~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTES FROM THE VALLEY - Special Edition "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me." Psalm 23. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Friends and Family, I would like to lead off this special edition by sharing with you an e-mail we received in response to our comments about Billy Graham's Central Valley Crusade and my response to that e-mail. The following came from "nib" via BereanSpirit at yahoo.com: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hello sossteve, Did Billy Graham preach the same sermon Peter preached on the day of Pentecost? Did he tell the people how they needed to repent and be obedient in baptism so their sins would be washed away? Did he tell them how when they were baptized God brought about a spiritual new birth and they received the gift of the H.S.? Did he tell them that if they were obedient Christ added them to His body which is made up of all baptized believers? Did he tell them that by accepting the gift of grace offered at the cross they were now pleasing to the heavenly Father? Just wondering! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dear "nib", Dr. Graham preached the message of God's love and forgiveness through Christ Jesus contained in John 3:16 - which has always been the focus of his message as you probably well know. Millions of people around the world have found Christ and received their salvation because of the leading of the Holy Spirit that touched their hearts at the moment of hearing that simple, but miraculous message. If you've ever had anything to do with a Billy Graham Crusade, you know that the "counselors" on the field that work with people who come forward for the alter call are members of local churches trained by the crusade's advance teams. Those counselors are the first step of a wonderful post crusade effort to identify those who come forward and mentor them into local churches where they can be in fellowship with other Christians, hear the FULL Word of God, and be baptized into the Body of Christ. I am so thrilled that our church, Clovis Hills Community Church, was very active in sending members to receive that training and participate as counselors at the Central Valley Crusade. Dr. Graham's call has always been to deliver the message of God's grace and love in the simple terms of John 3:16. Yes, there are other scriptures in the Bible, like those in the Book of Acts, that deal with more detailed issues related to salvation. But most sinners aren't prepared to receive them. As Paul said, they need the "baby's milk" and not the "meat" of God's Word. And that is what Dr. Graham has been called to give them. The simple and straightforward truth of the message God has placed on his heart, delivered with a sincerity born out of Dr. Graham's deep love for God and all God's children, is what opens the door to sinners' hearts and leads them to take their first timid step to receive Christ. If you'd like an analogy from scripture, Dr. Graham (guided by God) prepares the field for harvest, trains the harvest workers and sends them into the field to reap the harvest. That "harvest" is gathered into the local churches and Dr. Graham moves on to the next field. I am well aware that there exists a group of believers who criticize Dr. Graham for not taking his message deeper into the requirements of salvation, particularly baptism. One such gentleman was at the crusade Thursday night (outside of the stadium) with a sign that said "Graham leads people to HELL!" I pray for these believers. I'm certain that many have a sincere desire that the lost will receive Christ and find salvation. I believe their concerns are born out of a lack of understanding of God's call on Dr. Graham's life and ministry and the role local churches play in EVERY crusade. Others, by their words (and signs), demonstrate a spirit of divisiveness and jealousy that could not possibly be from the God and Savior I love and worship. Whatever the motivation, they're actions show little faith in the power of God's Word and the movement of the Holy Spirit. Having seen many past crusades and participated in the Central Valley Crusade, I firmly believe God's Word and His Holy Spirit are present at EVERY crusade. And by being part of the crusade effort, instead of sideline critics, these believers could be part of what God accomplishes through His Word and His Holy Spirit at EVERY crusade. I pray for them because they have missed that opportunity. I pray for them because they are in danger of working against God's purposes that are accomplished through the crusades. How many people, seeing that man's sign on Thursday night, had just enough doubt planted into their minds that they did not step forward to confess their sins and take the first step into a time tested process that would lead them into a church and into the family of God? Even if it was only one person, my heart grieves for that loss. I know God grieves as well. What will be that man's accountability for a soul (or souls) eternally lost - a child of God forever absent from the family? I implore you to ponder carefully the answers to those questions and seek God for wisdom and understanding in this matter. All men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. No one is perfect. No ministry is perfect except that of God's Word and His Holy Spirit. No one in these crusades, least of all Dr. Graham, claims perfection. This week, dozens of churches and thousands of born again, spirit filled believers, stand beside Dr. Graham to proclaim the gospel of John 3:16 to the Central Valley of California. One man stands outside the stadium with a sign criticizing this servant of God and all those who stand with him in that proclamation. Where would you choose to stand? Most importantly, where do you believe God's purposes will be fulfilled? With love I remain His servant and your brother, Steve ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We also received the following e-mail from Merritt Spencer via Bible-study at yahoo.com concerning our last edition and comments concerning the justness of this nation's response to the terrorist actions of September 11th: Steve I just found your statement: "The point of the Amalekites example was that God has called His children to wage warfare against HIS enemies in the past and MAY call us to that warfare again. If He does, we must not allow fear (the devil's counterfeit of faith) to hold us back from obedience to that call. Merritt, you have let your fear cause you to question the very justness of God Himself. That is a VERY dangerous place to be, my brother, and I pray you will repent and seek HIS wisdom in this matter, rather than the council of your fears. Your brother - Steve.)" Steve you need not fear. I do not question the very justness of God. I do question that God would tell me to kill innocent people. Christians are different from Moslems in that they worship a God who is love and who would never call them to kill innocent people as the people did who flew the planes into the towers in New York. Some Moslems would say they were not true Moslems. God did not tell those Moslems to do that because God is Love and justice. God will also not tell us to do anything like that, and if some preacher or other so-called Christian ever tells you to kill innocent people, I suggest you not answer that call. It would not be obediance to God. If you do obey the call to slaughter innocent people, you will be no different from the people who flew the planes. That action is the mark of evil, not God. True Christians will not be killing innocent people. _______________ Dear Merritt, The scripture I quoted was God's command to Saul, delivered by His prophet Samuel, to wipe out the Amalekites. The Amalekites were NOT innocent people, but people who served evil and wanted to wipe God's chosen people, the nation of Israel, from the face of the earth. But you have placed yourself in a position of saying that, if Samuel had given you that order to wipe out the Amalekites, you wouldn't have carried it out. Why? Because you believe God wouldn't do such an unjust thing. According to your logic, either Samuel lied or God is unjust. I can't agree with either bit of reasoning on your part and that was the point of my comment. You're right, God will never call His children to kill innocent people. But who decides or defines who the "innocent people" are in this matter - you or God? This nation, through our President's actions (which I believe are motivated by his faith and very real desire to carry out his office as God's bearer of the sword against evil), is NOT trying to kill innocent people. We are trying to bring the guilty to justice as carefully and methodically as we can. Like the Amalekites, these are people who dedicate their lives to the killing of innocent men, women, and children as an integral part of their radical beliefs (which I absolutely believe are contrary to the teachings of the Islamic faith). If left free to continue, the immensity of their senseless killings will only grow and become ever more horrific until they achieve their clearly stated goal, the removal of all Christians and others who do not believe as they do from the face of this planet. God has given the call in the past for His children to oppose such evil in this world at the risk of their very lives. I believe He is giving that call now. You yourself note the "mark of evil" on the actions of those Muslims who flew the planes into the WTC Towers and the Pentagon. Then why can't you accept God's call for us to apprehend and bring to justice those who serve evil in an unjust war against God's children (Christian, Muslim, Jew, etc.)? His servant and your brother in Christ, Steve ________________________________________________ Copyright © 1998-2001 by Stephen J. Hall - Weekly letters of encouragement to Christians written by Stephen J. Hall unless otherwise indicated. Notes from the Valley and Humor from the Valley are meant to brighten your day and encourage you along the way. Most of "Notes" and "Humor" are a collection of items provided to me by subscribers and friends. Credit is given to both the contributor and to the true author, where known. If you are blessed by them, please feel free to make copies and pass them along to others. If you have something you'd like to contribute to a future edition or would like to ask us a question or make a comment, please contact us at: sossteve@... ________________________________________________ Your love, God, is my song, and I'll sing it! I'm forever telling everyone how faithful you are. I'll never quit telling the story of your love - how you built the cosmos and guaranteed everything in it. Your love has always been our lives foundation, your fidelity has been the roof over our world. (Psalm 89:1-3 The Message)