Ephesians 4:10 Open Thou Mine Eyes - cth.com.au · The Beauty of the Ascended Christ Jesus Ephesians 4:10 by W. B. Howard Editor of ‘Despatchﬂ magazine Publication of Endtime

The Beauty of theAscended Christ Jesus

Ephesians 4:10

by W. B. HowardEditor of `Despatch� magazine

Publication of Endtime Ministries ~ �Women for Christ�

Open Thou Mine Eyes !

CONTACT:

Endtime Ministries...Christian Resource Centre

P.O.B. 238, Landsborough. Q. 4550Fax: 07 54948617Mobile: 0407 636611Email : [email protected]: http://www.despatch.cth.com.au

If you needany further

encouragementor assistance ...

Wendy Howard......... 07 54941672

Endtime Ministries...Christian Resource Centre [P.O.B. 238, Landsborough.Q. 4550]Ph. 0754941672 Fac. 0754948617 Mob. 0407 636611

Ephesians 4:10

�He ... ascended upfar above all heav-ens, that he might fill all things.�

Wendy B. HowardEditor of `Despatch�

Endtime Ministries is aNon-Profit, IndependentService Centre.A Salvation GospelMinistry, not socialLiberation orientated.No personal, financialgain received by anystaff member.

Presenting the TRUTH, a clear Trumpet call.

Affirming that the �Wordof God�, none other thanthe KJV Bible is the truthin its entirety.

�... Beauty for Ashes ...�

Sitting at the feet of Jesus, Where can mortal be more blest? There I lay my sins and sorrows, And, when weary, find sweet rest.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus, There I love to weep and pray,

While I from His fullness gather, Grace and comfort every day.

(Source unknown).

A periodical spiritual handbook, which is presentedin order to glorify Christ Jesus:To praise Him, and to offer thanksgiving;To show Him to be ALL that any true believer couldneed, or ever yearn for.

�Beauty for Ashes� has also the aim to

express the reality of the Exchanged Life:

There is �Beauty�, the Lord Jesus Christ Him-

self, Whose Life is given for the �Ashes� of ourown sin-destroyed lives;Jesus Christ, Who is Himself, the whole of re-newal, sanctification, revival, the joy unspeak-able of Christian holiness. The Life that satis-fies the Christian, and pleases the AlmightyGod is found only in Him.

The wonder-filled words of Isaiah 61:3 might have aprimary interpretation pertaining to the restorationof Israel. However, they also have a delightful, awe-inspiring application to the Church Age Christian be-

liever. Do you want to exchange �Beauty� for the

�Ashes� of your own fruitlessness, independence, fail-ure and striving to do better? Then come to theOne Who is All you need.

�Beauty for Ashes� ~ Vol. 4:1 Autumn xxxix

Email: [email protected] Web Site: http:www.despatch.cth.com.au/Publish: �Beauty for Ashes� 4 issues @ $15p.a. [Despatch 4 issues @ $30 p.a.

will, we can take peace and trust or refuse them. We can chooseinstead despair, hopelessness and grief if we want to. Who wouldwant to? Just our own silly selves at times.Remind yourself of God�s wonderful promise about this:

�Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayedon thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORDfor ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlastingstrength:� (Isaiah 26: 3,4).

WHAT IS HAVING OUR �MINDS STAYED� ON GOD?

The Hebrew word for �mind� in that passage is YETSER- a forma-tion, an image, a conception an imagination. God is telling us tokeep the images or formation of our minds centered consistentlyon Himself and His will for us. Not allowing ourselves to step outinto having mental concepts that take away our trust and peace inHim. As soon as our faith in Him begins to slip away, as soon asour minds come up with pictures of doom and gloom for the fu-ture, or misery about the past, bring the mind back to the Lord

God�s wonderful promises and stay there! Here is yourstrength, to trust in the Lord and not to let go of

your trust.

And be thankful.

��and be not faithless,but believing.�

(John 20:27).

��and, lo, I am withyou always, even unto

the end of the world.�

(Matthew 28:20).


`Personal Revival�

Open Thou

Mine Eyes !


xxxviii

up, where have the years gone, why do I not see my grand chil-dren very much? Why couldn�t we meet more often with familyparties? On and on! By the time I got home again I was in griefand filled with sadness.

But when I read Colossians 3:15 my own faults became clear! Iwas looking at the hole not the doughnut, I was unthankful to theLord. So I thanked Him for dear friends in the Lord; for littlechildren whom I could kiss and cuddle; for all the delightful foodand goodies of the day; for people who loved me and accepted meright into their own families; for smiles and fun, laughter and be-lievers to be with and enjoy. My peace came back, and I saw againthe blessings God showers upon me! Are Christians really my ownfamily, anyway? They sure are, we are all related to Jesus Christ,we are family to Him and to each other:

�While he [Jesus] yet talked to the people, behold, hismother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speakwith him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy motherand thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak withthee. But he answered and said unto him that told him,Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And hestretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said,Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shalldo the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same ismy brother, and sister, and mother.� (Matthew 12:46-50).

�In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God inChrist Jesus concerning you.� (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

� BUT, I AM IN DESPAIR!�Does that express more the feelings of your own heart? - �I

am in despair!� Have a look at Psalm 42:6 for what the psalmistfelt about his emotional pain:

�O my God, my soul is cast down within me( My soul is in despair within me!�)��

Yet, God promises us that we will be in perfect peace, IF we willkeep our minds stayed on Him. Again we see that we have free-


iv

`Personal Revival�

�Open thou mine eyes,that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

I am a stranger in the earth:hide not thy commandments from me,

My soul breaketh for the longing that it hathunto thy judgments at all times�

( Psalm 119:18-20).

A dear old saint of God was on the telephone recently prais-ing that glorious Psalm, number 119. How true were his com-ments! This Psalm has great comfort, instruction and wis-dom as it exhalts the Word of the Lord; it brings alive the

mystery of the manifestation of the Almighty in His written Word. Webelievers in Christ Jesus need our eyes opened afresh to the God-breathedWord, for there are many today who seek to rob us of our trust in andcontentment with the Bible itself. Having beauty instead of the ashesof existence means that we share the resurrection Life of the Son ofGod, He is the Word, as John 1:1 shows us. He is the Logos, the utteredthought of God the Father. So, too, is the Bible the very thoughts of theAlmighty Creator of the universe.

Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D. puts it like this:�Logos�from lego, to speak�.JESUS CHRISTIn Jn. 1 Jesus Christ in His preincarnate state is called ho Logos, the Word,meaning first inmaterial intelligence and then the expression of that intelligencein speech that humans understand�.

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Open Thou Mine Eyes!

�Beauty for Ashes� ~ Vol. 4:1 Autumn xxxvii


A NEW NAME, Revelation 2:17DIVINE SONSHIP, 1 John 3:1,2.DELIVERANCE, IITim. 4:18INHERITANCE, 1 Pet. 1:3,4.GROWTH IN CHRIST, Ephesians 4:11-15;RESURRECTION, Romans 8:11.SPIRITUAL LIGHT, SPIRITUAL HEALING AND SPIRITUAL TREASURES, John12:46; Hosea 6:1; Matthew 6:19,20.

WITH THANKSGIVING.In all this trusting and asking and depending there must also

be thanksgiving! There is no trust or peace if we do not thank Godwhen He answers, nor do we trust if we cannot thank Him evenwhen things seem to go wrong! We must co-operate by �letting�the peace of God take over and rule in our hearts. Notice that wehave a free-will choice here, we can �let� or hinder God�s peaceby our own mental attitudes. Notice too that peace and thanksgiv-ing go together. We can be so blind and ungrateful that we can besurrounded by blessings, yet be overcome by sadness and lack ofpeace! Consider this familiar passage:

�And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the whichalso ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.�

( Colossians 3:15).Here I will share a failure of my own just last weekend. We

went to two parties in one day, a birthday and a wedding celebra-tion. We were accepted and loved at both parties, there was goodfood, fellowship in Christ Jesus and smiling, happy faces all daylong. Yet, on the return trip to our house I was very despondent,depressed and hopeless! What happened? Well, nothing happened,nothing went wrong, my attitude went astray! No, Satan didn�t�get in� I did it myself. My own family is scattered, some live inanother state of the country, others live closer but are very tied upwith their own affairs, We seldom meet for a good ol� family gettogether. At the parties I began to want my own family, I didn�twant to be with other people�s families, I just wanted my own.Then my mind began to wander down memory lane ( I was wear-ing rose-coloured glasses, of course) and I remembered my ownchildren when we all together. Why were my children all grown

�Beauty for Ashes� ~ Vol. 4:1 Autumn v


Logos: THE WORD OF GOD, BIBLE.The Word of God, whether of the law (Mk. 7:13)or of the Gospel (Mt. 13:19-23; Mk.:17; Jn. 8:31; Rev. 1:9; 20:4).�(LEXICAL AIDS TO THE NEW TESTAMENT. HEBREW/GREEK KEY STUDY BIBLE).

Beauty for Ashes this issue will delve a little deeper than previously. Wewill get a glimpse together of the astonishing Might of the God Who isdealing with us, and bow the knee as we understand that the All-power-ful, All-knowing and Ever-present One condescends in astonishing com-passion towards His redeemed people. We will consider His infinite Be-ing, bring this together with His revealed Word and ponder upon ourprivilege in sharing the very Life of Christ. I have been thrilled as I havestudied and encountered the Lord in His Word and ways since I lastwrote Beauty for Ashes, I hope you will be too as we share a few ofthese findings here.

Let�s get going on a personal level, as my Lord is my ever-present Com-panion, Friend and Lover of my soul. I was enjoying the sweet peaceand pleasure of just being with God the other day, after reading aboutthe wonders of the universe that my precious Lord has created. He was,as usual, as close as a heart beat, as intimately involved and part of me assummer rain is to a lake it is replenishing, as real a Person as I am aperson. We were communing as though I was the only one who matteredto Him in the entire cosmos. Then it struck me that I was actually speak-ing so closely and intimately with the Creator of infinite space, Whoinhabits eternity! I was overcome with momentary confusion, and shrunkback in my tiny self at my audacity in such possessive, attention-gettingdisplays of love towards Him. �Why, Lord, I see you as my Beloved, You Whoare so mighty. Yet, you seem to give me intense, constant attention always. You arealways there to attend to my prayers, I seem to rush to Your open arms and find Youalways ready, with ears for only me. How come, Lord, that You know everythingabout me and can be there for me, as though only I existed?�The answer came right away deep in my spirit, as clear as a voice,�I can do all that because I am God and can be all to you and knowall about you, because I am God! I know all, I am everywhere atonce.� ( Isaiah 57:15).

(READ THE SONG OF SOLOMON

FOR MORE ON THE WONDERS OF GOD�S INTIMATE LOVE FOR YOU).


xxxvi

12. HE WILL ANSWER PRAYER

Whatever your prayer needs are, GOD has promised he will an-swer prayer. Don�t rush in and ask Him, and then forget all aboutit and go on your way, struggling and depending on yourself again.1 John 5:14.

13. EVERLASTING LIFE AND GLORY AFTER DEATH

You are getting old, or you are seriously ill, you fear death in yourheart although you would not tell anyone. This is the most won-derful of all of God�s promises to His redeemed ones - EverlastingLife and Glory after death, John 3:16; Matthew 13:43. Relax inthe One Who has provided for you everything you will need, youwill �never die!� Do you believe this? It is the truth! John 11:25,26.

14. PRAYER IS CO-OPERATING WITH GOD�S PROMISES

There are so many, many wonderful promises in God�s Word tous, they fit every situation we will ever face. Prayer is co-operat-ing with those promises, taking them for yourself, and resting inwhat God has given. A mere child can trust his loving parents, soyou can trust God your Father, there is no secret to faith. Trust isfaith, and faith is trust. Faith is not some esoteric power whichonly the highly �spiritual� can achieve, it is just trusting your Fa-ther Who loves you. The heroes and heroines we read about whohave become great men and women of God are not basically dif-ferent than we are, they just realized how weak and useless theywere, and they laid hold of God�s strength, power and ability. Theytrusted Him to do everything for them and in them. Stop strug-gling and trying so hard � you will only fail. The Lord alone canfill you with the life of Christ Jesus, and make you a person whowill give Him glory throughout your life on this earth.

MORE PROMISES FOR YOU TO TRUST GOD ABOUT:Co-operate by realizing the truthfulness of God�s promises,

and pray according to what He has already given, and what youare already in Jesus Christ.A CROWN OF LIFE, Revelation 2:10 andA HEAVENLY HOME, John 14:1-3.


viHOW GREAT THOU ART ...

If you are born-again you will know the delight of being a child of Godtoo. We often get so accustomed to praying and relating to the Lord thatwe can lose sight of what we are actually doing when we enter into thismind-blowing interaction with the Eternal Creator of the Universe. Shallwe delight our spirits for awhile by considering just Who God is?

�The heavens declare the glory of God;and the firmament showeth his handiwork.

Day unto day uttereth speech and night into night showeth knowledge.There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

Their line is gone out through all the earth,and their words to the end of the world.

In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,

and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.His going forth is from the end of the heaven,

and his circuit unto the ends of it:and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.� (Psalm 19:1-6).

The above verse shows us that the seemingly endless expanse of starryskies declare the glory of God. The �speech� that the skies above giveshould be understood by every person on earth, only a physically blindperson could say that they do not see the wonder of God in the day andby night in the skies above. Yet, how many there are who are spirituallyblinded on this planet! They look at the skies and see nothing spectacu-lar, or they spend their time investigating the planets, stars and our ownearth and just come up with some nonsense like �the Big Bang� theoryand evolution. Is this deliberate? Are these humans suffering from the�I don�t want to know about God, He will demand repentance of me�syndrome? The Bible tells us that this is surely the case:

�For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness andunrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them;

for God hath shown it to them.For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,

being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and

�Beauty for Ashes� ~ Vol. 4:1 Autumn xxxv


5. HOPE FROM GOD

You have lost hope, you have tried all this before and can�t keepon banging your head against a (seemingly) brick wall! Get hopeagain from God, Hebrews 6:18,19.

6. YOU WANT GUIDANCE FROM GOD!Well, He has promised to guide you, stop fussing and let Him, Hehas promised to do so. Guidance, Isaiah 42:16.

7. HIS PROTECTING CARE...You feel afraid of the future, let God assure you of His protectingcare for every day of your life, 1 Peter 5:6,7. Trust Him, He WILLtake care of you, rest in Him about that.

8. JEHOVAH JIREH...YOUR PROVIDER

You have material needs and wonder how you can pay your billsand keep your head above water! Matthew 6:26-33 shows howGod will give you His blessing, freely! Trust Him to provide, restin prayer with your Provider.

9. ABUNDANT LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS

Life seems a real �drag�, where has your life gone wrong? Godhas promised you Abundant Life in Christ Jesus, come to Godwith His promise and co-operate with Him. John 10:10.

10. CLEANSING AND RESTORATION...You have dropped away into sin of some sort, and you are sorry,sick inside and want to be clean again. God is there, He has prom-ised cleansing and restoration. 1 John 1:9; John 15:3; Gal. 6:1,2..

11. VICTORY, STRENGTH

You are weak, you have no victory in your Christian life. Takefreely what God wants you to have, Victory 1 John 5:4, StrengthPhilippians 4:13.

�Beauty for Ashes� ~ Vol. 4:1 Autumn vii


God�sWord

is sweeter!than theHoneycomb!

Godhead; so that they are without excuse:Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,neither were thankful;but became vain intheir imaginations,and their foolishheart was darkened.Professing themselvesto be wise, theybecame fools.�(Romans 1:18-22).

The words �holdthe truth� in verse18 is the GreekK ATECHO whichmeans to withhold,restrain, holddown in a spiritualsense. Those whodo not see the Mighty Creator, God, in the starry expanse of the heav-ens are deliberately �holding down� the truth which they find there.The same Greek word is used in Acts 27:40 where it shows a ship beingbrought to shore. �Made toward� is KATECHO, the ship is held down on acertain course, made to keep on course. Thus we can say that those whosee the moon and stars at night and the sun by day, and yet do not ac-knowledge the Creator God, are on a set course of their own and deter-mined to go that way, and keep the truth down so that it will not inter-fere with their ungodly plans.

Yes, the heavens declare the glory of God, the skies, stars and planetsshow His stupendous creation work. All those who do not acknowledgeHim are without excuse.

HOW MANY STARS ARE THERE?As we look into the magnitude of God�s cosmic creation we might beforgiven for feeling just slightly insignificant, just slightly! The excitingbook by Werner Gitt, originally written in German, (Pub.CLV. Literatur-


xxxiv

the might and promise of our Father in Heaven we must prayaccording to His promises � then we will pray in the right way forthe right thing. We have all heard comments like these in sermons,read them in books, but do we act upon what we have heard andread about? Do you and I forget the �how-to� book and prayoften in the wrong way? Or do we struggle along trying to pro-vide for ourselves what God will give us freely, but we don�t real-ize that precious fact. The only condition for getting our prayersanswered, as saved people, is that we �trust and obey� in God�sstrength. We must come in the Lord Jesus Christ�s Name, and takefreely what is ours already in Him.

�If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall askwhat ye will, and it shall be done unto you.� (John 15:7).

All right, down to action! Here are some of God�s PROMISES toyou and I, these are ours right now � co-operate with God bytaking freely through prayer:

1. POWER FOR SERVICE. JOHN 14:12.You want to be able to win people for Christ, but you have triedand failed. Now stop trying and ask God for what is yours, spir-itual power for service.

2. FRUITFULNESS. JOHN 15:4,5.You feel barren of real fruit, you seem to get nowhere in yourChristian life. Ask God for what is yours in Christ Jesus.

3. KNOWLEDGE, I COR.1:15; IICOR.2:14; JEREMIAH 24:7. WIS-DOM, JAMES 1:5.You seem to have no knowledge or wisdom in spiritual matters,yet you long to be wise and filled with knowledge. Ask the Lord togive you those precious abilities.

4. COMPANIONSHIP, JOY, REST,PEACE...You are lonely, lack joy and peace often. God has promised youCompanionship John 15:15; Joy, Isaiah 35:10; Rest, Hebrews4:9,11 and Peace, John 14:27. Lay hold of these promises in prayer,and let God Himself provide what you need.


viii

Verbreitung e.V. Postfach 110135.33661 Bielefeld) �Stars and TheirPurpose. Signposts in Space,� gives us figures that cannot be imag-ined. How many stars are there? The total number of stars in theobservable universe is estimated to be 1025 (10 followed by 25 zeros).10 to the 25th power! No person knows the exact number, it appearsthat the stars go in to infinity. People once laughed at the writing ofJeremiah because he said that no one could count the stars. At one time,before the invention of our present day telescopes, scientists were surethere were only about 3,000 stars. Yet Jeremiah wrote of the stars, com-paring their number to the number of grains of sand on all the sea-shores of the earth, �As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sandof the sea measured�� {Jeremiah. 33:22).

Let Werner Gitt, a dedicated Christian believer and scientist, tell us more:�The total number of [star] galaxies discovered thus far, is probably in theregion of several hundred thousand million, and it may even amount to a fewmillion million. One of the most startling astronomical discoveries is that galax-ies occur in clusters, which can be extremely large. The average diameter of sucha cluster is about three million light years�It is noteworthy that only now in thetwentieth century we can fully appreciate the astronomical import of biblicalaffirmations. It behoves us to trust biblical pronouncements in other case as well.Let us now try to visualize the above mentioned number of stars [ten followed by25 zeros]. No human being lives long enough to count such a large number, sowe use a computer, one of the fastest ones available. It can do ten thousandmillion calculations in one second, which is extremely fast! But even at this greatspeed it would require 30 million years of non-stop counting stars, and indeedno computer could last as long as that. God has foretold the result of such anendeavour through His prophet Jeremiah�.� (ibid, p.p.18,20).

O.K., that all sounds shatteringly complex and huge, we little ones onearth are beyond description in our minuteness in comparison to theuniverse and stars. Now we saw that a cluster of galaxies of stars can beon average about three million light years across. But what exactly is alight-year? One light-year is not a measurement of time, but a measure-ment of distance. One light-year is equal to a distance of 9.46 millionmillion km. The size of the cosmos itself is estimated to be at least 12thousand million light-years. The total mass of every bit of matter inthe universe has been estimated at 1054 kg (10 with 54 zeros).

�Beauty for Ashes� ~ Vol. 4:1 Autumn xxxiii


AN AFTER ~ THOUGHT...

CO-OPERATION WITH THE CREATOR.

This mighty Creator Who is more powerful than all the powerof the created universe, with all its planets and stars, hasmade PRAYER the way of communicating with Him. His

Word makes that clear, God wants us to be people of PRAYER.The Book he has given us, the Bible, is a �how-to� book onPRAYER. It is no use just crying out when we get into trouble,we need to understand communication with Him, as God has giveninstruction, and be always in prayer. We need to pray in the rightway for the right thing, not as the heathen and godless pray. TheBible tells us of a coming day when there will be the biggest prayermeeting of all time, yet people will be praying the wrong way, forthe wrong thing and to the wrong help:

�And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and therich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men,and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselvesin the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said tothe mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from theface of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrathof the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; andwho shall be able to stand?� (Rev. 6:15-17).

These people should have called on the Lamb Himself, He alone isthe way to safety. God would have saved them through the Lamb�sBlood, shed for the sin of all mankind! But they scream out interrified �PRAYER� to the mountains and rocks instead!

The believers in Christ Jesus, the Lamb, have been promised somuch by the God Who cannot lie. No animal, bird, fish or evenangel has been brought into such a privileged position as weredeemed ones have been brought. If we are to co-operate with

�Beauty for Ashes� ~ Vol. 4:1 Autumn ix


Can you wonder, then, that after reading Werner Gitt�s book, with anunimaginable glimpse of the handy-work of our Creator-God, I sankinto such a humbling awareness of my own seeming insignificance andthe glory and magnitude of the Creator God in comparison? For theLord God we worship and adore is truly the Maker of heaven and earth,He is the First Cause of all things that are created.

�Thou, even thou, art Lord alone;thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all

their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas,and all that is therein, and thou preserveth them all;

and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.� ( Nehemiah 9:6).

GOD IS THE �FIRST CAUSE.�The Almighty Lord God we worship is the First Cause of all there is!He alone, therefore, holds Sovereignty and Power in His right hand, thereis no power outside Him. This short period of rebellion and evil whichwe are enduring on earth and in the atmosphere surrounding the earthwill exist only as long as the Lord permits it, no longer. ALL power isHis. The fact that such a thing as Power exists, whether in nature or inthe supernatural realm, is because of the First Cause, our God, or He isnot truly God at all. Will we look awhile at this First Cause of a Causalcreation?Truly we should praise and adore Him:

�I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people:and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.

For thy mercy is great above the heavens:and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens:and thy glory above all the earth;

That thy beloved may be delivered:save with thy right hand, and answer me.�

(Psalm 108:3-6).

The Law of Cause and Effect is held almost universally by philosophers,and is considered to be the most certain of all scientific principles � it isthe principle of causality. In experimental science it stands as obviouslyproved, and is borne out in every person on the planet�s everyday expe-


xxxii

BIBLIOGRAPHY: BOOKS USED FOR REFERENCE WERE:�FINAL AUTHORITY�,

DR. WILLIAM P. GRADY, PUB., GRADY PUBLICATIONS.�THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR MODERN SCIENCE�,

HENRY M. MORRIS, PUB., BAKER BOOK HOUSE.�STARS AND THEIR PURPOSE�,

WERNER GITT, PUB., CLV.�CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY�,

EMERY H. BANCROFT, PUB., ZONDERVAN PUBLISHING HOUSE.�ISOBEL KUHN, A NEW BIOGRAPHY�,

LOIS HOADLEY DICK, PUB., HIGHLAND BOOKS.

Extract: �Isobel Kuhn A New Biography� by L. H. Dick

FAULTLESS ... WITH JOY

On Belle�s first field trip into North Thailand she hadfallen twice and injured her chest. X-rays were nega-tive, but a year later a lump was discovered. Belleunderwent surgery in Chingmai, then was flown toNew York and Philadelphia for further treatment,arriving November 14, 1954. She enjoyed the timespent in Wheaton, Illinois, with eleven-year-old Dannyand Kathryn who was an accepted candidate of CIM-OMF. Another operation gave her the strength tofinish her 8th book. She passed into His presenceMarch 20, 1957, her husband by her side.

He remembered the light-heartedwords spoken earlier:

�When I get to Heaven they aren�t going to see much of mebut my heels, for I�ll be hanging over the golden wall keepingan eye on the Lisu Church!�


x

rience. We all know intuitively that nothing simply comes about in isola-tion. Every effect can be traced back to what caused it.We are always bringing up causal questions as we live our lives out:

..... �How did it happen?�

......�Who caused it to happen?�

......�How did the universe start?�

......�How did the human race start?�

......�Where did this or that come from?� or

.......�Why did everything happen this way?�These are causal questions. An effect must have a cause.

If we struggle through a long line of causes, we must inevitably come toa First Cause of all, or else we can find no mental and spiritual rest!Henry M. Morris has written awe- inspiring words in his book �TheBiblical Basis of Modern Science� which concisely expresses the onlyscientific truth on this subject that can ever be held by honest and sin-cere men and women. There is no �evolution� possible in a real universelike the one which exists. There can be no �Big Bang� which began allexistence, as this does not answer the big question of the cause andeffect cosmos. For those of us who must take deep thoughts slowly, wewill examine Morris� statements together after this quote:��one must confront the question of either an infinite chain of �second causes�or else, of a primary cause, the uncaused First Cause�.the law [of causeand effect] leads in inevitably to a choice between two alternatives:(1) an infinite chain of nonprimary causes;(2) an uncaused primary Cause of all causes�.Since every component of the chain is a finite effect, the whole series isitself a combined effect, but since the number of links is infinite, itscause must be infinite. Still further, each antecedent link in the chain is�greater� than the one before it, since something is always lost in the transmissionfrom cause to effect. Thus, cause must be finally reached that is essentially infinite.And since nothing can be �more infinite� than infinite, this finally must be aprimary cause � the infinite Primary Cause.� (p.p. 35,36). END OF QUOTE

Morris is simply pointing out, in relation to where did all things comefrom, that we have to come to the end of saying, �but what caused this orthat?� If you say, �what caused the earth to exist?� and answer, �it was formed

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to speak of the Gospel to others, and pray for their souls? Are you will-ing to suffer and even die for the Gospel?

SUM-UP.

Here we are in 2001 with the New World Order breathing down ournecks. Far beyond the NWO, and infinitely more powerful than any ofthat, is our Almighty Creator and Lord, Who is Christ Jesus Himself(John 1:1-5). He shares His resurrection Life with us. We have this treas-ure in earthen vessels ( 11 Corinthians 4:7,8) that the power might beseen to be of Almighty God and not of ourselves. We understand thatthe God Who is the First Cause of All cannot fail in His purpose for ourlives, if we are fully surrendered, living by faith in Him and filled withHis Holy Spirit. He that created the stars and the galaxies will not bethwarted by anything that happens on this little planet, which is in themidst of a spiritual war. His Mighty Word has such power for deliveringsouls that we dare not trust our own words, wise as they might be inGod. Sanctification by Grace through Faith is not our opportunity tobecome pious and proud! Sanctification by Grace through Faith cannever remain centered on our own growth and development in the Lord,we are filled with His Light for a purpose. We are shining in the darknessof this nightmare New Age. The majority of people in our own countryare far from Heaven and in danger of hell, lost sheep out in the dark. Wesaved believers are the only witnessing lights God has which can lead theway Home to the fold and the Shepherd�s arms. �So let us shine.�

� The truest holiness is that of which the possessor is least conscious; yet it is his realdiadem and beauty.� (A.J. Gordon).

� I have not sinned for some time,� said a woman to Spurgeon.�Then you must be very proud of it,� he replied.�Indeed I am!� said she.

�He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flowrivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe onhim should receive�)� (John 7:38,39).

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by the cosmos itself � then you are still left with, �what caused the cosmos?� andon and on. If one does not want to move on that same track for ever,one must call a stop and say �INFINITY!� This is the First Cause, thisthe One Cause of ALL. This, then, is GOD!

Now, how can we know that this Cause, our God, is Personal, Loving,Moral, Conscious, and only One God not many gods? Yes, the Bibletells us so and it is the very Word of the Infinite First Cause, but themost basic of scientific principles, the Law of Cause and Effect, showsus without a shadow of doubt that our God is everything that the Bibleshows Him to be. Those who will not recognize Him in the scientificworld are �without excuse� as the first chapter of Romans tells us.Consider, nothing can be caused by something that is less than the ef-fect. For something to exist it must have been caused by something whichhas the same components or attributes in it, and the cause is alwaysgreater than what it brings about. Otherwise where could the compo-nents and attributes come from? Here then is the proof from scienceitself that the Lord God is all that the Bible shows Him to be, as ex-pressed by Henry M.Morris:�Principle of Cause and Effect�.

An effect can never be greater � and in fact will always be less �than its cause. Thus a chain of effects and their causes musteventually trace back to an essentially infinite First Cause.The First Cause of limitless space must be infinite.The First Cause of endless time must be eternal.The First Cause of boundless energy must be omnipotent[or All-powerful].The First Cause of infinite complexity must be omniscient[or All-knowing].The First Cause of love must be loving.The First Cause of life must be living.� END OF QUOTE

What does the Bible show us about the Creator God ?He is shown throughout its pages to be just what true science showsHim to be as the First Cause. He is infinite, eternal, All-powerful, every-where present, All-knowing, living, conscious, moral, spiritual and lov-ing! If He were not all those things Himself, where did they come from� and there we are back at the �first cause� discussion again! God is by


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won thousands of lost souls to the Lord in China in those days. It wasvery costly for them in terms of their suffering and death. �Only onelife to offer��:

�Another of Belle�s students, Chi-lee, almost convinced her that a mission-ary had discovered the missing link [tongue in cheek]. He fits the description an-thropologists usually give: low forehead, wild, untamed hair, a perplexed look, largejaw, dirty, full of fleas and the itch. Yet he could read and write! (then he couldn�t bethe missing link, Belle thought with relief).

Chi-lee was a Christian, but he could not pass his [missionary Bible School]exams. He was from a mountain ravine higher up, which Belle named �The Hea-then Patch� for no missionary over the years was able to enter it to make a spiritualimpact. Chi-lee wasn�t a bit discouraged that he hadn�t passed. He was content tojust listen, and after a bath and a haircut and some of Ma-Ma�s (Belle�s) magicsalve, he felt so much better!

He went back to his village full of hope that he would win his family to theLord, but the villagers burned his house down and his own father refused him shel-ter. Undaunted Chi-lee began to teach the youth of the village, but the elders rose upagainst him in fear of the demons. �Stop teaching or we will surely kill you!� theysternly warned.

He then built a lean-to of branches deep in the woods, caught malaria car-ried by mosquitoes and died � alone.�

(�ISOBEL KUHN� BY LOIS HOADLEY DICK, PUB. HIGHLAND BOOKS. P.127).

Are we willing to live or die for Christ and the Gospel?

�The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be thatwe suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that thesufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory whichshall be revealed in us. � ( Romans 8:16-18).

Was Chi-lee�s life a failure? Of course it was not! He obeyed God andwent to the ones that God had called him to witness to. He was willingto suffer for their salvation. Yet, they rejected the Almighty God Whohad sent His messenger. Chi-lee was as faithful as any of those wholived a long life and won many to Christ. We are not responsible for howpeople respond, that is on their heads, we are responsible for our ownfaithfulness to God�s calling to the Great Commission. Are you willing


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definition the First Cause, so He cannot be more than one god, unlessyou want to end up with a �multiverse� and not a universe, as Morrisstates. And this First Cause has given us a miraculous Book which mani-fests Himself and His power � the Bible.

WHAT IS THE BIBLE?�For ever, O LORD, thy word if settled in heaven.�

(Psalm 119:89).�For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.�

(Psalm 138:2b).

Hebrews 4:13a tells the reader this:�Neither is there any creature not manifest in HIS sight.� This personalpronoun �his� is actually a reference to the Word of the Lord in versetwelve! The Bible and God Himself are so linked together that one [theWord] is described as being the Other [God Himself]. The Word of Godin verse 12 is declared to be able to divide asunder the soul and spirit,and to be able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart etc. HowPersonal this becomes when we read verse 13. God, by the Holy Spirit,is in some way Present in His Word. We should never worship the Bible,never, this would be to become a �Bibliolator,� but we must realizeafresh that the Word of God is a supernatural expression of GOD Him-self. The Bible as a book is only paper and ink, often with a nice leathercover and gold leaf on the page edges. But spiritually it is God�s mani-festation.

The mysterious verse in Romans, chapter 9 verse 17 is an awesomepronouncement indeed. Here the written Word of Scripture is shown asa communicating, talking entity! Able to look into the future and to speakto Pharoah about it. Yet, when we read from the Old Testament inExodus 9:13-16 we see that it was the Lord Himself Who spoke throughMoses unto Pharoah. Again the Lord God Himself is interchanged withthe Word of God, the Scriptures. Moses, by the way, wrote Exodus afterhis confab with Pharoah.

Now look at the astonishing words of Galatians 3:7-8. Here the Scrip-ture is spoken of as preaching the Good News of the Gospel to Abra-ham before the book of Genesis was written. Again the Bible�s inspired

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work load, to mine was appalling! I know nothing of suffering for ChristJesus and His Good News. I don�t mean we should seek to live withoutcomforts or little luxuries just for the sake of doing so, I mean to say�are you and I really willing to put ourselves and our clamouring needsand greeds aside for Christ and the salvation of souls?� Last night I wasmoved in my spirit to ring my 93 year old uncle, whom we have prayedfor and witnessed to solidly for two years. I felt strongly that the Lordwanted me to ask him again to pray and receive Christ as Saviour (myuncle has always refused to do this). I was tired, I didn�t want to, I felt Imight be ridiculed in some way. I wanted to leave it in the �too hardbasket� for now. Going to the Bible and getting verses over and againthat urged me to ring and ask my uncle to receive Christ soon changedmy lazy mind. My uncle prayed the sinner�s prayer with me after a shorttime of discussion, with great enthusiasm and sincerity. I had �died� toself and Christ had brought forth Life for my loved one as I read theBible verses over the �phone. Praise the Lord for the Christian man whohad witnessed to my uncle the day before my �phone conversation. Weare a team together, all of us, but the work is of the Lord Himself.

THE SUFFERINGSOF THE �MISSING LINK.�

Let us finish Beauty for Ashes this issuewith the story of one simple witness toChrist in China, an indigenous man withnothing humanly to make him outstand-ing. �Belle� in the narrative was the nick-name for Isobel Kuhn, the Americanmissionary, the year is about 1944. Herewe read of just a poor man amongstmany millions of Chinese who lived anddied before the complete take-over ofthe Communists in that country. Ourmighty God had given this Chinese peas-ant His Living Word and his sins wereforgiven, and nothing else mattered forhim after that but serving Jesus Christ.People just like him, men and women,

cf. Extract p.32 re author

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authors equate the Scriptures with God Himself !(SOURCE P. 172: �FINAL AUTHORITY� BY DR. WILLIAM P.GRADY. PH.D.

GRADY PUB. ENDORSED BY DR. DALLAS DOBSON AND DR. DENNIS CORLE).

�The entrance of thy words giveth LIGHT.� (Psalm 119:130).

�This then is the message which we have heard of him, anddeclare unto you, that God is LIGHT�� ( 1 John 1:8a).

It is most important to use a King James Ver-sion Bible, it is trustworthy, it is the Word of God inEnglish in your hand. The greatest attacks on the LordGod and His Truth are coming today from those whowant other �bibles� to replace the God-breathed Wordof the Lord. Be content with your KJV ask the HolySpirit to open it to you. Read it, study it, trust it, obeyit, receive light and life from the Lord through its pages- and be thankful.

When seeking to win people for Christ alwaysread to them from the Scriptures. Never rely on yourown explanations about the Gospel. Hold your Bibleclose to them so they can read the words for themselves,it is doubly beneficial if God�s Word enters the eyes aswell as the ears. Use one verse repeated a few times sothat it will burn in their memories, coming back afteryou have left them. Let the Holy Spirit choose the versefor you to give to each soul, He will bring to mind whatwould be the most suitable for each particular case. Forexample, someone says, �I might accept Jesus Christ asSaviour one day, but not now. I want to have fun, I amtoo young to be a saved person yet.� Tell them earnestlyand seriously that tomorrow may be too late, there maybe NO opportunity to be saved! Read to them from theBible two or three times, and get them to read alongwith you:

��NOW is the accepted time; behold,NOW is the day of salvation�

( 11 Corinthians 6:2b). God will cause this to remain inthe mind, a living Word they cannot forget.


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delusions to be of the Biblical God. The One World Church is alreadyformed and straining against God�s reins! It will soon be galloping! Thetrue believers are often scattered, aware of the huge invasion by enemyforces of a spiritual kind into Christendom, but are often not empow-ered by the Holy Spirit sufficiently to be able to move dynamically inGod�s Will in this present age. The �Halfway House� for the unsaved,between earth as it is now and what it will be when the Tribulation comes,is a sorry state indeed! God does not want any to perish. HE has thepower through the Holy Spirit to use even you and I to make a vitaldifference on this planet! ��Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit,saith the LORD of hosts.� (Zechariah 4:6). But, you protest, I am only asmall insignificant person. Remember that God uses all that are fullycommitted to Him, sold out, ready to suffer and die if need be. He usesthe weak, foolish and humble to confound those who are wise and pow-erful in their own conceits:�The Lord is not slack concerning his promise [about the Second Coming], as somemen count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any shouldperish, but that all should come to repentance.� ( 11 Peter 3:9).�Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God isstronger than men.For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, notmany mighty, not many noble, are called:But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and Godhath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;�

(1 Corinthians 1:25-27).(NOTE: THE WORD ANTHROPOS IS USED WHERE �MEN� IS TRANSLATED, MEAN-ING �HUMAN BEING.� NOT ONLY MEN ARE CALLED TO BE USED OF GOD, SO

DON�T REST ON YOUR LAURELS BECAUSE YOU ARE A WOMAN AND HAVE BROUGHT

UP A FAMILY).

WE ARE SELF-SERVINGIN OUR SAFE AND COSY COUNTRY.

I have been reading again the overwhelming book about the life of amissionary to China, Isobel Kuhn, back in the 1930s to �50s. She, herhusband John and family, were so dedicated, and suffered willingly forthe sake of the Gospel. I was flat out on my bed eating a bar of choco-late, sipping on a fizzy drink, while I read her story. The contrast be-tween their living conditions, food, access to modern medicines, safety,


xiv

A QUOTE ABOUT NEW �BIBLE� VERSIONS.

There were a number of KJV editions in reformation times. These wereNOT due to correcting errors in doctrine, mis-translations of Greek orHebrew words and so on. These editions were to bring uniform spellingin English through the whole Bible, and to change printing problems.There was no �correct� way to spell in the 1611 era, and the printingpresses were also very primitive. For example: Scripture might havebeen spelt �scripture� in some places of the KJV and in others �scrypture.�Some words could have faded out badly and needed to be replaced inbolder type.This quote from the book mentioned above, p.p171-172, gives direwarning to the Body of Christ today:�At this juncture it is imperative for the Bible believer to discern Satan�s strategythrough this myth of multiplied revisions [of the Old and New Testaments]. Hissole objective has been to plant the subliminal suggestion that the various KingJames editions are to be associated with the modern English translations, thoughthey [are]predicated upon an entirely different Greek text! People like the ThomasNelson Pub. Com. Would lead you to believe that the genuine updating and revi-sions God allowed from men who were faithful to the intentions of the originaltranslators has justified replacing the underlying Greek text with the corrupt read-ings of Alexandria [Westcott and Hort]. �

CAN WE TRUST THE KJVWE HAVE IN OUR HANDS?

We certainly can! Has it been changed many times as foolish critics claim?No, let this assurance answer all your queries about this:�That the true text of the Authorized Version 1611 had remained unaffectedthroughout these corrective stages was confirmed in a special report to the �Boardof Managers� of the American Bible Society in 1852. The official findings ofthis committee of seven, chaired by Dr. James W. McLane, were as follows:�The English Bible as left by the translators has come down to us unaltered inrespect to its text�With the exception of typographical er rors and changesrequired by the progress of orthography in the English language, the text of ourpresent Bibles remains unchanged, and without variations from the original copy asleft by the translators.�(REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON VERSIONS TO THE BOARD OF MANAGERS

OF THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, CHAIRMAN REV. JAMES W. MCLANE (NEW YORK:N.P. 1852).

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THE MOST REMARKABLE CHALLENGEPRESENTED IN SCRIPTURE.

This Mighty God Who inhabits limitless space and lives in everlastingtime has given a challenge to those who dare to seek to �prophesy� with-out His authority and inspiration. In Isaiah 41:21-23 we have this chal-lenging declaration:�Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith theKing of Jacob.Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let themshew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know thelatter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to comehereafter, that we may know that ye are gods ��

What have we got in the challenge in Isaiah?This Scripture presents negative and positive aspects. Negatively: it showsto us an infallible way by which we can judge the claims of those who areimposter teachers! Let them really foretell the future! Positively: it givesto all who will hear an unanswerable proof of the truthfulness of God�sWord. Our Mighty God throws down the gauntlet and bids the fakeprophets of our day, and of other eras in history, to successfully predictevents which are in the far distant future. They cannot predict success-fully, every time, what will happen next month or next year! This willshow without a shadow of doubt whether they are deceivers, pretendersor whether they are �god� men. For just one example here of God�sprophecy in His Word: the Old Testament prophecies which show JesusChrist coming into the earth. How He would be born and where, Hisministry, life and death and much more. These compel even the mosthardened critic of the Bible to admit that these were all 100% accuratepredictions, although they were written hundreds of years before theincarnation of the Son of God in human flesh.

MANKIND STANDSIN A HALFWAY HOUSE!

The limbo that the majority of mankind stands in today has never beenso horrifying. The decline of authentic Christianity in the WesternNations is proceeding at a rapid pace, although many �church-goers�are unaware of that decline � they perceive their New Age and occultic

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THE EARTH, A PLACEWITH EVIL AND DEATH!

As I read and re-read information on the First Cause, with its emphasison God being the Cause of All things, one thought struck me whichcould not, at first, be satisfied. This is that death, suffering, sin and evilexist, yet God is not the First Cause of those dread-filled realities. Yet,exist they do! It is simplistic to go into the description of what the Bibletells us about the entrance of evil, sin and death into the world, as weread in the book of Genesis and other parts of the Bible. Yes, we knowthat Satan brought about all these awful things, and sin entered the worldby Adam�s sin as the federal head of the human race (Genesis 3; Ro-mans 5:12 etc). But, this does not account for the existence of theserealities as caused phenomena? Satan was created by God, Adam wascreated by God, so He was the First Cause of them and their sin andevil? I can hear the scream going up! No, you say indignantly, of courseGod is not the first cause of sin, death and evil, even if He did createSatan and Adam in the first place. We know this must be so, yet wheredid evil and all that comes from evil originate if God was not the FirstCause of them?

The Bible tells us over and again that God is Light and evil is darkness.Darkness is merely the absence of light, it is not a reality of its own. Ican see shadows on the trees outside my window as I write, this is be-cause the light from the sun has been blocked. I turn off the light in myroom at night, there is no sun outside so my room is relatively dark,although the moon gives a reduced lighting to our planet. On a moon-less night the darkness can be quite intense. Could this explain why theBible calls evil �darkness?� Evil is the absence of something, it is theabsence of GOD as the First Cause, an absence of Light. Here is a Bibleverse which tells us that there is no �darkness� in God:�This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare untoyou, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.� ( 1 John 1 :5).

We believers in Christ have come back from �darkness� unto God andHis Light. We have been given many truths about this by our CreatorGod which are intriguing. ... Here are just a few:


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tion of the First Cause, our Creator! How can this be? Get a good graspof this thrilling truth : GOD HAS CERTIFIED HIS BOOK!

TWO-FOLD PROOF AND CERTIFICATION.

1....BY THE VERIFICATION OF MIRACLES - CERTIFICATION.Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Bible, wrought many miracles. The HolySpirit, as recorded in the Bible, brought forth many miracles throughthe agency of the apostles and disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amiracle �recognizes the immanence of God and His immediate agency in nature��

What then is a miracle?�A miracle is an event in nature, so extraordinary in itself and so coinciding withthe prophecy or command of the divinely commissioned teacher or leader, as fully towarrant conviction, on the part of those who witness it, that God has wrought itwith the design of certifying that this teacher or leader has been commissioned byHim.� ( �CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY� BY EMERY BANCROFT. D.D.

PUB. ZONDERVAN PUBLISHING HOUSE. P. 17).

These miracles are called in the Bible TERATA �wonders� and semela�signs� - Acts 2:22; John 4:48. Also stated to be DUNAMELA �powers�and ERGE �works� - Matthew 7:22; John 14:11.

2....THE VERIFICATION OF PROPHECY - CERTIFICATION. What is prophecy as seen in the Bible pages?�Prophecy is the foretelling of future events by virtue of direct communication fromGod � a foretelling, therefore, which, though not contravening any laws of the hu-man mind, those laws, if fully known, would not, without the agency of God, besufficient to explain. Or, prophecy is the communication by God to man of a knowl-edge of events still future, which otherwise he could not have discovered.�

(ibid. p. 21).

The Bible is filled with prophecy which has been perfectly fulfilledalready, 100% of the time. It is filled with prophecy for the future dayswhich also will be fulfilled 100%. No mere man or men could havepresented such predictions without the Almighty God having giveninspiration.


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�The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in theregion and shadow of death light is sprung up.� ( Matthew 4:16).�Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hathvisited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, toguide our feet into the way of peace.� ( Luke 1: 78,79).�In him [Jesus Christ] was life; and the life was the light of men.And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.�( John 1:4,5).�And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loveddarkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest hisdeeds should be reproved.� ( John 3:19,20).�For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in ourhearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of JesusChrist.� (IICorinthians 4:6).

There are so many Bible quotes about light and darkness that I couldnot include them all here, it would take up too much space! But why didthe First Cause, our God, allow such a possibility as horrible as evil, sinand death to be present in creation at all? As First Cause couldn�t Hehave made a cosmos where no evil could ever exist? Why, if evil is theabsence of God as Light, why couldn�t God have made it impossible forthat absence to occur? Here we enter the amazing realm of �Free-Will.�

The Lord God did not want robots which operate with the turn of a key!He wanted men and women who freely choose to live, fellowship withand serve Him. If there was no way of turning away from Him, therecould be no way of living by free-will. If there is free-will to choose toturn from God this means that �darkness� as the absence of light canenter � EVIL then exists! What a tragedy that our own world lies indarkness predominately!

�And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.�(1 John 5:19).

�In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shineunto them.� ( II Corinthians 4:4).

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How imperative it is that we use the Word of God as we seek to winpeople for Christ Jesus, nothing else will work the works of God. Notgood intentions, clever debate, argument, brilliant intellect or education.To win souls we have to have a good working knowledge of God�s Wordso that we can quote it or read it to those who are lost.

DIVINE REVELATION.The Bible is much more than a fine religious book which presents theTruth. It is a DIVINE revelation. The First Cause, the Maker of limit-less space, unbounded time, limitless power, has communicated with Hishuman creation through His Word. Humans are the only ones who weremade in the image of God, even the angels were not made in God�simage. Both male and female made He in the image of the Divine Trin-ity. (Genesis 1:26). Man lost that image, as we see in Genesis 5:3. ButJesus Christ gives us back that image, see 11 Corinthians 3:18. Why shouldanyone be surprised that the Creator would communicate directly to thehuman race by a written Word?

A Divine Revelation was of top necessity for this fallen world. Naturegives us such awareness of the fact that there must be a Creator, andtrue science tells us much about what this Creator is like. But naturecan�t throw any light upon the essential issues we need to come to gripswith and understand. Such as the Atonement, the Trinity, mercy andpardon, life after death, the fate of the world, why we are here etc, etc. Itwas necessary that the Lord God communicate with us through the writ-

ten Word, we had to know the Truth. Ournatural, human observations and abilitiescould never have shown us the Truth, wehad to have a Divine Revelation. This iswhy those who search and struggle, edu-cate themselves and delve into many sci-ences and philosophies, can never knowTruth unless they submit to the DivineRevelation. What wasted lives they live.They become �fools� as God puts it (Ro-mans 1:22). There is absolute certaintythat the Bible is indeed the Divine Revela-

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Evil and sin are not an illusion, however as some philosophers say. Sinoriginated with Satan, after he rebelled against God, and then sin en-tered mankind through Satan. Through man�s sin the whole of naturehere on this earth was affected! The �darkness� of sin, death and evilhas gathered momentum, has permeated creation since Satan�s rebellionbegan it all. There is a substance which is mysterious about evil. Allaround us we see the results of the fall in Eden and the reality of thatwhich possibly began as a negative, an effect which did not originatewith the First Cause. As Ruskin puts it: �no good nor lovely thing existsin this world, without its corresponding darkness.� Even fragrant roses,dewy on the bush, have their thorns!

LEAVENING THE LUMP!

Another symbol for sin in the Bible is �leaven.� ( Leviticus 2:11).This gives to us an idea how the �negative� known as �evil and sin�,an absence of God, can ferment and alter everything it effects. A bowlof flour, oil, salt and water stirred together remains a flat mixture �until a mere spoonful of yeast is added. Then the fermentation processoccurs and all is, really, in upheaval. A break-down occurs which changesentirely the whole bowl of ingredients. It rises, grows and foams. So,too, did sin and evil �create� an entirely different natural world than theone God intended.

The FACT of evil is heard �in the minor key of nature.� The cry ofpain in the small child, the scream of the captured mouse in the mouthof the eagle, the terrified bark of a dog, the howl of a killer cyclone, thewail of a dying antelope under the claws of a leopard, the moaning ofthe grey sea � all bear witness to the minor key of nature.

�Disproportioned sinJarred against Nature�s chime,

and with hoarse dinBrake the fair music that all creatures made

To their great Lord,whose love their motion swayed.�

(E. Bancroft).


xxivTHE WORD OF GOD

IS SPIRITUAL POWER!The most impressive and complete of all the names givento the Bible is �The Word of God!� Have a look at Mark7:12,13; Romans 10:17; Hebrews 4:12 and 1 Thessaloni-ans 2:13. The Scriptures contain many amazing SYMBOLSof the Mighty Book which is the Word of God, here arejust some of them:

1...The Bible REVEALS what we really are. The symbolof this is a MIRROR. James 1:23-25.2...The Bible is able to generate Life, just as a seed of aplant has life in it. This is the symbol of the SEED. Wemust �plant� the seed in the soil of people�s hearts. ReadJames 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23 and see as well Matthew 13.3...The Word of God has the power to cleanse and purifythe sinner. This is illustrated in the symbol of the LAVERand WATER. Ephesians 5:25-27; John 15:3; Psalm 119:5,11and John 17:17.4...The Bible gives Light, it illuminates and guides out ofthe darkness. This is the Biblical symbol of the LAMP andCANDLE. Psalm 119:105.5...When we operate in the world we find many spiritualand earthy enemies will attack us. We need equipment andweapons for the battle. The Word of God provides what isneeded for the work of saving souls and living through thewarfare of just living on earth. This is symbolized by theSWORD and HAMMER. Jeremiah 23:29.6.We go into the world to serve the Sovereign Lord, thepower of the Word we use is an adornment of the RoyalOne we honour. This is symbolized by GOLD and FINEAPPAREL. Psalm 19:10; 1 Peter 3:3-5.7....Nowhere else but in the Word of God can spirituallystarving people find nourishment, satisfaction and powerto hold them up and sustain them. This is symbolized byMILK, MEAT, BREAD and HONEY. 1 Peter 2:2; 1 Cor-inthians 3:1,2; Matthew 4:4; Job 23:12; John 6:35,51;Hebrews 5:12-14; Psalm 19:10.


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WHAT HAVE WE DISCOVERED?......We can see that our God is beyond time and space, infinite with

unbounded power.......He has made everything come into existence with a purpose of its

own. God allowed for Free-Will, and evil entered although not directlycreated by the Lord God, the First Cause.

.....He has given us a miraculous book to open our eyes, instruct usand show us what happening in the past, what is occurring now and inthe future and what we should do with our lives.

.....He has sent the Light into the world, Jesus Christ, to bring us intoTruth and Life. Praise God, we who are saved are in God�s Light whichis the �entire reality� of the First Cause.

SANCTIFICATION ISWALKING IN THE LIGHT.

When we look at 1 John chapter one we see that we are saved byfaith but we must also walk by faith. It is one thing to be born-again,but another thing to walk every day in God�s light. If we want to havefellowship with God we must

�walk in the light, as he is in the light�:�But if we say we have fellowship with him,

and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:� (1 John 1:6).Beauty for Ashes has dealt with many aspects of this �walking in the

�Beauty for Ashes� ~ Vol. 4:1 Autumn xxiii


the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, haveye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on theright side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore,and now they were notable to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus lovedsaith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,he girt [his] fisher�s coat [unto him], (for he was naked) and did cast himself intothe sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far fromland, but as it were two hundred cubits) dragging the net with fishes. As soon thenas they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, andbread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. SimonPeter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty andthree: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.�

( John 21:3-11).

Have I, myself, brought many people to Christ and seen them saved?Just a few by personal witness in the past. We reach many souls on Inter-net! I have been deeply stirred in my spirit for some months now abouthell and the lost around me. I have been crying out to the Lord to makeme a powerful soul winner, day and night in the last few weeks. Time isshort, the Rapture could be close, the New World Order is all ready tomove rapidly into control mode � and I have no one to offer for soulwinning but myself ! Other than our Internet Website, I didn�t know howto �get to� people! It has all come so clear to me, there are opportunitieseverywhere in my life for winning people, I have not understood! I nowknow �how� to do this, and have stepped out in faith. I expect God tohonour my complete surrender to be used as a soul winner. I could tellyou of other recent encounters with people, but space does not permit.I am wanting to speak verbally, not just write on computer, to at leastone unsaved person and give them the Gospel every day, and lead asmany to Christ as I can before it is too late. Praise God!

[ I HAVE RETURNED TO THIS SENTENCE AS I AM RE-WRITING. I WANTED TO

CUT IT OUT, AS I HAVE NOT SPOKEN TO SOMEONE EVERY DAY, AS I SAID IWOULD. I DID AT FIRST, AND FOUND I HAD LED MYSELF INTO A BONDAGE.SOME DAYS I HAVE JUST BEEN WRITING, AND SAW NO ONE. SOME DAYS IHAVE HAD OTHER DUTIES, AND NO OPPORTUNITIES CAME AT ALL. NO, I WILL

SEEK TO BE BOLD AND SPEAK, BUT AS GOD GIVES THE OPENINGS. I WILL

LEAVE THE SENTENCE IN AS IT COULD HELP THE READER ].

�Beauty for Ashes� ~ Vol. 4:1 Autumn xix


light� since the first issue. This time we will look at the Lord Jesusfilling us with the Holy Spirit, and bringing �light� to the darkness ofthe world - through us. Can we fall into error by spending so much timeon our own holiness that we neglect those who �sit in darkness� anddespair all around us? We certainly can, and our personal holiness andfullness of the Holy Spirit must issue out in concern and action on be-half of lost souls - or it is shown to be spurious in some way! God hasnot called us to spiritual navel-gazing, to selfish contemplation, but tothe laying down of our lives in sacrifice for others. We are lamps givenby God to show light in the darkness of this godless world. A lamp is nogood hidden in a cupboard, it has a function, it is made with a purpose.We might have personal peace and joy in fellowship with God and befilled with His Spirit of light, well and good, but we are also lamps in thedarkness, we have a purpose in this darkness. People filled with God�sSpirit must have POWER from Him to win souls by bringing spiritualLight to those in darkness.

We are candles to show the Way:

�Ye are the light of the world.A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel,but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men,that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father which is in heaven.�( Matthew 5:14-16).

�Jesus bids us shine with a pure, clear light, Like a little candle burning in the night,In this world of darkness so let us shine, You in your small corner and I in mine...�

(Sunday School song).


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catch nothing! There are unsaved �fish� all around you, beloved of God,you have to fish, and learn by experience how to do it. Personal evange-lism is a wonderful privilege. Trust God that He will lead you to ripefruit (mixed metaphor, sorry about that.) Expect to lead that fruit rightthrough to praying and accepting the Saviour, don�t be content to justtell them about Jesus. The devil will try to convince you that you shouldn�tfish for souls, don�t let him tell you that. He will say that, of course, youwon�t catch a thing! Ignore that lie! Watch and be alert for God�s oppor-tunities, they are there every day. YOU will catch souls for Christ!

I was at a market in a small country town near here two days ago (whenI wrote this). I was seeking �ripe fruit� and praying silently and ur-gently. There was a young woman kneeling down rummaging through abox of books at the second-hand book stall. She asked the stall man formore of the same. I noticed they were all religious or �Christian� books.So I said to the woman,

�I see you have Christian books there, are you a Christian?�She looked up with a blush and replied,

�Um-um, oh, yes-um �yes.�I said, �then you know Jesus Christ?�She looked confused and said,

�Oh- I guess so- um-yeh.�She obviously hadn�t the slightest idea what I meant or what to say back.So I shared the Gospel with her, quoting freely from God�s Word. WhenI told her God would forgive her wrong-doing her eyes filled up! In facther eyes never left mine the whole time. I gave the lady my card andpray she will ring me. If I had had my usual Gospel tracts with me itwould been a better encounter. I had taken them out of my purse as theyhad been battered by my change-filled wallet!

Be aware of how you can bring up conversations which will lead to shar-ing the Gospel. Most people, if you are sensitive and controlled by theHoly Spirit, will welcome your witness, many will respond and be savedif we are empowered by the Holy Spirit! Amen and Amen!

�Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go withthee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night theycaught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but


xxTHE PLACE OF

THE SCRIPTURES OF GODIN SOUL WINNING.

Many sincere and concerned Christians have hardly everwon anyone to Christ as Saviour! Some have never per-sonally led a soul to trust in Jesus� death on Calvary astheir only way to be saved! This is a great loss to thebeliever, as well as to those whom God could have usedthem to witness to. And yet the reasons why this is socan be easily seen, and simply overcome. There are anumber of reasons why true believers don�t have theprivilege of leading someone to Christ as Saviour, eventhough they might want to.

I can see these reasons:

1. The believer feels that they are not really called to be�an evangelist.� To be a full-time evangelist is of coursea �calling� but ALL Christians who are saved are calledto be part of the Great Commission, see Mark 16:15etc. This is not just a call to the disciples of early days,no one would be working to save souls if it were. Youand I are called to the Great Commission.

2. The believer does not have a fervent love for souls,and honestly does not have any great desire to win them.This is true in their heart of hearts, although they prayvaguely for the lost, but with little urgency or zeal intheir words. The place to start for them is to pray ear-nestly that God will give them a hunger to win souls,and open their own eyes to the unspeakable horrors ofhell which await the unsaved! If you are in this categorygo to a computer Bible concordance or book and lookup all the references to hell and the lost. This will shakeyou out of your sluggishness! Then begin to pray for alove for lost souls with all your heart.

�Beauty for Ashes� ~ Vol. 4:1 Autumn xxi

3. The believer often relies on their own power to seek to win people toChrist as Saviour. They explain the Gospel movingly, use a lot of en-treaty and sensitivity, but there is no power in them to actually bring asoul through from death to life. The answer to this is that the only OneWho can give Life is the Holy Spirit of God. We must be filled to over-flowing with the Spirit of God, nothing else can bring about power towin souls. See Acts 1:8. The early disciples could not go out into theworld to win souls until they had power from on high. Yes, if we areborn-again we have the Holy Spirit within, but we need the fullness ofthe Spirit if we are to bring Life to others:

�Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.Wherefore be ye not unwise,

but understanding what the will of the Lord is.And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess;

but be filled with the Spirit;� (Ephesians 5:16-18).

4. The believer fails to win souls because he/she never really goes �fish-ing.� We have a little tinny we want to use to catch fish in Pumice-stonePassage. We have been fishing twice, we have caught nothing yet. Wehave to learn more about this, where to go exactly (we have learnt thatthe sand bars near Bribie Island are the best places); what bait should weuse; what times of day are best and so on. We are not experienced fish-ermen, yet. I can dream away at home on my lounge chair about catch-ing fish, and want to, but if I never actually get in the boat and fish I will


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