I was going to do a blog about God because of one verse I saw in our Quarterly Bible study booklet—

Isaiah 41:13 “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help
thee.” But the Holy Spirit had me read an e-mail from a Bible teacher of 30 years who lives in
Australia. He was responding to my request about what he currently was doing since I had not
"heard" from him for a while. He said: “Hi Bill,

Just pressing on with revival meetings in country towns and teaching overseas and locally.

I read through what you have created. The problem does not lie with the material or aids for teaching
so much but with the fact that few good teachers who love the Lord with all their hearts and the know
the word of God and can put it in practical and exciting terms exist. The other thing is that few people
can draw themselves away from their comfort zones to be bothered. In the developing worlds it is not
this way though. Sad, but true.

Blessings, Bob

The project he was referring to has been delayed by the Holy Spirit. I will still share it with some
Christian leaders next week or/and the week after. Such might provide for me a way or some ways to
encourage Bible study revival. BTW, if you have not bought and read Bob's book "Extreme Lives for
Extreme Times-- Living for Jesus in the 21st Century", please do and become blessed and encouraged.
After responding to Bob's e-mail, I looked at a posting digest of a Yahoo group that I normally don’t
look at and saw the following testimony which reminded me of a birthday card I had received.

Uncomfortable Christianity
By Susanne Scheppmann

“Then He said to them all: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross
daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23 (NIV)

Devotion:
We huddled around a large black granite conference table. We debated the needs of our church. “What
would be the best approach to discipline new believers?” We flip-flopped between an easy Bible basics
class and sessions on essential Christian concepts. “But, we don’t want to scare anyone off,” someone
said. “We need to make it comfortable.”

A young man who sat directly across from me said, “I find nothing in the Bible that says Christianity is
supposed to be comfortable or easy.”

The group stared in amazement. The truth of this young man’s words hung heavy in the air. I experienced
two feelings at once. First, I felt a wave of humbleness flood my spirit. I recognized that I sat across from
a man ready to die for his faith in Christ, if necessary. Secondly, I wanted to jump up and clap in
admiration for this Godly young man who was half my age.

I left the meeting with a renewed hope for the future of the Christian church. God is raising up men and
women who will not allow their faith to be watered down by today’s secular culture.

This man inspired my faith. His readiness to sacrifice comfort for Christ stirred my own sleepy spirit.
Revelation 2:4 popped into my thoughts, “You have forsaken your first love (NIV).” It’s easy for me to
slide into my comfort zone of faith and away from the daily self-sacrifice that Jesus calls me to live.

Challenged, I turn again toward the cross with hope and expectation. It will not always be easy. It may
make other people uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I desire to follow Jesus as He commanded, “If anyone
would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Do you hear Jesus calling you out of comfortable Christianity?

Lord Jesus, I admit sometimes I replace my devotion to You with comfortable Christianity. Teach me to
take up my cross daily and follow You. Help me never to replace my love for You with anything else. In
Your Name, I pray.

Application Steps:
Go to your local library or Christian bookstore to obtain a copy Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Fox.
Read the stories and be challenged in your faith.

Reflections:
Do I live in “comfortable” Christianity?

What self-sacrifice do I hesitate to make?

Verses:
Luke 14:27, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.” (NIV)

Titus 2:12, “It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright and Godly lives in this present age.” (NIV)

Romans 14:8, “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or
die, we belong to the Lord.” (NIV)

www.BelizeBiblicalResourceCenter.com

Happy Birthday!!

Through Christ our Lord,

Bill Gothard and Staff

BECOME "PALM TREE" CHRISTIANS

"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree …." (Psalm 92:12)

Birthdays are times to evaluate growth,

and since the palm tree flourishes when everything around it is unfruitful,
let's discover its secrets and become “Palm Tree” Christians.

PALM TREES CAN SURVIVE DROUGHTi

Each palm root is the same size at its stem and its base;
therefore, it cannot be pulled up easily.
Ordinary roots taper and branch.

Because palm trees send their roots deep into the ground,
they are able to tap resources of nourishment that are not available on the surface.
Each palm root is thick and strong.

“…. Take root downward, and bear fruit upward" (Isaiah 37:31)
 THE OLDER A PALM TREE GROWS
THE SWEETER ITS FRUIT BECOMES

Ordinary fruit trees diminish their yield as they grow older.

Sleek trunk gives ordinary fruit
Palm trees do not bear fruit until they mature,
a process sometimes requiring up to fifty years.
As palm trees age, their fruit grows sweeter.
Scarred trunk gives sweeter fruit.

“They shall still bring forth fruit in old age;

they shall be fat [healthy] and flourishing (Psalm 92:14).

PALM TREES CAN WITHSTAND ABUSE

While the hearts of ordinary trees are dead,

the heart of the palm tree is alive.
Because the life of the palm tree is on the inside,
outward abuse does not affect its life or quality of fruit.

“… though our outward man perish,

yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

PALM TREES CAN ENDURE STORMS

Strong winds will break ordinary trees.

Ordinary leaves collect wind.
The palm tree will bow to the ground and spring back when the winds have passed.
Wind cannot "grab hold" of palm leaves.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God

that He may exalt you in due time." (1 Peter 5:6).

Conclusion: I now believe that born again Christians will have to go through at least half of the
World-wide Tribulation. Are you ready if we do? Do you know enough of God's promises and wisdom
so that you can help others. Remember the parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25? The oil
represents the Holy Spirit and improvement of Christian character. Or what if God tells you to go to a
Third World country or in the poor areas of one of the USA cities to minister others? Are you ready to
be a good ambassador for God?