Command the Raven

The largest wager we ultimately make regarding this issue is arguably the most important of our life.

As C.S. Lewis, the celebrated author, said about his decision to embrace religion:
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

“Consider the words of Blaise Pascal, the renowned French mathematician and philosopher who applied decision theory to the question of the existence of God.

The result was the famous Pascal’s Wager, which likens the matter to a yes/no bet – only instead of money; you are risking your eternal soul.

According to Pascal, there are two propositions: God exists, and God does not exist. [Notably, Pascal understood God as the Christian God depicted in the Bible, which provides some information about God, but attempts no proof of his existence.]

Pascal proposed that before placing your bet, you should consider the four possibilities:
1. If you choose to believe in God, and if God exists, you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.
2. If you choose to believe in God, and if God doesn’t exist, your loss is finite and therefore negligible.
3. If you choose not to believe in God, and if God doesn’t exist, your gain is finite and therefore negligible.
4. If you choose not to believe in God, and if God exists, you will go to hell: your loss is infinite.

Pascal’s notes, which appear in his unfinished treatise ‘Pense`es, wrap it all up neatly:
“Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that HE IS.”

From Koinonia House

MIRACLES: MR DAVIES AND THE IRON CANYON FIRE

“Everything was black as far as you could see. We looked out from the top of that hill and it was totally black, except for what was around Mr. Davies’ house.” -Sheri Munson

Today’s secular scientists maintain a skepticism of miracles. They tend to discount the miracles of the Bible out of hand because of an anti-supernaturalistic bias, a bias that rejects the possibility that a mighty God intervenes in human lives in obvious, tangible ways. Yet miracles did not only occur in the Bible, but they continue to take place today.

In order to do their jobs, scientists have to depend on the natural world – these four dimensions (three dimensions plus Time) that we can directly experience with our five senses. Scientists are dependent on experimentation that can be repeated over and over and still give the same results. Science is an excellent tool for learning about this world around us, and scientists have freed the world from much superstition by finding the natural causes of things previously attributed to the gods, things like sickness and lightning. However, just because science depends on the “natural” world doesn’t mean the natural world is all there is. It just means that science is limited in what it can explain through experimentation. And yet, physicists have already provided evidence that there are many dimensions beyond the four we’re familiar with.

What’s more, things happen on this planet every day that defy naturalistic explanations. God still does miracles all the time. For the next several weeks we will tell about modern miracles in the lives of people close to our ministry. In every case we have verified the miracles through two or more reliable witnesses.

The Iron Canyon Fire and Mr. Davies:
It rained a lot in the desert north of Los Angeles during the spring of 1958, and the grass grew tall over the normally brown mountains. That fall, the hot Santa Ana winds came through and dried up that tall grass, priming the area for trouble.  Southern California is known for its dangerous wildfires.

Doug Austin was 15-years-old in 1958, and he describes the fierce fire that swept through the desert from Saugus to Palmdale that fall. “We called it the Iron Canyon Fire because it started in Iron Canyon when lightning struck. My dad and I were driving down the road alongside it, and that fire was going just as fast as we were in my dad’s truck.”

Up on a lonely hilltop in that area lived an old black man known as Mr. Davies. “We’d take pies up to him on Thanksgiving. He was a nice old guy,” Austin recounts.

Sheri Munson was just 9-years-old, but she also remembers Mr. Davies. “We would ride our horses up there to his house. His house was made out of nothing but cardboard and tin and pieces of wood that he’d found around. He had a few chickens and that was it. We’d ride up and sit on our horses and he would tell us stories about Jesus. ”

That year when the Iron Canyon Fire raged through, Munson remembers being very worried about Mr. Davies. As soon as the burned land cooled enough for their horses to pick through the hot spots, Munson rode her horse out to see if Mr. Davies had escaped. She hoped that the old man had been able to get out before the fire destroyed his little patchwork house. It turned out that he had not been able to get out of the way of the fire after all.

“We came up the hill on our horses,” Munson tells, “and all of a sudden, when we got to the top, we were in tall grass up to our horse’s shoulders. There was Mr. Davies’ house in the center of it all with his little chickens out there. We could see a long ways from that hilltop and it was black all around, as far as you could see.

“We said, ‘What happened, Mr. Davies!  What did you do?’ He said, ‘I saw the fire coming,’ and he went out there and pointed, and he said, ‘and I went out and got on my knees and prayed, and asked God to spare me, and I saw the fire split and it went around me on both sides and it came back together over there.’

“If you were to take half a football field and make it round, that’s how big it was. Everything except what was around his house was burned black, ” Munson said.

“There was no reason, no reason his house should have been standing.” Austin commented, giving the same description of the blackened mountainous desert. “Mr. Davies was a religious man,” he finished.

Munson said, “It was fifty years ago, but I can still remember sitting on my horse with the grass clear up to his shoulders, talking to Mr. Davies. And the thing of it was, it just seemed so normal.” She paused. “Mr. Davies was pretty excited.”

God still does great things in this world. Science may have a hard time finding the true explanation, but just because science is limited, God is not. We see Him working constantly in the lives of His creation to show His great love and mercy and to demonstrate His power and glory in this world.

From Koinonia House

FANNY CROSBY: THIS IS MY STORY, THIS IS MY SONG

When Francis Jane Crosby was only six weeks old, she was taken to a doctor to treat an inflammation in her eyes caused by a cold. The regular physician was out of town, and the substitute gave little Fanny’s parents a faulty treatment that blinded the child within days.  She was blind for the rest of her life.  That first tragedy was followed by others. Her father died when Fanny was just a year old, and her mother had to hire herself out as a maid to provide for the family.  Fanny was able to attend a school for blind children and afterwards taught there, but when she was 29 a cholera epidemic killed more than half of the children in the school.  After she married, her only child died in infancy.

Yet, in spite of these tragedies, Francis Jane was always a cheerful, happy person, free from the bitterness that so easily besets humans.  When only eight years old, she wrote a poem that revealed a lot about the spunky little girl who climbed trees and played practical jokes in spite of her blindness:

Oh what a happy child I am, although I cannot see!
I am resolved that in this world, contented I will be!
How many blessings I enjoy that other people don’t!
So weep or sigh because I’m blind I cannot–nor I won’t!

Fanny had a natural talent for writing poems and was often asked to recite her poetry.  Eventually, her writing brought her national recognition; she was invited to visit presidents and generals and other notable dignitaries.  She even was asked to play at President Grant’s funeral.  When she finally died in 1915, just 6 weeks shy of her 95th birthday, Fanny had written over 8,500 poems and songs.

Most importantly, Fanny loved Jesus Christ.  Fanny’s love for her Savior became the inspiration for her thousands of songs and poems, many of which are still sung in churches every weekend today.  Many beloved hymns bear the name Fanny Crosby, including “To God be the glory, great things He hath done,” “I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice,” and “Blessed Assurance.”

When a preacher once sympathetically remarked that it was a pity God had not given her sight, Fanny replied, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?” The preacher asked her why. “Because” she said, “When I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!”

Focusing on Jesus and seeing the good in God’s plans for her, Fanny reached millions of people around the world. Children in church and soldiers on the battlefield alike have been touched by her words.  May we, like Fanny Crosby, rejoice in the goodness of our God in every situation, that like her we can sing:

“This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior, all the day long.”

Related Links:

• Fanny Crosby - The New York Institute For Special Education
• Miss Fanny J. Crosby: Hymn Writer and Poetess - Christian Biography Resources
• Frances Jane Crosby: Her Songs - Cyber Hymnal

From Koinonia House

DREW: REDEMPTION IN THE MIDST OF DESTRUCTION

We’ve spent two weeks on the vital topic of forgiveness.  Now it’s time for a true story that came to us recently:

As a child, Drew was intelligent and happy and actively involved in his church.  After two years of sexual abuse, though, Drew began a series of self destuctive decisions that would nearly destroy him.  His high school and young adult years were filled with drugs and alcohol, and after he married, he cheated repeatedly on his wife, Sarah.

Drew truly gave his life over to the Lord at age 30, and God began to heal and change him. He stopped drinking and using illegal drugs and remained faithful to his wife ever after. God did some amazing things in Drew to heal his heart and show him His love and forgiveness, and Drew grew spiritually. However, though years went by, his wife couldn’t truly trust him or forgive him for the adulteries. Even as Drew pursued God, Sarah told him move out and eventually divorced him.

For the next 12 years, Drew saw his children only rarely. Nearly every time he called, he endured scathing attacks from his ex-wife, who openly described his past failures in front of the kids. That anger and unforgiveness passed onto their oldest daughter, Liz, who held hostile resentment toward her father throughout her childhood and constantly rejected his efforts at reconciliation.

There are no good guys or bad guys in this story. There are just human beings, all of whom were injured by those who were supposed to love them. Sarah was hurt by Drew’s betrayals from years before. Drew was hurt by Sarah’s unforgiveness and by the separation from his kids. The children were hurt by losing their father and seeing their mother’s emotional struggles.

Yet, while Sarah clung to bitterness and self-righteousness, Drew did not allow his own frustrations to control him. He returned kindness for hatred and anger, praying constantly for Sarah and the children and for healing in his relationships with them.

Then, in May 2009, Drew almost died from pneumonia. Both of his lungs were compromised, and he started coughing up blood and collapsed on the floor when he tried to walk to the bathroom. He was rushed to the hospital, but the doctors were grim about his chances of survival. At least five different churches of people began praying for Drew while machines breathed for him in the hospital’s ICU. Miraculously, he recovered in leaps and bounds and walked out of the hospital only nine days after his collapse.

Just over a month later, as Drew still regained his strength, he asked his daughter Liz if he could take her to breakfast. To his delight, she gladly accepted. With tears on both sides, she told him she had forgiven him and wanted to have a good relationship with him. “It was wonderful,” Drew said. “I can’t tell you how wonderful that was.” Drew talked about the breakfast for weeks. It was the highlight of his year. On the same visit, he was able to spend time with all the children and enjoy them, and they were happy to see him too. Even Sarah, who had spent so many years full of anger, seemed to have finally given up her bitterness and was willing to be at peace with him.

Then, in September Drew got sick again. Although he’d recovered from the pneumonia, it had still taken a toll on him, and his late work hours were hard on his body. He went to the doctor, who gave him the week off of work and a prescription. Drew went home, took his medications and went to bed. He never woke up.

On one hand, the story is tragic. For 12 years Drew’s children missed out on having a real relationship with their dad. For 12 years a father missed being able to really enjoy his children. For 12 years a mother had to deal constantly with anger and bitterness and raised her children without the help of their father.  Then, just as all was healing, Drew died suddenly! All that pain could have been avoided if forgiveness had reigned years before.

On the other hand, the story is full of redemption. Drew first found God’s forgiveness and healing from his past sins. God gave him four extra precious months, and Drew was able to know the forgiveness of his children and ex-wife before he died. Those four months gave Liz time to heal things with her father. As soon as she found out he’d died, she called her grandmother and said, “I am so glad I had that breakfast with him. I’m so glad!” Sarah was able to make peace with Drew too before he died, which was a mercy for her as well.

During those 12 years of brokenness, Drew did remarry and had three more children. Since September, the children from both marriages have been able to see each other several times, and Drew’s new wife and ex-wife are getting along well. His wife said, “I want to keep telling him, hey Drew, guess what! Hey Drew, we’re going to go see the girls again this weekend!” God answered Drew’s countless prayers and the children from both marriages are now following Christ; the relationships that were lost on earth will be enjoyed for eternity.

Drew’s story offers both sides of the story. On one hand, sin causes destruction. There is no doubt about it. And while it seems justified, unforgiveness only adds to that destruction. On the other hand, forgiveness and keeping one’s heart clean before God can result in healing and wholeness. It’s all about the power of God working in the lives of regular human beings like us.

Related Links:

• The Key: Confessing, Repenting and Forgiving - Koinonia House
• Whose Life Will Be Lived In Our Souls (Part II) - Koinonia House

Bill Wiese was taken into hell and for 23 minutes he experienced frightening things. I’ve found this complete story on MP3. Download it and listen to it on your PC or iPod.

Click the link below to go to the download page:

Bill Wiese - 23 Minutes in Hell (Complete)

“This most beautiful system [The Universe] could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.” - Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton, the brilliant mathematician who redefined physics for the world in the 17th century, was also a bit of a theologian. While he’s most famous for his ideas about gravity and the laws of motion, Newton also wrote commentaries on Daniel and Revelation. The man who invented Calculus also argued that the Jews would return to the Holy Land before the end of the world, and wrote that the Apocalypse would not occur until after A.D. 2060. Now, a number of Newton’s original papers and letters have been put on display in Jerusalem, offering the world a broader glimpse of this great scientist’s deeply religious nature.

For 250 years, many of Newton’s papers remained locked away in a trunk at the estate of the Earl of Portsmouth. In 1936, they were auctioned off and most were acquired by two very different sorts of men; the very secular economist John Maynard Keynes, and the Jewish Oriental Studies scholar Abraham Shalom Yahuda, who was devoted to proving the Pentateuch’s authenticity. While Keynes’ collection went to Cambridge University, Yahuda bequeathed his collection to the new State of Israel in 1951. In 1969 the manuscripts were locked away at Israel’s National Library, to be read only by select scholars. They have now been brought out of hiding and are on display at the Jewish National and University Library at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from June 18 - July 17, 2007.

These manuscripts offer to the world a greater understanding of Newton’s mystical side. While today’s secular scientists work to separate “religion” from “science,” Newton believed that the physical world revealed and glorified God. According to Israel’s National Library web site:
“There are at least three reasons why these papers are important, even though they do not always speak directly to the canonical Newton. First, the manuscripts help illuminate Newton’s science. Newton’s piety served as one of his inspirations to study nature and what we today call science. But Newton’s theological papers also tell us much about his inductive methods and his views on the unity of God’s Creation.

“Second, the manuscripts illuminate the person of Newton. The figure once viewed almost uniformly as an icon of cold rationality, now appears as an alchemist, a biblical scholar and a religious devotee who pored over the symbols of the Books of Daniel and Revelation for decades in an attempt to decode the meaning of the future foreordained by God. Newton can now be studied as an alchemist and a theologian in his own right.”

In one of the letters in the collection, Newton’s words have been taken as a prediction that the Apocalypse would occur in 2060, 1260 years (3.5 years x 360 years) after the Holy Roman Empire was formed in A.D. 800. His precise words are, “The time times and half a time do not end before 2060 nor after ___,” and he leaves the second date blank, as though he forgot to go back and fill it in. Newton was only a human being, after all.

Ultimately, however, this brilliant mind appreciated the foolishness of date setting. He wrote, “This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail.”

Many researchers love to point out Newton’s interest in alchemy, his disagreements with the Church of England, and his tendency to question the Anglican description of the Trinity. Newton’s passion for the Scriptures, however, is obvious throughout his writings, matched by his passion for studying the universe that God created. Newton would fully reject the idea that science and religion cannot mix. He admired God’s excellence in designing the universe, and in inspiring the Bible.

“The system of revealed truth which this Book contains is like that of the universe, concealed from common observation yet…the centuries have established its Divine origin.” - Isaac Newton
Related Links:
• The Newton Collection at JNUL - Jewish National and University Library
• Papers Reveal Newton’s Religious Side - AP
• The World Will End In 2060, According To Newton - This Is London
• The Newton Project - Imperial College London.
- From Koinonia House News Letter

The largest wager we ultimately make regarding this issue is arguably the most important of our life.

As C.S. Lewis, the celebrated author, said about his decision to embrace religion:
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

“Consider the words of Blaise Pascal, the renowned French mathematician and philosopher who applied decision theory to the question of the existence of God.

The result was the famous Pascal’s Wager, which likens the matter to a yes/no bet – only instead of money; you are risking your eternal soul.

According to Pascal, there are two propositions: God exists, and God does not exist. [Notably, Pascal understood God as the Christian God depicted in the Bible, which provides some information about God, but attempts no proof of his existence.]

Pascal proposed that before placing your bet, you should consider the four possibilities:
1. If you choose to believe in God, and if God exists, you go to heaven: your gain is infinite.
2. If you choose to believe in God, and if God doesn’t exist, your loss is finite and therefore negligible.
3. If you choose not to believe in God, and if God doesn’t exist, your gain is finite and therefore negligible.
4. If you choose not to believe in God, and if God exists, you will go to hell: your loss is infinite.

Pascal’s notes, which appear in his unfinished treatise ‘Pense`es, wrap it all up neatly:
“Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that HE IS.”

*B - Basic **
*I - Instruction **
*B - Before **
*L - Leaving **
*E - Earth **

It was the night Jesus came
and all through the house,
not a person was praying,
not one in the house ..

The Bible was left
on the shelf without care,
for no one thought
Jesus would come there ..

The children were dressing
to crawl into bed,
not once ever kneeling
or bowing their head..

And Mom in the rocking chair
with babe on her lap,
was watching the Late Show
as I took a nap …..

When out of the east
there rose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet
to see what was the matter …

Away to the window
I flew like a flash,
tore open the shutters
and lifted the sash ………

When what to my wondering
eyes should appear,
but Angels proclaiming
that Jesus was here ….

The light of His face
made me cover my head…
was Jesus returning
just like He’d said …

And though I possessed
worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him
in spite of myself …

In the Book of Life
which he held in his hand,
was written the name
of every saved man …

He spoke not a word
as he searched for my name,
when He said “it’s not here”
My head hung in shame …

The people whose names
had been written with love,
He gathered to take
to his Father above …

With those who were ready
He rose without sound,
while all of the others
were left standing around …

I fell to my knees
but it was too late,
I’d waited too long
and thus sealed my fate …

I stood and I cried
as they rose out of sight,
Oh, if only I’d known
that this was the night ….

In the words of this poem
the meaning is clear
the coming of Jesus
is now drawing near …

There’s only one life
and when comes the last call,
We’ll find out that the Bible
was true after all.

- Author Unknown