DARKNESS AND LIGHT

THE RESTORATION HEIRS AT THE END OF AN AGE
R. D. Ice 12/31/2002

As someone wrote: "So many Christians I meet today worry that the sky is falling. They say: 'The world is getting so dark. I just hope Jesus comes back soon.' They are afraid of foreign terrorists on our airplanes, anthrax in our mailboxes or snipers near our Home Depots. They want to evacuate the planet every time the stock market drops, gasoline prices rise or Osama bin Laden issues another one of his cowardly threats via videotape. That's sad - because God did not call us to walk in fear or to run from giants. His command to Joshua was - 'Be strong and of good courage...for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go' (Joshua 1:9)."

Clem Thurman wrote in Gospel Minutes Sept. 27, 2002: "Some folk, faced with the conditions as they are in the world today, are led to believe that 'Christianity has failed.' Even among those who are supposed to be Christians, many are ready to give up on 'the law of the Spirit of life' (Romans 8:2) as a world-changing movement, claiming that the gospel will just not fit the complex issues of our society today."

Paul the apostle looked out on a world which was at least as "bad" as ours. He saw a world which could be won to Christ. But we need to have Paul's attitude toward the POWER of the Gospel of Christ Jesus - Crucified, Risen, Coming Again. Look at 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Acts 4:29-33.

CHARISMA Magazine (2002) spoke of the "darkness invading our world."

The heart of Islam in the USA is Detroit, Michigan, where 300,000 Muslims live now. But some say that 50% to 70% of the Arab-Americans who live in Detroit are "Christian" in some sense.

The heart of Buddhism in the USA is Hollywood, California. "Movie stars have helped make Los Angeles the headquarters of Buddhism in the West." [Coming into Philippi from the west the Dali Lama beams down from a billboard with the message of Peace.]

The heart of Hinduism in the USA is Parma, Ohio, where there is the Shiva Vishnu Hindu Temple.

There is a Hare Krishna Temple just east of Moundsville, WV. www.religionnewsblog.com/14473/new-vindraban- rebuilding-its-temple

The heart of Judaism in the USA is New York City, where almost 2 million Jews live.

The heart of New Age religion in the USA is Sedona, Arizona. Despite its tiny size, Sedonia has more than 70 New Age bookstores, astrology centers and healing studios.

The heart of Black Magic in the USA is Miami, Florida. Miami has bustled for decades as the de facto capital of Caribbean and Latin American culture. "Santeria ("way of the saints") blends ancient beliefs of the Yoruba and Bantu people of Western Africa with Iberian Catholicism.

The heart of Atheism in the USA is Madison, Wisconsin. In this leafy Midwest city, people who dislike religion have found a home.

Lift Up Jesus Christ The Light!

"For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge (gnosis) of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2Cor 4:6
"Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising." Isaiah 60:1-3; Eph. 5:14-16.

God does not take away our freedom to choose Him. He always intended the Gentile to be called also. "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom (the Jews) will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 8:10-11. Compare what James said in Acts 15:12-18. "Known to God from eternity are all His works."


A Quotation to Think About

"I realize I am trapped in Romans 7, but that I am to live in Romans 8." Paul also said: "for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life." 2 Cor. 3:6-8


Paul in Athens (Acts 17:16-34)

Athens was a junkyard of idols!
Paul got angrier and angrier at what he saw!
On Mars Hill, the Areopagus, Paul
spoke his words of truth.
You Athenians take your religion seriously.
I found a shrine to the Unknown God.
And I want to tell you about Him.
God - who made heaven and earth -
doesn't live in shrines and temples.
Nor does He need us to run errands for Him.
From Adam He made the entire human race.
God does not play hide and seek with us.
We all live and move and have our being -
in Him - we can't get away from Him.
This God is now known to you, and He
calls for repentance - a radical life change - and
He has set a Day when He will judge the world.
He has already appointed the Judge,
confirming Him by raising Him from death.

At Corinth Paul said: "I deliberately kept it
simple - first Jesus and Who He Is; then
Jesus and What He Did. Jesus is the Wisdom
of God Who gives us right thinking,
right living, a clean slate and a fresh start.
God by His Holy Spirit has brought it all
out into the open before you
(1 Corinthians 2:1-10)