More than likely most people have heard of Iran and the Nuclear threats being levied from their leadership. I have a friend who knows quite a lot about Middle Eastern affairs and especially that which concerns Israel. The talk for a while was that Israel would be sanctioned to go in with their Jet Fighters and blow up the nuclear reactor. The Saudi's are just as afraid of a nuclear Iran as anyone because of the imminent threat of take-over by the Iranian Regiem. They had (behind the scenes) made provision to allow Israel to fly across their airspace and destroy Iran's Nuclear capabilites.
This week a news report came that a mean virus had been loosed into the infrastructure of Iran and especially against the control systems for their nuclear capabilities. This virus only seeks out and disables (to what extent I do not know) the controls made by Siemen Corp which supplied the technology to Iran. My reports are that this virus seeks out special parts and either destroys or badly disables the controls thus disabeling their capablilites.
I am pretty sure that a joint effort by the US and Israel are probably at the forefront in protecting other nations and people from a nuclear holocost. When I saw the report I said to myself "what a bomb and nobody got hurt".
Iran will not stop their efforts to destroy Israel because scripture tells us that the day will come when they go up on the Pleasant Land to take a spoil and destroy the nation of Israel. It won't happen because God says it won't happen. Israel is home but not without great sacrifice and suffering. When Iran goes in mass to destroy Israel God will stand up and say this is enough. At that time He will come with the saints of God and fight the "battle of Armageddon" which will then usher in peace for 1,000 years at which time the battle God and Magog will be fought and all evil will be put down forever. Hallalujah!
When you see these things come to pass "look up."

God bless you today

Pastor Rose

Hope

Hope is a wonderful thing especially when we are assured that the answer is certified. We have hope in Christ Jesus and he has certified His intent by dying upon the cross after being rejected and crucified by mankind. In Him we have hope because He did everything necessary for each of us to reach the eternal state where godliness prevails for eternity. Have we taken the time to think about the eternal perfect state of all those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Upon our death (physical) life (spiritual) is secured in completion of the life that reigns in the heart of those who have asked Jesus to forgive their sins and come and abide in us. What a hope we have as we live in what seems to be a hopeless world. Into this chaos Jesus came to insure the hope for all who believe and call upon His name. Arm yourselves with hope in Christ and you will do great things while here on earth and receive great things when you reach heaven.
See you in church tomorrow.

WLR

Faith

Hebrews 11 gives us the awe inspiring effects of faith as well as the dread effects of faith. Regardless of the outcome God declares that He rewards faith. There is a whole litany of adjectives that describe the faith of our predecessors. I encourage you to take a long look into Hebrews Eleven and look for these descriptions of faith. Subdued, worked, obtained, stopped, quenched, escaped, out of weakness made strong, valiant, turned, received, tortured, not accepting, that they might, mockings and scourgings, chains and imprisonment, stoned sawn, tempted, slain, wandered, destitute, afflicted, tormented -- of whom the world was not worthy.
They wandered in deserts, mountains, dens and caves. And all these obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise (in their lifetime).
The foundation of faith means to me that we stand in and for God regardless of the circumstances of life. We should not get caught up in the faith that the only thing it does for us is relieve us from any pain. Faith does bring great and wonderful things from God. Faith also stands when we don't know everything that God is doing through our lives. "In" all things give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.
Having spent a little less than 40 years in ministry my faith is valuable in the good times and equally valuable in times when this faith is tested. The Apostle Paul declared that his fullness and his lack didn't make any difference to his faith. He said these famous words: "None of these things move me nor do I count my life dear unto myself."
Let us serve God and try not to complain therefore God who sees in secret may come and bless you in openness.
God bless your day.

Walter Rose
Pastor

Living With Purpose

Jesus has put each of us into the world and given us purpose. This purpose must be pursued and developed in our lives. The only way we can truly find God's purpose is of course through God. He has declared that the things of the spirit are spiritually discerned. Therefore we must follow in the Word and Spirit of God thereby finding and developing our purpose. Look around! Many have lost their way and have made shipwreck of their lives. Some have denied God's purpose all the while seeking their own purpose and have fleeting success. Others have seemingly lost their lives for Christ and have found it through purpose and the success of helping others along the way of salvation through Jesus Christ. The things of this world may be nice and allurign however the things of God are found and guarded sometimes with peril to our lives. The reason is the battle for good and evil, life and death. Life is from Christ; death is from Satan. Therefore the battle for primacy rages until at last evil shall be put down and finally completely done away.
Keep your purpose and hold on to the restraint of God and purpose and you will find yourselves in great shape and increasingly so.
God bless your day and may you find your purpose.

Walter Rose
Pastor

When Life Gets Tough

Most of you will identify with having or having had tough times or situations. I think this is something that is common to all humanity. Into this scene of difficulty Jesus came as a "root out of dry ground" to minister to everyone who will allow Him into their lives. I struggled with this theme for some years until I finally found the answer to this "root out of dry ground."

What it means to me is that Jesus came into a very dry, desperate world where spiritual growth and life was in a very dry, almost untenable state. Into this dry world where there had been no prophet to speak for God for some three to four hundred years Jesus came. In other words God sent Him into the most unlikely place and time because hard times seems to waken many to the reality that there must be more than what they are seeing, feeling or experiencing. Jesus then brought life into this dry situation where he left the message and task to the twelve plus the many disciples who would follow and grow in places that were dry where life would then spring forth with vigor despite the situation.

Do you see where We are going today? You may be in a most desperate, dry and seeming hopeless situation yet God is not hindered by these situations as He has no hindrance other than our own refusal to believe and submit to Him. God came into my life in a most desperate time and has done nothing less than a miracle for these last fourty-four years. Our dry, desperate situation is no hindrance to the living God who will be glorified as your needs are met.

Put your faith and trust in God and He will meet your need.

Walter L. Rose
Pastor

Personal Giftings from God

I have been doing a little study concerning Gift-Oriented Ministry in the church. I am looking at the fact that God gives gifts to men and women. When used and infused by the power of the Holy Spirit these gifts then are able to produce the desired effect God wants. If you have any thoughts please make comments and I will take note of them. It is important that the church be a cohesive, working unit as described by the human body in Romans 12. Paul declares that each of us differ according to the grace God gives us and we are to use these gifts for His glory. I am convinced that the body is just that a body i.e a complete body, not just a hand or foot of the body. Pray that there will be active participation by all members thereby fulfilling the plan and purpose of God. God bless each of you.

Involvement In Ministry

I share with you today a dilemma that many go through while finding their way on the journey of life. The nature of life is built around the facts in getting and giving. Some naturally find it easy to pass on what they are and have while others struggle deeply in these areas. This is not uncommon. The great example of getting and giving is in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is God and yet He is man. He gave up His heavenly status for the express purpose of giving His everything for you and me. The nature of man struggles in the giving aspects of life. Mainly we do this because we struggle so much in getting. No matter what you are or have we largely were required to develop or allow God to develop many things in our lives. He calls on us to take but not to keep strictly for ourselves. In doing what God ask us to do we then do not become stricly self centered. As we learn the act and art of giving it frees our lives in areas that give us joy and peace in life. The truly satisfied are those who have given and made a difference in the lives of one or many. Jesus said that even a cup of water will be remembered when we come into His presence on the great day of the Lord. Involvement in ministry has a way of releasing selfishness from our lives. On the other hand the call of ministry may reveal the selfishness of our lives if we keep self for ourselves. How do we involve ourselves in ministry? Follow the steps of Jesus and decide that life is too short to waste it entirely upon ourselves.