In God
We Trust
“He
who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of
the Almighty. I will say of the LORD,
‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I
will trust.”
(Psm.91:1-2)
David had
been a fugitive from Saul who was seeking to kill him. God had hidden him in secret places and
protected him. Unbelievers in power
often persecuted God’s servants. God
had arranged true prophets to be hidden in caves when Israel worshiped idols (1
Kn. 18:4). God had “reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not
bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (1 Kn.19:18) “Even so then, at this present time there is
a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Rom. 11:1-5) Today there are many Messianic Jews in
Israel that are hidden in God’s secret places.
In the End Time God will prepare secret places for the Remnant Church
during the Great Tribulation (Rev. 12:13-17).
God will be our refuge and our fortress. In God we trust.
“Surely
He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler [And] from the perilous
pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take
refuge; His truth [shall be your] shield and buckler.” (Psm.91:3-4)
In times
of distress, danger, and oppression, believers can look to God for support and
help. In times of crisis, in combat,
and when confronting death, even non-believers will turn to God for help. There
is a saying “there are no atheists in the foxholes.” And time and again, believers find deliverance in ample
measure. Conversely, the scriptures
warn against reliance on one's own power, allies, or wealth to prevail in the
fight when the true source of power is available through faith. The passages include expressions of
confidence in divine deliverance.
The “perilous pestilence” can refer
to the crisis that Americans are facing today.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has prophesied: “For
nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
(Mt. 24:7-8)
A
pestilence is an epidemic of a highly contagious or infectious disease such as
bubonic plague. Modern
science seems to have eliminated the fear of plague, but today we are on the
verge of a deadly scourge that could kill more people than have ever been
killed in all the pestilences yet known to man. It is the plague of AIDS.
And right now the terrorists use anthrax as a biological weapon to cause
a pestilence against America.
Anthrax is
an invisible and odorless substance that is extremely lethal. An anthrax aerosol that is sprayed in the
air and carried by the wind would have the potential to travel many kilometers
before disseminating. In 1970, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert committee
estimated that casualties following the theoretical aircraft release of 50
kilograms of anthrax over a developed urban population of 5 million would be
about 250,000, of whom 100,000 would probably die without treatment. A 1993
report by the US Congressional
Office of Technology Assessment estimated that between 130,000 and 3
million deaths could follow the aerosolized release of 100 kilograms of anthrax
spores upwind of Washington DC, a mortality comparable to that expected from a
nuclear weapon. An economic model developed by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
suggested a cost of $26.2 billion per 100,000 persons exposed.
God has
promised to deliver His children from pestilences such as anthrax attacks. Have no fear.
“You
shall not be afraid of the terror by night, [Nor] of the arrow [that] flies by
day, [Nor] of the pestilence [that]
walks in darkness, [Nor] of the destruction [that] lays waste at noonday.”
(Psm.91:5-6)
The arrows
that were used in combat during the time of King David could refer to the
guided missiles of our time. On
September 11, 2001 the terrorists hijacked commercial jumbo jetliners and used
them as guided missiles to crash into the World Trade Center in New York and
the Pentagon building in Washington D.C.
God wants to assure His children they will not be harmed by the
terrorists.
“A
thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; [But] it
shall not come near you. Only with your
eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.” Because you have made
the LORD, [who is] my refuge, [Even] the Most High, your dwelling place, No
evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He
shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In [their]
hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You
shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you
shall trample underfoot. "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I
will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He
shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I [will be] with him in trouble; I
will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him
My salvation." (Psm. 91:7)
A MIRACLE TESTIMONY FROM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER
(Special
thanks to Jim Bramlett from Maranatha Gospel Mission for this post)
Dear friends:
Today I received from a friend the
incredible story of survival from the World Trade Center. It is from Sujo &
Mini John, a young Christian, Indian couple who live in New Jersey and who
worked at the World Trade Center in New York City. My detective-like nature
could not resist trying to contact them, which I did, and I was able to speak
with both of them, confirming the story, plus discovering more information.
Sujo is astonished at how his story has gone around the world because he mailed
it to only 20 e-mail friends. It started spreading on the Internet. Somehow the
700 Club got the story and sent a camera crew up there to interview him. Some
of his e-mail addressees are in Calcutta, India and he has been told that even
Muslims are copying the story and passing it out to others on the streets! One
Muslim called him and said, "Your God is powerful to do what he did."
He believes the perpetrators must be found and punished, but he has a burden to
reach the Muslims with the love of Christ. He is so excited that God is using
his experience as a witness. People were saved when he shared this the other
day at his Assemblies of God church and he believes many more will be saved.
Mini worked at Morgan Stanley and Sujo worked at Network Plus. Mini is
pregnant. Please pray for both of them as they no longer have jobs. However,
they are too busy praising the Lord for being alive and being thankful to worry
about it.
God bless you,
Jim
Dear friends and family,
"Rejoice for the
steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord." Even
though darkness surrounds us and death looms all over us, we have peace in the
sweet name of the Lord Jesus. It's a miracle that I am alive this moment. Most
of you know that we used to work in the World Trade Center in Manhattan (I on
the 81st floor of WTC One and my wife Mini on 71st floor of WTC Two). I reached
my work at 7:30 in the morning. I just faxed out some documents and was returning
to my desk when I heard this real loud explosion. Our building shook and
tilted...screams went out all over our floor. The first aircraft had hit the
floor above us. Soon debris from the aircraft flew into our office and
everything started going up in flames. Everyone held calm as we started making
our way to the stairway. That moment my heart sank, as I had no clue if the
plane had hit our tower or the one my wife was working in. She is about to
enter the building as she starts work at 9:00 in the morning.
We were all being evacuated
through the stairway. My cell phone would not work. So as I came down, I
entered an office on the 53rd floor and tried to make some calls. The only
number I could reach was my cousin's wife who lived in Queens, NY. I told her
that I was fine and that I am coming down the stairs. But I was really worried
about my wife, and then I continued my run down the stairs. While we were going
down there were hundreds of firemen and policemen going up to rescue people
trapped. These brave men would never make it to their homes. They escorted us
through the exit of World Trade 2 and I had just reached the revolving door of
the building that I heard a loud explosion and the whole building collapsed.
The 110-story building collapsed and I was at the door of the building with
boulders and mortar flying over us. A few of us huddled to one end of the
building and God gave me this strength that saw me through. I started pleading
the blood of Jesus and told the people around me that all of us were going to
die and if there was anyone who did not know Christ to call upon His name. So
everyone started crying, "Jesus!" When you are near death, BELIEVE
ME, some people are so ready to accept our Jesus. By then the whole building
had fallen and we were in the debris. Not a single boulder or any material fell
on me. I found myself in three feet of white soot. I got up...by then there was
silence. I could see dead bodies all over. God directed me to a guy on the
ground that had a searchlight on. I picked him up and said only Jesus can save
us and that we had to live.
When he was up I saw this jacket
which had "FBI" written on it. We held our hands and started walking
through the rubble. That flashlight saved our lives. We could not see anything
for miles. It was like a snow blizzard with the flying concrete and ash. The
Holy Spirit then showed me a light flashing on top of an ambulance so I told
this FBI guy that light was where we had to head to because that ambulance was
on the street. We somehow made to the ambulance, which was hit badly by the
flying mortar, but God had kept the flashing light on just for me. From there
on it was quite easy making our way out. But the feeling that gripped was that
my wife Mini who was to be on WTC 2. All kinds of images went through my mind.
Crowds started running from all
over downtown to safer places far away from the skyscrapers. We ran, walked for
an hour and throughout the whole time from 8:45 am when the first plane landed,
I was trying to use my cell phone to no vain. At 12:00 pm my cell phone rang.
It was Mini and when she heard my voice she realized that I was alive. This is
another miracle of how I received this call, as no one was able to make or
receive calls. Mini had not made it to the Tower. Her train reached the site 5
minutes after the first crash so she did not make it to the Towers. She was
hysterical on the streets thinking I was dead and she could see people jumping
out of the building. She reached 39th street in Manhattan near the Ferry and
somehow I reached there. We looked back and could see our buildings both in
ashes. All that remained was the smoke going up. I cannot explain the sense of
relief that we had when we saw each other. When that explosion took place and
the building was crumbling over me I could see the pictures of my wife, my
parents, grandmother loved ones flash through my mind and now what a relief
that we are alive.
God is so good. I have no scratch
on my body. Let me tell you something friends...God knows the count of our hair
and our God never sleeps or slumbers. His coming is so soon. Live each day as
if He is coming today.
Appreciate all your prayers. My
heart goes out for thousands who died in our building, many of them people we
knew.
God Bless you all.
Sujo & Mini
There are also testimonies
connected to the terrorist attacks involving people I know:
· The wife
of the pastor I know works at the Pentagon. Her office was in the very same
section that was hit! The plane stopped ONE WALL SHORT of where she was
sitting. Fortunately she didn't experience serious injuries.
· The father of a friend of mine
here in Virginia also works at the Pentagon. He had planned on getting cash at
an ATM machine where the plane later hit. But he changed his mind at the last
minute. That decision saved his life.
· Two ladies I know who live and work at the Calvary Pentecostal
Campground in Ashland, Virginia took a trip to New York and had planned on
touring the World Trade Center on the evening of September 11th. It was a good
thing they didn't go up there earlier in the day.
· On the day of "prayer and
remembrance" (September 14th), I felt led to call a friend of mine who
lives in the Philadelphia area. She told me that a couple we both know was
visiting her and they had ministered at a New York church the Sunday before.
This couple originally had planned on staying in New York two more days to do
some sightseeing. But the wife felt a strong prompting to get out of New York
sooner.
Praise the
Living God for divine protection!
(End of
Testimony by Jim Bramlett from Maranatha Gospel Mission for this post)
Do not trust in the
money that has
the inscription “In God
we trust”
How did the U.S. Money have the inscription “In God we trust”?
From the US Treasury's website:
From Treasury
Department records it appears that the first suggestion that God be recognized
on U.S. coinage can be traced to a letter addressed to the Secretary of
Treasury from a minister in 1861. An Act of Congress, approved on April 11,
1864, authorized the coinage of two-cent coins upon which the motto first
appeared.
The motto was
omitted from the new gold coins issued in 1907, causing a storm of public
criticism. As a result, legislation passed in May 1908 made "In God We
Trust" mandatory on all coins on which it had previously appeared.
Legislation
approved July 11, 1955, made the appearance of "In God We Trust"
mandatory on all coins and paper currency of the United States. By Act of July
30, 1956, "In God We Trust" became the national motto of the United
States.
Several years
ago, the appearance of "In God We Trust" on our money was challenged
in the federal courts. The challenge was rejected by the lower federal courts,
and the Supreme Court of the United States declined to review the case.
How
did the U.S. Money lost its Value in Recent Years
"Do
not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and
where thieves break in and steal. But
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt.
6:19-21)
The rust
that destroys can be applied to all things that are made from metal. Titanic,
the 882-foot luxury liner boasted a
double-bottomed hull and sixteen watertight compartments and was considered
virtually unsinkable. It also contained seven grand staircases, two
immense glass and wrought iron skylights, a Turkish bath, a library, a squash
court, a swimming pool, parlor suites with private promenades that cost $4,350,
and twenty lifeboats. At 46,328 gross tons, the Titanic was the
largest ship afloat. It carried some of the richest, most powerful
industrialists of her day. Together, their personal fortunes were worth $600
million in 1912! The
Titanic sank when it struck an iceberg at 11:40 P.M. on 14 April 1912. Dr. Robert Ballard, an oceanographer and
marine biologist, found the remains of the Titanic in 1985. The once proud luxury liner now lay 12,500
feet straight down on the seabed where the pressure is about 6500 pounds per
square inch. All the metal parts of the
Titanic have rusted. If you can access
the internet just visit this web site Click Here and look at the rust on the Titanic. It is just like what our Lord Jesus Christ
has said. Do not seek after things that
rust.
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Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International. |
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