Avalon Chronicles #81: "Eternity Ticket"
By Allen Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
For several reasons I was deeply emotional in my church service this day. Yesterday Linda and I attended our Memorial Day picnic with my fellow members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. When I began attending these functions twenty years ago, it was mostly World War II veterans who were active members. My fellow Vietnam veterans were pursuing careers and raising kids. Yesterday it was only my fellow Vietnam veterans and one younger veteran from the current conflicts. I remembered all my dear World War II friends who have died. There was wonderful friendship with many of them. I recall those who survived the Pearl Harbor attack, those who served on faraway Pacific Islands, those who survived the Bataan Death March, those who stormed the beaches of Normandy, and those who flew bomber missions from England to German targets. This weekend especially their faces travel across the memories of my mind. Their families will perform their annual pilgrimages to their gravesites tomorrow at our cemeteries across the country and there will be ceremonies at our overseas gardens of stone in countries where our valiant young men and women fell to ensure freedom from the forces of evil.
The world today faces an insidious force of evil that does not fight in uniforms on defined fields of fight, but rather their uniforms are black and under clothing hiding suicide vests, Just in the past few days we have witnessed attacks in Indonesia, Egypt, the Philippines, and England. This Memorial Day there are grieving families and loved ones remembering the dead across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Our own first line of defense protectors are constantly on the alert for attacks in our own beloved America.
Deaths on past battlefields, a bus, a concert, and on Pacific islands. Deaths each day. I faced death on a battlefield fifty years ago in Vietnam, but I was spared. At my age of almost 75 I have friends dying often. When I began my prayers in church today I teared for those deaths from terrorists these past few days and watched my fellow church-goers on their knees in reverence in the house of God, where people of faith have been in synagogues and churches for millenia. We are blessed to worship in freedom in our native land.
For several of the past few days I have planned on publishing a Chronicle on something I received from a dear gentleman who was born in 1920 and still vital, alert, and relevant! He has been a spiritual mentor to me and one of the finest examples of a Christian gentleman it has ever been my privilege to know. Herein is copied his "Eternity Ticket." He is Jim Ash and his web site is www.jimash3.com.
"The Bible states, 'that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.'" (Romans 10: 9,10).
I have prayed this prayer below and I know and believe what it reflects. Upon my death my body will be in a casket at Arlington Cemetery, but my soul will not perish, it will be for eternity in Heaven with my Lord God, Creator, and Savior, Jesus the Christ. My family will have all my mementos, papers, books, very few assets, and hopefully mostly good memories, but I will have my "Eternity Ticket" punched and will have reached my final destination.
This is the most important prayer you will ever pray! "To receive Jesus as your personal Savior, pray this prayer from your heart: Dear Jesus: I believe you died for me and that You rose again on the third day. I confess to You that I am a sinner and that I need your love and forgiveness. Come into my life, forgive my sins and give me eternal life. I confess You now as my Lord. Thank You for saving me. Amen"
"Next, confess to someone, 'I am a Christian,' for Jesus said, 'Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, Him I will also deny before My father who is in Heaven.'" (Matthew 10: 32,33).
We should not pray this out of fear of what will happen if we do not pray it, but out of love for God and the peace and joy a life with him on earth and in Heaven will bequeath us.
Several months ago I spoke before a group of prisoners at the Dallas County jail. When I finished one of them shouted out, "When are you coming back?" I said, "I have nothing else to say." He said, "We have turnover." When your life experiences the final "turnover," where will you be?
After five years of Avalon Chronicles, I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO SAY. I AM FINISHED!
Sunday, May 28, 2017
Friday, April 21, 2017
Avalon Chronicles #80: "Wounds"
Avalon Chronicles #80: "Wounds"
Allen B. Clark
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
allenbclark@aol.com
This past Saturday the day before Easter Linda and I went to the theater to see "The Case For Christ," a most compelling movie of an investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. His wife had accepted Christ as Savior and he began an investigation to disprove the narrative of Jesus. His journey toward belief took him to an interview with a researcher, who recounted with intimate and detailed description the wounds of Christ at His crucifixion. All the wounds were depicted, sometimes with illustration; the crown of thorns, the scourging on the path to Golgotha, the spikes through the feet and wrists, the agonized breathing, and the final spearing into the chest drawing blood and water after the death. Jesus was a human being sent by God to be an example of behavior, but, more importantly, to be the way for us to eventually escape the bonds of earth through eternal life in Heaven. Eventually the reporter was convinced and accepted Jesus as his own Savior. Rarely do I tear in films, but I did in this one!
On June 17, 2017 I will celebrate my FIFTIETH "Alive Day," the fiftieth anniversary of my wounding in Vietnam on June 17, 1967. Rarely does a day go by that I am not triggered in some way with the memories of that day, three days from my 25th birthday. My wounds (as many of you already know) were from a mortar shell landing close behind me and ripping my left leg off below the knee completely and instantly. The right leg, broken in five places, was amputated ten days later. My gracious and loving God did not suffer me to feel the pain originally. I was awake until the medical evacuation helicopter delivered me to the MASH in Pleiku some unknown number of hours later. There were six weeks of morphine every three hours and twenty total surgeries even up into forty years later.
My Lord received no relief from His wounds. His wounds served a purpose for all of us that many do not fathom. The sacrifice on that cross meant that those of us that grasp its significance and believe he was Who He said He was, will have eternal life, when the wounds physically and emotionally and spiritually have taken their toll in our lives. In one of my daily readings reference is made to Psalm 34. In this world strategically with the threat again of possible nuclear attack, terrorist attacks even in our smaller cities, bombings, rampant crime, and the deterioration of morality and integrity, we are beset and besieged with our own personal tactical issues of failing marriages, deteriorating health, failing businesses, and inadequate provision financially. These will not end. It is reality therapy. All we can do is confess our sins, forgive all others, keep in constant prayer and intercession, and be faithful to our beliefs. We must go on with our lives, but love, love, love as Jesus taught us.
A friend of Linda's spoke of a friend who was told she had two months to live. Her friends began the typical responses of regret and sadness. She very dynamically and joyfully proclaimed, "Are you serious? I see Jesus in Heaven in two months!" Who will you see upon your demise?
Allen B. Clark
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
allenbclark@aol.com
This past Saturday the day before Easter Linda and I went to the theater to see "The Case For Christ," a most compelling movie of an investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. His wife had accepted Christ as Savior and he began an investigation to disprove the narrative of Jesus. His journey toward belief took him to an interview with a researcher, who recounted with intimate and detailed description the wounds of Christ at His crucifixion. All the wounds were depicted, sometimes with illustration; the crown of thorns, the scourging on the path to Golgotha, the spikes through the feet and wrists, the agonized breathing, and the final spearing into the chest drawing blood and water after the death. Jesus was a human being sent by God to be an example of behavior, but, more importantly, to be the way for us to eventually escape the bonds of earth through eternal life in Heaven. Eventually the reporter was convinced and accepted Jesus as his own Savior. Rarely do I tear in films, but I did in this one!
On June 17, 2017 I will celebrate my FIFTIETH "Alive Day," the fiftieth anniversary of my wounding in Vietnam on June 17, 1967. Rarely does a day go by that I am not triggered in some way with the memories of that day, three days from my 25th birthday. My wounds (as many of you already know) were from a mortar shell landing close behind me and ripping my left leg off below the knee completely and instantly. The right leg, broken in five places, was amputated ten days later. My gracious and loving God did not suffer me to feel the pain originally. I was awake until the medical evacuation helicopter delivered me to the MASH in Pleiku some unknown number of hours later. There were six weeks of morphine every three hours and twenty total surgeries even up into forty years later.
My Lord received no relief from His wounds. His wounds served a purpose for all of us that many do not fathom. The sacrifice on that cross meant that those of us that grasp its significance and believe he was Who He said He was, will have eternal life, when the wounds physically and emotionally and spiritually have taken their toll in our lives. In one of my daily readings reference is made to Psalm 34. In this world strategically with the threat again of possible nuclear attack, terrorist attacks even in our smaller cities, bombings, rampant crime, and the deterioration of morality and integrity, we are beset and besieged with our own personal tactical issues of failing marriages, deteriorating health, failing businesses, and inadequate provision financially. These will not end. It is reality therapy. All we can do is confess our sins, forgive all others, keep in constant prayer and intercession, and be faithful to our beliefs. We must go on with our lives, but love, love, love as Jesus taught us.
A friend of Linda's spoke of a friend who was told she had two months to live. Her friends began the typical responses of regret and sadness. She very dynamically and joyfully proclaimed, "Are you serious? I see Jesus in Heaven in two months!" Who will you see upon your demise?
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Avalon Chronicles #79: "Change, it is a-coming!"
Avalon Chronicles #79: "Change, it is a-coming!"
by Allen B. Clark
allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Several decades ago Gregory Peck portrayed in the movie "MacArthur," General Douglas MacArthur, my childhood hero whom I personally have seen twice. There is a scene in which MacArthur and President Roosevelt in 1943 conferred about the war in the Pacific on a ship somewhere in the Pacific. MacArthur had not been back to the United States, since he had lived in the Philippines from 1935, where he was training their Army. In the course of the conversation the President said to MacArthur, "You ought to come back to the United States. Things are changing." We all recall certain lines or scenes from our favorite movies and this was one indelibly imprinted in my memory. MacArthur replied, "Mr. President, the things I believe in never change!"
In my 75th year I can attest to this belief. This past Saturday night Linda and I attended our alumni annual Founder's Day celebration of West Point, founded March 16, 1802. One of our annual traditions is to hear remarks from both the oldest and youngest graduates present. The contrast in their remarks ranging from 1956 to 2010 was striking. The oldest grad spoken in such a dignified and measured manner pointing out the changes at our Alma Mater, not necessarily decrying any of them, but nevertheless indicating the difficulty as one ages to accept certain "changes." Our eminent speaker spoke of our motto which binds old and new graduates together, "Duty, Honor, Country." That never changes. Many other cultural manifestations change constantly and I remember a pastor one time illustrate the changing mores of the society by way of a frame of behavior that keeps moving over and becoming larger in its negativity and lowering of standards of civility
In Matthew 24:35 (KJV) it is written, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." The words I have attempted mightily to incorporate in my soul and spirit and carry through in thoughts, words, and deeds have not changed. They are in no particular order: to have totally engrafted in me that God created all; that Jesus is He Who came to earth to die for my personal sins and to provide a way for me to achieve eternal life through faith in Him; to verbally articulate this belief appropriately; that the Holy Spirit was gifted to us to indwell us and move us to strength in faith which is followed by good works to serve others; for the Holy Spirit to live in me; to offer constant praise to God; not to accept our culture's non-Christian values; God's word is the power we need for our lives in obedience and changes for the good; I ask the Holy Spirit to change me where needed for adherence to the Gospel message; that I would confess as a sin any resentments held toward others and ask forgiveness.
We just returned from a twelve day trip to Israel and our personal tour guide, Shooki Makovky, gifted me a treasure at his home, where he had invited Linda and me to share Shabat Friday meal with his wife and three daughters. The gift was a copy of the The Stone Edition of the Chumash, the Torah with commentary. The significance of God's word is expressed in the introduction in an anecdote. There is on page xxv a story in a section titled "Indestructible Letters." "When the ancient Romans condemned the Mishnaic sage Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon to death for the 'crime' of teaching the Torah, they wrapped him in a Torah scroll and set him aflame. As his agony reached its climax, his students asked him, 'Rabbi, what do you see?' He answered, 'The parchments are consumed, and the letters fly up [to heaven]'...The letters are eternal for they are the will of the eternal." So too are the words of our Lord in our Bible. They do not change.
I John 3:22 (KJV): " I know that my prayers are answered because I obey His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."
Society, its standards, and Caesar's world may change. These words above I will not change!
by Allen B. Clark
allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Several decades ago Gregory Peck portrayed in the movie "MacArthur," General Douglas MacArthur, my childhood hero whom I personally have seen twice. There is a scene in which MacArthur and President Roosevelt in 1943 conferred about the war in the Pacific on a ship somewhere in the Pacific. MacArthur had not been back to the United States, since he had lived in the Philippines from 1935, where he was training their Army. In the course of the conversation the President said to MacArthur, "You ought to come back to the United States. Things are changing." We all recall certain lines or scenes from our favorite movies and this was one indelibly imprinted in my memory. MacArthur replied, "Mr. President, the things I believe in never change!"
In my 75th year I can attest to this belief. This past Saturday night Linda and I attended our alumni annual Founder's Day celebration of West Point, founded March 16, 1802. One of our annual traditions is to hear remarks from both the oldest and youngest graduates present. The contrast in their remarks ranging from 1956 to 2010 was striking. The oldest grad spoken in such a dignified and measured manner pointing out the changes at our Alma Mater, not necessarily decrying any of them, but nevertheless indicating the difficulty as one ages to accept certain "changes." Our eminent speaker spoke of our motto which binds old and new graduates together, "Duty, Honor, Country." That never changes. Many other cultural manifestations change constantly and I remember a pastor one time illustrate the changing mores of the society by way of a frame of behavior that keeps moving over and becoming larger in its negativity and lowering of standards of civility
In Matthew 24:35 (KJV) it is written, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." The words I have attempted mightily to incorporate in my soul and spirit and carry through in thoughts, words, and deeds have not changed. They are in no particular order: to have totally engrafted in me that God created all; that Jesus is He Who came to earth to die for my personal sins and to provide a way for me to achieve eternal life through faith in Him; to verbally articulate this belief appropriately; that the Holy Spirit was gifted to us to indwell us and move us to strength in faith which is followed by good works to serve others; for the Holy Spirit to live in me; to offer constant praise to God; not to accept our culture's non-Christian values; God's word is the power we need for our lives in obedience and changes for the good; I ask the Holy Spirit to change me where needed for adherence to the Gospel message; that I would confess as a sin any resentments held toward others and ask forgiveness.
We just returned from a twelve day trip to Israel and our personal tour guide, Shooki Makovky, gifted me a treasure at his home, where he had invited Linda and me to share Shabat Friday meal with his wife and three daughters. The gift was a copy of the The Stone Edition of the Chumash, the Torah with commentary. The significance of God's word is expressed in the introduction in an anecdote. There is on page xxv a story in a section titled "Indestructible Letters." "When the ancient Romans condemned the Mishnaic sage Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon to death for the 'crime' of teaching the Torah, they wrapped him in a Torah scroll and set him aflame. As his agony reached its climax, his students asked him, 'Rabbi, what do you see?' He answered, 'The parchments are consumed, and the letters fly up [to heaven]'...The letters are eternal for they are the will of the eternal." So too are the words of our Lord in our Bible. They do not change.
I John 3:22 (KJV): " I know that my prayers are answered because I obey His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."
Society, its standards, and Caesar's world may change. These words above I will not change!
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Avalon Chronicles #78: "To Bind'
Avalon Chronicles #78: "To Bind"
by Allen B. Clark
allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Source: American Dictionary of the English Language
Noah Webster 1828
BIND: "To bind the mind, close, make fast, to oblige by a promise, vow, stipulation, covenant, law, duty or any other moral tie, to constrain by a powerful influence or persuasion." The powerful influence behind the below prayer concept is the Holy Trinity.
Several years ago Linda heard a presentation by a minister by the name of Liberty Savard (http://www.libertysavard.com). I bought and read several of her books, Shattering Your Strongholds, Producing the Promise, and Breaking the Power. I studied all three and the below spiritual concept of "Binding" is derived from her teachings to which she must be given credit. The following is that to which I dedicate and strive mightily to "bind" myself .
I bind myself to the Character and Attributes of God: Righteousness, Holiness, Integrity, and Purity and to the Will, Purposes, Timing and Truth of God.
I bind myself to the Mind of Christ and ask Jesus to impart to me from the Mind of Christ Wisdom, Insight, Discernment, and Knowledge of all things.
I bind myself to Control by the Holy Spirit that I may reflect the Fruit of the Holy Spirit; Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Patience, Gentleness, Goodness, and Kindness. Amen.
by Allen B. Clark
allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Source: American Dictionary of the English Language
Noah Webster 1828
BIND: "To bind the mind, close, make fast, to oblige by a promise, vow, stipulation, covenant, law, duty or any other moral tie, to constrain by a powerful influence or persuasion." The powerful influence behind the below prayer concept is the Holy Trinity.
Several years ago Linda heard a presentation by a minister by the name of Liberty Savard (http://www.libertysavard.com). I bought and read several of her books, Shattering Your Strongholds, Producing the Promise, and Breaking the Power. I studied all three and the below spiritual concept of "Binding" is derived from her teachings to which she must be given credit. The following is that to which I dedicate and strive mightily to "bind" myself .
I bind myself to the Character and Attributes of God: Righteousness, Holiness, Integrity, and Purity and to the Will, Purposes, Timing and Truth of God.
I bind myself to the Mind of Christ and ask Jesus to impart to me from the Mind of Christ Wisdom, Insight, Discernment, and Knowledge of all things.
I bind myself to Control by the Holy Spirit that I may reflect the Fruit of the Holy Spirit; Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Patience, Gentleness, Goodness, and Kindness. Amen.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Avalon Chronicles #77: "The Last Wishes of Alexander the Great"
Avalon Chronicles #77: "The Last Wishes of Alexander the Great"
by Allen B. Clark
allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Linda and I recently returned from an amazing trip to Israel about which I intend to write in my next few Chronicles. While there I avidly read the Jerusalem Post and the Haaretz section of the New York Times. In the Jerusalem Post on Friday Feb. 10, 2017 page 19, I read a fascinating article by Greer Fay Cashman, wherein she quoted from a Rabbi Edward Belfer, his answer to the question of, 'What is the most precious thing that all of us own, sometimes complain about, often give to others with no possibility of getting back and seldom treasure enough?' His answer related to "The last wishes of Alexander the Great."
"On his death bed, Alexander summoned his generals and told them his last three wishes:
1. The best doctors should carry his coffin.
2. The wealth he accumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery.
3. His hands should hang loose outside the coffin for all to see.
One of his generals, surprised by these unusual requests, asked Alexander to explain. Alexander said;
1. I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal.
2. I want the road to be covered with my treasure so everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, will stay on earth.
3. I want my hands to swing in the wind, so people understand that we come to this world empty-handed and leave empty-handed after the most precious treasure of all is exhausted and that is: TIME."
Cashman goes on to quote the Rabbi,
"We take to our grave no material wealth. TIME is our most precious treasure because it is LIMITED. We can produce wealth, but we cannot produce more time. When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we can never take back.
"Our time is our life! The best present that you can give to your family and friends is your TIME. May God grant YOU plenty of TIME to share with all."
My own personal comments relates to the best use of our time is that we share with our spouse and children, giving them our precious time and attention.
Historical note on Alexander and Israel: There are several references to Alexander having completed a successful siege of Gaza and then approaching Jerusalem in 332 B.C. The historian Flavius Josephus wrote that the High Priest Jaddua, met Alexander outside Jerusalem and made an accomodation with him. Alexander's tutor Aristotle had convicted Alexander to favor the Jews. Alexander was very polite to the welcoming party and is said to have said about his respect accorded Jaddua, "I did not adore him, but that God who hath honored him with his high priesthood;..." When the scroll of Daniel's was brought to Alexander's attention indicating a king from Greece would defeat the Persians, Alexander accepted that he was that king and rendered great positive attention to the Jews from then on.
This account renders distinct authenticity to the credibility of the prophecy of Daniel.
by Allen B. Clark
allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Linda and I recently returned from an amazing trip to Israel about which I intend to write in my next few Chronicles. While there I avidly read the Jerusalem Post and the Haaretz section of the New York Times. In the Jerusalem Post on Friday Feb. 10, 2017 page 19, I read a fascinating article by Greer Fay Cashman, wherein she quoted from a Rabbi Edward Belfer, his answer to the question of, 'What is the most precious thing that all of us own, sometimes complain about, often give to others with no possibility of getting back and seldom treasure enough?' His answer related to "The last wishes of Alexander the Great."
"On his death bed, Alexander summoned his generals and told them his last three wishes:
1. The best doctors should carry his coffin.
2. The wealth he accumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery.
3. His hands should hang loose outside the coffin for all to see.
One of his generals, surprised by these unusual requests, asked Alexander to explain. Alexander said;
1. I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal.
2. I want the road to be covered with my treasure so everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth, will stay on earth.
3. I want my hands to swing in the wind, so people understand that we come to this world empty-handed and leave empty-handed after the most precious treasure of all is exhausted and that is: TIME."
Cashman goes on to quote the Rabbi,
"We take to our grave no material wealth. TIME is our most precious treasure because it is LIMITED. We can produce wealth, but we cannot produce more time. When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we can never take back.
"Our time is our life! The best present that you can give to your family and friends is your TIME. May God grant YOU plenty of TIME to share with all."
My own personal comments relates to the best use of our time is that we share with our spouse and children, giving them our precious time and attention.
Historical note on Alexander and Israel: There are several references to Alexander having completed a successful siege of Gaza and then approaching Jerusalem in 332 B.C. The historian Flavius Josephus wrote that the High Priest Jaddua, met Alexander outside Jerusalem and made an accomodation with him. Alexander's tutor Aristotle had convicted Alexander to favor the Jews. Alexander was very polite to the welcoming party and is said to have said about his respect accorded Jaddua, "I did not adore him, but that God who hath honored him with his high priesthood;..." When the scroll of Daniel's was brought to Alexander's attention indicating a king from Greece would defeat the Persians, Alexander accepted that he was that king and rendered great positive attention to the Jews from then on.
This account renders distinct authenticity to the credibility of the prophecy of Daniel.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Avalon Chronicles #76: "How Should We Now Pray?"
by Allen B. Clark
allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
For several decades I have kept a little note book wherein I list my prayers by sections. The first section relates to my prayers in my relationship to the Holy Trinity. What follows are my "Top Ten."
1. To have totally engrafted in me the knowledge that God created ALL things.
2. That Jesus, the Son of God, is He, Who came to earth to die for my personal sins and to show me the way to eternal life through faith in Him, which must be verbally articulated without reservation. Upon this conviction I know I will live on in eternity after earthly death.
3. That the Holy Spirit was given to us all to indwell us and move us to strength in faith, which is to be followed by good works to be a servant of others.
4. Holy Spirit, live in Me.
5. Offer praises to God for His love, grace, blessings, provision, and mercy.
6. For me not to accept our culture's non-Christian values.
7. God's Word is the power I need in obedience for direction and changes in my life. Therefore, I must read and study my Bible, not just give it lip service.
8. I ask the Holy Spirit to change me by faithful adherence to Jesus' Gospel message.
9. That daily I would audit and confess my sins of thought, word, and deed (known and unknown) to include any resentments held toward others (which includes forgiveness), because according to 1 John 3:22, I know that my prayers are answered because I obey his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
10. I give up constant recollection of past faults and I forgive myself for even my "stupids."
allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
For several decades I have kept a little note book wherein I list my prayers by sections. The first section relates to my prayers in my relationship to the Holy Trinity. What follows are my "Top Ten."
1. To have totally engrafted in me the knowledge that God created ALL things.
2. That Jesus, the Son of God, is He, Who came to earth to die for my personal sins and to show me the way to eternal life through faith in Him, which must be verbally articulated without reservation. Upon this conviction I know I will live on in eternity after earthly death.
3. That the Holy Spirit was given to us all to indwell us and move us to strength in faith, which is to be followed by good works to be a servant of others.
4. Holy Spirit, live in Me.
5. Offer praises to God for His love, grace, blessings, provision, and mercy.
6. For me not to accept our culture's non-Christian values.
7. God's Word is the power I need in obedience for direction and changes in my life. Therefore, I must read and study my Bible, not just give it lip service.
8. I ask the Holy Spirit to change me by faithful adherence to Jesus' Gospel message.
9. That daily I would audit and confess my sins of thought, word, and deed (known and unknown) to include any resentments held toward others (which includes forgiveness), because according to 1 John 3:22, I know that my prayers are answered because I obey his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
10. I give up constant recollection of past faults and I forgive myself for even my "stupids."
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Avalon Chronicles #75: "The Final Victory"
by Allen B. Clark
allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Last night my dream related to a football game at the end of the third quarter in which my team (be it Army or whatever) was winning by a wide margin, but, abnormally, the teams were in the locker room before coming out for the final quarter. There was a long break. I thought perhaps the losing team might just not come out to finish the game since they were so far behind. Then the contest began anew. Upon my awakening I pondered over the significance, if any, of the dream. The vision of its meaning was twofold, one strategic, and secondly, tactical, in keeping with my military background.
Strategically, it relates to the the message of Jesus, which He brought in to the world to unshackle humanity from the chains of human history for the years to come. Linda and I have been viewing a movie series titled Empires such as Roman, Grecian, Egyptian, Hebraic, Medici of Florence, and the Protestant Reformation under Martin Luther. We have been educated and informed relative to the downtrodden masses in history, the serfs, slaves, and the lower classes, dominated secularly by the rich and elites in constant warfare. It relates in the spiritual realm to the exploited and tyrannized individuals overcome and obsessed by the demonic world of Satan, the protagonist of our Lord. The fourth and final quarter will see the opposing team, led by the devil, back on the field in their effort, loyal forever to their evil game plan. The fourth quarter may be the final opportunity for Christianity with its precepts of love, caring, hope, and unmerited favor for all, to blossom forth and make a final effort (which will ultimately be totally successful) to vanquish the opponent's evil and to prosper the souls of mankind with a new dimension of strength of the spirit, which pours over to a strengthening of the soul (our mind, emotions, and will) just as do iron rods embedded in concrete strengthen the substance.
In tactical terms in my seventy fifth year I look at the dream personally as relating to my responsibility and privilege in my twilight years (my fourth quarter) to continue my personal efforts to finish strong in the most important endeavor of my life, which is to extend whatever wisdom, insight, and discernment, with which I have been imbued, to others boldly, but, not bombastically, so they may be introduced at the end game of life, when the scoreboard flashes "Victory," that we have held on to our lead with our victory reflected in the exultation of the joy and expectation of our eternity in Heaven, our final residence.
allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Last night my dream related to a football game at the end of the third quarter in which my team (be it Army or whatever) was winning by a wide margin, but, abnormally, the teams were in the locker room before coming out for the final quarter. There was a long break. I thought perhaps the losing team might just not come out to finish the game since they were so far behind. Then the contest began anew. Upon my awakening I pondered over the significance, if any, of the dream. The vision of its meaning was twofold, one strategic, and secondly, tactical, in keeping with my military background.
Strategically, it relates to the the message of Jesus, which He brought in to the world to unshackle humanity from the chains of human history for the years to come. Linda and I have been viewing a movie series titled Empires such as Roman, Grecian, Egyptian, Hebraic, Medici of Florence, and the Protestant Reformation under Martin Luther. We have been educated and informed relative to the downtrodden masses in history, the serfs, slaves, and the lower classes, dominated secularly by the rich and elites in constant warfare. It relates in the spiritual realm to the exploited and tyrannized individuals overcome and obsessed by the demonic world of Satan, the protagonist of our Lord. The fourth and final quarter will see the opposing team, led by the devil, back on the field in their effort, loyal forever to their evil game plan. The fourth quarter may be the final opportunity for Christianity with its precepts of love, caring, hope, and unmerited favor for all, to blossom forth and make a final effort (which will ultimately be totally successful) to vanquish the opponent's evil and to prosper the souls of mankind with a new dimension of strength of the spirit, which pours over to a strengthening of the soul (our mind, emotions, and will) just as do iron rods embedded in concrete strengthen the substance.
In tactical terms in my seventy fifth year I look at the dream personally as relating to my responsibility and privilege in my twilight years (my fourth quarter) to continue my personal efforts to finish strong in the most important endeavor of my life, which is to extend whatever wisdom, insight, and discernment, with which I have been imbued, to others boldly, but, not bombastically, so they may be introduced at the end game of life, when the scoreboard flashes "Victory," that we have held on to our lead with our victory reflected in the exultation of the joy and expectation of our eternity in Heaven, our final residence.
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