ON THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF LARRY NORMAN IN ANOTHER LAND

BY ALLEN FLEMMING



First Baptist Church on Haight and Octavia in San Francisco 1952

Larry Norman stood up out of his seat and started for the altar. At the end of the row his father tried to stop him,

"Larry, where do you think your going?"

"To meet Jesus."

"You're five years old, now sit down."

"Dad, I know what Im doing."

Larry continued his way down to the altar where he met Jesus.

Salem, Oregon 2008

I got a phone message from Charles Norman, saying that if I wanted to see Larry before he left this world that I should come soon. I called back planning to tell him I would fly up from San Francisco the next weekend. Charles wife Kristin answered instead and said that I better come sooner. A few hours later I was on a flight to Oregon.

As I drove from the Portland airport to Salem,Oregon, I thought back to the time I had spent with Larry: the late night meals at all night restaurants where Larry spoke to complete strangers about the love of Jesus; the house church meetings in San Jose and Hollywood where he always seemed to be the one closest to the heart of Jesus.

God is..

1. Eternal. (Deuteronomy 33:27; Jeremiah 10:10; Psalm 90:2)
2. Infinite. (1 Kings 8:22-27; Jeremiah 23:24; Psalm 102:25-27; Revelation 22:13)
3. Self-sufficient and self-existent. (Exodus 3:13-14; Psalm 50:10-12; Colossians 1:16)
4. Omnipresent (present everywhere). (Psalm 139:7-12)
5. Omnipotent (all powerful). (Genesis 18:14; Luke 18:27; Revelation 19:6)
6. Omniscient (all knowing). (Psalm 139:2-6; Isaiah 40:13-14)
7. Unchanging or immutable. (Psalm 102:25-27; Hebrews 1:10-12; 13:8)
8. Sovereign. (2 Samuel 7:22; Isaiah 46:9-11)
9. Wise. (Proverbs 3:19; Romans 16:26-27; 1 Timothy 1:17)
10. Holy. (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15)
11. Righteous and just. (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 11:7; Psalm 119:137)
12. Faithful. (Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 89:1-8)
13. True and truth. (Psalm 31:5; John 14:6; John 17:3; Titus 1:1-2)
14. Good. (Psalm 25:8; Psalm 34:8; Mark 10:18)
15. Merciful. (Deuteronomy 4:31; Psalm 103:8-17; Daniel 9:9; Hebrews 2:17)
16. Gracious. (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 103:8; 1 Peter 5:10)
17. Love. (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:8)
18. Spirit. (John 4:24)
19. Light. (James 1:17; 1 John 1:5)
20. Triune or trinity. (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The Story Behind "Your Hands"

JJ Heller:

At the time when I wrote "Your Hands" (with the help of my husband and our friend Katie Herzig) I was in the middle of one of the most difficult times of my life. I had been struggling with anxiety and panic attacks for a few years, but I was at a point where I was either panicking, or wondering when my next attack would come.

I prayed that God would immediately remove all of my symptoms, but He chose not to answer my prayer that way. Instead, He reminded me that I have no reason to be afraid. The same hands that created the universe are holding me and leading me where I need to go.

This is a very personal song, but I've been overwhelmed by the amount of people who have connected to "Your Hands" and have been encouraged by it.

Peace.
*jj

Knowing God's Personal Name

Before I had a personal relationship with God's Son, I always called him by His title, Christ (Messiah). But once I came to know Him, I started calling Him by His personal name, Jesus (Yeshua). Which do you think He would prefer to hear: "I love you, Christ" or "I love you, Jesus"? I don't think there is any doubt.

God has a personal name. The biblical writers who had a personal relationship with Him used that name repeatedly in adoration and praise of Him. Why shouldn't we? He desires intimacy with us .. John 4:23

 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am Yahweh, My name is Yahweh." .  Exodus 6:2-3 
The name of God is Yahweh. Or, at least, that is the consensus of opinion by scholars. The reason there is doubt is because the name is rendered in Hebrew as YHWH. There were no vowels in biblical Hebrew, so the correct pronunciation cannot be determined from the text, and since the Jews developed a tradition of not pronouncing the name, its pronunciation was lost.

Nostradamus, Prophecy and Hoax.

"Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness"  2 Corinthians 11:14-15

"And when they say to you, "Consult the mediums and the spiritists who whisper and mutter," should not a people consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?" Isaiah 8:19

Just three days after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., Amazon.com reported on its website that three of the top ten best-selling books concerned the prophesies of Nostradamus, a 16th Century seer whom many claim prophesied modern events.

Within a week after 9/11, the Internet began to buzz with email messages about the attacks being the fulfillment of a prophecy by Nostradamus. The prophecy was quoted as follows:

"In the City of God there will be a great thunder,
Two brothers torn apart by chaos.
While the fortress endures,
The great leader will succumb.
The third big war will begin when the city is burning."
— Nostradamus, 1654

The "two brothers" were, of course, the Twin Towers in New York, and "the fortress" was the Pentagon.

The first problem with this "prophecy" is that Nostradamus died in 1566, 88 years before these particular lines were supposedly written. Second, Nostradamus wrote in quatrains — that is, four line verses. This stanza contains five lines. Finally, no such lines can be found in any of the published works of Nostradamus.

Several months after these lines appeared, it was revealed that they came from an essay about Nostradamus that was posted on the Internet in 1997. The essay was written by a student at Brock University in Canada. He fabricated the first four lines of the stanza to illustrate how easily an important-sounding prophecy can be crafted through the use of abstract imagery. He pointed out how the terms he used were so deliberately vague that they could be interpreted to fit any number of cataclysmic events.

It now appears that someone took this illustrative example from this essay and then added the fifth line about a world war. A fabrication was thus further enhanced by another fabrication. In short, the "prophecy" was a complete hoax.

But that wasn't the end of it. Someone quickly added another verse to the quotation:

"On the 11th day of the 9th month,
Two metal birds will crash into two tall statues
In the new city,
And the world will end soon after."

At least it was a quatrain. But it was just as bogus as the original "prophecy."

Don't Read Horoscopes

(a note from Susanna Samuel)

Deuteronomy 18:9-13  When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in [a] the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,  or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.  Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.  You must be blameless before the LORD your God.



HOW ABOUT YOU? Do you read horoscopes to see that kind of day you can expect? it's a dangerous thing to do. Maybe you think you're reading it just for fun, but it's easy to replace God's word with words written by people. God wants to be YOUR SOURCE of ADVICE, COMFORT, & HELP. He sternly forbids the use of things like fortune-telling or witchcraft to try to find out how your day is going to be like, the type of person you are or what your future looks like. Listen to God and leave the horoscopes alone.

God, Logic and Science

'Let me explain the problem science has with God.'

The atheist  professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.

'You're a Christian, aren't you son?'

'Yes sir,' the student says.

'So you believe in God?'

'Absolutely.'

'Is God good?'

'Sure! God's good.'

'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'

'Yes'

'Are you good or evil?'

'The Bible says I'm evil.'

The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!' He considers for a moment. 'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'

'Yes sir, I would.'

'So you're good...!'

'I wouldn't say that.'

'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'

The student does not answer, so the professor continues.
'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer,
even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can
you answer that one?'

The student remains silent.

Sebuah Paradox tentang iman..

Kamu bilang:"..itu mustahil!"
Tuhan bilang:"Apa yang tidak mungkin bagi manusia, mungkin bagi Allah." (Lukas 18:27)

Kamu bilang: "Aku sangat lelah oleh ber-beban berat"
Tuhan bilang: "AKU akan memberikan kelegaan dan menanggung bebanmu!." (Matius 11:28-30)

Kamu bilang: "Tak seorangpun mengasihiku (hiks..)"
Tuhan bilang : "AKU Mengasihimu! (Yohanes 3:16 ; Yohanes 13:34)

Kamu bilang: "Aku tak dapat meneruskan ini.."
Tuhan bilang : "Jangan memaksakan diri, AKU hanya menilai sesuai ukuranmu.. (II Kor 12:9 ; Maz 91:15)

Kamu bilang: "Saya tak dapat mencari jalan keluar"
Tuhan bilang :"Aku akan menuntunmu (Ams 3:5-6)

Kamu bilang: "Aku tak sanggup melakukan itu.."
Tuhan bilang : "Kau mampu melakukan segalanya.. (Phil 4:13)

Kamu bilang: "Aku tak memiliki kemampuan"
Tuhan bilang : "AKU akan melimpahkan kasih karunia padamu.. (II Kor 9:8)

Kamu bilang: "Itu akan sia-sia"
Tuhan bilang : "...Itu akan berguna bagiKU (Roma 8:28)

Kamu bilang: "Aku tak dapat mengampuni diriku sendirif"
Tuhan bilang: "AKU mengampunimu (I Johanes 1:9 & Roma 8:1)

Kamu bilang: "Aku tak bisa mengusahakan kebutuhan"
Tuhan bilang : AKU akan memenuhi segala keperluanmu... (Fil 4:19)

Kamu bilang: "Aku takut"
Tuhan bilang : AKU tak pernah memberimu roh ketakutan (II Tim 1:7)

Kamu bilang: "Aku selalu kawatir dan Frustasi"
Tuhan bilang : "Serahkan kekawatiranmu padaKU (I Petrus 5:7)

Kamu bilang: "Aku tak memiliki iman yg cukup"
Tuhan bilang: "AKU mengukur iman sesuai dng kemampuanmu(Roma 12:3)

Kamu bilang: "Aku tak cukup pintar"
Tuhan bilang: "AKU memberkatimu dengan Hikmat.." (I Kor 1:30)

Kamu bilang: "Aku merasa kesepian"
Tuhan bilang: "AKU tak pernah meninggalkan dan menelantarkanmu" (Ibrani 13:5)