THE COURT ROOM

(Anonymous)

[Viewings: 113]

After living what I felt was a 'decent' life, my time on earth came to the end. The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I thought to be a court house. The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat by the defense table.

As I looked around I saw the 'prosecutor.' He was a villainous looking gent who snarled as he stared at me. He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen.

I sat down and looked to my left and there sat My Attorney, a kind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed so familiar to me, I felt I knew Him.

The corner door flew open and there appeared the Judge in full flowing robes. He commanded an awesome presence as He moved across the room I couldn't take my eyes off of Him. As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, 'Let us begin.'

The prosecutor rose and said, 'My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this person belongs in hell.' He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, things that I stole, and in the past when I cheated others, Satan told of other horrible Perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, even my own Attorney, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about. As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I was equally upset at My Attorney who sat there silently not offering any form of defense at all. I know I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my life - couldn't that at least equal out part of the harm I'd done?

Satan finished with a fury and said, 'This person belongs in hell, is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person who can prove otherwise.'

When it was His turn, My Attorney first asked if He might approach the bench. The Judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan, and beckoned Him to come forward. As He got up and started walking, I was able to see Him in His full splendour and majesty. I realized why He seemed so familiar; this was Jesus representing me, my Lord and my Saviour. He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, 'Hi, Dad,' and then He turned to address the court. 'Satan was correct in saying that this person has sinned, I won't deny any of these allegations. And, yes, the wage of sin is death, and this person deserves to be punished.

Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, 'However, I died on the cross so that this person might have eternal life and he has accepted Me as Saviour, so this person is Mine.' My Lord continued with, 'This person's name is written in the Book of Life, and no one can snatch this one from Me. Satan still does not understand yet. This person is not to be given justice, but rather mercy.'

As Jesus sat down, He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said, 'There is nothing else that needs to be done.' 'I've done it all.'

The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down. The following words bellowed from His lips. 'This person is free. The penalty has already been paid in full. Case dismissed.'

As my Lord led me away, I could hear Satan ranting and raving, 'I won't give up, I will win the next one.'

I humbly asked Jesus, 'Have you ever lost a case?'

Christ lovingly smiled and said, 'Everyone that has come to Me and asked Me to represent them has received the same verdict as you, “Paid In Full”.

(Anonymous)

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Are there animals in Heaven?

Written by: Arthur Blessitt

[Viewings: 163]

Learning from a Dog named Beau!

Our dear friends Renny and Ronnie Severance experienced the great loss of their dog named Beau. He was a true family member and companion. Denise, my wife and I often saw Beau as we visited in their home. We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Beau. Our friends are grieving and I felt compelled to write this article and dedicate it as a memorial for ‘a dog named Beau’. Beau is the inspiration for these words.

This article is personally for Renny and Ronnie and all other animal lovers on earth. Always a welcoming greeting:I must use Denise and my dog HRH Windsor for these illustrations. Every morning when we awake Windsor is waiting beside the bed for us. He is smiling and waging his tail and totally excited to see us. How thrilling it would be should every marriage partner and family member be so excited to see each other at the dawn of a new day! When we leave him in the house while we are gone for a few hours, oh the joy and thrill he has to see us upon our return, leaping up and down in rapture, so excited he cannot contain himself! Out of breath he is licking and it seems there is nothing more thrilling in all the world than to see us!

What a marriage it would be should the person at home greet their hard working partner with such happiness and excitement! Oh how blessed would that home be. Our little Windsor’s entire life wants to ‘be with us’ and ‘play with us’ and ‘please us’. He is not preoccupied with other things. He has time for us!  Ha! As a matter of fact we are his greatest pleasure. How much we need to learn to care that way about each other.

When I walk home or to the office with Windsor he is always running ahead but at every decision point of direction he looks back at me to see which way I am about to go. He wants to go with me. He wants to do my will. My will is his pleasure. How much we need to learn to love and care for God in the same way? Our loving Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and oh how we should seek His pleasure. Our desire should be to please our God and go in His direction. Windsor can be sleeping but when you say his name he looks up and comes over to see what is happening. Blessed is the person that is so attuned to the Spirit of God that when God speaks we are eager to hear and respond?

Also how many wives would love to have a husband that would respond that way! Ha! Beau and Windsor both love tickles. Over they flop and roll over for some special attention. I think we are a bit the same. We need to care for each other with little bits of acts of kindness and love and attention. I think God sometimes is more interested in the attention we show by praying that the actual request.

I could go on and on but I know you want me to get to the question many have as to whether animals are in heaven. OK. First my emotions! My dog Maxie who was my main friend during my childhood on a farm in Louisiana will surely be in heaven! Along with my parrot ‘El Salvador del Mundo’ and other companions on my journey of life including my childhood cow ‘Nova Scotia’. If you have never known the love of a pet or been loved by one you then have missed a treasure. The loss can be as painful as the loss of friends or family members.

Now for a look at the Bible: I think I will just give some scripture and let you hear from God in His Word. Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. “So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  Genesis 1:20-25 in the Holy Bible Before the fall of the human race into sin God had Adam and Eve in perfect harmony with all the other created creatures of God. And God saw that it was ‘Good”.

Surely it will be the same at the end when all is restored and perfected again through Christ Jesus. Now think of that Glorious Day of the Lord to come and how it is described in these words: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:6-9 in the Holy Bible The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain," says the LORD. Isaiah 65:25 in the Holy Bible Please take note of the powerful scripture below.

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!" And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" Revelation 5:11-13 in the Holy Bible.

As you read this entire chapter you see Jesus identifying himself as a Lamb that was slain (on the cross) Even in Heaven Jesus identifies with the animal kingdom that He made. Second, look at all the creation of God praising Jesus! All in heaven and on earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea! Look at the Greek word used here for creature: ktisma (ktis'-mah); from NT:2936; an original formation (concretely), i.e. product (created thing): Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. In heaven every ‘created thing’ on this new earth and heaven is alive and praising Jesus! Glory. I could go on into many other scriptures in Revelation that show how even in heaven God is referring to animals.

You may want to take special note of chapter 4. In the famous Psalms 23, God is referred to as the Shepherd and we are His sheep! The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalms 23 in the Holy Bible Now consider the Words of Jesus along the same line as He refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep.

Jesus used the sheep and Shepherd as He opened His very heart to show His love for us. Surely His touching love for sheep will not end with this earth because we saw that in the passage above He was shown as a Lamb that was slain for our sins even in Heaven. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things, which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, seesthe wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and  does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:1-16 in the Holy Bible Oh how touching those words and we can still feel the passion of Jesus as He says these words:"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:4-7 in the Holy Bible Here you can see the concern of Jesus for birds and surely He cares for other animals too as well of course He cares for you.

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26-27 in the Holy Bible Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn;and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? Luke 12:23-25 in the Holy Bible Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:28-31 Here we see God caring for the birds, feeding and clothing them. Jesus even says that He even know the death of every sparrow!

Oh, dear Ronnie and Renny we rest Beau in the safe and sure loving Hands of Jesus. After looking at the above scriptures and many more I conclude that there are animals in Heaven. I am confident that Beau is romping around glory and praising God with the lions and the bears and the lambs. May we be inspired to live our lives with such passion for each other and for God. I have wanted to write about this subject for years but never took the time till Beau moved me to action.

I pray many of you will be blessed and find comfort in this article. I also pray for the hurt and suffering you have experienced in the loss of your pet. God bless you and all those in the animal kingdom. I have borrowed the use of animal kingdom from Doris my dear friend in Los Angeles. When she e-mails me she always signs it ‘Doris and the animal kingdom’. She has so many pets. I love it. “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!” Psalms 150:6 in the Holy Bible A pilgrim follower of Jesus, (and a pet lover of all kinds)

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If you have any comments on the above article or would like to communicate with John Flanner about any matters or need encouragement in any way, please email him at:

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Around the World in 26 days

Written by:  John Flanner   : June 2007

[Viewings: 144]

A number of years ago now, I made an exciting discovery in prayer.  I realised that if I would concern myself with praying for the nations then God would see to it that the things which concerned me personally such as family, health, finances etc would all be taken care of.  I found out that when I prayed for the nations of the world then I touched the heart of God in a very deep and meaningful way.  This should not have surprised me because the Bible tells us over and over again that God loves the nations.  John 3:16 so easily trots off our tongues “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son….” That we can lose its impact.  In the past 10 years or so I have departed from the habit of praying daily for the nations of the world and I have done so to my own detriment.  I have become so locked into my own needs and the needs of those within my own little sphere of influence thus lending support to what one intercessor once said that a high percentage of Christians spend a high percentage of their time praying over the postage stamp of their own miserable existence.  I took that to mean that if the stamp was on the envelope then the envelope represented the world, but most of us never move off the stamp.  That was certainly true of me.

It all changed for me when I had the pleasure of attending Bible College in the 1980s.  There was a prayer meeting every morning at which students prayed for the nations of the world.  We even had a prayer calendar from which we had a list of nations to pray for each day, thus covering the whole world in a month.  It helped our praying that we had students from a variety of countries and spanning every Continent.  There were times when it was hard to get out of bed, but once there it was usually a powerful time of praying with no apparent structure but everyone praying in English and in tongues as well as spontaneous singing.  Prophesies would come forth too concerning God’s heart for different parts of the world.  It was exhilarating stuff and it certainly created in me and others an increasing interest in world events.

One morning I had a particularly amazing experience.  I am certainly not known for my prowess as a singer, but on this one particular day while praying for the then USSR, South Africa and Ireland, my spirit was stirredand I burst out in singing a brand new melody in tongues.  I don’t know what others thought about it, but to me it was pulsating.  After singing it through a few times, while the other dozen or so people in the room carried on praying, I sensed God saying that I should sing out the words in English.  As I obeyed the Holy Spirit the words that flowed out of me were as follows:-

“As the Gospel is preached, many people are reached

In every nation of the world Jesus reigns

Across the face of the Earth there is life and new birth

Don’t you know in your heart, Jesus reigns

He is moving every hour by the Spirit’s mighty power

Sing and dance and clap your hands, Jesus reigns

He is Lord of every nation; he is King of all creation

So I boldly now proclaim, Jesus reigns

He is moving in my heart, he is changing every part

I’m glad to say in me, Jesus reigns

Send me now Lord I pray, send me now Lord today

To the world to let them know, Jesus reigns.”

In my mind’s eye you might say I saw evangelists (proclaimers of the Good News about Jesus) being sent forth to the nations to bring the rule and reign of King Jesus.  Imagine my thrill therefore when a few months later in those historic days around 1989 and 1990 we saw the ending of apartheid in South Africa, the coming down of the Berlin wall which had divided East and West Germany and the fall of Communism leading to the break up of the USSR – now in our day we are seeing major breakthroughs in Ireland.

As I said I have lapsed from this kind of praying in recent times, but earlier this year in a church prayer meeting god reminded me again of his heart for the nations of the world.  You have only to read Jesus’ prayer in John 17 to discover his heart for the world because in his prayer for all of his followers he mentions the world on many occasions.

Being located in a bible College often creates an unreal atmosphere and prayer meetings can become a hotbed of passion for the glory of God to be revealed, but it is often so different when you are praying on your own early in the morning and besides which, where do you start when it comes to praying for the world?

Let me pass on a simple strategy which I believe the Holy spirit dropped into my consciousness and is proving to be a great blessing.

On the first day of the month I will pray for all the nations that come to mind beginning with the letter A, on the second day the nations beginning with B and then C on the third day and so on.  Some days of course you will have a lot more nations to pray for than on others, but the thing to do is to learn to be led by the Holy Spirit.  Just the very fact that you mention the name of a country before the Lord is in itself a good thing, but as you get more experienced in this you will find that the Holy Spirit will burden you more for some nations than others.  When you get to the end of the month you have a number of days where you are just free to be led by the Holy Spirit.  You may pray for a variety of nations on those days or no nation at all.

A few weeks ago I was praying for Venezuela (not a country I would normally think to pray for, but it was obviously the 22nd of the month) when someone’s face came into my mind.  It was the face of a man with a big, bushy moustache and I felt his name was Carlos.  I have no idea who he is, but sensed he was a Pastor crying out to the Lord for help.  I spent quite a time praying for him and it would not surprise me if I meet him sometime.

A very popular modern worship song and the old spiritual (which I prefer by the way) declare “He’s got the whole world in his hands” which is absolutely true, but it is also a fact that he wants to use his hands to direct his people to the nations.  It’s time to get off the postage stamp which represents our own issues and begin to explore the big envelope which is the world around us.  The one that Jesus loves and gave his life for.  I promise you, if you will concern yourself in praying for the nations then God in his great love will impact on your life in a spectacular way.

Comments

If you have any comments on the above article or would like to communicate with John Flanner about any matters or need encouragement in any way, please email him at:

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What's your Hallelujah like?

Written by: John Flanner -- January 2009

[Viewings: 146]

Please allow me to ask you a most personal question.  What’s your Hallelujah like?

I was prompted to ask that question after being bombarded in the weeks leading up to Christmas 2008 by a multitude of versions of that now famous Leonard Cohen song which carries that reverential title.  Of course it was the X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, who brought the song to a much wider audience and to the top of the Christmas charts, closely followed in that chart of course by what many people consider the best version by the late Geoff Buckley.  I have also heard a plethora of classical versions as well as the one by Leonard Cohen himself.

What really struck me about this song, however, (and this particularly comes across in the stark Geoff Buckley version), is the phrase “a cold and a broken Hallelujah”.

The song itself, whether serious or sarcastic, we don’t really know, is about trying to find God in a situation of despair and desolation following the break up of a deep relationship.  In a vain attempt to find the presence of God, the singer laments “It’s a cold and a broken Hallelujah”.

So let me ask you again, what’s your Hallelujah like?

You may have been, or maybe still are going through an extended season of pain, discouragement or confusion, when God feels far away and a cold and a broken Hallelujah is about all you can manage.  Even worse it may be that the Hallelujah has gone out of your soul altogether.

Some years ago I was going through a particularly scary time with my health.  I really was frightened to the point where one night I even dreamed about my own funeral.  I woke up in a cold sweat, feeling relieved to be alive, but also slightly ashamed that as a Christian I was so afraid of death.  I scrambled out of bed, went downstairs and threw myself on to my knees and buried my head in an armchair.  There I cried to God, asking for forgiveness and asking him to restore my faith.  Immediately I heard the Holy spirit say to me “You can lie down and die or stand up and live, the choice is yours”.  My equally prompt response was to jump to my feet and stand to attention like a soldier and proclaim the words of David from Psalm 118 “I shall not die, but I shall live to declare your works oh Lord”.

From that moment on faith returned and the Hallelujah came back into my soul.

My dear Christian friend it is time for you to spring to your feet in response to the call of God and let your Hallelujah out.  Okay right now it may be only a poor and a broken Hallelujah, but that is better than no Hallelujah at all.  As you proclaim Hallelujah (which of course is a universal word for Praise the Lord!) the heart of God will be moved towards you and faith will begin to return to you.  Then as your Hallelujah grows in strength, volume and conviction so you will open your spirit up to receive so much more of the life of God.

As we move into a year that is so full of uncertainty from a human perspective the world needs to feel the benefits of the Body of Christ moving as a mighty army making its prophetic declaration, proclamation and shout of Hallelujah.  In Romans we read that all creation is straining on tiptoe waiting for the sons of God to come into their own.  A small part of that is you and me speaking out our bold Hallelujah’s, Praise the Lords so as to strike fear into the enemy camp.  We must praise our way into this new year, declaring that Jesus is Lord and proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom.  With the world in such a mess don’t we owe it to them to be the very best we can be for Jesus?  To truly be the body of Christ here on Earth, being good news and subduing the powers of darkness beneath our feet.  One of the ways we can do that is to daily offer up a victory “Hallelujah” shout, which carries with it supernatural power.  Just recall the shout of the people as they marched around Jericho and also how the impact of Jehoshaphat’s praising army sent their apparently powerful enemy into total confusion and defeat.

For personal and corporate victory/breakthrough, therefore, let each one of us who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, begin right now to offer up shouts of praise and songs of victory.  IN so doing we will release from our lips powerful words of faith and spiritual power, which will result in freedom for the captives in all kinds of situations.  Oh yes, of course the first captive to be set free will be you and your poor and broken Hallelujah will very soon turn into a victory shout.

Comments

If you have any comments on the above article or would like to communicate with John Flanner about any matters or need encouragement in any way, please email him at:

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