Become an Overcomer!!

As a freshman in high school I ran track. I was untested in this area of competition. The coach positioned me in the 100 yard dash during one of the first home meets. Crouched forward, feet in stocks, the momentum built for seconds until the gun shot sounded. I rushed out of my place, aware of the pressure on my knees, passed competitors, and sprinted into 3rd place out of six runners.

I remember hearing a classmate’s voice, “Wow! Look at Kelly go!”

I had no idea I could run that fast!

Oftentimes we have no idea how fast we can go, nor how much we can endure.

As believers we are called to run the race set before us. (Hebrews 12:1) To do so, we must keep running and not give up, because the race is one of endurance. We must remain steadfast in the faith, no matter what trials come. To do so requires throwing off encumbrances—anything that holds us back—sin. Sin easily entangles people, pulling at them, slowing them down. It’s like running against a strong wind or pulling a heavy parachute. Flee from sin, that is how you run to win! (1Corinthians 9:24)

To run means to go through hurdles, just as some runners leap one hurdle after another. This is like the endurance of tribulation. It comes to us all: divorce, disease, depression, deaths of loved ones, etc..(i call them “d” words.) But Lord Jesus said, “Take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) As we run, He is present, the coach on the sidelines, encouraging, teaching, and supporting. He goes through troubles with us.

Daniel was an Old Testament prophet, a child of Judah, taken into captivity to Babylon at the fall of Jerusalem. There he was made a eunuch, his manhood cut off of him. He endured a lion’s den, from which God saved him by shutting the mouths of the lions. He served four royal kings, explaining their dreams and recording what God told him in visions. At the end of 70 years of captivity, Daniel, then in his 80s, yet lived, continuing to be used by God during the time of Cyrus, the man appointed by God to rebuild Jerusalem. (Book of Daniel; Daniel 6:28; Ezra 1)

His inspirational writings have eternal value, affecting the lives of millions and many more to come as he recorded what was to happen in end days.

Daniel endured much, running the course set before him, during a time of extreme persecution. His faith was kept as he faithfully prayed three times daily even when it was against the law and because he knew the Scriptures and knew captivity would end. (Jeremiah 29:10) God preserved him.

For the joy set before Him, Lord Jesus endured persecution and capital punishment — death on a cross. (Hebrews 12:2) He saw that the hard things would end. He took the cup of suffering and obeyed God the Father, for the sake of the lives of millions and many more.

Life’s circumstances aren’t always controllable. We must surrender to what God wishes to do.in our lives. Suffering happens. He works all things together for good, for His church’s good.

Endurance is a positive experience, though suffering hurts. It leads to overcoming the obstacle in the path, the hurdle. This builds faith.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” (1John 5:4)

It is work that has eternal value because it involves your soul, your character while others watch and see your life’s living testimony. How many people will your life affect?

Are you running your race as God directs? Are you following Him even during dark days of the “d” words? Keep your mind in Scripture, especially the Words of Lord Jesus.

Stay in touch with Him through prayer.

Have you stumbled and fallen? Get up! The race continues. You can do it! You too can endure the hard things and overcome them. He is here to help you. Call out, “Help me Lord Jesus!”

(C) 2020 Kelly Jadon

Know Your Enemy: Speech Discernment

The summer of sixth grade in 1976, right after the Bicentennial celebration, I went away to a two-week Girl Scout camp in Lapeer, Michigan. I would be gone during my younger sister’s 7th birthday. Preparing ahead, I wrote a letter and mailed it to her from camp. Inside was a treasure map. I had secretly buried a birthday present, properly wrapped to preserve it, in the backyard, down by the garden. After receiving the letter, my little sister opened it on her birthday. With her friends, they excitedly followed the map from location to location around our property until finally digging up the hidden treasure. Today, my sister still has that letter. She treasures it!

The Word of God states that in the heart or soul, there are two types of treasure.

Good treasure or evil treasure.

Lord Jesus said, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. (Luke 6:45)

We know what is in a person’s heart, good or evil, by what comes out of his mouth. It is a type of identification as to whether he is a good man or an evil man. And, it is vitally important to know the difference.

During the time of King Hezekiah’s reign in ancient Judah, Assyria came against the nation and its capital, Jerusalem. The king of Assyria, Sennacherib, sent his spokesmen with a large army to speak to King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. Hezekiah did not go outside the reinforced walls of the city, but instead sent out his own men.

Citizens of Jerusalem stood on the top of the city’s wall listening to the conversation which was in Judean, their native tongue. Assyria’s head negotiator, Rabshakeh spoke from his heart, evil, and used persuasive techniques to sway the people of Jerusalem against their king and his holdout against Assyria. His purpose was to cause terrifying fear by destroying their trust in God. Rabshakeh stated that God was displeased with Jerusalem and would let them be destroyed if they did not surrender. Neither would God help them, he added.

Rabshakeh stated that he himself is God’s man, Who supposedly said to him, “Go up against this land and destroy it.” (Isaiah 36:10)

Speaking directly to the Jews, Rabshakeh implored them not to listen to their king, but to give up. His speech glorified King Sennacherib of Assyria, as if he too was a god, insisting that the gods of other nations were the same as The Lord. This was intended to make God’s people doubt in God’s protection and build unbelief. (2Chronicles 32:9-10)

Surrender was made to seem attractive, but was really meant to be ethnic cleansing and resettlement, away from Jerusalem, making the Judeans powerless.

Rabshakeh spoke with pride, malice, lies and blasphemy of God. (2Kings 18:17-37)

This was Rabshakeh’s treasure. Deception.

The good man, however, brings out the fear of the Lord, which is the respect of the true and living God, and His Son, Lord Jesus. It is his treasure.

He will not blasphemy God, nor Lord Jesus.

This treasure gives a man salvation (life after death), wisdom (Job 28:18) and knowledge. It makes him stable, so that he is not blown back and forth with indecision and instability. (Isaiah 33:6)

While the evil man speaks curses and death, the good man speaks life. (Proverbs 18:21)

The good man guards his treasure and does not feed it to hogs. For it is life and it is valuable. (Matthew 7:6)

“Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” (2Timothy 1:14)

The evil man comes with deception, to hurt, kill and destroy, but he appears to be a friend, one who will show mercy, or give good gifts. But he twists the truth. He cares for no one but himself.

The good man protects, He does not brag nor boast. He does not bring up old wrongs, nor insist on his own way. He will not twist the truth, but speaks plainly and adheres to God’s ways—hope, faith, and love. (1Corinthians 13:4-8)

During such times as we are in, it is difficult to know truth from fiction, good man from evil man. We must remember that many evil men at first appeared to do good. Remember Hitler.

Are you listening carefully to what you hear come from another’s heart? Is it clean? Or is it full of blasphemy?

In the end, Rabshakeh’s blasphemy of God did him in. God will not be mocked. (Galatians 6:7)

(C) 2020 Kelly Jadon

Training For Escape

One summer I went away to a two-week Girl Scout camp in Northern Michigan, near Traverse City. The lakes there are pristine and good for many water activities. As Scouts, we didn’t just sell cookies, but also learned survival skills like starting a campfire, digging a latrine, and preventing drowning.

Camp leaders taught us girls swimming strokes, how to tread water for extended periods of time, how to float to survive and how to rescue another person in danger of drowning. It was excellent training which carried into my older years.

The camp also had kayaks, the type used by Eskimos in the Arctic. A seal comes up around the waist, keeping the lower portion of the body dry and enclosed within the kayak. Getting out of a flipped kayak was very unnerving. I was upside down in the water and sealed in. I had to keep my cool to tuck my body forward, pull the loop in front of me, and push my body out of the floatable all while underwater holding my breath, eyes open. This “wet exit” required training.

A believer’s life is similar to learning drowning prevention techniques. It requires training. All Scripture is suitable for training. (2Timothy 3:16)

Training means to practice something until the process is mastered, learning a skill, or type of behavior. It takes diligence and time. One has to set his mind to it and not run away in fear, just as I had to overcome my fear of being upside down, stuck in the kayak.

Scripture reading and its application is necessary for life, for survival. (John 6:63)

One of the ways God speaks to us is through the Word of God. (Psalm 1:1-3)

The Word of God is not like other books; it is alive, supernatural, and its content has come from God, to tell us Who He is. (Hebrews 4:12)

Jesus is the Word of God. (John 1:1-2)

There is no life, no survival without Him. (John 14:6; Psalm 66:9)

Training also means teaching. Leaders must teach Biblical skills to the younger generation, like how to hear from God and follow Him. Without God’s leadership, they live in darkness and will follow any shepherd. (John 10:1)

Just as when a kayak is upside down, without proper technique and knowledge, drowning occurs. But when we practice and prepare ahead for danger, we keep our calm and know exactly what to do. Ask God. Hold to God. Stay in obedience to God.

In the Old Testament, there were three young men who would not bow nor take a knee to what was the religion of the moment, the worship of a newly created image of Nebuchadnezzar. They had already been through many traumatic situations, and The Lord had preserved their lives. Trusting Him, they stood when others bowed. King Nebuchadnezzar had them punished by throwing them into a fiery incinerator, but a fourth man walked around inside with them. The Lord. The three came out of the furnace without even the smell of smoke upon them. These young men grew up learning the Scriptures. Their life-threatened witness changed the course of religious freedom for true believers. (Daniel 3)

In the New Testament, Lord Jesus went through many trials. In the wilderness, tempted by satan, He resisted the devil with the Word of God. He is our example, He would not bow to the enemy. (Matthew 4:1-11) His physical witness produced the fruit of the Kingdom of God on earth.

Peer pressure, political pressures, and spiritual dangers come to believers. Without having received the preparation of training and the knowledge that goes with it, we will not know or even recognize the way out of danger.

To bend a knee or bow to anything other than the true living God, Lord Jesus, His Son, is idolatry. (Exodus 20:3) It is sin.

The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)

Are you training your children to remain obedient to God, to Lord Jesus?

Pastors—are you teaching your flocks how to follow Lord Jesus even in dark times?

(C) 2020 Kelly Jadon

The Pastor's Prayer of Life

My ignorance cost me. It costs others too. When we deliberately choose to give up Scripture reading, we are in trouble.

Lifeway Research reports that less than 25 percent of believers in the United States have a “systematic method of reading the Christian Scriptures each day.” (2017)

The Bible is alive. It is the direction of God, not just for morality, but living guidance by Holy Spirit to help avoid sin. Without it, without the knowledge of God, which is the power of God, our ignorance leads us like sheep, like the blind, into unbelief, blindness, danger and sickness. (Hebrews 4:12)

Ignorance before the Lord regarding sanctification or holiness in the life of the believer at Communion leads to illness.

When the time of Communion, the remembrance of Lord Jesus with bread and wine or juice, arrives in the church service, “a man must examine himself.”

“Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.”

“For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgement to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.” (1Corinthians 11:27-30)

Many believers both old and new are unsanctified or partially sanctified. They, in ignorance of what is sin, eat and drink judgment on themselves during Communion. Our churches are sick. They are weak.

Dangerous sins are often not preached about, leaving the sheep weakened, and the Scriptures are not read and applied individually as is necessary.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, just prior to His arrest, Lord Jesus prayed to God the Father for the church, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word.”

Twice the Lord prayed about our sanctification: “That we might be sanctified in truth.”

“Your Word is truth.” (John 17:17-21)

The Word of God washes us, sanctifies us.(Ephesians 5:28)

The Word, The Truth, hidden in the heart, warns us of sin. (Psalm 119:11)

The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)

Ignorance of sin still leads to death.

The Word cleanses us. Purifies us as we follow Divine direction. Making us to be His holy bride. This is sanctification. The Lord prayed for you and me, for our sanctification, 2,000 years ago, knowing that we needed it. The Lord’s prayers are heard by God the Father and are within His will.

The Savior is preparing us to be clean, only needing to wash our feet at the end of the day. (John 13:12)

Lord Jesus Himself is our example of sanctification. (John 17:19) (Hebrews 10:10)

We are sanctified by His Blood. (Hebrews 13:12)

The Savior is God. He carries God’s Blood. Only this Blood sanctifies us.

The Blood of Jesus is a free gift to those who receive Him. Lord Jesus has done His work at the cross. The duty of studying Scripture and applying it to our lives is our work, the bride’s work. (Revelation 19:7) Together with God we labor toward the common goal of sanctification or holiness of ourselves.

During the time of Hezekiah, King of Judah, the Temple was cleaned out of idols and the Passover reinstituted. Hezekiah sent messengers to the tribes, calling them to come to Jerusalem for the feast, though having been delayed by the Temple renovation. Those who would normally sanctify themselves before the feast had no time to prepare. Those who had lived in Israel had fallen into generations of idolatry. They were ignorant of sanctification. Yet they ate the Passover sacrifice meal, eating and drinking judgment upon themselves.

Hezekiah saw this and with prayed for them, “‘May the good Lord pardon everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.’ So the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.” (2Chronicles 30:17-20)

The tribes became sick without purification, but the prayer of the king caused God to pardon them.

When we celebrate Communion, we remember Lord Jesus and how He instituted the Communion table and the New Covenant of His Body, the bread and His Blood, the wine, on Passover.

Pastors, are you praying for forgiveness for your congregations at Communion as Hezekiah did at Passover?

Pastors, are you teaching about the hidden dangers in today’s society?

Believers, your life depends upon you reading and applying Scripture each day. Are you doing this?

None of us is without sin. (Romans 3:23)

(C) 2020 Kelly Jadon

Hallelujah Community Church: What God Did

Japan is a nation of one people, but in their hearts they are divided. Some are atheists, others Shinto (a traditional religion in which a variety of false gods are worshiped) and an equal number of Buddhists. Most Japanese practice both Shintoism and Buddhism. Only about 1.5% are Christians.

When I traveled to Japan as a missionary in 1983, the percentage of Japanese Christians was lower at only .5%.

I worshiped and taught English classes at Hallelujah Community Church in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, just outside of Nagoya, a major city. The church was full of youth, single adults, young men studying to become pastors and the fellowship was quickly growing.

Their lives centered around God as they lived believers’ lives in the midst of darkness. They clung closely to each other, believing, “With God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

What I remember most about these believers was their dedication. Three times a week they regularly fasted as a church body both breakfast and lunch. Before the fast broke, a time was set for prayer. They came together and on their knees loudly called on God to help them.

This church was open everyday. There was constant ministry happening.

Nearly 40 years later, we see the work of God and His ways reach fruition. Hallelujah Community Church is still in existence today and has grown to 13 Japanese branch churches, and plantings of international churches in Brazil, the Philippines and even in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

This kind of work can only be accomplished with proper leadership, men and women, who are after God’s own heart and follow His ways. In this situation, Pastor Sakakiyama has led his church, with his wife, devotedly for decades as God directed.

Why fasting and prayer?

In Esther 4:16, the queen called for a fast of all the Jews in Persia. She too would fast three days, in preparation for her entrance to the king’s court. which was against the law, knowing very well that she herself could die at his command. In this case, the body of believers in God were called to act as one, for the sake of their queen, their representative at court.

Ezra and the Jewish people stood on the bank of the Ahava River. They needed God’s protection while traveling and invoked it with prayer, petition and fasting. (Ezra:8:21-23)

In Acts 13:2, the body of New Testament believers in Antioch were worshiping and fasting. During this time, Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

Fasting and prayer are very powerful ways of God. They are His ways. Lord Jesus Himself fasted and prayed in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:1-11)

Church, have you humbled yourselves to God’s ways, praying and fasting together as a body on a consistent basis?

Pastors, elders and deacons, are you leading your church body in God’s ways?

Regular fasting and prayer directs us by Holy Spirit, in the way we should go, as seen in Acts 13:2, under the mighty arm of protection of God in an ever darkening world.

(C) 2020 Kelly Jadon