| December 31, 2009 |
| December 13, 2009 |
| December 13, 2009 |
Biblical Discipleship Ministries
2212 Chisholm Trail, Rockwall, TX 75032 (972) 771-0568
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2The same was in the beginning with God.
3All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name:
13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-14
5“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7But made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. 9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,
and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Phil. 2:5-11
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
II Corinthians 8:9
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
II Corinthians 5:21
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ,
as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
I Pet. 1:18-19
“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.”
Romans 8:3
“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law,
that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
Galatians 4:4-5
The INCARNATION means that Jesus came in the flesh as prophesied (Isaiah 7:14): “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
The REASONS for the Incarnation are:
To reveal God to men (John 1:18)
To provide the sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:1-10)
To destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8)
To be a merciful high priest (Hebrews 5:1-2)
To fulfill the Davidic covenant (Luke 1:31-33)
To be highly exalted (Philippians 2:9)
“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” II Corinthians 9:15
This year has been challenging with the busy travel schedule, the many unforeseen “inconveniences,” (stolen purse, van broadsided, continuing health issues for all of us), the completion of at least one of the three animal DVD’s in the Creation Proclaims series of three (watch for #2 and 3 in 2010), and Taryn and Mirren completing their doctoral studies in history at Pensacola Christian College. We have continued to enjoy a busy guest house ministry and marvel at the differences in life from fifty years ago and now with managing computers, e-mail, faxes, cell phones, along with trying to keep the learning curve up with the depreciating brain capacity! (Old dogs still don’t learn new tricks easily, and usually very painfully!) We are thankful for Taryn and Mirren’s move back home to assist with the ministry and use their expertise in getting our lives organized and more efficient. The Lord has blessed in the various ministry trips with exciting stories and evidences of His gracious blessings and mercy at every juncture. He has allowed the materials of the Evolution of a Creationist book, the same named four part series, The Incredible Creatures Series, and now the Creation Proclaims first DVD (“Climbers and Creepers”) to be in circulation worldwide. We would especially appreciate your prayers that this last series can be completed as soon as possible in early 2010. The second in the series is entitled “Flight and Spike” and will include bats, owls, porcupines, dinosaurs, etc. We sincerely thank all of you who the Lord uses to minister to us through your faithful prayers and gifts during these challenging times! November marked our 25th year with Biblical Discipleship Ministries and we praise the Lord for His hand of grace and love through the many challenges as He has continually proven Himself to be faithful and true (I Thessalonians 5:24).
December 2009
Nov. 29: Leave for His Hill Bible College (Torchbearers, Capenwray International)
30-4th: Lecture on Creationism at His Hill Bible College, Comfort, TX
8th: Evangelistic Caroling Party, here, 6:45 pm
6-9th: Pre-Trib Conference, DFW Airport
13th: Highland Park Methodist Church, Word Class: The Sure Word of Prophecy
13th: Christmas Devotional Highland Park Methodist Word Class (evening)
December 31st: Leave for ministry in Tampa, FL
| November 29, 2009 | to | December 4, 2009 |
| November 22, 2009 |
| November 15, 2009 |
| November 13, 2009 | to | November 14, 2009 |
BIBLICAL DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES
2212 Chisholm Trail, Rockwall, TX 75032 972-771-0568
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory,
For thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
Psalm 115:1
The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.
Psalm 126:3
What shall I render unto the lord for all his benefits toward me?
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.
Psalm 116:12, 17
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
I Thessalonians 5:18
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with Psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hands are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Psalm 95:2-8a
“Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” (Romans 5:20)
This is the time of year that Americans set aside to reflect on the blessings of God which have been showered on us in the previous year. All other holidays, even Christmas and Easter, can be skewed into a non-Christian meaning, but not Thanksgiving. Historically, Thanksgiving was a time to give thanks to God for the bountiful harvest. While there are those to whom we should give thanks for particular favors, there is only One to whom we can give thanks for the blessings of life. Nothing else makes sense.
Christians, of course, have much more for which to give thanks than the non-believer, or at least they have the eyes with which to see and the heart with which to recognize God’s blessings. Indeed, Paul instructs us that “In every thing [we should] give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thessalonians 5:18), the tense of the verb implying a habitual, continual thanksgiving. Unfortunately in our culture, even in Christian circles, we sometimes struggle with thankfulness as we have been so inundated with the politically correct attitude of “entitlement” and thanklessness. Everything we have is from the hand of God and we should, even in our suffering or inconvenience, be thankful for the blessings of life and ability to serve our God (The Lord Jesus Christ) with the gifts and talents with which He has blessed us. An unthankful heart is a proud heart that chooses not to acknowledge the blessings of the Almighty but still desires the blessings of God’s grace.
We should be specifically thankful for His grace which, as explained in our text, completely overwhelmed our sin, and brought salvation and freedom from guilt (Romans 5:20, above). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8).
Note that in our text the word “abound” appears three times. Both the offense and sin exist in abundance. But the abundance of grace comes from a different Greek word which means literally “to exist in superabundance.” But there is more. It is further modified by the prefix “much more,” implying a grace that is beyond superabundance. As we see the American dream and our freedoms rapidly being eliminated, this grace can allow us to have joy and be thankful even in a time unprecedented in the history of the United States of America where our leadership totally ignores the National Day of Prayer yet lavishly celebrates Halloween.
At this special time of year let us not be dissatisfied and discontent with the blessings of the Lord, but have diligence in the opportunities of the moment and joyful anticipation of the blessed hope of things to come in the life of the believer. In light of these times in which we live, let us be steadfast, immovable and continue to abound in the work of the Lord—for His glory and praise! (Selections and additions/paraphrases, ICR Days of Praise, Nov. 2006)
***PLEASE JOIN WITH US IN GRATITUDE AND THANKSGIVING FOR THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF
BIBLICAL DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES***
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:3-6
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:10
We are so grateful for the prayers and financial support of all of you who have invested in the work of Biblical Discipleship Ministries over these past, actually 28 years now. BDM was “birthed” out of Didasko Ministries back in the early 80’s while we were still in seminary. God has graciously given us all of you as co-laborers in this ministry of evangelism and discipleship that has outreaches around the world. We are thankful for the opportunities to speak on the various areas of Worldview, Family Relationships, Discipleship, New Age Cults, Bible Prophecy, and the Creation/Evolution issues. The materials God has enabled us to produce by His grace are being used to promote a biblical basis for the Christian worldview, especially in the areas of Family and the Creation/Evolution debate (The Evolution of a Creationist, (book and DVD series), Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution series and the new Creation Proclaims series). We have survived home school, heart stents, back problems, book writing (five foreign languages), video filming, learning Power Point, maintaining our sanity through Taryn and Mirren’s doctoral programs in history, travel that can many times take us on the road for almost three weeks out of the month, a busy guest house, the continued challenge of keeping house, cars, and yard, and the greatest challenge of having a spirit that is willing, but an “earthly tent” that is weak. We so thank the Lord that His grace is sufficient and that His power continues to be perfected in our weaknesses. Please continue to uplift us in prayer. Nothing is more encouraging to us than to know that we are being prayed for on a regular basis. Please pray specifically for the completion of this current Creation Proclaims series. We pray that your prayers and monetary investments will bring eternal glory for our Lord.
TO GOD ALONE BE ALL THE GLORY!
Schedule: November/December 2009
Nov. 1st: Northwest Christian Church, McKinney, TX, Creation Evangelism, The State and “Stats” of our Children.
6th: Leave for Wisconsin
7th: Richland Center Fellowship, Cazenovia, WI, (608-983-2686)
8th: Berean Bible Church, Pelican Rapids, MN, Biblical Defense of Genesis, “What is Truth, Defending the Faith.”
10th: Rockwall Bible Church, Bible Prophecy Conference, Preterism and First Coming Prophecies: 972-771-6179
13,14: Institute in Creation Research conference, First Baptist, Dallas, TX, (Attendees)
15th: Highland Park United Methodist Church, Dallas, TX, Word Class, Sunday School
22nd: Clifton Bible Church, Whitney, TX, “Defending the Biblical Basis for Creation”
25-27th: Pensacola Christian College for Thanksgiving
29-4th: His Hill Bible College, Comfort, TX, teaching on Biblical Creation
7-9th: Pre-Trib Study Group, DFW Airport
13th: Highland Park United Methodist, Dallas, TX, Word Class Sunday School
www.biblicaldiscipleship.org www.evolutionofacreationist.com www.Creationproclaims.info
Jobe, Jenna Dee, Taryn, and Mirren Martin