T.J.I.F.A.
THANK JESUS IT'S FRIDAY AGAIN!
PASS IT ON…& ON…& ON…& ON.
OCTOBER 1, 2004
TJIFA DEDICATES THIS MONTH OF PRAYER TO CHILDREN.
SUBJECT: "WITNESSING TO . . . BACKSLIDER"
TJIFA IS REACHING OUT TO THE UNSAVED WORLD, AND WE PRAY THAT OUR READERS ARE DOING THE SAME. THIS WEEK AND LAST WEEK WILL HELP YOU TO BE BRAVE ABOUT TELLING SOMEONE ABOUT OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST…RISE TO THE OCCASION.
NOTEWORTHY: ON SABBATICAL THIS WEEK.
FRIDAY'S WORD: BIBLICAL DEFINITIONS AND SCRIPTURE FROM LAST WEEKS WORD THAT WILL BE EXCELLENT FOR CHRISTIAN GROWTH.
IN THE MIRROR: SLC ASK A QUESTION.
O TASTE AND SEE! O'MY . . . RED VELVET CAKE . . . A MUST FOR THE HOLIDAYS . . . ENJOY!
LOOKING FORWARD
SEE YA NEXT TIME!
TER
WITNESSING TO . . . BACKSLIDER
JEREMIAH 3: 14,15; "14Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."
There are many people who have left their relationship with GOD through Jesus Christ, and they have no idea how to rectify their circumstances. We met a few of them as we journeyed into the experience of ‘street witnessing'. Here, again, is the approach to one who has grown cold or luke-warm in the pursuit of the Kingdom of GOD, through Jesus Christ.
In trying to communicate these encounters in this writing, we will allow the ‘Q' to represent the person doing the witnessing; and the ‘A' will always represent the stranger encountered. TER.
Q: Hi, my name is Witness. May I talk to you for a minute about Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
A: Well, O.K. What are you going to talk about?
Q: Well, first of all, what is your name?
A: My name is Stranger.
Q: I'm glad to meet you, Stranger. Do you know Jesus Christ, and is He your personal Lord and Savior?
A: Yes. I know Him. But, right now I've got to put all of that on the shelf. I had Him as Savior, at one time; but I haven't been living right and I can't deal with that right now.
Q: So you gave your life to Jesus? When?
A: When I was about ten years old. But . . .
Q: When you were ten?
A: Yes. That was a long time ago, and many things have happened since then. I really don't want to go into that right now. I just can't deal with all of that right now.
Q: May I talk to you about your Salvation?
A: I told you, Witness, I lost all of that . . . years ago.
Q: Stranger, would you call yourself a ‘Backslider'?
A: A Backslider?
Q: Yes. Would you call yourself a ‘Backslider'? Since you're no longer in relationship with Jesus Christ and you, at one time were. Are you a ‘Backslider'? Do you know what I mean? A backslider is:
BACKSLIDING Term used by the prophets to describe Israel's faithlessness to God (Isa. 57:17 RSV; Jer. 3:14, 22; 8:5; 31:22; 49:4; Hos. 11:7; 14:4). In these passages it is clear that Israel had broken faith with God by serving other gods and by living immoral lives. See Apostasy.
A: I never thought about that before. A "Backslider."
I guess I am a ‘Backslider'.
Q: Stranger, do you know what GOD said about the backslider?
A: No. I don't think I really want to know. What did He say? Did He say I'm going to Hell? I know He probably did, but, right now . . .
Q: Stranger, let's realize what GOD has said, instead of inventing presumptions, O.K? GOD said: "I AM married to you— Backslider."
A: Married? Oh, come on! That's not in the Bible . . . is it?
Q: Here. I'll let you read it for yourself.
A: "14Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion"
I didn't know that. How can GOD be married to me?
Q: Do you believe the Bible?
A: Yes, I have never denied the Bible. It's true.
Q: Have you ever been married?
A: Yes.
Q: Marriage carried with it relationship. This relationship causes you to need to know or have a feeling of safety and concern for your mate when you can't see or be near. Is that right?
A: I see. I see. So GOD is concerned about me even though I haven't been checking in with Him. Is that right?
Q: Stranger, you're catching a hold of this quite nicely. Now, if you can admit that GOD is concerned about you, then that means that GOD is present during all of your indiscretions and quietly in attendance while you're doing those things that you don't want to talk about. What do you think?
A: I just don't want to think about that. It's too uncomfortable.
Q: As uncomfortable as this conversation may be, Stranger, there is a place even more uncomfortable. That is a place where GOD is willfully kept out . . . your heart. You see, Jesus Christ wants to rule and reign in perfection in you. GOD won't enter without permission. He is a gentleman in this area. He must be asked to be Lord of your heart.
A: I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it, but . . . here's my ride. It was real good talking to you. Keep up the good work; everyone needs to hear what you're saying. (And Stranger #1 rode away still in his back-slidden state; but with knowledge about his present back-slidden position.)
Witness watched as Stranger #1 rode away in a car full of his comrades. Witness couldn't help but think of this encounter as a failure; but every time that you talk with someone and are able to give them even one word from the Word of GOD, you must have faith to believe that the Word you have shared is more powerful than having you present in flesh form to ‘witness' the transformation in that person's life.
While ‘Witness' carefully penned ‘Stranger' #1's name in the prayer log, ‘Stranger' #2 asked . . .
(to be continued)
Looking Forward
See Ya Next Time
TER
NOTEWORTHY: Please pray for BMCC and family.
FRIDAY'S WORD:
KNOWLEDGE Translation of several Hebrew and Greek words covering a wide range of meanings: intellectual understanding, personal experience, emotion, and personal relationship (including sexual intercourse, Gen. 4:1, etc.). Knowledge is attributed both to God and to human beings.
God's knowledge is said to be omniscient . He knows all things (Job 21:22; Ps. 139:1-18); His understanding is beyond measure (Ps. 147:5). He knows the thoughts of our minds and the secrets of our hearts (Ps. 44:21; 94:11). He knows past events (Gen. 30:22), present happenings (Job 31:4), and future events (Zech. 13:1; Luke 1:33).
The knowledge which God has of nations and human beings indicates that He has a personal interest—not merely an awareness—of people (Ps. 144:3). To be known by God may mean that a nation or individual is chosen by God to play a part in God's purposes in the world (Jer. 1:5; Amos 3:2; Gal. 4:9).
The Bible speaks often about human knowledge. Knowledge of God is the greatest knowledge (Prov. 9:10) and is the chief duty of humankind (Hos. 6:6). In the Old Testament, the Israelites know God through what He does for His people (Ex. 9:29; Lev. 23:43; Deut. 4:32-39; Ps. 9:10; 59:13; 78:16; Hos. 2:19-20). This knowledge of God is not simply theoretical or factual knowledge; it includes experiencing the reality of God in one's life (compare Phil. 3:10) and living one's life in a manner that shows a respect for the power and majesty of God (compare Jer. 22:15-16).
In the New Testament one knows God through a knowledge of Jesus Christ (John 8:19; Col. 2:2-3). The apostle Paul closely connected knowledge to faith. Knowledge gives direction, conviction, and assurance to faith (2 Cor. 4:14). Knowledge is a spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12:8) which can grow, increase, be filled, and abound (Phil. 1:9; Col. 1:9-10; 2 Cor. 8:7). It consists in having a better understanding of God's will in the ethical sense (Col. 1:9-10; Phil. 1:9), of knowing that God desires to save people (Eph. 1:8-9), and of having a deeper insight into God's will given in Christ (Eph. 1:17; 3:18-19).
But though Paul recognized the importance of knowledge, he also knew that it could be a divisive factor in churches such as at Rome and Corinth where some Christians claimed to be more spiritual because of their knowledge of spiritual matters (Rom. 14:1-15:6; 1 Cor. 8:1-13). Paul argued that knowledge puffs up but love builds up, and the knowledge exercised by the "strong" in faith could cause the "weak" in faith to go against their Christian conscience and lead to their spiritual ruin. Knowledge can be misused (1 Cor. 8). Love is more important than knowledge (1 Cor. 13), yet knowledge is still a gift, necessary for Christian teaching (1 Cor. 14:6) and for Christian growth toward a mature faith (1 Cor. 8:7; 2 Pet. 1:5-6; 3:18).
In the Gospel of John, knowledge is a key concept, although the noun "knowledge" itself never occurs in John's Gospel. John instead frequently uses the verbs "to know." Jesus and the Father have a mutual knowledge (John 10:14-15), and Jesus' knowledge of God is perfect (John 3:11; 4:22; 7:28-29, for example). Jesus brings to lost humankind the knowledge of God which is necessary for salvation (John 7:28-29; 8:19), but which humankind has distorted through sin (John 1:10). God's knowledge of Jesus consists of giving Jesus His mission and the power to perform it (John 10:18). Jesus' knowledge of the Father consists of His hearing God's word and obediently expressing it to the world.
Knowledge of God is closely related to faith, expressing the perception and understanding of faith. Full knowledge is possible only after Jesus' glorification, since the disciples sometimes failed to understand Jesus (John 4:32; 10:6; 12:16). In John, knowledge is expressed in Christian witness which may evoke belief in Jesus (John 1:7; 4:39; 12:17-18) and in love (John 17:26). Whereas Jesus' knowledge of the Father is direct, the disciples' knowledge of Jesus is indirect, qualified by believing. The Christian's knowledge of Jesus is the perception of Jesus as the revelation of God which leads to obedience to His word of love. So the Christian is caught up into God's mission of love to the world in order that the world may come to know and believe in Jesus as the revelation of the Father's love for the world.Roger L. Omanson
Taken from Holman's Bible Dictionary
IN THE MIRROR: Looks like lasts week's, but the difference being; Merriam- Webster's definition can inform; while Roger L. Omanson's comprehensive definition can transform. Which is the more important in your life? Your answer to that question is so essential. God Bless! SLC
O TASTE AND SEE!
RED VELVET CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
½ CUP VEGETABLE SHORTENING
1 ½ CUPS GRANULATED SUGAR
2 EGGS
2-4 TBLSPS. UNSWEETENED COCOA
1 OZ. RED FOOD COLORING, OR UP TO 1/4 CUP IF YOU WANT A REALLY RED CAKE.
1 TSP. SALT (IF DESIRED)
1 TSP. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
1 CUP BUTTERMILK
2 ½ CUPS ALL PURPOSE (SIFTED) FLOUR
1 TBLSP. VINEGAR
1 TSP. BAKING SODA
THE FILLING:
8 TBLSPS. BUTTER
1 CUP SUGAR
8 EGG YOLKS
1 CUP CHOPPED PECANS OR WALNUTS
2 TBLSPS. BOURBON OR RUM
1 CUP RAISINS
DIRECTIONS:
PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.
GREASE AND FLOUR 2 9INCH CAKE PANS; SET ASIDE.
CREAM TOGETHER SHORTENING AND SUGAR WITH ELECTRIC MIXER.
ADD EGGS ONE AT A TIME BEATING WELL AFTER EACH ADDITION, APPROXIMATELY 1 MINUTE EACH.
BLEND COCOA AND RED FOOD COLORING TO MAKE A PASTE; THEN ADD TO THE CREAMED MIXTURE, ALONG WITH SALT.
BLEND VANILLA AND BUTTERMILK.
ALTERNATELY ADD THE FLOUR AND THE BLENDED BUTTERMILK TO THE CREAMED MIXTURE.
BLEND THE VINEGAR AND THE BAKING SODA . ADD TO CREAMED MIXTURE.
POUR THIS BATTER INTO PREPARED CAKE PANS – BAKE FOR ABOUT 25-30 MINUTES OR UNTIL TOOTHPICK INSERTED COMES OUT CLEAN, LET COOL 10 MINUTES, THEN TURN OUT ONTO CAKE RACKS.
FILLING:
COMBINE BUTTER, SUGAR, AND EGG YOKES IN SAUCE PAN. SET SAUCE PAN IN SKILLET OF BOILING WATER AND BEAT WITH A WIRE WHISK UNTIL THICKENED.
ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS. TAKE OUT OF SKILLET AND LET STAND. THIS MIXTURE WILL THICKEN AS IT COOLS. WHEN IT REACHES THE DESIRED CONSISTENCY, PLACE ON CAKE LAYERS AS YOU WOULD ORDINARILY FROST A CAKE.
IT'S NOT TOO EARLY TO THINK ABOUT THIS RECEIPT FOR YOUR THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY ENJOYMENT. GET ALL YOUR INGREDIENTS STORED ON HAND, AND WHEN THE BIG TIME IS RIGHT, PULL EVERYTHING OUT OF THE REFRIGERATOR AND CABINETS, AND GET BUSY!
ENJOY TER