Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #12

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hello! I hope you are all doing well! I'm sorry it's taken a long time to do this newsletter! In 3 days my family and I are leaving for GYC. I am soooo excited! I actually get to meet quite a few of you there. Anyway, I am looking forward to that soo much! :) I'll be gone December 19-23.
Attention! We have a new section in the newsletter! Katie suggested a 'Praise' section! So, in addition to prayer requests, if any of you have something you want to praise God for and you want me to put it in here, you can send it to me. :) You can also submit poems, stories (that aren't toooo long!!) with a spiritual theme, book reviews about preferably true, 'spiritual' books, prayer requests, etc. :) I welcome contributions!!!!
I wish each of you a wonderful day and week, and may God richly bless you!!
Love,
Heather


Glimpse From The Lighthouse
No. 12 December 16, 2007

Theme Verse~
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
Hath appeared to all men;
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
We should live soberly, righteously, godly,
In this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Who gave Himself for us, that he might redeem us
From all iniquity, and purify unto Himself
A peculiar people, zealous of good works.
~Titus 2:11-14~


Study
Eternal Life

Eternal life... it's the goal and hope of Christians. It's what we have to live for and strive towards, because if this life, filled with sin and suffering, was all there ever was to look forward to, we wouldn't really have anything to live for! BUT, we as Christians have hope! :)
1 John 2:25 tells us 'And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life.' God has promised us eternal life! He says in John 17:3, 'And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent.' Eternal life starts with knowing God.
Eternal life in Heaven is God's reward for His faithful children. He says if we leave everything of this world for Jesus' sake, we will have eternal life (Mark 10:29-31) We may have nothing in this world, and we may have to suffer persecution for our Lord's sake, but our reward will be great in Heaven! :)
I have heard it said that our eternal life can start here on earth. We can start by having a walk with Jesus NOW, and although we do live on a sinful planet, we can experience the peace, joy, and love that Jesus has planned for us. :) A lot of verses in the Bible talk about eternal life as knowing God, etc. Like 1 John 5:20. 'And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ.'
Eternal life in Heaven almost sounds too good to be true! But it can be yours, and mine! We must die to self daily and follow Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. :) He gave His life for us so that we can live forever!
1 Timothy 6:12 - 'Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called.'



Prayer Requests
Des and her brother Patrick
Sarah's Bible study contact, Heather. :)
My Bible study, Patricia
The GYC, that all the young people going will gain a rich blessing!

Praises
Katie says, 'Praise God for giving me the opportunity to go to GYC!'

If any of you have praises that you want to put in here, feel free to send them to me! Thanks!! :)

Poem
'Who for us will go
To a world of woe?
I will search high and low.
Will you go?
There's no time to be slow.
So get up and go!

By Jenny McCluskey. :) Thanks Jenny!!!!


Have a most wonderful and blessed day!!!!
Love,
your friend,
Heather

(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #11

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hi! I apologize for the lack of a newsletter last week! I was kind of busy. And this week is turning out to be interesting as well! But I finally have time to finish typing the newsletter in. :) I hope you are all doing great and enjoying the cold weather! Have a wonderful day, and God bless you all. :)
Much love,
your sister in Christ,
~*Heather*~


Glimpse From The Lighthouse
No. 11 December 3, 2007

Theme Verse~
For the grace of God which bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
We should live soberly, righteously, godly,
in this present world.
Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God
and our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity
And purify unto Himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
Titus 2:11-14



Study:
The Peace of God

Today's study is about peace. Many people in the world today are searching for peace. They think it is hard, if not impossible, to find true peace and rest in the busy modern world! But really, peace can be yours if you just know where to look. :)
John 14:27 (I love this verse) says 'Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.'
One more, John 16:33! 'These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have over come the world.'

God offers us His peace. His peace is something the world cannot give us; it cannot be found in worldly enjoyments. But in Jesus we find true, lasting peace. (Ephesians 2:14 '...He is our peace...') He says, we will have trials, but His peace can never be taken away.
Isaiah 26:3, another one of my favorite verses, says 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.' When we fix our eyes on Jesus and trust Him with all our problems, He gives us His 'perfect peace.'

Isaiah 55:8-9, 11-12 says... 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. ... So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.'
I know it's long, but it's a beautiful passage! Jesus' ways and plans are higher than ours; He knows the end from the beginning and He will take our lives and make something beautiful out of them that we never would have thought possible. He can make everything, everything! turn out for good. :)

To Close:
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make His face shine upon thee,
And be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee,
And give thee peace.'
Numbers 6:24-26

Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for Des's brother Parick.
2. Please pray for Des and her school.
3. Please pray for some people at Jessica's school who are not Christians and need prayer.
:) Thanks a lot! Also, please pray for me. Thanks everybody. =)

I like this, I saw it on a bumper sticker:

No Jesus, No Peace.
Know Jesus, Know Peace!

All right, everybody! Have a fantastic blessed week and may the Lord richly bless you and your families! :)
Love,
Heather Ann Snyder



(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #10

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hi! How are you? I'm doing fine. :) I hope you all have had a good couple of weeks! I hope you're growing in Christ and enjoying fall... I don't know if I am enjoying fall! Ha ha. I like the colors though. =) Oh, one thing about the study, um, some of you have heard it preached. SORRY! I was trying to do a study on the verses of Titus 2:13-14 but it wasn't coming along very well so I just used this sermonette. Sorry to those of you who have heard it before! :) Have a very happy Thanksgiving, everybody!!!
Much love,
Your friend in Christ,
~Heather Ann~


Glimpse From The Lighthouse
November 21, 2007 Number 10 (I think!)


Theme Verse:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and wordly lusts,
We should live righteously, soberly, and godly, in this present world,
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us,
And purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Titus 2:11-14

Study.....
The Preparation


I'm sure most of you have at some point really looked forward to something. I know I have! You probably thought about it, talked about it, planned and prepared for it.

There is something that we need to be looking for and looking forward to. Titus 2:13 says 'Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.' We as God's endtime people need to be eagerly, earnestly waiting and watching for Jesus' return. It is what we live for and what we look forward to. Jesus' coming will be a wonderful, glorious event. We need to be ready when Jesus comes! We need to ask Him to take away our sin and give us new, clean hearts that will love to obey him. We need to be like Jesus.
When we are living for Jesus, and looking forward to His return, we will want to hasten his coming. We can do this by telling others about Him. We can share Jesus' love and salvation with others, and then they can be ready too, when He comes. When the gospel message has gone to the whole world, then Jesus can come.

There is a story about two girls who were invited to go on a picnic with some of their friends. I'll call the girls Lacey and Emma. They were both excited to go on the picnic, but there were a few things they needed to do in order to go. Their friends had asked them to bring some food along. So they decided that Lacey would make the potato salad and Emma could bake some cookies. On the evening of the picnic, Lacey went down to the kitchen a few hours early and started making her potato salad. Then she ran upstairs to get her clothes ready. When Lacey was all ready, she peeked into Emma's bedroom.
'Don't you need to get started on those cookies?' Lacey asked.
Emma looked up from the book she was reading. 'Oh yes, I guess so. I'll be down in five minutes.'
Lacey went back downstairs to chat with her mother for a few minutes. She glanced at the clock. It was 4:25! They were supposed to get picked up at 5:00. Lacey ran back upstairs to Emma's room. 'Emma! It's 4:30! You really need to make the cookies now!'
But Emma was frantically searching through her closet for something to wear. 'Lacey, I can't make cookies right now! I don't have any clean dresses to wear that don't have a button missing or something! I don't know what to do!'
Lacey sighed. 'Well, you should have done your washing and mending earlier! But don't worry about the cookies, I will make them for you.' Lacey went back down and quickly put some cookies in the oven. While they baked, she eagerly watched out the window for her friends. A little before 5, Lacey was all ready outside, picnic basket in hand. When her friends drove up, she jumped in and they were off! Emma watched from the house with tears in her eyes. But it was too late now. She hadn't prepared for the picnic, so she wasn't ready when her ride came. And she missed out on the fun.

Now you may be thinking, 'That's silly!' She should have gotten ready, and she wouldn't have missed out. But you know many of us are doing the exact same thing. We know that Jesus is coming soon. But we say, 'Oh, there's no hurry. I've got plenty of time to get ready.' We sit back and get distracted with the pleasures of this world. All the time, Jesus' return is getting closer and closer. WE NEED TO BE READY WHEN HE COMES!!!!
We need to give our hearts and our lives to Him and let Him take away our sin. We need to be watching for his coming, his glorious appearing. And we need to tell others about Him so they can be ready too. I don't want to miss out. I want to be ready. What about you? Do you want to be ready when Jesus comes??







Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Emily as she has decisions to make about her school and future, and she wants to make the right choice.

Poem:
This is a poem I found in a little book, and I thought it had a really good message. :) Enjoy!

'EXCUSE ME'

'Speak up for God's truth? Not me,' piped the youth.
'My buddies would laugh me to shame.'
'No way,' chimed the teen, 'I'm leaving the scene.
Don't want to be late for my game.'

'Why me?' groaned the deacon. 'Must I be a beacon?
I fear they will call me a fool.'
'Next time,' pledged the preacher. Then stated the teacher,
'I'm still very busy at school.'

'Who, me?' asked the clerk, coming home from his work.
'I'm tired and deserving a rest.'
'Some day,' shrugged the prof, 'when I take a year off.'
And no one responded with zest.

'I'll go,' pledged the blind, 'and search till I find
A love-hungry person who'll hear.'
'I'll try,' vowed the lame, 'to praise the Lord's Name,
To speak words that comfort and cheer.'

Praise God that the King of Whom mortals sing
Has servants who love Him and share.
What a glorious reward at the feast of the Lord
Will be heaped upon those who are there!

By Fannie L. Houck.


(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #9

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hola mis amigos! How are you? I'm doing well! I hope you all are too. :) Thank you so much to those of you who sent me prayer requests and other things for the newsletter this week! I really appreciate it. :) And I'll take more for the next newsletter, any of you who have something you want in here. :) I'll look forward to hearing from you. Well, have a great week and God richly bless you!!!
Love,
~Heather~



Glimpse From The Lighthouse
No. 9 November 9, 2007

Theme Verse:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
We should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope,
And the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave Himself for us, that He might purify unto Himself
A peculiar people, zealous of good works
~Titus 2:11-14~


Study


I decided it was time to talk about our theme verse! I put it in here every time, but some of you may wonder what it's for and why it's our theme verse, or why we even have a theme verse. =) Well, I actually don't really know why I chose that one, I just like it, and I thought we should have a theme verse! Anyway, I did a little studying deeper into it this week.

Titus 2:11-12 says 'For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.' The first thing is talks about is 'the grace of God'. Now, I don't really have a clear understanding of grace myself. I never have! But Romans 3:24-25 says that we are 'justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus'. And in Titus 2 it says that God's grace brings salvation. So, we know that we are saved and redeemed by grace!

Next, it says God's grace has 'appeared to all men'. In my Bible it says it could be translated 'for the grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared', with the word order a little different! So; God's grace and salvation is available to ALL of us! To all men. It's a free gift, we just have to accept it. In Hebrews 5:9 it says that Jesus, '...being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.' :) Eternal salvation! What a precious gift!

Now on to verse 12. (of Titus 2!) I really like this one! It says we should deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, and godly, even though the world around us is evil. God wants us to be holy in this world. We are to be different, and be a shining light to those in darkness. Luke 1:75 says 'In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.'

We need to deny self, deny worldly pleasures, and live for God only! I like the verse that says 'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me...' (I looked it up but I don't remember the reference, I think it was in Ephesians though. :)) There's a song called 'To Live Is Christ', I think some of you know it. It's very beautiful and very deep. =)

Well, I am going to write on the other 2 verses (Titus 2:13 and 14) next time! Until then, keep growing in Jesus!!!


Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for Weimar institute; they are struggling.
2. Please pray for a young lady that Sarah is studying the Bible with, her name is Heather.
3. Please pray for Heather Ruiz, that her mission trip to the Dominican Republic will turn out well and that she can help the people and reach their hearts. :)

Story!
Submitted by Brenna Nakamura

'Shake it off and step Up!'

The parable is told of an old dog who fell into a farmer's well.
After assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the dog,
but decided that neither the dog nor the well were worth the trouble of saving.
Instead, he planned to bury the old dog in the well
and put him out of his misery.

At first when the farmer began, the old dog was hysterical.
But as the farmer continued shoveling and the dirt fell onto his back,
a though struck the dog. It dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt hit his back,
he should shake it off and step up!
This he did blow after blow. 'Shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up,
shake it off and step up!' He repeated to encourage himself.

No matter how painful the blows
or how distressing the situation seemed,
the old dog fought panic and just kept shaking it off and stepping up!
It was not long before the dog,
battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well!
What seemed as though it would bury him
actually benefited him, all because of the way he handled his adversity.

If we face our problems and respond to them positively,
refusing to give in to bitterness, self pity, or panic,
the adversities that come along to bury us
usually have within them the potential to bless us!
Forgiveness, faith, prayer, praise, and hope are some of the Biblical ways
to shake it off and step up out of the wells in which we find ourselves. :)

See Psalm 85:6, Philippians 4:4, and James 1:2-4.


WEELLL, have a GREAT week and GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!


(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #8

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hello!!! How are you all? I'm doing good. I'm really sorry I never did a newsletter last week! I was busy. But now our evangelistic meetings are done and I will hopefully have more time! Also, I'm looking for submissions! You can contribute pretty much anything that has a spiritual message, like poems, songs, book reviews about good, preferably true books, um..., etc. And prayer requests. :) So, thank you so much.
I was trying to think of a topic for this week's study, and suddenly it hit me, to do it on prayer! Last week I went to a presentation on prayer by someone named Dick Hanson, and it was really good. That's where I've gotten a lot of the quotes here. =) Anyway, enjoy and have a wonderful week!! God bless.
Love,
~Heather


Glimpse from the Lighthouse

No. 8 October 29, 2007

Theme Verse::
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
We should live soberly, righteously, godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity,
And purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
~~Titus 2:11-14~~


Study: PRAYER:)


Prayer is of extreme importance. It is our connection with Heaven! Jesus wants us to talk to Him in prayer, to tell Him everything that's going on in our lives, to thank Him for His blessings, to make requests of Him. 1 Timothy 2:1 says: 'I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.' Prayer is communion with God. It is talking to Jesus as our friend, Saviour, and Lord. :)

Prayer really does work. I've had many prayers answered - they may be about 'small things' but God really does care! :) Luke 11:9 : 'Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened unto you.'

Ellen White says in Our High Calling, page 129 'Prayer is both a duty and a privilege. We must have help which God alone can give, and that help will not come unasked. ... Earnest, sincere...prayer would bring strength and grace to resist the powers of darkness. God wants to bless.' And one more quote from Our High Calling, same page: 'I have been shown angels of God all ready to impart grace and power to those who feel their need of divine strength. But these heavenly messengers will not bestow blessings unsolicited. They have waited for the cry from souls hungering and thirsting for the blessing of God; often they have waited in vain!' Do we want the angels to wait in vain, to bestow heaven's blessings on us? No! We must simply ask God for them!

God wants us to ASK Him for help, for grace, strength, power to resist Satan. And God will help us. :) 1 Peter 3:12 says: 'For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers...' And Romans 12:12 [Emily Beth likes this one!! ;)] says 'Rejoicing in hope; patient in triblulation; continuing instant in prayer'.

Prayer is powerful. James 5:15-16 says that 'the prayer of faith' will heal and save the sick, and their sins will be forgiven! Also, 'the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.' (James 5:16) An amazing quote (which Mr. Hanson used) from 'Medical Ministry' page 195 is 'When you neglect to offer prayer for the sick, you deprive them of great blessings'.

There is a real power, a supernatural, divine power, in prayer. One more E.G. White quote! 'It is a part of God's plan to grant us, in answer to the prayer of faith, that which He would NOT bestow did we NOT ask.' Amazing.

Well, I could say more and put more quotes on here, but I will close! I hope we may all be motivated to pray more. And in particular, pray for friends and family who are not Christians! God can work a miracle in their hearts. :)

Prayer Requests::
1. Korah's family, and a senior at her school.
2. Josiah
3. Katie's friend's uncle, he is a missionary but he is back in the states for medical treatment (she told me to leave it on here. :))
4. 'James' - and the other visitors from our church's evangelistic series! :)

Thanks! Sorry but I do not have any neat poems or whatever to put in here this time. :( Maybe next time!! Until then, GOD BLESS! Have a great day!!! Much love,
Heather

(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #7

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hello everyone!! How are you? I'm doing well. I have been pretty busy still though, so this is kind of late again. ;) Our church is having an evangelistic series which is
4 nights a week, and then we attend It Is Written trainings once a week, so we are gone 5 nights a week plus all the other places we go... so sorry, I haven't had much time on the internet lately!! =) This week I think I got a little off subject on the study... it's supposed to be about faith, but I got mixed up between verses about faith and verses about 'being faithful', which are two different things (at least kind of, in my mind). So, it may be a little different, but I hope you enjoy it. :) Have a GREAT weekend and God bless!!!!
Much love,
Heather


Glimpse From The Lighthouse
No. 7 October 18

Theme Verse:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us
From all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
~Titus 2:11-14~


Study: FAITH

What exactly is faith?? The dictionary definition of faith is 'complete confidence or trust' (Random House Dictionary). And the little concordance/dictionary in the back of my Bible says this 'loyalty, belief, reliance'. I think I like the Random House definition best. :) I also like the Bible's description of faith! 'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' Hebrews 11:1. Faith is an important part of the Christian walk. Hebrews 11:6 says that we cannot please God unless we have faith! And we are saved by grace, through faith. Faith is essential! =)

Psalms 31:23 says '... the Lord preserveth the faithful...' God wants us to have faith in Him, to just trust Him completely, and stay true to Him, and He will never fail us. So many miracles happened in the New Testament because of the faith the people had! God can do the same today, if we will only have faith like the early Christians did.

Luke 18:8 says '... Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?' We need to keep our faith, not let it grow dim, and pray for God to strengthen it. There is a song I like that says... 'May the Lord find us faithful, May His Word be our banner held high. May the Lord find us faithful, every day though we live, though we die.' :)

My closing thought is Revelation 2:10 'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life!'
May we all be found faithful!!


Prayer Requests:
Please pray for a girl who used to go to school with Korah, she got burned very badly and needs healing.



The Fellowship of the Unashamed
I love this! Please read it. I don't know who wrote it but I have heard a couple of preachers use it in sermons. Here goes!

'I am part of the 'Fellowship of the Unashamed'. The die has been cast. The
decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won't look back, let up,
slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm
finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees,
colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or
rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, love with patience, live by
prayer and labor with power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my Guide is
reliable, and my mission is clear! I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured,
lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of
sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up,
prayed up, paid up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all
know and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have
no problem recognizing me. My banner is clear! I am a part of the 'Fellowship of
The Unashamed.'



Have a great day, keep close to Jesus!
Your friend in Christ,
Heather

(posted by "R")

Glimpse From The Lighthouse Issue #6

Dear Friends in Christ,
Hello! I'm finally able to do the newsletter. Sorry that there wasn't one last week, but I was just really busy. Now hopefully I'll be able to keep up and do one every week! :) So... I hope everything is going well for all of you. It's quite cloudy and cool here, it really feels like fall! I like summer best, but, fall and winter are OK too. Well, enjoy and have a good day!
Love,
~Heather



Glimpse From the Lighthouse
No. 6, October 8

Theme Verse:
'For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godlyin this present world;
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;
Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity,
and purify unto Himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.'
Titus 2:11-14

Study: Being His Witnesses


God wants us to be His witnesses. He calls us to go and tell others of His love. Isaiah 6:8 says: 'Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? The said I, Here am I; send me'. We just need to be willing to have God use us, and He will! He can do mighty things through us. And our goal as Christians should be to win others to Christ. Matthew 24:14: 'And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.' God wants us to tell everyone about His salvation, and then Jesus can come. :)

God has made us a light in a dark world. We need to live up to it! :) Several times the Bible talks about being 'a light of the Gentiles', bringing them light. Like Acts 13:47: 'For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.' And Isaiah 42:6 says: 'I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.'

John 1:7 says (talking about John the Baptist) 'The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.'

When we are faithful witnesses for Christ, we will take His light to the world, and we will win souls for Him. Proverbs 14:25 says: A true witness delivereth souls.' We are to be bringers of light. I love Luke 1:77 & 79 which says: 'To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of sins, ... To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.' It's talking about Jesus here, but it sounds like what our job is too!

When we labor faithfully for Christ, even though we may not see any fruit from it on Earth, our reward will be in Heaven. :) Colossians 3:24 says: 'Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.' :) We will not work in vain; we will get our reward when we get to heaven.


Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Katie's friend's uncle who is a missionary to Tanzania, but he is back in the states for surgery.

Please pray for Sara; her well dried out so she and her family have no water at all.

Please pray for Des's dad's back.

Please pray for Des's friends who are missionaries in Fiji, and their friend who needs healing.

Please pray for Hahna's friend Suzie; she's been getting into trouble lately and needs prayer.

Thanks!!

Favorite Bible Verses:
Last newsletter, I asked for any of you who wanted to, to send me your favorite Bible verses to put in the newsletter. Thank you so much to those of you who did! I'll list them now.

'For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts,
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.'
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
~Katie

'I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.'
Philippians 4:13
~Giovanni

'For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,
But have everlasting life.'
John 3:16
~Sara and Des. ;)

'Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.'
Psalms 37;4-5

'Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers,
in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.'
1 Timothy 4:12

'Rejoicing in hope;
patient in tribulation;
continuing instant in prayer.'
Romans 12:12
~Emily Beth (the last 3)

'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord,
Thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to vige you an expected end.'
Jeremiah 29:11
~Sarah

'Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.'
Jeremiah 33:3
~Jessica

And mine:
'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee:
He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.'
Psalms 55:22

Thanks all you who submitted! I hope you all have a great week, and say close to Jesus. :)
Love,
your sister in Christ,
~Heather

(posted by "R")