); Stacey Leatherman - Elizabeth, Japheth's wife; Angela Bryant- Miriam, mother of Elizabeth; Darlene Betzer - Mrs. Noah (Caroline) plus an amazing cast of supporting players: Ham, Ham's wife, Noah's friend, Town's people, Hecklers, god venders, youth choirs, live animals. . .

NO CHARGE - FREE ADMISSION - Bring your family and friends and umbrellas -- there is gonna be a flood...!!

First Assembly of God Church, Colonial and Summerlin, Fort Myers, FL Phone: 239-936-6277. www.famfm.com

REUNIONS! Past, Present and Future

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:29:46 GMT

My High School reunion happens this weekend in Nebraska. I can't be there. The Columbus High School Class of '54 is gathering. I send my love and greetings to those who will be there.

We were a great class of graduates. I wonder what has happened to us all through the years. What have we accomplished and contributed to the world? What difference did we make in life?

Reunions are wonderful! Families reunited to reminisce and reconnect. Class reunions bring back great memories (some not so great). It is strange how often our memories crystalize past events of triumphs and failures! The value of reunions is the hope it gives to others to overcome with triumph! I have been to great family reunions -- the Culp, Beem, Betzer family have great reunions -- mostly on the West Coast. They are always worth the sacrifice and planning to get there.

The High School class reunion of mine is happening without me. Yet, I have spent some hours trying to put together some pics and comments for the event. I pulled out a few snapshots last night. I had none worth making a huge statement about when it somes to the media and technology we are accustomed to today. I'd have to do a You Tube presentation to make an impact out of these still shots. I have a few of classmates and friends who were special and cared enough to share their Senior Picture!

Pictures of Columbus, NE days include some of Dad and Mom, Pastor and Mrs. C.T. Beem, of the Assembly of God church in town. It was a small, white frame building which sat on the corner of a major road through town. The parsonage (minister's house) was next door. All my best pictures of the front of the church and house are with snow piled up! I recall drifts up to the eve spouts on the roof. Icycles could get as long as four feet in perfect winter weather warming up! Walking through the snow to school was not always so romantic as we like to tell. It was a pain, actually! Pain in the feet which might get frozen if there is too long an exposure time.

High school was a wonderful time - busy, busy, busy! With extra-cirricular music rehearsals and clubs after school, etc., the days were always too short. I recall the privilege of being Advertising Manager of the yearbook and being involved in our campus newspaper. My visits to the businesses in town enlarged my circle of friends greatly. Classmates of various talents and interests were great friends, some parents were willing to buy ads! Great experience for life! College Prep courses included two years of Spanish, which were, sadly, mostly vocabulary!

Musical groups and events were prominent more so than some other interests I pursued. As one of the piano accompanists for the music department, I played every day. As a student, I habitually had more on my plate than twenty four hours could include. To give full attention to every interest I needed more hours in a day -- still my natural inclination today.

This reunion is the 55th of the class of '54. I missed all other reunions. Like a person caught in a maze, the reunion has so many areas of interest to me that I could spend the day writing. Every path leads to someone with an open door at the other end leading to someone else. . .the connection goes on and on.

For some of us, reunions are filled with great anticipation! And a bit of anxiety, maybe fear! Who really wants to have others see us in our less than perfect state (something other than our posed, air-brushed and published yearbook or Facebook/ Twitter pictures), or with added pounds, or wrinkled skin (actually character lines, you know)! If only we could have done the physical therapy needed to sustain such youthful toned bodies!

I live far from the site of the runion (in FL) but would have been there in a heartbeat if I could. I am not physically able to make that trip alone. It would have been wonderful. Reunion organizers, Fred and Marlene and others, have put together a couple days to enjoy being together. I was asked to pray before the dinner. Now that I am not able to make it, Fred will do it, I suppose.

To me the prayer was important!! The thought occured to me that there will never be another Class Reunion of "54 where all the people living will now be able to be present. Not all of us will be still living. Some will have "finished their course", so to speak. Unless I connect in some other way, I am missing an historic event, an opportunity of a lifetime.

It is this aspect of any reunion which makes it so very timely and important. There is only one time through life and then what follows this earthly life will begin for each one of us.

I wanted to see each classmate and hear about their life and their hopes and aspirations. Certainly people still cling to the confident hope that life is full of opportunities until the very last breath! I do! Dan and I live with the vision of dreams which God has put in our hearts. We are just beginning to see the greatest days of our lives. We have poured out our lives to Christ through all these years. He has invested our lives for His eternal purpose. We are longing to see the fulfillment of vision which God planted in our hearts years ago. We have a world-wide community which is full of people who are in the vision! Locally, we are linked with this global human family. We clearly see the purpose of God for their lives and want to bring to each one the means by which life is lived God's way.

I had hoped to be at the Class Reunion this week to share about our lives and let them see what the foundational days of my life led to. The work Dan and I do is that of linking people to God and training them to know Him and teaching them to obey Him and watching them delight His heart with their intercessory living. God imparts to them HIS worldview according to HIS Word which we teach. Those who are reconnected to HIM by Spirit-birthing through faith in Jesus Christ become New Creation people. They become global harvesters, training others to do the same. His global harvest is waiting for laborers trained and sent out by the precious congregation of Christ-followers we serve as Under-Shepherds. Our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, is our Sovereign Lord over all the nations and rulers of the world. As Pastor-Teachers, Dan and I fit into God's grand scheme of things -- found in the Bible -- and we are privileged to be intentionally abandoned and surrendered to Christ's full purpose for living. We are carefully completing the details of this assignment for our lives. When God has competed His purpose for this assignment, He will reposition us in the Body of Christ for the next.

Our motivation for our living as pastor-teachers has to do with Reunion: Reunion with Jesus Christ and with all who are IN CHRIST JESUS through Spirit-birthing! That final review of standing before Jesus at His Bema, His judgement seat, or reviewing stand, will come just before that great Reunion Supper, The Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Jesus, Himself, God's sacrifice Lamb for the sins of the world).

While the Class of '54 has some great people in it, some have left this life. Others may pass on before the Reunion Supper on Friday night. We are not the sustainers of our own breath of life. It is from God. This might be my last note on Facebook. Yet, the final Reunion for me in heaven is one of great anticipation, for I KNOW that many precious people in my life have lived their lives ready for that final review and reunion with other Christ-followers on that final Day. It will be a great reunion with Christ-followers in Heaven.

My nagging thought for my class reunion is this: Has anyone told them the excitement and joy of being fully surrendered to the Lord of Life, Jesus Christ? Has anyone really spoken to them the incredible challenge of giving your Life to someone who is the Author and Creator of Life? Have there been opportunities to see the amazing reality of having Christ as Resident Life within your innermost being? Has there been an encounter with the power of Jesus Christ to BE LIFE within? Have they experienced the lavish love of God through Jesus Christ? If not, I wanted to love them with His extravagant grace and scandalous mercy!

I may have to start writing to my class mates. I may have to put together a book about what I know about Jesus. They must not miss the reality of Jesus as Life to live from. The Presence of Jesus Christ inside our bodies is the amazing "hope" spoken of by the Apostle Paul when He says, "There is a mystery hid from the foundation of the world and it is this: Christ IN YOU, the HOPE OF GLORY!" ( Colossians 1:27 Darlene's partial paraphrase)

No, Christ-followers are not a class of super people. We were quite ordinary "used-to-be"sinners. Some of us thought we were 'saints' and were not like the others who were such 'public' sinners. Actually, I had no clue I was just like the rest of the fallen race of humanity. That reality is what changed my life. When you have a status as a "sinner" which you are unable to alter, you are hopelessly troubled and guilty! It is a divided life! IMpossible to sustain! During high school days I proudly witnessed to people about Jesus and tried to give a testimony of who Jesus was/is. Yet, my evaluation of my own spirituality was full of great pride. I felt I would certainly not do some things I knew some kids were doing. No sireee! Not me!

Some years later, as a young pastor's wife, I realized that I had never seen my sin nature for what it was. I was crushed to admit that I was just another in the long line of sinners who make up the human family! The only problem is that God is the one who give us a pardon from the death penalty for being born sinners. It was the Fall in the Garden that did us all in! It is Adam's sin that plunged us all into the state of being 'sinners.'

My efforts to be good, as noble as I thought they were, were only part of the quest of man to not do evil and to try to do only good. I had not fully trusted in Jesus Christ as Life. I didn't know Him as an internal Resident whose Life was there for me to Live from. I didn't understand that I didn't have to create Him by my good works. He is God Ever-Present IN me.

Now that I know Christ's Life inside of me is the only sinless life, I do not have to keep trying to be "like" Him. His Life is available for me to use as the Source of all my living. That is what's happening at this momet! I am alowing His Spirit to ooze out of me through this writing. . .so as to draw attention to Jesus Christ, rather than to myself. For the words He speaks are Spirit and Life. They will produce desire towards Him. If I sin, He is my advocate before the Father. If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I wanted to be at the Class Reunion to let Jesus "ooze" out of my life into theirs. I want them to be at that final Reunion where we are at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Jesus, God's Lamb). That Reunion is one none of us want to miss!

There's only one way to get there -- God's! He will not announce the date, but all are invited and we are to live in a state of readiness! Washed in the Blood of Jesus Christ, Clothed in His Righteousness, Fulfilling His Great Commission to take the message to everyone on the planet in every generation. . . the legacy of Christ is passed on by Spirit-filled people headed to our Reunion with Jesus in the air.

Some call Christ's appearance in the air, "The Rapture". It is called "catching away" in the New Testament. If you are alive at Christ's coming in air and miss the Rapture, you will certainly also miss the Reunion at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

I pray my classmates know about THAT great REUNION! It is one none of us want to miss. Not if we realize the significance of that eternal moment! Jesus waits for us to respond to His invitation! "Come, the Spirit and the Bride say Come."~~

Fred, I know your prayer won't be a sermon -- but I'd like to be there to dump my heart out to all who are. Blessings!

Note: (For more information about being ready, please send me a message.)

"Tey Twa"! You shouldn't say what you don't understand!

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 07:22:17 GMT

"Tey twa!" said with an index pointed at the subject, was a great way to quiet our girls when our two younger girls were getting a bit out of sorts.

A missionary friend had used it on Diana, our middle daughter, years ago when on a road trip to Branson from Springfield. Diana, a toddler, got fussy. She was geting restless, being cooped up on my lap in the back seat of the car with chatting adults. A bit of repeated whimpering and Margaret simply pointed her index finger at Diana, and quietly but sharply said, "Tey twa!" Startled, Diana was immediately silent!

This was followed by instruction which Margaret gave to her (for my behalf) was this: "Our African mothers do not allow their infants to whimper or fuss like that. They are to be quiet and not to disturb in the presence of adults!" (I got the implication of her statement and quickly continued to calm Diana!)

Since it had been an effective corrective for a fussy child that day, I soon adopted it as a really neat way of quieting our two younger girls in public. Often I would resort to that quiet, direct command "Tey twa" -- my index finger over my lips -- to signal that it was time to shush or to stop the whining. Most of the time it worked.

I had been feeling quite proud of the new-found way to settle the girls, until one day I asked if anyone knew what "Tey twa" (however it is spelled) meant.

To my shock, I was told that it meant "SHUT UP!"

Horrified at such a rude display of manners before others, I stopped instantly! After all, our family had never spoken in such words -- EVER! My parents had not allowed the words, "Shut up!" in our home. . . and certainly never had spoken to my brothers and me in such a way. (That is not to mean that their directives were not corrective, and if necessary had with their words the appropriate actions to halt such actions.) We were disciplined to obey and act appropriately.

They might have said, "Be still!" But NEVER, "Shut up!" Neither did Dan and I use those words with our children.

When I learned that I had been using an African phrase, so blatently rude to the girls, we did laugh about it a lot. But, I have often wondered how many people knew the meaning of the words and looked at me as a very crude woman, rude to her children. I took it as a stunning indictment of my parenting choices. It is one thing in an African culture to use such a command. But to actually use such words in English. No! That is not our way.

Fortunately, our young daughters had not known that I was being rude to them in saying, "Shut up!" They had understood the exact intent of the index finger to the lips and the quiet insistence of my "Tey twa!" and there was not one moment of argument about it. After all, it worked.

Today I see children who disturb public places where families are gathered for lunch or dinner and I want to say to them "Tey twa!" A good sharp rebuke by a parent might bring a quiet calm to the otherwise uncorrected and distrubed child. But, alas, there is no attention given to the screaming or yelling child.

I don't know what African words could be used to speak to the parents, but perhaps there is some Swahili or Zulu way of correcting the parents which I could yell across the room: "Zula bomba!" or some similar sounding rebuke, meaning "Pay attention to your child! He needs your attention! Don't ignore his cries -- we can't! Try settling him down with instruction to be quiet!" Or maybe one SHOULD say, "SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET!" to the child on the parent's behalf. (Not actually in real life, of course! You might get decked or sued or asked to leave the place!) But, someone needs to care for the sake of the child's future!! A fiirm, "SHUT UP!" followed by any necessary action to see it happened would indeed be a most loving act on the parent's part! "Who the Lord loves He chastens!" Some fearful parents need some godly training concerning the love-implications of correcting your disturbing child. (Parents often need to be set free from the prison their children have created!)

Some unruly kids just need my missionary friend, Margaret, around. She could fix the situation . . . calmly!, yet very directly. Her ability to quiet the children would instantly bring quiet to the whole room.

Thank God for Margaret Jones, mother to my long time friend and missionary to Africa herself, Ginny Jones Corbin! Margaret is with Jesus, now. Little did she know how that moment in the back seat of Dad's car would effect our lives.

Mom and Dad, I am sorry to have been so rude to the girls. But in using "Tey twa" it didn't seem like a rude statement to the girls. They didn't know! I didn't know! We do laugh about it now! Interestingly enough, we have been able to take our children anywhere in public without having them throw a fit or scream or be unruly! What incredible kids!

Wait a minute. . . I just remembered our most recent family vacation!! Who was that large family group that took over every restaurant we ate at -- with our loud and raucus laughter and hilarity together -- sounds of love and fun as a family? I think that was us! Even our kids enjoyed it. . . but there was no need for Margaret. She would have been laughing, too! When love erupts in a family it can be rather loud, you know. That's what its like when Jesus is the Lord of the family!

Thank you, Lord. I haven't ever heard our family say, "Shut up!" We have had a respect, even for our children who are tired and out of sorts and refuse to quiet down. We respectfully remove them from the scene and in some out of the way place do our "Tey Twa" adminstration to their fleshy part of the posterior. Silence usually prevails. . . smiles are not far behind the crying! Learning to respect the directives of parents has been a learning experience for each child!

"Spare the rod, spoil the child." Someone gave that directive in a well known book. . .Yes, it was in God's Book!

Spank if you have to, but don't yell "Tey Twa!" Bring up a child in the way she should go and when she is old she will not depart from it. It is amazing, but our grandchildren are incredibly polite children in public. We can take them anywhere. The index finger to the lips is a great way to remind kids when they are getting a bit too loud for the room we are in. They get it! It is often we adults who get out of hand at times.

But then, what a great testimony to the joy and happiness of a loving family who have centered their lives in Jesus Christ. . . prevailing Christ-love does have sounds which are recognizably that of true love and respect for one another. I think the world needs to hear more sounds like this!! What a great family time we have together. Can't wait till next time! ~~

Hurts, Hang-ups and Hallelujahs!

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 19:56:54 GMT

Sitting under the blow dryer, I realized the sounds of grandchildren and friends were wonderful! Lois was working on the recovering hair -- rendered unmanageable by surgery some months ago. Graciously, she gave me time to get healthy again and appear in public with a managed mane. . . all because of her care of my hair. Periodically, she would make her recovery work. She made my hair do what only she knew how to do. I did'nt have a clue how surgery effected the hair strands. She knew I would struggle and she decided to do something to make it easier for me. Thanks to her, I regained control of this daily struggle to organize my hair in as flattering style as possible.

Have you ever been caught in the rain and knew you would die if you saw your hair dresser or barber just at that moment? This can be a social hang-up -- having to appear your best in order to be sociable!

It happened to me yesterday. There is this amazing man in our community which has a master's touch with hair -- Vinnie is his name. He is absolutely a magician at making people look sensational, as much as possible. He trains his personnel so well that the reputation of his salon is one of great renown. Vinnie has been doing my hair for years. Lois is one of his gals at the salon. Lois is also a godly woman who recognized an opportunity to assist while I was recovering from back surgery. The gift Lois gave me is beyond any monetary value I could pay. She came to me, brought her tools and worked on my hair right in my kitchen. When I wasn't going out, she offered to come to me! She brought her gorgeous daughter, Abby, the clean-up artist.

These monthly visits of Lois have brought me through to a place where I am able to manage my hair again. Until recently, I reserved my strength for "have to" things -- husband, home, church and doctor's appointments until this summer. I have been careful to recover my body to full strength before returning to heavy housework, etc. I have been blessed by Lois making possible such a good recovery. She has had the gift of helps and the Holy Spirit prompted her to minister to me in this way. She has done such a great job caring for my hair these months.

What about yesterday (the day before a needed cut and style)? I took our grandchildren to the store to get soccer cleats for one of them. We parked, ran through the rain to get into the store. . . and became a bit more disheveled than ever due to the wet hair.

Just when I was checking out, I spotted Vinnie! My master hairdresser for years! -- the one who sets the standard for all the rest. No I hadn't fixed my hair since the rain. I had not done my face after being out in the rain at the house. I was not dressed in my best. I was fully prepared to quickly purchase the soccer cleats and get back in the car, knowing I was an unknown shopper in the store! I was headed for home! I had seen no one I knew!

NEVERTHELESS, I stood there, for only one moment! I saw our great friend, Vinnie! I had not seen him for months. What a great treat to run into him. My first thought: Hug his neck and greet him enthusiastically!

But, MY HAIR!!! It is typical to have your best customers properly represent your trade and skills in the community. It is good for business!

That thought never entered my mind! My friend was here and I was able to see him again! What a great moment for me! I knew he was as happy to see me as I was to see him. So we greeted each other enthusiastically and exchanged a brief, friendly hug. I introduced our grandchildren (he has done their mother's hair for years at times). We chatted and exchanged a bit of news. We said, "Goodbye".

I then went back to gathering our purchases -- soccer cleats and stuff. Those things were incidental to the moment of seeing Vinnie! Reunion and regaining our close heart-to-heart connection as friends who are in a community of SW Florida -- that was the main thing.

You know, Vinnie is one of my closest friends in our community, really! It is not something advertised to the world. But we have had conversations on a very deep level about many things -- all while he was 'doing' my hair from time to time. My husband and I have appreciated Vinnie and his business in our community.

You see, I remember the first day when my greatest concern for Vinnie was whether He was aware of God's lavish love for him and all who were in his salon. I needed to know. So I simply asked him. He was gracious and courteous as he responded with kindness. So through the years, I have seen Christianity through Vinnie's eyes. It has been a great school for me. I have seen a man with integrity and honesty make choices which cost him dearly. Vinnie has been willing to be a man of courtesy and grace to people of all backgrounds. He has been willing to sacrifice for choices made in business which were not profitable.

Today I realize our encounter yesterday was certainly not one of showing off my hair style or what I was wearing or not wearing. Our encounter was one of two people who have learned to respect each other in the business they are in. . .and are willing to speak honestly and with no reluctance about values which matter and about God who brought them to when they are today. It didn't matter what he thought about my unkept look, it mattered that two friends, absent from each other for a season, were able to see each other again.

Our exchange was very brief. . . but heartwarming. No, I was not proud of the fact of how I looked. But our relationship has been due to spiritual exchanges, not because of style or hairdo discussions. Our friendship has been about things that last beyond this life. . . about what God thinks about things . . . and how perceptions effect opinions -- how our influence in the community is impacted by the choices we make in daily matters.

One day, Jesus will appear suddenly! He will come in the clouds and will call to himself all who are Spirit-born Christ followers, ready for His coming.

It will not matter what clothing you are wearing or if the rain has made you look like you never "did" your hair, ever! Nothing will matter except a relationship you have with Jesus Christ. It will matter how you have responded to God's offer to receive His Son and accept the gift of God-life, a quality of life which cannot be attained to, but only received as a gift from God -- a life that endures and lasts forever. It will matter only that you have been quickened in your spirit, made alive to God by the Holy Spirit and have received the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ -- a gift of God.

Like the sudden encounter with my friend and master hairdresser, Vinnie, my readiness to intersect with his day was only because of friendship, a heart relationship with him. It certainly was not because he was thrilled to see how well I represented him and his skills as a stylist! It is a great illustration of the moment of sudden appearance of Jesus Christ in the air.

Jesus cares only about my being ready for Him! He cares that my heart is eager to see Him. He delights when I am more in love with Him than any one or anything in life. That is what makes it such joy for my husband, Dan, and I to have great hopes for all of our friends in our community to actually join us when Jesus appears in the air.

We have friends from so many churches scattered around SW Florida. We are certain they will share the joy of the "catching away" in the air that day when Jesus appears.

We want all our friends and their coworkers to be ready for that moment. So we continue to speak about Jesus and the lavish love shown us all through His sinless Life and His death on the Cross of Calvary. We are excited to tell about our hope in having Christ in our lives -- His resurrection life which enables us to live in the way God designed us, fulfilling God's purpose for us!

That sudden encounter with Vinnie yesterday was a shock to me when I got home and realized just how awful I looked in the mirror. Sadly, Vinnie saw me at my worst. But friends love at all times.

So God sees us through the lens of His love -- not through our ability to "dress up" this flesh and try to look good! He sees our death to sin and self and our resurrection Life which we have received! He has identified us as a friend -- and He Himself loves us at all times.

The clothing I will wear when Jesus appears in the air are required in order for me to be caught always with Him.

The Bible says that Christ's Church ready for His coming will be robed in spotless white! That is the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Regardless of my outfit for the day, righteousness is a God-given garment which is spiritual clothing which we keep clean by the choices we make at all times. The only thing which will mar or stain the righteousness, the white robe of holiness, is sin. The Blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin. Therefore, I am checking every impulse of my heart to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. If He convicts of sin, I immediately repent and am cleansed and washed through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Keeping the sin from becoming a stain requires an immediate turning from that sin to do just the opposite of sin. Therefore, we are able to present ourselves to our Heavenly Bridegroom in robes of spotless white, like a Bride adorned for her husband.

If you are in Christ's Spirit-birthed throng of people, you are His Bride, His Church ready for His soon return in the air. Hallelujah!

Even so, come Lord Jesus. Maranatha!

Who's talking about Jesus? Choice: HIM or me?

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:59:01 GMT

Who talks about Jesus? Is He or isn't He alive today?

Come to think about it. . . very rarely does anyone talk about Jesus Himself. Usually Christian's blogs are about ourselves. How we have experienced something in a day. What we think about something in life. Where we went to see something special. Our political view or dis-view about the current hot topic.

I'm writing to Christ-followers now: Does He or doesn't He do things which effect our living on earth right now? Is He who so many claim He is? If so, what role does He plan in daily living?

Christians typically attend church on Sunday, the Lord's Day. Sunday is the day the Christian world has responded to Christ's resurrection by gathering together to exalt the name of Jesus and be strengthened by hearing a message from God's Word so lives of worship are lived in harmony with Him. They are encouraged to live as Christ-followers, Jesus' Body at work on earth now!

Since that day when Jesus burst forth out of the grave in resurrection power, alive after being in the grave three days and three nights, the worship of our Lord has been a Sunday event among most Christians. The choice of day has to do with who we have seen Christ to be, the Messiah of God come to reveal what God looks like when housed in human bodies.

Without Jesus and His life as told in the Gospels, we would be unaware of what God-Life looks like INSIDE human flesh. So the more we speak about Jesus' earthly living, the more we understand God's expectation for Christ-followers today.

It is Jesus who demonstrated for us how we are to lie. Jesus showed the watching world how God acts when He lives in human spirits.

So when our lives are lived in the same mode, with the same nature and likeness as Jesus Christ, we are fulfilling God's design for our lives. It is God who is at work in our human living bringing us back to where we have fallen from as human beings.

The fall, that catastrophic event in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve openly defied God's direct instructions on how to occupy the Garden as owners of that domain. They were given the right to life there forever as they lived in harmony and communion with God.

The willful violent disregard for God, their Creator, Almighty and Sovereign Lord over all Creation, was met with an equally violent expulsion from that Garden God created for their pleasure.

We who are Christ's and have His life within us, are now able to respond to God in full reliance upon Him to be God. God in us, Christ in us, our hope of glory.

The God who is in us could perhaps get more blog time than the woes and failures of human living. Perhaps it might alter and change a lot of things if He, not me, were the topic of daily blogging.

If what HE does is so important to Life for me and others, why would I choose to speak of my thoughts rather than His?

Maybe I am not as much in love with Jesus as I think I am. Maybe it is the walk with Him that is most fascinating. . and my experiences that puff me up in speaking about them which intrigue most of all.

Jesus so impacted my life that I have never been the same since then. So, perhaps He, not me, should be the subject.

He came to me in loving acceptance while I was still continuing to sin. Jesus died on the Cross a couple thousand years before my parents ever thought of me. Yet, God's Word makes it clear Jesus took my sin to the cross when He died for the sin of the whole world. Jesus paid my sin penalty before I was old enough to know what disobedience to God really was.

The moment I was born, my parents began to bring me up in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord". They wanted me to experience forgiveness of sins and the power of the Holy Spirit to resurrect me to New Creation Life. They taught me of Jesus daily as they read to our family from the Bible. They lived in such a way that Jesus was a daily household word heard in conversation, prayer and spontaneous verbal praise to Him. The Spirit of the Lord, Jesus Christ, was ever present. He was an unseen guest at our table, acknowledged in the most important prayer over every meal. He was acknowledged as Savior as we left the house for school each day and mother would say, "May the Blood of Jesus Christ protect you today." Or "I put you 'under the Blood'!" What kind of edict is that?

That edict is clearly bringing the reality of Jesus to a child who may not understand the theology of the phrase fully, and the implications of the power of that phrase, but there is clearly a reason for the faith behind those statements.

Jesus was an ever-present Lord God with us at all times, day and night. He was the first thought of a day and the last thought at night. He was the beginning and end of all things when counsel was taken concerning major decisions in life. Our home was a Christ-filled home.

It was not just the words of my parent's mouths, but the very nature of their lives which demonstrated Christ to us. Their emotional life showed that their minds were fixed on God and they were trusting His Life to be the Life they lived.

To this day, I do not recall my parents ever speaking about being depressed or unable to overcome whatever came their way. Always they were trusting Jesus to see them through. In fact, I don't recall their ever being in conversation about any physical or mental anguish about things. They were the furthest thing from needing counseling of anyone I know. They were living in relationship with the Living God and He was more than enough for every assignment which they were given. They weren't trying to figure out how to live and be happy. They were happy to be living to obey the commands of Jesus Christ. They were busy caring for the congregation which gathered Sunday to hear the message which God had given for the day. They were fully engaged in everything Jesus had commissioned them to be and do.

Actually, sinning was not a part of the expectation in our home. It was an exception to the rule. We did not live with a consciousness of our parents habitual sinning and failure. They were living in the habitual triumph of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to be living witnesses of the Resurrected Christ. They demonstrated how to live in holiness and righteousness and enjoy it in the process. They were living examples of discipleship without hang-ups.

I would be interested to know if my brothers saw any hang-ups in my parents. I don't see it now and this is the first time I ever thought about it. They were not into anything which was not of God or did not reveal Jesus to others. They lived Christ-like (not copies) lives. . . the real thing!

If Jesus was that real to my parents, why would He be any less real in my life?

"Christ in you, the hope of glory" is from the Bible, Colossians 1:27. That verse is a statement which applies to every person who is a true Spirit-born and Christ-infused believer. It is not possible to have God resident inside human bodies without something happening which is recognizable on the outside as well as the inside.

Or is it?

Could it be that this is the most crippling of all things: to have Christ in your body and not allow His Spirit to be the ruling Lord of all of your living?

If the war between spirit and flesh is so great, why? Paul said finally, "Thank God, the Spirit of LIfe in Jesus Christ has put to death the . . .

Well, let's just read THE MESSAGE version from Romans 8:

Romans 8 (The Message)

The Solution Is Life on God's Terms
^1-2With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.
^3-4God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.
The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn't deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.
^5-8Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored.
^9-11But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!
^12-14So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!"

Jesus, I'm talking about You from now on! What a story to tell! You are so amazing!~ ~

Reunion News - Columbus High '54. . .

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:20:08 GMT

Event coming up: '54 Class Reunion, Columbus High School, Columbus, NE (formerly Kramer High School)

The year was 1954. The place: Columbus, NE. The event: Graduation from High School for Darlene Beem, daughter of Pastor and Mrs. C.T. Beem, First Assembly of God Church.

Race ahead to 2009, 55 years later! (The pace was not always a race, actually. There were times when the seasons were a grind!) Yet, what an incredible story to take to reunion. The one that was and won't be for me. (I just cancelled my flight reservations!)

Clever voices finally got through: "This is not the time for you! You have taken all we can give. . .and for now, we have no more to share." (Those were my body parts speaking.) Having traveled over 5,000 miles in the car just the past two months and attending conventions and camps and a family reunion, my body said, "Nuf!"

The news is this: There were some pretty amazing people in my Class of '54! They are the generation of steady plodders who kept at life and hung in there, knowing it would be hard work and a steady plodding to come to this point in life with everything in place! I wanted to hear their stories!

Actually, there may not be so many who made it all this far without some major adjustments in life. I was so looking forward to seeing the results of our years as people from the Midwest culture back then.

Here I am, now living with Dan in the deep South of the USA. Yet, we are so multicultural here that it is not a typical place with a predominant ruling culture. The melting pot of America has become the way of SW Florida. What a lovely mix we are!

As for Columbus, NE, in the Cornhusker State, it was my home during the high school years. Just before graduation, my parents moved to Springfield, MO. I was able to finish my senior year there, due to a couple very gracious families who allowed me to stay with them the last month or so. My father resigned the church to accept a position in the Radio Department at the national headquarters of our church, in Springfield, MO. He lived there until he died. It was there I met my husband while attending our local church, Central Assembly of God.

The Reunion will be lovely. The chatting will be intense. Those who can travel will make their way to that quiet Midwest town. For a couple days, the town will be invaded by some very special people, my classmates.

I wonder what life would be like in the USA had our class not ever been born? Would things be less then they are? Have we made a difference in the nation we live in, or the world.

I would like to know.

This one thing I know: Having married Danny Betzer in July 1956, I was introduced to a man that would make a difference in the nation and in the world. For this I am so very grateful. To God be all the glory!

One day, at the Judgment Seat of Christ (the final reviewing stand for all who are true, Spirit-born Christ-followers) we will really know if our lives have been of value for all eternity, or whether we lived for ourselves and everything vanished with the passing into eternity!

Only what Christ does through us will last beyond life on earth!

I will never know in this life the impact of our Class of "54. But I do wonder how many of my classmates will be present before Jesus, our Savior, and on that day, our Righteous Judge.

He will say to all who are IN HIM, to all who are faithful to Him: "Well done, faithful servant. Enter into the joys of your Lord." Oh, I do so want to see Jesus and look upon His face. I want to hear His voice saying -- "Come on in! I've been waiting for you. You let me live in and through you all your days! You brought glory to me through your life all your days. You turned to me for forgiveness when you sinned. You accepted the cleansing blood which washed and made you whole again. You received the Holy Spirit as the One who enabled you to do all I commanded you. You loved my Word, the Bible, and studied diligently to know Me and My ways. You allowed me to reveal myself to you as you were intent on our communion in union with one another. You are eager to speak of me and unafraid to tell others about me. You did not leave Me as Your first love. You obeyed my every command and carried out my purpose and design for your life -- fully and completely, down to every last detail."

That is what I want to hear. I wonder what He will actually say on "That Day".

As for the Reunionwhich will go on without me, I wanted to be able to let my classmates see the joy of being Christ's and have an opportunity to hear about their exploits in life -- to see if there was anything I could learn from them. I knew I had something to bring to the moment -- the Presence of Christ in my life! He is ALWAYS Life-giving and loving in His Presence. He always comforts and heals and brings blessings to everyone who will allow Him to love them lavishly. Sometimes the best Love-gift a Christ-follower can give people is to listen attentively to what they have to say and wait for the moment of response. That is the moment Christ speaks Life into them. His words are Spirit and Life. I wanted to deposit His Love-Gifts into their hearts! I wanted to be a verbal witness of Jesus Christ!

Any link to these lives is a passageway to hearts with aspirations and longings. I pray their lives have been fulfilling and completely wonderful. But, life is not always wonderful. We pass through places where life is hard and painful. We have triumphs and failures. We may never know the fullfillment of aspirations, but we never give up trying. As for my story: There is a hand which leads me, a voice to guide me, a Savior to rescue me from self-serving choices. There is a Lord who has brought me through to become more than I could ever dream, by simply giving over my life to be Christ's. In the hands of the Savior, the blessings of obedience have brought me to people around the world from nations and places which were beyond my dreams. God enlarged and expanded my life beyond all hope! I wanted to tell of God's goodnesses to us, Dan and me and to our family and the church family to which we have been called by our Lord, the Great Shepherd!

From Bonesteel, South Dakota, a tiny rural village in the farmlands of the Midwest, to the beautiful Gulf Coast community of Fort Myers, FL, my life has been full of amazing privileges. More than places and sites seen which have been incredible are the amazing people now present in our lives.

First Assembly, where we give our lives to the Lord, is full of the most amazing people on the planet! They are people willing to go beyond themselves and their personal interests to become the people God uses for His purposes! They are people who are willing to sacrifice their own ambitions for Christ's call to! They are people who have heard the voice of the Lord and have said, "Here am I, send me!" They are people who are ready for everything God desires to do in using them to expand the Kingdom of God on earth. They are not self-determined people, but God-led people. They are ordinary citizens of this world, yet they have become extraordinary in their expectations in life. . . knowing that they are chosen by God to do mighty exploits in Jesus' name. They are full of love and overflow with His Life. They are clearly wise in their ways, having abandoned the empty ways of the godless world. They are clearly a chosen people of God who are willing for God to continue to use them as He desires. They are a worshiping people who honor Jesus in their daily living in every possible way. They are willing to speak of the amazing wonders of God's grace shown them in Jesus Christ. They are clearly able to love others because the love of God has been imparted to them by the HOly Spirit. They are quick to see the need in the lives of others and do everything possible to meet that need through Jesus Christ. They are giving and sharing people. . . not hoarders of material wealth. They can be trusted to pass on that which God gives them so others may also be blessed by God's lavish outpouring upon them. He is developing a people He can trust to do the very works of Jesus Christ among people of all backgrounds around the world. Our home town has become a place where people of all nations are coming to us. We have so much to give them. God is blessing our region. We have lost a lot of monetary worth, but the riches we have in our area are of more value than what money can produce.

I would have liked for our Class to catch a glimpse of these extraordinary people -- to give another perspective of life. I would have liked to have heard their worldview and their life stories and seen their pictures. . .and become friends again with some I did not remember through the years.

But, in leaving this opportunity to others, I can see that it is wonderful to be here with these precious people we love so much. . . and perhaps some in our class will make a trip to tropical SW Florida in the winter when the snow blows across the plains of Nebraska and piles up against the garage and the front steps of the parsonage of our church and makes it necessary for school kids to walk in the middle of the street "all the way uphill" to school.

Maybe memories will lie down for the night. . .and I will return to sleep again. For now, the question is this: how many of them know the lavish love of God in their lives -- a love so amazing, so fulfilling, a love so compelling and totally satisfying. Jesus is absolutely glorious in His Presence in our lives . . . I just want to be sure nobody misses out on the best life has to offer! ~~

Marriage - the Cultural Pix of Christ's Love

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:28:53 GMT

Left: A lovely moment in Bend, Or with my husband at an outdoor cafe~!

I have lived in two marriages -- my parents and ours. My husband and I have been blessed by parents who loved each other. We saw one of our parent's marriage fail and the other endure. It is the enduring to the end in marriages which the culture needs to see.

It is an amazing privilege to know Christ's love for the Church is an illustration of men in marriage -- God's way! (Ephesians 5) What greater lesson for newly married husbands!

The Church's submission in love to Christ is the picture of the wife's yieldedness to the headship of her husband's responsibility to love her as Christ loves the Church. (This was such a help to me learning to yield in love!)

MARRIAGE IS TO BE THE PICTURE OF CHRIST'S LOVE FOR THE CHURCH AND THE CHURCH'S SUBMISSION TO CHRIST. (NO DISTORTIONS, PLEASE!)

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know this illustration is missing in our culture! The picture of Christ giving His Life on Calvary as an illustration of Christ as the Head of the Church in a covenant relationship is for all to see. God intended that everyone see this illustration in Christian marriages. The Biblical principle is found in Ephesians in the Bible, Chapter 5. Christian marriage is, to the culture, a testimony of the fact of Christ being Son of God, Lover of all mankind, seeking His Bride and bringing Her, the Church to the full provision of His love -- now and forever!

Husbands are to love their wives like Christ loved the church. Jesus Christ is now living at the right hand of the Father in heave to make possible our lives of glory unto Him.

Husbands and wives have a vivid picture in Ephesians 5 of how it works. Wives are to yield to their husbands in the same way the Church yields to Christ as head. It is a love thing, not a legal thing.

So for me, living in a great marriage now does not mean it has always been a fairyland existence. It simply means that two people who are Christ-followers have found God's way works in life! The journey is what makes you turn to God and learn how to be His and how to be holy in the process.

There is only one Holy One in the universe-- only One who is sinless and flawless in every way. With His saving Life imparted to we sinners at our New Creation Birth, we are then infused with the Spirit of the Person of God -- Jesus Christ -- who comes to live in us in order that His holiness and purity and Life will permeate every part of our being. This revelation of Christ as indwelling Lord is life changing. Marriage is the great arena of opportunity for self to be put to death and Christ to become Lord.

Our godless world culture desperately needs an infusion of young, vibrant godly marriages by young people passionately in love with Jesus Christ, following His commands and delighting in passing their Christ-love and Christ-living to their children and grandchildren. Our communities are desperate for demonstrations of Christ-designed marriages!

In the culture a community where Christ is Lord, you will see the glory of home and family bringing national morality and peace and goodness to the next generation. God has not changed, but His people must! The world waits for Someone who can produce what the human heart was created to know: Peace with God and with man and with mate and family!! The generations living now are looking for a cure for the chaos and emptiness. It is Present in Jesus Christ -- and in His people who live as He has designed and purposed us to live.

Christ is never a disappointment! Man will disappoint, not God! We have a lot to learn, don't you think! I know I do! But what I know has changed my life and our marriage and home! We are a work in progress in the details. . . but Christ is Lord and we are thrilled to be His! ~

Believing a lie

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:46:04 GMT

The irrationality of unbelief is mind boggling!

Yet, taking time to browse a few blogs of nonbelievers of any persuasion is good for a mature believer. Having come to quiet confidence in God, it is no longer necessary to prove others wrong. But it is amazing to realize how few people have encountered Christ Himself. So far, no atheist I have read has said anything of substance to demean Jesus Himself. It is the followers of Jesus who are ridiculed and maligned. Something is missing in the display of Christ's Life through those who claim to be His followers.

Believing God requires faith in demonstrated and substantiated facts of life.

It takes more reverse-faith to believe a lie and use that lie as the foundation for logic!

Even so, hatred of unbelievers is the sin of believers who have come to believe the lie that God's only attribute is lavish love. God's justice requires that the sin of pride be properly dealt with. Is it not more pleasant to be with an avowed agnostic than a proud and arrogant religious person!

The justice of God demands that those who are reconciled to Him through faith in Jesus Christ be responsible to properly represent Him to the godless watching world. God has chosen to use people to demonstrate the need for redemption. The redeemed ones are infused with the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ. Learning to release His Life is a matter of reconciliation with God on every level of living. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us into harmonious relationship with God as New Creations in Christ Jesus. The Life of Christ within must be released! Receiving Jesus Christ is one thing. Releasing His Life is another!

Embracing Christ as the Life of God in human flesh, crucified, buried and resurrected, I have found God's Word to be true and His Way to be logical and completely worthy of trust. Truth is personified in Jesus Christ, bringing evidence of God's intention for people to live as He lived. More than the miracles of Jesus are the stories of His Divine nature evidenced in Scripture. It is Christ's sinless Life which gives hope to one who cannot keep from the arrogance of self-determined destiny, rather than that of God's design for living.

God has chosen to use people who are recipients of His redemption to display the Spirit and nature of Jesus Christ? The contrast of natures in a true Christ-follower may be evidenced in moments of immature life-response. But, God's Spirit is constantly performing the work of restoring the image of Christ to full likeness in a true believer and Christ-follower.

"Christ in you, the hope of glory" may define the dynamic of life which operates in a Christ-follower. But, unless Christ-indwellers have a handle on God's justice, there is certain to be little awe of God, little humility of spirit, and even less evidence for non-believers who need to see something that resembles the nature of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul, a convert to Jesus Christ, said to his disciples, "Follow me as I follow Christ."

Jesus Christ said to His disciples, "As the Father has sent me, so send I you." This certainly implies that His way of Life, recorded for us in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, is the pattern for our life purpose or design. Absorbing the message of those books about Jesus's life and ministry, we begin to feel the vast difference between our natural instincts towards others and that of Jesus Christ.

Once we have been born again by the Spirit of God, we live with the expectation of obeying Christ's commands. We realize His Cross was our means of escape from the impossibility of emulating Jesus! Dying to self and to our sin nature, we receive His nature and learn to allow our New Christ-Life, our spirit-life to dominate all the rest of our living! The process brings maturity to Christ-followers -- God's picture of Jesus to the watching godless world.

It only takes one moment of failure to release Christ's Life in a power encounter -- that conflict of worldviews -- to demonstrate the difference between Jesus' sinless life and the errant life of a Christ-follower.

That is why we always say, "Follow Christ! He will never fail!"

We may say, "Follow me as I follow Christ" as did the Apostle Paul, yet in that moment of failure, we must then be quick to say, "That was not Christ you saw just now! Forgive me, I failed you . . . and HIM!"

Humility of spirit marks the Christ-follower! He alone is Lord! If there is any glory in me, it is Jesus! He knows what I would be without His life within -- His saving Life!

Colossians 1:27 -- "Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." NASB (New American Standard Bible)

The Creator became my Savior and the very Life from which I now live. All imperfection rests in me! All Christ-likeness is in Him! I humbly offer to you the testimony and witness that Jesus Christ's story makes more sense to me than to disbelieve what is the most rational and logical account of life's origin and continuation for all eternity.

GOD, the One with no beginning or end, became human in order to buy back fallen man. He did it with His own blood, the blood of Jesus, the Christ of God. To this reality I have become a slave -- a love slave. Out of love, not out of attempting to prove you wrong, I appeal to the very nature of God, His design of your humanity, to allow His Presence to infiltrate your thoughts and ideas. He will entice you to Himself . . . and perhaps you will see the majesty and glory of God in Christ. If so, you will never be the same again!

So much for CHANGE! Says who?

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:04:56 GMT

The word for this season internationally seems to be "CHANGE!"

The grappling of this idea is the text that fills the front pages and blogs and FaceBook and Twitter. . . everyone has a differing agenda for the desired CHANGE.

The old school says that the CHANGE offered is only reworked old failed ideas.

The new guys on the block say that CHANGE is CHANGE. It is a new era and these are new ideas, none the less.

We came home from a trip recently to potted flowers that are dying due to two things: lack of rain and the fact that they are annuals intended to live for a season and then die. In order for the flourishing of those pots there will have to be a change of three things: potting soil, new plants and sustained water supply. Since this is the rainy season, they should thrive once we get the soil and new plants in place. Beauty will take the place of dead leaves. CHANGE~!

As for the political scene in our nation, I honor the office of our leadership and pray daily for their success in seeking wisdom from people who honor God, the Almighty Sovereign Ruler over all. I pray we will be a nation of people who honor God and turn to Him to lead us and guide us. For in God alone do we trust. In Him alone is their hope of future victory and triumph for the USA. We are keepers of the world's nations -- givers of freedom and life to those who have no hope. We bring to nations the awareness of a hope in God which has been the guiding light for nations who have triumphed in the past. Those who turn from Him are sure to fail. But for the remnant who serve God, our nation would be without hope today. We are in need of repentance for our sins which have become legal and binding. God turn our hearts to Him and His Word and to things that please Him.

May God save America and bring CHANGE to our hearts -- the CHANGE that God desires in people and in leaders.

God, please save us and turn our thoughts to You moment by moment so that you might find our lives to be noble and courageous in serving You, our Sovereign Lord over all. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. In You alone do we trust. Amen!