Hello friends! I hope you are doing well. I hope these resources help you in your faith journey and give you something to think about this week.
Honoring the Sabbath:
Did you know that keeping a Sabbath Day is one of the Ten Commandments. It is #3 to be exact. I come from a culture and background where working 7 days a week is honorable. It wasn’t until I joined corporate America in my mid-20s that I realized that people take a full weekend off and take regular vacations too. I was really surprised.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2020&version=KJV,VOICE
For those of you with young children, please hear this seminary professor talk about how he and his wife incorporated the Sabbath Day with their children. Their children are grown and flown now; but as he shares, you’ll see the outcome or the end fruit of applying the Sabbath Day into their family life. Their spiritual fruit of honoring the Sabbath day is very good.
I think the first time I heard a sermon about taking a Sabbath Day was from pastor Rick Warren. His message about the Sabbath’s starts at minute 41. For me, it was very shocking to learn that God wants his people to rest a full day.
https://youtu.be/MvZpQRXLIrc?si=QjNLLoa71txhgESg
By the way, resting is not binging on TV or scrolling on TikTok all day. Here are a couple of devotionals about how to honor a Sabbath Day.
https://www.pastorrick.com/current-teaching/devotional/work-six-days-and-then-rest-2
https://proverbs31.org/read/devotions/full-post/2017/08/15/how-to-honor-the-sabbath
I know for the religious Jews, they start on Friday sundown and end on Saturday evening. It’s a full 24 hours. Here’s what they typically do to honor the Sabbath:
https://cbnisrael.org/2023/02/10/how-do-religious-jews-observe-the-sabbath/
It’s a foreign concept to many of us who grew up in this northeast region of USA, especially as immigrants. Please pray about the Sabbath Day. Here is a good short article on Sabbath-keeping for today’s Christians.
https://www.gotquestions.org/Sabbath-keeping.html
Parenting Coach Ministry:
For those of you with young children (under 12) I encourage you to hear this man’s story and consider his parenting ministry.
https://jongordonpodcast.com/ep/finishing-strong-glenn-ellison/
My children are older now, ages 22 and 18. I agree with this gentleman that most of your training of your children is done by ages 10-12. It’s a shame that most parents do not know this information, or else they would be more intentional in training their children before 12. If you realize that you missed it, don’t despair; there’s always prayers and a hope of revival where God comes in powerfully to save and course-correct an entire generation.
This gentleman’s testimony is quite remarkable too. Today, his parenting coaching ministry is making a difference for many families. His ministry work reminds me of Chick-Fil-A founder, Truett Cathy who taught Sunday school to middle schoolers at his church for over 50 years. He often said this to explain why he taught Sunday school.
“It’s better to build boys than to mend men.” How true!
If God leads you to work with the young people in the church, please take your ministry seriously just like Truett Cathy did. You can see that God rewarded his work, humility and perseverance very well – financially and relationally. He’s gone to heaven now. Here’s a short article honoring him and written by pastor Rick Warren in 2014.
https://time.com/3310038/rick-warren-chick-fil-a-founder-truett-cathy-truly-lived-his-faith/
Here is an interview in 2002 with Truett Cathy when he was 81. ❤️ What a beautiful servant of God! Let us emulate his good examples.
https://charismanews.com/news/us/message-of-proverbs-221-rings-true-for-chick-fil-a-founder/
Benefits of Bible Reading:
Here is more research that came out recently that shows that if you simply read the Bible daily then you will be more content, positive and flourish in life. Please share this research report with those who are resistant to reading their Bible every day.
https://www.americanbible.org/news/state-of-the-bible/
Attached is a good summary slide to save on your phone to remind yourself and others. I’ve read from research studies that it takes about 3 months for something to become a permanent habit. It’s a very small price to pay for a lifetime of flourishing, don’t you think?
I’ve been reading the Bible without any break for 15 years now. It’s one thing that I am very disciplined about doing. I used to get seasonal winter depression but I don’t struggle with that anymore. I credit this to my discipline in reading the Bible every day, and meditating on what I have learned.
In my college years, I never read the Old Testaments books, other than the book of Psalms and Proverbs. Why not? Well, my college church pastor and leaders didn’t use Old Testament books too often, and so I assumed from seeing this that the Old Testament books are no longer as important or relevant since we are in the new covenant era of Jesus Christ. Boy did I miss out on a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, strategic insight, planning and victory that I could have gained from studying the Old Testament books and characters!
Times Square Church’s founder David Wilkerson has a good daily devotional if you want to subscribe. I like what he shared here and I totally agree with this statement.
“While studying the New Covenant, its glorious truths leaped out of God’s Old Testament dealings with Israel. I sensed the Lord asking me, “David, do you want the keys to victory? Do you want to know how to overcome sin, flesh and the devil? Do you want to know how to do battle with the enemy? Go to my Old Testament, and you will learn from the examples there. I have recorded them all for you so you can learn the lessons of godliness.”
https://www.worldchallenge.org/devotion/keys-victory
If you are not studying the Old Testament books, then you will not have many victories in your lifetime. Please consider what you are leaving behind for your children and grandchildren. I think parents are like a compass. Which direction are you heading to and pointing to your descendants?
Visiting Times Square Church:
By the way, if anyone has time to visit the Times Square church in NYC, please go. I’ve visited twice. They have an amazing hour-long worship service before preaching. You will experience the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit in that long and anointed worship atmosphere.
They have one of the best theaters in NYC too. Here’s a fun article about the famous Andrew Floyd Webber who has been pursuing hard to buy their theater – no amount of money can change that. 🙂 If you visit, please go early and let the ushers know that it’s your first time so you can be seated in front.
Iran:
Iran 🇮🇷 has been in the spotlight for the world the last two years. I have been learning a lot about their country and its modern history. Iran was called Persia in the Old Testament times. Daniel was enslaved and exiled there as a young Jewish teenager; selected to serve the King of Babylon. I highly recommend that you study the book of Daniel. Half of the book is about how Daniel and his teen friends stayed loyal to God and their beliefs in the alluring and enticing Babylonian culture and its temptations. The other half is about prophecy. I used Beth Moore’s Bible study. It was very thorough and excellent. But there’s homework 5 days a week. Each homework took me about an hour per day. If you don’t have time or the discipline to do that, then just read the book in the VOICE version. They offer brief commentaries that’ll help you along to understand broadly.
I heard a couple of powerful stories and testimonies from Iranians last week. Here are a couple:
“Amid war and rising tensions, Iranian-born believer Ramin Parsa joins One for Israel to share firsthand insights into the spiritual awakening happening inside Iran. While the regime clings to power, millions of Iranians are rejecting Islam and embracing the message of Yeshua with growing hunger and hope. This powerful conversation reveals how God may be preparing Iran for a gospel revolution—and how we can be ready when the doors open.”
https://youtu.be/gIkxvOr4q1c?si=WmPgt50f1XG_bT2N
“Growing up in England with a Jewish father and a Muslim mother, Nima Eftekhari’s home life is complicated. After a holiday trip to his homeland of Iran, the family gets stuck in a conservative Islamic nation and things start to fall apart. Torn between two worlds, Nima wonders who he really is.”
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-story-partners-podcast/id1654557511?i=1000713547412
Prophecy Pros Podcast:
If anyone wants to start hearing the experts about biblical prophecy; then I recommend you subscribe to the prophecy pros podcast.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/prophecy-pros-podcast/id1503243159
I’ve heard a few episodes, and I think they and their guests are biblically sound. By the way, the two men who host this podcast were saved as teenagers because they were taught about biblical prophecies from the pulpit. Some churches preach through the entire Bible and so they don’t skip any books like Revelation. My college church never preached from the book of Revelation and so I assumed that this book was so hard to understand and far out there that I should just avoid it. Unfortunately, we missed out on the supernatural blessings that are promised to those who read and proclaim the book of Revelation.
Blessings come to those who read and proclaim these words aloud; blessings come to those who listen closely and put the prophetic words recorded here into practice. The finale is approaching. – Revelation 1:3
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%201&version=VOICE
My good friend attends Liquid Church and shared that her pastor is currently teaching about biblical prophecy, using the book of Ezekiel. I’ve never done an in-depth Bible study on the book of Ezekiel but I have heard that there’s a lot of biblical prophecy in there. Oh my goodness! He references current news regarding Russia, Iran, Sudan, Turkey, and Israel. Here’s the one that I listened to. Wow.
Without biblical knowledge of both the Old and New Testament books, you will be short on the “fear of God” that’s needed to walk our long faith journey and into the battlefields that God asks you to go to. Perhaps this is why so many evangelical leaders and pastors in the western culture have fallen victim to the temptations of today’s Babylonian culture once they get some power, money and influence. Here is a very good article this week by the’ Got Questions’ ministry on this topic.
https://www.gotquestions.org/QOTW.htm
Here’s an interview with the reporter who broke the story about Christian superstar musician, Michael Tait and his sexual predatory acts over many years. The Christian music industry turned a blind eye because of the great money he brought in, and basically enabled and protected him.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roys-report/id1470242499?i=1000714811826
As I reflect back on the reasons why I left the church and my faith after college, it is clear to me that I wasn’t a prodigal son who wanted to experience a life of sin and pleasure. I was a soldier-deserter. This is why I am burdened to share and equip my fellow soldiers-in-Christ about spiritual warfare, how to recognize and fight back the enemy, and win battles for our families and church. In my opinion, one needs a good, healthy “fear of God” to not be a soldier-deserter in times of battle. For me, it came when I read and studied the Old Testament Books and the book of Revelation in the New Testament.
Please consider the song lyrics of the Salvation Army in their founding years. Today it’s seen as only a humanitarian organization but in its founding years, they were known as offering “soup, soap, and salvation”.
Imagine the Salvation Army volunteers singing these lyrics in the public squares…
Song #59
“Falcon Street,”
Soldiers of Christ! arise, And put your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God
supplies,
Through His eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of hosts, And in His mighty power;
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts
Is more than conqueror.
Stand, then, in His great might, With all His strength endued;
And take, to arm you for the fight, The panoply of God.
To keep your armor bright, Attend with constant care, Still walking in your Captain’s
sight,
And watching unto prayer.
That, having all things done, And all your conflicts past,
Ye may d’ercome through Christ
alone
And stand complete at last.
From strength to strength go on, Wrestle, and fight, and pray;
Tread all the powers of darkness
down,
And win the well-fought day.
Here is their booklet of many songs:
Journal of Faith 