A Life Lived

A life that's truly lived in Christ,
will truly stand the test.
It will expose just who we really are,
And will help us do our best.

It will have no part in shame or pretense,
And no false piety do we see.
It will give us strength and fortitude,
And help us to just be me.

It will help us see our self in truth,
No matter what others think.
To see how much help we need,
Before our faith does sink.

For only then can we look up,
And cry to God for help.
And thankfully He never fails us,
Don't ever, count on self.

And as we live from day to day,
Always let this be our goal,
To start our day with prayer and thankfulness,
And let our Lord continue to make us whole.

And when we enter that Holy City,
Prepared for the saved and the blessed,
There will be no sad shocks or surprises,
But Glory and precious sweet rest.

inspired by God
written by mary Virginia miller
©10=01-2007

"DO NOT BE TOO PASSIVE"

It isn't wise to be too passive, tis then the enemy thinks we are weak.
But take your stand and stand therefore,
And with God's help we meet.

We are dealing with an adversary that decided long ago,
That he would conquer us, And into darkness we would go.

Most Christians understand us, they know where we abide.
But those who know not God,
Have no place to hide.

They think we are weird and sometimes strange,
And to the world, that is true. But think how shocked they will be when Satan says that's you.

It will be too late to turn to Christ, the One who died for all.
How sad for those who refused to see,
Their vision was too small.

If you should be in that group today, please look and turn around.
You will be thankful for all eternity,
The Lord Jesus Christ you found.

Inspired by God
Written by mary Virginia miller
©09-19-2007

"PRIDE, THE ENEMY OF PEACE"

Pride wants folks to be super spiritual, but the Lord has His way
Of exposing how much like a worm we are
As we wiggle through the day.

As I say this it is truly hard on pride,
But when the Lord brings the truth to reality
We no long wish to hide.

He also has no limit to show us the beauty of life,
He wants us to look again,
And to make sure we are living right.

That is why we must die to self
And it must be done each day.
For we have an enemy and he wants to have his way.

May we have another look, we may be shocked at what we see,
When we realize how helpless we really are,
And only Christ can make us free.

So let there be no self assurance for it is only in Christ we stand,
As we look to Him in full assurance
Let this always be our plan.

The carnal nature cannot be trained,
No more than you can make a cobra a pet.
If we do not see the seriousness of the situation
We do not understand this problem yet.

True, we must train a child in the way that he should go.
But at some point in time he, must be born again,
Or heaven he will never know.

Thankfully, we need not despair,
For our God is on His Throne,
And He is waiting for our surrender so He can take us home.

For again, there are no super Christians, for we're all born in sin.
The ground is level at the Cross where we must die to self,
That in Heaven we may enter in.

About the time we are feeling super,
And think we have arrived, wake up brother, sister,
We may be headed for a dive.

The world is in complete disagreement,
In fact they think we are a fool.
But too late they will wake up and see who made the rule.

Inspired by God
Written by mary Virginia miller
©05-04-2006

Kawasaki Christ Church Video

The first church that Brother Raymond Shelhorn started in Japan, was KCC. It is the largest of the 13 churches that we are affiliated with. This is their latest addition to their website.
Pastor Don

Trust The Lord

Time keeps on slipping into the future. Before we know it, Christmas will be here and gone. It will be my 54^th Christmas and I can’t remember more than a handful of them. It is the same with my birthdays, anniversaries and just about every other day in my life. Very few of the nearly 20,000 days of my life have had a lasting impression on me.

On the other hand, God remembers me from before I was born. Not only me, but you too. Not one of our days, events, thoughts or emotions has slipped past Him. Through it all, I have learned to trust in Jesus. My hopes and plans have often changed in an instant. Things that I had no control over have completely changed my life before, yet nothing in my life has surprised God. It has all been in His plan.

Jeremiah 29:11 says,” For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Two verses that bring me comfort are; Proverbs 3:5 -Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; and Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Place your life in His hands and you will never forget that. Of all your days, that is the most important one. He will take care of the rest. Love, Pastor Don

Wilma Finke

I would like to thank the Lord for His love for me. I saw Wilma Finke yesterday and was translated into the young student once again. Wilma led me to the Lord in 1981. I learned what it meant to be a Christian under her instruction. She loved the Word of God. It came alive when she taught. When she retired from teaching, she gave me her hand written studies, gathered over the more than 25 years she taught at the Baden church. When I entered her room, she instantly became the teacher again. She hugged me and as her eyes sparkled, she told me that she did not mind my long hair and beard anymore. Wilma always made sure to encourage me. Anyway, we visited for a while, walked around the nursing home that she lives in, and just had a good time. I reminded her, as I do whenever I see her, that she has many spiritual grandchildren at Baden, and that we will be gathering for a reunion when the Lord returns. I thank the Lord for my spiritual heritage. Here’s to you Aunt Evelyn Rogers, William and Wilma Finke, Paul and Ludine Chamblis, Paul and Elta Finke, Ray and Ella Mixer, Cleo and Ruth Owens, Debbie Sharp, Ray and Michiko Shelhorn. God has used each of you to teach me how to love and lead. Happy New Year, and for many of you, I will see you when I get home.
Love, Your Student, Don

Happy New Year

Good morning brothers and sisters. It is the first Sunday of 2008 and I want to praise the Lord for my salvation. Next month will mark my 27^th year as a Christian. In 2009, I will be a Christian for 1\2 of my life. My salvation is old and new. It is just a real and fresh to me as the day I got saved, and I continue to show the love of God to those that He sends my wife. Not only me, but the Baden church also. We have been feeding homeless people in a few locations around downtown and I got some happy and sad news this weekend. Ray, from the brickyard, has quit drinking and gone home. He told me that he was saved as a child and was ready to serve God again. Another man accepted the Savior about a week and a half ago. On New Year’s Eve, he was upset about not seeing his children. He got into a fight and was hit in the head with a brick. Although he had a headache, he seemed to be all right. The next day, while lying in his tent, he passed away. Thank God for His mercy. Danyel, a woman that we have know all of her life, is living with Deb and I now. Five month ago, she decided to change her life, and a month ago she moved in with us. I pray that your salvation is a fresh today as it was at the beginning.

Love, Pastor Don

Are You Saved?

Good morning to you, brothers and sisters. I
want to challenge everyone that reads this,
to do something for me this week. I would
like you to lead someone to the Lord. Yes,
lead someone to the Lord this week. I
would like you to pray for someone who
simply believes that unless they are perfect,
they cannot be saved, and I would like you
to agree with them. Then I would like you
to confess a sin to them. Do not say, “I am a
sinner”, actually confess a sin to them. I
know that you have at least one. If you want
someone to have faith in God, show them
that you have faith. Here, I will start. I
sometimes lust in my heart. After you
confess a sin to them, you will have the
opportunity to explain how you are perfect,
even though you have sinned. According to
Hebrews 10:14, we have been made perfect
and are being made holy, because of Jesus’
sacrifice. A Christian is not being made
perfect because he is holy. No, he is being
made holy because he is perfect. Have you
ever seen the bumper sticker, “I am not
perfect, just forgiven”? The truth is that if
you are forgiven, you are perfect, and being
made holy. Before you start to argue with
me, “Are you without sin”? Before you
answer, read 1 John 1:8-10. I believe this is
a good place to start. Next, Romans 8:9.
Notice the statement, “you will be saved”.
Put Matthew 28:19-20 into practice,
baptizing and teaching them to obey Him.
Finally, have them do the same for someone
else. Love – Pastor

God's Will

I do not know about you, but I have the
biggest struggle deciding the difference
between God’s and my will. While usually
not an over burdensome thing, it is a
constant struggle. Much of my struggles
comes when I have made decisions that are
later challenged, and I have to change my
mind; not an easy thing for me. Whenever
that happens, I feel as if I have lost a part of
me. What I lost may not have been good,
but it was mine.
Jesus taught that it was essential for us to
lose our lives: Mark 8:35 (NIV)
35 For whoever wants to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and
for the gospel will save it. , and yet I often
fight so hard to preserve it. Is it possible
that my life, which I have worked hard to
develop, is simply sinful? Is it really that
bad? According to Romans 7:18a (NIV)
18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that
is, in my sinful nature.
I rely on myself too much of the time, when
I need to rely on the Holy Spirit. Romans
8:6 (NIV) 6 The mind of sinful man is death,
but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life
and peace;
Lord, I pray for Your peace, and I know that
it is not within my power, but in allowing
the Holy Spirit control of my life.
Thank You, In Jesus name – Pastor Don

Praise The Lord

I would like to take the time this
morning, to praise the Lord, for moving
in our congregation. I have seen his
hand in the lives of many people and
been blessed to watch them spiritually
grow before my eyes. I have recently
been involved in conversation about
people witnessing to their family,
friends and co-workers. I have seen
God answer prayers a quickly as I have
asked them. I want to thank the Lord
that he has given Deb the time to join
the Bible Fellowship. I thank him for
saving several people in the past few
months and for the wonderful reports
from Michiko about a revival that is
happening in Kawasaki church. New
people are being added to their church
weekly. They had 181 people attend
their Christmas service. I pray that you
are in a similarly blessed relationship
with our Lord. If not, it is time to
start. In all my life, I have found
nothing as satisfying as knowing Jesus
Christ. Make up your mind today and
don’t look back. “I have decided to
follow Jesus”, is how a song goes. It
also says,” Though none go with me,
still I will follow”. I love the Lord
today, and am praying for my brothers
and sisters in the Lord.

Happy Birthday To Me

I am 55 years old today. I got saved 26
years ago this month. God began to convict
me 5 years earlier while Deb was pregnant
with MaryHelen. Until that time, I was
quite the confidant atheist, but having a baby
was an act of God I could not dismiss.
Shortly after Samantha was born, I got
saved. One of the first Christian albums I
bought was the Resurrection Band’s,
Awaiting Your Reply. The song Broken
Promises has been my heart’s cry every
since. They were then and continue to be
today, my life’s story.
Broken promises
Broken by me and not You
Jesus, break me
Lord, snap my stubborn heart in two
Lonely hours, so many wasted talents
That I've sown
But now I'm ready to follow You, Jesus
My dear Lord, I'm coming home
Lord, I want You to change me
Rearrange me
Lord, I want You to mold me
I just want You to hold me
Sweet Savior, just love me
Your thoughts are so high above me
I confess that I need You
I really know that I need You
I need You

Born Again?

Are you born again? I was talking about this yesterday and as always, I became pretty excited. Jesus told Nicodemus that a person must be born again. Nicodemus was quite confused and asked how could a person be born two times. When Jesus tells him that a person must be born of water a Spirit he give Nicodemus a simple illustration. Many Christians want to debate the being born of water part of Jesus’ statement. Neither he or Nicodemus seems to have any mis-understanding about that.

Instead, Jesus tells Nicodemus about being born of the Spirit. I love this. Jesus compares being led by the Spirit to blowing wind. I like to use the illustration of a leaf blown by the wind. It appears to be so free and light. Sometimes it flutters gently through the air and sometimes it moves so quickly. It may rise. I may fall. A leaf flying through the air is actually completely under the influence of the wind. Notice what Jesus says, “so it is with everyone born of the Spirit”. The early church was a great example of this. They would have dreams a act upon them. People would show up and they would leave with them. Situations would arise and they would accept them as being from God. Are you born again? Do you follow the Spirit like they did? Are you willing to allow God to move you from one thing to the next? Jesus said it; “You must be born again”.

Love, Pastor Don