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Four important things to KNOW:

1) For ALL (Americans, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Hindus, Buddhist,
Asians, Presbyterians, Europeans, Baptist, Brazilians, Methodist, etc.)
have sinned & fall short of the glory of God.

2) For the wages of above (see #1) are DEATH (Hell, eternal separation
from God, & damnation) but the Gift (Free & at No Charge to you) of
God (Creator, Jehovah, & Trinity) is Eternal Life (Heaven) through (in
union with) Jesus Christ (God, Lord, 2nd Person of The Trinity, Messiah,
Prince of Peace & Savior).

3) For God so greatly loved & dearly prized the world (Americans, Muslims,
Jews, Catholics, Hindus, Buddhist, Asians, Presbyterians, Europeans, Baptist,
Brazilians, Methodist, etc.) that He even gave up His only begotten (unique)
Son, that whosoever (anyone, anywhere, anytime - while still living) believes
(trust in, relies on, clings to, depends completely on) Him shall have eternal
(everlasting) life (heaven).

4) Jesus said: "I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, & THE LIFE. No one (male/female
- American, Muslim, Jew, Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, Asian, Presbyterian,
European, Baptist, Brazilian, Methodist, etc. ) comes (arrives) to the Father
(with GOD in Heaven) EXCEPT BY (through) ME (no other name).

This wonderful loving GOD gives you the choice - - -
(Rev. 3:20)

{Please note that church membership, baptism, doing good things, etc. are
not requirements for becoming a Christian however they are great afterwards!!!}

Jesus said, "Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction
(Hell, damnation, eternal punishment), and many enter through it. But small
is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life (Heaven, eternal happiness,
forever with God), and only a few find it. --Matthew 7:13-14
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'God's Instrument'
11/4/2005

The Story of Squanto

Most of us know the story of the first Thanksgiving -- at least, we know the Pilgrim version. But how many of us know the Indian viewpoint?

No, I'm not talking about some revisionist, politically correct version of history. I'm talking about the amazing story of the way God used an Indian named Squanto as a special instrument of His providence.

Historical accounts of Squanto's life vary, but historians believe that around 1608 -- more than a decade before the Pilgrims arrived -- a group of English traders sailed to what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts. When the trusting Wampanoag Indians came out to trade, the traders took them prisoner, transported them to Spain, and sold them into slavery. It was an unimaginable horror.

But God had an amazing plan for one of the captured Indians -- a boy named Squanto.

Squanto was bought by a well-meaning Spanish monk, who treated him well and taught him the Christian faith. Squanto eventually made his way to England and worked in the stables of a man named John Slaney. Slaney sympathized with Squanto's desire to return home, and he promised to put the Indian on the first vessel bound for America.

It wasn't until 1618 -- ten years after Squanto was first kidnapped -- that a ship was found. Finally, after a decade of exile and heartbreak, Squanto was on his way home.

But when he arrived in Massachusetts, more heartbreak awaited him. An epidemic had wiped out Squanto's entire village.

We can only imagine what must have gone through Squanto's mind: Why had God allowed him to return home, against all odds, only to find his loved ones dead?

A year later, the answer came. A shipload of English families arrived and settled on the very land once occupied by Squanto's people. Squanto went to meet them, greeting the startled Pilgrims in English.

According to the diary of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford, Squanto "became a special instrument sent of God for [our] good . . . He showed [us] how to plant [our] corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities . . . and was also [our] pilot to bring [us] to unknown places for [our] profit, and never left [us] till he died."

When Squanto lay dying of a fever, Bradford wrote that their Indian friend "desir[ed] the Governor to pray for him, that he might go to the Englishmen's God in heaven." Squanto bequeathed his possessions to the Pilgrims "as remembrances of his love."

Who but God could so miraculously convert a lonely Indian and then use him to save a struggling band of Englishmen? It is reminiscent of the biblical story of Joseph, who was also sold into slavery -- and whom God, likewise, used as a special instrument for good.

Squanto's life story is remarkable, and we ought to make sure our children and grandchildren learn about it. Sadly, most books about Squanto omit references to his Christian faith. But I'm delighted to say that Eric Metaxas has written a wonderful children's book called Squanto: The Miracle of Thanksgiving. I highly recommend it. It will teach your kids about the "special instrument sent of God" who changed the course of American history.
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Above from Chuck Colson at BreakPoint...
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Someone out there either has too much
spare time or is deadly at Scrabble.
(Wait till you see the last one)!
----------------------------------------
DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM
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PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER
----------------------------------------
ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER
----------------------------------------
DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT
----------------------------------------
THE EYES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE
----------------------------------------
GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE
----------------------------------------
THE MORSE CODE :
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS
----------------------------------------
SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME
----------------------------------------
ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY
----------------------------------------
ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT
----------------------------------------
SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S
----------------------------------------
A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
IM A DOT IN PLACE
----------------------------------------
THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE
----------------------------------------
ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE
----------------------------------------
AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:
MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER
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The Rapture of the church involves all believers being caught up to
heaven -- those just resurrected, together with those alive at the time (1
Thes 4:13-18). If it occurs at the beginning of the tribulation period, then
clearly Christs Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation to rescue Israel
in the midst of Armageddon is a separate event. According to Zechariah
14:3-5, "all the saints" must accompany Christ back to earth. But if the
Rapture occurs at the end of the Tribulation, it must be simultaneous with
the Second Coming, making them one event. Which is it: two events separated
by seven years, or one event with two diverse purposes?

This question, though it has nothing to do with the gospel of salvation,
divides much of the evangelical church. Happily, it can be settled rather
easily. The descriptions in Scripture of the Rapture and Second Coming
respectively are so different in so many details that they could not
possibly be describing the same occurrence. We cant cover all of these
distinctions, but here are a few:

1) At the Rapture, Christ does not return to earth but catches believers up
to meet Him above the earth, taking them directly to heaven: "I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also"
(Jn 14:3); "caught up...to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be
with the Lord" (1 Thes 4:17).

In contrast, at the Second Coming Christ returns to this earth to rule
Israel and the world from Davids throne in Jerusalem: "his feet shall stand
in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem" (Zec 14:4);
"the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he
shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall
be no end" (Lk 1:32, 33); "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white
horse; and he that sat upon him....The armies which are in heaven followed
him....Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite
the nations: and shall rule them with a rod of iron" (Rv 19:11-15).

2) At the Rapture there is a resurrection of all believers who have died up
to that time: "the dead shall be raised incorruptible" (1 Cor 15:52, 53);
"the dead in Christ shall rise first..." (1 Thes 4:16).

In contrast, at the Second Coming there is no resurrection until Antichrist
is defeated, he and the false prophet have been "cast alive into a lake of
fire" (Rv 19:20) and Satan has been bound in the "bottomless pit [for] a
thousand years" (20:1-3) -- none of which is even remotely related to the
rapture of believers to heaven. Then, to "the first resurrection" which
occurred at the Rapture are added a unique group: "them that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not
worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands...they lived and reigned with Christ a
thousand years" (4, 5).

3) At the Rapture, the bodies of living believers (like those who are
resurrected) will be changed to become immortal: "We shall not all sleep
[i.e., die], but we shall all be changed...the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we [who are living] shall be changed. For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality" (1 Cor 15:51-53); "we which are alive...shall be caught up
together with them [the resurrected saints]...to meet the Lord in the air
[clearly requiring immortal bodies]" (1 Thes 4:17).

In contrast, at the Second Coming all of the saints return with Christ from
heaven and will therefore already have been changed into immortality: "the
Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee" (Zec 14:5); "I saw
heaven opened [and one] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood...and the
armies which were in heaven followed him [to] smite the nations" (Rv
19:11-15).

4) The Rapture occurs during relative peace and prosperity, when the world
does not expect judgment from God: "And as it was in the days of Noah [the
last thing they expected was Gods judgment]...they did eat, they
drank...married wives...were given in marriage [and as in] the days of
Lot...they bought, they sold...planted... builded....Even thus shall it be
in the day when the Son of man is revealed." (Lk 17:26-30).

Again in complete contrast, the Second Coming occurs in the midst of the
worst war the world has ever seen and following the greatest devastation
this planet has ever suffered or ever will: "then shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world...nor ever
shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh
be saved" (Mt 24:21, 22); "behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him
was Death, and Hell followed...power was given unto them over the fourth
part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger....There was a great
earthquake...every mountain and island were moved out of their
places...[men] hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks...for the great
day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" (Rv 6:8-17); "and
the four angels were loosed...to slay the third part of men" (9:15); "and
the...sea...became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in
the sea. And...the rivers and fountains of waters...became blood...the
fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and...men were scorched with
great heat...and...there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men
were upon the earth....And every island fled away and the mountains were not
found. And there fell upon men a great hail [of large stones]...every stone
about the weight of a talent" (16:3-21); "And I saw heaven opened, and
behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and
True....And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen....And I saw the beast [Antichrist], and the kings of
the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that
sat upon the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and...the
false prophet [and they] were cast alive into a lake of fire..." (19:11-21).

5) The Rapture occurs when conditions in the world seem to indicate that all
is well, when very few expect Christ to return and He catches even the
church by surprise: "of that day and hour knoweth no man...in such an hour
as ye think not the Son of man cometh" (Mt 24:36, 44).

In contrast, when the Second Coming occurs, not even Antichrist is caught by
surprise -- the many visible signs alert everyone that Christ is right at
the door: "when ye shall see all these things, know that it [Christs coming]
is near, even at the doors" (Mt 24:33); "the beast, and the kings of the
earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat
on the horse" (Rv 19:19).

6) The Rapture occurs when the church is sleeping, with little expectation
of the Lords return: "While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and
slept" (Mt 25:5); "Watch ye therefore...lest coming suddenly he find you
sleeping" (Mk 13:35, 36).

In contrast, the Second Coming occurs at the end of the Tribulation in the
midst of worldwide devastation and hopeless distress; the Antichrist and his
armies are attacking Israel, much of Jerusalem is already captured (Zec
14:1, 2), and Israel is on the verge of annihilation. It is inconceivable
that the church, if it were still here, would be slumbering in complacency
and under the delusion that "surely Christ wouldnt come now"!

7) Since the Rapture instantly takes us, without dying, out of this world of
sin, pain and sorrow to be forever with Christ and like Him, never more to
grieve Him, it is called the "blessed hope": "Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ"
(Ti 2:13); "every man that hath this hope" (1 Jn 3:3).

In contrast, the Second Coming (or a post-trib rapture at that time) could
hardly be called a "blessed hope," inasmuch as very few Christians (if the
church were still here) would survive to enjoy it. Having refused to receive
the 666 mark of the beast "in their right hand, or in their forehead" and
therefore being unable to "buy or sell," and refusing to "worship the image
of the beast [they would] be killed" (Rv 13:15-17). It makes no sense to
suggest that if you can secretly eat out of enough garbage pails to avoid
starvation and still keep one step ahead of Antichrists world police death
squads, "Blessed hope! Youll be raptured at Armageddon!"

8) As for the Rapture, unquestionably, the early church was taught to expect
it at any moment and to eagerly watch, wait and look for Christs return,
when He will catch all believers up into His Fathers house to be with Him
eternally: "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye
yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord..." (Lk 12:35, 36); "For
our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned
like unto his glorious body" (Phil 3:20); "...ye turned to God from idols to
serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven...even
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come" (1 Thes 1:9, 10); "looking
for that blessed hope" (Ti 2:13); "unto them that look for him shall he
appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Heb 9:28). One does not
watch, wait and look each day for something that cannot happen until
Antichrists advent or the end of a seven-year tribulation. Thus, there must
be a coming of Christ that could happen at any moment.

In contrast, the Second Coming, by very definition as described in
Scripture, cannot be expected momentarily. Therefore, none of the scriptures
just quoted concerning watching and waiting and looking for the Lord could
refer to the Second Coming or to a post-trib rapture of the church. These
scriptures could therefore refer only to a pre-trib rapture.

9) The pre-trib Rapture has a powerful, purifying effect upon those who have
this hope in Him. The fact that it is to be expected at any moment can only
mean that it must come before Antichrist is revealed and before the
Tribulation. If Christ could come at any moment, there is no time to waste,
no time to delay witnessing, no time to indulge in sin with the idea of
repenting and changing ones ways later: "And now, little children, abide in
him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed
before him at his coming" (1 Jn 2:28); "And every man that hath this hope in
him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (3:3).

In contrast, anticipation of the Second Coming (or a post-trib rapture at
that time) could hardly have a purifying effect, because it cant take place
for at least seven years -- plenty of time to delay witnessing, getting
right with the Lord and holy living until later. In fact, the Lord said that
believing he couldnt come at any moment would have the opposite effect from
purifying believers: "If that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his
coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants...and to eat and drink and
to be drunken; the lord of that servant will come at an hour when he is not
aware (Mt 24:48, 49; Lk 12:45, 46).

10) The Rapture is not only an event that we are to expect momentarily and
to eagerly anticipate, but we are to ask our Lord to come immediately. Here
is how the Bible ends: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come....Surely I
come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rv 22:17, 20).

In contrast, the Second Coming is not of such a nature and timing that we
could ask Christ to effect it right now. Since Christ obviously cannot
return to the earth in judgment to rescue Israel, stop the destruction at
Armageddon and destroy the Antichrist along with his kingdom and his armies
until the end of the Tribulation, for us to cry out to Christ, "Come, Lord
Jesus!" would be like demanding payment on a debt that isnt due for seven
years. Yet, "the Spirit and the bride" do cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus." We
can only conclude that there must be a coming of Christ that could occur at
any moment. It cannot be the Second Coming or a post-trib rapture. It can
only be a pre-trib rapture.

11) There are at least two events which occur in heaven for which the church
must be present and which, therefore, cannot take place until the Rapture
occurs: the judgment seat of Christ, and the marriage of the Lamb to His
bride: "for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ" (Rom
14:10); "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that
every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath
done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor 5:10); "the marriage of the Lamb is
come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted [to] be
arrayed in fine linen, clean and white [as a result of her cleansing at the
judgment seat of Christ]" (Rv 19:7, 8). Both these events occur prior to
Christs return to earth and thus demand a prior rapture.

It is clear that the Second Coming cannot occur until these two vital
events, which demand the presence of the church in heaven, have taken place.
It is only after the Lamb has been married to His bride that she accompanies
Him back to earth to rescue Israel and to destroy Antichrist and his armies:
"And the armies which were in heaven followed him...clothed in fine linen,
white and clean" (Rv 19:14).

We know not why the Bridegroom tarries, but exactly as He foretold, the
church is asleep. In that context, our Lord added: "And at midnight there
was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him" (Mt
25:6). May each of us be listening eagerly for that cry of the Holy Spirit
in our hearts. Indeed, we ought to be sounding it aloud, for the Lord could
come at any moment to take us to Himself. So let us watch and wait and look
for Him in eager anticipation -- and encourage others to do the same. It
will have a purifying and motivating effect in our lives.



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