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.

Who Is the Best Candidate?

As Americans prepare to vote for the next President of the United States on November 4, 2008, many things are going through our minds, not the least of which involves the issue of faith and its effect upon the candidates' positions regarding key issues. The question, "Who is the best candidate?" is being debated far and wide and even, in many cases, within the individual minds of the voters. Have you made up your mind yet?

Both of the presidential candidates have expressed faith in Jesus Christ. During Rick Warren's interview with both men, John McCain said, "I am saved and forgiven," and Barack Obama went into a bit more detail about his personal relationship with Christ. Joe Biden is a Roman Catholic who grew up in a very pro-life area: Scranton, PA. And Sarah Palin has Pentecostal leanings and expresses her conservative, evangelical stance quite articulately.

In the early days of Logos International Fellowship, the forerunner of the present company, Bridge-Logos, we published a series of "instant books," including People's Temple--People's Tomb, which was published within a month after the infamous mass-suicide that took place in
Guyana. We also published The Miracle of Jimmy Carter a few months prior to Carter's election as the President of the United States. A few years later we published Regan in Pursuit of the Presidency. Both Carter and Reagan were elected, and both expressed faith in Jesus Christ.

I am pleased to announce that in just a few weeks Bridge-Logos will be releasing another "instant book"--Sarah Palin--Faith, Family, Country. This is an interesting book about the Republican vice-presidential candidate, who is clearly a devout Christian and someone who will incorporate Christian values in her decision making. Though she worshiped for many years in an Assembly of God, Sarah would prefer to be known as a Bible-believing Christian rather than as a Pentecostal.

This is an interesting election year, to be sure. Several key issues will be influencing voters, not the least of which is the faltering economy. The war in Iraq has become less significant to many in light of issues related to the economy. Abortion and same-sex marriages, of course, remain important issues to believers, but it would appear that the economy has taken center stage even for many believers.

• Does it necessarily follow that a good Christian will make a good presdent?
• How much should one's faith influence his or her decision making in office?
• What does the doctrine of the separation of church and state mean to you?
• What is the most important issue to you?
• Which candidate seems to be closest to your own personal value system?
• Who is the best candidate?

Perhaps you'll be able to answer some of these questions after the presidential debate that is scheduled for Friday, September 26.
One thing's for sure: we need to be praying for our nation.
Paul writes, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable lif ein all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour" (1 Timothy 2:1-3, KJV).
May God bless America!