November Newsletter 2020
While We Were Sleeping
“The church has been sleeping for the last 50 years. If the church had been the church, doing what we are supposed to do, our country would not be in this terrible mess!”
I was on the phone with another ministry head from northern Minnesota. “That’s exactly right,” were the words I heard from my friend.
In 1980, George Barna wrote a book entitled The Frog In The Kettle. If you put a frog in a kettle of cold water, then heat the water very gradually to the boiling point, the frog will not jump out of the kettle. He is lulled to sleep by the gradual warming of the water and eventually he boils to death. This is the picture of the American church. The evil doctrines of the world have been creeping into the church very gradually over the last several decades. The church just accepts it, until the church is inundated with the devil’s thinking.
My recent research took me to the early church, how they unflinchingly stood against the debauchery and hedonistic lifestyle of the Roman empire. Like we in America, the Romans killed their babies whenever they wanted to. It was common and widespread practice. Infanticide, it was called. The early Christians stood against it, and many died because of their unflinching stand for Christ. There was not question of whether infanticide (abortion) was wrong or not. It was wrong and they knew it!
Recently, I heard from the pulpit a preacher talking about abortion. “What kind of people kills their own young?” He asked. A very evil people, is the answer. A people like the frog in the kettle. A people who think they can fit God into their ideals, instead of recognizing Him as the Lord of their lives, a people who have a form of godliness but have denied the power.
While in Bible college, I distinctly remember Professor Merlin Olson’s lecture. “The height of sin, the very farthest it can go, is when we call good evil and evil good.”
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter,” says the prophet, Isaiah (Isaiah 5:20 NIV)
This is where we are in America today. We call evil good and good evil. I don’t know if you have noticed. All of the things listed in Romans 1 that describe a people who have reached the depths of debauchery and degradation, these are the things our society unashamedly calls good. The church has failed to inundate the society with the gospel enough to change the society.
We must get out of our church buildings where we “hole up” in the bunker, safe from the outside world. If we are going to reach unbelievers with the life changing power of the gospel, we have to go to them where they are at, instead of mistakenly thinking they are going to wander into our church buildings.
We must pray like we have never prayed before. Cry out to God for our nation. It is now or never. We must wake up from our sleep . . . NOW!
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
The Invitation
The Beginning of Your Adventure with God
By Lorraine Halama
The tears that were welling up in your eyes have now turned into a full stream of emotions that hold a mixture of joy, fear, and love. You clutch the invitation in your hand. You are overwhelmed. You realize that your life is never going to be the same again. Your King has promised you more than good; He has promised you what seems to be an eternal inheritance!
You just . . . do not know what to think! One moment you are chuckling to yourself over the dust in your house and the next moment you are holding an invitation embossed in gold, sealed with wax and inlaid with a tiny diamond, from the King! He is asking you to come and take your royal place in the Kingdom. But in your heart of hearts you know that your King has called you. He has requested your presence and you cannot decline the invitation. You will go.
This is an excerpt from my book, “The Invitation, the Beginning of Your Adventure with God,” that our ministry is about to release. It will be given away free and mailed to those who are currently on our monthly newsletter mailing.
If you are not currently on our mailing list and would like to receive a copy, please contact us by leaving a message on our website.
The manuscript is currently at the printer. If you want to make a contribution towards the printing of this book, you can mail it by using the contribution card enclosed with your newsletter or visit our website home page and click the contribution button at the bottom of the page.
F.Y.I
Fast Yaks Incorporated
(Just Kidding)
For Your Information
The last newsletter, Voting With God Or Against Him, has received more visitors by about 30 percent, than any other article we have posted since the website went up. Here are some comments that came back to us:
God will reward you for your very brave and courageous article.
Dan
You really hit a home run this time, George.
Dale
Thanks George, for telling it like it is.
Matt
Thanks George and Lorraine for giving us such a clear message.
Kevin
In His Service,
