Our Identity in Christ

Lately I've been thinking about what it means to be a member of God's royal family. As His son, I am a joint-heir with Jesus Christ, a prince in His royal family, a knight in His army, and a priest in His temple (and over my  own family). These are sustaining truths in my walk with God.

It's so good to reflect upon our identity in Christ and also to reflect upon who He is in us. We are on orders from Headquarters, so to speak. Our true home is with our precious family in Heaven. The Bible says, "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of rigteousness" (Rom. 8:10).

Here is a wonderful promise that relates to our identity in Christ and His strength within us: "I can do all things through Christ which strentheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).

I encourage you to read our Pure Gold Classic entitled Secret Power by D.L. Moody to learn more about these wonderful realities. So, put on the whole armor of God and walk in His power and strength, as you continue your mission on Earth. Remember, you are a royal child of God!

Success or Failure?

Several years ago I spoke to a Mennonite pastor about my lack of success in life. His response, though at first somewhat hard to take, was, "What's this talk about success? You're a failure to begin with."

Think about that for a moment. It is similar to something Charles Colson wrote, "All my life I labored for success, wealth, acceptance, and power. The more I obtained, the less I discovered I had. Surrendering everything in absolute brokenness, however, was the beginning of finding the identity and purpose for which I had battled so hard. In giving up my life to Christ, I had found it."

Paul wrote, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Of course we cannot crucify ourselves. The way to die to our self-life is to surrender everything to God--our lives, our careers, our health, our finances, our future--literally everything. This is not easy either; however, it is much easier when we obey Paul's words: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1).

The verse that follows the above verse tells us more about this process: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).

So failure is success in the Christian live and, in a sense, success (according to the world's standards) is failure. In this connection may I recommend that you read two of our Pure Gold Classics: Dark Night of the Soul by Saint John of the Cross and Madame Jeanne Guyon. Both works point us to death to self and union with God.

Jesus Loves Me--This I Know

Hugh Kerr writes this about the famous theologian Karl Barth: "When Barth gave his Princeton lectures in 1962. . . it was announced that he would receive questions from the audience if the questions were written out beforehand. One of my students said he wouldn't dare ask Karl Barth a question! It would be, he hinted, like tangling with Socrates. 'Why not?' I said. 'Ask him whether he thinks it makes any difference where you begin to study theology.' To my alarm, after one of the lectures, Barth read the student's question aloud and replied in words to the effect that, no, it doesn't make any difference where you start so long as Jesus Christ is at the center. It was also at this time, by the way, when someone asked Barth to distill the esseence of his magnum opus [the voluminous Church Dogmatica] in a few words, . . .he replied, 'Jesus loves me--this I know, for the Bible tells me so.'"

Yes, Jesus loves me, and He loves you, as well, with an everlasting love. This distillation of the core of Barth's teaching is perhaps the most important truth in the universe, and it comes from a children's chorus:

Little ones to Him belong: they are weak, but He is strong.
Jesus loves me, He who died
Heaven's gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
Jesus loves me! He will stay close beside me all the way;
He's prepared a home for me, and some day His face I'll see.
Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me! The Bible tells me so.

The Grace of God

Karl Barth wrote, "Grace creates liberated laughter. The grace of God in Jesus Christ is beautiful, and it radiates joy and awakens humor."

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ leads us into unspeakable joy that is full of glory. Through grace we learn that the joy of the Lord is our strength, and we experience the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, which is love, joy, peace, patience, meekness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control.

I like this description of grace: "Grace enables us to do what we could not do, be what we could not be, believe what we could not believe, and receive what we could not receive."

There are at least two Pure Gold Classics that have grace as their central subject: The Amazing Works of John Newton and All of Grace by Charles Spurgeon. I highly recommend both of these important works, and may God's grace fill you as you read them.

Spurgeon writes, "Oh, friend, God's great grace surpasses our understanding and comprehension. . . . God is able to pardon you abundantly. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. God's forgiveness is for those who are guilty."

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). Have you received this marvelous gift?

"Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;
Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,
All-sufficient grace for even me.
Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
Greater far than all my sin and shame;
O magnify the precious name of Jesus,
Praise His name!"
("Wonderful Grace of Jesus" by Haldor Lillenas)

It's a Wonderful Life

Soon the holidays will be upon us, and many people will watch the famous movie starring Jimmy Stewart: "It's a Wonderful Life." Life truly is wonderful for all who know the Lord Jesus Christ.

This afternoon I was thinking how wonderful it has been for me to have been a part of Bridge-Logos and its predecessors for so many years. It has now been forty-two years since Logos International Fellowship was founded in the back room of Bonded Jewelers in Plainfield, New Jersey. I began packing books in the shipping room of the company soon thereafter. I would work there after teaching school in nearby Scotch Plains, New Jersey.

The jewelry store was owned by Dan Malachuk, an elder of First Christian Assembly in Plainfield, and an International Director of the Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship. Dan had met Raphael Gasson, a former spiritualist who became a Christian. Dan learned that Mr. Gasson had a book that needed to be published and decided that he would take it upon himself to get it published. That book was The Challenging Counterfeit, which is no longer in print, but is available online.

A year or so later Dan published a blockbuster book that is still in print: Run Baby Run by Nicky Cruz with Jamie Buckingham. This book still sells well for us. In fact, we will be reprinting it in the near future. At the Full Gospel Business Men's International Convention at the Washington Hilton I met Jamie Buckingham, who was then a Southern Baptist pastor. John and Elizabeth Sherrill had suggested to Dan that Jamie would be a good writer to tell Nicky's story.

Soon thereafter Jamie was baptized in the Holy Spirit, and he has since become legendary. What a wonderful man he was. Jamie truly was a great teacher, a good person, an excellent writer, and a loving human being. He wrote many books, including the authorized biography of Kathryn Kuhlman, Daughter of Destiny, which we still carry. He went home to be with Jesus when he was a relatively young man.

So many of the people I knew in those days have gone on to glory. They are now enjoying the presence of the Lord in full measure, but I miss them. I look forward to seeing them again in Heaven: Dennis Bennett, Dan Malachuk, Harold Hill, John Wimber, Harold Bredesen, Kathryn Kuhlman, Willard Cantelon, Jamie Buckingham, and so many others. These folk were true trailblazers, who led thousands to the Lord and brought thousands into the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Willlard Cantelon, incidentally, wrote The Day the Dollar Dies, a book we recently republished. It is doing very well for us. Harold Hill wrote, How to Live Like a King's Kid, a book that's still in print and has always been one of my favorites.

Yes, its' a wonderful life, and it's made so much richer by contact with men and women like those I've mentioned above.

What Would Love Do?

Yesterday morning I recorded one of our Pure Gold Classics--The Greatest Thing in the World by Henry Drummond. Do you know what Drummond regarded as the greatest thing in the world?

It is love, pure and simple, and his book does so much to help us understand the importance of love. He bases many of his thoughts on Paul's writing in 1 Corinthians 13.

The question, "What would Jesus do?" has become a popular phenomenon in Christian circles. This is based on another classic Christian work--In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. Sometimes, however, it seems impossible to know the answer to that question, particularly in some situations. So I've developed another question that is similar, and I've found this to be a very useful thing to ask: "What would love do?"

What would love do in any given situation we face? This may not be a question too difficult to answer in many situations. God is love, so when we ask this question, we are, in effect, asking, "What would God do?"

The Bible tells us that love is the fulfillment of the Law, and we are to walk in love, practicing it without any hyprocrisy. Let me share a few of the things that Drummond shares about love:

• "Where love is, God is."
• "Love hides even from itself."
• "The deliberate verdict of the Lord Jesus [is] that it is better not to live than not to love."
• "The one eternal lesson for us all is how better we can love."

Dwight L. Moody loved Drummond's book, and so do I. In fact, I urge you to read it as soon as possible, for it shares vital truths for Christian life and victory.

No matter what your situation is, ask yourself, "What would love do?" And remember, love truly is the greatest thing in the world.

E.M. Bounds Speaks to the Modern Church

We have recently published a book that was written by an E.M. Bounds scholar, Darrel King. It is entitled E.M. Bounds Speaks to the Modern Church. I heartily recommend this book to you.

Bounds was known quite accurately as a prophet of prayer. He wrote, "Activity may spring from spiritual strength. It does spring from spiritual weakness. The mistake of working more than we pray is the mistake of being too busy to eat, a killing process.The spiritual motivation of service comes out of intimacy with holy God. As people will be obedient to Jesus and go into their prayer closet and there God reveals himself to them in secret and His plans and direction for their life, they will be about His good bidding and about His good work with the blessing and anointing power of holy God. But activity coming out of the prayer closet will be of God; otherwise it can be totally amiss."

Bounds stresses the importance of intimacy with God in all his books, including our Pure Gold Classic, The Classic Collection on Prayer by E. M. Bounds. I am currently reading this book in order to learn more about prayer. I'm fairly certain that this book is one of the most comprehensive works on prayer that has ever been written.

We need to learn to spend more time in our prayer closets where we can develop initmacy with God, our Father. As we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. In the prayer closet, we will learn to hear His voice and experience His presence.  The Bible says, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. . . . For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place" (Psalm 91:1-9, NASB).

Have you made the Lord your refuge? Is He your dwelling place? How intimate are you with Him? As Bounds points out, these are important needs of the modern church.

Spiritual Beings

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."

It's true! We're on orders from Headquarters, and we are princes and princesses in the Kingdom of God. This world is not our home. While we're here, however, we are expected to be ministers of reconciliation, reconciling people to God.

Furthermore, we are ambassadors for Christ.

As my grandmother neared her 100th birthday, she kept saying, "I want to go home." I am convinced that she was not referring to her earthly home in Weston, West Virginia, but to her heavenly home.

A few years ago I helped Choo Thomas write her best-selling book, Heaven Is So Real, in which she shared her experiences with the Lord in Heaven. Similarly, Bridge-Logos has published Heaven Tours by Rita Bennett, which shares the experiences of other visitors to Heaven.

Yes, Heaven is real. It is our home and, as the old chorus tells us, "It is better than this."

Let's remember that we're spiritual beings having a human experience. That perspective truly changes everything.

The Heaviest Burden of All

The great author Madeleine L'Engle wrote, "I would like to travel light on this journey of life, to get rid of the encumbrances I acquire each day. . . .The most difficult thing to let go is my self, that self which, coddled and cozened, becomes smaller as it becomes heavier. I don't understand how and why I come to be only as I lost myself, but I know from long experience that this is so." (From The Irrational Season, 1977.)

Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?" (Luke9:22-24, KJV).

Death to self. Losing our lives. Letting go of self. We can't know true peace or experience true freedom until we get rid of the heaviest burden of all--the self.

Where Is the Love?

God is love, and Christianity involves faith expressing itself through love. A little child asked President Obama, "Why do people hate you?"

Many people, including some Christians, do seem to hate the president. According to my reading of the Scriptures, this is clearly wrong.

I think our job is to pray for him. What do you think?

To be true agents of change in our society, believers need to walk in the light, not darkness; to walk in love, not hate and animosity; to be salt, not pepper; and to stand for biblical principles wherever possible.

Many of the motives we see manifested in politics in all political parties have deep roots in pride, lust, greed, and all sorts of corruption. That's unfortunate, but we don't live in a perfect world. We need to remember that the only way this world will change is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Lord said, "Follow me," and this is what we must do, as we learn to walk in love in all our dealings with others.

Do you love President Obama? Do you pray for him?

2012--Is This the End?

My new book, 2012--Is This the End?--is causing many to think seriously about the end times. In this book I've looked at various prophecies and predictions related to the end of the world and/or the beginning of a new world. The research was fascinating. I looked at what the following groups, cultures, writings, and individuals had to say:

The Mayans

The Q'ero Inca Shamans

The Toltecs

The Aztecs

The Book of Changes (the I Ching)

The Hopi Indians

The Cherokees

Merlin the Magician

Mother Shipton

Nostradamus

Saint Malachy (the Last-pope Prophecy)

Roman Catholic Prophecies

Hinduism
Buddhism
Zorastrianism
Science
Islam
Judaism
The Web Bot Project

The Holy Bible

This book will thrill you, inspire you, enlighten you, and inform you of what might happen in the very near future. It might even possibly frighten you. However, my ultimate goal is to show you what Jesus and the Bible have to say about the end times. My prayer is that many will turn their lives over to Jesus as a result of reading this book.

The release of 2012--Is This the End? coincides fairly closely with the release of a Columbia motion picture entitled, "2012," which will be shown in theaters in November, 2009. I hope you will both read the book and see the film, which will be filled with dramatic special effects concerning the end of the world.

Jesus told us to be aware of the seasons and to be looking for the signs of the end times. I believe that many, if not most or even all of the Bible's prophecies about the last days, have already been fulfilled. In light of this I think we should be watching and praying, as Jesus advised us to do.

Do you think the world will come to an end in 2012? Please give me your comments.