FORWARD MARCH

In all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him who loved us —Romans 8:37

 FORWARD MARCH

Through Him who loved us
We see with eyes of faith
Standing on God's promises
A victory that does not fade

Through Him who loved us
We gain a heart of contentment

Holding to our Father's Son

An expectation of Heaven 

  

Through Him who loved us 

We conquer the fears we face 

   Walking in our Savior's light
   The darkness falls away

   Through Him who loved us
   We finish this race we're in
   Moving forward finding Jesus

   Has already conquered sin

     J E POLLOCK
     MARCH 2010

In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us —Romans 8:37

March 7, 2010

The Source of Abundant Joy

Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that "in all these things we are more than conquerors." We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.

Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let's apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against— tribulation, suffering, and persecution— are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. "We are more than conquerors through Him" "in all these things"; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn't know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said, "I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation" (2 Corinthians 7:4 ).

The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to "separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" ( Romans 8:39 ).

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http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php

Thought I'd try my mind at an acrostic and refocus my heart for a little while. LOVE, Jeff

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously
to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5

Wisdom is, and starts with, the humility to accept the fact that
you don't have all the right answers, and the courage to learn
to ask the right questions. -- Author Unknown

WISDOM

Wisdom from God is free for the asking
If you are lost with no purpose for living
Search every sage for the meaning of life
Dabble in the darkness or dance in the light
Only when you're willing to admit your doubt
Might the questions you're asking help you out

Jeffrey Pollock
March 3, 2010

Preface to the book WISDOM FOR THE WAY by Charles R. Swindoll

We have not even begun to live if we lack the wisdom God
wants to give to us, That wisdom is ours simply for the asking,
and it brings us into a whole new and exciting world! Like birth,
it will take time and it may be a painful process. But when it
comes you'll be amazed how clearly things will come into focus.
You'll begin to feel like a new creation. No wonder Jesus referred
to it as being "born again."

When we operate in the sphere of the wisdom of God, when it is
at work in our minds and in our lives, we look at life through lenses
of perception and we respond to it in calm confidence. There's a
remarkable absence of fear. We are not seized with panic. We can
either lose our jobs or we can be promoted in our work, and neither
will derail us. Why? Because we see it with God-given objectivity.
And we handle it in His wisdom.

We can dip into an unexpected valley or we can soar to the pinnacle
of prosperity, and we can cope with both extremes. His wisdom
provides us the necessary objectivity and stability. This is not some
dreamland fantasy. It is reality. It is the ability to live above the drag
of human opinion and horizontal perspective. It is what happens
within us when wisdom goes to work.

The wisdom of God gives us balance, strength, and insight. None of
these is a natural trait, each is a by-product of wisdom. We don't get
these things just because we're human beings. They must come from God.

But the more we glean God's wisdom, the more strength we gain to
live with questions and tension. He doesn't issue rules and regulations
for every moment. He provides some overall guidelines and principles,
then He allows us to make the decisions. Why? By doing this the wisdom
of God goes to work, and we begin to learn how to walk through
life---which is often full of subtle and unseen "land mines." His
wisdom provides the sixth sense we need. It matures us so that we can
press on in spite of the unanswered questions.

The good news is that such wisdom is ours to claim through an intimate
relationship with God's Son, Jesus. He is the channel through which
wisdom comes to us. In coming by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, we
are given open access to the wisdom of God. With the Son of God comes
the wisdom of God. It's all part of the package.

BY CHARLES R. SWINDOLL

Derriford, Virginia, Missouri (February 2010)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrostic

Fwd: The Miracle of the Carpenter

The Miracle of the Carpenter by Max Lucado Loretto Chapel took five years to complete. Modeled after the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, its delicate sanctuary contains an altar, a rose window, and a choir loft. The choir loft is the reason for wonder. Were you to stand in the newly built chapel in 1878, you might see the Sisters of Loretto looking forlornly at the balcony. Everything else was complete: the doors had been hung, the pews had been placed, the floor had been laid. Everything was finished. Even the choir loft. Except for one thing. No stairs. The chapel was too small to accommodate a conventional stairway. The best builders and designers in the region shook their heads when consulted. "Impossible," they murmured. There simply wasn't enough room. A ladder would serve the purpose, but mar the ambiance. The Sisters of Loretto, whose determination had led them from Kentucky to Santa Fe, now faced a challenge greater than their journey: a stairway that couldn't be built. What they had dreamed of and what they could do were separated by fifteen impossible feet. So what did they do? The only thing they could do. They ascended the mountain. Not the high mountains near Santa Fe. No, they climbed even higher. They climbed the same mountain that Jesus climbed 1,800 years earlier in Bethsaida. They climbed the mountain of prayer. As the story goes, the nuns prayed for nine days. On the last day of the novena, a Mexican carpenter with a beard and a wind-burned face appeared at the convent. He explained that he had heard they needed a stairway to a chapel loft. He thought he could help. The mother superior had nothing to lose, so she gave him permission. He went to work with crude tools, painstaking patience, and uncanny skill. For eight months he worked. One morning the Sisters of Loretto entered the chapel to find their prayers had been answered. A masterpiece of carpentry spiraled from the floor to the loft. Two complete three-hundred-sixty-degree turns. Thirty-three steps held together with wooden pegs and no central support. The wood is said to be a variety of hard fir, one nonexistent in New Mexico! When the sisters turned to thank the craftsman, he was gone. He was never seen again. He never asked for money. He never asked for praise. He was a simple carpenter who did what no one else could do so singers could enter a choir loft and sing. See the stairway for yourself, if you like. Journey into the land of Enchantment. Step into this chapel of amazement and witness the fruit of prayer. Or, if you prefer, talk to the Master Carpenter yourself. He has already performed one impossible feat in your world. He, like the Santa Fe carpenter, built a stairway no one else could build. He, like the nameless craftsman, used material from another place. He, like the visitor to Loretto, came to span the gap between where you are and where you long to be. Each year of his life is a step. Thirty-three paces. Each step of the stair is an answered prayer. He built it so you can climb it. And sing. From In the Eye of the Storm Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1997) Max Lucado Daily Emails Sign up for: • Written devotionals (from Everyday Blessings) or • One Minute MP3 audio: www.MaxLucado.com/subscribe

Jesus planted the very tree from which his cross would be carved. Why? Because he would rather die for you than live without you. February 23 Someone snapped this photo as my sermon played at one of our satelite campuses last Sunday. No, it's not a joke http://twitpic.com/14y18n February 23 Deliriously joyful are the ones who believe that if God has used sticks and rocks to do His will, then He can use us. February 23 RT @hrdadams WOW! @maxlucado's next book is called Out Live Your Life (Sept). Amazing content. So inspired by the presentation today. February 22 Hope is an olive leaf, evidence of dry land after a flood. Proof to the dreamer that dreaming is worth the risk. February 22

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>>>> http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html <<<<

Who Am I in Jesus Christ?

http://www.rbc.org/bible-study/strength-for-the-journey/2010/02/21/weekly-message.aspx#

JOY IS A CHOICE

Thought I'd dive into a poem and see what I come up with. Thanks for your prayers. Jeff

The vidlink at the very end is the band who came to El Paso with Chris Tomlin last year!
 

JOY IS A CHOICE

When the days are dark
And fear is in your heart
Turn your face to the light
And choose joy

When night is too long
And worry presses on
Lift your head up again
And choose joy

When your hope is gone
And grief blocks the sun
Raise your eyes to heaven
And choose joy

Remember God's love
Surrender your choice
Open your Bible
And rejoice!

JEFFREE!
02202010

> Live it Now > Bible Study > Spiritual Journey > Exploring Christianity > Discover the NLT

Joy--An Inside Job Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Philippians 4:4 Dr. Victor Frankl, author of Man's Search for Meaning, was imprisoned by the Nazis in World War II because he was a Jew. His wife, his children, and his parents were all killed in the Holocaust. The Gestapo stripped him of his clothes. He stood totally naked before them. As they cut off his wedding band, Viktor said to himself, "You can take away my wife, you can take away my children, you can strip me of my clothes and my freedom, but there is one thing no person can ever take away from me--and that is my freedom to choose how I will react to what happens to me!" Even under the most difficult of circumstances, joy is a choice which transforms our tragedies into triumph. Let's face it, not everything goes our way. Things don't always work out as we planned. Some days are disasters. Other days are worse than that. Happiness comes easily when things go our way. Joy is different. It's deeper. Joy is an attitude we select. Happiness is external and subject to what happens. Joy is an inside job in which we opt to rejoice regardless of the circumstances. Don't confuse happiness with joy. Happiness is a buoyant emotion that results from the momentary plateaus of well-being. Joy is bedrock stuff. Joy is a confidence that operates irrespective of our moods. Joy is the certainty that all is well, however we feel. Joy is a divine dimension of living that is not shackled by circumstances simply because we have chosen to respond in a positive manner. Paul is saying in Philippians 4:4 that joy is not something that happens to me but rather something I deliberately and consciously select. Circumstances seldom generate lasting smiles and laughter. Joy comes to those who determine to choose it in spite of their circumstances.

Trademarks © 2009, Tyndale House Publishers 351 Executive Drive, Carol Stream Illinois 60188

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 Israel and New Breed :: Again I Say Rejoice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmzygXtbSSI

PS 121:1
I lift my eyes to the hills -- where does my help come from?

THE MAKER

Make me live
Make me cry
Help me grow
Make me try

Make me learn
Make me smart
Help me know
Who you are

Make me break
Make me bow
Help me stand
With you now

Make me a servant
Help me learn to truly love
Dear Lord Jesus make me believe
You my God are more than enough

Make this body die
Make my spirit live again
Make me rich beyond imagination
Help me choose to give it all away

JEFFREE
JAN 2010

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
PS 121:2


CORRIE TEN BOOM

Whatever is Pure - January 2009

Editors Note:

The following article was written by Corrie Ten Boom, a Nazi Concentration Camp survivor, and lifelong missionary in 1974 however I reprint it here as it has a vital message to the current situation facing followers of Jesus Christ in 2010.

Time Of Tribulation

The world is deathly ill. It is dying. The Great Physician has already signed the death certificate. Yet there is still a great work for Christians to do. They are to be streams of living water, channels of mercy to those who are still in the world. It is possible for them to do this because they are overcomers.

Christians are ambassadors for Christ. They are representatives from Heaven to this dying world. And because of our presence here, things will change.

My sister, Betsy, and I were in the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbruck because we committed the crime of loving Jews. Seven hundred of us from Holland, France, Russia, Poland and Belgium were herded into a room built for two hundred. As far as I knew, Betsy and I were the only two representatives of Heaven in that room.

We may have been the Lord's only representatives in that place of hatred, yet because of our presence there, things changed. Jesus said, "In the world you shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." We too, are to be overcomers - bringing the light of Jesus into a world filled with darkness and hate.

Sometimes I get frightened as I read the Bible, and as I look in this world and see all of the tribulation and persecution promised by the Bible coming true. Now I can tell you, though, if you too are afraid, that I have just read the last pages. I can now come to shouting, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" for I have found where it is written that Jesus said, "He that overcomes shall inherit all things: and I will be His God, and he shall be My son." This is the future and hope of this world. Not that the world will survive - but that we shall be overcomers in the midst of a dying world.

Betsy and I, in the concentration camp, prayed that God would heal Betsy who was so weak and sick. "Yes, the Lord will heal me," Betsy said with confidence. She died the next day and I could not understand it. They laid her thin body on the concrete floor along with all the other corpses of the women who died that day.

It was hard for me to understand, to believe that God had a purpose for all that. Yet because of Betsy's death, today I am traveling all over the world telling people about Jesus.

There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this. These are the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days. Most of them have little knowledge of what is already going on across the world. I have been in countries where the saints are already suffering terrible persecution. In China, the Christians were told, "Don't worry, before the tribulation comes you will be translated - raptured." Then came a terrible persecution. Millions of Christians were tortured to death. Later I heard a Bishop for China say, sadly, "We have failed. We should have made the people strong for persecution rather than telling them Jesus would come first. Tell the people how to be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when the tribulation comes - to stand and not faint."

I feel I have a divine mandate to go and tell the people of this world that it is possible to be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in training for the tribulation, but more than sixty percent of the Body of Christ across the world has already entered into the tribulation. There is no way to escape it. We are next.

Since I have already gone through prison for Jesus' sake, and since I met the Bishop in China, now every time I read a good Bible text I think, "Hey, I can use that in the time of tribulation." Then I write it down and learn it by heart.

When I was in the concentration camp, a camp where only twenty percent of the women came out alive, we tried to cheer each other up by saying, "Nothing could be any worse than today." But we would find the next day was even worse. During this time a Bible verse that I had committed to memory gave me great hope and joy. "If you be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you; for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you; on their part evil is spoken of, but on your part He is glorified." (1 Peter 3:14) I found myself saying, "Hallelujah! Because I am suffering, Jesus is glorified!"

In America, the churches sing, "Let the congregation escape tribulation", but in China and Africa the tribulation has already arrived. This last year alone more than two hundred thousand Christians were martyred in Africa. Now things like that never get into the newspapers because they cause bad political relations. But I know. I have been there. We need to think about that when we sit down in our nice houses with our nice clothes to eat our steak dinners. Many, many members of the Body of Christ are being tortured to death at this very moment, yet we continue right on as though we are all going to escape the tribulation.

Several years ago I was in Africa in a nation where a new government had come into power. The first night I was there some of the Christians were commanded to come to the police station to register. When they arrived they were arrested and that same night they were executed. The next day the same thing happened with other Christians. The third day it was the same. All the Christians in the district were being systematically murdered.

The fourth day I was to speak in a little church. The people came, but they were filled with fear and tension. All during the service they were looking at each other, their eyes asking, "Will this one I am sitting beside be the next one killed? Will I be the next one?"

The room was hot and stuffy with insects that came through the screenless windows and swirled around the naked bulbs over the bare wooden benches. I told them a story out of childhood.

"When I was a little girl," I said, "I went to my father and said, 'Daddy, I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.'" "Tell me," said Father, "When you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?" "No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train." "That is right," my father said, "and so it is with God's strength. Our Father in Heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need - just in time ..."

My African friends were nodding and smiling. Suddenly a spirit of joy descended upon that church and the people began singing, "In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore." Later that week, half the congregation of that church was executed. I heard later that the other half was killed some months ago.

But I must tell you something. I was so happy that the Lord used me to encourage these people, for unlike many of their leaders, I had the word of God. I had been to the Bible and discovered that Jesus said He had not only overcome the world, but to all those who remained faithful to the end, He would give a crown of life.

How can we get ready for the persecution? First we need to feed on the word of God, digest it, make it a part of our being. This will mean disciplined Bible study each day as we not only memorize long passages of scripture, but put the principles to work in our lives.

Next we need to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Not just the Jesus of yesterday, the Jesus of History, but the life-changing Jesus of today who is still alive and sitting at the right hand of God.

We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is no optional command of the Bible, it is absolutely necessary. Those earthly disciples could never have stood up under the persecution of the Jews and Romans had they not waited for Pentecost. Each of us needs our own personal Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will never be able to stand in the tribulation without it.

In the coming persecution we must be ready to help each other and encourage each other. But we must not wait until the tribulation comes before starting. The fruit of the Spirit should be the dominant force of every Christian's life.

Many are fearful of the coming tribulation, they want to run. I, too, am a little bit afraid when I think that after all my eighty years, including the horrible nazi concentration camp, that I might have to go through the tribulation also. But then I read the Bible and I am glad.

When I am weak, then I shall be strong, the Bible says. Betsy and I were prisoners for the Lord. We were so weak, but we got power because the Holy Spirit was on us. That mighty inner strengthening of the Holy Spirit helped us through. No, you will not be strong in yourself when the tribulation comes. Rather, you will be strong in the power of Him who will not forsake you. For seventy-six years I have known the Lord Jesus and not once has He ever left me, or let me down. Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him, for I know that to all who overcome, He shall give the crown of life. Hallelujah!

Corrie ten Boom, 1974

The Hiding Place: Corrie Ten Boom, Deluxe Edition
By Corrie Ten Boom

The Hiding Place proves that the light of God's love can penetrate even the darkest recesses of despair, places like the Nazi extermination camp at Ravensbruck. After protecting Dutch. Jews in a secret room in their home, Corrie ten Boom, her sister and father were discovered, arrested, and imprisoned. Only Corrie survived, but her faith in God remained strong---so strong that, after the war, she could forgive a former camp guard in a face-to-face meeting. More than just a spellbinding adventure, The Hiding Place is a life-changing story.

INSIDE OUT

 

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

INSIDE OUT

From the inside out
God lives through us,
And removes all doubt 
In the LOVE of Jesus.

From eternity past
God knew His purpose,
And sealed His plans
At the CROSS of Jesus.

From the inside out
God works through us,
And shapes our hearts
To the LIFE of Jesus.

From the moment we choose to believe,
Through each and every day of our lives,
God the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit,

Make sure all who are "IN" turn out right.

JEFFREE!
FEB. 2010

For God knew his people in advance, and
he chose them to become like his Son,
so that his Son would be the firstborn
among many brothers and sisters.

Romans 8:29 NLT