Whenever we think of the term, "persecution," in today's vernacular, and especially among those who have an "end times" mindset, we tend to view it as a lead-in to "tribulation" -- and for some, the so-called "Great Tribulation."
In this week's Coffee Break, while we continue with the same theme we began last week in dealing with being God's peacemakers, I'd like to share with you a story from my early childhood years -- a story which marked the beginning of my parents' miraculous years of ministry in Alaska -- a story which illustrates the authority that we have. Once again, here is what Jesus said:
In the next couple of Coffee Breaks, as we continue with the truths of Jesus' character expressed in the Sermon on the Mount, I'd like to deal with something that some folks may consider as controversial and even heretical -- and that is the ability we have IN CHRIST to literally change the chaos and strife around us by the same simple declaration that Jesus used.
When we paused in this discussion last week, we were talking about the presence of the Lord as it manifested in the cloud. This is a discussion that could take us way off track if we followed the rabbit trail, but I'm really just wanting to draw some illustrations for you to help in understanding what Jesus means when He speaks of "the pure in heart."
Let's get right to our discussion today. This concept of being "naturally supernatural, and supernaturally natural" is rooted and grounded in the following truths.
Need to share a personal story with you as a lead-in to today's Coffee Break. It was December 5, 1960 that I joined the Army. Not long after completing Basic Training at Fort Ord, I was standing out on the tarmac, duffle bag in hand, awaiting being boarded on an aircraft with orders that would send me to Ramstein, Germany, with ultimate deployment to Laos.
For those of you with children who are running from God or who simply ignore the call of Holy Spirit in their lives, let me share a quick story of encouragement before we begin today's sharing.
To repeat what we started with last week in this series, we are talking about the personality, the makeup, the very essence of the Lord Jesus Christ.