The Blood covenant....so much more...

[awaken]

No, sir, you are dead wrong. God denied Paul healing as you should well know. 2 Corinthians 12:7 (HCSB)
7 especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (HCSB)
8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me.
9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

You don't realize that God uses negative situations in our life to bring Him glory. You preach a prosperity gospel that is despicable, imo. I have seen your kind come into a hospital that I worked at and tell sick people it was their fault they were sick, that they could be healed if they had enough faith. I am talking about people dying of cancer. Security had to have them removed before the family beat the devil out of them. That, sir, is insidious.

God chastises every son He receives, and if you have not been corrected by God, then you are a bastard and not a son according to Hebrews. How does God chastise? However He wants. He could send sickness, take away wealth, our joy, etc. You need to grow up and realize that your ways are not God's ways. To hear you tell how a Christian life is supposed to happen, Paul must have been the worst Christian of us all. Listen at what happened to him:
2 Corinthians 11:23-31 (HCSB)
23 Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, near death many times.
24 Five times I received 39 lashes from Jews.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods ⌊by the Romans⌋. Once I was stoned ⌊by my enemies⌋. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea.
26 On frequent journeys, ⌊I faced⌋ dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the open country, dangers on the sea, and dangers among false brothers;
27 labor and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and lacking clothing.
28 Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my care for all the churches.
29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
30 If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses.
31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is praised forever, knows I am not lying.
Paul went hungry, thirsty, and lacked clothing, and he was the best Christian we have ever read about and you and I aren't worthy to wash his feet, yet by your despicable religious, holier than thou attitude, you would make him out of the will of God during these situations.

God takes us through all things, but doesn't always deliver us from them

Pauls thorn in the flesh was not sickness...and God did not cause it!
Look at it from salvation...

Because of the Atonement, salvation is freely available to everyone, so it's always God's will for people to receive salvation (e.g. 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). Salvation is always available, and no-one is denied. It's by grace (which is God's part of the equation) through faith (which is our part of the equation) (Ephesians 2:8). Faith is a gift from God (Romans 12:3, Ephesians 2:8), but it's our responsibility to use that faith in order to receive salvation. If people don't turn to Jesus in faith then they don't receive salvation, but is it reasonable to claim that salvation didn't work? No, because God did His part (in the Atonement) and salvation always works. The problem is on their receiving end.

 

[Bronconagurski]

Pauls thorn in the flesh was not sickness...and God did not cause it!
Look at it from salvation...

Because of the Atonement, salvation is freely available to everyone, so it's always God's will for people to receive salvation (e.g. 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). Salvation is always available, and no-one is denied. It's by grace (which is God's part of the equation) through faith (which is our part of the equation) (Ephesians 2:8). Faith is a gift from God (Romans 12:3, Ephesians 2:8), but it's our responsibility to use that faith in order to receive salvation. If people don't turn to Jesus in faith then they don't receive salvation, but is it reasonable to claim that salvation didn't work? No, because God did His part (in the Atonement) and salvation always works. The problem is on their receiving end.

Your, problem, sir, is that you have been fed a line and you do not know what you are talking about. Salvation and the prosperity gospel are two different things. I have had enough of this garbage you spout. I can't believe they allow you to post on the Baptist forum with this nonsense, no offense, but I do not know any other way to say it.

 

[awaken]

Your, problem, sir, is that you have been fed a line and you do not know what you are talking about. Salvation and the prosperity gospel are two different things. I have had enough of this garbage you spout. I can't believe they allow you to post on the Baptist forum with this nonsense, no offense, but I do not know any other way to say it.

My mother died with Cancer this year! My search for truth in what scriptures say about healing is just beginning! I have more questions than answers...but there is more to healing than what we have been taught in the Baptist churches! My own search has proved that to me...

search the sciptures and see what healed them in the New Testament healings..

 

[awaken]

Here are just a few I have come across...

"Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ... "Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home." (Matthew 9:2-7)

"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see." (Acts 3:16)

"In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk." (Acts 14:8-10)

"Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; and their sight was restored" (Matthew 9:29-30)

""What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road." (Mark 10:51-52)

"Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you."" (Luke 8:48)

"Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."" (Luke 17:19)
Notice that their faith was involved in receiving their healing!
How do you explain all those sciptures away!!!

 

[John of Japan]

The reason Christianity won over other religions (besides the fact that the true God is at the center) is that it does offer hope to the down trodden, the poor, etc. I love to hear Dr. Fowler talk about the great reversals pictured in Luke, where Jesus ignores the traditions of the religious and goes after those they despise or ignore.

Amen and amen!

 

[John of Japan]

My mother died with Cancer this year! My search for truth in what scriptures say about healing is just beginning! I have more questions than answers...but there is more to healing than what we have been taught in the Baptist churches! My own search has proved that to me...

search the sciptures and see what healed them in the New Testament healings..

Don't say "we have been taught." That is dead wrong. You have no right to speak for any of us Baptists except yourself. Maybe you weren't taught about healing, but I was. See my grandfather's best seller on prayer (over 500,000 copies), Prayer Asking and Receiving., ch. 7 & 8. Millions of Baptists of all stripes have read his teachings on healing or heard him preach about it. But he strongly opposed the un-Biblical Charismatic teachings on healing with his book The Charismatic Movement (pp. 185-283) while standing up for the Biblical teaching. If you are truly and honestly seeking for Bible answers on healing, you really should read these books by a famous Baptist evangelist.

 

[awaken]

Don't say "we have been taught." That is dead wrong. You have no right to speak for any of us Baptists except yourself. Maybe you weren't taught about healing, but I was. See my grandfather's best seller on prayer (over 500,000 copies), Prayer Asking and Receiving., ch. 7 & 8. Millions of Baptists of all stripes have read his teachings on healing or heard him preach about it. But he strongly opposed the un-Biblical Charismatic teachings on healing with his book The Charismatic Movement (pp. 185-283) while standing up for the Biblical teaching. If you are truly and honestly seeking for Bible answers on healing, you really should read these books by a famous Baptist evangelist.

You like to brag on your relatives and how famous they are..about their books they wrote. That is great! But I am only interested in one BOOK!

I do not agree with God getting the blame for healings not happening today. I do not believe it is His will! I hear that all the time "Well, it must not have been his will or they would not have died."

.."they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover"..

Too many scriptures have to be ignores in order to believe as you do! God is the healer!

New Testament never says that it's God's will for a person to remain sick or injured or disabled, but instead the New Testament consistently shows that healing and health are God's will for us.

While Jesus was on the earth, was God the Father accomplishing His will through Jesus?

 

[12strings]

You like to brag on your relatives and how famous they are..about their books they wrote. That is great! But I am only interested in one BOOK!

I do not agree with God getting the blame for healings not happening today. I do not believe it is His will! I hear that all the time "Well, it must not have been his will or they would not have died."

.."they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover"..

Too many scriptures have to be ignores in order to believe as you do! God is the healer!

New Testament never says that it's God's will for a person to remain sick or injured or disabled, but instead the New Testament consistently shows that healing and health are God's will for us.

While Jesus was on the earth, was God the Father accomplishing His will through Jesus?

We'll just wait for you to get back to us in a few months, or years...when you come across a sickness in yourself or someone else that you can't heal, even though you have commanded the sickness out of them and they have believed in faith that it would happen...then you may re-examine your interpretation of scripture in a way that fits reality.

 

[12strings]

A few quotes from AWAKEN:

Therefore, it's always His will for us to be healed and healthy, even when we sometimes get sick or injured. Think about it for a moment....

...The point here is that it's always God's will for people to receive healing! Healing is always available! No-one is ever denied.

Contrasted with the experience of JOB:

Job 1:20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Observation #1: If Satan takes family and prosperity away from us, It is NOT A SIN to say that GOD has taken it away. (In all this Job did not sin).

Job 2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Observation #2: If Satan strikes one of God's children with illness, It is NOT A SIN to speak of receiving that illness (which we view as evil) from God. (Job did not sin with his lips).

Observation #3: Job suffered greatly, losing his prosperity, losing his health, for a significant period of time (ie, he was denied healing for a time). His friends came along and told him he must be doing something wrong to not be prosperous and healthy...but God, rather than rebuking Job for his lack of faith, rebukes the friends for their ill-conceived advice.

I would love to hear how the Book of Job fits in to your theology of Prosperity and health, and how suffering and sickness are never God's will.

 

[DHK]

This is not easy to comprehend because most Christians seem to be looking at healing from the wrong perspective.

Most Charismatics look at the world the wrong way.

Take your time, and look at these two sites very carefully, please:

[FONT=&quot]http://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/vi...verty+in+the+Philippines&c=11&sigr=11an60rt0&[/FONT]



[FONT=&quot]http://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/vi...Christians'+tent+city&c=9&sigr=12980fdtc&[/FONT]

 

[John of Japan]

You like to brag on your relatives and how famous they are..about their books they wrote. That is great! But I am only interested in one BOOK!

Then I feel sorry for you. You don't want to partake of the wisdom of others, godly men who have done God's work for decades and studied the Word of God twice what you or I have. I have learned so much from the Christian books I have read, and will continue to do so. The fact that you reject all books but the Bible says to me that you are sure your interpretations are better than everyone else's, and you are sure you can't learn from anyone else. How sad.

I do not agree with God getting the blame for healings not happening today. I do not believe it is His will! I hear that all the time "Well, it must not have been his will or they would not have died."

.."they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover"..

Too many scriptures have to be ignores in order to believe as you do! God is the healer!

How many times do I have to ask you, don't twist my words. Don't misrepresent me. I believe God is the healer. I believe healing is for today. I believe God heals in answer to prayer.

"It is an unspeakable tragedy, we believe, for Christians to miss the power, the joy, the answers to prayer, the manifest presence and intervention of God, that many New Testament Christians had. Where are the thousands saved like at Pentecost and following? ...Where are the miraculous healings that went with the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus and of Peter and of Paul? Yes, we believe we shouold sometimes see miraculous healings in answer to prayer" (The Charismatic Movement, by John R. Rice, p. 185).

New Testament never says that it's God's will for a person to remain sick or injured or disabled, but instead the New Testament consistently shows that healing and health are God's will for us.

Then tell me, why do Christians die? Of diseases? Good Christians? Christians who believe exactly like you do about healing?

 

[awaken]

We'll just wait for you to get back to us in a few months, or years...when you come across a sickness in yourself or someone else that you can't heal, even though you have commanded the sickness out of them and they have believed in faith that it would happen...then you may re-examine your interpretation of scripture in a way that fits reality.

I have come across this! My mother died at age 73 with Cancer. But I have also witness to people and they have not received Jesus as their Lord and Savior too! So do you believe God chooses who to save and who not to? Or is salvation offered to all?

 

[awaken]

A few quotes from AWAKEN:



Contrasted with the experience of JOB:

Job 1:20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Observation #1: If Satan takes family and prosperity away from us, It is NOT A SIN to say that GOD has taken it away. (In all this Job did not sin).

Job 2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Observation #2: If Satan strikes one of God's children with illness, It is NOT A SIN to speak of receiving that illness (which we view as evil) from God. (Job did not sin with his lips).

Observation #3: Job suffered greatly, losing his prosperity, losing his health, for a significant period of time (ie, he was denied healing for a time). His friends came along and told him he must be doing something wrong to not be prosperous and healthy...but God, rather than rebuking Job for his lack of faith, rebukes the friends for their ill-conceived advice.

I would love to hear how the Book of Job fits in to your theology of Prosperity and health, and how suffering and sickness are never God's will.

Read post # 77

 

[awaken]

Most Charismatics look at the world the wrong way.

Take your time, and look at these two sites very carefully, please:

[FONT=&quot]http://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/vi...verty+in+the+Philippines&c=11&sigr=11an60rt0&[/FONT]



[FONT=&quot]http://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/vi...Christians'+tent+city&c=9&sigr=12980fdtc&[/FONT]

So are you saying this is God's will?

 

[12strings]

Some have brought out Job in many threads trying to say that the benefits found in the new covenant in Christ's blood are not available to us. They say "Look what God allowed in Job's life!"

Job is considered the oldest book in Bible. Job's life predates the Abrahamic blood covenant that was the first and only known covenant of its kind in the earth. THere is no evidence that Job and Abraham are even related. THe only way then to be apart of the Abrahamic blood covenant was to be a member of Abraham's family. THe book of Job describes the life of a holy man OUTSIDE of a blood covenant with God! Job had no covenant commitment from God..no covenant promises to put faith in...no covenant benefits..and no covenant union with God on which to depend. Yet, Abraham and NT Christians today possess these things. I believe the one reason God put Job in the Bible was to illustrate this point.

Job is a picture of how God deals with humanity without intervening power of the blood covenant.

1. All people are related through Adam.

2. God made a covenant with Adam & Eve that involved clothing them with the skin of a killed animal...he also made a covenant with Noah after the flood.

3. So you are assuming that God's goodwill toward humanity has somehow changed since the time of Job?

4. So before Abraham, God had no goodwill toward those people who worshipped him faithfully? That hem to be ill for some reason, but that reason has now vanished? Remember Romans 3 says God passed over former sins, which might make God seem to be unust, but that Christ sacrifice vindicates God for even those past sins, showing his justice. If God can forgive OT sins based on the future death of Christ, why couldn't he give Job immediate healing based on Christ's future gift of healing?

5. So you agree with God's word that if Satan causes an illness, it is not a sin to say that God did it?

 

[awaken]

1. All people are related through Adam.

Agreed

2. God made a covenant with Adam & Eve that involved clothing them with the skin of a killed animal...he also made a covenant with Noah after the flood.

What were the conditions of those covenants?

3. So you are assuming that God's goodwill toward humanity has somehow changed since the time of Job?

God deals with people in different ways under different covenants, right?

4. So before Abraham, God had no goodwill toward those people who worshipped him faithfully? That hem to be ill for some reason, but that reason has now vanished? Remember Romans 3 says God passed over former sins, which might make God seem to be unust, but that Christ sacrifice vindicates God for even those past sins, showing his justice. If God can forgive OT sins based on the future death of Christ, why couldn't he give Job immediate healing based on Christ's future gift of healing?

Where did I say God had no goodwill toward people before Abraham?

Under the Mosaic Covenant the Jews' sins were never removed, but instead their sins were "covered." Under the New Covenant their sins will be removed and forgotten. There is a difference between covenants. He also had rules in the OT of how to keep from getting sick, remember?

5. So you agree with God's word that if Satan causes an illness, it is not a sin to say that God did it?

Sickness will come to most everyone that lives. I am not saying that sickness will not come! I do not believe God puts sickness on anyone. Would you put a disease on your children? Yes, satan is out to kill, steal and destroy! But to say that it is God's fault...NO!

 

[awaken]

So lets go back before the New Covenant and look at some of the other covenants..and the differences.

Throughout human history, God has made covenants with people. What are those covenants? Are any of them still in effect? Do any of them relate to Christians today?

In addition to the covenants, throughout human history God has administered or dispensed His authority in different ways during different time periods. According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, a dispensation is "The method or scheme according to which God carries out his purposes towards men" (Easton's Bible Dictionary ). What are the different dispensations? Which dispensation are we in now, and how does it affect us?

Easton's Bible Dictionary defines a covenant as "a contract or agreement between two parties," and it says that "The word is used with reference to God's revelation of himself in the way of promise or of favour to men" (Easton's Bible Dictionary ).

Various Christian authors say that God has made about 8 or 10 different covenants with people.

Some of God's covenants are unconditional, which means that God intends to fulfill His promises even if the people involved in those covenants don't obey the conditions of the covenants. If a person failed to obey any of the conditions then he or she had personally broken the covenant and would receive the consequences, but the covenant itself cannot be broken because God promised that He will fulfill it. This is why it's referred to as an "unconditional" covenant.

The other covenants were conditional, meaning that those covenants would be broken if the people did not obey the conditions of the covenants. After the conditional covenants were broken, they were each replaced with a different covenant.

At the point when a covenant is "signed" or "sealed," some of the provisions or promises might go into effect immediately, and some might go into effect in the near future, and some might go into effect in the distant future.

The first one I see and others have mentioned is the Edenic Covenant. So what was involved in this covenant?

 

[DHK]

So are you saying this is God's will?

You tell me. 80 to 90 % of the world lives in poverty, such as you saw.
Jesus said: The poor you will have with you always.
Jesus said of Himself:
Matthew 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

He that forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be my disciple.

The health and wealth prosperity is not only unbiblical it is anti-biblical.

We are fortunate to live in a nation of affluence where only 10% of the world's population have the opportunity to live in that luxury. For even in our own nation there is poverty with people living on the streets. And some of those are Christians.

Is it God's will? Here is God's will?
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
That is God's command to you.
When missionaries went to India the standard of living went up.
When they penetrated China and Africa, the same thing happened.

In the video of the Philippines, it is a Christian mission that is doing what they can to alleviate poverty in the Philippines. They are working hard to improve those conditions. Those are the people that we are commanded to go to--to reach them for Christ.

I am a missionary to the same type of countries. I see the same conditions. I am older than you, but I still go. I have seen marvelous changes in the lives of such individuals by the mere fact that they get saved, and through discipleship they come to an understanding of God's Word how to better themselves in their own living conditions. The gospel changes people.

But who will go? Whom shall I send? the Lord asked Isaiah. He still asks the same question.

 

[awaken]

You tell me. 80 to 90 % of the world lives in poverty, such as you saw.
Jesus said: The poor you will have with you always.
Jesus said of Himself:
Matthew 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

He that forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be my disciple.

The health and wealth prosperity is not only unbiblical it is anti-biblical.

We are fortunate to live in a nation of affluence where only 10% of the world's population have the opportunity to live in that luxury. For even in our own nation there is poverty with people living on the streets. And some of those are Christians.

Is it God's will? Here is God's will?
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
That is God's command to you.
When missionaries went to India the standard of living went up.
When they penetrated China and Africa, the same thing happened.

In the video of the Philippines, it is a Christian mission that is doing what they can to alleviate poverty in the Philippines. They are working hard to improve those conditions. Those are the people that we are commanded to go to--to reach them for Christ.

I am a missionary to the same type of countries. I see the same conditions. I am older than you, but I still go. I have seen marvelous changes in the lives of such individuals by the mere fact that they get saved, and through discipleship they come to an understanding of God's Word how to better themselves in their own living conditions. The gospel changes people.

But who will go? Whom shall I send? the Lord asked Isaiah. He still asks the same question.

I am thankful to the ones that answer the call to go to those places to share Jesus with them!

In James where it says the poor will be with us always. Unbelievers will be here too..but that does not prove that God does not want His children to come to salvation or to prosper.

Jesus became poor.....But He really owns it all!

I assume you have children...Do you want your children to live in poverty? Is that your wish for them? I am not saying everyone is to be filthy rich! I am just saying My Father in heaven wants good things for me, He has good plans for me. We are to share the good news to the poor. And like you said.. just knowing God loves them and died for their salvation...gives them hope! You never know what that hope will lead to?

 

[DHK]

I am thankful to the ones that answer the call to go to those places to share Jesus with them!

In James where it says the poor will be with us always. Unbelievers will be here too..but that does not prove that God does not want His children to come to salvation or to prosper.

The Bible teaches that prosperity comes from His Word. God is not concerned about materialism. In fact he hates it to some degree.

How hardly shall a rich man enter into the kingdom of God.
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.

What is prosperity and success in God's sight?
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Luke 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Luke 9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

Luke 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Jesus became poor.....But He really owns it all!

2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
--spiritually rich; not materially.

I assume you have children...Do you want your children to live in poverty? Is that your wish for them? I am not saying everyone is to be filthy rich! I am just saying My Father in heaven wants good things for me, He has good plans for me. We are to share the good news to the poor. And like you said.. just knowing God loves them and died for their salvation...gives them hope! You never know what that hope will lead to?

I have a son preparing for the ministry now. It would be my heart's delight if he ends up spending his lifetime in a nation like India or Pakistan ministering there to those who live in poverty; those who have never heard the gospel before. That is why we are here on earth. That is the supreme way in which we can bring glory and honor to the Savior's name.

He has done so much for you; what have you done for him?