I consider the word SHALOM as one of the most powerful words in the Bible. This is the word the Lord spoke to His disciples when they were so discouraged and fearing for their lives. They had followed Him for about three years as He walked all over the Promised Land. Even though they had seem great miracles by Him there was an uncertainty within their hearts. We can see this right after Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. They scattered like a covey of quail. Only Peter followed the crowd to see what would happen to Jesus. And he denied knowing Jesus three times.
Do you recall Jesus had told Peter Satan had demanded to sift him like wheat but He had prayed for him and after he returned [from denial] he would be able to strength his brothers? All of this happened and it is for our good that it did. Jesus prayed for us too. You can read it in the “Priestly” prayer in John 17 where He asked the Father to keep the disciples as one and not only them but all of us who would believe upon Him. Please read this chapter today and you will be extremely blessed.
Jesus promised to never leave nor forsake us and you and I must believe it. We can experience His Presence when we say the word Shalom. He said that His peace isn’t like that in the world [which is temporary] but His peace passes all understanding. What He’s saying is we are in Him by being born again and need not fear anything. As we speak Shalom to others or ourselves it should reminds us of His promises.
Do you recall Him saying, “No one can snatch us out of the hand of the Father? If you have died to your life and surrendered it to Jesus as your Lord, God has adopted you. Your name has been added to the “small” Book of Life. This is like a registration of our new birth certificates. The Bible says if our name isn’t in it we will be cast into the lake of fire.
So to live safely in the coming storms there isn’t any thing more important than becoming born again. Don’t assume you are unless you can point to a place in time when you experienced it. I was in my church for nearly 33 years and had not been born again. I can remember the moment like it was yesterday. On May 23rd in 1971 I melted before God. My guilt left like a heavy weight from my back. God was no longer holding me guilty of countless sins for Jesus had bore them for me on the cross. At last I had appropriated His sacrifice for myself. It’s truly God’s greatest gift.
Now that I’m His property, bought with the shed Blood of Jesus, I’m not my own. He has granted me favor to be a servant who can do “exploits” for Him. You can do them too if you are born again. I hope you will take the scriptures seriously. In Luke 3:16 is a great promise that I also experienced back in 1971 the day I was born again.
John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
He is promising the same power to come upon us that came upon Him when John baptized Him. We can see this occur in Acts chapter two. For those who say they’ve been baptized in the Holy Spirit I humbly ask, can you give a testimony of God’s Power being exercised by you? If you can’t, admit it and go to Jesus now. Ask Him to baptize you [immerse you] in the Holy Spirit. You will know when it happens for the power of God will come upon you to witness. In my case He also gave me the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues. For over 37 years now I can communicate with the Lord in the language of angels. Read about these gifts in John 12-14.
There are denominations who preach these scriptures and many more that don’t. I am not sure why but it doesn’t make sense to me for never have we needed the power of God more to witness Jesus. As I write the Muslims are preparing to take over the world. Along with them there are large cults that are drawing people away to destruction. We who have Jesus have His admonition to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into the fields white for harvest. I love working in these fields for there’s more joy there than anywhere else. God is allowing me to speak to folks at every level with a common denominator, all of them need Jesus.
Do you want to live in God’s Shalom? We can make the choice of living in it or in fear. Tension is building all over the world and it’s recognized by fear, not a fear of God but a fear of surviving. We now live in God’s promises. “The Kingdom of God is not meat nor drink but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.“ We don’t have to worry about anything as we live for Him. Is this what you want more than anything? Go for it!
In His Service,
Capt. Ben Marler
captben61@gmail.com
Thursday, February 11, 2010
DEALING WITH THE DEVIL
I have some very good news for you if you’re a born again Christian and some “not so good” if you aren’t. First and foremost, you must believe in the devil for Jesus dealt with him over and over. So, if you believe in Jesus you’d best believe in Satan too. It’s like believing in Heaven and hell.
Now you might be thinking, why did he write that? I believe the majority of Christians don’t believe in hell. They aren’t afraid of being cast there themselves, if born again, but don’t seem to care if their “lost” friends and loved ones will be. I am going to place some scriptures here for you to see I’m telling the truth. In Ephesians 6 Paul wrote for us.
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
14Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
15and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;
16in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. New American Standard version,
If you aren’t born again you are helpless before the devil for you only have your own strength to help you. Being born again means Jesus is alive inside us now. Before Satan had the power to lead us into sin but no longer. Jesus defeated Satan on the cross for us and when we live in Him we have His strength to resist temptation and see it flee. If we’re born again we’ve become a threat to the devil and some folks don’t like it. They prefer to cruise under the devil’s radar giving no reason to be persecuted. I can assure you of a reward when you and I are persecuted for Jesus.
Jesus said it will be great in Heaven and that’s something to look forward to enjoying. Are you one who wants to serve Jesus, and if you aren’t, what are you going to say on the day you are examined by Him? I pray you will read Matthew 25 today for it’s extremely important for the time in which we’re living. Lets read these verses carefully from it.
31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40 "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
44 "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
45 "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
46 "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
It’s our privilege and honor to share Jesus with everyone we can. Are you willing now? If you want my help please write me. Jesus is coming soon!
In His Service,
Capt. Ben Marler
captben61@gmail.com
Now you might be thinking, why did he write that? I believe the majority of Christians don’t believe in hell. They aren’t afraid of being cast there themselves, if born again, but don’t seem to care if their “lost” friends and loved ones will be. I am going to place some scriptures here for you to see I’m telling the truth. In Ephesians 6 Paul wrote for us.
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
14Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
15and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;
16in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. New American Standard version,
If you aren’t born again you are helpless before the devil for you only have your own strength to help you. Being born again means Jesus is alive inside us now. Before Satan had the power to lead us into sin but no longer. Jesus defeated Satan on the cross for us and when we live in Him we have His strength to resist temptation and see it flee. If we’re born again we’ve become a threat to the devil and some folks don’t like it. They prefer to cruise under the devil’s radar giving no reason to be persecuted. I can assure you of a reward when you and I are persecuted for Jesus.
Jesus said it will be great in Heaven and that’s something to look forward to enjoying. Are you one who wants to serve Jesus, and if you aren’t, what are you going to say on the day you are examined by Him? I pray you will read Matthew 25 today for it’s extremely important for the time in which we’re living. Lets read these verses carefully from it.
31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40 "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
44 "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
45 "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
46 "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
It’s our privilege and honor to share Jesus with everyone we can. Are you willing now? If you want my help please write me. Jesus is coming soon!
In His Service,
Capt. Ben Marler
captben61@gmail.com
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
UNDERSTANDING GOD'S FORGIVENESS
Amazing Grace Lyrics
John Newton (1725-1807)
Stanza 6 anon.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
Can you sing this song with all your heart knowing that God has forgiven you? If you can’t please read the message accompanying this reminder of God’s Amazing Grace.
UNDERSTANDING GOD’S FORGIVENESS
What so many people don’t understand is God’s willingness to forgive any sinner who will truly repent of their sinful life. His grace [undeserved mercy] is the center piece of the Gospel.
He gave up His only Son the Lord Jesus Christ to die on a cross so we won’t have to die an eternal death.
The simplicity of the message has been lost in many religious denominations including I fear in the largest one of all. God wants a family and it isn’t found in any Church or group of them. God’s family is where the redeemed gather if in a living room or under a tree somewhere. Jesus has promised to come in the midst of 2 or three who gather in His Name. Failing to understand this can bring you to the place where you will find yourself under the control of the elite. I’m not saying all pastors are evil but I am saying many have been caught doing evil things.
Shepherds [Pastors] are raised up by God like Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists and teachers to equip the saints [the born again] to reach the world with the simple message of the Gospel. Once it is spoken the Holy Spirit is here to make it work within the heart of the listeners. My understanding of the Gospel is as follows.
For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believed on Him should not perish but shall have eternal life.”
Believing on Jesus means we understand that He is God and He came to set sinners free from the power of sin. He accomplished this in a mighty way. He took the sins of the whole world upon Himself and allowed the Romans to drive nails into His hands and feet to die on a cross. As He hung there His Blood [the payment for sin] drained from His Body. This Blood was more than enough to satisfy God’s wrath against anyone for their sins. Once this message strikes home in our hearts we have been programmed to feel sorrow for them. Then we can approach God with thanksgiving and ask Him to forgiven us. He does instantly for it is will to do so.
At this point we can invite Jesus into our hearts to be our Lord [Master]. Or, we can adopt the idea we can go on living as before with only a need to go to church sometime and repent over and over again. You and I can choose to our detriment to do the latter. God hates sin and we should too.
If we choose the first and invite Jesus into our hearts He comes by the Holy Spirit giving us a brand new life or a born again one. We are now the servants of God and consider ourselves no longer the owner of our life and possessions. We are told in the Bible we are stewards who will one day give an accounting to Him. If we fail in these responsibilities He isn’t going to disown us but He will bring discipline proving we are His children.
I believe the problem of not being constant fellowship with Jesus is this matter of understanding forgiveness. If you truly appreciate the level of brutality leveled on Him with the scourge, crown of thorns, beatings and nails there is no way we are going to willingly sin against Him. If we mess up and sin the Holy Spirit reminds us instantly of God’s promise in 1 John 1:9. A wise man will memorize this verse.
If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
I hate to use it for I know I’ve disappointed the Lord again. How much I don’t want to do that. I consider myself a servant of God and know deep in my heart that sin by any of His children hurts Him. If one of my daughters or grandchildren were arrested for a crime it would hurt me in the same way. God is raising us to be part of the unblemished part of the Bride of Christ. Please read Matthew 25 and you can see what Jesus has to say to the virgins. One thing for sure sinners won’t be there. This is why it is so important to be forgiven by God while we’re still breathing.
In His Service,
Capt. Ben Marler
captben61@gmail.com
John Newton (1725-1807)
Stanza 6 anon.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
Can you sing this song with all your heart knowing that God has forgiven you? If you can’t please read the message accompanying this reminder of God’s Amazing Grace.
UNDERSTANDING GOD’S FORGIVENESS
What so many people don’t understand is God’s willingness to forgive any sinner who will truly repent of their sinful life. His grace [undeserved mercy] is the center piece of the Gospel.
He gave up His only Son the Lord Jesus Christ to die on a cross so we won’t have to die an eternal death.
The simplicity of the message has been lost in many religious denominations including I fear in the largest one of all. God wants a family and it isn’t found in any Church or group of them. God’s family is where the redeemed gather if in a living room or under a tree somewhere. Jesus has promised to come in the midst of 2 or three who gather in His Name. Failing to understand this can bring you to the place where you will find yourself under the control of the elite. I’m not saying all pastors are evil but I am saying many have been caught doing evil things.
Shepherds [Pastors] are raised up by God like Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists and teachers to equip the saints [the born again] to reach the world with the simple message of the Gospel. Once it is spoken the Holy Spirit is here to make it work within the heart of the listeners. My understanding of the Gospel is as follows.
For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believed on Him should not perish but shall have eternal life.”
Believing on Jesus means we understand that He is God and He came to set sinners free from the power of sin. He accomplished this in a mighty way. He took the sins of the whole world upon Himself and allowed the Romans to drive nails into His hands and feet to die on a cross. As He hung there His Blood [the payment for sin] drained from His Body. This Blood was more than enough to satisfy God’s wrath against anyone for their sins. Once this message strikes home in our hearts we have been programmed to feel sorrow for them. Then we can approach God with thanksgiving and ask Him to forgiven us. He does instantly for it is will to do so.
At this point we can invite Jesus into our hearts to be our Lord [Master]. Or, we can adopt the idea we can go on living as before with only a need to go to church sometime and repent over and over again. You and I can choose to our detriment to do the latter. God hates sin and we should too.
If we choose the first and invite Jesus into our hearts He comes by the Holy Spirit giving us a brand new life or a born again one. We are now the servants of God and consider ourselves no longer the owner of our life and possessions. We are told in the Bible we are stewards who will one day give an accounting to Him. If we fail in these responsibilities He isn’t going to disown us but He will bring discipline proving we are His children.
I believe the problem of not being constant fellowship with Jesus is this matter of understanding forgiveness. If you truly appreciate the level of brutality leveled on Him with the scourge, crown of thorns, beatings and nails there is no way we are going to willingly sin against Him. If we mess up and sin the Holy Spirit reminds us instantly of God’s promise in 1 John 1:9. A wise man will memorize this verse.
If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
I hate to use it for I know I’ve disappointed the Lord again. How much I don’t want to do that. I consider myself a servant of God and know deep in my heart that sin by any of His children hurts Him. If one of my daughters or grandchildren were arrested for a crime it would hurt me in the same way. God is raising us to be part of the unblemished part of the Bride of Christ. Please read Matthew 25 and you can see what Jesus has to say to the virgins. One thing for sure sinners won’t be there. This is why it is so important to be forgiven by God while we’re still breathing.
In His Service,
Capt. Ben Marler
captben61@gmail.com
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