Pilgrims' Pathway Newsletter
May/June 2000
Contents:
Problems
Never Alone
At the Foot of the Cross
Trusting In the Bible, Part 2
Creation Nugget
Recipes
Forgiveness
Parting Verses
Note from the editor...
Hello!
Welcome once again to Pilgrims’ Pathway! It is my sincere prayer
and hope that this newsletter may encourage you on down the path that Jesus
trod, the way He trod it...with love, self-denial, and dedication.
For He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb.4:15)
So why is the theme of this newsletter
Christian? Because our relationship with God is so important.
We can not take our Christianity lightly. Do we really realize what
it means to live for God? Are our thoughts and actions centered around
Him? Are we really and truly setting our minds on things above?
The world around us may seem to offer all we could ever want, but nothing
is further from the truth. It can offer everything except that
which will permanently satisfy and is truly important. Our
days are without hope unless Jesus is our all.
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Problems
Nancy just had a bad argument with
her mom. Her parents had promised to give her $700 to put toward
a car, and Nancy was allowed to spend no more than $500 of her own money.
She had seen a more expensive car that she really wanted, but her
mother refused to let her spend more than the agreed amount. The argument
had made Nancy late for a meeting at Cindy’s house. She was suppose
to be there in 10 minutes and it was a 20-minute drive. Nancy finished
doing her hair and was finally ready to go. As she rushed out of
the bathroom, she ran into her mother who had a full cup of coffee in her
hand. You can guess what happened . . . the coffee sloshed
over Nancy’s new dress.
“Look what you did!” Nancy cried.
Mom began, “Now, Nancy,--” Nancy angrily
rushed off to her room to change, stubbing her toe on the bed post in the
process. Angrier still, she felt like she’d just about had it.
Five minutes later she pulled out of the driveway in her parents’ car.
A ways down the road, Nancy saw orange
construction signs. Further on, she saw a construction worker holding
up a stop sign. Nancy pounded her fist on the dash board. I do
not have time for this! she thought,
boiling inside. As one of the big backhoes
moved a little to the side of the road, Nancy saw her chance. She
stepped on the gas and quickly drove through just before the backhoe took
up the lane again. So I blew
a construction stop; no big deal, she thought.
But in a few seconds she saw police lights flashing behind her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours later, Nancy drove back
up to the house and slowly got out of the car. She stuffed the offensive
ticket in her purse. Nancy’s parents were sitting on the couch
as she walked in.
“Hi Nancy. How did the meeting
go?” her mom asked.
“Fine,” Nancy dismally replied.
“Dad and I want to talk to you,” her
mom said. Nancy flopped into a lounge chair.
Her father began, “Well, Nancy, I heard
how you acted this morning--blowing up at your mom and all. I’m disappointed,
and you should be ashamed. We talked it over and feel that you deserve
punishment. We
want you to wait a few months before you buy a car.”
Nancy’s eyes widened and she tensed.
“But you said I could-”
“I know, Nancy. But we made a
deal and you have not been willing to follow through. You’ve been
acting shamefully by pestering your mom so much. It won’t hurt you
to wait a little longer. We want you to try to get your priorities
straight. There’s more to life than getting a car,” her father spoke
sincerely.
“Okay,” Nancy said softly, looking at
the floor. She said no more. Nancy dreaded showing them the ticket
after this. Boy, I really blew it today, she thought. Well,
I’d better get it over with.
Nancy took the ticket out of her purse
and handed it to her parents. She sat back down and kept her eyes on
the floor.
“Nancy!” Mom exclaimed in surprise and
disappointment.
After a moment Dad started chuckling.
“I don’t know about you. One thing after another today.”
Turning to his wife, he said, “I think
we ought to have Nancy pay her bill.” She nodded.
“Okay, Nancy. Now you can see
why I didn’t want you to spend all your money on a car,” he smiled.
Nancy looked miserable. “I’m sorry,”
she said earnestly. She looked at her mother. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Just remember, honey, if you exercise
self-control and a little respect for your parents, things will go a lot
smoother for you,” her father said, giving her a hug.
-Atlanta Stace
“Be patient with all.”
1 Thes. 5:14b
“Likewise you younger people, submit
yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be
submissive to one another, and be clothed with
humility...” 1 Peter 5:5
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
.. .. .. ..
At the Foot of the Cross
The ground is level at the foot of the cross
God shows no preference there,
He sent His dear Son to die for all
The sins of the world to bear.
The ground
is level at the foot of the cross
It’s for
all who will accept Him by grace,
Salvation
is offered to all who will believe
No difference
in peoples or race.
The ground is level at the foot of the cross
Yet scores of souls die each day,
Never having heard that God loves them
And sent Jesus to show them the way.
The ground
is level at the foot of the cross
In obedience
let us go forth and tell,
The Message
of salvation far and wide
To a world
on the road to hell.
The ground is level at the foot of the cross
God has commanded all who love Him to go,
And proclaim His Message of love abroad
To all kindred, friend or foe.
YES, THE
GROUND IS LEVEL AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS
Let us
praise Him in unswerving accord,
With the
prophet of old let us echo forth and say
“Here
am I, send me, precious Lord.”
-Naomi Durik
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
No man is prosperous whose
immortality is forfeited.
No man is rich to whom the grave brings
eternal bankruptcy.
No man is happy upon whose path there
rests but a
momentary glimmer of light, shining
out between clouds that are closing
over him in darkness forever.
-H.W.
Beecher
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Creation Nugget
A man found the
cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He
sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force
its body through that little hole.
Then it seemed to stop
making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could,
and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged
easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man
continued to watch the butterfly because he expected, at any moment, that
the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which
would contract in time. It never happened! In fact, the butterfly
spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled
wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness
and haste did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle
required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening, were God’s way
of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it
would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are
exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through
our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not
be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
I asked for strength...and
God gave me difficulties to make me strong. I asked for wisdom...and
God gave me problems to solve to make me wise. I asked for courage...and
God gave me danger to overcome to make me courageous. I asked for
a loving spirit...and God put troublesome people in my path that needed
love. I trusted in God, and He taught me what I could not have learned
had there been no trouble. He answered my prayers in the most unexpected
way!
-Author unknown
“My brethren,
count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing
of your faith produces patience.” James 1:2,3
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“...the more I personally
read the Bible, the more I marvel at this awesome Book. How is it
possible for forty different authors, to write over a span of 1,600 years,
on three continents, in three languages, on hundreds of subjects - yet,
without contradiction - and with one central storyline, God’s redemption
of mankind? Truly, it can be said without contradiction that the
Bible must be divine, rather than human in origin.”
-Hank Hanegraaff
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Forgiveness
The following message was given at a Sunday service
to a group of senior citizens at an adult care facility. An important
part of that service was communion, the Lord’s Supper. After communion,
this message
was given.
A few minutes ago, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper, a way
that Jesus gave us to remember His death on the cross as a sacrifice for
our sins so that we might have everlasting life with Him in heaven.
A key passage for the communion is found in Matthew 26:28 where it says,
“For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for
the forgiveness of sins.” God sent Jesus to teach us, then provided
Him as a sacrifice so that our sins could be forgiven. Forgiveness
is a prerequisite for us to achieve eternal life. But
there is another side to this forgiveness that we
commonly don’t think about. Let’s look into it. Will you join me in
the Lord’s Prayer?
“Our Father which art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in
earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” (Matt.6:9-13)
Did you notice the line, “forgive
us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”? In many churches this
line says, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass
against us”. In Luke 11:4 it reads, “forgive us our sins, for we
also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” Jesus taught forgiveness.
If we receive Him as our Lord and Savior and truly repent of our sins, He
will forgive us, but we are expected to do likewise, to forgive people who
have wronged us. In Matthew 5:23,24 we read, “Therefore if you bring
your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something
against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First
be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
In Mark 11:25, we find this passage,
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone,
forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”
In Matthew 18:21-35, we find this parable:
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin
against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said
to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times
seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted
to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle
accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with
his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience
with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was
moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. But
that servant went out
and found one of his fellow servants who owed
him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat,
saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at
his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay
you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till
he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had
been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that
had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You
wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as
I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to
the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My
heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does
not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
When we are praying or thinking about
our relationship with the Lord Jesus, we commonly are concerned, or downright
worried about the sins that we have committed and we seek forgiveness.
But how often do we forgive others? Do we hold grudges or harbor bad feelings
about people who have said or done something that hurt us? Grudges
are funny things, they rarely hurt the person who is the object of the grudge.
Instead, the grudge we hold just festers in us and makes us unhappy or ill
and it surely interferes in our relationship with God.
In Matthew 6:14,15, Jesus makes it really
clear how God feels about lack of forgiveness. “For if you forgive
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But
if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses.” Interestingly, this passage immediately follows
the Lord’s Prayer. It must have been important.
In Eph. 4:32 the apostle Paul writes,
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even
as God in Christ forgave you.” If we turn loose of our bad feeling
and grudges by forgiving those who have wronged us, we may find a great
weight lifted from our shoulders and also find a new joy in life, and a
Christian should always be joyful. As Paul writes in 1 Thes. 5:16-18,
“ Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
-Milt Rogers
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The Model
Did you ever watch
a little child take a lesson in model drawing? Never two strokes
of the pencil without a glance at the model. And the first law and
the last
law of the imitation of Christ
is just this -
“looking unto Jesus.”
-George Jackson
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Never Alone
“Indeed the hour is coming,
yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will
leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.”
John 16:32
What I’d like to focus on here
is not the fact that the disciples abandoned Jesus during His greatest
hour of need, but on the fact that Jesus was not alone because the Father
was with Him. We can never know truly whether family or friends will
stand with us during a time of terrible crisis or persecution, but we can
always know that the Lord is with us no matter what we face. He has
promised that He would “never leave us nor forsake us.”
Now, in this life, our thought should
be “me and the Lord.” Now, in this life, our goal should be to be completely
dependent on Him and able to stand alone. Instead, what sometimes
happens, is that we are swayed and carried away from our core beliefs; whether
it be by a crowd or by one or two people. We need to have enough strength
of mind and body, enough firm conviction in God’s Word, and enough love
and reliance on Him to be sufficient in Him. As always our perfect
example is Jesus. Though He was almost constantly around people who
either argued or tempted or tested Him, He stood firm in the Father alone.
Sometimes God will bring us to a
period of almost isolation in our lives. There may be people around,
but no one to truly connect with. This is okay because it is at this
point that the Lord can become your best Friend. He becomes the fullness
that can fulfill any loneliness. He becomes our sufficiency, our whole
life. Jesus went through a time of isolation Himself when He went into
the wilderness and fasted for forty days. His whole reliance and focus
was on the Father. And even at the end of that time, when He was at
His weakest physically, spiritually He was at His strongest. The Father
was His complete fullness and He was able to withstand the temptations Satan
threw at Him. Yes, the Lord made us to enjoy fellowship with others.
He made us to need family and friends. All of that is a beautiful
part of the life He created for us. But it is more fully enjoyed and
appreciated when our completeness is in the Lord and not dependent on others
and what they think, say, and do.
Although Jesus had His wilderness
experience, He still separated Himself from time to time to be alone.
One of those times is in Math.14:23, “...He went up on the mountain by
Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.” It was
probably a time of peace and refreshment for Jesus to be away from the
crowds with their problems and needs. It would be a time to draw close
to the Father with no distractions, a time to worship and praise.
Having a quiet time is a small way that we can daily renew ourselves in
the Lord. If sometimes the Lord draws us away from others for a longer
span of time, to develop our relationship with Him, we need to try to recognize
what He is doing and rejoice because it is out of His great love for us
that He wants to spend time with us and become our best Friend.
Jesus said in John 12:24, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain
of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies,
it produces much grain.” In a sense Jesus lived a solitary life,
“He did not commit Himself unto men . . for He knew what was in man.”(John
2:24, 25) He bore the burden of our sins alone so that many could be saved.
His harvest is the salvation of millions. As we learn to daily die
to self, which is saying yes to the Lord and no to self, we grow in the
Lord. Growth in Him is freedom from self and reliance on Him. Then
we too can produce a harvest pleasing to the Father.
-Michelle Stace
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Someone describes packing his bag for a journey.
Just before closing it, he observes a small corner not yet filled. He says,
“Into this little corner I put a guide-book, a lamp, a mirror, a microscope,
a telescope, a volume of choice poems, several well-written biographies,
a package of old letters, a book of songs, a sharp sword, and a small library
of more than sixty volumes; yet, strange enough to say, all these did not
occupy a space of more than three inches long by two inches wide.”
“But how could you do it?”
“Well, it was all in the packing,
I put in my Bible.”
-Selected
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Trusting In the Bible, Part
2
Archaeology has proven
time and again the reliability of the Bible. Allow me to quote Hank
Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute: “The historical
reliability of the Bible has been dramatically confirmed particularly in
this century through archaeological discoveries. All sorts of details
have been confirmed through the discovery of ancient documents, through
the examination of artifacts, and in some cases through excavations of
entire ancient cities. These findings have consistently supported
the historicity of the Bible... It is also a historical fact that Jesus
was a Jew who preached about God the Father, who claimed to be God, worked
miracles, and was crucified during Pilate’s reign. All of this is,
in fact, literal history. In addition, the supernatural aspects of
Scripture are presented just as matter-of-factly as the rest. And indeed,
the most stupendous miracle recorded in the Bible, the resurrection of
Jesus Christ, has been authenticated by numerous scholarly studies including
the late great Dr. Simon Greenleaf. Dr. Greenleaf was the Royale
Professor of Legal Evidences at Harvard University. He was goaded
by his students into looking at the evidences for the resurrection.
After a thorough examination he came back and said, ‘There is not a single
unbiased juror in the world who would ever look at the evidence and deny
it.’ Dr. Greenleaf became a Christian... Jesus not only claimed to
be God, but He proved His claim through the fulfillment of messianic prophecy,
the performance of miracles, and ultimately and most succinctly through
His historically veritable resurrection from the dead.” Seeing that Jesus
is God, all that He said is true. Jesus showed very clear approval
of the Old Testament (see verses at end of article*), and also preauthenticated
the New Testament (John 14:25,26; 16:12-15).
Biblical Prophecy also
shows very strong evidence of the reliability of God’s Word. Allow me again
to quote Hank Hanegraaff: “The Bible records predictions of events that
could not be known or predicted by chance or common sense. Surprisingly,
the predictive nature of many Bible passages was once a popular argument
(by liberals) against the reliability of the Bible. Critics argued
that the prophecies actually were written after the events and that editors
had
merely dressed up the Bible text to
look like they contained predictions made before the events. Nothing
could be further from the truth, however. The many predictions of
Christ’s birth, life, and death were indisputably rendered more than a
century before they occurred as proven by the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah
and other prophetic books as well as by the Septuagint translation, all
dating from earlier than 100 B.C.” Even the small detailed prophecies
came true, such as Jesus’ side being pierced at Calvary (Zech 12:10) and,
His cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Ps.22:1). Truly,
we have much reason to trust in and study this wonderful gift of God, the
Bible!
-Atlanta Stace
Note: There
are many books available through or recommended by the Christian Research
Institute that can be of much help on this issue. Their address is:
P.O. Box 7000, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-7000
*Matt. 4:4,7,10; 5:17,18,21,27,31,33,38,43; 8:4,11;
9:13; 10:15; 11:10; 12:3-8,40-42; 13:14,15; 15:1-9; 16:4; ect.; Mark 1:44;
12:10,11; 11:17; 14:49; ect.; Luke 4:17-21; 17:26; ect.; John 3:14; 10:34,35;
ect.
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Recipes:
Bean With Bacon Soup
1 1/2 cups white beans (or your bean
preference)
1 cup cooked carrot (blend 3/4 cup;
chop 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup powdered milk
2 tsp. chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
6 tbl. salsa - blended
4 tbl. velveta cheese
1 3/4 cup water
Soak beans overnight in
enough water to cover them by a couple inches. Pour off water, and
add in enough water again to cover by a couple inches. Over high heat,
bring to boil (be careful not to let it boil over J), then turn
heat down, cover, and let it softly boil until beans are soft. Add
in remaining ingredients and heat until cheese melts. Serves 4.
Corn Bread Beef Casserole
Combine in skillet:
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
Brown well, drain, & add:
1 16 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/4 cup water
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbl. chili powder
1/2 cup chopped green pepper (op.)
1 cup corn
Mix well and simmer 10
min. Turn into 9x13” pan. Top evenly with corn bread batter
(recipe below). Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 30
min.
Corn Bread Batter
Mix together:
1 1/2 cups corn meal
2 tbl. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
Mix in:
2 eggs
2 tbl. oil
1 cup milk
Don’t worry if topping sinks at first
into meat mixture; it will rise during baking.
Cooking Tip...
I have been experimenting
with unrefined cane sugar (in cooking) and discovered (to my delight J) that it works
just as well as regular sugar. It only has a slightly brown tint to
it, and it costs more, of course, but unrefined sugar is much better for
you than regular white sugar.( Sep.2002 update: I suggest that you do not
use it in very dry recipes, such as crusts; it won't dissolve. For
liquidy batters it is fine. For thicker batters, just dissolve first
in another liquid going into the recipe, such as eggs or milk).
-Atlanta Stace
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Parting Verses
So He became their Savior.
In all their affliction He was afflicted, and
the Angel of His Presence saved them; in His
love and in His pity He redeemed them;
and He bore them and carried them
all the days of old.
Isaiah 63:8b,9
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