F.I.S.H. is an acronym standing for "Fellowship for an International Scripture Heritage." It is one of several ministries of FellowHelpers To The Truth, Inc., a non-profit organization begun in 1982 under initial endorsement of Spring Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Benton, Arkansas. F.I.S.H. Ministry utilizes on-site missionaries to receive and distribute Bibles and New Testaments on various mission fields, as free-will offerings make copies of the Word available.
Be a Fisher of Men! Helping to spread God's Word Internationally is a mission that needs all of us! How can you help?...... Prayer: We need your prayers, include us daily as you speak with God....... Support: Free Will offerings is the financial life blood of our operations. One time donations are wonderful and monthly donations are fantastic!..... Involvement: If you have a burning desire to share your talents, contact us and we will help fan that flame!
We are Baptist people seeking to be helpful to the Lord’s churches and works both at home and abroad. We identify with the ancient Waldenses, Paulicians, Donatists and others who have stood in the hedge and filled the gap as a succession of true churches from the time of Jesus and the apostles. The true churches of the Lord Jesus Christ are the “Pillar and ground of the truth.” The truth is the Word of God, the “faith once delivered to the saints.” It is incumbent upon us as God’s people to propagate His Word as foundational to individual lives and the continued growth of His churches. To this end we both pray, and labor in fields that are white already unto harvest. Furthermore, to this end we encourage others to get involved in prayers, financial support, evangelistic and teaching activities.
FellowHelpers To The Truth
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The FellowHelper
FellowHelper is the first part of our corporate name of FellowHelpers To The Truth, Inc. Shortly after the start of this ministry a hard copy newspaper named “The FellowHelper” was sent out four times a year to over 8,000 recipients. It contained information on all the works and ministry being done by the workers of the organization. In today’s era of technology “The FellowHelper” has evolved into this website that is available 24/7 not only providing information on works and ministry being done but a repository full of riches can be found in the Library section and hopefully insightful sermons and series discussion in the Video section. FellowHelpers To The Truth is an organization of God’s people going about the work of helping God’s churches in multiple areas. We have among our people so much talent just bursting to reach out and bless us. If you need our help contact us, If you want to share your talents join us, If you want to support us please contribute in the Donate section, If you believe it is God’s will, pray for us! -
Fish Ministry
F.I.S.H. is an acronym standing for “Fellowship for an International Scripture Heritage.”
It is one of several ministries of FellowHelpers To The Truth, Inc., a non-profit organization begun in 1982 under initial endorsement of Spring Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Benton, Arkansas.
F.I.S.H. Ministry utilizes on-site missionaries to receive and distribute Bibles and New Testaments on various mission fields, as free-will offerings make copies of the Word available.
Latest Apologetics
NOT YOUR DIVINE WATERBOYI learned fairly early in life that policies and methods may change, but principles do not. I think about that a lot. The God of salvation is high, holy, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, the creator of all things. He is due honor, respect, reverence, worship, obedience. Certainly this is embodied in the first great commandment, “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” Deut 6:5. Words used to reference Him and/or His work should be chosen carefully. But, it appears some have forgotten. They do not intend any irreverence, but the truth remains that words matter and often take on a life of their own.A typical example is:more than a few times and from different quarters some have written about an obstacle or a struggle, wondering what they were going to do. Then the statement is made, “Well what do you know, God showed up.” Wait, “God showed up?” Was he previously too busy? Did He stumble upon your cause? Is He a waterboy who finally got busy with his obligations? Since He “showed up,” one is left to wonder how He knew or does this imply a franchise? Pardon me, but the verbiage comes across as irreverent.It is oft heard, “Please pray for _____. He/she is in the hospital and we should pray for a quick recovery.” I like the idea of praying for one another, especially in times of need. Now the person in question is not a Christian, or perhaps is a Christian but no one has seen them in church for the last 30 years. Now, is the request for prayer that this person may be restored to health to continue living a life of iniquity? Is God a waterboy Who loves to run around healing everyone? Why did Jesus heal, and why did he leave the earth full of sick and diseased people? Would it not be better to recognize Him as high and holy and pray that such healing should be dependent upon the ill living a changed life to honor Him?Then of course, out of Protestant ranks come another verbiage not true. “I planted a church” or “I intend to go to a city and plant a church!” Excuse me, no man has a church to plant. What may be planted is the seed. If a church is the final result of it, either God did it, or it is not worth existence. Some would say, “What is the difference? “ The difference is not much: just right and wrong! Words have meaning and often take on a life of their own. I truly hate being negative and do not intend to berate, I just have convictions that it is better to honor God than to exalt self. After all, God is not anybody’s divine waterboy. He does not look kindly on anyone sitting in His chair or telling Him what to do.
PEACE BEYOND UNDERSTANDINGThere is a promise of peace to the people of God in the New Testament. Truly, the need for real, lasting peace is evident on the world scene as never before. Is genuine peace so elusive? Well, it is not passed out like ice cream cones from inflated politicians. The simple answer to the seemingly elusive state is readily found in Holy Writ, and it is not only promised, but sure enough stipulations are requisite for it.Peace! It is an enduring status to some, and so elusive to others. Still others throw it away before they realize they have it. Some folks want domestic peace. What can be more troubling than a home where there is no peace? Others want inner peace, a reprieve from a troubled conscience, or the filling of an inner void. Still others may be as the Hatfields and the McCoys; desperately needing peace in their relationships with others. Nations cry peace, and go to extremes to avoid war and its terrible effects for generations, but these things alone do not bring peace. The promise is made in Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” But, wait! This verse is the promised state only when other requisites are in place that are named in the previous verses. These include readiness to stand fast in the Lord; to be unified in the body mentally in spiritual matters; when help is extended to others laboring in the Lord; when rejoicing in the Lord is genuine; when one’s moderation (conversation) of faith is known to all men; when one is not anxious, but delivers all things to God in prayer. Then the promise of such peace is sure. However, the mentioned requisites should be the possession of every believer in the Lord’s churches. Those who look elsewhere for peace than to the Lord Jesus Christ may find a temporary topical cream for a present troubled situation, but no lasting peace. The scriptures warned that this would be the mindset of men in the last days: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” I Thess. 5:3.Thus did Jesus say to His disciples, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27. One may wonder if there is an alternative to the peace that Jesus alone gives. In such case, most serious consideration should be given to the forceful and simple statement of Isa 48:22, “There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.”
EDUCATED BEYOND INTELLIGENCEAn intellectual scholar was once described in homespun wisdom as “being educated beyond his intelligence.” Of course, there is humor in the description, but beyond that, it seems there is also some sobering truth. For some, it appears that the more educated they become, the more they appear to be ignorant of what is truly important in life. On the other hand, those hearing the words of the wise man, Solomon, will have their feet firmly established in true wisdom. He said, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7. Doubtless, the wise man had listened well to his father, King David, who described those who deny their maker in favor of preposterous theories in these words, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God…” Psalm 14:1. The practicality of truth over theory is nicely summed up in the little poem below.EVOLUTIONScholars say mankind is a product of evolution,Citing many textbooks for their conclusion.they say man is a descendant of the ape,That there is no Heaven,; no pearly gate.But God created Earth, and God created Man,Why is this so hard for them to understand?Scholars say mankind is a product of evolution,And this muddled thinking has led to confusion.Maybe man does act like a monkey sometimes,But it’s God’s help he seeks when in a bind. —Ellen BaileyFOR THOUGHT: Educational degrees are desirable, but how do they contrast with understanding and wisdom? Would not both be more ideal? Have you known someone whom you thought was educated beyond his intelligence because common sense was absent?
IN THE MOUNT OF THE LORD IT (HE) SHALL BE SEEN!Jehovah-jireh is one of many Hebrew names given to God as He moved to fulfill the needs of His people. This name arises out of a most unusual incident recorded in Genesis Chapter Twenty-Two. God told our father, Abraham to take Isaac and go to mountain that He would be shown and there to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice unto God.The mountain turned out to be Mt. Moriah. As most casual Bible readers know, after God tested the patriarch, He provided Himself an offering as a substitute for Isaac. It was a dramatic, traumatic test of the validity of genuine faith. It must be noted that faith, far different to a fanciful wish, is believing and depending on the word of God. Abraham knew that God had already promised that Isaac would have a son. So Abraham believed God in full assurance that if he offered up Isaac at God’s direction then God would raise him to life and give him a son (that is faith). Moreover, it was a lesson for ensuing generations of what God would do to redeem His people. At the conclusion of this great epic of faith, Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah-jireh (God provides) as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it (He) shall be seen (Provided).”In the land of Israel there is a certain mountain. At its crest is a very large stone of considerable tonnage. In ancient centuries, it was used as a place of sacrificial offerings. Around it grew a village that became a town, that town became a city. The name of the city is Jerusalem. Within Jerusalem, Solomon built the Temple of the Lord. Much later, Muslims built the Dome of the Rock mosque on the site enclosing in its center that very rock from which (they say) Mohammed ascended unto heaven.It is believed that this is the very stone upon which Abraham erected an alter of sacrifice for Isaac, but was given a substitute: a ram caught by its horns in a thicket nearby. Regardless, for centuries men spoke of the offering of Isaac and looked forward to the magnificent event of God’s providing Himself an acceptable offering for the sins of mankind.Thus, in the mount of the Lord it (He) has been seen. God’s Lamb was offered in fulfillment of the type set in Abraham’s day, and that very possibly within sight of the very place of Isaac’s alter of sacrifice. How marvelous are the lessons of prophecy so clearly portrayed and preserved for all in the blessed Word. Today, that ancient prophecy and event has powerful meaning. It is on a nearby peak of this mountain that the Lamb of God will once again appear. God’s people are so ready for that event to occur. However, the question continues to arise today: In the eye of faith, have you seen this? Have you received what God did for you as your personal gift? If each person does not receive Jesus, God’s Ram of sacrifice, then that person will not be retrieved, but sacrificed upon the altar of damnation whose end is never.
BLESSINGS OF LIFE BOTH NOW AND EVERMOREDeath was introduced to, and inducted into the human species at its fountain head in Eden. English translations of Holy Writ convey “Surely die” (Gen. 2:17) as the penalty of eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The ancient language uses participial action, and literally translated it reads, “Dying, thou shalt die.” This conveyance is proper, denoting death as a working process that culminates in removal of life from the earth, and ultimately eternal heavenly life or death in hell (conscious existence apart from the Creator and His blessings). So it was then; so it is now.Length of days has varied over the vicissitudes of time, but aging (dying) always continued. Physically, the process is noted at the molecular level. Science shows that billions of body cells die and are replaced every cycle of seven years. As they reproduce themselves each ensuing one is affected by free radicals, making it less perfect; hence, the aging (dying) process.It is this very process which Solomon so eloquently wrote about in Ecc. 12. It is noted as a failure in delight; vision diminished; gloominess and depression increased; teeth (grinders) become few; bending down becomes burdensome and painful; fear of falling and of heights generally dominate; even the grasshopper becomes a burden. Sleeplessness prevails, and the end of it all is the silver cord is loosed, and the golden bowl broken. It is then that the dust (body) shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit of man return to God Who gave it. It is a predictable process which cannot be stopped as long as people are in the natural, sinful state of life. Medical science is indeed vaunted in the 21st Century, but it has neither improved upon, nor negated the truth of Psalm 90:10.However, the progress of man, blessed of God, allows the aged of the age to live a more palatial life in their latter days. It is called aids! No, not the disease, but the devices. Happy indeed are many of us who are the benefactors them all. We have CPAP machines that allow us to get six to seven hours of sleep most every night, maintaining a level of health for productivity to continue. Furthermore, we are blessed with the aid of glasses to correct vision to 20/20, and now the removal of cataracts which allows good vision without glasses. Additionally, hearing aids allow fuller interaction in conversation. With them, it is amazing what one hears, but some things not heard would be a blessing, too.With all the aids of the age(d), life continues in a largely unabated force, but the cellular breakdown continues, and soon we must all go the way of all the earth. The good news is that there is a marvelous light at the end of that tunnel of death for those who know the Lord Jesus Christ personally. It is none other than Him Who welcomes us into the eternal realm where life is always at its zenith, and aids do not exist because they ae not needed. Who could entertain missing that future? Readers are not stupid, but some are blind and deaf to the Holy Word and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Every human life should be blessed by the provided aids needed both here and especially for the hereafter?
PATIENCE’S HAS IT’S PRIZEPatience! Patience! What is it anyway? Someone once said it is the ability to idle your motor when everyone else is stripping their gears. A motel office sign defined it this way: “For night service, ring this bell, then keep your shirt on while I get my pants on.” The ancient Bible word from which it is translated is “hupomeno” meaning to “stay or abide under.” It is to keep on keeping on: in calm assurance the desired result will happen. Near fifty years ago, Laura and I found ourselves in Australia and we were more than a little amused at the many different species there. One catching my attention was the Kookaburra. It is a parrot-sized bird that makes a chilling, chattering, jungle sound; a sound that is used in most all jungle movies even though the bird cannot be found outside Australia. It is a carnivore predator, quite wild, and many people in Australia have not had nor wanted one extremely close to them.A strong male Kookaburra could be heard each evening in the green belt next to the house where we were staying, and I really wanted to see it up close. So, I sat alone on the patio with a ball of fresh meat in my hand, not moving or making a sound. The bird came closer, but soon flew away. This was repeated several days until finally, with much caution, the bird came to me and snatched the meat from my hand. I was elated. From inside the house, a picture was made of the event, and much conversation ensued over the rare moment. But the joy of this unique experience depended upon the exercise of patience. So many good things come in the exercise of patience.King David said, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1. Centuries before him another great patriarch, Abraham reaped the reward of patience. God made great and exceedingly precious promises to him, and the scriptures affirm for all time that “. . . after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. Hebrews 6:15.A lot of good things are associated with Abraham. His name is used often in modern religious conversations, but the reward of his patience is seldom mentioned. This example of the patriarch should mean much to every Christian. Like Abraham, modern day Christians must exercise patience to win the reward. The author of Hebrews included this very prescription, saying, “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Heb. 10:36.Finally, we hear King David again from his vast experience, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him . . . Psalm 37:7.
Fish Ministry News
PEACE BEYOND UNDERSTANDINGThere is a promise of peace to the people of God in the New Testament. Truly, the need for real, lasting peace is evident on the world scene as never before. Is genuine peace so elusive? Well, it is not passed out like ice cream cones from inflated politicians. The simple answer to the seemingly elusive state is readily found in Holy Writ, and it is not only promised, but sure enough stipulations are requisite for it.Peace! It is an enduring status to some, and so elusive to others. Still others throw it away before they realize they have it. Some folks want domestic peace. What can be more troubling than a home where there is no peace? Others want inner peace, a reprieve from a troubled conscience, or the filling of an inner void. Still others may be as the Hatfields and the McCoys; desperately needing peace in their relationships with others. Nations cry peace, and go to extremes to avoid war and its terrible effects for generations, but these things alone do not bring peace. The promise is made in Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” But, wait! This verse is the promised state only when other requisites are in place that are named in the previous verses. These include readiness to stand fast in the Lord; to be unified in the body mentally in spiritual matters; when help is extended to others laboring in the Lord; when rejoicing in the Lord is genuine; when one’s moderation (conversation) of faith is known to all men; when one is not anxious, but delivers all things to God in prayer. Then the promise of such peace is sure. However, the mentioned requisites should be the possession of every believer in the Lord’s churches. Those who look elsewhere for peace than to the Lord Jesus Christ may find a temporary topical cream for a present troubled situation, but no lasting peace. The scriptures warned that this would be the mindset of men in the last days: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” I Thess. 5:3.Thus did Jesus say to His disciples, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27. One may wonder if there is an alternative to the peace that Jesus alone gives. In such case, most serious consideration should be given to the forceful and simple statement of Isa 48:22, “There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.”
IN THE MOUNT OF THE LORD IT (HE) SHALL BE SEEN!Jehovah-jireh is one of many Hebrew names given to God as He moved to fulfill the needs of His people. This name arises out of a most unusual incident recorded in Genesis Chapter Twenty-Two. God told our father, Abraham to take Isaac and go to mountain that He would be shown and there to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice unto God.The mountain turned out to be Mt. Moriah. As most casual Bible readers know, after God tested the patriarch, He provided Himself an offering as a substitute for Isaac. It was a dramatic, traumatic test of the validity of genuine faith. It must be noted that faith, far different to a fanciful wish, is believing and depending on the word of God. Abraham knew that God had already promised that Isaac would have a son. So Abraham believed God in full assurance that if he offered up Isaac at God’s direction then God would raise him to life and give him a son (that is faith). Moreover, it was a lesson for ensuing generations of what God would do to redeem His people. At the conclusion of this great epic of faith, Abraham called the name of the place Jehovah-jireh (God provides) as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the Lord it (He) shall be seen (Provided).”In the land of Israel there is a certain mountain. At its crest is a very large stone of considerable tonnage. In ancient centuries, it was used as a place of sacrificial offerings. Around it grew a village that became a town, that town became a city. The name of the city is Jerusalem. Within Jerusalem, Solomon built the Temple of the Lord. Much later, Muslims built the Dome of the Rock mosque on the site enclosing in its center that very rock from which (they say) Mohammed ascended unto heaven.It is believed that this is the very stone upon which Abraham erected an alter of sacrifice for Isaac, but was given a substitute: a ram caught by its horns in a thicket nearby. Regardless, for centuries men spoke of the offering of Isaac and looked forward to the magnificent event of God’s providing Himself an acceptable offering for the sins of mankind.Thus, in the mount of the Lord it (He) has been seen. God’s Lamb was offered in fulfillment of the type set in Abraham’s day, and that very possibly within sight of the very place of Isaac’s alter of sacrifice. How marvelous are the lessons of prophecy so clearly portrayed and preserved for all in the blessed Word. Today, that ancient prophecy and event has powerful meaning. It is on a nearby peak of this mountain that the Lamb of God will once again appear. God’s people are so ready for that event to occur. However, the question continues to arise today: In the eye of faith, have you seen this? Have you received what God did for you as your personal gift? If each person does not receive Jesus, God’s Ram of sacrifice, then that person will not be retrieved, but sacrificed upon the altar of damnation whose end is never.
PATIENCE’S HAS IT’S PRIZEPatience! Patience! What is it anyway? Someone once said it is the ability to idle your motor when everyone else is stripping their gears. A motel office sign defined it this way: “For night service, ring this bell, then keep your shirt on while I get my pants on.” The ancient Bible word from which it is translated is “hupomeno” meaning to “stay or abide under.” It is to keep on keeping on: in calm assurance the desired result will happen. Near fifty years ago, Laura and I found ourselves in Australia and we were more than a little amused at the many different species there. One catching my attention was the Kookaburra. It is a parrot-sized bird that makes a chilling, chattering, jungle sound; a sound that is used in most all jungle movies even though the bird cannot be found outside Australia. It is a carnivore predator, quite wild, and many people in Australia have not had nor wanted one extremely close to them.A strong male Kookaburra could be heard each evening in the green belt next to the house where we were staying, and I really wanted to see it up close. So, I sat alone on the patio with a ball of fresh meat in my hand, not moving or making a sound. The bird came closer, but soon flew away. This was repeated several days until finally, with much caution, the bird came to me and snatched the meat from my hand. I was elated. From inside the house, a picture was made of the event, and much conversation ensued over the rare moment. But the joy of this unique experience depended upon the exercise of patience. So many good things come in the exercise of patience.King David said, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1. Centuries before him another great patriarch, Abraham reaped the reward of patience. God made great and exceedingly precious promises to him, and the scriptures affirm for all time that “. . . after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. Hebrews 6:15.A lot of good things are associated with Abraham. His name is used often in modern religious conversations, but the reward of his patience is seldom mentioned. This example of the patriarch should mean much to every Christian. Like Abraham, modern day Christians must exercise patience to win the reward. The author of Hebrews included this very prescription, saying, “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Heb. 10:36.Finally, we hear King David again from his vast experience, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him . . . Psalm 37:7.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF SPIRITUALLYStudents of Hebrew grammar soon discover a number of joyous gems of truth in the scriptures that otherwise lie mostly hidden. No, these discoveries are not earth shattering, certainly not contradictory to the JKV English edition, but enlightening. Consider the incidents in Egypt as Moses repeatedly asked Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. In Exodus 5:1, 7:16, 8:1, 8:20, 21; 9:1,13; 10:3, 4 the request or demand is repeatedly made, “Let my people go.” In those instances, in which Pharaoh initially agreed, he changed his mind when the plague was removed, one wonders why he was so adamant in his refusal. The answer, of course, lies in Exodus 10:1. God told Moses, “For I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him.” So, God hardened his heart.Now, enter information from Hebrew grammar. In parsing the stems of a Hebrew verb varying degrees of intensity are conveyed: simple, intensive, causative, reflexive. Take a verb as “Kill” This would be read: “He killed” (simple); “He killed, poisoned, shot, and crushed” (intensive); “He caused to kill” (causative). “He killed himself” (reflexive). Since most folks have forgotten their exposure to grammar, the point will be no longer labored, but concluded. The verb “hardened” referencing the heart of Pharaoh is in the intensive degree in Hebrew, and may be understood to mean God made adamant, turned to stone reinforced with steel, so that no other option was then exercisable. God would get glory from Pharaoh and His servants in this manner.A similar matter is related in Deuteronomy 2:30 as Moses spoke of “Sihon, king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.”Understanding how God dealt with the forces of evil in men in history gives one insight as to how he may deal with them again in the future, pointedly as they more adamantly reject truth in the end of this age.It is to this that the Apostle Paul pens the sobering information about those who receives not the love of the truth as recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, “And for this cause. God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. . .”When God sends obstinacy or delusion, there is no turning from it. With exception of tiny pockets of New Covenant believers here and there, the world does not hear, nor does it want to hear the truth of God’s Word. Could it be that we are seeing people under that strong delusion already? If so, the time of great revivals is over, and God’s people need to intensify their study of the Word, and their fellowship with one another. God’s people have been here before as exemplified in the antediluvian world and in the chronicles of Israel under the Judges. History repeats itself spiritually.
NEVER ALONE OR SEPARATED BY SELF-WILLA lot of people in this world are extroverts and so gregarious! The rest of us are introverts. Extrovert personalities like company, lots of people, lots of talk, etc. Introverts on the other hand prefer a quiet corner to read a book and can be quite happy being mostly alone.But there are times when both extroverts and introverts may share a feeling of solitude in matters of faith. While seeking to focus life on the things of the Lord, it is easy to think no one else cares. It seems the whole world is laughing its way to a devil’s hell, and where are those who will share rejoicing in the Word? It is especially discouraging when folk who should be striving to follow God’s path appear to walk everywhere but there. Truly, in those times one might feel that he is alone in striving to honor God in his living. Perhaps Noah had a right to feel that way. Elijah definitely felt that way as he fled from Jezebel’s threat of his life. But even then there were more than 7,000 who had not bent their knee to Baal.It is no longer arguable that churches are shrinking and true Christians are becoming fewer. But should that not encourage us to let our light shine even brighter? When one is bold enough to stand up for God and His Word and Way, it is amazing how many people are found who are keenly interested in learning of God’s ways and power, especially if they think it can truly transform their lives.This then is the power of God working through His people. He is able to make us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Undeniably, the time any of us have to let God work in us in this way is extremely short. So, urgency intensifies. The lesson has to be relearned. When we are weak then are we strong in God’s might. God is pleased to repel the wise and reveal himself to the simple. He is pleased to dwell not in the big things, but in the small things of seemingly little consequence to men whose mind is firmly fixed on worldly things. In identifying with Him, the believer knows that He is the head of the corner, but it must be remembered that first He is the stone the builders rejected. Happy indeed are those who come to know Him and walk in His ways. They learn what the great characters of the Bible learned, causing them to rejoice. They were never alone! Neither are his dear children today. He promises, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” One does not have to look very far to find dedicated disciples. They are not in the hoopla of the world around us, but in the quiet out-of-the-way places where love grows and heavenly company remains. Where this is not true, it could be that self-will has taken the ascendency.