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Stepping Stones

2 ����������Issue 10

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Keith PhillipsFor your���������� family

Editor: Keith PhillipsGraphic Design: Giselle LeFavreIllustrations: Hugo Westphal,Max BelmontProduction: Francisco Lopez

© 1999 Aurora Production, Ltd.All Rights Reserved

Unless indicated otherwise, allScripture quotations in ��������� arefrom the New King James Versionof the Bible, © 1982 ThomasNelson, Inc.

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Activated USAP.O. Box 4307Orange, CA 92863-4307USA

E-mail:activatedUSA@activated.orgTel: (1-877) 862-3228 (toll-free)

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Visit our Web site at:www.activated.org

���������Issue 10 3

MICHAEL, AUSTRALIA

brief account of a divingaccident fit my own. He hadfelt so bad for the man on thetrolley, he said, and hadwondered how such a horriblething could have happened tosuch a young person with somuch to live for. What hemeant, of course, was howcould God have let somethingso horrible happen.

“At the time it did seem tome and everyone else like theworst thing that ever couldhave happened to me,” I said,“but out of it came so muchgood. The best thing was thatit was the beginning of a realand deep relationship withJesus. Whatever God does, Hedoes in love.”

Joe wasn’t religious oranything, he said, but he didbelieve in Jesus.

I then asked him if hewould like to ask Jesus into hisheart. He said that he would,and sincerely prayed with meto receive Jesus and His freegift of everlasting life. Goodthings are still coming out ofmy accident.�

was really worrying him, hesaid. He had developed aheart problem from years ofheavy smoking and had hadan operation, after which hisdoctors had given him fiveyears to live. That was 17 yearsago.

“My heart’s been acting upsince this morning,” Joe wenton to say. “I think this mightbe it.”

I offered him some en-couragement from the Bible,and he thanked me profusely.Then Joe asked how I’d endedup in a wheelchair.

“I broke my neck in adiving accident,” I explained.“Australia Day, 1985, at thelocal river.”

Joe stared at me in disbe-lief. “What hospital did theytake you to?” he asked.

Then he told me that hedistinctly remembered sittingoutside the casualty ward atthe same hospital that day,when a young man wasrushed past him on a trolley.He had asked the hospital staffwhat had happened, and their

As I was about to pass anelderly gentleman onthe street, I felt a

sudden urge from the Lord tospeak with him.

“Hello, I’m Michael,” I saidas our eyes met.

“Hi, Michael. I’m Joe.Pleased to meet you,” hereplied in a strong Italianaccent.

After a little small talk, Iexplained that I am a mission-ary and the streets of our cityare my mission field. “It’samazing how many peopleneed help with one problemor another these days,” I said.

He nodded. Something

SMALL WORLD,

BIG GOD

4 ����������Issue 10

If you ever find yourself feeling down and out be-cause of your weaknesses, failures or circumstances,you may be about to discover just how close and

caring the Lord is, because it’s through life’s most tryingtimes that we learn that Jesus is always there at our side. Heloves us and wants only the best for us. When we under-stand that the Lord has a positive purpose in everything Heallows to happen to us, we can learn to benefit from evenour troubles. Each difficulty or disappointment can becomea steppingstone to lead us to higher ground.

God’s loving plan

God has promised in His Word, “All things work togetherfor good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28). He willnever let anything happen to you, His child, that isn’t foryour good. Although a lot of things may have happened toyou that didn’t look very good at the time, you’ll find outsooner or later, if you haven’t already, that in some way theywere good for you.

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If you learn the simpleequation “trials equalgood,” your life will bericher, your lessonsgreater, your mind moretranquil, and you willmore easily recognizethe Lord’s hand in theevents of your life. Itmakes all the differencein the world whetheryou look at a flood ofproblems, trials, battlesand tribulations justwaiting to see the worsthappen, or if you lookat them with theexcitement and chal-lenge that comes fromwaiting to discover allthe good you know theLord will bring out ofthem.

—Maria David

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The Lord’s answers to our prayersare infinitely perfect, but sometimesHe doesn’t answer our prayers theway we want Him to because He seesahead and knows that our desireswould harm us or others if He wereto grant them. Often we later findthat what we were asking for wasactually a stone that merely lookedlike bread, while He was trying togive us bread that in our shortsight-edness looked like a stone (Matthew7:7–11).

The darkest times of all

God’s purposes aren’t alwaysimmediately clear, but you canalways rest assured that you’re in Hiscare, and that things will worktogether for good in the end—someway, somehow. When you’regoing through trying times, in spiteof the battles, in spite of the loss, inspite of the confusion, in spite of theheartbreak, you must hold on to theknowledge that the Lord loves you.His love is unchanging, unfailing andunending. No matter what happens,no matter how bleak the outlook, nomatter how difficult the battle, nomatter how long and dark the tunnel,no matter how severe the suffering,He loves you! He doesn’t give His lovestingily. He doesn’t mete out a littlehere or a little there as you earn it. Healways pours forth His love freelyand abundantly!

Jesus has promised you, “I amwith you always, even unto the endof the world” (Matthew 28:20 KJV).He also promises, “I will never leaveyou nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).Even through the darkest and mosttrying times, the Lord is always “aFriend who sticks closer than abrother” (Proverbs 18:24). “Yea,

though I walk through the valley ofthe shadow of death, I will fear noevil; for You are with me; Your rodand Your staff, they comfort me”(Psalm 23:4). He is there in thedarkness. He is there in the trial. Heis there in the test. He is there in theconfusion. He is there in the depths.He is there because He loves you. Heis there to help you through.

Jesus doesn’t like to see yousuffer and be unhappy, but Heknows you have to go through thesethings in order to become the manor woman He wants you to be and tofulfill your part in God’s great plan—even as He had to go through theagony of dying on the cross for thesins of the world.

Pathway to glory

When you come to the end oflife’s road and look back at all thathappened to you, you’ll see just howmuch the Lord loved you and howfaithfully He cared for you all alongthe way, especially when the goinggot rough. It will be clear then thatthe rocks in your path were notplaced there to cause you tostumble, but they were meant to besteppingstones to glory—the gloryof utter dependence upon the Lord,the glory of His Spirit workingthrough the humble spirit, thetrusting soul, the yielded mind, theloving heart.

So no matter what hard turnsyour road may take, remember thatJesus is with you. He cares, and Hewill eventually cause even the“worst” situations to work togetherfor your good. He has promised to!

For more on how to pass through life’s testsand trials victoriously, don’t miss Obstacles Arefor Overcoming, from the Get Activated!series!

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6 ����������Issue 10

IN THE GREAT TRIBULATION

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says, “And they”—the Christians—”overcame him [the Antichrist] bythe blood of the Lamb [Jesus] and bythe word of their testimony; and theydid not love their lives to the death”(Revelation 12:11).

T he Bible warns us that apowerful one-world govern-

ment will arise in these final days ofman’s reign on Earth, led by ademonic dictator—the Antichrist—who will actually be possessed bySatan himself! The last three and ahalf years of his rule will be a timethat the Bible calls the Great Tribula-tion (Matthew 24:21; Revelation7:14). This Antichrist governmentwill use a universal electronic creditsystem to try to cause everybody tocome under the control of theAntichrist, because no one will beable to buy or sell without a personalcredit number, or “mark of theBeast” (Revelation 13:16–18). TheAntichrist will also set up an idol, animage of himself, and somehowcause those who refuse to worshipthe image to be killed (Revelation13:14–15).

But God’s children will refuse toworship the Antichrist or receive hismark—and God will take care ofthem! (Revelation 12:6,14). Althoughsome Christians will die as martyrs,the Antichrist will not be able toovercome them spiritually. The Lord

God’s Word also promises thatduring this time “the people whoknow their God shall be strong, andcarry out great exploits,” and that“those of the people who understandshall instruct many” (Daniel11:32,33). In those days many will beseeking the truth and a way out oftheir desperate situations, and thosewho know the Lord and understandHis Word will be able to explain tothem what’s happening. Those in theknow will lead and encourage God’sother children till the very end.

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To draw us closer to HimPsalm 107:12–13

To see if we willremain true to Him

Deuteronomy 8:2Deuteronomy 13:3–4

Jeremiah 17:10

To draw us closerto His WordPsalm 94:12

Psalm 119:67,71

To make us more fruitfulJohn 15:2

To train usHebrews 5:81 Peter 4:1–2

To make usmore useful vessels

Jeremiah 18:42 Timothy 2:21

To purify usPsalm 66:10

Job 23:10Isaiah 48:10Daniel 11:351 Peter 1:7

To prepare us for the futureDeuteronomy 8:16Psalm 105:17–22

To teach us patienceRomans 5:3James 1:3–4

To teach us compassiontowards others

Hebrews 4:152 Corinthians 1:4

The Lord has also promised tocome to His people’s defense withmighty signs and wonders. Whenyou read in Revelation chapters 8and 9 about of the “trumpets of

ungodly. Those who have the “seal ofGod”—that is, those who believe inand love Jesus—have nothing tofear! (Revelation 7:2–3; 9:1–5). TheLord is also going to give many ofthose who believe in Him miracu-lous powers to defend themselves,survive, continue to proclaim thetruth and lead others to Him rightup till His return (Revelation 11:3–6).

So don’t worry about the GreatTribulation! It’s not going to be somekind of a lopsided, rampagingvictory for the Devil! God’s peopleare going to win supernaturalvictories over him and all of hispowers!�

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tribulation” and the horrific plaguesthat they herald, you need to re-member that God is sending theseplagues to torment the wicked and

WHY DOES GOD ALLOW TRIALS AND TESTS?

8 ����������Issue 10

By David Brandt Berg

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ers Many people, when they receive Jesus as their Savior,

assume that all their problems will be immediately andforever solved. They think they’ll never have any more diffi-culties, but this usually isn’t the case.

When discussing the tests and trials that new Christiansoften face, especially those who are witnessing theirnewfound faith to others, my mother used to say, “The Devildoesn’t start shooting until you ‘go over the top’!” She wasalluding to the trench warfare of World War I. The soldiers onboth sides often spent days or weeks huddled in theirtrenches, during which time they held their fire. But wheneverone side ordered an offensive and their soldiers climbed overthe top of the trenches to attack their enemy’s territory, theother side would immediately start shooting at them with alltheir big guns!

It reminds me of the story about Sam, a Christian who wasthe servant of a wealthy, unbelieving plantation owner. Oneday Sam’s boss asked him, “Why is it, Sam, that you’re aChristian, and yet you have all sorts of problems and tribula-tions? I don’t even believe in God, and I don’t have nearly asmuch trouble as you do!”

Sam replied, “Well, boss, I guess I’ll have to think aboutthat one before I can answer you.”

A few days later, Sam’s boss went duck hunting, and tookSam along to help him.

After Sam’s boss had shot several ducks, he shouted toSam, “Bag the live ones, Sam! Bag the live ones! Leave the deadones lay!”

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(When hunting ducks or otherfowl, some are killed outright. Othersare only wounded and will some-times revive enough to fly away if thehunter doesn’t quickly grab and“bag” them.)

When Sam returned with theducks, he said, “Boss, I think I havethe answer to the question you askedme the other day. I’m a live one!”And he went on to explain, “TheDevil’s afraid I’m going to get away,so he tries to bag me first. You’re adead one! He’s not a bit worriedabout you. He’s already got you!”

The Devil is out to stop each newChristian the best he can. He can’tget us back once we’re saved, be-cause we can’t lose our salvation;we’re the Lord’s forever. The battlefor our souls is won, and it’s apermanent victory (John 6:37; 10:28–29).

Although the Devil can’t get usback, he can still give us a lot oftrouble. He will especially do all hecan to try to keep us from servingGod and winning others into theLord’s kingdom. Every person won toChrist is a threat to the Devil. Everynew Christian is potentially capableof winning hundreds of others awayfrom him, so the Devil tries todestroy their usefulness to the Lord.

In the face of such opposition,some Christians ask, “Well, what didreceiving Jesus do for me, anyway?I’m having these horrible trials now!”Christians who complain like thatneed to stop and think about whatJesus has done for them. They’resaved; that’s the main thing. They’vegot eternal life; they’re not going toHell; they don’t have to worry aboutdeath anymore.

Where’s their gratitude? Where’stheir love and loyalty? Isn’t the loveof their Savior worth fighting for?Aren’t their new Christian brothersand sisters worth fighting for?Maybe they don’t want to go throughall these trials and tribulations justfor themselves, but shouldn’t they bewilling to fight for the sake of others?

They also need to remindthemselves that there are all kinds ofbenefits to being a Christian.They’ve got all the promises in theBible on their side now. Yes, “manyare the afflictions of the righteous,”but the second half of that versepromises, “but the Lord delivers himout of them all” (Psalm 34:19). Evenif they have to make some sacrifices,the Lord’s going to repay them ahundred times over in this life (Mark10:30). They can also have peace ofmind, contentment of heart, and afeeling of genuine accomplishmentfor all they do for the Lord (Isaiah26:3; John 14:27; Romans 5:1;Philippians 4:7).

They have the greatest power inthe universe—God Himself—ontheir side. They can rest assured thatno matter what happens, they’regoing to win in the long run. Regard-less of how difficult the day-to-daybattles may be or how heavy thefighting may get, they’re going towin the overall war. The final victoryis already theirs. They cannot losebecause they’re on the winning side!

They need to keep their eyesahead on the eternal goal, as isbrought out in the “faith” chapter,Hebrews 11: “By faith, by faith, byfaith…” It says that all the greatpatriarchs of the Bible lookedforward, through the eyes of faith.

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They weren’t satisfied with being acitizen of this world; they looked fora heavenly country, a heavenly city,made by the Lord. They were willingto go through trials and tribulationsand be strangers and pilgrims here—people without a country—becausethey knew they had one coming andthey knew it was worth fighting,living, suffering and sometimes evendying for! (Hebrews 11:13-16). Paulwrote, “I consider that the sufferingsof this present time are not worthyto be compared with the glory whichshall be revealed in us” (Romans8:18).

New Christians need to realizethat there’s a war going on—a war ofthe worlds between the Devil’sdominion and the kingdom ofGod—and they need to be preparedto fight in that war. They need tounderstand that they’ve joined theLord’s army and it’s engaged inbattle with the Devil and his evilworks. It’s a fight! After all, that’swhat armies are for—to fight battles.They’re on the winning side, butthey’ve still got to fight!

In the Lord’s army, He often letsHis soldiers go through some of theheaviest tests in the very beginning,

just like boot camp in the army,where new recruits experience someof the toughest training in order toweed out all those who just can’tmake it. The Lord allows the Devil totest the “recruits” to see if they cantake it.

Serving the Lord is often astruggle, but we learn to like itbecause we know we’re on the rightside, the winning side, and we’ve gotthe right Commander, Jesus, whowe’re proud of and happy to live forand serve. We like the battle, just asan athlete likes the athletic trial. Welike to fight the Devil and defeat himin the never-ending battle for thesouls of men. We like the fight, theexcitement and the exhilaration ofvictory on the battlefront.

The Lord says, “Be faithful untodeath, and I will give you the crownof life” (Revelation 2:10). It remindsme of a story that was supposed tohave taken place during the earlydays of Communist Russia, whenChristians suffered terrible persecu-tion. A platoon of soldiers roundedup some Christians and forced themto strip naked. Then the soldiersforced the Christians at gunpoint togo out onto a frozen lake. The

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soldiers told them that if any of themwanted to save themselves fromfreezing to death, all they had to dowas renounce their faith.

So the Christians froze anddropped one by one, until only onewas left alive. He finally could notendure it anymore and stumbledacross the ice toward the guards,screaming that he would deny hisfaith. As he approached the soldiers,one of them suddenly ran out ontothe ice to meet him.

“Here, take my uniform! Take mygun!” exclaimed the guard. “I’mgoing out there to die in your place! Iwas watching all of you, and as eachone dropped dead, I saw a crownplaced on his head! But just as thehand was coming down fromHeaven to place a crown on yourhead, you broke and ran. So here,take my uniform and my gun. I want

to take your place! I want thatcrown!”

There’s no crown without a cross,no testimony without a test, notriumph without a trial, no victorywithout a battle! Remember, that’swhat you joined the army for—tofight and to win! So let’s get on withthe battle! As long as you keepfighting, you’ll keep winning.

Take a lesson from John PaulJones, the 18th century naval cap-tain. His ship had been shot outfrom under him and was sinking.Half his men had been killed andmany others had been wounded,including Jones himself. When theenemy captain called upon Jones tosurrender, Jones screamed back,“Surrender? Hell no! We haven’t evenbegun to fight yet!” He refused tosurrender and kept on fighting—andhe eventually won the battle. That’sthe kind of soldier who wins vic-tories—the kind that refuses to stopfighting.

May God raise up soldiers wholike to fight for the Lord with theweapon of His Word, who enjoydefeating the Devil, who know theycan’t lose—conquering heroes wholike to live and fight and sacrifice forJesus and their brethren and thetruth! That kind of soldier can’t beconquered. Even if they die fighting,they can’t lose, because they’ll get acrown of glory.

The Apostle Paul said, “I havefought the good fight, I have finishedthe race, I have kept the faith.Finally, there is laid up for me thecrown of righteousness” (2 Timothy4:7–8). Will you be able to say thesame?�

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Why should we memorize Scrip-tures? There are many benefits! TheScriptures we “hide in our heart” willbe a blessing to us all our lives; they’llencourage our faith and help usrecognize and thank the Lord for all Hedoes for us. Memorization gives us aspecial closeness with Jesus, who is theWord (John 1:1–14). It is also easier toclaim in prayer the promises that theLord has made in His Word when weknow these promises by heart (2 Peter1:4).

Jesus said, “The words that I speakto you are spirit, and they are life”(John 6:63). The Word is what gives uslife and food and nourishment andstrength and spiritual health. If you arefaithful to hide it in your heart, it willcome to life for you! You’ll also alwayshave it with you, whether you have aBible on hand or not. This is very usefulwhen witnessing to others.

As you delight yourself in the Wordand meditate on it, the Lord will blessand prosper you, and you will be “like atree planted by the rivers of water, thatbrings forth its fruit in its season!”(Psalm 1:2–3).

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Your memory can be developed like amuscle. The more you use it, thestronger it gets; lack of use causes it toweaken.

The more you concentrate, the easier itis to memorize. Find a quiet place, freefrom distractions.

Find the best time for you. Most peoplefind it easiest to memorize first thing inthe morning, when their minds arerested. The evening is a good time toreview what you memorized that day.

Sight, sound and action. Read what youare memorizing, write it out, and quote itout loud to yourself. Using these threemethods together reinforces the memoryprocess.

Memory work is work! It does take acertain amount of determination andself-discipline on your part, but the moreyou do it, the easier it gets.

Know you can. God has given you amind that’s more powerful than anycomputer. If you find it “impossible” tomemorize, claim Philippians 4:13—“Ican do all things through Christ whostrengthens me”—and keep trying.

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For a listing of some of the most important verses

in the Bible for memorization, arranged topically,

order Key Bible Verses. You’ll find this small

booklet—in a handy shirt-pocket size that you

can easily carry with you—to be an invaluable

memorization aid.

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�Set goals. When getting started, try tomemorize one verse every day, or oneverse every two days. Have short-termand long-term memory projects.

Be regular. Find one or two time slots inyour daily schedule that work well foryou. Five minutes or so at a time is all ittakes.

Repetition is the law of memory. Themore you go over what you’re memoriz-ing, the quicker you’ll learn it; the moreoften you review what you’ve alreadylearned, the longer it will stick with you.Go over a new verse three times a day tillyou know it well, then once or twice aweek for the next few weeks, then onceor twice a month, etc. If you have diffi-culty quoting an “old” verse correctly,you need to review it more often.

Try to learn the references too (the bookname, and the chapter and verse num-bers where the verse appears in theBible). This will come in handy when youwant to find the verse later.

“Bind them [God’s Words] continuallyupon your heart; tie them around yourneck. When you roam, they will lead you;when you sleep, they will keep you; andwhen you awake, they will speak withyou” (Proverbs 6:21-22).�

John 3:16 For God so loved the world thatHe gave His only begotten Son, that who-ever believes in Him should not perish buthave everlasting life.Acts 16:31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,and you will be saved.Ephesians 2:8–9 By grace you have beensaved through faith, and that not of your-selves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lestanyone should boast.

John 14:26 The Helper, the Holy Spirit,whom the Father will send in My name, Hewill teach you all things, and bring to yourremembrance all things that I said to you.Acts 1:8 You shall receive power when theHoly Spirit has come upon you; and youshall be witnesses to Me.Acts 2:17 It shall come to pass in the LastDays, says God, that I will pour out of MySpirit on all flesh.

Psalm 119:105 Your Word is a lamp to myfeet and a light to my path.Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will passaway, but My words will by no means passaway.John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; theflesh profits nothing. The words that I speakto you are spirit, and they are life.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answeryou, and show you great and mighty things,which you do not know.Matthew 7:7–8 Ask, and it will be given toyou; seek, and you will find; knock, and it willbe opened to you. For everyone who asksreceives, and he who seeks finds, and to himwho knocks it will be opened.1 John 5:14 This is the confidence that wehave in Him, that if we ask anything accord-ing to His will, He hears us.

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14 ����������Issue 10

LET IT GO! Remorse can be areal problem because it soeasily leads to depression. Italso often greatly hinders manyChristians’ usefulness for theLord, because they ask, “Howcould Jesus possibly use me oreven forgive me when I can’tforgive myself?”

But where we have prob-lems, Jesus has solutions—andin this case the two-partsolution is simple. Part one: Askfor and receive Jesus’ forgive-ness. He freely gives it to allwho ask, whether you feel

to your ?uestions...Answers

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worthy or not! Part two: Askthose you wronged to forgiveyou, and make restitution, ifpossible (Matthew 5:23–24).

Part one was taken care ofonce and for all the instant youreceived Jesus as your Saviorand asked Him to forgive allyour sins. “If we confess our sins,He is faithful and just to forgiveus our sins and to cleanse usfrom all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9). Part two may be a bitharder and more humbling, butonce done, what a weight ofcondemnation it will lift!

The Lord has alreadyforgiven and forgotten(Jeremiah 31:34), so now youneed to forgive yourself, put itbehind you and get on withyour new life in Jesus.

That’s what the Apostle Pauldid—and if anyone ever hadreason to feel remorseful, hedid. Paul (born Saul) waspresent at the stoning ofStephen, the first Christianmartyr (Acts 7:54–60; 8:1), andsoon became a ringleader inthe systematic persecution ofChristians that followed (Acts8:3; 9:1–4; 22:4–5). His actionswere premeditated andbrought great harm to many,but once Paul “saw the light”(Acts 9:3–6), he became a leaderfor the right cause and went onto do great things for the Lord.

What was his secret? “I amstill not all I should be,” he onceexplained, “but I am bringing allmy energies to bear on this onething: Forgetting the past andlooking forward to what liesahead, I strain to reach the endof the race and receive the prizefor which God is calling us up toHeaven because of what ChristJesus did for us” (Philippians3:13–14 TLB). He had learned tolet it go!�

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14

���������Issue 10 15

CONNECTIONS

imagine the existence of aSuperior Being. I’d ratherthink of Him as a helper,somebody I can lean on, as myBest Friend. I have a Bible, aswell as a number of sciencebooks. Both have a place onmy shelf next to each other,because I believe the duty ofscience is to prove that Godexists.

—Sanjay, India

I’m so happy that there arepeople in this world like youwho have not only found theway, but want to lead othersalong the narrow path thatleads to love and happinessand eternal life in the king-dom of God.

—John, USA

We would appreciate hearing from youtoo! If you would like to respond to anyof the articles in ��������� or simply tellus more about yourself, please write,call or e-mail us today!

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We are a group of about100 young people, aged 16 to26, who formed a church fouryears ago. We gather in differ-ent houses, as we don’t have abuilding for a church. Ourchurch is the first evangelicalchurch in our town. Someonerecently gave us your address.

Please send us informa-tion, brochures and literature,because they don’t print suchmaterials here in Bulgaria. Weneed spiritual renewal inorder to fulfill God’s plan forus, and to proclaim the Gospelto more people. God blessyou! We hope that He willbring many more people tosalvation through you.

—Aleksei, Bulgaria

My sister is interested inreligion, but with me it’s morethan merely being interested:I’m looking for the truth! I can

Jesus, You’re sokind and tender. Iknow that Youhave a special lovefor me. So manytimes when I haveneeded love orencouragement,You came through;You did some-thing special thatmeant so much tome. It showed methat You really docare about thetiniest aspect ofmy life.

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