Update 7 August 11, 2012

Hello everyone,

I apologize for not updating any of you in the last four weeks. I have been busy and we had lost internet at the orphanage for two weeks due to a lightning storm. While I was in Ika I could not talk about what I was doing there. So now I will very briefly update you on what has happened in the last four weeks. I went to Ika and was there for two weeks. I spend some time with Spencer Dibble and his son-in-law Tom Wheeler and his grandson Benji Wheeler. We were working on a secret project for Tom’s wife, Lois. We were remodeling the kitchen and master bathroom. I also spent some time with Mr. Dibble and sat and talked with him for hours on end. We also took some time to fix Crystal’s sons bike. On the Sundays I was there, I was asked to speak.  One of the Sundays, I went to a conference. There was one woman who was there who was used to be a Muslim. She was afraid that her family would kill her if she became Christian. Finally, she snuck away to a church and talked to one of the elders. She left her family and went to another part of the country so she could not be found by her family. I had a great time there.

The next few weeks I went with Mepa Adejo on Evangelism. We went to a village just off the Dekina road a little ways. With it being Ramadan there were many Muslims who were not very happy, because they had no food in their stomachs since early morning. Many of them told us to go away, some said they would visit us, but never did.  Many of them young unmarried ladies, that want to marry a nice white man. Yeah that would be me, all of them asking how my wife was in Igala. 

Our evangelism group

The answer from me was either to ignore what they were saying or to answer no wife, which made them want to follow me around. Some even asked if I wanted a wife, others offered me a wife. Both of which I graciously, but bluntly refused. In the afternoons I had an interpreter, which I was very grateful for, who helped me to understand what the Bible study was about. I will upload a picture of our group sometime soon.

While I was with Mepa, I stayed at Mama Gross’ house, with her daughters Esther Nordman and Ruth Carlson, who were there cleaning out the house and taking their mothers things back to the US.  I had a really good time there in the time I spent there.

I have been working on a project of getting Igala words together to be put in dictionary form. It has been a long process and it will continue for a while as I continue to study the language in the US. I hope to also put tone markings on each of the words, in order to make it so I can understand it better and so that others who desire to learn the language can also.

I decided to return to Otutulu on Saturday evening after I went with Mepa. Normally, I would stay and speak at the chapel there, but this time Daniel Edeh and his family were in Anyigba for the giving away of Mama Grosses house to CMML Nigeria (a local denomination). So on Sunday, I went to Abejekolo to visit a small church there with Daniel Edeh. It was an excellent time fellowshipping with the believers there. We took about 8 of the kids from the orphanage with us, because the church is very small. I believe it was a great encouragement to them.

The week that followed I helped with work on the compound and did some other things, played with the kids and worked on my language study. In the evenings I would sit with some of the kids and talk and with my good friend, Freeman Edeh. This last week, I spent many of my evenings with the older Edeh kids, who are around my age. I helped them with office work and talked with them. Last Sunday, I stayed in Otutulu to speak. I was thankful for that opportunity.

I have some very exciting news. I was in Otutulu village doing a week of Bible stories on the life of Joshua with a projector. Every night we went there and told another part of the story of Joshua. One night after finishing the story, one Muslim boy asked me a question and I explained it to him. He continued to ask excellent questions. Finally, he said he wanted to change his mind to Christianity. As it was late he told me to come the next day to see him. I went the next afternoon; we talked for a while. I answered questions then he asked me about the trinity. I tried my best, but I don’t think it got through to him. Almost every day this week I have been to see him. He is definitely a believer. His greatest fear was to tell his mother and grandfather he was a Christian. He knows that they can kill him for that. He also fears his brothers, who are not in the village right now. He went to his grandfather on Wednesday and told him that he was a Christian. The grandfather simply told him, that he did not believe it. I pray that he might be in the church tomorrow, so that he can show his grandfather that he is serious about it.   I gave him an Igala Bible and an English Bible, so that he can understand the scriptures better. We can praise God for what he has done. I only wish I could stay and disciple him. I have given that job over to one young man who is eager to do it, because he is so happy that this boy, his friend has finally become a Christian. I myself cannot even say it was anything that I did, but it was fully the work of God, I praise Him for what He has done. As I came back from the village after the boy had told me that he was a Christian that he knew that Jesus died on the cross for his sins and that he wanted to follow after him, tears of joy rolled down my cheeks. Even if it was for this one boy who came to know Christ, it was well worth the time I spent here. Well worth my time. I would not trade coming here this summer for the most well-paying job. I only wish I did not have to leave.

I am back in Ika until Sunday, visiting Spencer Dibble and the Wheelers, once more with Shana, before I leave. I will be leaving on Wednesday at 11:15pm from Abuja.

I would appreciate your prayers, for my trip back. Please pray for the Muslim boy in the village. Also as I am coming back to the culture shock of America and I have many things that I have to get ready before going to school the next week.

Thank you for all of your prayers. I appreciate them very much.

Your brother in Christ,

T.J. Kerttula

Is it ever right to lie?

Is it ever right to lie? This question has been asked of me a couple of times in the last few months. My simple answer is no. Many people disagree with me on this, but before you judge what I am saying, I hope that you will hear out the case that I present before you, with ample evidence from the Word of God.

There has been much debate about this question. I do not want to look at opinions. Instead, I want to look at what the Word of God says. Even though there is much debate there is a very simple answer to it. The Lord says in Exodus 20:16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  To bear false witness means to lie or to deceive or to be untruthful. You might say that your neighbor is the person that is living next to you or the people that you like and are friends with. When Jesus is asked the question “Who is my neighbor" in Luke 10 by a lawyer, He answers the question with the story of the Good Samaritan. I believe some background information on the Samaritans and the Jews is needed to fully understand who our neighbor is. They hated each other. The Samaritans were half breed Jews and that was the reason they were hated by the Jews. Because the Jews hated them they hated the Jews back. The Jews would even travel on the east side of the Jordan River along the part that boundaries Samaria so that they would not have to go through Samaria. That is how much they hated the Samaritans. So that is the background.

In Luke 10 we see this man was travelling along, he was ambushed and beaten by robbers in the heart of Judea, where the Jews were from. His own people and “men of God” would not even stop to help him, but a Samaritan, who was not even from that region, who was travelling in the heart of the region, stopped to help a man that he was supposed to hate and who was supposed to hate him. So as you can see it is not just the person next door who is our neighbor or all your friends. It is people in the next subdivision over, in the next zip code, in the next city or town, in the next county, in the next state, in the next country and all around the world. Everyone is our neighbor, those who are not friendly to us and those we love, those who hate us and those who love us. Therefore, we are not to lie to anyone no matter what.

God takes lying/ bearing false witness very seriously, so also should we. Proverbs 19:5” A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who tells lies will not escape.” (NASB)  We think we can get away with lying, but we cannot. We either continue on telling more lies to cover up the truth, but the truth ends up coming out anyway or it immediately comes out. When we lie and it is found out it makes us look foolish. It says in 1 Peter 2:1 “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,…” It says to put aside ALL deceit, not just a part of deceit or just a small portion of it, but ALL of it.

In Psalm 34:13 it says, “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.” We are to keep our lips from speaking deceit.

If we pattern our lives after Christ, as we should be doing, then we will find the passage in 1 Peter 2:21-24 of an interest. It says “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

Christ is the example for us to follow in His steps. He committed no sin nor was any deceit found in His mouth. Christ did not lie or deceive anyone ever. There was no need for Christ to deceive anyone, because He was entrusting Himself to the Father in all things. If we are to follow in Christ’s step’s that is a strong indication that we are to not lie or deceive anyone ever.

The question is do we entrust ourselves to Him who judges righteously? If we say we are entrusting ourselves to Him who judges righteously then there is no other answer to our first question, of is it ever right to lie. The only answer is no. Even if the result of us telling the truth is that we are sent to prison or we are martyred for Christ at least we will be entrusting ourselves to the Father. We will be letting, His will be done in our life and we will not be sinning against Him.

You might say, well what if you are taking Bibles into a country that is closed to Christians or hiding Christians in your house to keep them from getting caught? To even ask this question makes me wonder if you really are entrusting yourself to the Father. For you to lie and sin against God means that you do not trust Him to work everything out. Even in these instances it is not right to lie.

Rahab is an example that many people use, to say that it is alright to lie. Unfortunately, there is no way that anyone can say this to be fact, especially when the rest of the Bible speaks, bluntly against lying, bearing false witness and deceit. Let’s take a look into the passages used to justify this a little closer. James 2:25 “In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”  It is saying she did a good work, by receiving them and sending them out another way. James is not commending her for lying. Do you think that if she would have told the guards right where they were that the results would have been any different? I don’t think so. Even though we sin against God, God still uses us. Sometimes we put Bible characters into a light that makes then look perfect as if they never sinned or we say that because they did a specific sin then it is ok for us to do that also. The only one that was ever perfect was Jesus Christ and that is why He is our example. Rahab’s lie was not pleasing to God and by telling it, the guard’s shut the gate, but God knew all of this would happen, so He provided Rahab’s house to be on the wall, so the spies could get away. Hebrews 11:31 is another passage about Rahab, “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.” Rahab believed in the one true God and she can be commended for her faith. Think of all the other characters that are commended for their faith yet they also lied. Abraham (Genesis 20), Jacob (Genesis 27), and David (2 Samuel 11-12) are a few. So how can we even say that it is right to lie?

If we say that lying is right then every other sin is right to do at some point in time. There is, therefore, no moral standard and we have blurred the lines between right and wrong. There becomes no black and white, only grey. When this happens we are lying to ourselves about the absoluteness of what God commands us to do and by doing that we are not pleasing God. Do we trust God enough to keep His commands even when it could get us mocked, persecuted, thrown in prison, or even killed?  These are questions we must ask ourselves. I pray that Christians around the world will heed this and turn toward righteousness and truth, to cling to it and to not depart from it. If they depart from truth, then there is no Truth in them and they are not truly followers of Christ. Friends, please do not allow yourself to think that it is right to ever lie. You can see that God hates it and so also we should hate it.

Solomon was a very wise man. His words in Proverbs should be read and heeded. I will leave you with this passage.

"He who speaks the truth tells what is right,

But a false witness, deceit.

There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword,

But the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Truthful lips will be established forever,

But a lying tongue is only for a moment.

Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,

But counselors of peace have joy.

No harm befalls the righteous,

But the wicked are filled with trouble.

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,

But those who deal faithfully are His delight."

Proverbs 12:17-22

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Nigeria update July 6, 2012

Hello everyone,

There is not much to write about this week. There was a team from Texas here for ten days. On Sunday I went down to a small village down the road to visit the small church there. That was very good and interesting. There was a pregnant woman who asked for prayer for herself that she would not have another miscarriage and a few minutes after she said that she went into labor, right before I was to get up to speak. At first I didn’t know what was going on, but I quickly guessed. The Second fear that came into my mind was.” I hope they don’t ask me to deliver the baby.” For some reason white people must have medical expertise in everything when they are in Nigeria, I was relieved when they asked me to do nothing, but preach and the lady was taken, by motorcycle to her house.

Every night, I try to get the boys to bed, by at least 9:30. It has been a great time to get to know the boys and spend time with them. That is one of the things I enjoy thoroughly.

On the evening of July 4^th we had an Independence day celebration, with a parade in the living room and Crystal playing her trombone and everyone else had noise makers. It was a lot of fun. We had hotdogs and hamburgers and French fries and Oreo pudding and we watched a video. We had a great time. Even some of the neighbor kids came over to help us celebrate. : )

Early this morning, I got Malaria. Don’t worry. I am not going to die. I am perfectly fine. I have been resting and getting stronger and taking my medicine. It has been really good to get some rest and not feeling guilty about it. The biggest thing is drinking water and keeping hydrated, which is harder, during rainy season, because it is cooler so I don’t drink as much water.

Tomorrow, I will be going to Ika Lord willing to visit Tom, Ben and Spen, the missionaries there. I am looking forward to my visit there.

Please pray for:

1.       The church I visited this last week. The name of the village escapes my mind, but the Lord knows.

2.       Pray for the boys that I would get the opportunity to share the gospel with all of them and wisdom in counseling them and disciplining them.

3.       Pray for me as I get over Malaria

4.       Pray for safe travel and a good time in Ika and that I will learn more of the language while I am there.

Once again thank you all for your prayers I appreciate them very much.

Your brother in Christ,

T.J. Kerttula

For the sake of the Christ

 I have come to the realization that if I go out and preach the gospel, sure people may get saved, but I also need to help train up these young men so that they might also go out and preach the gospel and that they might also go out and train even more young men to preach the gospel and so on and so forth. The war we face in America with apathy and ungodliness does not stop at our border. It goes out into all the other countries. There is a need for godliness and righteousness and holiness and a fear of the Lord wherever believers are at and that is where a revival begins. If someone wants to follow after Christ it is not going to be easy. If we are in a war we must always be on our guard, and ready to fight for the sake of the gospel no matter what. We sit back and we say well if I say I am a Christian at this job interview then I probably won’t get the job or if I sit back in this class and say nothing about my belief no one will know that I am a Christian and they won’t hate me then. We are to be hated, friends. We are to be despised and we should count it a great joy to be persecuted for the sake of Christ, because that means that we are doing something right. If there is no one who hates you for the sake of the gospel there is something drastically wrong with your walk with Christ. More than likely you look too much like the world to be known to be anything set apart from the World.  Maybe you do not proclaim the name of Christ because you are scared or afraid or just plain do not care.  Is it worth it to be silent as we wait for the coming of our Savior? Is it worth it to just give up and not fight for the gospel? Is there any soul in this world that does not have a right to the inheritance of our heavenly Father? Do we not care about what is going to happen to the people of this world?

 I come back again and again to a passage in Romans 10:12 -15 “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!’” (NASB)

Friends, we have been sent, by Jesus Christ Himself do go and preach the gospel, to make disciples and to teach them to observe all that He commanded. We are to be training others up to go out and preach the gospel, but how can we train others up if we ourselves do not go out and preach it. We need to preach it with boldness and strength. The Lord is our strength, do we actually believe that the Lord will help us in this? If we do, we will go out and preach the gospel and rely on the Lord for the boldness and the strength we need.

There is an elderly man in Nigeria who said that he would continue to go out and do evangelism and preach the gospel until he could no longer move and he has been relying on the Lord for his strength. When he was younger, he became very sick for several years. During that time no one went out to preach the gospel or to do any evangelism. When he became well he said that he would continue to go out until he could no longer go. The Lord has allowed him to continue to go. He will take his walker with him and he will go to wherever they are doing evangelism that particular time and he will sit and pray the whole time they are out sharing the gospel. This man desires to see the Word of the Lord go out into Nigeria so much so that he himself will do whatever it takes to get people to go out. He, himself, would go out if he still could. This elderly man should be an example to all of us that it is not just those who are young that can go out and preach the gospel, but also those of all different ages, from young to old.There is a need, not only to preach the gospel , but also to pray for the people that are preaching it and for the hearts of the people who hear it.

You may continue to say that you do not want to go out and preach the gospel, that you want to stay in your little comfort zone with all of your believing friends around you. That you don’t have the gift of evangelism, so that is not how the Lord is going to use you. That is a lie that Satan has been telling Christians for years. 

We are to be willing to be used by God in whatever way He sees fit and we are to be willing to do things that are even out of our comfort zones. All of us are supposed to preach the gospel, by proclaiming Christ first, followed by our actions to show Christ’s love to others. If any of you feel that you have any excuse whatsoever you need to look into your life and your heart and see what is holding you back from giving Christ your all and telling others about Him. There is a great war out there and there is a greater need for believers to fight for the souls of men. Will you join with me in this battle or will you turn your back on those you are fighting with and retreat and give up the fight? It is your decision. Stop saying you’re a follower of Christ if your life does not reflect it and if you truly want to follow after Him then stand with Him and fight. Are you willing to follow after Him even to death?  That is a question you need to answer. Where is your loyalty? Is it in Christ or is it in the World? The two cannot mix. They must be separate from one another.

Ministry in Bozeman, MT (Spring 2012)

I wanted to update all of you on the ministry that I have been a part of this spring here in Bozeman, Montana, before I leave to go to Nigeria this summer. Throughout this spring I have done some street evangelism here in Bozeman with several different people, but primarily with Chris Jones and Jessica Jones.  During the winter months there weren’t a lot of people that were out on the streets during the day, but we handed out many gospel tracts. This Saturday was a really nice day. Praise the Lord for such nice weather. There was tons of people downtown to share the gospel with.

I want to tell you a little bit about what happened this Saturday.  We (Chris , Jessica and Aedine)  went out and people were willing to talk. We handed out a bunch of gospel tracts. Chris and I got the opportunity to talk with a fellow that is very lost. He kept telling us that we were wasting our time on telling people about an event that happened 2000 years ago and that we needed to get into politics so that we could change America that way. He went on to tell us that Republicans are going to turn this country into a dictatorship. He said he was a part of the Bahia religion and that he did not need God and proceeded to tell us that we were ignorant fools. He told me I had a big ego to think that my religion was right and that I was selfish for sharing the gospel. All of this happened with us unable to get much of a word in. Final, after listening to him and not getting to finish a thought with him, I decided it was time to straight up preach, and as I got going on it, he decided that it was time for him to leave. He told me that he was 75 years old and he could not believe that I would not listen to him and warned me that I should stop sharing the gospel and make my life into something worthwhile. Then he proceeded to walk off. A man stumbled up the street, toward him, yelling and walked right past him. I handed him a gospel tract and the fellow that we had just been talking with yelled back at us that we had a lot of guts to give out more gospel tracts, after what he had just told us. The only verse I could think of was Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. “ (NASB)

Here are some other verses that have also come to mind.

2 Timothy 1:8-13 “ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,  for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” (NASB)

2Ti 3:14-17  You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (NASB)

I am convinced of these things. I am convinced that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and that He rose again to show that He conquered sin and death.  I am convinced that He is the Son of God. I am convinced that the only way that a person can have true peace is through Jesus Christ. I must boldly preach the gospel for that is what Christ has commanded every believer to do and there may be persecution and people that hate it and try to tell you that you are wrong, like this fellow did, but we are convinced that our Savior Jesus Christ abolished death and brought life and immortality (eternal life) to light through the gospel. For if we are not convinced of these things then, what do we have to stand on? What do we have to cling to?  These are some questions to think about. Are you convinced of these things?

To continue on we kept on going and preaching the gospel. There were a few other people that we got to talk to briefly. Please pray for all of the people that received gospel tracts, that they might be convinced also of these things. Pray for this fellow we talked with that he would read the gospel of John that we gave him and that he might be convicted and that he might also be convinced of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray for Tyler, Andrew, Dave 1, Dave 2, Paul, and Fen.  Praise the Lord for such excellent opportunities.

That was little about the evangelism that is going on here in Bozeman recently. Jessica and Chris will continue to go out and share the gospel with people this summer. Please pray for them and that the hearts of the people in Bozeman would be softened to the gospel.

I have also been helping out with a ministry called International student ministry this year. This spring has been really good and I have enjoyed getting to know the international students. It has been such a blessing to be able to share the gospel with them and to become friends with many of them. I will miss them a lot.  I am excited about next year as I will be helping out with it again this next year also.  Praise the Lord for such great opportunities.

I will be writing an update soon for my trip to Nigeria. It is coming very soon in less than a month. Please pray for the rest of the preparations for that. Thank you.

What if Christ had not risen?

1Co 15:1 -20 “ Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,   and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” (NASB)

I was thinking this week of how important the resurrection of Jesus Christ is to us. Paul tells us in this passage how important it really is.  He tells us that he delivers it of first importance. It is more important than anything else. That Christ died for our sins, that He was buried and that He rose again. This is the most important thing to Paul. He tells us this is why it is true: He was seen by many people like the apostles over 500 people at one time and He appeared to Paul.  He is telling them, here is the proof you need to know this is true. There are eye witnesses who saw Him. Then Paul goes on and He says if you preach Christ, that He was raised from the dead then why do some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead. Paul in the way He argues most of His things and in the way He writes goes on with logic. He says if there is no resurrection of the dead then not even Christ was raised from the death. If Christ was not raised from the dead then, everything we are preaching, what we stand for is in vain, it is worthless; we are following after a dead man. Our faith is in vain. Not only that we have sinned against God because we have lied about God raising Jesus from the dead. And in this case it was something God did not do so therefore there is no resurrection from the dead. Then He goes through the argument again, just to make sure they understand it.  He ends with “You are still in your sins.” Then everyone who believed it and died has perished. If our hope was in Christ alone then we should be pitied. This is how man in this day and age looks at us, because they do not understand that we serve a living Savior. Paul says “BUT NOW CHRIST HAS BEEN RAISED FROM THE DEAD.”

What a case for the resurrection of Christ, Paul made. If Christ has not been raised, we are fools following a dead man. Paul’s confidence is great. Christ has been raised from the dead and we serve a risen Savior not a dead man. We serve the one who has conquered death for all time and who has made a way for us to go to heaven for all time.

Do we have the same confidence to say, “Christ has been raised from the dead”? Do we really believe that He has been raised from the dead? Or do we just say it, because that is what the Bible says or that is what we have been told? In our hearts do we really believe it and does that reflect in our lives?

Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. We do indeed serve a risen Savior and not a dead man. Let us not forget that our faith would be in vain, without Christ being raised from the dead three days later.

HE IS RISEN!!!

Godliness

Here is a link that I think many of you will enjoy. The Chapel in Helena is starting a series on Godliness. Here is the link for it. http://cbf.thelivingword.us/Messages/Godliness/Godliness.html

Missionaries: A Lifetime of Running the Race

I want to dedicate this article to the late Caroline Gross, who went home February 8, 2012 at the age of 88. She was a missionary to Nigeria for over many years with her husband, Paul Gross, who went home several years ago. Also, I want to dedicate this article to Phyllis Dibble who went home June 23, 2011. She was also a missionary to Nigeria with her husband, Spencer Dibble, who is still there doing the Lord’s work.

There are many elderly(though some of them would not say they are) men and women on the mission field awaiting the time they will finally see their Savior’s face. Awaiting the day that they will finally be called home, to heaven, to be with their Savior. For years they have served in foreign countries. They would rather die there, than give up their ministry and retire. What is the drive within them that makes them not give up when it gets hard or when something bad happens, but to continue on until the day they die? It is the fact that they serve the living God. They are followers of Jesus Christ and they believe the promise that He has given to us. That He will be with us always even to the end of the age. They cling to that and know that the God who made the whole universe will protect them and be with them no matter what happens. Whether they lose a child or something happens to their kids or to themselves, they continue on, because they know the God of the universe is in control. They know He will provide for their every need even though they do not know where the money or the next meal will come from. They have seen the Lord work and they are faithful to Him, because they love Him. They have watched His faithfulness to them over the years, as they have pursued Him. They do not need a fancy house or a nice car. All they need is what they have. They don’t need the latest technology to preach God’s word. All they need is their Bible and they may not even need that. My heart is filled with gladness when I see these elderly people who have been and still are on the mission field sharing the gospel, teaching the people, loving the people they are working with. They are showing the love of Christ to the nations. It brings me sorrow to see them leave this earth. They will be missed greatly, but it also brings me joy to know that they have run the race and finished it. They finally get to see the Savior face to face. What amazing examples they are for us and what great encouragement they are to remind us to continue on in the race.

The Word of God or Entertainment?

How many people have also read the Bible, before us and seen the truths we can now read for ourselves? Millions? They have held God's word in their hands or they have heard it and memorized it. How many went to great lengths for a copy of it, even for a week, to be with it and memorize it. God's word is a powerful thing and many people in other countries know it. Why is it that we, in the US, take it for granted? We have the Word of God right here in our hands and we act like it is the programs in the church that will change lives or a great speaker that will save people. The Word of God is more powerful than any of these things. Yet in sermons it might be mention once or twice. It is not the focus of the message; it has become a supplement to it. Many times there are more stories told then verses read. Many preachers* believe that people need to be entertained, not convicted. Many want the big crowds to flock to their local church; because that makes them look good. Many (preachers, teachers and believers) have no fear of God. They do fear man. They fear what man might think of them if they don't give him something entertaining or something to make him feel good. They fear that the masses of people church hopping might leave their church and go to another because the message was not entertaining enough or they don’t have the right program. They fear man more than God.

If they truly feared God, they would preach God's Word and would not stop even if everyone left. Scripture would be the focus of their teaching, instead of entertaining stories. People would remember the message not because of a funny story, but because they were convicted and they desired to changed. The example of God fearing preachers would go out and create a fear of God in the heart of man.

Many think that if you don't have a crowd of people then you must be doing something wrong. If you don't have a crowd of people many times you are doing something right and you are preaching God's Word and you have a fear of God in your heart. (This is not the case for all places, there are churches that preach the Word that have big crowds)

All the music and the programs and the elegant speech might bring people in, but is that why you want people to come? Or do you want them to come, because they desire to hear the Truth being preached and they have a desire to grow closer to God, by knowing what His Word says? Do you want to be the latest flavor church for a couple of months or do you desire to follow Christ and fear God and preach His Word? This is the sad truth of “Christianity” today. Many have taken their eyes off of Christ and put them on man and what he desires, not on what God desires.(Hebrews 12:1-2) Our eyes should be fixed on Jesus in such a way that they do not move away from Him. This is God’s Word to us, not just a study guide or something that might be useful every once in a while. This is what everything we believe is based off of and if it is not the basis for what we believe then there is something drastically wrong with what we believe.

*Note when I say preacher I am not making a distinction between teacher and preacher in this particular article.

** Note I am making a generalization when saying that many churches use programs and music and elegant speech to bring people in. This does not mean that every church that does this does not teach the Word nor does it mean that those things are bad. Rather, if they take the place of God’s Word and push it to a secondary position it becomes a problem.

*** Note I am not saying that small churches without programs are preaching from the Word or that a small church is preaching the Word. I am simply saying as I said before we need to be careful about falling into the trap of pushing the Word of God into a dark corner and very rarely looking at it.