Thursday, October 3, 2024

LIVING FAITH THAT WORKS


 

LIVING FAITH THAT WORKS

 

 

Go to www.agape-biblia.org/Living-faith-that-works.htm LIVING FAITH THAT WORKS"Faith without works is dead." ... and click on each one of the cross-references after verse 27... then apply those verses to what you read next:

WATCH THE VIDEOS!! We're starting to "Build the ARC"! Vision Complex in Tanzania, an orphanage and school for HIV/AIDS orphans and other young kids, owns the land and has the building permit. Now they need an extra $5,000+ to start digging and laying the foundation, feed the volunteer laborers, etc. CAN YOU HELP? Here's the link: www.agape-restoration-society.org/Vision-Complex/share it!

 

(video:) Vision Complex Orphanage and School in Tanzania provides for 50 orphans whose parents died from HIV/AIDS and kids with Sickle Cell Anemia (a genetic disorder that's most prevalent in East Africa) whose parents have died or can't afford to pay for medical care. Simon John, the director, met us in our online "Morning Prayers" a few years ago. See the photos below of the kids who need a sponsor.   Also, write to Simon about visiting Vision Complex in Tanzania.   Now, see the latest news:

 

BUILD THE FOUNDATION: Here's the (video:) land for the ARC in Tanzanialand for the ARC in Tanzania! Agape Restoration Society (ARS) has started the project at Vision Complex to "Build the ARC" – an Agape Restoration Community, a wheelchair-accessible building for disabled kids and elderly people that includes a large community room/chapel, several apartments and classrooms.

ARS has provided funds for (3 videos:) sand, gravel, and large stonesfoundation stones for the ARC to start the foundation. Local officials have issued a building permit, but Simon needs about $5,000 for the remaining materials to start building the foundation plus a fence and solar lights over the sitesolar-light-over-the-site (this is the first of many lights). Local volunteers are leveling the site and will dig the foundation... but they need to be fed – that's another $200/week for 3 weeks. So please designate "Vision Complex – build the foundation."

 

Saturday, September 21, 2024

STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS


 

STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS

 

 

strangers and pilgrimsThe Apostle Peter, in his first letter, wrote to the Jewish believers in Yeshua as their Messiah who were scattered abroad in "the Dispersion" – in foreign lands –

"Beloved, I beg you as strangers and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. having good behavior among the nations, so in that which they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they see, glorify God in the day of visitation. Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; or to governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evil-doers and for praise to those who do well. For this is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the wicked. For it is commendable if someone endures pain, suffering unjustly, because of conscience toward God. For what glory is it if, when you sin, you patiently endure beating? But if, when you do well, you patiently endure suffering, this is commendable with God. (1 Peter 2:11-20)

As "resident aliens" we must obey the laws of our host country. We have dual loyalties, to the Kingdom of Heaven and to the earthly rulers. Some Christians take the verse "we ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29) to mean they are free to disregard civil authorities whenever they feel like it. But that's not what St. Peter meant, as we see here in his first letter. We are foreigners and strangers on this earth (but some of us are stranger than others!), our highest loyalty is in Heaven.

Think of how the Virgin Mary was maligned and whispered about when she became pregnant outside of marriage: even Joseph, her fiance, wanted to send her away somewhere to have the baby, but then the Angel told him to take her as his betrothed. And when the baby Jesus became a grown man, the "respectable people" maligned Him as being an illegitimate child, also impugning Mary: the Pharisees said to Him "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, God" (John 8:41). Are we willing to suffer reproach for His sake?

In 1 Peter 3 :13-16 we read – "Now who is he who will harm you, if you become imitators of that which is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. 'Don't fear what they fear, neither be troubled.' But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with gentleness and respect: having a good conscience; that, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who revile your good manner of life in the Messiah."

There will always be people who ridicule or accuse us falsely as Christians. How are we to reply? We should respond, not react. To respond is to take a deep breath and calm ourselves, but to react is to act on our first impulse emotionally, to return insult for insult. St. Peter teaches us to respond "with gentleness and respect" – calmly and respecting the other person as a real human being who has emotions that may be under stress or pain. Keep your words soft and sweet: you may have to eat them!

We should rejoice when we are being maligned and slandered for our Lord's sake: "Beloved, don't be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you. But because you are partakers of the Messiah's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also you may rejoice with exceeding joy. If you are insulted for the name of the Messiah, blessed are you; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified. For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or as a meddler in other men's matters. But if one of you suffers for being a Christian [a follower of the Messiah – the Khristos, the Anointed One], let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this matter" (1 Pet. 4:12-16).

 

Saturday, September 7, 2024

UKRAINE AND RUSSIA ON THE BRINK OF TOTAL WAR


 

UKRAINE AND RUSSIA ON THE BRINK OF TOTAL WAR

 

 

xxxxxxxTotal war is the deliberate attempt to kill and destroy everyone and everything, not only military targets. The article UN official highlights growing toll of Ukraine war, rising threat of 'nuclear incident' paints a dismal picture of the war in Ukraine. Russia has begun using its "Kinzhal" (Dagger) hypersonic missiles that are nearly impossible to intercept. Ukraine has crossed the Russian border into the Kursk region, where a Russian nuclear power plant is at risk. Here is a synopsis of the article:

Thirty months into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, human suffering continues to escalate, with frequent attacks on civilians and infrastructure, including nuclear facilities. Miroslav Jenca, Assistant Secretary-General at the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, reported to the Security Council that the previous month was particularly deadly, with at least 219 Ukrainian civilians killed and over 1,000 injured. Since the invasion began on February 24, 2022, the UN has documented 11,662 civilian deaths and 24,207 injuries, though the actual numbers may be higher.

Jenca expressed concern over the spread of fighting to Russian regions such as Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk, where recent incursions have resulted in civilian casualties and mass evacuations. He condemned attacks on civilians and infrastructure, emphasizing their prohibition under international humanitarian law.

Additionally, Jenca highlighted the deteriorating nuclear safety situation, particularly at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and Russia’s Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, urging maximum restraint to prevent a catastrophic incident.

The humanitarian crisis remains severe, especially for women, who make up 56% of the 15 million people in need of assistance. Despite efforts to provide lifesaving aid, funding shortfalls hinder the response, with only 41% of the required $3.1 billion received so far.

Men born in Ukraine, even if they are now US citizens, are being dragged away and forced into the army! See https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/how-ukraine-conscription-squads-are-forcing-men-to-fight-in-the-war-russia-zelenskyy-putin-13783619.html

Viktor, a young Ukrainian who attended our church in Madison, WI, came to the US in 1998, became a US citizen, and went back to Ukraine so his wife could have their baby in Ukraine. On Aug. 31 he sent me this:

Today, there was an attack on me, a US citizen and US veteran. A police car with 3 men in it stopped and started to talk about something in Ukrainian. I said: "Speak English" and said I am a US citizen. One of them got out of the car and was very agressive. He tried to take away my mole pouch with my passport and a wallet. I showed him my passport in my hands, but he did not back away.

I extended my hand to keep him away from my face and walked back from their car. At that moment there were women passing by and the men drove into women with their car. Women started to yell and hit the car with their hands. It was an opportunity for me to walk away and prevent my kidnapping by those organized criminal gangs of police and TCC (military recruiting officers).

Need to say that the real Ukrainian military tries to distance themselves from those tcc criminals. It is now an international incident and an armed asault of criminals on a foreign citizen and civilian. Usually, they commit several criminal acts when they kidnap civilians in Ukraine: kidnapping, torture, sometimes they kill people at the tcc centers, forgery of signatures of the people they kidnap on the streets.

They also break the constitution of their own land by preventing people from driving and walking freely. They have created a big concentration camp out of Ukraine and do not let men leave the country. According to the media, there are over 8,000 cases in the EU court for human rights abuses, and those criminals sent a request to the EU on Apr. 4 to withdraw from the statute for human rights abuses.

Some sites that verify the above practices:
www.wired.com/story/satellites-show-the-alarming-extent-of-russian-detention-camps/
www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64637928

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING


 

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

 

 

Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces in Moscow's Patriot ParkThis photo is the Cathedral For Russia's Armed Forces... Merging Militarism With Faith. We read in John 10:10 – "The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly." And in Matthew 7:15 – "Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." Again, in Matthew 10:16 – "I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."

This is when false pastors, priests, and leading religious figures dress in fine robes, but are actually wolves in sheep's clothing. The Apostle Paul forewarned us to beware of "vicious wolves [who] will enter in among you, not sparing the flock, men [who] will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverted things" (Acts 20:29-30). The word "perverted" here can refer to both moral and doctrinal perversion. And The militarization of religion is when false religion becomes merely an ideological tool to brainwash people into believing that stealing other nation's land, killing their people, and destroying their homes, farms, and businesses is God's will.

How did this come about? Jesus said – "Those who take up the sword will die by the sword" (Matthew 26:52). The Apostle Paul wrote – "As much as it lies with you, live in peace with all men" (Romans 12:18) which some people have use to justify "wars of self-defense." In the early Church, most Christians were pacifists, but when Christianity was legalized and many of the people adopted this new state religion, this rule was limited to only priests because the state needed soldiers to fight its wars. This led to some who claimed to be Christians becoming priests and monks in order to avoid military service – "wolves in sheep's clothing." In more recent centuries, many church leaders have used this verse as a justification for defending one's own family and country. Many nations today call their armed forces the "Department of Defense" but in actuality in is the "Department of War."

So by now we have false shepherds, wolves in sheep's clothing, whose god is their belly – their addictions to food, immoral sex, lust for power, and money-money-money who are pastors, priests, and heads of church associations who are blessing nuclear missiles and their nations' military and political machines. They will eventually perish from this earth and forever burn in hell, but not until they have stolen from, killed, and destroyed millions of people – including multitudes of genuine believers who have become disillusioned and have turned away from active involvement with the Church. I don't mean to say that all pastors, priests, etc. are evil – we have known many very godly ones. But there are sinful people (including me) in every Christian confession. What are we to do when the situation seems hopeless? We must simply keep the faith, endure to the end to be saved, and hold on tight to the Lord and together with like-minded faithful Christians.

Thursday, August 8, 2024

THE WELL HAS BEEN DUG


 

THE WELL HAS BEEN DUG!

 

 

the well has been dug!The well has been dug! We've funded Vision Complex for digging their well another 60 to 70 feet deep so they can have water during the dry seasons. It's already becoming a ministry to the surrounding villagers! Simon John, who runs an orphanage and school for 50 orphans whose parents died from HIV/AIDS and children with Sickle Cell Anemia, needs money now to buy an electric pump and have it installed. Simon writes:

The WELL is done! And the community around here has started getting water from it... and they are helping us put together the fence for free, and will help us set up the garden soon. The challenge we have as for now is how to draw water from the well because it is too deep: the rope we are using to draw water is wearing out, and we can't draw 20 buckets a day because their hands are hurting.

The community suggested that if we can get support for two tanks of 1000 litres each and a motor which pumps water from the well into the tanks, it can reduce the heavy burden of using our hands while drawing water. And again this can make it easier than using a rope for the kids to draw water for watering the plants in their gardens around their buildings. It is dangerous on the part of the kids. Your suggestions here, please!

large flat-screen TVWe've also provided funds for a large flat-screen TV and a PC, also solar cells to provide electricity to run them and illuminate the meeting hall, an internet hookup, and 30 chairs for meetings. Now we've just begun sharing our online "Morning Prayers" (220Mb video: it takes time to download!) with a larger number of people: teachers at his school, pastors, and nearby villagers.

We've already been holding "Morning Prayers" with Maureen in Kenya, Viktor in Ukraine, and others in India, Pakistan, even in Afghanistan and China for about 4 years now. Starting on September 2, we'll begin teaching our online 4-week "Intro Course - Ministry to Handicapped and Poor" and the "WELCOME" page there. Also, we can share videos about the Bible with them. Simon's goal and ours is to plant a church at Vision Complex, and it's beginning to happen! But now they need $950 for the pump and installing it, plus $195 for each 1,000-liter water tank. We've asked Simon to recruit the nearby villagers to help by making bricks (these took six weeks to make!) that he can sell, or any other way to raise funds locally. That way, the villagers can have water for their gardens, drinking, and cooking!

ARC sketchesNow "our own well is starting to run dry" in our little non-profit Agape Restoration Society, Inc. Vision Complex needs money to buy a pump, water tanks, and install them, but we're running low on funds. We need your help! Our life-long vision has been to provide wheelchair-accessible housing, as shown in these sketches for "orphans and widows, the poor, lame, blind, and lame"; so we'll need significant funds for both projects. These drawings are on the wall over my desk so I am reminded to pray for this project every day.

Ever since we semi-retired and returned to the U.S. 17 years ago, very few people have contributed to ARS: people must think that retired folks are just rocking away in their rocking chairs, waiting for the death angel to come. But "we're off our rockers," still serving the Lord in our senior years! So please pray and support these projects that will help spread the Gospel, providing spaces for worship, teaching, and ministering – not only here in the U.S., but also in Tanzania, Kenya, Ukraine, and Russia! So please DONATE for these worthy projects!

You can read more about this at our Vision Complex web-page, and share it!

Saturday, July 27, 2024

Caring, Not Just Voting


 

Caring, Not Just Voting

 

 

Caring, Not Just Voting[This essay was composed in 2016 by our friend Viktor and was translated into German. The version below is a Google back-translation from German into English with just a few corrections. Viktor mentions support for mothers with new babies: the best form would be for churches to create such ministries!]

With regard to the upcoming [2016] elections in the USA, it is interesting to see to what extent the two candidates represent the moral values of a society. An American political scientist from the University of Madison, WI describes the situation as follows:

Many people do not agree with the election platform of either the Democrats or the Republicans. The Democrats are a long-established Catholic party. But who should a Catholic vote for today? It is our duty to vote, but neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump meet our expectations. Americans do not see either of them as qualified enough to take the position of president. The idea that one should choose the lesser evil, or that one candidate knows better how to deal with Putin, is uncomfortable for many.

In the end, laws are made by the senators. We call ourselves a democracy but do we really call the representatives to tell them our wishes? We Americans have the power to influence our politicians. We should tell them what they should stand for, not the other way around. Often it is about making the maximum profit. Our American consumerism leads to nothing but selfishness. We are so preoccupied with ourselves that we have become blind to how we can really change society. The presidential candidates behave according to this very American norm. For example, we kill children and soon old people too, just to be able to live a comfortable life. Many people think our system is sick because voters rarely exercise their rights. We no longer know who we can vote for. Maybe we need a third party.

We rarely ask ourselves whether we are fighting the right battle. The most important question is, what are we doing to change society so that it stands up for children instead of killing them in the womb? We must work to build a child-friendly society. Don't we have any personalities left who try to live according to the laws given to us by God and love children? If someone is against abortion, they are immediately told they are ultra-conservative and that women's rights must be protected. "Mothers should have the right to self-determination. Caring for children enslaves them."

Where are the moral values that make up a society? We allow a mother three weeks of maternity leave and say that our economy can no longer afford it. But isn't it about a child who, as an adult, will contribute his talents and labor? A father has to work 16 hours a day to feed his family reasonably well. We prefer to produce in China because it is cheaper there. In doing so, we have destroyed our entire middle class. Large families are the mainstay of a society. But today we have single parents who work several jobs to make ends meet. Statistics show that poverty and hunger are increasing in such households. We need more and more food cards for the poorer population.

In the past, I mean in the old days, in the Bible, people talked about one denarius as a daily wage. That was enough to feed a family and also gave the father time to spend with his loved ones. And today? What can you get with 9 dollars an hour? You can't feed a family with that. To ensure that he can provide for his family, a father must earn at least 20 dollars an hour. I can give many more examples and would like to pick out just two here to give an insight into the current situation:

What options does a woman have when she is pregnant? I knew a woman who had a job as a shoe salesman. After the birth of her child, she was given 3 weeks of maternity leave. That is the time she has here in the USA. In our godless society, I wonder what a woman is supposed to do after 3 weeks. She is forced back to work after the birth of her child. What is she supposed to do with the child? If she doesn't work, she loses her health care. So-called day care centers for infants cost between $1,200 and $1,600 a month. That's not as much as this woman earns. What options does she have? Take the child to work?

I worked in a financial firm. They had a special room for mothers to nurse their children every two hours. This room was always empty. I was in it often, and then I wondered how the babies were supposed to get to the mother? They couldn't bring them to work, and they had no one to bring them from home to nurse them. Who was supposed to look after the child? It was all just a ruse – basically no one asked where the mother would keep her baby at work.

Do we expect a child to be able to take care of itself after 3 weeks and that after that short time it has acquired the necessary emotional, physiological and psychological maturity? A child should be able to stay with its mother for at least a year. At the moment, this has nothing to do with charity. It is more a matter of what nature dictates to us. Doesn't every child have a right to motherly warmth and security? Even a baby's immune system needs that much time to develop.

So far, there has been no presidential candidate who has offered a humane or economic solution in this case. It is difficult to describe a society as Christian if it does not strive to support young mothers. It is easy to verbally express oneself for or against abortion. But that is not what it is really about. It is about what we as citizens do for our children. If we supported young mothers and stood up for young families, they would have no reason to abort a child.

Then the average age in our society would not be increasing. Then we wouldn't have to worry about not finding caregivers for our grandparents and old people's homes putting senile and those seriously in need of care on the street as soon as they become too expensive for Medicare to insure them. All of this has happened here. The aging of society is not only an economic problem, but also a security risk. In one sense, immigrants are a stroke of luck. But how often do we hear that highly educated immigrants le who could be of great benefit to us, have the greatest difficulties. I know many doctors with degrees from elite universities who are not allowed to work here and instead have to wait years for their green card. Politicians then simply say that it is a law and no one can change it.

As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, do we really not have the economic means to provide better care for our fellow human beings? There is so much money involved in the presidential election. I personally can think of a very practical model: we have so many old people living alone. Why don't we ask them if they would take a young mother into their home for a while. The young woman could look after the people and be with her child at the same time. Such help would benefit both. In this sense, it is not so important which candidate is the better successor to Justice Scalia. Because it is we, personally, who can do something to make America more humane. We cannot shift our responsibility onto politicians and their laws. Whether abortion is legal or illegal ultimately does not help the mothers affected, who need our personal involvement in this situation the most.

You can read and download the whole article at https://agape-biblia.org/PeaceOnEarth/, and share it!

 

Friday, July 12, 2024

Ukraine's Fork In The Road


 

Ukraine's Fork In The Road

 

 

village church in Ukraine Our friend Viktor from Wisconsin, now stuck in Ukraine, was working on a new project to detect landmines remotely, without risk to human life and equipment, using a neutron generator and gamma ray detectors from drones. This would speed up one-hundred-fold the de-mining of war zones in Ukraine. But the project ran out of funding, so now he has no source of income. He writes – "If we pray and get funds to order parts for a neutron generator and gamma ray detector, then things will start happening."

He also shares with us both the positive and negative sides of the effects of Russia's attack on Ukraine on the civilian population. A priest he met has a vision to care for disabled veterans of the war, as shown in the above photo of a village church. This would be a good fit for our plans to build Agape Restoration Communities in Ukraine. War always has innocent victims and unintended consequences: what may start out as noble motives of self-defense can degenerate into the defenders adopting forms of violence as bad as the attackers. Ukraine is not merely recruiting its men to fight against Russia, it is adopting semi-criminal tactics using press gangs to kidnap Ukrainian men, snatching them right off the street and sending them to the front.

"Recently in Odesa, there was a fight between press gangs and doctors of emergency services. Everything started when a gentleman who was severely beaten up at the press gang location called for emergency vehicle. When doctors showed up, they checked the patient and discovered that he had indeed been beaten up. Intead of letting the patient be taken to the local hospital, the press gang blocked the doctors and the patient for 4 hours or so. Doctors called their coworkers in Odesa and the help came: over 20 ER vehicles showed up with sirens blaring.

"The press gang started to repeatedly spray tear gas into the eyes of one of the doctors or vehicles drivers. The response was understandable: a baseball bat in the hands of the victim, however just to scare away the attackers. More press gang members in civilian clothes jumped at a few doctors and started beating them up. Just looking at the skills of some of the doctors, one can see their professional wresling experience, thank God. More doctors ran to defend their coworkers. The entire situation turned into a brawl."

"The result was that doctors and patient hostages were released by press gangs, good won over evil this time. Just for statistics, according the mayor of Odesa, in about a 9-month period, over 600 emergency doctors and drivers quit their jobs. The situation in Odesa is difficult because of press gang criminal activity with impunity.

"In addition, I visited a few smaller food stores and asked about food deliveries. Because many of the semi truck drivers and van drivers were kidnapped by the criminal press gangs, certain kinds of foods cannot be delivered to the stores. It looks like cops, who are supposed to protect the civilians, have teamed up with press gangs for kidnappings. According to insider information, the press gangs have a certain quota, as well as the cops. If they do not fulfill it, they are told they will be sent to the front instead. A friend of mine paid $6k just to get out of a van after he was kidnapped. He is selling his car now to pay back the money he borrowed."

Watch this YouTube video about the situation in Ukraine degenerating into the use of Soviet-style tactics: the speaker Drozhdov is Ukrainian, so tap the "gear" symbol to turn on subtitles, then select English or another language. Here's another video of a press gang member trying to snatch a Ukrainian Orthodox priest, and a third video of a mother protecting her children by fending off a press gang. Ukraine is facing a fork in the road: it must choose to behave like a civilized Christian society, or degenerate into the same old soviet mentality of inhumane brutality. Let us pray for the former!

LIVING FAITH THAT WORKS

  LIVING FAITH THAT WORKS     Go to www.agape-biblia.org/Living-faith-that-works.htm – "Faith without works is dead." ... an...