MARCHING TO VICTORY #19

(From my column “Looking Forward and Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, July, 1988.)

The battle is almost over and victory will be ours, but we still need your help—each and every one of you! As you receive this newsletter, we will have little more than a week to go in the year-long battle to raise the $60,000 needed to purchase our “Promised Land.” We can and must succeed. If God is for us, who can be against us?

Last month I told you of our symbolic crossing of the river Jordan as we stepped over the halfway goal— $30,000. Since that time, Praise the Lord, we have made a giant leap to $38,000 plus. Yes, that’s right; in fact, in eight exciting, miraculous days in June 8,000 dollars came pouring in. It was unbelievable! After several months of inching our way along, to suddenly have such a glorious outpouring from God was just the affirmation we needed! Once again, we felt God’s hand upon us. How precious and wonderful it is to know that God is with you!

Remember the last part of Joshua 3:5? “For tomorrow, the Lord will do a great miracle.” Well, He did! Thank You, Father! Praise Your Holy name! We truly thank You and give You all the glory, for You alone could have made it all happen! We love You, Father, and praise You with all that is in us!

Yes, we have $40,000 now, and hopefully much more by the time you read this. (Please feel free to call the Theatre for an exact update.) While this is exciting, we cannot let up until we have complete victory—$60,000 by August 1. At times, this still seems unachievable; however, before we started, $40,000 seemed impossible. Until this special year the Lord has given us, our most ambitious projects had been raising $1000 for lights and $1000 to get us out of debt. Those seemed like next-to-impossible projects for us then, so you can imagine how we felt when the Lord set $60,000 before us. But all things are possible with God! However, the Lord did not set the goal, the dream, before us without the knowledge that we must all work to reach that goal. Just as the children of Israel had to do battle to claim their promised land, so, too, we must do battle as well. As certain as life itself, the Lord is with us and will help us to win if we fight. When we began a year ago, the Lord gave us a battle scripture—Joshua 1:9. “Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” However, I don’t believe He will help us if we retreat or just stand around and wait for Him to do everything. No, indeed, we must all do everything we can. I believe that we could have victory in a matter of days if everyone whom the Holy Spirit has prompted to give would respond. I’m sure there are many who know of our struggle and have thought, “I should help,” but have delayed doing that which they felt led to do. Please, I urge you not to tarry any longer. We’re almost out of time. Please join us NOW in our march to victory!

It’s going to be a glorious victory for which we can all praise the Lord! Thank You, Father! Praise Your Holy Name, Jehovah!

COMING NEXT: WE ARE NOT MOVING . . . YET!

Was the commitment to go into the Promised Land debt free a mistake? Will God be pleased with a compromise?           

LESSONS FROM JOSHUA—PART III #18

(From my column “Looking Forward and Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, June, 1988.)

In the symbolic pilgrimage to our “Promised Land,” we, like the Israelites, have been poised on the banks of the Jordan. We, too, have been called to preparation and purification. Now it is time to cross the Jordan—no turning back.

Last month, we looked at the first part of Joshua 3:5 (purification) and, as promised, this month we want to focus on the second part of that marvelous verse. In that verse, Joshua told the people to purify themselves, “For tomorrow, the Lord will do a great miracle.” The New American Standard translates it, “the Lord will do wonders among you.” That is truly exciting—“a great miracle”—“wonders among you”! But the question is, do we believe it? Yes! Without a doubt! The Lord is faithful!

Along with the many miracles God has shown us over the last three years, He has taught us many lessons—lessons about the power of prayer, the power of faith, the power of obedience, and the power of hard work. God’s Word is full of stories in which the above ingredients were essential in the completing of His will. If we do our part, God does His—“wonders among you.”

When the children of Israel crossed the Jordan, they crossed on dry land. That was their “miracle.” But what of our Jordan, what river must we cross? I believe our river Jordan has been the “halfway” mark in our sixty-thousand-dollar goal. After $30,000, all we raise is on the downhill side. It’s like every long journey we take, the road seems so much shorter once we’ve made it halfway.

Yes, we’ve been camped on the banks of the Jordan a long time as that elusive $30,000 mark has loomed before us much like a roaring river blocking our hopes of victory. But now we, too, have had our miracle from God! Praise the Lord, we have topped the hill, reached the peak, crossed the Jordan! We’re now on the other side of that halfway mark, and it is time to praise God from whom all blessings flow! Thank You, Father! Praise Your Holy Name! We give You all the praise and glory!

Crossing the Jordan wasn’t the end of the road for the children of Israel. No indeed, it was only the beginning. There were still many battles to be fought before they could truly occupy the land. Their first battle was Jericho—a city surrounded by a high, seemingly insurmountable, wall. We, too, have our wall. It is the wall of financial need that is still before us. As I shared with you eleven months ago, when we began our quest for a new home, God gave me a vision of our “Promised Land” surrounded by a wall with corner towers topped with dollar signs. We have been chipping away at the financial wall for the past eleven months, and now is the time to make an all-out assault—to prya, to work, to march around that figurative wall and shout praises to our Lord as the wall crumbles and victory is ours! Praise the Lord!

COMING NEXT: MARCHING TO VICTORY

As certain as life itself, the Lord is with us and will help us to win if we fight—by His rules!                                                  

LESSONS FROM JOSHUA—PART II #17

(From my column “Looking Forward and Glancing Back” in the SGT monthly newsletter, May, 1988.)

This article is intended more for the leaders of Stained Glass Theatre and those who work directly in and with this ministry than for our patrons who will also be receiving this newsletter. However, that which I believe God would say to us here at SGT is printed openly in this article for all to read so that our friends and supporters can join with us in praying for a ministry that will continually strive for righteousness within as we reach out to others in the months and years ahead. Please pray that the thoughts below will be received in a spirit of love and encouragement and not in condemnation.

In Joshua chapter three, we find the people of Israel camped on the banks of the Jordan River, poised and almost ready to cross over into the Promised Land. Almost ready, but not quite, for there was one thing left to do. In verse five, “Joshua told the people to purify themselves.” This was the final step before crossing the Jordan.

As we have tried to apply God’s principles to our “Promised Land,” I feel we have reached the banks of the Jordan; and from the centuries past, Joshua once again cries out, “purify yourselves.” It is a cry that cuts through pretense and right to the heart. I’m not suggesting that in the ministry of SGT there is any great or blatant sin either individually or corporately, but the Lord would have us remove all sin, no matter how small, from our midst. He would have each of us look deep within and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us any sin, that we may repent and, if necessary, take corrective action. Remember that to repent means to turn away from or put aside.

I have heard the call to purification in my own heart. I hope you hear it in yours, for I believe the Lord would have us seek Him together as members of His ministry. We are on the banks of the Jordan, so let us together begin the purification process God desires as he prepares to bless us greatly. For each of us, the process may be different, but we all need the cleansing. Joshua did not call some to purification, he called all.

As we seek purification under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, my prayer is that a new love will flow forth from all. Though the cleansing may be painful at times, in the end we will be stronger. God’s ways never change—true repentance brings restoration and blessings. So my brothers and sisters in Christ, together, let us do that which God would have us do.

COMING NEXT: LESSONS FROM JOSHUA—PART III             

No turning back!