Category: 100 Years of Memories

It is said that 700 million* people worship Him.

Charles Lamb wrote: “If all the illustrious men in history were gathered together and Shakespeare should enter their presence, they would rise to do his honour; but if Jesus Christ should come in, they would all bow down and worship Him.”

Napoleon said of Jesus, “I know men, and I tell you, Jesus is more than a man. Comparison is impossible between Him and any other human being who ever lived because He was the Son of God.” He said, “I think I understand somewhat of human nature, and I tell you all these (the heroes of antiquity) were men, and I am a man, but not one is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than a man. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I founded great empires, but upon what did the creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions would die for Him.”

“Now let us notice Christ’s birth,” Billy Graham said, “When God became man, it was not an ordinary birth. Consider the star, the shepherds hearing the angelic chorus, the magi, the angel speaking to the virgin Mary and later to Joseph. The very birth of Jesus indicates that He could not have been a mere man.”

The Apostle Peter inspired of the Holy Ghost said, “We believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (John 6:69)

The Apostle Thomas bowed his knees at Jesus’ feet and confessed, “My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28) A Hebrew, knowing the Holy Scriptures that states “For the LORD your God is God of gods, and LORD of lords, a great GOD, a mighty and terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.” He was rendering intelligent worship unto the One who alone was worthy of it.

Paul, an even more intense student of the inspired Scriptures, states of our Lord Jesus Christ, “…in his times he shall shew who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, the Lord of lords.” (1Timothy 6:15)

Paul’s mind would be well versed in Zechariah 14 where it states that “the LORD (shall) go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee…And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.” (Zechariah 14:3-5, 9)

“This is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” (John 4:42)

We shall worship Him as the wise men of old. We shall give Him glory and honour due His Holy Name. “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2:13)

Jesus, you are my Lord.

_{*It’s interesting to note, that today, 2.5 billion people are said to be Christians.}

Worship

Almost 20 centuries ago the wise men led by a heavenly star, came to Jerusalem to worship Christ! They travelled on camels and arrived about two years after the birth of the child. They came to bow down and adore the “Messiah,” who was promised centuries ago.

Who would even imagine that any would travel that far from the western hemisphere to just worship Christ? Some perhaps would come to critically analyze this strange scene, as it affords amazing news for the curious crowd of the radio, TV, and newspaper audience.

These wise men came to worship. Oh, that this would be the driving force within our hearts this Christmas. Just to set aside the pagan customs of empty celebrations, and worship Christ, in spirit and in truth. Wise men still worship today and make Christ the Lord of their life.

“And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him…”

Matthew 2:11

They recognized the Deity of Christ, as Emmanuel, God with us, yes, God “veiled in human flesh!” May we too pause this Christmas to give our Lord humble homage and extol Him as the royal King, the Prophet, and Redeemer!

Christmas is a time for Worship! It’s not a time for revelry and commercialism, but a joyful moment to make our family reunions centered around Christ the Lord, who deserves our heartfelt worship.

Giving

The wise men did not come to receive, they came to give. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh they laid at the Christ-child’s feet. Typically, speaking of his threefold ministry they recognized Him. Gold speaks of His royalty; frankincense of his Prophetic ministry and myrrh of his Redemption.

Let us, first give ourselves to Him, who gave Himself for us, and then lay voluntarily at his feet our tithes, offerings, and wave offerings. In His name, let us make an investment to assist in snatching souls from darkness into the kingdom of Light.

I think of the Christians, this Christmas, behind the iron curtain, in prisons, and others in lands of poverty, where they are enslaved by communism. May our giving be merciful in the name of Jesus to His eternal glory. My fellow Christian, have you given Christ as a gift? If not, it’s not too late—do it now!

Missions

The shepherds “when they had seen it (the child), they make known abroad the saying which was told them concerning the child.”

Luke 2:17

This has always been the task of the church. We must tell the story of redemption! Evangelization is the urgency of the hour and is the only reason of our existence as a church of Jesus Christ. This past year I have spent almost nine months on foreign fields, together with our missionaries sharing the gospel of Christ.

Christmas reminds us of the first “Mission” from Heaven. The father sent His only begotten Son to seek and to save that which was lost. Tell someone about Christ in your gatherings. Make this season a time of joyful sharing of Christ with others.

A little boy asked me what my profession was, as I was lying next to his bed in the hospital. I answered, “I’m a missionary.” “What is a missionary?”, he asked. I said, “Someone that tells people about Jesus.”

That night when his parents came to visit him, he asked them if they know what a missionary was. They answered, “we do not know.” The boy replied, “The man in the next bed is a missionary because he is one who tells people about Jesus.”

That night I heard that little boy present the gospel of Christ to his Dad and Mom, the way I could never have presented. Yes, even a little child has a missionary message at Christmas. May we tell the story on the mountain, in the valley, in Africa, America, Japan, the islands of the sea, yes, to every creature and our neighbours!

Don’t allow the Christmas festivity to rob you of the joy of “Missions,” to a dying world. The wise men returned another way after they had worshipped and given their gifts (Matthew 2:12) and joyfully shared the message to their own people.

Worship! Give! Go! This Christmas!

The birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, Judea, was the greatest scene this world has ever experienced. It altered the course of history and can change the course of your life as well. At Bethlehem, God gave His only Son to be the answer for every need and desire of the human heart.

The first silent night was charged with action as celestial messengers from another world carried out their assignments in preparing for the spectacular happening that would change the world.

Ignoring the kings in the plush palaces, the Pharisees in their pious prayers, they announced the birth of the world’s Saviour to common shepherds reclining beside their open fires on the Judean hillside. “There has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”

The message of the Christmas scene contradicts all who would declare that God if He exists at all, has turned a deaf ear and an empty hand to the painful plight of man today. The christ child of Bethlehem’s manger tells the world loud and clear that God has heard the cry of every lonely and perplexed soul.

That prisoner pacing his cell on death row receives the joyous news; “There has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” Jesus gives him the opportunity to begin life anew—eternal life in glory.

The young girl lying in her hospital bed with cancer writing “finished” to her life’s dreams and ambitions finds new hope, new life, as she too hears the message “There has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”

In an east-end rooming house of a prairie city, there is a small dingy and dirty basement room. A seventeen-year-old high school dropout is lying on a mangled mattress. He is a slave of drugs. Soon his master will compel him to leave the meager shelter of his room to get another fix.

He will go, he lacks the power to say no. His future, his world lies shattered and broken around him, until he hears the message of the angels. “There has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” In Jesus he finds forgiveness, and power beyond himself to be freed from his slavery to habits. Free to live again!

In a university library across town, a first-year art student’s mind strays from his textbook. There is a driving demand in his soul to find answers to life—his life. His studies are failing to answer the reason and purpose of life, why he is a living being, why he is in this university studying…studying and preparing for what?

Next birthday he will be twenty. No longer a teen-ager. An adult, expected to take his place in an adult world. A world that to him is shrouded in a fog the leaves values vaguely defined, obscures goals giving him the feeling of being detached from reality.

Life seems a mockery, with himself the object of a cruel joke. But light dawns over his soul, the fog is pushed back and a new horizon appears with the massage from a higher dimension, from God who knows and cares about his plight. “There has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”

The message of the manger is the good news that there is a God who knows and cares for all mankind. He cares for you. God so loved you, no matter where you are, what you are, or what you have done; that He gave His only begotten Son to be your Saviour so that you might have life and have it more abundantly. Jesus is declared by God to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life—to all who will come to Him. O come, let us adore Him!

He’s the Saviour of your soul!

The late Donald Grey Barnhouse, formerly editor-in-chief of the magazine “Eternity,” said, “If anyone should ask him—What man, in your opinion illustrates most dynamically the power of God to transform a human being,” he would reply John Newton.

That takes me back in memory many years ago to Los Angeles, California, to a trailer behind a large tabernacle where I was conducting a campaign. I was quite weary and went back to the house trailer to rest. It was late at night and I turned on the radio, and from out of the darkness a voice came announcing the singer as the “girl with the singing heart.”

She sang beautifully “amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” Then as the sound died on the air, she began to tell the story of a sin-stained slave trader…

A mother dying with T.B. knowing that she had not long to live, poured out her life on her only boy, praying with him and teaching him the scripture.

When he was 7 years old his mother died. Later his father remarried, and neither had any use for God, so the lad grew into a life of degradation and sin.

He was dismissed from the Navy—publicly whipped and degraded. He went into the slave trade and having fallen off the ship he was delivered from the sharks by a harpoon in the haunch.

After another terrible and violent storm at sea, battling all night at the pumps, he said to the captain, who was a Christian, “If that won’t do then God have mercy on us.”

He afterward gave his heart to the Lord and was destined to become associated with the poet William Cowper. The two of them were to give to the world some of its most precious hymns…

Over 80 years old on his death bed he composed his own epitaph: “John Newton—Once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was by the rich mercy of God preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith that he had long laboured to destroy.”

He left behind a most wonderful testimony to his conception of the Godhead of our Lord Jesus:

“Laboured applications of the Trinity I always avoid. I am afraid of darkening counsel without knowledge.

Scripture and even reason assured me that there is but One God, whose name alone is Jehovah. Scripture likewise assures me that Christ is God, that Jesus is Jehovah. I cannot say that reason assents with equal readiness to this proposition as to the former, but admitting what the scripture teaches concerning the evil of sin, the depravity of human nature, the method of salvation, and the offices of the Saviour.

Admitting that God has purposed to glorify not His mercy only, but His justice in the work of redemption, that the blood upon the cross is a proper adequate satisfaction for sin, that the Redeemer is at present the Shepherd of those who believe in Him, and will hereafter be the Judge of the world, that in order to give the effectual help that we need, it is necessary that He be always intimately with those who trust in Him.

In every age, in every place, that He must know the thoughts and intents of every heart, that He must have His eye always upon them, His ear ever open to them, that His arm is always stretched out for their relief, that they can receive nothing but what He bestows, can do nothing but what He enables them, nor stand a moment but as He upholds them.”

Admitting these and the like promises with which the Word of God abounds, reason must allow whatever difficulties may attend the thought, that only He who is God over all blessed forever is able or worthy execute this complicated plan, only part of which requires the exertion of infinite wisdom and Almighty power.

Nor am I able to form any clear satisfactory thoughts of God, suited to awaken my love and engage my trust, but as He has been pleased to reveal Himself in the person fo Jesus Christ.

I believe with the Apostle, that God was once manifest in the flesh upon the earth, and that He is now manifest in the flesh in heaven, and that the worship, not only of redeemed sinners, but of the holy angels is addressed to the Lamb that was slain, who in that nature in which He suffered, now exercises universal dominion, and has the government of heaven, earth, and hell upon His shoulder.

This truth is the foundation upon which my hope is built, the foundation from which I derive all my strenth and consolation, and my only encouragement for venturing to the throne of grace, for grace to help in time of need.

Till God in human flesh I see, my thoughts no comfort find. The holy, just, and sacred three are terrors to my mind. But if Immanuel’s face appears, my hope, my joy begins. His name forbids my slavish fear, His grace removes my sins.”

I am well satisfied that it will not be a burden to me in the hour of death, nor be laid to my charge at the day of judgment, that I have thought too highly of Jesus, expected too much of Him myself, or laboured too much in commending and setting Him forth to others as the Alpha and Omega—The True God and Eternal Life.”

—John Newton

When this grand old man of God died, London went into mourning. Parliament suspended sessions, magistrates closed the courts, all shops were closed, and thousands lined the streets as the body of John Newton was carried to the grave. Thank God for his wonderful testimony to the Lord Jesus “The True God and Eternal Life” (1 John 5:20).

Rev. R. E. S. Toms, a well-known minister within our Fellowship, was saved over sixty years ago and brought up under Plymouth Brethren teaching in Redhill, Surrey, England. He received his baptism in the Holy Spirit in 1922 during the Old Knox Church Revival in Winnipeg. In 1930, Brother Toms launched into the ministry of evangelism on the Canadian prairies for two years. He become pastor of the Saskatoon Apostolic Church in 1932, where over 200 people were baptized in the Holy Spirit during the first winter, followed by many years of continuous revival with services conducted every night.

It was during his fourteen years in Saskatoon that he conducted a radio program over CFQC with the well-known theme song, “He’s Coming Soon.” He co-sponsored with the late Rev. E. W. Storie and Rev. R. Dawson, the Prairie Apostolic Bible Institute, and was its first and last principal. Brother Toms then spent six years of ministry in the United States as well as Europe, returning to Canada to pastor the Apostolic Church in Victoria for ten years. He is still active where there is an open door for ministry…

We turned the curve in the road and stopped for the night in the drizzling rain. It was not a time to rest though, as we stumbled into the darkness of the night, down muddy unlit streets, through the tall wet grass with not much to go by but the pitch blackness ahead. As the odd car or truck would pass on the nearby road, we squatted in the ditch or stood erect behind one of the tall trees that lined the way. We were in Russia.

The realism of it all was not far away as we huddled for a minute holding tight the parcels of Bibles, concordances, and hymn books under our arms to protect them from the dampness.

It was nothing less than the hand of God that had helped us keep them from the eyes of the thorough customs officials. They are usually very careful about even letting one take in their personal Bible and contrary to their own regulations will even confiscate that. God has been good.

We now reached the house that was in darkness and in order to make sure it was the right one, I climbed up on the fence so as to bring my face within inches of the house number.

We had the right number and soon after arousing our brother, we were embraced with warm hugs and kisses of welcome. As joy flooded the face of our brother, there was nothing to show that this precious brother, washed in His blood, baptized in Jesus’ Name, filled with the Holy Ghost, and a father of four, had spent nine years of his young life in prison for his faith in Christ. This brought the life of the Christians in the book of Acts into a new dimension in my life.

We spent a wonderful time of fellowship together and the moments in which we watched the family gather around, opening the parcels which we had brought was very moving. Eyes filled with tears, they wanted to thank us and share with us some of their meager earnings. But on replying to them that it was a gift from God, brother Vlatimer turned his eyes toward heaven and thanked God.

Sometimes these saints meet, several hundred together at a time, in the woods, in homes, and in various places of secret to be able to worship. Bibles are few and many hymn books are written by hand.

One elderly sister once sat across from me and told me how he had prayed for years for a new Bible—hers was worn out completely and many pages were missing. I had only one left which I was using and how I wanted to give it to her, but restrained, because in the same service I knew of a young convert that had just started a walk of faith amidst the mountains of atheism in her country—she had no Bible. After service, we called her aside and slipped the Bible into her hands.

I think of others of our Jesus’ Name brothers and sisters that need help and encouragement, Bibles, and booklets to work with. A concordance is a treasured prize and many have given a month’s wage to get a Bible when the exceptional opportunity would present itself.

There is Brother Ivan who lives near the Black Sea, Brother Alexander in the north near Leningrad, Brother Ivan S. in the center of the country, who pastors many hundreds under extreme conditions and represents the needs of many thousands more.

Then there are brothers in the other Iron Curtain countries, Brother Richard near Warsaw, brothers in Romania and Czechoslovakia. I think especially about our Brother E. who had been under much pressure and finally last summer his church was surrounded by police during a service.

After many hours of questioning and searching each one there, all Bibles, hymn books, spiritual pictures, and even a typewriter, tape player, and cassettes were confiscated. Brother E. was led off to prison.

He was treated like a common criminal, made to wear handcuffs—even at his trial, which was very short. The lawyer representing him did nothing to defend him—nor was he himself allowed to say anything.

Word has been received that Brother E. has just been released a very short time ago. The road for him will not be an easy one nor will it be for the several other groups in the area that continue to meet in secret.

Although all are not faced with prison as some are, the system they live under keeps them (at all times in a “disguised” prison) in which they have very limited religious freedom. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 25:36, “I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” It is our duty to go to them in prayers and in every way possible.

Several thousand Bibles, New Testaments, concordances, and pieces of literature have been received by these needy and hungry hearts. They are to give away to new believers and to the unsaved.

As several hundred of these have already reached their destination it is hard for us to imagine what it is for them to receive a booklet of this type printed in their own language. This literature is also being translated and printed into other languages. Yet, this is all very little compared to the need there is to be met.

These are brothers and sisters intimate to us! Let us work together with them so that in turn they may win their fellow countrymen to the Lord.

Many of the rural communities, as well as the urban centres, have erected a cenotaph in honour of those who laid down their lives in the wars past.

Often I was involved in Memorial Day services when war veterans would display their medals and march to the cenotaph to honour their colleagues and buddies.

On the prairies, the cold north-west wind would almost make outside services impossible, but those who were in the services could not retreat to a warmer surrounding. The dedication of the soldier and the call of duty did not make provisions for physical comfort or ease.

Each year on the 11th of November we pause to remember those who died in the wars since 1914. We also remember the members of families who are yet with us and say, thank you, for the great price that was paid so that we might live in a measure of peace and safety.

According to a recent publication, our Canadian Forces have been on ‘Peacekeeping duty’ for almost four decades. At the present time, a contingent of troops in the Persian Gulf are hoping that the eight-year war between Iraq and Iran will be halted. Our sincere thanks to those in our Armed Forces who are willing to serve in this capacity.

Wars seem so cruel, so senseless, there is such a waste of property and human lives. It is true that material things can be replaced, oftentimes at great cost, but what about the lives that are lost. They cannot be replaced, neither do the wounds of sorrow heal quickly.

It seems we have made so many advances in the scientific field, yet the human heart, whether educated or not, has a deep-rooted problem that is not changed by secular education.

Why are there wars? Where do they start? What can be done to stop them?

The Bible provides some answers in James 4:1-3. Wars are the external result of an inner conflict and struggle within the heart of man. The root cause of war is covetousness and the root cause of covetousness is sin.

Sin and rebellion against God often finds us lashing out against our fellowman. Often people will endeavor to blame God for wars, but few of us heed the Scripture when it says, “Thou shalt not covet.”

The truth of the matter is this. God, who knows the heart of man, sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to this world to die. He gave His own life to redeem and ransom us from sin and the enslavement to the ways of sin.

The greatest battle ever waged was both physical and spiritual. Jesus was willing and able to meet Satan, who really is the author of covetousness, sin, hatred, misery, and rebellion.

Jesus not only lived in our world facing all of the temptations and struggles we face but never once did He succumb to the tempter’s power. He lived righteously and Godly in our world. He died without having sinned or fallen victim to Satan’s power. He was a Good Soldier.

Just like our Nation pauses on November 11th to honour those who gave their lives so that we can continue to live in peace, so the Christian Church fondly remembers the One who died on the centre cross to purchase peace for us. Jesus died in battle, but He rose in Victory on Easter Sunday morning. Today He is alive. He now sits upon the throne of this Universe. He can also rule in the throne room of your heart if you will invite Him to be Lord in your life.

This Jesus is not only a loyal friend and true Saviour in times of peace and good health but will make you a partaker of His divine nature and allow you to enjoy His peace in your heart and life on a day-to-day basis, regardless of the circumstances.

As you remember those who have fallen, allow your thoughts to turn towards Jesus, who also died, but is alive to make intercession for you.

God Bless you.