T.J.I.F.A.

THANK JESUS IT'S FRIDAY AGAIN!

PASS IT ON...& ON... & ON...& ON...

MARCH 7, 2003

SUBJECT: WAR!

INCLUDED IN THIS WEEK'S NEWSLETTER IS A WONDERFUL REFERENCE WHICH CLEARLY EXPLAINS THE CHRISTIAN VIEWPOINT OF WAR.  
WE, AS CHRISTIANS WILL ALWAYS BE AT WAR AGAINST AN ENEMY WHO IS CONTINUAL IN HIS ASSAULT TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIANITY AND PURE MORAL BEHAVIOR.  

NOTEWORTHY: WE ARE PLEASED TO PRESENT C.B.C.  WHO AUTHORED THIS ESSAY FORTY SEVEN YEARS AGO, AND GAVE  TJIFA PERMISSION TO PRINT IT IN THIS WEEK'S NEWSLETTER.
CONTRIBUTED BY BMCC - THANKS!

FRIDAY'S WORD: CACOPHONY - NOT A PLEASANT SOUND.

IN THE MIRROR: SLC. SHARES A DIFFERENT  PERSPECTIVE ON "SAFE"

O TASTE AND SEE: THIS IS THE MONTH OF POUND CAKES!   SEND SOME TO OUR SOLDIERS.  POUND CAKE TRAVELS EASILY.

LOOKING FORWARD

SEE YA NEXT TIME

TER




WAR!

Ref. Ephesians 6:10-18

A special note to TJIFA Readers:
 
For many Christians the thought of War is so disheartening and degrading to both sides that we would rather turn our backs and hide our heads in a bushel before we'd ever even think about commenting.  But, in every Earthly thing, we have our thoughts and they should be based on the principles of The Word of GOD.  What does GOD's Word say about War?  

Not being a theologian, TJIFA can't answer that question, but we have engaged our hearts to listen to  a voice that is well respected and knows what the Bible, GOD's Word has to say.   And as always, we pass this information on to our readers, so that you can make clear, non-biased decisions.   This voice is none other than, Dr. Charles Stanley of The First Baptist Church of Atlanta.   On the weekend of February 21,  2003 the ministry of Dr. Stanley was aired.  This was the clearest Christian perspective on the aspect of War that has been given during these times of trouble and turmoil.  

Dr. Stanley made it very evident the position of the Christian when sent to War; when praying about War; The Government's position; Why GOD allows War; Why turning the other cheek is not the favorable response during War for a soldier, and yet this same response is appropriate for an individual; and learning to seek out and read  Scripture references for all key points.

The name of this reference is: "A NATION AT WAR."
You may order the CD or VCR or Audio Tape by calling: 1 800 323 3747.  You may also ask for a free ‘Prayer Guide' for your daily devotions. Thanks,  God Bless!
-----------------------------------
There is a cacophonous sound of War in the air.  Everyone is quietly speaking of it or loudly proclaiming its horror. In Ephesians 6 we read about the weapons of our warfare and Paul exhorting us not to be ignorant, but to know that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but "Principalities, Powers, Rulers of Darkness of this world and Spiritual Wickedness in high places."  Knowing this, we can be sure that when we pray for our soldiers who have been sent to protect us in a foreign land, that we will run the front door by binding and loosening in the spirit realm.  

We have to know that we are constantly at war.  Whether we are in American combat gear or in the Christian closet.  
We fight battles to keep our children safe from this drug infested world in which they find themselves growing up.  We fight wars to maintain a right to worship our GOD, in the midst of many people who think that we  are fanatics.  We fight  wars to keep our homes as a sanctuary, and there is a  clandestine nature to these wars; Where  the enemy hides himself and slithers into our domains and attempts to not only take over, but to subjugate our loved ones to his murderous, mockery  of  majesty.  In all of this, we are in continual warfare...           

He is without passport or visa, and  yet, he sets  up residence as a citizen when in reality, he will always be an illegal alien.

If you go home after work and find that someone has moved into your home, with all of their pictures hanging on your wall, and their toothbrush in the place where the master toothbrush had been...what would you do?     Don't answer that!  

Adam found himself in that predicament as he stood and watched the conversation between Eve and the serpent.  The enemy had taken over Adam's Garden and was moving quickly into Adam's authority with his wife. And we all know the rest of the story.  

Well, it's the same situation when you deal with the enemy in spiritual warfare. We, as Christians, must recognize the importance of our position during this war.  The soldiers in the Gulf, may not be blood relatives, but, in the Spirit...They Are!

A TESTIMONY:
During the Viet Nan War, a Grandmother prayed that her grandson would come back alive.  She shared  her hopes and dreams with a customer, who quickly picked up the burden and prayed for his safe return.  (There was no seeming interest except to help in the struggle.)

These two old women met weekly to share notes about the War.  Finally, one day the grandson wrote and told his grandmother that he was state-side.  The grandmother told her prayer partner that he had made it home from the war.  Tears and celebration that "A" soldier had lived and not died.  

Before these two old women died, they SAW a great grandson, who was also the grandson of the second woman.  
Because, the grand son, for whom they both prayed, married the daughter of the second woman,  years later. And, this was the ‘only' grandson that the second woman ‘ever' had.  Now, that's ...GOD!  

Your future in-law may be sitting on a ship in the Persian Gulf, or practicing War Games in the Kuwait Desert.  Your future daughter-in-law may be in the ship outside of the Korean Sea.  

This maybe to farfetched for your thinking, but, you need to pray as if your future seed depended on it.  You need to pray, because the enemy has come into our quiet cities, run into our tall buildings and covered us with a blanket of fear and terror, unfamiliar to all Americans and other nations also.   

If, you're not called to wear the fatigues of combat,...don't get comfortable!  Kick off that blanket of fear and terror   and drop to your knees...PRAY!      Exchange the cacophony of war for the symphony of PEACE.

Looking Forward

See Ya Next Time

TER

NOTEWORTHY:

   
     I Speak For Democracy

I am the voice of America, the voice of every free man on earth.

Listen, you may hear me speak, Savage,  Slave, Non-Christian, Communist.  You may hear me speak for every person who loves liberty and freedom.  I speak for democracy.
I am an open Bible.  I speak for democracy.   On every worn and much-used  page, in every chapter, in every verse, I speak for  every person who loves liberty and freedom.  In democracy  I speak for the freedom of every man alive for equal rights, and for the opportunity to know the Creator.  My message is spoken loudly so that the millions can hear over the screaming roar of slaves in chains, over the cries of women and children whose husbands and fathers have been snatched suddenly away in the night, over the fear and hatred that roll thundering by under the surface in Fascist countries, over the lies and false promises the Communist screams.

Can you hear my message, Illiterate,  Non- Christian?  Can you hear me speak for democracy?  

I am a rolling field.  I speak for democracy.  I speak for the freedom to live the life I love, freedom to make my living the best way I know how, freedom to be in the out-of-doors and live with nature and GOD.  Whether I am planted with wheat or rye, cotton or corn; whether I am made into a baseball diamond or tennis court, I speak for democracy.  

Can you hear me, crushed and oppressed people?  Can you hear me, children who know no enjoyment, no love, girls and boys who have never laughed or danced?  Can you hear me speak for democracy?  

I am an American factory.  I speak for democracy.  I speak for free enterprise, capitalism, the right to make a living according to my initiative and education, the right to manufacture the goods my country needs; my workers preach these freedoms in the kind of life they live, in their happiness, and in their campaign to make themselves better by furthering their fortune and education.  

Can you hear me, slave and Communist?  Can you hear me speak for democracy?  

I am the face of a child.  I speak for democracy,   not of worry, poverty and hunger.  My mouth is not drawn from weakness and pain, my ears do not strain to hear the footsteps of marching soldiers or the noise of war, my eyes do not show that I have seen indescribable horror.  My voice doesn't quiver when I speak; instead, I laugh gaily and speak to strangers without fear.    

Can you hear my small but bold voice, soldiers who leave children homeless; leaders, who are responsible for unnecessary and wasteful wars?  Can you hear me speak for democracy?  

I am a schoolroom .  I speak for democracy.  I speak for the opportunity of higher education, the freedom which never would have been won if educated and ambitious men had not been brave enough to speak for their democracy.    I speak for the freedom of living under a Constitution that provides for these rights; the right to be protected by my countries army and navy, to be a free man under no master or lord, to vote as I please, and to enjoy the advantages of representative democracy and the security of liberty that only Americans know.

Can you hear my message, victims of dictators, citizens ruled by tyrants?  Can you hear me speak for democracy?  

I am the voice of America, the voice of every free man on earth.  My voice will ring loud and clear through all the ages.  I speak for democracy.  

Written by C. B.C.- Dalton GA December 14, 1956
The Author of this essay commented:
This was written by a very young, very naive high school junior.  In reflection, the author commented,"As I look back I feel this is more pertinent today than it was when I wrote it forty seven years ago."  
Essay and interview contributed by, BMcC  

FRIDAY'S WORD: cacophony-ca*coph*o*ny; noun- a harsh jarring sound; harsh and unpleasant blend of sounds (See how the adjective was used in today's newsletter.)

IN THE MIRROR:
In thumbing through my March/April issue  of Plain Truth Magazine, I noticed a paragraph in the article of "Escape from the Planet of the Pagans!"
I'll reward myself with reading the whole article only after sharing these words with you the reader, how I believe my spirit was quickened by the Spirit of God.

"WE WANT TO BE SAFE IN A SAFER WORLD; GOD WANTS US SAFE IN AN UNSAFE WORLD. WE WANT TO PROTECT OURSELVES BY REMOVING OURSELVES FROM DANGER; GOD WANTS TO PROTECT US IN THE MIDDLE OF DANGER."

I hope you already see, and fell the excitement I must have felt when my eyes scanned this jewel of a revelation.

This is so hot that I don't want you to run and get your Bibles just yet, let me read you John 17:15, where Jesus is speaking, "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." (Read the entire chp. when you get a chance.) These words have always been such a comfort, not only in a time of discord, but for the everyday lifestyle we live.

If you haven't already guessed, I can't stop there. Whether  you're a man or woman,  picture your 5 year old having a serious problem with another child the same age, height, weight, and gender, and the only difference is he's intimidated and the other kid is not. Now stay in this hypothetical scene with me while you transpose your wisdom  knowledge, skills, and abilities to your child in  this confrontation... All of a sudden you have a much different possible outcome for the one you love.

I like those types of thoughts because I believe God through Christ Jesus has done something fashioned so similar for us.

Allow me to go into one more area with you because I feel there's so much truth to be discovered here . The above paragraph took me to one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament. It's the one of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Not only do I Wholeheartedly Believe that story, but I can also tell you why.

My conviction is found in the book of Daniel 3rd chp. verses 16,17,18. I don't even attempt to understand it theologically as much as I  understand it from my heart. While everybody's  running around looking for the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; My question is where are the people of God that are not willing to bow down to; not only the ‘golden images' of the world today; But the god of fear, terrorism, tyranny, paganism, and every other dimension of man that rules out the living God for some other way of thinking that will only lead to hell?

I can never forget that in the early attacks on America, the terrorist ‘predicted' an easy victory over America because, "Americans are afraid to die."

We as a Christian Body of Believers have every opportunity to well establish our   ‘Christian  resume' now, and live SAFE, in an unsafe world.

S.L.C.


O TASTE AND SEE!



SOUR CREAM POUND CAKE


2   STICKS BUTTER
3   CUPS SUGAR
1/4   TSP BAKING SODA
3   CUPS FLOUR
6   EGGS
1   CUP SOUR CREAM
1 TSP VANILLA FLAVORING


DIRECTIONS:

CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR
ADD EGGS ONE AT A TIME BEAT WELL AFTER EACH EGG
STIR IN FLAVORING
ADD DRY INGREDIENTS ALTERNATELY WITH SOUR CREAM
POUR INTO CAKE PAN
BAKE AT 325 F FOR ONE HALF HOUR
REDUCE HEAT TO 300 F AND CONTINUE COOKING 45 MINUTES OR UNTIL DONE.




CONTRIBUTED BY V.B.