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A TIME TO CELEBRATE
AND UNDERSTAND OUR GIFT OF
FREEDOM
July 4th marks the 232th birthday
of this wonderful country of ours. It would be great
if each of us would take a small amount of time and
thank our heavenly Father for allowing us to live in the
greatest country this world has ever seen. I want to take
some space in our newsletter to share with you some of
the past comments of our Founding Fathers that you
will never hear or see on today's news
channels.
"It is impossible to
govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the
dispositions and habits that lead to political
prosperity, our religion and morality are the
indispensable supporters. Let us with caution indulge
the supposition that morality can be maintained without
religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect
that our national morality can prevail in exclusion of
religious principle." --
George Washington - Farewell Speech
of 1796
****
"We have no government armed with
the power capable of contending with human passions,
unbridled by morality and true religion. Our
constitution was made only for a moral and religious
people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any
other." -
John Adams - Second President of
United States and chairman of the American Bible
Society
****
Listen to these words of
the great patriot, Patrick
Henry:
"It
cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this
great nation was founded not by religionists, but by
Christians; not on religion, but on the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. For that reason alone, people of other faiths
have been afforded freedom of worship
here."
****
And finally, here is one of
my favorites by President Thomas
Jefferson:
"I
am a Christian, that is to say a disciple of the
doctrines of Jesus. I have little doubt that our
whole country will soon be rallied to the unity of our
Creator and, I hope, to the pure doctrine of Jesus
also."
****
"A
disciple of the
doctrines of Jesus." What does that mean to each of
us? It means much more than we realize. God's Kingdom cannot exist
without faith and so much of faith involves trust, trust
of God and of our fellow Christians. Each of
us are finding out, however, that as we
share Bibles Cover The Earth with other Christians
there is very little trust present. Unfortunately we
live in a world where the doctrines of Jesus
mean very little to the masses and it is progressively getting
worse with each generation. It seems that
there is not one U.S. Senator or Representative or
presidental candidate that believes what George
Washington stated above in his Farewell Address of 1796,
or that it is important for us today. That should cause
concern for every Christian in this country as we
celebrate the birth of our nation. A medical doctor
determines the nature of the illness of his patient by
the signs and symptoms that his patient demonstrates. I
believe that our nation is very sick and it grieves my
heart. But I also believe that God loves this nation and
wants to bless it mightily; that blessing,
however, depends on us embracing and trusting in
the doctrines of Jesus.
I
will discuss the role of discipleship in length
later in this newletter, but I wanted to share these
words from the Founding Fathers of our country because
they knew what we know at Bibles Cover The Earth; the
Word of God is the only thing that has
the power to save this country and the world.
He sent His Word, and healed them, and
delivered them from their destruction - Psalm
107:20
As you
sit and enjoy the fireworks this Fourth of
July, say a prayer of thanksgiving for our country
and for our freedom, and that God's mercy will
allow His Word to cover this country as the
waters cover the sea.
We also
want to take this time to thank all of
our affiliate Embossing Centers for their dedication and
desire to make a difference in this world. We are
growing and it is because of you. God's Word is going
forth. Halleluia! Thank you for your perseverence and
for helping us to bring God's Kingdom fully to this
earth. Happy Fourth of July!
A Letter
From Wycliffe USA
We
wanted to share our letter from Wycliffe USA after
giving last month's BCTE donation to their Summer
Matching Campaign. Please realize that every embossing
center is a vital part of our ability to help ministries
such as Wycliffe USA. This letter is to you!
Dear Bibles Cover The Earth,
Thank you for
taking part in our 2008 Summer Matching Campaign.
Through this unique opportunity you are supporting the
full spectrum of Wycliffe's efforts to provide God's
Word in the language each language community understands
best.
Your contribution was matched, providing needed funds
to help launch 11 new Scripture translation projects,
finish a complete Bible translation for a language
community in Asia, and print Scriptures for five
language communities.
Gratefully,
Bob Creson,
President
Wycliffe
USA
For us at Bibles Cover The Earth
it doesn't get any better than this. Think of the number
of souls added to the Kingdom through that Bible
translation that is destined for Asia. Every time those
people open the pages of God's Word, you are there. You
helped make it happen. Together , we are making
a difference; together we will see Bibles cover the
earth!!
Back to
top
BCTE MONTHLY MEETING
We
have been enjoying regular monthly meetings at the
Pulaski Bank in Pocahontas. For those of you who live
close by, it is a great opportunity to bring new people
who might want to hear our program and join our
fantastic vision.
We
invite everyone who might want to hear what Bibles Cover
The Earth is all about. So, pick up your friends and
come join us at the next meeting. We usually meet the
last week of the month, and we send out e-mails when the
meeting is scheduled. We hope to see you there.
We
have recently decided to schedule some meetings in
Little Rock. We will keep everyone posted on the
progress by e-mail. Start thinking now of people you
know in the Little Rock area that might want to hear the
program and start a Christian home-based business that
can change the world.
The Doctrine
of Discipline
I
have always enjoyed studying the lives of our Founding
Fathers. One thing that I really admire is their use of
the English language and their ability to speak in what
seems like poetic form.
I know that this
"gift" did not come easily. It took years of study and
dedication. It also took a large amount of discipline.
As I was studying the writings of these men I was
impressed to relate the need for this thing called
discipline in obtaining and maintaining the Kingdom of
God. It affects us all much more than we realize. The
first twelve men that Jesus chose were called disciples.
Disciple is derived from the word, discipline. That
should lend a large amount of creedence to our
discussion.
Let
me begin by asking you a question. Who polices the
Kingdom of God?
Here are a few points to consider
in line with the question.
1. God
cannot associate with sin
2. The
Kingdom of God cannot tolerate sin in its
midst
3. We
still have free will
4. The
Kingdom is eternal which means forever and ever
5.
Sin within the Kingdom could destroy the Kingdom
I believe the answer is the
Holy Spirit within each person, but how He does it is
vital to this life and the next.
If you continue in my word then
are you My disciples - John 8:31.
Your Word have I hidden in my
heart that I might not sin against You - Psalm
119:11.
In Luke, Jesus makes a
remarkable statement: "The Kingdom of God is
within you" - Luke 17:21.
A king cannot have a kingdom
without property to rule over. A king's domain is his
kingdom. If the Kingdom of God is within us
then our domain is what we have been given to rule
over; and it is critical that we keep our domain in line
with the Word of God. Our domain is our individual
responsibility to maintain and police by the light
of the Word.
Here's an example: I
go to Wal-Mart and the cashier accidently gives me ten
dollars too much in change. She has challenged my
domain. What do I do? What does the Word say? Remember,
policing my kingdom is up to me. In light of the Word,
the only option I have is to return the ten dollars. Any
other option would be stealing. The Kingdom of God does
not tolerate such activity. We may convince ourselves
that nobody will ever know. That is false. We will know
and the Holy Spirit will also, but here is the clincher;
if we allow stealing in our kingdom we will steal in
God's, and He can't allow that. Thieves do not enter
God's Kingdom. It is the same with lying, adultery,
fornication, idolatry.
He that overcomes shall inherit
all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My
Son. But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murders, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have
their part in the lake which burns with fire and
brimstone - Revelation 21:7-8.
God loves us all BUT He
cannot allow anyone or anything into His Kingdom that
might subject it to ruin. Every day we face situations
that challenge the integrity of our kingdom. That's the
way it is supposed to be because while on this earth,
these challenges teach us to be disciplined. How we
respond to each episode reveals our loyalty to the Word.
Think of Adam in the Garden. That was his kingdom but he
gave it up by being disloyal to the Word. It's that
important to God. Discipline is vital.
St. Paul tells the
Galatians: "Be not
deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows
that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that sows to
the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting" - Galatians 6:7-8.
Now you may be asking why
I would include this subject matter in our newsletter. I
have three reasons:
Number one: Without the Word,
becoming a disciple of Christ is impossible. Every man
and woman on this planet is building a kingdom that one
day they will present to the King of kings. On that day
many will fail because they did not have access to the
Word. Their kingdom is being built on sand. Every Bible
we send out raises the statistics for more kingdoms
being built on the Rock. God has raised up Bibles
Cover The Earth for this time and every Embossing Center
is not only building individual kingdoms but helping to
build the eternal Kingdom.
Number two:
When we started Bibles Cover The
Earth our goal was to target Christians because we thought
most Christians understood their role in relation to
God's Kingdom. When one accepts Christ as his or her
personal Savior, that person gives his/her life to
Christ. His/her life belongs to Christ and building
their internal kingdom and His eternal Kingdom
should be their top priorities. We have found this
assumption to be false. So many people who confess
Christ have very little time at all
to do God's work. For many it is the last thing on
their list of priorities. Unfortunately, we are starting
to see the results of our sowing.
"It is impossible to
govern the world without God and the Bible" - George
Washington
Here at Bibles Cover The Earth we feel that
part of our calling is to be a voice in the wilderness
calling people to make God and His work a priority.
As we grow, our ability to influence more souls
will increase and we can together become a strong force
for the work of the Holy Spirit in this country and
around the world. That's why integrity and honesty are
so important to us. Those are the two legs that support
our doctrine of discipline and we promise that it will
always be that way.
Number Three:
Discipline is not easy. Most of the time it involves
denying the power of the flesh and its desires. We can
look around and quickly deduce that discipline is very
much lacking in today's society. Still it is vital to
building your kingdom and maintaining your life in light
of the Word. God told Joshua to meditate on the Word day
and night and not to say anything but what the Word
said and Joshua would have great success (Joshua 1:8).
Building your Bibles Cover
The Earth business cannot be done without
discipline. Some of you have found the challenge to
be difficult; a few have found it to be too much,
unworthy of the time. Let me assure you that Satan does
not want this program to succeed and after reading this
article you can understand why. Jesus said that the
Kingdom of God is suffering violence but the violent
take it by force. That's another word for discipline in
action.
Some day each of us
will present the kingdom we have built while residing on
this planet to Jesus. He will judge righteously and some
who thought they had it made in the shade will hear
the words, "Depart from Me, I never knew you." Some
will feel misjudged until the Lord reveals the true
character and nature of the kingdom that they devoted their
life to building. But to those who overcome...
Call it arrogance or pompousness,
or maybe call it love, but we believe that Bibles Cover
The Earth has been called to activate the "overcomer"
mindset in the hearts of Christians; first to this
country, then around the world. It will not happen,
however, without the doctrine of discipline and the
light of the Word.
As you consider your
Embossing Center this month, ask the Holy Spirit to help
you overcome all obstacles that are preventing your
success. I can promise you that somewhere in His answer
you will find the doctrine of discipline.
DFH |