Dear
Present Truth Magazine Subscriber:
We
are glad to have you as a subscriber to our Present Truth Magazine. Below
you will find articles from individual authors who have written for our
magazine. Our prayer for all who
receive read these articles is that the Lord "...may give to you the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may
know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of
His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:17-18).
A GUIDE INTO THE
WAY OF PEACE
By A. Wilson Phillips
Prior to the birth of Jesus of
Nazareth, Zacharias, a priest in Israel, prophesied over his son John’s
prophetic ministry.
…you will go before the face of the Lord to
prepare His ways,
To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited
us (shall visit us);
To give light to those who sit in darkness and
the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace
(Luke 1:76-79).
This peace would be a state of
rest, quietness, calmness, and absence of strife. Peace that would also
include harmonious relationships between God and men, families, and
nations. People cannot be at peace with each other until they are at
peace with God.
John grew and became strong in
spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his manifestation to
Israel. John no doubt knew the day would come when Isaiah’s prophecy would
be fulfilled—he would introduce to Israel the “Prince of Peace” (Is.
9:6).
One day when John was preaching
and baptizing in the wilderness of Judea, he said, “Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:2).
...Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the
Jordan to be baptized by him…When He (Jesus) had been baptized,
Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were
opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and
alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This
is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:13, 16-17).
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him,
and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world!...I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said
to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him,
this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’” (John 1:29, 33).
By now, John had introduced and
guided Israel and the world into the way of peace—Jesus. John’s ministry
began to decrease to allow Jesus’ ministry to increase.
After Jesus’ death, burial, and
resurrection, He was raised up by His Father to sit on His throne. Jesus’
death on the cross as the Passover Lamb of God was opening the way for
sinful humanity to enter into the way of peace. Sin’s ruinous consequence
was universal and pervasive, placing all creation at odds with God and
itself.
For it pleased the Father that in Him (Jesus
Christ) all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all
things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in
heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross
(Col. 1:19-20).
Jesus Christ’s shed blood paid
the penalty for my sin and your sin. He willingly went to the cross as our
substitute. Divine love motivated the innocent to suffer for the guilty.
God’s Holy Spirit was sent into
the world to bear witness to these truths. He guides us into the way of
peace. By faith in God’s Word, we can trust in Jesus Christ as
our Savior, confess Him as Lord (ruler) of our lives, and enter
into the spiritual kingdom of our heavenly Father.
A life in the kingdom is not
just keeping a bunch of rules, or
do’s
and don’ts.
For the kingdom of God is not eating and
drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
(Rom. 14:17).
By God’s Word and Spirit, we
can live a life of peace in every circumstance of life by letting
the peace of God rule in our hearts (Col. 3:15).
A. Wilson Phillips is the co-founding and senior
pastor of Abundant Life Covenant
Church.
GOOD NEWS
By Richard K. Clark
When Jesus was born nearly 2000
years ago, heaven sent a delegation to earth to announce “…good tidings of great
joy which will be to all people… Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, goodwill toward men!”
(Luke 2). Needless to say, the world was in dire need of some good
news, and there was no better source than God Himself becoming a man.
Since Adam’s sin, humanity had
been plunged into sin/death, and God had patiently orchestrated what
needed to be accomplished to bring forth His Christ. Abraham fathered our
faith. Moses tutored us with God’s law. David cleared the land. And the
prophets all saw the day approaching when the good news would
appear.
Though the Lord fulfilled all
the old covenant promises through Jesus, many Jewish people still missed
Him. They were looking at the prophecies through selfish lenses. Surely
the Christ would ride into Jerusalem in royal array with thousands of
soldiers at His command. Most certainly, He would deliver them from their
Roman bondage and restore the majesty of Solomon’s kingdom. They desired
to stay with their Old Testament types and shadows rather than receive the
greater and more perfect reality, the permanent glory of Christ in His
church. God’s ways were exceedingly abundant above what they were
thinking. Only
through
humility will anyone ever see and experience all the
goodness of God.
Even today, the good news is
clearly manifest and declared through Christ’s body. Many in our troubled
world are still missing out because they are looking through selfish
lenses. Jesus is good news with great joy to all people. He is the only
source of peace on earth and good will toward men.
Richard K. Clark is an associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church.
The Name of
Presence
By Benjamin Davis
In the midst of difficult
circumstances, I found myself one morning saying to the Lord, “I always
enjoy my time alone in the morning.” I realized this was because as I
spend time alone in the morning in prayer and the Scripture, I always
experience His presence.
Central to the coming of Jesus
to the earth is the hope of God’s presence with man. The gospel writer
Matthew said it this way:
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear
a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated,
“God with us” (Matt. 1:23).
Matthew is quoting from Isaiah
7:14 and, according to many skeptical scholars, pulling it out of its
original context.
In Isaiah’s day, the nation of
Judah faced a crisis. Israel and Syria combined forces to attack
Jerusalem. The Lord sent Isaiah to the king of Judah, Ahaz, to encourage
him. Isaiah prophesied that Judah would be delivered from Israel and Syria
if Ahaz would trust in the Lord. However, there was also a warning to Ahaz:
“If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established…”
(Is. 7:9).
God’s desire is that His
children always believe in Him and by believing experience His presence.
Therefore, He offered a sign to Ahaz:
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Immanuel (Is. 7:14).
Isaiah’s prophecy had an
immediate meaning to the crisis in his day—God was with Judah to deliver
them from Israel and Syria. In the Hebrew wording, the miracle was not in
a virgin birth in their day. It is better understood to say a young woman
who is not yet married will get married and have a child. That child would
grow up and serve the Lord in Judah. The miracle of Isaiah’s day was that
because God was with Judah and King Ahaz, they would be delivered from the
superior forces that faced them, and Jerusalem would survive.
In the new covenant, Isaiah’s
prophecy takes on a new meaning. The miracle of the virgin birth of Jesus
was God’s ultimate sign that He is with His people for all time. This
brings new meaning to God’s promise of His presence in times of turmoil
and trouble.
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble (Ps.
46:1).
Today we can experience God’s
presence and know Him as our Father. All that is
required
of us is simply to believe in the One whom He sent and yield to His
working in our lives.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to
come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom.
8:38-39).
Benjamin Davis is an associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church
The Mother of the
Prophet
By Jonathan Clark
At the Christmas season, it is
not uncommon to have a special focus on one of the biblical women of
faith, Mary the mother of Jesus. There is another woman of faith that I
have been reading about lately—Hannah the mother of Samuel.
The story of Samuel is a
beautiful story of how God raised up a lad as a prophet during a time in
Israel’s history when the word of the Lord was rare. As Samuel submitted
to his spiritual authority, Eli the priest, God began to speak to the
chosen boy. Eli, although corrupt, perceived that God was speaking to
Samuel and instructed the future prophet how to answer, “Speak, Lord,
for Your servant hears” (1 Sam. 3). In the process of time, God raised
up Samuel as a mighty voice of God in his generation.
What recently jumped out at me
in Samuel’s story was the prayer of His mother Hannah, found in the second
chapter of First Samuel.
My heart rejoices in the Lord,
My horn is exalted in the Lord.
I smile at my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Your salvation.
No one is holy like the Lord,
For there is none besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God…
For the Lord
is the God of knowledge;
And by Him actions are weighed…
The Lord
kills and makes alive…
The Lord
makes poor and makes rich…
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He has set the world upon them…
As I read through her prayer, I
marveled at the level of Hannah’s revelation. She lived during the time of
the judges—no prophets, priests, or rabbis taught her these deep truths.
As I studied her story further, I saw how Hannah suffered greatly at the
hand of her rival, Peninnah. Before the birth of Samuel, Penninah often
taunted her because of her inability to have children. “And she was in
bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord
and wept in anguish” (1 Sam. 1:10).
Hannah
acknowledged her suffering in verse 15, “…I am a woman of sorrowful
spirit…”
As the Lord often does, He
revealed Himself to this woman of faith during her deep trials of
affliction. Her revelation was great. It is no wonder that the prophet
Samuel had such a great ministry. The mother of the prophet set a powerful
example for her “covenantally chosen” son to follow in!
Jonathan Clark is an elder of Abundant Life Covenant Church and a physician in
Springfield, Missouri.
CHOSEN
By Greg Sanders
When I was a kid, I didn’t go
to church on a regular basis. My parents would take us kids to Sunday
school if we wanted to go, but I remember preferring to stay home with dad
and “help” him work around the house or in his shop.
A friend invited me to Vacation
Bible School when I was 12 years old, and I went. At the end of the week,
they were going to award a Bible to someone. I was chosen to receive it. I
was proud of that Bible, I guess because it was a new, expensive book, and
I was the only person to get one. I had no desire or intention to become a
Christian at that time and really didn’t care about the content of the
book.
During my teenage years, I
became very rebellious. I started using alcohol and drugs. Although I did
pretty well in school, I barely graduated due to a suspension I received
for smoking at school. I was a very selfish and prideful person and seemed
only to care about partying and having fun.
About a year after high school
graduation, I decided to go to a college in Kansas City, Missouri. I
shared an apartment, and in my bedroom I kept the Bible I had received on
my dresser as “room décor.” At times, usually when I was troubled or
lonely, I would read in that Bible. I read the “red-letter”
passages—feeling that those were the “important” parts of the book. At
that time, I had no idea the profound effect those words would later have
on my life. I was living a dedicated sinner’s lifestyle and continued to
do so for several more years. However, through circumstances and
relationships, God was changing (and humbling) me.
I went from a high-paying job
to a low-paying job; I lost my driver’s license due to (another) DWI; and
I was feeling hurt in a relationship. As I was riding home in a Greyhound
bus after visiting this person, I remembered the words from my Bible from
Matthew 11:28-30:
Come to Me, all you who
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you
and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
I needed rest for my soul, and
His Word comforted me.
The next day at home, I was
channel-hopping on the TV and stopped to watch a church service. They
concluded with an altar call and, being deeply moved at the love of God, I
asked Jesus to be my Lord. I was changed. I had new life—old things had
passed away, and all things had become new.
Soon afterward, I talked to my
brother-in-law who had been a Christian for many years. I said, “Now I’m a
Christian, but I don’t know what (denomination) I am—Catholic, Baptist, or
other.” He suggested that I not worry about that for now and just start
attending church with someone I knew and trusted. I went to church where
he attended. The first Sunday I went forward and professed my salvation
and was baptized right away.
After my salvation experience,
I began to realize how God had been at work revealing Himself to me for
several years before I acknowledged Him. My salvation was His
doing! We can’t know God unless he first reveals Himself to us—and when He
does, His unconditional love, mercy, and grace make Him irresistible. God
first put His Spirit in me, and as a result, I was able to “know” Him and
receive Him. John 15:16 says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.”
Ephesians 1:4 declares that He “chose us in Him before the foundation
of the world.” God started this work in me, and He is faithful to
complete it and to conform me to the image of Jesus Christ.
Greg Sanders is a biomedical equipment technician for Mercy Clinical
Engineering Services at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Missouri.
FIXING MY FAULTY FOUNDATION
By Cheri Stark
Even though I was the daughter
of a Baptist pastor, I had some “cracks in my foundation.” As I was
growing up, I had a faulty view of God as well as myself. I didn’t think
much of either one of us. I believed and meditated on negative things
about myself. I was insecure and fearful. I thought God was angry with me
because I felt I was a failure. Over the years, I allowed everything I
learned to travel through these filters of untruths; therefore, my
perceptions of God and myself continued to be negative.
If a faulty foundation is never
repaired, eventually the entire structure will collapse. Several years
ago, God in His mercy began fixing my foundation.
I had watched my sister Christi
and her husband Rick live out their Christianity. It was different than
what I had experienced. I wanted what they had. As I humbled myself to God
and to them, God began to reveal Himself to me. I learned that He truly
loves me and wants the best for me. He has established me to be
successful.
A few years ago when our senior
pastor was starting to teach on deadly emotions, I thought, “I’m sure this
will help some people, but I don’t have any emotional problems.” As he
spoke, I realized that I have had all of them at some point in my
life—anxiety, fear, inferiority, guilt, resentment, depression.
As I continue to grow and think
on the truth, my self-image improves—I am made in the image of Christ. The
fears that have held me in bondage continue to fall away. God does not
want me to put myself down. He desires me to have a life of righteousness,
peace, and joy. As I continue to renew my mind and allow His thoughts to
become my thoughts, my foundation is being rebuilt to one of security
based on the faithfulness of God.
I now know that God’s Word is
truer than my feelings, so I continually meditate on His truth.
…He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which
was established on better promises (Heb. 8:6).
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no
longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself for me (Gal. 2:20).
For you died and your life is hidden with Christ
in God (Col. 3:3).
And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom. 12:2).
Cheri Stark is an assistant nurse manager for Cox Health Systems in
Springfield, Missouri.
Learning
to Give
By Angie Gibson
My parents gave me a good start
to becoming a giving person. They taught me to tithe and, above that, give
offerings as I believed God was leading me. I also gleaned from my parents
that proper management of one’s finances (among other valuable things like
time) was key to being able to help others.
We lived a comfortable life,
but there were many things that were “cool” or “in” that we never got or
got at a much later time. Even though I was sad about that at times,
inside I knew the reason was a good one. In our everyday lives, I saw
the frugality of my parents enable them to give liberally
when the opportunity or the need arose. While I saw their giving on
many occasions, there were two instances, involving me directly, that made
quite an impact on how I think today.
The first was during my high
school years. My French teacher, who was always sharing some of her
personal life with us, told us how she had finally been able to purchase
the car of her dreams, a Mercury Cougar. She was very proud to own it and
looked so happy driving it. One day, as we walked into class, she was in
tears and shared how her car had been vandalized by some students—denting
it in several places. Her insurance would pay for the damage, but she had
a $300 deductible to pay, and she didn’t know where she would get the
money. My heart went out to her. That night I had a serious conversation
with my dad. I told him the story and somewhat timidly (knowing how
careful he was with money) told him I believed we needed to give her the
money. To my amazement, without hesitation, he sat back in his chair,
looked me right in the eyes, and said he would get the money the next day.
He said we would give it anonymously, and we did.
The second instance happened
during my college years at a private university. My parents were prepared
to pay all of my educational costs, but as we talked with my RA (resident
assistant in the residence halls) that first day, we found out that the
payment for being an RA was room and board. (I think I saw my dad’s
eyebrows rise at that very moment.) With my parents’ interest in mind, I
applied to become an RA for my second year of college. I knew it would
take a lot of time and energy, but I went through the whole rigorous
interview process and was excited to join the team when asked.
As my sophomore year
approached, my dad really floored me. He told me that because he had
already planned to pay for my room and board, and since I had been willing
to become an RA to be a good steward of his money, he was going to put the
amount equivalent to the room and board into my bank account. Again, I was
amazed and deeply touched by his generosity.
Through my life experiences, I
have seen the truth that God is both frugal and generous. He wants me to
be frugal and generous as well. Ephesians 4:28b says:
…but rather let him labor, working with his hands
what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
Good stewardship is what God
expects from me. Because of this, I am dependent upon Him to show me where
He wants me to invest that which He has entrusted to me. With these values
and priorities, my husband and I are learning to give so that God can make
all grace abound toward us, that we, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every
good work (2 Cor. 9:6-8).
Angie Gibson and her husband Ed are
leaders in the Heirborn Children’s Ministry of Abundant Life Covenant
Church.
Human Cloning and Embryonic Stem Cell
Research
By A. Wilson Phillips
Many sincere scientists and
Bible scholars are endeavoring to educate us about stem cell research. Our
public servants in civil government have taken the initiative, through our
constitutional form of government, to regulate stem cell research. Only
God knows the motivation of these spiritual and civic leaders. It does
appear that an unhealthy fear has gripped the hearts and minds of
Americans through the media concerning these issues. The questions in the
debates: “Who is the giver of life? How is life sustained? Who are we
accountable to?”
In a pastoral letter to
Timothy, Apostle Paul wrote that all life comes from God.
I urge you in the sight of God who gives life
to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good
confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without
spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will
manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate
(sovereign), the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has
immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or
can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power (1 Tim. 6:13-16).
In short, the unseen sovereign
God is the source and sustainer of all His creation.
God created mankind in His
image and likeness and has given us the responsibility to obey His
speaking voice. God has given us both His written Word and Spirit to
guide us in our postmodern world with stem cell research. Individually and
corporately, we are responsible to use our technology for His glory and
honor.
In my view, we must discern the
difference between two Greek words that are translated “life”—psuche
(psoo-khay'), which means natural human life, and zoē (dzo-ay'),
which means eternal life or God’s life. This zoē life has been ignored
by scientists and modern thinkers in every discipline of life.
Greek scholar W.E. Vine has
written,
Zoē,
as used in the New Testament, is life as a principle, life in the absolute
sense, life as God has it, that which the Father has in Himself, and which
He gave to the Incarnate Son to have in Himself (John 5:26), and which the
Son manifested in the world (1 John 1:2).
As a consequence of the fall,
man became alienated from this life (Eph. 4:18), and men become
partakers of this life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God imparts His life to
men/women through the new birth or baptism into Christ. They are
new creation people—partakers of God’s divine nature, the
very sons and daughters of God. They are to glorify God in their
spirits and bodies which belong to God (2 Pet. 1:4; 1 Cor.
6:17-19).
The spiritual kingdom of God
worldwide must grasp the truth that stem cell research and the modern
technology of cloning a human being can only reproduce natural life (psuche).
However, only the divine Creator can give men/women His divine nature
and eternal life through the new birth. That life is in His Son.
“…God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son (1 John
5:11).
If He should set His heart on it,
If He should gather to Himself His Spirit and His
breath (spirit),
All flesh would perish together,
And man would return to dust (Job 34:14-15).
Look to Me, and be saved (made whole),
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other (Is.
45:22).
WISDOM—THE PRINCIPAL THING
…you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us
wisdom from God… (1 Cor. 1:30).
…wisdom is justified by her children
(Matt. 11:19; Luke 7:35).
Our youth have been studying the Proverbs and
finding that “Wisdom is the principal thing” (Prov. 4:7).
The Proverbs have been showing
me about my anger towards my sisters. I would always get mad at the
smallest of things, and I got used to doing it all the time. Then today I
read Proverbs 16:32, which says, “He that is slow to anger is better
than the mighty, and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city.”
This has been helping me to act better towards my sisters.
Tim Clark, 7th grader at Pershing Middle
School in Springfield, Missouri
(As school started this year) my youngest brother left for college. I
really didn’t think it would be that hard on me to have my brother leave…
I was wrong.
Everyone says that your junior year is going to be your hardest, but I
still underestimated what this year was going to be like. I took on a
heavy course load, mostly honors classes… I am an A student so I thought
this year would be hard but I would get through it just like everyone
else. I came home the first day and just cried. My brother…had always told
me how to handle certain classes, but now he wasn’t here… I talked to a
lot of my friends—we were all stressed out.
I
prayed all night for God to help me make the right choices…and not stress
myself out by worrying about the future. My next two days of school turned
out to be much better, and I know it was because God was there for me.
I
read the book of Proverbs keeping school in mind… “Then you will
understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will know how to find
the right course of action every time” (Prov. 2:9.) Wisdom will help
me make the right choices in life… God is there for me always, and I know
that even though I may be the only child left in my house, I am never
alone. God is always here for me.
Hannah Sparkman, 11th
grader at Republic High School in Republic, Missouri
I need to seek wisdom with
passion. Proverbs 2:4-5 explains:
If you seek her (wisdom) as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
Wisdom is showing me that if I
seek her with passion at school I will find the knowledge I need to do
well in all my classes.
Proverbs 3:26 says, “For the
Lord will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being caught.” … I need to have
confidence in everything I do. Now I understand that the Lord
should always be my confidence, whether I am in a class or playing a
sport.
One last thing that wisdom has
been teaching me comes from Proverbs 4:8-9:
Exalt her, and she will promote you…
She will place on your head an ornament of grace;
A crown of glory she will deliver to you.
In other words, she will make
it known to everyone that I have her… She can make us stand out to others
in such a great way that they want to be around us and want to be involved
in gaining our wisdom.
Brad Cook, 10th grader at
Greenwood High School in Springfield, Missouri.
I feel like what wisdom says to me about school is
to hang out with the right crowd, not to be lazy, and to not be mad when I
get corrected.
Jenna Bieber, 7th grader at Cherokee
Middle School in Springfield, Missouri
God has put this scripture on
my heart:
The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction (Prov.
1:7).
In school there are a lot of
kids who do not want to be told what to do, and therefore they are
foolish…If I respond to instruction with a good attitude, I have the fear
of the Lord. So this year I am going to work on my attitude towards
instruction.
Natalie Davis, 7th grader at
Carver Middle School in Springfield, Missouri
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