Pen of Iron

By the grace of God I am safely back in Montreal. Hats down to the captain who lighted the Boeing 777 like a feather on the Pierre Trudeau tarmac. When the aircraft touched down it was the smoothest landing I have been in. As we were approaching the airport I had been praying asking the Lord to take control of the aircraft. I did not hear it when the Captain engaged the landing gear and as we touched down on the runway you would have thought we were still airborne. Praise be to God who heard my prayers and he is a Captain like none other. Soon I will post my experiences in the land of Egypt which did not pass by without tasting a bit of the curse of the Pharoahs. Praise be to God for keeping his children and bringing me back home to my family, both at home and at church.

Posted by Consecrated at 3:38 AM | 2 comments    

Greetings to all the brothers and sisters in Christ. As I read this passage this morning, I stopped at length when I read the character details given about a certain man whom the Bible said was MIGHTY in the scriptures. I don't think I have read as many descriptions about any one man as far as the knowledge of the scriptures are concerned as this passage contains. I have highlighted in bold all the adjectives and adverbs employed by the Holy Spirit, and I ask myself were someone to describe me as a Christian would I fit some (let alone all) of what you see below? Do I know the scriptures more perfectly? Am I so mighty in the scriptures that I can convince others publicly and show them from the scriptures that Jesus is Christ the Lord? Take a personal quiz and see how many of the following traits apply to you too.

Acts 18:24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. 27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: 28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.

I guess this is the same Apollos that Paul spoke about in the first chapter of his first letter to the Corinthinans.

Posted by Consecrated at 4:56 AM | 2 comments    

Finally, yes finally, our forum is AD-FREE! amen to that. No more nasty ads. So world, whatever queries you might have, just enter the FORUM from one of the flashing buttons or from the side-bar and post in good faith please.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 11:40 AM | 0 comments    

The following verses refer to the disciples praying after they were threatened by the chief priests. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice and prayed thus.

Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

What struck me in the above verse is that when the disciples were being threatened by the influentials of their days, they did not ask the Lord for protection. On the contracty they asked the Lord to grant them to speak with all boldness. What an amazing prayer. Who would have thought to pray like that.

Posted by Consecrated at 6:13 PM | 0 comments    

I have heard this question a couple of times in the past two days. Reporters reporting from a certain neighborhood known for its sinful entertainment business have queried, on TV. This morning I found something on the web which will explain why.

Apparently in 1803 Napoleon needed money to fight his wars and he offered a huge swath of French-owned territory in North America for just $15 million. The deal was known as the Louisiana Purchase, and helped by the Britts, this acquisition (State of Lousiana) gave the Americans a large gateway at the mouth of the route of the Mississippi River which enabled the rise of the U.S. into the greatest, most economically successful single nation on earth.

But what happened there, why is the complete lock down and paralysis of this famous gateway, also known as sin city, upon us. I leave the rest to your imagination hoping that God almighty would illuminate the mind of the reader to understand and to heed.

Posted by Consecrated at 10:39 AM | 0 comments    

When you delete this post or comment thereon, I will know you have arrived safely.

Here's a nugget from Spurgeon's devotions for you.
"The Lord trieth the righteous."—Psalm 11:5.
ALL events are under the control of Providence; consequently all the trials of our outward life are traceable at once to the great First Cause. ....

Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love, sets so high a value upon His people's faith that He will not screen them from those trials by which faith is strengthened.

You would never have possessed the precious faith which now supports you if the trial of your faith had not been like unto fire. You are a tree that never would have rooted so well if the wind had not rocked you to and fro, and made you take firm hold upon the precious truths of the covenant grace.

Worldly ease is a great foe to faith; it loosens the joints of holy valour, and snaps the sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises until the cords are cut; affliction doth this sharp service for believing souls. While the wheat sleeps comfortably in the husk it is useless to man, it must be threshed out of its resting place before its value can be known. Thus it is well that Jehovah trieth the righteous, for it causeth them to grow rich towards God.

Posted by Consecrated at 3:31 PM | 2 comments    

I have been reading some "christian" blogs. What a mess have "christians" made of hearkening to the Word of God. It is simply numbing to read what's being put out there...I was a lost sinning sheep and my Father took me back and I'm upset that there are so many false-shepherds out there...

Listen up world!

There is only ONE Jesus Christ. And He happens to be the God of the Bible. You see God created you (mankind) in His image and likeness in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 1:26)
I don't dispute for a second that man created a god (read "gods") in his own image. Why? Well because your little old carnal self can't stand the fire of the God of the Bible (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29). So you (world) create your own personal Jesus Christ, according to your fallen image and likeness. One that will ease your conscience instead of convict it, one that will assimilate to the lusts of your carnal minds.

Isaiah 30:10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.

2Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears

You see there is THE Jesus Christ of the Bible, and A Jesus Christ for every self-caressing perverted imagination.



Get one thing straight, the one true honest God is the God of the Bible, the WORD OF GOD

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy TRUTH: for THOU HAST MAGINIFIED THY WORD ABOVE ALL THY NAME.

And He doesn't need every "new" era/culture/epoch/world, editing His Word whom He has identified with His very person.

Also:

2Peter 1:20 Knowing this FIRST, that NO prophecy of the scripture is of ANY private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit wrote the Bible fully aware of the passage of time and socio-cultural changes. People speak of a "modern" and "post-modern" era. Ha! What a monumental sham! The Bible is always contemporaneous and contemporary if for nothing else, simply because fallen human nature doesn't change and is the same from Adam right down to you here reading this and living to prove it. So don't buy that stuff about new values and societal evolution. That's human society wallowing in its own vomit. (Proverbs 26:11)

Besides God has all of time before His eyes continually.


Acts15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Furthermore His Word is SET in heaven eternally

Psalm 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

That God is love (1 John 4:8) and that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16);
is just as true today as is His condemnation of all sorts of evil which you soul-gambling "christians" are today calling good and acceptable.

Satan has all the right words too. He is the copy-cat of God "par excellence". Don't you worldly ministers read your bibles anymore? Or are you interpreting God's eternal Word according to the bents of your seared consciences? (1 Timothy 4:2) Have you forgotten about the parable of the tares? (Matthew 13:24-30) Or are you the tares that look identical to the wheat, so that the eye can't tell them apart, but hollow of heart, and doomed to burn?

Satan is leaving the church stammering, fearful, politically correct, compromising, and makes it feel good about it too. What a tour de force! It ain't for nothing the Bible says that he seals up the sum, full in wisdom (Ezekiel 28:12)

You know the world doesn't respect nice cuddly dishonest people. And it doesn't need you either if there's no condemnation. Ruminate that!

So, for all of you "christians" in positions of leadership who don't believe that the Bible today is the historically, theologically, scientifically, inerrant very inscripturation of God's Word, unadulterated in its judgments by any authoral/cultural influence...

YOU DON'T SPEAK FOR ME

I'll let the living God do that in due time.

And ditto for those of you who say you do and then like Jehu use the Bible to justify your own personal zeal in a matter, whether for hatred, murder, evil communication, wanton wrath, love of money, et c...

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth John 17:17

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 10:42 AM |    

Here's an interesting train of thought that emphasizes the awesome power of God's salvation.

An ant is in some degree greater than any other insect. Proverbs 6:6, 30:25

A lion is in some degree greater than any other beast. Proverbs 30:30

An angel is some degree greater than any other man. Psalm 8:5

God is infinitely greater than His creation and all His creatures, including angels and men.
The gulf that exists between a man and God is always underestimated by us.


Now think about the following a little.

How hard would it be to make an ant out of an insect?
How hard would it be to make a beast out of an insect?
How hard would it be to make a lion out of an insect?
How hard would it be to make a man out of an insect?
How hard would it be to make an angel out of an insect?


You know what would the ultimate "test" of God's power be?***

God's towering greatness over man is proportional to the difficulty of making man partaker of the divine nature. You see the more inconceivably removed God's greatness is from man, the more inconceivably difficult it is for man to partake of God. In fact, compared to God, man is as good as an inanimate object. Romans 9:21


And since, according to the Bible, the greatest (though not only) difference between God's glory and man's, is holiness, (Romans 3:23) then you can start pondering what a feat it was for Jesus Christ the Son of God to bring us God's salvation by making us sons of God (John 1:12) and partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)

*** Incidently and in answer to Hawking's child-like taunt of a question in "a brief history of time"

"Can God make a rock that He Himself cannot move?"

I answer

1) "yes". In fact, I know the name of the rock. It's "JESUS" (Romans 9:33, 1 Corinthians 10:4, see also Hebrews 12:26-27)

2) that Rock is also God Himself (John 8:58; Colossians 1:15, 2:9; Hebrews 1:3)

3) God, in fact, cannot do some things (2 Timothy 2:13, Titus 1:2)

4) but how does (3) change the fact that He is over all and so does whatsoever He wants in the hosts of heaven and earth and none can question Him (Daniel 4:35) and that He will judge the whole earth (1 Chronicles 16:33) according to the Gospel of Jesus His Son (Romans 2:16) ?

Try looking smart telling the Judge that He can't do something while He sentences you to hellfire and there's none to save neither in heaven nor on earth nor below the earth, because you have rejected the Chief Corner-Stone (1 Peter 2:6) , the Rock against whom the gates of Hell shall not (and did not) prevail (Matthew 16:18) ; Jesus Christ.

There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD Proverbs 21:30

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 11:49 AM | 0 comments    

A note to all:

Posts that are more of a Bible study will from now on be exclusively posted on
Bible Studies , a weblog profitable for non-believers, believers on milk and believers on meat.

Now someone has pointed out to me that the title of that blog isn't particularly appealing, which I believe might be the case, but check it out world, you might find comfort to your hearts and rest for your souls



Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
Jeremiah 15:16




(c) FreeFoto.com

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 12:24 PM | 0 comments    

In the wake of the recent events in London and the legislative debates over the role of religion in inciting hate crimes, I fear that the gospel message will before long fall victim to worldly legislation banning the distribution of free religious literature, driving the world into spiritual oppression and darkness. Brothers and sisters in Christ, I beseech you, let us redeem the times. May the light of the gospel message shine forth in our lives and actions until that glorious morning when our Lord shall reappear and catch his bride away when we shall be with the Lord always.

Posted by Consecrated at 9:22 AM | 2 comments    

Matthew 17:27 - Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

Rev. 2:17 and I were amazed last night at the interpretation my pastor gave concerning the gold in the fish's mouth. He gave us a sermon from Mark 4 about mending the net. As fisherman in God's sea, he encouraged us to mend our nets before we go fishing for men, otherwise all the fish that we catch will escape through that one hole. He spoke about the hole of wrong doctrine, the hole of carelessness and other holes that I don't remember right now. What struck us was also the fact that if you go fishing for men, the fish will bring their own gold in their mouth to the church. Think about it.

Posted by Consecrated at 9:35 AM | 3 comments    

I thank God, the Father of our God Jesus Christ, for having arrived safely to Canada.
Everyone in the family is walking with the Lord and doing fine. The independent Baptist church here is very blessed and growing.
To all the church in Lebanon, I pray for the Lord to keep you from the world, and found you in the True Vine who is Jesus, and bless you unto an increased faith this summer. I miss you all already.
A note on Jessica (see picture-post below). The day after the post I was informed that Jessica's parents showed up reclaiming her. They cannot keep Jessica, but have taken her from the orphanage that Ziad and Katie run to put her in an Orthodox school. It was a hard blow for many of the church, yet we trust it is God's will and pray that she will grow up to trust in the name of Jesus and be saved.
===============================================
My mother woke me up this morning to the televised news of London's evil nightmare.
We got on our knees and prayed the Lord to have compassion on those hit, and return the people of the land back to the God of the Bible who had blessed them mightly and to whom they turned their back over the years.
There is a lebano-english family with which I am very close that I was fearing for, given that they live all over London. I tried the lines for 2 hours before getting through. The daughter, an old time friend was stuck at work, in the middle of the ring of bombs. Thankfully, the little clan is safe, although the mother had been crying trying to get through to her smaller daughter at school. The former told me that there is today no more safe place on the planet, contextually hinting at the recent explosions in Lebanon.

The Lord sometimes used foreign nations to punish His children, yet in His infinite justice He inevitably paid retribution to the attackers. That is the God of history.
As far as we bible-believers are concerned, our weapons are love and grace for the salvation of all.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 10:47 AM | 0 comments    

The Lord has been gracious to me. My son arrived safely today, Canada day, amid alerts of severe weather conditions. I prayed and asked the Lord that he delay the clouds. Thankfully the Lord diverted the stormy weather and the airplane landed safely although it was one hour late.

Posted by Consecrated at 7:36 PM | 0 comments    

Jessica, with my sunglasses.


World, say hello to Jessica. Jessica is the newest addition to our church. Her parents cannot afford to keep her, so Ziad and Katie have, for the near future, borne the joyous responsibility of raising her in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and providing her with familial love and care, as God intended.
We don't know her family name, but as Ziad loves to repeat
"there is no such thing as an illegitimate child, only an illegitimate parent"
Jessica warms our hearts. She is a lively and resilient kid. She has been with us for a few months now. Thank you Jesus.


Psalm 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 4:11 PM | 1 comments    

If you're a believer go out now now now and get

"Pagans in the Pews
(how the New Spirituality is invading your home, church and community)"
by Peter Jones.
It is a sober assessment of an ancient but newly visible and insiduously noxious spiritual war between the God of the Bible and pagan monism; and it will give you tremors. The religious stage is being set for the beast and the man of sin.
I am going to buy 10 copies and give them out.

Posted by Revelation 2:17 at 5:06 PM | 5 comments    

Last night I went to a bridal shower to which a lady from another church had invited me seeing I was a friend of the bride-to-be. Time: 6pm at some restaurant in an unfamiliar town, so I drove in to work, something which I don't normally do. Incidentally a lady at the office asked me if we were going somewhere filthy after dinner. We are christians, I briskly replied. We don't do things like the faithless people do. I may have touched a nerve there, but my answer was too quick and spontanous. Anyway back to my story. At around 6:45 pm soon after all the ladies had arrived including the bride, I hear my name being called to go to the front desk. As I moved toward the public telephone booth I wondered who was calling me. Centrainly not my daughter who had just called me on my cell. As it turned out another lady, the only other person from my home church, a very pregnant lady had run into car problems. It was rainy. Her car had broken down. She had no cell phone on her. She could not reach her husband. She was crying on the phone but she had managed to walk in the rain and catch a bus to the closest coffee shop where she thought of calling the restaurant and paging me. I calmed her down and told her I was on my way to get her. Soon after she was calmly seated at the table with the car left behind. The tire had taken a bad blow and the car was stranded near a truck parking lot.

Mercifully the lady whose shower it was had an extended service warranty with the CAA, and once they heard the story they were willing to help out. Leaving all the guests behind, some twenty ladies, the three of us (bride-to-be, my pregnant friend and I) drove back to the car to meet up with the CAA serviceman, the car tire was soon replaced, and again we were all happily seated to the dinner table. It was close to 9.00pm by now. So we were the last three to eat. The waiters were happy to bring our food back again. They had kept our orders on hold until we returned.

Now here's what I have to say, under normal circumstances, and had it been a non-christian lady whose shower it was, the guest of honour would have felt that her bridal shower was ruined. Instead all evening long the sweet christian lady was praising the Lord that the CAA had accepted to service the car of her very pregnant friend. When I picked my friend up she had been sobbing wondering why all this had happened to her, but by the time we drove back home, all the way keeping her in my rear mirror view, she was tearfully rejoicing and praising God for his goodness through it all.

As for me, the day gave me a chance to give a tract to the parking lot guy in the morning, to the CAA man in the evening, and to the Italian man who had waited on us at the dinner table. Who knows, it might have been God's will to reach these men after all. I too came home at night rejoicing and praising God for having mercifully seen us through this ordeal while giving me three different opportunities to reach three different men with the word of God yesterday, all because of a memorable bridal shower. It was not messed up after all.

Posted by Consecrated at 8:48 AM | 2 comments    

Zechariah chapter 3 verse 7: Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.

Verse 8: Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH...

I see two classes in God's courts. These that stand by are judging and keeping God's courts (notice the plural here). And thy fellows that sit....... men to be wondered at. It seems to me that there are two contrasting types. Some that stand, and some that sit. Who fits where? I don't know. I may have my views but I will not venture there.

The text is taken from one of favorite passages in the Bible. Zechariah Chapter 3. There you will see a picture of Satan standing before the Lord accusing every one us while we stand in our filthiness before God. Then the Lord in his mercy and grace comes to our rescue. He pleads our case, he has plucked us out of fire, removes our filthiness, puts on our head the helmet of salvation and clothes us with robes of righteousness. Once that is done, he commands to walk in his ways and if we do that he promises to seat us in his courts and rule with him in his coming kingdom. Maranatha.

Posted by Consecrated at 8:14 AM | 0 comments    

I think this is going to become a series. Last night Redeemed and I decided to have dinner at a family diner in our neighbourhood. Normally we don't eat out on Friday nights, but it was hot, AWANA season was over, and we were not in a rush to go home. So we got there only to find out that the place was packed and there was a long line-up as we waited in line for a table to free up. The hostess suggested that there was room in the smokers section, but no one wanted to sit there. That was when the people in line started chatting about smoking in public places and the need to ban it from restaurants. True, effective 1 January 2006 the law will take effect in Quebec, but some restaurant administration have taken the lead and have started applying the law as of now. (Obviously it was not the case here). However here's the good thing that came out of this. When Redeemed and I were finally escorted to a booth which seats four people, we invited the couple behind us and with whom we were chatting to sit with with us. They were only very happy to do so. It turned out to be a wonderful evening. We spent around three hours at the dinner table. It was a great conversation. The Lord opened the door for us. I gave my testimony how I got saved. The man, a retired policeman, said that he believes he had been saved. He used to go to a Pentecostal church but it has been a while since he has been in church. As it turned out, he is now working as security at a seniors residence and by coincidence we found out my favourite pastor and his wife have moved there not long ago. A very Godly couple. The man was excited and promised to tell the pastor that he met us. By the time the evening was over, they each had a tract in their hand. We exchanged phone numbers and they promised that we would hear from them again. Isn't that wonderful. I thought it was a blessing how the Lord led us there last night. I am sure my former Pastor will seize this opportunity and I see God at work giving this man another opportunity to see the love of Christ.

I am reminded of the hymn "Bringing in the sheaves". We sang it on Wednesday night in church, and it opens like this "Sowing in the morning, Sowing in Evening,...... ). Isn't that cute, sowing on the train in the morning, and sowing in a restaurant in the evening. Today we go tract passing at noon, so the hymn comes full circle, sowing in the morning, sowing in the evening, sowing in noon tide and the dewy eve. Waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping, we shall come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves.

Posted by Consecrated at 6:05 AM | 5 comments    

Did you know that taking a bus, riding a train, or taking the subway can be a blessing. Here's proof. Tuesday morning I was on the train going to work when a young fellow got on the train and sat in the seat facing me. Soon he reached out to grab a morning paper that must have been left behind by a previous passenger. I immediately pulled out a tract "The Romans Road to Heaven" from my purse and gave it to the young man saying "here's something to read if you like". The fellow looked at the tract and said "Oh I have it". When I queried how come "someone gave me a copy at the Metro Cote Vertu" he replied. "And did anyone speak to you about it? Did you get saved", I asked. Oh, he said, they just give it to you at the Metro as you are passing by. That was a great open door for a discussion that followed all the way till we almost reached downtown. I explained the gospel to him, and pulled out my personal worker's New Testament from my purse and showed him from the Bible by making him read verse after verse hat he was a sinner in need of repentance, and in need of being born again. the fellow looked very sincere, and we had a good chat, at the end of which I asked him if he wanted to receive Jesus as his Saviour, because it is not enough that you know or believe. You must receive Jesus as Saviour for the gift to take effect. You must ask him to save your soul, I insisted. Then I pointed to the prayer at the bottom of the tract and showed him an example of what he could pray. The fellow read it aloud once. Then he looked at me and said. "I am ready". I wasn't expecting this. At that moment, on that morning train, William bowed his head and read the prayer with all the sincerity that you would hope for. When he finished he looked up at me. I said did you pray it with all your heart. I said, Congratulations brother, and I encouraged him further to feed the new life which was born in his heart and encouraged him to come to church. Please play that William's faith grows. The bottom line for sharing this story is that after I came home that day I thought to myself, you know, technology is not exactly a blessing. I mean people who drive to work or to school may have the luxury of life but they are missing on opportunities to sow the precious seed by mingling with the public. That is what makes me think that taking public transport could be a blessing if you use it for furthering the gospel of Christ, Bless his holy name.

Posted by Consecrated at 9:09 PM | 3 comments    

Hey guys,
Please please take a look at
Mike's Album-----Unashamed Pursuit.

You will love what you'll see there. Mike is a Christian and he had left a comment on one of my prayer requests for the ministry in China. That's where I got his addy from, and Iwas very pleasantly surprised. You will too, I am sure. Take a look.

Posted by Consecrated at 11:57 AM | 0 comments