Ben Peters
Mar 2, 2008
www.ohmint.org
Dear Saints,
MARCH CHALLENGE
I'm thrilled with the response to our March Challenge. We have received many emails from people telling us they are joining us in reading through the New Testament in March. One asked that I republish the reading schedule. I'll do that at the bottom of this letter. I'm wondering if anyone is having trouble stopping at 9 or 10 chapters.
Here's a little hint at understanding the teachings of Jesus in the gospels. Jesus is trying to show them how high God's standards are and that they are basically impossible to keep. He is preparing them for the doctrine of Salvation by Grace. If anger and hatred equal murder, etc., then we must have a Savior who can forgive.
On the other hand, the miracles that Jesus did revealed His grace and mercy. His love for the common people and His teaching about children revealed the difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the ways of man on earth. Jesus purpose in His teachings was to change the way people thought. He wanted to change them from being religious to being real and relational with God. I think He still is working on the same thing with Christians today. I trust we will get it better than the Pharisees.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
We haven't said much about politics for awhile. We are at the point I talked about where there are few choices and there is little hope (according to all the public information) that we can vote for a candidate who really has our values. But tonight I got another letter from Lou Engle. I am holding out for a miracle. My heart has burned for this for months. I can't describe how important I feel this is for our future and the souls of millions of people here and around the world. I want to copy the letter now from Lou and let you pray for a miracle with us.
Dear Friends,
As the Texas 2008 Presidential primaries are upon us, we sense a rumble in the heavens. We hear from many prophetic voices about a miracle coming to Texas. The conscience of America is struggling to be heard amid the clashing cymbals of political platitudes and hollow promises of change. True change comes through the forceful prayers of God's people when founded on the ancient principles of the Word of God. Those principles fueled the pen of James Madison, author of the American Constitution.
Now once again a people must cry to God for a President who will challenge the status quo of American immorality and valiantly champion two Amendments to that Constitution: The Human Life Amendment and the Marriage Amendment. John Newton, the slave trader turned pastor and hymn writer once told a young boy named William Wilberforce in the movie Amazing Grace that he lived in the company of 20,000 Africans whom he sold into slavery, never even knowing their names. We live in the company of 50 million American aborted babies, whose silent cries continually reach heaven. Now is the time to stand in Texas where Roe v. Wade was first conceived and brought forth. Let us not live in this hour before the eyes of CNN and NBC but let us live before the eyes of our Creator who endowed us with certain unalienable rights; among these and foremost is the right to Life.
I had a dream regarding March Madness and that there would be madness intensified in the atmosphere over the elections in March. In the dream there was an OT (Overtime) and the (O) stood for Ohio and the (T) for Texas.
We believe there is spiritual warfare going on over these elections, a certain madness if you will. Chris had no idea of the significance that the Texas and Ohio primaries would hold. But if the church will pray and fast, more time could be given even though it looks like all time is out. God does not run His universe through polls and statistics. When earth invokes heaven all bets are off. Haman can be removed in a day and a pro-life Mordecai could experience a sovereign ascendancy. Texas is the Lone Star State. A young woman in the Scriptures was in an overtime moment when a death decree hung over her people. She called for three days of fasting and that which looked inevitable suddenly turned. Esther means "star", and as a lone star her call to fasting broke the death decree.
4 years ago we took TheCause along with Chris Berglund, Lou Engle and Chuck Mervin on the trail of tears then to the Call Dallas/Texas repenting for American Indian injustice with the view that out of that, abortion could end. Stunningly this past week the US Senate passed a bill to officially apologize to the American Indians for covenants that the government had broken with them. I believe that was just a beginning. We must strike, strike, and strike again until Roe v. Wade is overturned. That cannot happen unless a true pro-life President is elected and judges after God's heart are appointed. Therefore, once again we are calling a 3-day fast for Texas for those whose hearts burn over this issue. We will fast on March 1st - 3rd, just prior to the primaries on March 4th. Esther was in a "who knows" moment, and I believe all of America is in a "who knows" moment. But if we don't seize our day I tremble for my country. As Thomas Jefferson, another framer of the Constitution, said: "When I consider that God is just, I tremble for my country, for His justice will not sleep forever."
I hope many of you will take up this March challenge as well and pray fervently until Tuesday.
Now here is the reading schedule we suggested:
March 1-3 Read Matthew
March 4,5 Read Mark
March 6-8 Read Luke
March 9-11 Read John
March 12-14 Read Acts
March 15-16 Read Romans
March 17-19 Read I and II Corinthians
March 20 Read Galatians, Ephesians
March 21 Read Philippians, Colossians
March 22 -23 Read I and II Thessalonians, I Timothy
March 24 Read II Timothy, Titus, Philemon
March 25, 26 Read Hebrews
March 27 Read James, I and II Peter
March 28 Read I, II, III John, Jude
March 29-31 Read Revelation
God bless you all,
Ben, Brenda, family and team
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