In
the book of Judges we read the statement “..and every man did what was right in
his own eyes..” several times. Perhaps this is just a different way of saying
anarchy. (Note the common symbols used for anarchy.)Spring 2009
Dearly Beloved of Our Lord:
We greet you in the mighty and matchless name of our Lord, our Savior, and our King – Jesus Christ. We have been especially blessed with many opportunities to share the good news of the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord during this spring. People are aware of Lent, Good Friday, Easter, and Passover so we are using this time to proclaim His victory.
Anarchy?
In
the book of Judges we read the statement “..and every man did what was right in
his own eyes..” several times. Perhaps this is just a different way of saying
anarchy. (Note the common symbols used for anarchy.)
Perhaps we have been living in a time of anarchy in our own nation where we have been “..sowing the wind and are now reaping the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7) Consider sexual anarchy and the whirlwinds of promiscuity, teen pregnancies, abortion, HIV, AIDS, homosexual and transgender sexual practices, etc. Then there are the winds of the financial anarchy the world is presently experiencing with the resulting whirlwinds of greed, bankruptcies, bailouts, unemployment, fears, and anger, etc. We have also witnessed governmental and military anarchy producing wars based on lies resulting in deaths all over the world which produced suffering in the whirlwinds of Iraq, Sudan, Darfur, Pakistan, Gaza, Columbia, Mexico, Congo, Afghanistan, Somalia, USA, etc.
Then there is all the religious anarchy we have witnessed with false teachings, false prophets, immorality in ministries, financial impropriety, etc. which have produced such whirlwinds in the churches that we have forgotten the importance of our Jerusalems, Judeas, and Samarias which are our cities, our states, and our geographical regions. For us this translates into the city of Portland, the state of Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest region. Perhaps the ends of the earth would include the entire North American continent and beyond. Why have these been so neglected and ignored? Perhaps we have been encouraged to do what is right in our own eyes instead of obeying the great commission our Lord, Savior, and King – Jesus.
The Cross
Consider the Importance of the Cross which is foolishness to those who are perishing but the very power of God to those being saved. (1 Corinthians 1:18) We talk with so many who seem to be perishing in anarchy, doing what is right in their own eyes. People come up to us and have so many good-sounding religious words as well as excuses concerning the powerlessness in their own lives. We call it VRG – verbalized religious garbage. When we want to get to the heart of the matter in our conversation we ask them what the cross of Jesus Christ means to them. Then we listen carefully to what they say. Often the cross means little to them because they know so little about what Jesus did for them there. If they want to know more this gives us an excellent opportunity to explain the forgiveness of sins and the way of eternal life. As the poet Dylan has said, “Let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late.”
Street Stories
Ron’ Testimony ~ One young twenty-one year old man who had been studying Buddhism, Hinduism, and various mystical beliefs had very little understanding of the cross. He had read the Bible but only to learn about Jesus as a teacher. He had skipped over the importance of the cross. It was a great joy for me to spend about twenty minutes sharing the Kingdom with him while standing on the sidewalk at the Square, Portland’s Living Room. Such times are very precious to us because we sense the Holy Spirit drawing such a one to Jesus.
One day a middle-aged man came up to me condemning the evangelical doctrine. He was angry and his face was contorted with pain. He said that he had received a Th.D. from a local evangelical seminary over forty years ago and had been a missionary in Europe. He said he had been preaching the evangelical message that God was sending people to hell and eternal torment when they reject Jesus and the work of the cross. His question was, “How could a loving God send people into eternal torment in hell just for rejecting Jesus Christ?” He said that the day he renounced what he called “the evangelical message” he was set free. This was an amazing experience for me because it was an example of a man following a narrow path but it was the wrong one because it did not lead to life everlasting. I hope to meet this man again some day and continue our discussion by centering on the work of the cross.
Karen’s Testimony ~ A young man came near me at the Square. He was waiting for his friend. I asked him if he knew Jesus. He said yes and I asked him what the cross meant to him. He had all the right answers. He spoke with an accent so I asked him where he was from. He said he was from Thailand. He had received Christ six years ago when he was in Bombay (which is now Mumbai). He told me that he does not read the Bible very much. I asked him if he had the Holy Spirit and quoted the scripture that if you ask for bread, God will not give you a stone. How much more will He give you the Holy Spirit to them who ask? (Luke 11:11-13)
I encouraged him to ask for the Holy Spirit because it is the Holy Spirit who brings revelation from the Bible. He is the one who leads you into all truth, teaches you all things, convicts of sin and points you towards righteousness. The Holy Spirit is God in spirit form and He is your guide and teacher on this earth. His friend, an American, came by and I asked him if he believed in Jesus. He said yes and that he had known him almost all his life. I asked him if he was raised in the Church. He said yes and that he reads the Bible all the time. I asked him if he had the Holy Spirit. He did not know. I quoted the same scriptures to him about the Holy Spirit. Then both of them asked for the Holy Spirit’s presence in their lives.
We ask for your prayers as we labor in His harvest during this spring and coming summer in downtown Portland. Thank you so much for you support and encouragement. Your gifts and friendship are very important to us and they enable us to continue to reach out to all the different people we meet each day. May our Lord richly bless you and make you very fruitful.
~ Ron & Karen
E-mail: awakening1s@comcast.net
Home Page: awakening1s.net
church @ 24/7
Ron & Karen Rohman
PO Box 14292
PORTLAND OR 97293