Thoughts on the World Hating Us Because Of Jesus

I want this to encourage anybody who may be going through persecution because of the things of God. Jesus went through many hard times and He explains to us what we should expect from the world In the passage below (John 15 ). There are many encouraging things in the Bible about having hope and joy in the midst of hard times. I’d like to share with you some of the scriptures I’ve found while studying.

John 15:18-25

18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.”

Hebrews 10:32-34

32Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. 33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

We need to remember to pray for other believers around the world who go through severe persecution. Here in the United States we might get ridiculed, but we are rarely attacked for being a Christian. It doesn’t mean we should stop praying for Christians in the US. But around the world, Christians are put in jail and are tortured and die for the Lord everyday. For those of you who are going through extreme persecution, trust the Lord and hang in there and I hope these scriptures can encourage you also.
Hebrews 13:1-6

1Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you." 6So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"

Hebrews 10:35-39

35So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay.
38But my righteous one will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him." 39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

James 1:2-4

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Philippians 4:4-7

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

James 1:12

12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Hebrews 12:1-3

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Here in 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 and 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 Paul talks about comfort only Jesus can give in times of trouble. He also talks about some of the things he went through and encourages some believers of his day. Anybody suffering for the Lord know that Christ is with you and he will help you. Again, I can't stress enough how important it is to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ every day.
2 Corinthians 1:3-11

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."[b]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Persecution can be extremely tough but we should let it be like discipline. It's like learning something new, like playing an electric guitar or building a car, it takes discipline and hard work. But it is so rewarding when we stick to it until the very end. The Bible can explain this more thoroughly than I can.
Hebrews 12:4-11

4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Romans 8:28-39

More Than Conquerors
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[j] who[k] have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."[l] 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Don’t just listen to my opinions, check the Bible and see for yourself.
S.R. Harris

Visions

This is an account of the visions and dreams given to me and others by the Lord’s Holy Spirit concerning my healing. This is what the Bible has to say about visions and dreams. In New Testament This scripture is also found in the book of Joel in the Old Testament.

Act 2:17

17" 'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.

1. First of all I need to tell what was said over me when I was younger. My mom said this happened when I was three years old before they knew I had muscular dystrophy. She said one of the ladies at church said that Steven is supposed to be a rock. There was another Steven in the church at that time, but the lady said “No, Steven Harris” he was going to be a rock she said,.

After that time for many years I went to several revival services and nothing ever happened. A prayer for divine healing from muscular dystrophy never occurred.

2. When I was 21 during a missions service at our church we had a visiting missionary, Brother Otis. I normally share my tract and after service chat with the missionaries. He said he felt like the Lord was going to use me bigger than my tract and website ministry. He said he believed the Lord was going to raise me up out of the wheelchair. This was a missionary the writes Bible college courses. This is somebody you can trust. He wouldn’t say it unless he meant is and believed it to be true. Before that day I didn’t know what was said over me when I was three years old.

3. Then I’d say about six months after this visions started happening. I’m not sure of the exact date. First I had a vision where I saw my legs out straight. I didn’t think a whole lot about it. Then exactly one week later my brother Chris told me about a dream he had where he and a friend were sitting on a couch and I came walking in. We never discussed the dream I had until then. Then, exactly a week after that my mom came to both of us and said she had a dream about me getting up out of my wheelchair. After she said that it was beyond coincidence and I told her about my brother’s and my dream. About a couple of weeks later I remember a vision where I stood up if I remember correctly. ( This is a note to somebody who has been having dreams or visions, write it down on a piece of paper and the date or you’ll forget details of when it happened.. I’ve learned this the hard way/) A couple weeks after that I remember having a dream and didn’t see anything but heard a voice say “It is time”.



Before the three week period of these visions we had a bible student coming to the church whose name was Jason. He said he felt like the Lord was wanting to do something special in my body. So you can se how we knew this was beyond coincidence.

4. 1 Corinthians 12 7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. I’d say about three months later we were having a service and there was a message in tongues. Jeff intepreted.. He’s also a bible college student. This was before the summer when we had a lot of bible college students at our church. The interpretation said something like “let go of what you’re holding on to” and “it is time to do what I said I was going to do”. After that service I just about came unglued because it was the words out of my dream. I got a hold of the pastor and told him and he and the congregation thought it would be best to have special prayer for me up front. So we ended up praying for an hour. The girl leading worship at the piano saw in a vision that the Lord was going to bring healing through my feet firsts.

5. About a week later me and mom were sitting in a local cashew chicken restaurant. (If you’re not from Springfield, MO, that’s a place that serves Chinese food.) There was a guy in the corner we weren’t sure about. He came up and asked if he could lay hands on me and pray for me. I hesitated, but said, “sure”. He gently laid his hands on the back of my neck.and began to pray. I felt heat course through my body like nothing I’d felt before. After a while there was something similar that happened at a different restaurant. A lady said “hang in there”. These were people I’ve never met or talked to in my life.

6. Now about a year after this my friend Melanie from church had a dream about me while she was resting in her car during her vacation. She said she didn’t recognize me in the dream, but she saw me and I was all muscular and could walk on my own. She was never told about the dreams I had during the three week period a year prior.

7. About four to six months later my friend Adam from church had a dream very similar to Melanie’s. He said he saw me walking into church and didn’t realize it was me until h e saw the wheelchair sitting next to the pew where I usually sit. He said in the dream that my mom asked me to go get something in the van and I ran out to the van to get it for her. He said I was in full muscle tone and said I could speak normally. (The way I am now I can’t speak easily because I have a hard time breathing.) He said in the dream “Steven, you were in the wheelchair just a week ago”. and I said “I’m not now, I’m healed”. This was all in his dream. This has been the most recent dream and or vision. That was sometime in June, 2006. Today’s date is July 29, 2006. Adam says he’s not one to have dreams. He was never told about the other dreams from the three week period.

8. This is the best account that I can give. I’m going to try and put this on video. It says in the Bible, Ask and ye shall receive. And, if you don’ receive, keep on praying for that. This will show the world that I asked and the Lord Jesus Christ and he will answer our prayers .

Matthew 7:7-8

7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Luke 18
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'
4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' "
6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"
This will show the world that I asked and the Lord Jesus Christ and he will answer our prayers .

Miracles For Today

I’ve heard there are believers in Jesus who say miracles are not for today that they stopped after the time of the apostles. (I think the term is called Cessationism.)

How can that be said when our LORD doesn’t change, he says it himself.

Malachi 3:6

6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed."

Then again here:

Hebrews 13:8

8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

God has always existed and has never changed. It would make God out to be a liar if His miracles stopped. He has never lied and He’s never going to start.

Hebrews 6:16-20
The Certainty of God's Promise

16Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is
said and puts an end to all argument. 17Because God wanted to make the
unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,
he confirmed it with an oath. 18God did this so that, by two unchangeable things
in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the
hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19We have this hope as an anchor
for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,
20where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a
high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 1:8-14

8But about the Son he says,
"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy." 10He also says,
"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end." 13To which of the angels did God ever say,
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet"? 14Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Revelation 22:13

13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

God has always been loving and merciful, and He’s always been working in miraculous ways. He has always demonstrated His power and love through His people. You can see that in the Old and New Testament.
Exodus 14:13-31

13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."
19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off [b] so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward [c] it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

2 Kings 4:8-43

8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us."
11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, "Call the Shunammite." So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha said to him, "Tell her, 'You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?' "
She replied, "I have a home among my own people."
14 "What can be done for her?" Elisha asked.
Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son and her husband is old."
15 Then Elisha said, "Call her." So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 "About this time next year," Elisha said, "you will hold a son in your arms."
"No, my lord," she objected. "Don't mislead your servant, O man of God!"
17 But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
18 The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19 "My head! My head!" he said to his father.
His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother." 20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.
22 She called her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return."
23 "Why go to him today?" he asked. "It's not the New Moon or the Sabbath."
"It's all right," she said.
24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Lead on; don't slow down for me unless I tell you." 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, "Look! There's the Shunammite! 26 Run to meet her and ask her, 'Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?' "
"Everything is all right," she said.
27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me why."
28 "Did I ask you for a son, my lord?" she said. "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?"
29 Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy's face."
30 But the child's mother said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her.
31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, "The boy has not awakened."
32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite." And he did. When she came, he said, "Take your son." 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
38 Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, "Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these men."
39 One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. 40 The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it.
41 Elisha said, "Get some flour." He put it into the pot and said, "Serve it to the people to eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
42 A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. "Give it to the people to eat," Elisha said.
43 "How can I set this before a hundred men?" his servant asked.
But Elisha answered, "Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: 'They will eat and have some left over.' " 44 Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.

Mark 2:1-12
Jesus Heals a Paralytic

1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7"Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11"I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

Matthew 9:6-8

6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

Matthew 10:7-10

7As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.

Here's some more relevent scripture, but unfortunately, due to copyright laws, you can't post an entire chapter without permission, so please click here to read the chapter. Acts 3

Or, if you prefer, click here to listen.

Mark 16:15-20

15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

God is still in the business of miracles because He’s never changed. God would have to change in order for miracles to cease to exist. He said Himself, "I the LORD do not change.” We need to remember the Lord doesn’t give us His authority to show off and say hey look what I can do. It’s to show the world that Jesus loves them and cares for them and that He wants everyone to know Him and have a relationship with him.

Don’t just listen to my opinions, check the Bible and see for yourself.
S.R. Harris

Israel's Independence Day

April 17th marks the 62nd anniversary of Israel becoming a sovereign state in 1948. In honor of this occasion, I'd like to post a poem I recently heard.

Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.
Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.
Blessed is the heart with strength to stop its beating for honor’s sake.
Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.

—Hannah Senesh, written days before her capture by the Nazis

Although Hannah Senesh, pictured here with her brother in 1943, is considered one of Israel's most beloved heroes, the rest of the world knows very little about her. Born in Hungary, Senesh was a gifted poet and early on in life joined a Zionist movement to help establish a Jewish State in Israel. During World War II, bravely, she joined the Israeli army in an effort to save fellow Hungarian Jews taken by the Nazis. After parachuting behind enemy lines, she and her fellow Israeli soldiers were taken prisoners, interrogated, and eventually executed.

This is only a simple summary of what I know about Hannah Senesh. If you'd like to learn more, feel free to click on the following links: wikipedia, Zionism-Israel, or Jewishmag.

Sower of the Seed

I am writing this brief tract because I feel led by the Lord to do so. In this tract He wants me to tell about His free plan of salvation. He also wants me to tell you how He has helped me to come through the many trials and how he has led me all the way. I want to tell you of my life before I fully committed it to Him.

Before I turned to the Lord I felt pretty miserable. I didn't think there was much to life. I was always griping about being in a wheelchair, was constantly saying how unfair it was, and other useless things like that. I was depressed, only nice to the small group of people I liked, and kept a mean look on my face whenever I could. I was addicted to violent video games and anime cartoons. I also listened to alternative and hard rock music. I was already in depressed mode all the time and the music I listened to was fueling my anger towards my life. Being in depressed mood became my regular state of my mind. At that point I did not want to look forward to see about my life. At one point I seriously considered suicide. My parents took me to church since I was little, but I didn't take it seriously. I didn't think that God, Jesus, churches, or religious speeches were much for me.

God caught my attention before anything horrible like that happened. One day I very clearly heard God say through His Holy Spirit, that I needed to stop and change the things I was doing. At first, I thought he meant go to church, and do the religious motions. What I found out is that He wanted me to give Him everything, like give up my addictions: TV shows, bad music, and violent video games.

However, for the mercy of God I did not have to co-operate with that kind of evil thinking for long time. The path I found by the grace of God was enough for me to leave everything behind and move on with new spirit and energy.

Now I can tell you what my life is like after I have finally fully committed to the Lord. My depression is like it never had been there, and I am in the greatest mood I have ever been in my life. I have started telling people about the Lord. I had always been shy, but now I am bold in talking to people I never would have talked to before.

Still I thought the Lord wouldn't use me. Then he used me in ways I never thought possible. He started doing things He said He would do in the New Testament of the Bible. I'm not trying to say you'll be perfect if you accept Jesus. All Christians still have problems. But when you accept Him, you always have Him to help you with your problems and sinful ways.

Matthew 13:1 - 9 NIV - The Parable of the Sower

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell
along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places,
where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was
shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered
because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and
choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop
- a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him
hear."

In the parable of the sower, the seed that is trampled are people who ignore God's word. They act like everything He says is not true, or they don't need to live that way. When this happens, their hearts usually turn cold and harden. When they don't live the way God wants them to it leaves room for Satan and his evil dominion to interfere with their lives. When the devil gets into your life it's like a vulture picking at you because you're spiritually dead. Then they get farther away from God and His grace. Then they think of Christians as even more weird.

The seeds thrown on the rocky soil are us wanting to serve the Lord, but the rocks are the things that get in our way. Hard times, temptations, or hurting drag us back down into our old lives, and we're no better than the pagan (sinner).

The seed thrown among the thorns are our lives being overrun by the thorns in them. Thorns are things that choke away what God has to offer us. They can be things like hate, bitterness, or gossip. Three major thorns are money, worldly things, and doing what you want rather than what God wants. We have to watch the thorns in our lives and ask God to help us prune them when they start to grow.

Finally, we're to the fourth part of the parable, where the seed produces a crop. It is when we are listening to God and we're doing what He wants us to do. Then we hear His messages, listen to other Christians, remember it, and apply it to our lives. Then we start sharing it with others, and with God's help start sowing 30 fold, 60 fold, or with a lot of God's help 100 fold. You have to remember this doesn't happen overnight. It takes time.

Jesus himself was explaining God's plan for the salvation of the world to one of the religious teachers of the day named Nicodemus. In John 3:16 - 18 NIV of the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus painted the picture this way:

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not parish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18Whoever believes in him in not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands
condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only
Son."

Jesus, the Prince of Peace wants you to come home. All you have to do is ask Him into your life. Ask Jesus into your heart, to take away your sin so you can serve Him without being bound by it. God sent his Son to the world, or gave His Son rather, so that one day he would be sacrificed for us. Jesus shed his blood on the cross so that it might cover our sins. He was sacrificed once for all sin.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

If you're really serious about serving the lord here are some real important steps you should take. Start reading the Bible daily, beginning with the New Testament The books of the New

Testament are:
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 st and 2 nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 st and 2 nd Thessalonians, 1 st and 2 nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 st and 2 nd Peter, 1 st 2 nd and 3 rd John, Jude and Revelation.

From there the next big step to take is finding a church home. It is important to attend a church that recognizes the Bible as the Word of God as well as the supreme standard and authority. That will truly help you know and understand what the Bible says and recognize any type of false teaching.

Now my brother or sister, you are on your way to an awesome and exciting life with Jesus Christ!

Revelation 3:20 NIV:

20 "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

Please don't ignore what the Lord is saying. Don't find out when it's too late that there is a hell. Don't find out the hard way that Jesus was telling the truth when He said He was coming again.

Consider the following verses from Matthew 24:36 - 44 NIV:

36 "No one knows about the day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, or the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the
ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and
took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two
women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will
come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of
night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his
house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will
come at an hour when you do not expect him."

P.S. - I was used by the Holy Spirit to write this --- Steven R. Harris

Volume 3: Thoughts On Abraham The Father Of Faith

Today when I was reading Romans some things made a lot more sense to me and I want to share some of those things.

Some of it was from the Spirit and some of it was from reading in a different translation out of the New Living translation.

It was talking about where we’re justified by faith – not only by the law. When I say the law, I’m referring to the 10 commandments and other things in the OT. Whether we’re Jew or Gentile, we’re all guilty of breaking God’s law. So, pretty much every person on the face of the earth. It’s a fact, we see every day in our world. God made a way for Jews and Gentiles to be saved from the law of sin. In and of ourselves, it is impossible to fulfill God’s law. But God made a way by sending His son Jesus Christ, the Messiah. (Yeshua is Jesus in Hebrew)

Jesus fulfilled everything that was required by the law. All we have to do is have faith and trust Jesus can cleanse our sins because He died and God raised Him from the dead. It is important to study the law because it shows what we’re incapable of, but what God is quite capable of. It has never been about what we can do, but what God has done. We can trust God because of what He says He will do, because He always does.

It’s like when Abraham trusted God and God credited his trust as though it was righteousness. He believed God would do what He said He would do. Not that Abraham was observing a law or rituals. God’s new covenant through Jesus Christ is where all you have to do is put your trust in Jesus, the Messiah of the world for Jew and Gentile alike. As Christians we have to realize we are saved because of the Jewish people. Jesus was a Jew. We overlook this way too often. He observed the Jewish laws and fulfilled them. Jewish people need to realize not all Christians are out to get them, or make them change their traditions. Throughout history, as in the case of the Crusades, so-called Christians have done horrible things to the Jewish people. We need to become one, as Paul states, “One new man,” Christian and Jew together or Jew and Gentile alike, however you would like to put it. We need to come together and take the good news to the world for the glory of God, Amen.

If you’d like to read Romans 3 and 4 in the New Living translation, please click here.

I know it's not Christmas time but these videos go great with the subject. They talk about Abraham and where he lived in the land that would correlate with the birth of Jesus.

The Lamb Of God Takes Away The Sins Of The World

This is a very interesting video explaining the Passover as it relates to the Jewish people and their connection to Jesus Christ. I thought it would be good to share since Passover is being celebrated and Easter is tomorrow.

I found this video to be short and to the point, and very high quality. I'm curious about the site that produced it: maozisreal.org. From the content in the video, as well as the short glance I took at the site, it looks as though Maoz Isreal is similar to Jewish Voice Ministries in that they both reflect my calling to share the gospels with the Jewish people.

This next video is excerpt from a 6-part film series called The Easter Experience. I caught a bit of the series on TBN, and figured it was relevent to the first video in this post, as well as the Easter season. As a warning, there are some accurate, but graphic images of the crucifixion in of Jesus in this clip.

Here's an excerpt from part 2.

Hope these videos help to give a deeper understanding of the significance of events that took place 2000 years ago.

My Calling

After my last post, I've been wanting to share what happened in my life that confirmed what the Lord has called me to do. A missionary came to our church and something amazing happened I'd like to share with you. This is an email I wrote to that missionary.

Dear Cosmo,

This is Steven Harris from Forest Avenue where you visited about three weeks ago. I just wanted to tell you Thank you for visiting. I wanted to tell you about something awesome that happened after we left the church for lunch.

First, I need to start with what you were talking about during part of the service. Remember when you were talking about the old Jewish man who got saved? His name was Murray. You said he had a healing ministry. I felt that that was something the Lord wants me to do, in the future, to minister to the Jewish people and have a healing ministry. I felt the Heat of the Holy Spirit. At first, I thought it was just me. Then you told us about the part where he was angry that no one had told him sooner. You said he wished someone would have told him when he was 20, so he could have raised his kids to know Jesus as Messiah. Ok, I had to tell you that part to get to the lunch thing. We’ve been eating at Golden Corral and they seat me at a table so I don’t have to wait in line. This was only the second time they did that. I was kind of just sitting there not expecting anything. Just waiting for my parents to come. Kind of impatiently. I can only turn my head to the left. I noticed someone on the right kept coming up near my wheelchair. This person finally sat down. It was a young man who looked about 20 to me. I could tell he was really nervous and I was kind of nervous too. He asked me what were my thoughts about being in a wheelchair. I told him at first I was ok about it, when I was younger. Then I told him about how by the time I got to 8th grade, I was getting bitter about life and everything. Then I told him about how I found Jesus and He gave me strength and joy. I told him about the miracle of how the Lord kept me alive even though I should be dead. He agreed and said it was a miracle from God. I’m sorry I can’t recall everything we said. Here’s the kicker. He was about ready to leave and I noticed he was wearing a gold Star of David so I spoke up and asked him what he believed and where he went to church. He said, "I’m Jewish." So in my mind I was flabbergasted. I told him about how I believe that Jesus was the Messiah and asked him what he thought about it. He gave a hippy response like “Whatever you believe man is fine.” It was almost word for word how you described some Jewish people's attitudes and behaviors toward the Lord. I told him he should read some scriptures from the New Testament and compare it to the Old Testament and see what he thinks. He was pretty sharp. He cut me off and said, “I’ve already read the Bible.”

That was pretty much all the conversation before my parents got to the table. It was pretty neat. We were taking my grandmother to dinner and my aunt was there, also. I was able to tell them as soon as they sat down.

So during the service, it was definitely the Heat of the Spirit telling me what my future ministry is going to be. Talk about a burning bush. The Lord sent one to my table. Then, after he left, I was worried I hadn’t witnessed to him as much as I should. So I asked the Lord to give me wisdom in what to do. There happened to be one of your packets in my back pack. I was able to give him one of those and my tract and asked him what his name was. His name was Dan. It was definitely something the Lord planned to happen. I know the Lord is going to get me out o this wheelchair and didn’t know what He was going to have me do after that. Now I know what He’s going to have me do in the future, whether it’s near or far away.

I’m going to send an attachment of prophetic dreams that have happened. I’ve written about them.

God bless you.

Your brother in Christ,

Steve.

About those prophetic dreams, I'll be posting them very soon.