THE MASTERS LIST Dean W. Masters

Dean Masters
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…
Matthew 5:44

Perhaps the most difficult of Jesus’ commands is to love even our enemies. A
true Christian always seeks another person’s highest good—even when
mistreated.
Brother Andrew says “The Christian’s only method of destroying his enemies
is to ‘love’ them into being his friends.”

Romanian pastor, Dr. Paul Negrut, was visiting an old friend in Romania
named Trian Dors in his humble home. As Paul entered, he realized that Trian
wasbbleeding from open wounds. He asked, “What happened?”

Trian replied, “The secret police just left my home. They came and
confiscated my manuscripts. Then they beat me.”

Pastor Paul says, “I began to complain about the heavy tactics of the secret
police. But Trian stopped me saying, ‘Brother Paul, it is so sweet to suffer
for Jesus. God didn’t bring us together tonight to complain but to praise
him. Let’s kneel down and pray.”

“He knelt and began praying for the secret police. He asked God to bless
them and save them. He told God how much he loved them. He said, ‘God, if
they
will come back in the next few days, I pray that you will prepare me to
minister to them.’” Paul continued, “By this time I was ashamed. I thought I
had
been living the most difficult life in Romania for the Lord. And I was
bitter about that.”

Trian Dors then shared with Paul how the secret police had been coming to
his home regularly for several years. They beat him twice every week. They
confiscated
all his papers. After the beating he would talk to the officer in charge.
Trian would look into his eyes and say, “Mister, I love you. And I want you
to
know that if our next meeting is before the judgement throne of God, you
will not go to hell because I hate you but because you rejected love.” Trian
would
repeat these words after every beating.

Years later that officer came alone to his home one night. Trian prepared
himself for another beating. But the officer spoke kindly and said, “Mr.
Dors,
the next time we meet will be before the judgement throne of God. I came
tonight to apologize for what I did to you and to tell you that your love
moved
my heart. I have asked Christ to save me. But two days ago the doctor
discovered that I have a very severe case of cancer and I have only a few
weeks to
live before I go to be with God. I came tonight to tell you that we will be
together on the other side.”

RESPONSE: Today I will destroy my enemies only with love.

PRAYER: God give me Your kind of love for my enemies—so they too will love
You.
Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS)
A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission
"Walking in Grace"

Sweet Savor
In the beginning of the book of Leviticus there are instructions for 
sacrifices. At the end of all of these is a phrase similar to the following:

Leviticus 1:9 (KJV)
9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall 
burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of 
a sweet savour unto the LORD.

What is this sweet savor or sweet aroma? We are not talking about the smell 
of steaks grilling in a barbecue. These were burnt sacrifices. That would 
not have a very pleasing smell, would it? So what is the sweet savor 
mentioned all these times? It is obedience.

We see later in the same book what happened because of obedience and 
disobedience:

Leviticus 9:22-10:3 (NCV)
22 Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. When he 
had finished offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the 
fellowship offering, he stepped down from the altar. 23 Moses and Aaron went 
into the Meeting Tent. Then they came out and blessed the people, and the 
LORD’s glory came to all the people. 24 Fire came out from the LORD and 
burned up the burnt offering and fat on the altar. When the people saw this, 
they shouted with joy and bowed facedown on the ground. 1 Aaron’s sons Nadab 
and Abihu took their pans for burning incense, put fire in them, and added 
incense; but they did not use the special fire Moses had commanded them to 
use in the presence of the LORD. 2 So fire came down from the LORD and 
destroyed Nadab and Abihu, and they died in front of the LORD. 3 Then Moses 
said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD was speaking about when he said, ‘I 
must be respected as holy by those who come near me; before all the people I 
must be given honor.’ ” So Aaron did not say anything about the death of his 
sons.

After all the sacrifices had been made just as God had commanded, His glory 
came down and shone on all the people. Then His fire came down and burnt up 
what was on the altar.

We don’t know why Nadab and Abihu didn’t follow God’s commands that Moses 
gave them. They didn’t and had to pay the consequences of being struck dead 
on the spot. God is holy and expects to be honored by His people by their 
obedience.

Jesus Christ paid the supreme sacrifice on the cross and there will be no 
more animal
sacrifices needed. All you must do is surrender your life to Jesus Christ. 
If you belong to Jesus Christ, you are under grace and not the law. We can 
repent and receive forgiveness for our sins. But God still wants our 
obedience. We don’t have to worry about whether we are following the letter 
of the law as found in the Bible but the Holy Spirit empowers us and the 
love of Jesus Christ compels us to be obedient.

God still wants us to treat Him as holy. He always has been and always will 
be holy but in this day and time it seems like we have gotten away from that 
aspect of God. Do you treat Him as holy? Is there anything you do that does 
not bring honor to Him? Is there anything that you do that brings honor to 
yourself when it should bring the honor to God? May your life be a sweet 
savor to God

By Dean W. Masters
Owner of the Master's List.
Unedited redistribution approved

The Basis for Discernment

Hebrews 4:12-13

Since spiritual discernment is the ability to see life from God's 
perspective, it requires that we know how He thinks and acts. The Bible is 
His unchanging, infallible revelation of Himself. However, the Lord doesn't 
simply give us a list of facts about His character and ways. All throughout 
the pages of Scripture, He illustrates who He is and how He operates.

Although the Bible is ancient, it's not a dead book. It's alive and as fresh 
as if He were speaking directly to you. The stories may have taken place 
centuries ago, but the principles and applications are current and relevant. 
It's our instruction book about how to live. Guidance for decisions and 
discernment about situations are found from Genesis to Revelation.

God's Word is active and piercing. The words don't simply sit on the page. 
They penetrate our hearts and judge our thoughts and motives. This 
convicting quality is why some people don't like to read the Bible. But 
self-discernment is essential if we don't want to keep making the same 
mistakes over and over again. Some Christians live on a surface level, never 
understanding why they react to situations the way they do. But if we'll 
approach the Word of God with an open spirit, it will bring to light
our hidden motives and reveal unrecognized sins.

Spiritual discernment involves seeing not just our circumstances but also 
ourselves from God's perspective. Have you learned to embrace the piercing 
sword of Scripture, or have you avoided doing so because it makes you 
uncomfortable? Remember, God's Word cuts only so that it can heal.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please 
visit www.intouch.org.

Used with permission from In Touch Ministries, Inc. © 2009 All Rights 
Reserved.

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - A Word With You
A Word With You
Daily Devotional
Cutting You Off to Bring You Down - #6924

The Bible is the only book God ever wrote, and He wrote it for you. Spend 
more time each day meditating on scripture by receiving daily text messages 
of
scripture on your mobile phone.

Text the word DAILY to 69302 to subscribe to daily scripture text messages. 
(Standard messaging rates may apply)

My wife and I took a trip to the mountains and, in a way, to her childhood. 
We visited an old Smokey Mountain community that the Park Service preserved
over the years. It's called Cades Cove. It used to be inhabited by a lot of 
mountain folk. Now, my wife grew up in a Yankee family who lived in the 
Ozarks
on a farm. So she experienced both.

She recognized a lot of the customs when we went to Cades Cove, and the 
terminology, and the lifestyle. Oh, they were new to me; they weren't new to 
her.
I kind of chuckled when they talked about clearing farmland by "girdling" ; 
the trees. City boy! Now, listen, if you let your imagination run, you could
get a pretty humorous image of a girdled tree. But, actually, that process 
was an example of old mountain wisdom. Here's this huge tree, and the shade
is keeping anything from growing around it. It's got to come down if you're 
going to farm there. But it's so thick it would be very, very difficult to
chop down.

The old mountaineers would go around the tree with an ax and chop one line 
through the bark. Here was this big tree with a ring from chipping all 
around
the trunk with an ax. You'd think, "Oh, that won't hurt the tree." But, they 
had girdled the tree. That would eventually cause all the leaves to fall 
off,
it would cause the tree to die, and it would be relatively easy then to take 
it down. That little cut simply cut off the route for the nourishment to get
to the rest of the tree. You know, that might be the best way to bring you 
down too.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Cutting 
You Off to Bring You Down."

Our word for today from the Word of God; we are in the very first Psalm. 
I'll begin reading at verse 1. Notice there's a tree in here. "Blessed is 
the
man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of 
sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the
Lord, and on His Law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted 
by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does 
not
wither. Whatever he does prospers."

This tells us how to be a deeply rooted child of God. Don't you want to be 
strong and consistent? Don't you want to be (here comes a word) 
"un-bring- downable? "
I want to be un-bring-downable! Now, if the Devil wants you to fall like a 
big, old tree, and he does, he may know that a direct attack coming at you 
swinging
his ax would fail, because if you saw that coming, you'd fight back. You 
would see a direct devilish attempt to try to bring you down.

I think what he wants to do is wear you down with little compromises; little 
nicks in your bark where first of all you just walk around in some wrong 
stuff.
You don't plan to stay in it. And then like the Psalm says, you sort of 
stand still with it; you get a little more compromised. And finally you're 
sitting
in it. See, he just wants you to think wrong right now, to watch or listen 
to something that's wrong, to become tolerant of what you once would never 
have
allowed in your life--those little nicks in the bark that are setting you up 
for a big fall.

Secondly, he wants to cut you off from the nourishment. See, your 
nourishment is meditating in God's Word day and night. Have you noticed a 
slow drift
lately from being in God's Word? One day becomes two, and three, and maybe 
your Bible's started getting a little dusty. Jesus is missing you. The time
you do have with Him is dry and then less frequent. Prayer has become 
predictable and flat. Don't you see what's happening? The Devil is trying to 
cut
you off to bring you down. Don't let slow decay take away the life you have 
in Christ.

See, if you're rooted daily in God's Word; if you don't let anything 
interrupt that flow of nourishment and if you're fighting the little 
compromises,
you're a rooted tree, and you are not coming down!
Creative Commons License
© Ronald P. Hutchcraft • Distributed by Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.
"A Word With You" by Ronald P. Hutchcraft is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial- No Derivative Works 3.0 United 
States License.
Based on a work at www.Hutchcraft. com/A-Word- With-You.
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc. · PO Box 400 · Harrison, Arkansas 72601

THE PEACEMAKERS
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:9

With the possession of a meek spirit, we are equipped to step into the midst 
of conflict and be ambassadors “waging peace” that passes all understanding.
The richness of the New Testament word “peace” describes a condition of 
perfect and complete positive well-being. It also describes right 
relationships—intimate
fellowship and goodwill between human beings. Peace comes not from avoiding 
issues but from facing them, making peace even when the way is through 
trouble.

Blessed are those peacemakers who produce right relationships in every 
sphere of life, for they are doing a God-like work.

Such actions may involve laying down one’s life, like Jesus did, in order to 
reconcile men with God and break down barriers among men (
Galatians 3:26-29).
Are we willing to pay the price so that others might find peace with God? 
Are we willing to insist that all should hear the Gospel and believe? In 
some
conflict areas of the world, Christians call this “waging peace.”

Our brothers and sisters in Israel and the West Bank—where “peace” is sought 
but very evasive—remind us that Jesus’ high moral teaching is that we should
not resist evil with evil (
Matthew 5:39).
Jesus is calling His followers not to respond in kind to the acts of 
injustice and dehumanization directed against them, but rather to respond 
with transforming
initiatives. This unique perspective that He teaches contrasts with the 
“fight or flight” responses so deeply conditioned in human beings.

Dr. Salim Munayer is a wonderful example of such a peacemaker. The 
organization he founded takes groups of Christian Palestinians and Israelis 
on trips
to the desert where they must work together in a situation that breaks down 
barriers and promotes trust relationships. Brother Andrew comments that this
ministry doesn’t “just talk about the problem between Palestinians and Jews. 
It brings the two sides together and provides the means for them to 
reconcile.”

“Waging peace” involves: promoting love not hate; fostering unity among 
brethren; being a witness of a higher kingdom; and following the 
non-violence example
of Jesus.

RESPONSE: Today I will be proactive and “wage peace” in my sphere of 
influence.

PRAYER: Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. May I counter hatred with 
love and injury with forgiveness today.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS)
A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission

From: Dean Masters  
Subject: [masterslist] Update
Greetings!

I know you wern't expecting to hear from me so soon and I was not expecting  to be home so soon.

While I was being prepped today my doctor came in to talk to me. He had 
discussed me with my regular cardiologist. the guy who was there talking to 
me had put a three lead pacemaker in my mother last year but it was not 
because of any electrical problem like I have. so he is wondering if a weak 
heart is genetic. so he didn't know if just adding the third wire would 
strenghten my heart. he did believe it would help in some ways but the heart

could continue to get weaker. And if it did he would then have to go in and 
put in a defibulator. so I told him while he was working to go ahead and do 
that. That would mean him running two wires for a total of four wire.

then he said they would have to run some dye to see if the vein was open. He

said something the vein clogs or collapses when wires from one pacemaker is 
put in. so he asked if he could put it on the left side if the right side 
was too clogged to get in. So I gave approval. I don't know why they 
couldln' t couldn't have done these tests beforehand to know what might 
happen. It turned out both veins or arteries were clogged. One was clogged 
or twisted or something and spider veins had grown from the part before the 
clog to the herat heart so blood could get to the heart.

So I have incisions on both chests but no new pacemakers. Surgery was 
supposed to take 90 minutes but I think it took about 4 hours. when I woke 
up around 4 this afternoon I got a sandwich and some diced peaches. Then I 
got to leave there at 7.

My doc said he knew a doctgor in Knoxville which is 100 miles away who uses 
a laser to clear out arteries. Their office called our house while I was 
stilll at the hostpital. so I will have to call them next week and hopefully

schedule just one trip down there and get this out of the way. This has 
gone on long enough.

I still plan on taking this weekend away from the PC but wanted to update 
everyone.
Dean

SPIRITUAL WARFARE TACTICS

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against
the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12

A Filipino pastor, who is a former Muslim, lives on the island of Mindanao
in the southern Philippines. He was a notorious gang leader and spent years
in prison for robbery and murder. But there in prison he met Jesus Christ.

After his release, he was so effective in leading Muslims to Jesus back home
in Mindanao that Muslim extremists in his area kidnapped his
fourteen-year- old
daughter. They would only return her, he was told, if he stopped preaching
about Jesus and returned to Islam.

He and his wife prayed intensely about this and felt they could not give in
to this blackmail. He continued to preach faithfully for three years with no
definite news about his little girl.

He concludes, “Despite the terrible things they have done to my daughter, I
fear no one but God alone! Pray for my daughter and that I will continue to
preach Christ.”

Three years later, he received a letter from his daughter. She shared with
her parents that she had been sold into prostitution in neighbouring East
Malaysia.
But God had helped her escape. She was then taken in by a sympathetic
Malaysian family and hidden for her safety. And then she fell in love with a
young
man and married him. She and her parents planned to visit together in a safe
place.

Spiritual warfare is the cosmic conflict that rages between the kingdom of
God and the kingdom of Satan. Remember we are not talking about two equal
kingdoms
battling-it- out for victory. Satan is only a created being. Christ has all
authority and power. Satan's power was broken at the cross. The Apostle Paul
records for us in
Colossians 2:15,
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle
of them, triumphing over them by the cross. So the only power Satan has
today
is the power to deceive the people of the world - to blind them from seeing
the glory of God (
2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

Satan’s primary strategy is to divide and conquer. His key tactics include
accusation, deception, and the interruption of our relationships with the
Father
and with each other. He is actively leading mankind to defile the land,
which is God’s, in order to keep humanity in darkness. This is one reason
unity
in the Body of Christ is so critical for the fulfillment of the Great
Commission.

Why would someone lost in the chaos of the world want to be part of a
fellowship of people that is disorderly, dysfunctional, and even
destructive? The
Church of Jesus Christ must be ruled by love. We must be a refuge, a place
of safety!

RESPONSE: I will be alert to Satan’s spiritual warfare tactics today without
getting distracted from the Lord’s primary ministry directions.

PRAYER: Pray for witnessing brothers and sisters on the frontlines who
experience Satan’s greatest fury.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS)
A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks

© 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission

Posted by: "Nathaniel Schmidt"
Let me know if you think this particular email is too "political&quo t; and I'll
be more careful which ones of these I send. Found this interesting though:
it's about Isaiah 17:
May 31st, 2013

This week on 'The Hal Lindsey Report'

In 55 years of prophetic ministry, I have never uttered the words: "Israel
has bombed Damascus" - until May of 2013. Three weeks ago, for the first
time, Israel struck targets inside the city of Damascus. The airstrikes were
part of an effort to keep missiles and chemical weapons out of the hands of
two groups: Hezbollah, who is fighting on the side of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad, and al-Qaeda, who is leading the fight against him.

Why is this important? Because the prophet Isaiah predicted that in the last
days Damascus would be laid waste and never inhabited again. He specified
three important points in Isaiah 17. First, the entire city will become a
"fallen heap of ruins." In other words, totally destroyed. Second, it will
never be re-inhabited or rebuilt. Third, this destruction will happen
suddenly. In fact, during the darkness of one night.

Now, when Isaiah wrote these words, the sword was probably the most advanced
weapon that men wielded. The weaponry capable of laying waste to a massive
city in the course of a few hours was uninvented - even unimagined.

In those times, when invaders conquered a city - and destroyed it - they
usually just built a new one on the ruins. Yet this ancient prophet
described an event and a result that could only be accomplished by the use
of nuclear weapons - even to the fact that nuclear contamination would
prevent the use of that area ever again.

As I've noted before, Damascus is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in
the world that has never been totally destroyed. That means that Isaiah's
prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. In fact, it is the only end-times prophecy
- outside the ones concerning the seven-year Tribulation and its end with
Christ's return to set up the millennial kingdom - that remains unfulfilled.

So why bring this up now? Well, as I said in the beginning, this month
Israel's air force struck targets inside the city of Damascus. The fact that
Israel was willing to take such a risk indicates the gravity of the threat.
Syria has the third largest chemical weapons stockpile in the world and
100,000 missiles. That means that when Assad falls, either Hezbollah - his
ally - or al Qaeda - his enemy - will gain possession of those weapons of
mass destruction. And both are determined to destroy Israel.

The Israelis are determined that none of the missiles or chemical weapons
Syria possesses will end up in the control of Hezbollah or al-Qaeda.

Now as daunting a challenge as this appears, it may be the lesser of
Israel's worries at the moment. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad knows that
he's headed for the door - one way or the other. Even most of the Arab world
is standing against him. It has probably occurred to him that the only way
he can hang on is if he can reverse that and rally the other Arab nations to
his side.

How can he make that happen? Simple, provoke Israel into entering the war
currently being waged in Syria between his government and the opposition
rebels. Though the Muslim sects - Sunni, Shia, and Alawite - hate each
other, they hate Israel even more. If Israel entered the war, then Assad
reckons that most of the Arab and Muslim nations will rally to his side and
he can hang on to power.

Saddam Hussein tried that in the 1991 Gulf War by hurling 39 SCUDS at
Israel, but Israel didn't bite. This time, though, Assad's weapons are
infinitely more dangerous and diabolical. That's why one of Israel's
generals recently warned that if Syria dares launch any of its biological or
chemical weapons at Israel, they would respond with whatever it takes, even
"to the edge of the spectrum," to defend themselves.

Folks, I think "...the edge of the spectrum..." implies Israel's willingness
to use any means, even tactical nuclear weapons, to stop an all-out WMD
assault by Syria. Tel Aviv lies only 133 miles from Damascus. Syrian
missiles will reach it in mere minutes. That's how long Israel's leaders
will have to respond. And they already know that to stop Syria, their
response will have to be massive and final.

And we know how seriously Israel takes this threat. Seriously enough to
launch airstrikes inside Damascus and risk the wrath of the world.

The bottom line is that we are at a critical juncture in this Middle East
crisis - both politically and prophetically. Things could explode at any
moment and we find ourselves hurtling forward in the end-times scenario.

This week, I'm going to examine this crisis. I'll show you what the prophets
had to say about these days and how stunningly accurate their predictions
are turning out to be. I'll also show you how Russia, our "partner" in the
peace process in Syria, is strengthening Assad's resolve by arming the other
side. And I'll show you how Israel's prophesied devastation of Damascus may
leave them vulnerable and in need of the protection of the Antichrist.

If you are interested in the events of the "end times," you have a front row
seat.

But that's not all. Also this week, I'll discuss the alarming rise in
suicides in America. Did you know that for the first time in the "automobile
era," more Americans now die by suicide than by traffic accidents?

Why? Well, I'm sure there are lots of reasons, but I think one of the most
important may be the loss of 'hope.&# 39; Forty years ago, I wrote about what's
coming for "The Terminal Generation." I followed that book with a later one
titled: "Hope for the Terminal Generation."

Believe it or not, there IS hope for this generation. Paul said that "if in
this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."
But, thank God, we have more than hope in this life, we have a 'certainty&# 39;
about God's promises for the future. In fact, the Bible says that if we
think God has been faithful and generous to us in the past (by giving us His
greatest gift when we were His enemies), just think how "much more" faithful
and kind and generous He'll be now that we are His children!

And if ever there was a time when we need that certainty, it's today as we
stand witness to the twilight of this Age.

Don't miss this week's Report on TBN, Daystar, CPM Network, The Word
Network, various local stations, www.hallindsey. com or www.hischannel. com.
Check your local listings.

God Bless,

Hal Lindsey

Posted by: "Dean Masters" tubatrooper
How to Pray in the Midst of Crises

David Sanford

Earlier this week a godly Christian friend of mine remarked, “Is it just me
or is the world starting to spin out of control? It seems like all we’re
doing is going from one major crisis to the next to the next. How are we
supposed to catch our breath anymore?”

How should we respond in the midst of crises? The short answer, no surprise,
is: By praying. More than any other writings, the ancient Hebrew and
Christian hymn book, the Psalms, show us how.

Beginning with
Psalm 3,
and over and over again until
Psalm 149,
we find the psalmist actively and fervently praying to the Lord in various
dire circumstances.

“How many are my foes!”

“Give me relief from my distress.”

“Listen to my cry for help.”

“Away from me, all you who do evil.”

“Save and deliver me from all who pursue me.”

In seven out of every ten psalms, the writer is either crying out to the
Lord for physical salvation, thanking God for sparing his life, reminding
himself of the differing fates of the righteous and evildoers, or renewing
his allegiance to God and His Word in the face of rampant wickedness.

If the psalms teach us anything, it’s how to turn to God in times of trouble
and distress. Here’s a brief synopsis with specific examples from various
psalms.

1. Call out to the Lord...
“Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer”
(Psalm 61:1).

2. ...and ask for help!
“Hasten, O God, to save me;
O Lord, come quickly to help me”
(Psalm 70:1).

3. Tell God about your troubles...
“We are objects of reproach to our neighbors,
of scorn and derision to those around us”
(Psalm 79:4).

4. ...and admit if you feel abandoned or forsaken.
“How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
Remember how fleeting is my life.
For what futility you have created all men!”
(Psalm 89:46-47).

5. Describe what you want God to do...
“Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble”
(Psalm 90:15).

6. ...and explain why He should act on your behalf.
“Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
`The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death’”
(Psalm 102:18-20).

7. Give a candid appraisal of your enemy...
“With words of hatred they surround me;
they attack me without cause”
(Psalm 109:3).

8. ...and ask God to put that foe in his place.
“Appoint an evil man to oppose him;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayers condemn him”
(Psalm 109:6-7).

9. Honestly evaluate your guilt or innocence...
“I have chosen the way of truth;
I have set my heart on your laws.
I hold fast to your statutes, O Lord;
do not let me be put to shame”
(Psalm 119:30-31).

10. ...and confess any known sins.
“I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands”
(Psalm 119:176).

11. Affirm your implicit trust in the Lord...
“I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth”
(Psalm 121:1-2).

12. ...and then praise God for His deliverance.
“Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
out of the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth”
(Psalm 124:6-8).
david sanford
David Sanford serves on the leadership team at
Corban University
in Salem, Oregon. Among his many publishing credits, David is executive
editor of Holy Bible: Mosaic,
general editor of
Handbook on Thriving as an Adoptive Family,
managing editor of the IVP Resonate series, co-author of
How to Read Your Bible,
and author of If God Disappears:
9 Faith Wreckers and What to Do About Them.
Publication date: April 19, 2013

Christians and the Environment
external link
Posted by: "Dean Masters" tubatrooper
Challies Dot Com - Informing the Reforming

I am rather a skeptic when it comes to many of the claims of global warming
and environmentalism. However, this skepticism about the prognostications of
doom and gloom does not indicate that I am unconcerned about the planet we
live on. It is quite the opposite, really. I want my skepticism to allow me
to find better solutions than those posited by the green movement. I want my
diagnosis of the problem and my understanding of solutions to be grounded
in the Bible. I have been helped here by Francis Schaeffer and his book
Pollution and the Death of Man.
It is, in my assessment, still one of the best treatments of a Christian
understanding of creation care.

Schaeffer begins with the reassurance that as Christians we are able to
acknowledge what today’s secular humanists cannot: That mankind has been
called
by God to exercise dominion over the earth. We are not here by chance and we
are not here by mistake. We were placed here by God to care for this planet
and have been called to be faithful stewards of it. But like everything else
in this world, our ability to exercise this kind of stewardship has been
affected
by our sinful state. “By creation man has dominion, but as a fallen creature
he has used that dominion wrongly. Because he is fallen, he exploits created
things as thought they were nothing in themselves, and as though he has an
autonomous right to them.” We no longer consistently tend the world in love,
but instead ravage and pillage it. Though we may not believe in all of the
dire claims being made about the state of our planet and its perilous
future,
we must at least acknowledge that we have not cared for the world as God has
called us to.

The answers to this crisis lie not in our own efforts and not in the dictums
of former Vice Presidents. Rather, if we are to understand the crisis, its
roots, and its solutions, we must turn to Scripture. And this is precisely
what Schaeffer does. Though his book was originally published in 1970, it
reads
as if it was written yesterday (if, that is, the reader is willing to
replace the ecological crises of thirty years ago with those of our day,
perhaps
substituting global warming in place of DDT).

Schaeffer looks at the spirit of the day and examines how people are dealing
with ecological issues. Perceptively, he understood that ecology, bereft of
any firm, biblical foundation and without any consistent basis for morality,
must breed a kind of pantheism. He saw that people would deal with
environmental
issues by making themselves one with the planet and it one with them, and
this decades before the film Avatar. He responds with classic Schaefferian
thought:
“Pantheism,” he says, “will be pressed as the only answer to ecological
problems and will be one more influence in the West’s becoming increasingly
Eastern
in its thinking.” Almost forty years later, his words have proven true.
Witness the rise of Yoga right alongside and intertwined with the rise of
the green movement.

Pantheism has elevated nature, lowered man, and discarded God. This is
critical to pantheistic thought: “The only reason we are called upon to
treat nature
well is because of its effects on man and our children and the generations
to come. So in reality…man is left with a completely egoistic position in
regard
to nature. … Having no absolutes, modern man has no categories. One cannot
have real answers without categories, and these men can have no categories
beyond
pragmatic, technological ones. … A pantheistic stand always brings man to an
impersonal and low place rather than elevating him.” In the end, pantheism
pushes both man and nature into a kind of bog, leaving us unable to make any
kind of necessary and rational distinctions between us and the world around
us.

The Bible offers us a far better and far higher view of ourselves, our
planet, and our responsibility toward it. Schaeffer affirms that our
understanding
must begin with God’s act of creation through which he created things that
have an objective existence in themselves. Despite the claims of pantheism,
creation is not an extension of God’s essence. It is only the biblical view
that gives worth to man and to all that God has created. How? Because we
understand
both ourselves and nature when we see that, though we are separate from
nature, we are related to it as something God has created. “So the Christian
treats
‘things’ with integrity because we do not believe they are autonomous.
Modern man has fallen into a dilemma because he has made things autonomous
from
God.” Because we love the Creator, we love the creation. As we love the
creation, we express love to the Creator.

Even in the 1970’s Schaeffer was saying “We must confess that we missed our
opportunity. We have spoken loudly against materialistic science, but we
have
done little to show that in practice we ourselves as Christians are not
dominated by a technological orientation in regard either to man or nature.”
He
warned that “if we treat nature as having no intrinsic value, our own value
is diminished.” Ultimately, he calls upon us to treat nature well because we
are all products of the loving Creator; we are all creatures together.

While acknowledging that sin and its effects will not be eradicated until
the Lord returns, Schaeffer believed there can and should be “a substantial
healing,”
of the planet and its environment. He says, “we should be looking now, on
the basis of the work of Christ, for substantial healing in every area
affected
by the Fall.” As Christians we of all people are the ones who ought to be
treating creation now as it will be treated in eternity. And this, I think,
is
our challenge: to treat the planet today as we will treat the new earth,
exercising dominion without pillaging, exploiting without destroying,
faithfully
stewarding God’s great gift.

Are You Ready to Go?
Glynnis Whitwer

"Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the
grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming."
1 Peter 1:13
(NIV)

The Whitwer house has two beloved dogs - Kona and Sammie. First thing in the
morning, or after being gone, the sight of them makes me smile. But although
they both delight me, they are very different.

Kona is a husky with a quirky personality. She pulls like she's in front of
a sled, plays catch with herself and "talks back" when corrected. Sammie is
a German shepherd who patrols the backyard perimeter, embraces her role as
protector and has a serious personality.

And while I adore both dogs, only one of them gets to go in car with me each
morning when I take the kids to school. Perhaps I should try and describe
typical mornings as we gather backpacks, purses and lunch bags:

• Sammie sits and watches, head tilted, aware of patterns of preparation.
Kona is asleep under the bed.

• Sammie's ears perk up when I grab the car keys. Kona is sprawled on her
back, head hanging off the edge of the couch.

• Sammie watches my face, waiting for the "let' s go" nod. Kona is in the
backyard watching birds.

So every morning, Sammie goes on an adventure with me. We pass bikers and
women jogging. We see other doggies driving with their masters. If dogs
could
smile, mine would be grinning from ear-to-ear! She is thrilled with our
outings and looks forward to the next one. And so do I.

As I consider my two canine companions, I wonder if this same dynamic
doesn't happen between God and us.

We each have our own quirks, idiosyncrasies and tendencies. And yet we are
equally loved and treasured because our Creator uniquely designed us just as
we are.

However, there are differences when God is looking to call someone into a
place of service. The one who is alert and ready ... the one who is
listening
for the Master's voice ... the one who is watching for the Master's movement
... that is the one who is invited to go on an adventure.

I've been both at times. I've been consumed with my own comfort at time.
Hesitant and (when I'm honest) uninterested in being used. At other times
I've
mismanaged my time and energy so that I'm overwhelmed and exhausted, and
miss God's invitation to join Him.

Yet when my eyes are open, and my heart is saying "pick me, pick me," it's
amazing how I see God move.

For so many years I wondered does God really see me, can He use me, does He
even want to? Now I realize the answer was "yes" all along. He was waiting
for me to be watching for His "let' s go" nod.

Ready to go? Or ready to relax? Loved equally. But used differently. Which
one are you?

Dear Lord, thank You for inviting me to join You in Your work in the world.
You have designed me in a unique way, specifically for Your pleasure and
purpose.
Help me to be alert and ready, watching for the signs that You are on the
move. I want to join You wherever You go. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Visit
Glynnis Whitwer' s blog
today for some photos of her two beloved dogs, and a video of Sammie on
alert.

Do you want to be used by God but feel overwhelmed with life? You might
enjoy
I Used to Be So Organized
by Glynnis Whitwer.

1a From Pastor Paul McKinney
Posted by: "Kathy Melton" (From our pastor)
Let's think about the sovereignty of God and look at Genesis 45:7-8

"God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to
save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me
here, but God."

I've noticed, as I've studied the life of Joseph, that God is just as
intimate to him as breath. God is so much a part of Joseph's life that he
sees the Lord in every circumstance, and he trusts the Lord through every
difficulty. "God meant it for good," he tells his brothers, "in order to
bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." Everything
that happened to him, both bad and good, was viewed through the lens of
God's will.

When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh' s dream, he said that it was God who gave
him the meaning. When Joseph presented his sons to Jacob, he introduced them
by saying, "These are the two sons God has given me." Even when Joseph was
dying, he was able to encourage those around him that "God will surely visit
you."

At the center of Joseph's life was the sovereignty of God. Everything that
happened was for His purposes and part of His program. Even the darkest
threads in the weave help to provide the overall beauty of the tapestry.


Let's look at Psalm 34:17

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all
their troubles."

David testified, "This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved
him out of all his troubles." C. S. Lewis once wrote, "Down through the ages
whenever men had a need of courage they would cry out, 'Billy Budd, help me'
and nothing happened. But for 1900 years, whenever men have needed courage
and have cried out, 'Lord Jesus, help me' something always happened."

I love the Hebrew definition of the word "trouble. " The word literally
translates, "hang-ups. " It means to be inhibited, tied up and restricted.
When we lay hold of Christ, we are freed from our "hang-ups. "

Sound too simple? It is! When you acknowledge the reliability of the One who
is in charge of your life and then admit your fear, you have to appropriate
the power that He has promised to give you. You have to tell it to Jesus.


Look at Psalm 145:3 with me:

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is
unsearchable. "

When the Bible writers call God good, they are thinking of all those things
about His character which we admire: His perfection, His compassion, His
mercy, His grace, and perhaps most of all, His generosity.

Whatever God is, He is abundantly! God is good in a generous way. That means
God loves to lavish upon His children that which blesses them. God is
blessed in His life when He brings joy and blessing to those who depend upon
Him for sustaining grace. Just as we have a real sense of joy in our hearts
when we are able to do something good for another person, God has an intense
joy in His heart as He expresses His goodness to all of us.

Have you ever heard a sermon about the prodigal son where the father is
described as prodigal? Prodigal means lavish, unrestrained, and unlimited.
If you want to see the prodigal in that story, examine the heart of the
father who never stopped loving his wayward son. Who waited every day to see
him come home. And who, when his wayward son walked back into the family
home, put on a feast to welcome him back. There was nothing that father
would not do for his son. That's the way God is. He lavishes Himself upon
His people.

Let's look at Psalm 1:2-3

"His delight is in the law of the Lord.. He shall be like a tree planted by
the rivers of water."

Your strength comes from God's Word. The psalmist says the righteous person
is like a tree planted by streams of water. Just like a tree is nourished by
the constant supply of water-without which, under the blistering sun, the
tree would surely die-so the life that is rooted in the Word of God will
also be established and it will be strong.

Your stability comes from God's Word. A fruit tree that is planted by the
banks of the river suggests stability. The tree is firmly rooted in the soil
so that it can resist the storm. There are trees standing today that were
here when this country was discovered. If you go to the right place you can
see trees that are just as magnificent and beautiful as they were in their
prime. Why? Because they've got a tremendous root structure and they are
strong. If you've ever seen a redwood, a tree so big that you can drive your
car through the middle of it, then you know what invincible means. That's
the kind of stability God wants His people to have. And when you put your
roots deep down into His Word, you will become a person of great stability.

Look at Exodus 33:19

"I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before you."

What happened to Moses when he experienced the Holy? Moses had seen some
pretty amazing miracles in his life, but he still wanted to see God's glory.
God decided to show Moses a little bit of His glory. God put Moses in the
cleft of a rock and covered him with His hand as He passed by. Moses only
saw a reflection of the holiness of God from a distant rear view, but it
affected him so much that the people of Israel were afraid of him when they
saw him. His face shown so brilliantly, the people were terrified. Moses had
to wear a veil in order to talk to the people.

If we could see God as He really is, not only would we know Him as a God of
compassionate love, but we would see Him as a God of holiness, quite apart
from anything we have ever known.

Why is it important to see God as He really is in His holiness? Because only
then will you see yourself as you really are.

Look at Proverbs 12:11

"He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, but he who follows
frivolity is devoid of understanding. "

Many men of the world have understood the necessity of commitment when
trying to accomplish great things. Spanish explorer Cortez landed at Vera
Cruz in 1519 to begin his conquest of Mexico with a small force of seven
hundred men. It is said that when his entire crew came ashore, he purposely
set fire to his fleet of eleven ships. Presumably, his men on the shore
watched their only means of retreat sink to the bottom of the Gulf of
Mexico. There was now only one direction to move-forward into the Mexican
interior to meet whatever might come their way.

This illustration of diligence is a stark rebuke to those who believe that
all of life's fruits can be had instantly and with little or no sacrifice.
But in God's economy, the germination- cultivation- harvest cycle remains. And
it is based on the application of diligence and commitment. Are you facing
the temptation to give up on something important? What does your level of
commitment say about the importance of the cause you have committed to?

The value we place on a relationship or project or opportunity can be
measured directly by the degree of diligence we apply in working at it.


Let's look at Proverbs 11:2

"When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom."

On December 6, 2001, American evangelist Billy Graham received a singular
honor from the British Empire. He was given an honorary knighthood in
recognition of his Christian service benefiting England and the world. When
given his award by the British ambassador to the United States, the
evangelist&# 39;s remarks were characteristic: "I accept it with humility and
unworthiness. " He went on to say that he looked forward to laying his
honorary knighthood, along with any other recognition he has ever received,
at the feet of Jesus Christ, who deserves all the honor and praise.

One has to wonder if the impact of Billy Graham and his ministry around the
world is in any way connected with his personal spirit of "humility and
unworthiness. " In light of biblical testimony concerning humility, the
answer has to be "Yes." God gives skill and advancement to the humble and
actively resists (stands in the way of) the proud. If you have a destination
in view, you can remove at least one serious roadblock by being humble on
the way.

Skills for living are not acquired as much as they are received in the form
of grace-given by God as wisdom to the humble.

Kathy Melton Owner/Instructor
MEDTRANSCLASS. COM
Medical Language Specialist Program

Therefore, my beloved friends, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

(1 Cor. 15:58)
http://www.biblegat eway.com/versions/New-King- James-Version-
NKJV-Bible
I OWE IT ALL TO JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF MY FAITH!

Traveling Mercies
by Shawn McEvoy, Crosswalk.com Managing Editor

You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by
day.
Psalm 91:5

With Memorial Day's arrival, summer travel season is upon us (well, for
those who haven't been grounded by the economy, anyway), so I've been
reminiscing upon all the times the Lord has watched out for me on the road
through all my journeys. Here are just a few examples:

When I helped my wife - before she was my wife - move from Columbia, South
Carolina to Farmville, Virginia, we rented an auto transport to trail her
car behind the U-Haul so that we could both ride together in the truck. I
had helped load her car onto the transport before we left. We decided to get
out of town and onto the interstate before we gassed up. We'd traveled up
and down hills, across several railroad tracks, on the interstate, in
stop-and-go traffic... and it was raining. You'll understand
the reason I tell you all that momentarily.

When we pulled into the gas station, we realized we didn't have Valerie's
key chain. It held the keys to her car, her new home, her old home, and
several expensive keys to the University of South Carolina. Neither of us
had any idea where they could be. I got out of the truck to think... and I
spotted them, there on one of the two-inch thick beams of the auto
transport. I yelled for Valerie, who came to look. I carefully touched the
keys with my fingertips... and they dropped to the ground. Neither
of us could believe our eyes, or that those keys had remained there of their
own accord over the route we had driven. It had to be the Lord. If not,
well, He got the praise and glory anyway.

Another time, when I was just a boy, my mother's station wagon had a flat
tire on a remote stretch of road outside Tucson. My sister and I were in the
car as my mother struggled to get the hubcap off. In those days, on that
model, a special tool was required to be able to get to the lugnuts. We
didn't have the tool. Just then, a guy rode up on a bike. He happened to
have the tool. He handed it to my mother, who to this day swears he was an
angel. I'm not sure I can argue with her.

At other times there have been individuals who showed up with just the right
help during blowouts, or - believe it or not - airline personnel who
actually made my trip better than it could have gone. The most memorable of
these instances, truly, have come during times I prayed, read my Bible, and
had decided in advance not to get bent out of shape about delays or other
problems. One such cross-country trip resulted in an out-of-nowhere upgrade
to first class from Philadelphia to Seattle, where I
also ended up in position to calmly solve a dispute between passengers.
Indeed, the Lord has been gracious to me in travel.

My wife's family has a tradition before every trip they take to read
Psalm 91.
It reminds them that God is their refuge as they go, wherever they go. And
of course before every trip we take, my family prays for safety, and
mercy... and the opportunity to minister, even if it is an inconvenience to
our plans.

One way or another, this prayer is always answered. Still, it's hard to
remind myself of goodness and opportunity in delay. Sometimes I still feel
that the trip, the vacation, is my time… that whatever gets in the way shows
that the Lord does not care, or did not "bless" our travels. That’s when I
remember Paul's travels. I am certain the Apostle didn't think shipwrecks
and imprisonment were helps toward spreading the Gospel. But in the end,
they were. Are our travels - no matter what purpose we think
they hold - any different?

Jesus told a story about a traveler
who had been robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the road. Those who passed
him by had in mind only their own agendas and their desire not to be
inconvenienced, even if they were priests by vocation. What would you do?
Would you have the time, yearning, and empathy to interrupt your travels to
do as the Samaritan did?

Understand that I am not discounting that the Lord must lay on your heart
the decision to stop and help, especially in these troubled and dangerous
times. But do be open to it. So few times anymore do we venture outside our
home or neighborhood. Those times we do should not merely be restful, but
ministerial. Pray that God would give you opportunities to serve him - and
yes, to see His glory in watching over you! - as you go.

Intersecting Faith Life: This summer especially, be on the lookout for
fellow travelers who are stranded. Rising gas costs could cause some
motorists to run out of fuel. Consider taking along a spare gas container
and can of fix-a-flat to assist stranded folks who might be in need of
genuine help (and the gospel message).

Further Reading

Luke 10:25-37

Psalm 91
Dean Masters, owner of the Masters List
I personally know someone who is literally older than dirt.
If you would like to meet him ask me to introduce you.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/masterslist

Weekly or Weakly?
"I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give
you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him, –
since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened – so that you may know
what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious
inheritance in the saints, and what is the incomparable greatness of his
power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense
strength." (Ephesians 1:17-19, NET)

I heard an announcer on a Christian radio station say that he had a
spiritual grandmother who prayed for him weekly. After he said that I HAD
SOME QUESTIONS. Did he mean that she prayed for him regularly or that she
prayed without power?

We probably have some people that we pray for regularly. There may be more
that could use our prayers on a regular basis. We don’t always know what is
going on in someone’s life but they could always use prayer.

We may pray regularly but are we praying with power? We may ask God to bless a person but is that powerful prayer? In the verses above Paul prays a
powerful prayer for the believers in Ephesus. We could use this prayer as a
model for our prayers if we don’t know what specifically to pray about a
person or group.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we don’t pray regularly or when we don’t pray
with power. Put those on our hearts that need our prayers at this time and
those who need prayers on a regular basis. In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
Thought: Let us pray for those who need power from the Lord.
By Dean W. Masters
Owner of the Master's List.
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