The City Gate

Saying Good-bye to Dad

On December 8, 2010, I said good-bye to my Dad. His health had taken a turn for the worse since April of that year, but on November 20, 2010, he'd sat at an Iowa Energy game with my mom and me, felt like staying for the entire game, and around 2 weeks later, he was gone.

I want to share a couple of scriptures that showed God knows what He's doing and that it would be Him (God) taking care of Mom - even if we don't like having Dad gone. My dad was always content to fish out of the camp boat in Canada and was happy when someone other than himself caught the largest fish. He's say, "I was the guide." In his obituary, I reminded everyone that he is truly the guide now. He's guiding us all to follow him to Heaven.

When I read out of my New Century Version of the Daily Bible from December 8, Psalm 139:7-10 says, "Where can I go to get away from your Spirit? Where can I run from you? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I lie down in the grave, you are there. If I rise with the sun in the east and settle in the west beyond the sea, even there you would guide me. With your right hand you would hold me." [I'm sure you noticed the word "guide." My dad was also a right-handed pitcher : ) I know these verses refer to God, but it was fascinating to me that God's Word referred to guide and right hand.]

2 John 1-13 from Bible reading on the same day says, "From the Elder. To the chosen lady and her children [it's as if written directly to my mom and her family]: I love all of you in the truth, and all those who know the truth love you. We love you because of the truth that lives in us and will be with us forever. [God intends to take care of her.]

"Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, will be with us in truth and love. [I had talked to Mom several times about the fact that Dad might not make it out of the hospital. It wasn't until about the 4th attempt that it seemed to "click" with her. And we talked about how God would give her the grace to make it through.]

"I was very happy to learn that some of your children are following the way of truth, as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, this is not a new command but is the same command we have had from the beginning. I ask you that we all love each other. And love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love.

"Many false teachers are in the world now who do not confess that Jesus Christ came to earth as a hunman. Anyone who does not confess this is a false teacher and an enemy of Christ. Be careful yourselves that you do not lose everything you have worked for, but that you receive your full reward. [God was cautioning my mom to not fall for things that might steal her salvation.]

"Anyone who goes beyond Christ's teaching and does not continue to follow only his teaching does not have God. But whoever continues to follow the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If someone cones to you and does not bring this teaching, do not welcome or accept that person into your house. If you welcome such a person, you share in the evil work. [Be careful of whom you allow into your home and who you take advice from.]

"I have many things to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face so we can be full of joy. [Unbelievably - my mom has yelled the word "Joy!" many times at baseball games or prayed for everyone to have the Joy of the Lord.] The children of your chosen sister greet you."

If you are facing the death of someone you love very much, keep in mind that the joy of the Lord is your strength. Keep your sights on Him; on the One who will bring your family together in eternity - never to be separated again.

God bless!

I received an email from my uncle. The article he sent was written by a member of the Dutch Parliament. Because it seems factual, I responded to my uncle with the following, that I offer to anyone reading this blog as an article to send to all family and friends. Sometimes it helps to have this type of article be sent or written by someone else:

If, as it seems, there is no way to stop this movement of muslim take-over, then the MAIN thing that Christians need to know (and be sure their families and friends know) is that Jesus Christ wins in the end. But that requires everyone who wants to be on that winning team to accept Him as the Savior. Accept that He died on the cross for our sins.

 

People think that because they're good that God wouldn't send them to hell. God would not send them to hell; it's a decision we all make. Anyone who doesn't accept the fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins - in our place - is choosing to pay for their sins themselves.

 

That sounds too simple, but that's the bottom line. Anyone who dies without Christ as their Savior is choosing to pay for their sins themselves.

 

It doesn't matter if we die because the government sends troopers into our homes to kill non-muslims. It doesn't matter if we die in a car wreck. We can't go to Heaven if we die without Jesus as our Savior.

 

You may send this to every person in your email list because it's as simple as telling God: Heavenly Father, I accept what Your Son Jesus did on the cross for me. Come into my heart, Jesus, and be my Savior. Thank You for what You did on the cross. Forgive me for all of my sins. I accept your sacrifice for me. I pray it in Your Name, Jesus. Amen.

 

Anyone who prays that, and means it, will not go to hell. And anyone who prays that and means it may just find some more oomph to fight to win our Country back - at least to try.

 

The Christian's God, the One and Only God, will win in the end. The Holy Bible says so. And I believe that it is true.
Michelle Fetters Steen

Keep Trusting

When we do the Lord's work, He will bless it. He will bless it in the way He needs it to be blessed. It's our job to keep on trusting and doing whatever we can for what He has called us to do.

 

Adversity

Adversity is just a page in your life; not the whole book. Shared by St. Matthew's Churches, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Praying for God's Guidance?

Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet.

When the Watchmen are Silenced

Jan Markell, www.olivetreeviews.org, wrote the following on July 28, 2010

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When your hut's on fire

This has gone around by email for quite a long time. We don't know how it originated. But just in case no one has read it and been blessed by it, here it is:

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?'

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied. 

The Moral of This Story:  

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering.
Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground.  

It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

P.S. Consider passing this on, because you never know who feels as if their hut is on fire today.

Time to Pray

A pastor asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night.
"Yes, sir," the boy replied.
"And do you always say them in the morning, too?" the pastor asked.
"No, sir," the boy replied, "I ain't scared in the daytime."

Loretta's Psalm - I'm thankful....

Copyright is 1-17-00

I'm thankful for a God who does not condemn me.
I'm thankful He provided a way to set me free.
I'm thankful for the Son who shed His blood willingly.
I'm thankful for His sacrifice, nailing my sins on His tree.
I'm thankful for the Holy Spirit in whose company
I'm led, I'm taught, I'm drawn into Him who is holy.

I've repented of the wrong I've done in my life
and wonder of wonders, I'm forgiven for them.
Every word, every act, every thought to Him I've given
and miraculously, they have brought me closer to Him.

I pray when you look at me now you will see
a sinner who God has forgiven and set free.
His word says He has tossed my sins in the sea,
as far as the east is from the west, gone completely.

I pray the things you know of my life before
will only serve as further proof God opens the door
For those who are sick and who sin to be restored,
to live in His joy, peace and rest forevermore.

I search myself and search my heart,
not wanting to be a hindrance to others.
I look for the logs that might dim my vision
that I may see love and Christ in my brothers.

Forgive me, I pray, if you have ought against me.
It is not in my heart to bring hurt to thee.
As with God's love, I forgive what is said and done bitterly,
believing God is dealing with all of us, His family.

I can only point to God and His wondrous love.
I am who I am by His mercy and grace.
My past forgotten, I'm drawn into Him,
to be made whole to stand before His face.

I bless the Name of my God and my Lord.
There is forgiveness and comfort in His word,
And it becomes a two-edged sword
to right all wrongs and bring us into accord.

May nothing be said and nothing be done
to interfere with our relationship with God's Son;
That in Him and through Him the enemy is overcome,
our hearts being searched and in Him we are one.

~~
Praise rises as bubbles from something deep inside,
to worship in awe the One in whom we abide.
With joy our intensity rises and falls
in the Presence of the One who is our all.

A Covert Mission Strategy

Heidi Swander, personal assistant to Jan Markell, founder of Olive Tree Ministries www.olivetreeviews.org, wrote the following: Is it just me?  Have I gone daft?  Why, in the name of all that is good and decent, is there even one American amenable to erecting a gigantic mosque - the proposed "Cordoba House" -- at the New York site of 9/11? What happened to Americans standing together for our country?  What happened to the fury over the deaths of over two thousand American citizens on September 11, 2001?  As a well-known radio host I know likes to say so often, "Where is the outrage?" It would seem that the mission strategy of the followers of Mohammed is achieving its desired effect.  Yes, mission strategy.  In Arabic the word is Dawah, and it's been going on right under the noses of millions of Americans for many, many years. On the brilliantly-executed documentary Islam Rising created by Caryl Mastrisciana (founder of Caryl Productions) Peter Hammond, author of Slavery, Terrorism and Islam, explains, "Islam is a missionary religion.  And just as Christianity has a goal for world evangelism, and just as we have the great commission and want to make disciples, so Islam has its Dawah; it has its missionary agenda; it has its focus to want to win the Western nations over to Islam."  Kamal Saleem, former Sunni Muslim PLO terrorist and career mercenary (now Christian) states plainly:  "Dawah is the evangelism of the Muslim -- how they go from one country to another and they start pursuing Islam through building mosques, building Muslim centers -- just like is happening all over the United States of America." (Kamal has been a guest on Understanding the Times radio a number of times, most recently, August 21, 2010.) This mission strategy is pervasive.  We're not simply discussing door-to-door evangelism here.  In America it includes open houses at mosques (particularly immediately after 9/11), cross-cultural home groups, Koran studies, prison outreach, the infiltration of university campuses, the taking of government jobs, opening drug and alcohol centers - to name just a few of their endeavors.  Oh yes, and the building of mosques. Kamal says that when he originally came to the United States, "I came to this land -- to America -- for the purpose to cut her feet out from under her.  How do you do this?  You take her choicest people -- her children.  You teach them Islam . . . and you impact their students in universities and high schools . . . these are the future of this country." "So what we have ended up with today is basically a generation that is brainwashed in our universities, brainwashed by our media elites -- which basically are the graduates of those universities that now hold positions in the media -- and now they are influencing the opinion of the next generation coming up," explains Brigitte Gabriel, a Lebanese journalist, author and activist and founder of American Congress for Truth and ACT! for America. This explains a lot, does it not?  At the beginning of this century, pre-9/11, Americans as a whole hardly gave Islam a thought and yet even back then there was Islamic scheming to convert America to the way of Islam. So today, we have Muslim calls to prayer in Manhattan, New York; Dearborn police defending Islam against the Constitution of the United States at the 2010 Arab Festival; an annual Muslim parade in New York City that obstructs streets for blocks around as Muslims kneel to pray to Allah - the moon god of ancient Mesopotamia; a city council that approves Muslim prayers over loudspeakers within city limits; a congressman of the United States sworn in on the Koran; a president who does his first formal TV interview with an Arabic cable television network; a mayor of one of the cities attacked by Muslim terrorists nine years ago who defends the building of a 13-story mosque on the very ground where Americans were buried in rubble from the decimation; and Muslims appointed to posts within our own Homeland Security!  And that's just a little taste of what's going on in America today thanks to the missionary work of faithful adherents to Islam. FYI, according to Noni Darwish, an Egyptian-American Christian and director of Former Muslims United, "That American congressman who put his hand upon the Koran and not the Bible? He meant to send a message to both Islamists -- 'we're winning' -- and to the American people  -- 'we are here - we are here to stay'.  And this is just the beginning." Thanks for that uplifting bit of information, Heidi.  And what, exactly, are we supposed to do about it?  That's always the question, isn't it?  To simply have the information -- to know what's happening and why -- is not enough.  As Americans watching our entire country and way of life decimated, we want to act!  Here are a few suggestions for that: Pray.  This is a spiritual battle: the god of Islam versus the one and only true God portrayed in the Bible.  Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.  We must make prayer our first priority. Evangelize the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  Fight fire with an eternal flame! Stay informed.  We can only defend ourselves against what we know.  One powerful way to do this is to get a copy of Islam Rising and view it.  This film provides a well-rounded education on Islam. Investigate - and consider joining - ACT! for America.  CEO and President Brigitte Gabriel says, "We are in the fight for our lives and we must ACT before it is too late." (This is not a Christian organization; however, it is one of the best grassroots organizations trying to save America.) Contact your senators and representatives.  America was founded as a republic.  Let's continue to treat her that way while we still can. Know that our Heavenly Father is still in control.  What He allows to happen He does with divine insight and forethought.  He has not abdicated His throne! We can't know what the immediate future holds where Islam is concerned.  As I look at the entire world today it would appear that Islam is consuming it - and is winning.  We must obey Jesus' admonition to take one day at a time and not worry about tomorrow.  And we must also remember that we've read the end of the Book and Jesus wins!  ------------------------------- Get acquainted with Understanding the Times radio. We now air on 415 radio stations and around the world on the Internet.  We air Saturdays, 9 to 11 a.m. CST on AM980 KKMS and AM1280 "The Patriot." You can always "listen live" at those two stations. Or, you can "listen live" to their replays, Sunday, 12 to 2 p.m. and Sunday, 8 to 10 a.m. respectively.   We have a complete list of cities for our 415 outlets for your convenience.  Or you can check out podcasting info via iTunes.   All of our Saturday and Sunday programming out of Minneapolis/St. Paul is posted to "Radio Archives" Sunday evening.   Also, please note that individual CDs of any program are available by calling 763-493-3010.  We also have a program where you can obtain CDs of every radio show for $25/month.  If this interests you, let us know when you call!

Always looking up! Heidi Swander Personal Assistant to Jan Markell You may pass on these items or have people sign up on our Web site.  We update Headlines twice a day and you can access our radio programming from the last three years on Radio Archives.  Also see the Web site for other options to catch to program, "Understanding the Times."