Souls in Stir ~ Eleventh Edition

WHATEVER IT TAKES

Written by a young African Pastor, and posted for all to see
Submitted by Leslie Merrida
(inmate)

I am a part of the fellowship committed to doing "Whatever it takes." I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I've stepped over the line. I am out of the comfort zone. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, or back away.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, muddied talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.

I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up or burn up 'till I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till he comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops.

And when He comes to get His own, He'll have no problem recognizing me because I have dedicated my life to be a part of the fellowship committed to doing "WHATEVER IT TAKES."

****THE PERSECUTED CHURCH****

THE COST OF SPIRITUAL FREEDOM IN GHANA

By Graham Norton and Glenn Penner.
Used by permission of VOICE OF THE MARTYRS
PO BOX 117, PORT CREDIT, MISSISSAUGA, ON, L5G 4L5

"As you drag our people away from the fetishes so we will drag you away from the people." With these words, the chief had Emmanuel dragged by his heels out of the village and into the countryside. His elbows were torn to shreds by the thorns, thistles and stones on the ground. But this did not stop him preaching the gospel nor did it stop him planting small congregations in 18 villages of northeast Ghana.

The story began eight years ago when he started traveling around Ghana as a roving evangelist. Then God called him to the abandoned corner of this West African country where very few people have heard the gospel. For generations the people had been held in bondage by fetish priests and chiefs of the villages. When they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ they were set free from their fear of the threats of the priests and found new freedom in Christ.

This upset the fetish priests because they were losing income. Previously, their practice was to accuse villagers of wrongdoing and then demand a goat as penance. Now that the people had become Christians and were freed, they would no longer give anything to the priests nor would they worship at the fetish festivals.

Despite the opposition, Emmanuel continues to serve God. Each week, he cycles 18 miles to a predominantly Muslim city to have secret meetings with Christians. "Evangelical churches that require members to abandon Islam and fetish worship cannot be built here," he says. "It is just too dangerous."

The Voice of the Martyrs' sister mission, Release International, is actively involved in serving the persecuted church in Ghana. Due to opposition from animists and Muslims, church buildings and property are frequently destroyed, worship services are disrupted and Christians are beaten to persuade them to return to their traditional practices and religion. Some believers have been beaten to death.

Felicia's mother was beaten to death for being a Christian when Felicia was one month old. A Christian family adopted her. Today, she is learning to sew, using a sewing machine sponsored by Release International.

Christian families are frequently cast out of their villages and wives who become Christians are abandoned by their husband and denied access to their children and home. Christian children are abandoned by their parents and village. Local Christians are told, "Our children don't worship our gods any more. Therefore they are no longer our children. You look after them." The Voice of the Martyrs, through Release International, is helping to care for such children.

Pray for the work of The Voice of the Martyrs in Ghana. Your gifts to The Relief and Development Fund help finance projects that minister to our brothers and sisters in countries like Ghana.

*******************

Q. Where is tennis mentioned in the Bible?
A. When Joseph served in Pharaoh's court.

PEACEFUL

By Lisa Peterson
(Jana's daughter)

As I walk along the beach
The soft sand on my feet,
The silent waves are
Rolling onto the shore.
A soft breeze whispers through my hair.
I walk slowly to where the waves are rolling up
And let the coolness of the
Ocean water wash
Over my bare feet.
I see my reflection
Rippling in the water.
The pale blue moon up
Above is shining bright.
How peaceful
I thought.

TEST QUESTION

Submitted by Jana Peterson

With the return to school just over, we thought this story fit perfectly.

The following is said to be a question given on a university chemistry mid-term. Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law, (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following;

"First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving.

"I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, lets look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell.

"With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

"This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. Of course, if Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

"So which is it?

"If we accept the postulate given to me by Ms. Teresa Banyan during my freshman year that ". . . it will be a cold day in Hell before I give you my number" and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in acquiring her number, then 2 cannot be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and will not freeze."

The student received the only "A".

THOUGHT PROVOKER

EXPLAIN GOD:

By Danny Dutton
(8 years old)

Editor's note: Young Danny wrote this for his third grade homework assignment. The assignment was to explain God. It was sent to me e-mail by Mercy Ministries.

"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers."

"God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because He hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off."

"God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have."

"Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church."

"Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind, like His Father, and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K".

"His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time."

"You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God."

"Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun, like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway."

"If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you are scared in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids."

"But. . . you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases. And . . . that's why I believe in God."

KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS

Art Linkletter

Editor's note: This was given to me some time ago by Pam Falk, a member of the church I attend. She has faithfully proof read the newsletter for quite some time now and her help in this area has been invaluable. Thanks Pam.

Then there was little Susan, who was inclined to exaggeration. Her stories always seemed so full of adventures, and she could never be talked into admitting the complete truth. One day she was playing in the front yard when a fox terrier belonging to a neighbor darted at her playfully. With a shriek of fright, Susan fled to her mother and yelled: "Mama, a great big lion ran down the street, jumped over the fence and almost ate me up."

"Susan," said her mother sternly, "aren't you ashamed of yourself: I was sitting here at the window and saw the whole thing. Now you go in your room and get down on your knees and confess that it was just a little pet dog and you lied to your mother. Ask the Lord to forgive you for this sin."

Susan reluctantly went to her room and shut the door. In less than a minute she opened the door and poked her head out.

"It's all right, mother," she said. "I told God all about it and He says He could hardly blame me. He thought it was a lion, too, when He first saw it."

**************

Late repentance is seldom true, but true repentance is never too late.

A TEACHING

By Rawlin Falk

I John 3:1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
A gift, a promise and a response.
The Gift. God has poured out His love and care freely and has made that clear to all by calling us by His own name. He's adopted us and made us heirs of God, jointly with His Son.
The Promise. Further, we have the promise of change. We know that he is coming again and that we are to be changed into His image. We will be like Him. We will see Him, not as we perceive He was in history but as He really is.
The Response. We work on our character in the present. Clean up our attitudes getting ready for the Second Coming. Like a bride preparing for the big day we see the day close at hand and busy ourselves to be sure we'll be pleasing for our heavenly bridegroom.
Beloved, now are we children of God. See how great a love...that we should be called children of God.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT ON FIRE MINISTRIES

Over the summer time I have been engaged in a number of projects. Fund-raising has been going on for the ministry in the form of a number of hot-dog sales sponsored by Overwaitee Foods Ltd. They have been generous in supplying absolutely everything up-front to put on these events. I thank them for their generosity.

Another project that has been on-going is the attempt to get the clothing we gathered for the inmates in Zambia to them. Jeannine Robinson has initiated quite an extensive letter writing program to everyone she can think of, from Airlines executives, to churches, to those who are in some MAJOR international prison ministries. Very few replies have come back, and those that have basically say "I'm sorry, we don't do that." "We can't help." Makes me wonder what they are doing in international prison ministries then? And what do they do? Please keep this in prayer.

We have also been involved in a project to help some of our brothers and sisters in Southern India to rebuild their destroyed church. Seems the government there is much like ours. During an election year they vow, and take steps, to clean up the "slums."

Their method of doing so is to bulldoze the area. Leaving many even more homeless than they already are. The church of our brother in Christ, Chiranjeevi Murari, was located in one of these shanty towns as his ongoing mission is to serve the poor, ill and disenfranchised. It stood there, on government land, for many many years, but with the "clean-up" of the area, it was bulldozed with all the rest. We received an appeal from him for help to rebuild and subsequently found out that, to buy the land (ensuring that this doesn't happen again), and rebuild the church building will cost just under $2000 in Canadian funds. (That's about $1000 in American funds). To this end we have been working on a raffle of items donated to us for that purpose. So far we have gathered about $500 of the needed funds, with the raffle due to close and the draw to be held Sept. 30^th.

If you would like to contribute to this, or any of our on going projects, please send your offerings clearly marked for that purpose. An offering not marked for a specific project will always go to the general ministry funds.

Rev. Bunnie has managed to get to KRCC once this summer and has been able to speak at a couple of other places as well. People have been fed (about 30 families this year), a couple of people (on pre-arrangement) have been sheltered short term. And, most importantly of all, a number of people have come to salvation as a result of the efforts of Kelley Poirier, one of our board members who spends a great deal of time out amongst the public. As well, the newsletter has been going out on schedule. Praise God! Though one trip to KRCC had to be re-scheduled for October.

Thank you to all who have made this ministry possible. Those who write and create for the newsletter, those who help with fund-raising, those who support us with gifts and cover us with prayer, and everyone else who has given of their time and energies.

May God bless you all.

Our ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27^TH. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU.

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