News you won't see in controlled mainstream media.

Surrender ~

'One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.'

---Jim Elliot
Missionary/Martyr/Auca Indians

Surrender --

"I became my own only when I gave myself to Another."

--C. S. Lewis

-SURRENDER ~~

-'ONE PERSON WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE'
-By: David R. Barnhart

On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The Civil War cost the divided nation a staggering 620,000 lives, with more than 1,200,000 wounded. Nearly every home in American was impacted by the war in one way or another.

Following his surrender at Appomattox, General Lee mounted his trusty steed Traveler and went to Richmond to be with his wife who was very ill. On arrival in Richmond, Lee commented, "I am homeless- I have nothing on earth."

Much of the South lay in ruins following the war, including the city of Richmond. Even so, the congregation at St. Paul's Episcopal Church gathered for worship on a Sunday morning in May 1865. In the gallery of the church sat several dozen blacks whose newly won freedom was now assured. The service proceeded in the customary manner until the Pastor at St. Paul's, Reverend Charles Minnergerode, offered Holy Communion to the assembled. The first person who went forward to receive Communion was a black man from the gallery. Blacks were regularly communed at St Paul's but only after all the whites had been served.

The congregation, filled with Richmond's elite, was stunned by such a breach of conduct, and none more so than Reverend Minnergerode who seemed immobilized for a time. The black man remained kneeling alone at the altar for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the tension in the congreatation was broken when a distinguished white man walked forward and knelt beside the lone communicant. That man was General Robert E. Lee. Soon, other memebers of the church took their places at the altar rail. The crisis passed, thanks to the actions of one man who sought in a difficult moment of time to make a difference.

For over a hundred years after the Civil War, racial prejudice existed not only in the southern states but in the northern states as well. The same racist attitude also prevailed throughout much of the nation against Jews who were just as restricted as the blacks over where they could live and what organizations they could join. Thankfully, such reprehensible practices have greatly faded within our society, but not without the courage of those who saw a wrong and bravely sought to right it. Standing for right when wrong is popular still marks the difference between those who acquire and practice values from their culture and those whose acquire and practice their values from the Word of God.
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-WILL WE BELIEVE JESUS AND HIS WORD, OR WILL WE CONTINUE TO FLATTER OURSELVES?
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-By Grace: A Great Savior !
-Isaiah 64:1-12; Romans 3:9-26

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." (ISAIAH 64:6)

A recent George Barna poll revealed that a great preponderance of evangelical Christians believe that people are basically good. Of course, that sentiment is popular because it is noncontroversial. Everyone can agree to it! Well, not everyone. God's Word is diametrically opposed to the notion of man's basic goodness. Over and over in Scripture we read who our Creator says we are. Look at Psalms 5:9, 10:7, 14:1-3, 36:1, 90:5-6 and 140:3. Even our Lord calls His own disciples "evil" in Matthew 7:11!

Think about it. If people are "good," they don't need a Savior. If people are "basically good" they don't need much of a Savior. But if you and I are evil, and not "good" at all, we need a great Savior!

In other words, the greater the need, the greater the salvation. The greater the glory of God! Jesus spoke to a certain ruler in Luke 18:19, "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "no one is good--except God alone."

Will we believe Jesus and His Word, or will we continue to flatter ourselves?

---Most wrong-headed theology is caused by a wrongful "anthropology."

Know who you are; you'll understand more what God has done for you in Christ.

--Haven Today

-By Grace: A Sure Salvation
-Isaiah 25:1-9; 26:19; Ephesians 2:8-9

"In that day they will say, 'Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.'"
--(Isaiah 25:9)

A student was walking across the campus one day. Another student approached him and asked, "Brother, are you saved?" He replied, "Saved from what?"

Salvation can mean many things. The Hebrews were saved from their enemies. We might think of being saved from a burning building, or from some other danger. But when the Bible speaks of salvation, its ultimate meaning is in verse 8: "[God] will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears fom all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken."

Eternal life was a concept spoken of rarely in the Old Testament. In Jesus' day, the Pharisees believed in life after death, but their counterparts, the Sadducees, did not. The problem was that the Pharisees thought that righteousness came by keeping the Law of Moses, and placed a heavy load on those they taught.

But these verses are clear. God's salvation is a free gift of grace, through faith--trust--in the One who speaks only truth, JESUS.---
Don't be deceived by those who teach that we must add something to what God has already done in Christ. Trust Christ Alone.

--Haven Today