BEHOLDING HIS GLORY
June 2005	Volume III Number 10

”But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. “ (2 Corinthians 3:18)

THOUGHTS FOR CONSIDERATION:

Greetings again my Brethren. As we behold His glory more and more we are changed into whatsoever we behold, and as we are changed we then are able to come into certain understandings, by His Spirit, that will transform our lives. One of these understandings is the difference between obedience and submission. Today within the church there is a great need to come into a place of submissiveness to ALL authority. Sadly today the Church in America has become so political, but Jesus asked us to be the salt and light to the world, not politicians trying to conform the world to Biblical views or by cramming the last bit of truth down someone’s throat. We are to rest in God’s sovereign will and plan for the billions of lives in the world, in the daily affairs of men and women, and for nations, not rally and organize behind a good cause to set right the social injustices of today. No where in the Bible is it recorded Jesus got involved with the social issues of His day. We are to be the example of the love of Christ to the world, even in the face of great slaughter of life and loss of rights. The same Spirit (a Spirit of love and hope for our fellow man) that raised Jesus from the dead is to rule and reign in our bodies, and it is not the spirit of division and wanting it is own way. We must go God’s way (not ours) for Christians there is no other way. Now please do not misunderstand me by mistaking submissiveness for weakness in God. Our strength in God comes out of our ability to be weak before the world. Doctor Luke in Acts shares these thoughts with us, “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20) and “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)

Submission is a matter of attitude, while obedience is a matter of conduct. Thus, submission is absolute, but obedience is relative. For example slavery today is wrong in the eyes of man, but in the Bible at that time slavery was okay. Paul even exhorted slaves to be obedient to their masters. ”Servants, (slaves in the Greek) be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness (oneness of vision and focus in the Greek) of your heart, as unto Christ;” (Ephesians 6:5) The issue was not the slavery, but the submission of the slaves, the submission in their heart. Never forget, at the heart of every issue is an issue of your heart. Often times with issues of the heart and social issues we get off track. In Acts 4:19, Peter and John’s spirit was not rebellious, since they submitted to those in authority. Obedience however cannot be absolute. Some authorities must be obeyed; while others should not be, especially in matters which touch on things of God and sharing the gospel. We can question, suggest, and reply to authorities, yet we must never show an un-submissive attitude. Submission must be absolute. One who knows authority will be soft and tender. They will be absolute in their submission in heart, (in attitude) in word and action, even if they disagree. There is to be no sign of harshness or rebellion. Thus, when a delegated authority (people who represent God’s authority i.e. pastors, police, government, and the like) and direct authority (God Himself) are in conflict, one must render submission, but not always give obedience to the delegated authority. When Jesus stood before Pilate there was great resistance in Him. Every cell in Jesus’ body was resisting Pilate for what he stood for and believed, but the Bible said, “He (Jesus) opened not His mouth.” In silence He gave great resistance. He submitted (He stood before him), but did not obey Pilate. Jesus did not do what Pilate wanted Him to do. What a wonderful place in God when we can stand before man and say nothing when being attacked or wrongly accused. There is much said about our inward strength when we can say nothing. So here are the Spiritual principles:

1. Obedience is related to conduct, it is relative. Submission is related to our heart attitude and is absolute.

2. God alone receives unqualified obedience without measure, any person lower than God can only receive qualified obedience.

3. Should the delegated authority issue an order clearly contradicting God’s command, we give submission but not obedience. We submit to the person God gave the authority to (submitting to God in reality), but we must not disobey the order of God. God’s order is to love, “they will know you are my disciples, by your love,” not your ability to protest and force someone into submission.

Brethren we must get back on track. The Church in America has drifted so far from just presenting the Gospel (the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus) to becoming a political organization wielding political clout against those who dare to disagree. I see religious leaders becoming politicians and politicians becoming religious leaders, Brethren heaven forbid this ought not to be. We must get back to the simplistic delivery of the Gospel were we just have the goodness of God in mind for those who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal savior. This can only be done when we share the good news with a heart of submission for all the world to see. More next month on this and other topics.

ARTICLE REVIEW:

The Message of the Cross

Paul shares these words with the Christians at the local church in Corinth, “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18) Here Paul in great simplicity is laying the foundational words needed to highlight their awareness of their lack and great need for repentance and restoration. You know, words really do matter. Unless we see our need for God, He can never be God to us. He can never give us the riches we need to be made whole and complete. Our receiving from God comes not by our claiming and our taking, but from our heart-felt lowly confession of our need for Him. How foolish many denominations and churches are in their false teaching of being able to claim or take things from God. How can we take heaven by violence and force? In Matthew 11:12, Jesus, who was meek and lowly, was teaching us violent people take things by force and that the kingdom of heaven suffers because of these violent people and their ways, not we are to be violent and take the things of heaven by force. We cannot claim or take nothing from God. This false doctrinal thinking only reveals a heart and life that has never been seriously dealt with by God, one who has never endured the judgments and dealings of God in their life. It reflects a selfish and self-centered person who wants through religion and presumption to get all they can from God, but not so in God. It is our understanding and honest confession of our need for God that moves Him to supply our every need. Please notice it is not our need that moves God on our behalf, but our confession of our need for Him. I wonder why we are always trying to get all we can from God? Is not what He has for us today enough? Do we have to constantly keep telling God what He has to give us? Doesn’t God already know what we need? We seem to want God’s riches just to have them, but God does not operate that way. God gives us His riches when we need them. There seems to be a contest within the Body of Christ to see who can get the most riches, biggest ministry, and greatest power from God. Well, in God the one with the most riches and power does not win. In God the one who strives lawfully wins (2 Timothy 2:5), the one who does it according to God’s will and the way God has established it to be done. Friend, we get God’s riches through our obedience to Him and enduring His dealing and judgments in our lives. You know we even twist scriptures to support this desire of ours for more of God’s riches. In Philippians we read, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) There is no “s” on the word “need.” The word is “need” not needs. We need to be content with the riches God has for us today. And of course our greatest “need” is more of Him in our lives. If we get this “need” satisfied all other needs will pale in importance. God has given us so much and yet what have we done with all that God has already given us? What will we do if He gives us more? Sadly, the truth in Paul’s words ring loud and true in many churches today, “lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.” Because of our selfishness and arrogant ways we have made the cross of Christ to be of no effect in the lives of many lost in the world today. We have refused to allow God to work in our lives. We have rejected God’s dealings and judgments, thus not becoming the work of God (Ephesians 2:10) disqualifying ourselves for service by Him.

Brethren, there is only one message in the Bible and that is the love of God towards man through the cross of Christ Jesus. Paul shares this very truth in verse 18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) The power of God is found in the message of the cross and contained in this message is the life of God unto salvation. The only message of the Bible is the message of the cross, there is no other message. The message of death to our self-life on our cross of discipline and obedience, the cross Paul tells us we must die daily on (1 Corinthians 9:27). Our cross that Jesus commands us to “take up” if we desire to come after or follow Him (Mark 8:34). Where are we going to follow Jesus? Doing good works? Heaven? Oh no my friend, we are following Jesus to the same place His Father led Him, to our Calvary to die so that we too like Jesus may live in the resurrection life of God in great power. We are following Jesus in death. God’s power is found in the cross of Christ Jesus. In Mark 8:35 we read the real proof of taking up the cross of Christ in our lives, “For whoever desires to save his life will loses it, but whoever losses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:35) Not too many Christians want to lose their life, they want to live and get all they can from God. Sadly this too is why the cross has been made of no effect today. They want to live adding to themselves much gain, but God does not operate like this. God measures our gain by what we lose. God measures our gain in Him by how much of our life we can lose. At the same measure, no more no less, we lose our life we shall gain in God. How can God use us if He cannot get us to willfully give up, our life, the most precious thing to us?

I will be honest I am really tired of hearing evangelists, preachers, and teachers telling me about all of the wonderful riches God has for me and what my destiny in God is. All I have to do is go to their Camp Meeting, Mega-fest, or New Vine Conference and take or claim them by faith and they will be mine. Well, this is false teaching. It is our salvation that is imparted to us through faith, but the other riches we get from God are given (not claimed or taken) to us through a qualification process of being approved by God. We will never get anything from God unless we first meet the conditions He has established. And the process for getting from God always begins with losing our life first. Time and time again as we come to a place of need, we must lose our life so that we may be able to take up His life. It is in this taking up of His life our need is met. We must die to our selfish desires and ways so that we may be able to take up His resurrection life. Jesus said, “I have come that they many have life . . .” (John 10:10) He came so that we might be able to take up His life so that we might be able to lay our life down. Jesus did not come so that we will be able to get all of the spiritual things we want from His Father. Nor did Jesus come so that we will be able to live a life of ease driving big cars, living in bigger houses, and getting all of the “stuff” of this age. He came so that we might be able to come into the resurrection life of God. I am really tired of hearing message after message that has nothing to do with the truths in the Bible. Tired of hearing evangelists, preachers, and teachers, “who comes preaching another Jesus whom we have not preached or if you have receive a different spirit which you have not received or a different gospel . . .“ (2 Corinthians 11:4) The word “gospel” here means message. The message is the gospel, the death burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus. The spiritual principle still is death before glorification it has not changed. I am really tried of evangelists, preachers, and teachers coming with a different message. It is the message of the cross and no other that has the power of God. But sadly today just like the Church at Corinth the messages of the cross is considered foolishness and we seldom hear it. Sadly it is not popular. Why not? It does not fill offering plates and seats in church. It does not make us feel good it brings us to our knees. It is not the mainstream message we hear most, if not all, evangelists, preachers, and teachers broadcast around the world on TV today. But when all is said and done that does not change the fact, that ONLY the message of the cross is, “the power of God.” Written by David Stahl.

THOUGHTS FROM KAREN:

The Last Picture Frame

We have four picture frames (one for each child) that have 13 circles in the mat for all of those school pictures we feel obligated to buy each year, from kindergarten to 12^th grade. Every year I would get our children’s school pictures (the cheap set) and put a little 1x1 picture in the correct space in the frame for each child. I recently put the last picture in for our youngest Joshua. Now all the frames are complete. I was a little sad putting in the last picture. For it represented the end of school days, report cards, school plays, various sporting events, and all that goes with school. And, in some ways represented an end to childhood if you will. But, that is okay because God desires us to grow up and put away childish things. “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11) Sadly many Christians today never grow up they never put away those things that keep them from spiritually growing into manhood before God, growing enough where we can make Godly choices for ourselves.

My role as “Mom” has changed ever so slowly over the last years. I now feel it is the time to back off, but I often catch myself telling our older two (and married) children what to do and what not to do. Advice flies out of me like feathers out of a ripped pillow. Fortunately our older sons humor me, out of great respect I suppose. They probably do not realize that I still want to hold on to the “Mom” title I have been earning over these many years. I so miss the family dinners when they all were younger, all of us at the table talking about the days events. All of the running around and noise four kids generates. When Daniel moved out we asked him what he missed most about our family life and he said the times we had Bible Book a shorthand name for family devotion, I miss them too. I was needed more, they were my “glory days.” But now my role has changed. I am still a Mom, but now also a mother-in-law and grandmother.

Joshua is a senior in high school and is always off with his friends here and there. Connie too has her friends and is seldom home as she waits to go to college with her brother Joshua. My advice, my words though heeded still are few and far between. It will not be long before Connie and Joshua are also gone. I have reflected somewhat on this time of my life. Here are some thoughts I have had. As our natural life coincides with our spiritual life, we see the parallel narrowing of our functioning and how we operated or done things in the past. It seems as a “Mom” there is more restrictions and limitations on my life now than there was 20 years ago. This is the progression that is supposed to happen in a Christian’s life. I am no longer the center of the universe to my children, I am not needed for this and that. It is time to back off from my children and let them loose. After all don’t I trust God? Of course I do and I trust and pray God will bring each of them into a greater revelation of Himself and into a straight and narrow way with Him. Like God works with His children, Dave and I over these many years have tried to train our kids to walk with the Lord and to do the right things before God and man. But recently God has showed me it is not that I am not needed (because I will always be their mother and will always be needed), but I must change my spiritual focus because their spiritual focus and needs have changed. Their diapers need not to be changed, but their hurts and pains still can be softened by “Mom’s” touch. When our children were young it was more their physical needs we met for them, but as they grew into adulthood it is the spiritual needs, out from our spiritual growth and development, we met. Now, the restrictions and limitations are still there too, they will always be there, but for me to be able to give my children the things they need I must move correctly in what God is bringing into my life. To be able to bring success to my children I must walk in the way God has for me to go. I must not long for the good old days. In God there is no past or future, but only the now. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), but He only operates in the now. The past is over and cannot be changed and our future, especially in God, depends on how we function and operate in the now.

So what does one do? Just correctly follow God. That’s all it’s about. It’s not about doing it’s about becoming what God wants us to become so that we may be able to function correctly with Him. And our becoming is to happen as we follow God through the various stages of our lives. As we follow God we get further and further from friends, family, and even our children. As we follow God correctly the love we hold for our children changes and grows, we become more of a help to them in time of trouble. Our duties and responsibility for our children changes, but our accountability before God for our children never changes. So raise your children right, put the time and effort in them now. Teach them about God and His ways, teach them manners, respect, right from wrong, and to be obedient. Now is the time to plant these seeds of righteousness in your children. Because before you know it you will be putting the last picture in the frame wondering where the time has gone. Now remember, the best is yet to come. Written by Karen Stahl

POETRY CORNER:

MAN'S VALUE

By John E. Stahl Jr.

How would you judge the value of a man? Can you know or understand,

Estimate or figure his worth. Might you be so crass even curt, In ignorance dare say he's but dust and dirt. Know ye not; neath skin, bone, and sinew lie, One's immortal spirit n'er to die. Yet traced upon his pnuema there, God's latent image to declare. Oh Spirit of God His pen to write, His love, His matchless grace ignite, Within man's sin-stained heart to see, His value, worth - intrinsically. Oh love divine that holds him fast, His grace to see him thru the task, To look past fleshly, frames of dust, Seeing God's worth in them we must. How do you value a man today?

How does God value a man? I say,

From eternity past thru the ages still,

Man's value tis found on Golgatha's Hill.

DEAR FRIENDS:

It is hard to believe 2005 is half over, God has been so good to us thus far and I know He will continue to see us into December and beyond. One joy that keeps me going is knowing I am doing God’s will. As we grow in God there is to be little of this world that is to make us happy. Now I am not talking about family and events that surround them. How I enjoy my family. Paul said he has no greater joy then to hear of his friends in good health. I know what Paul was saying, but this world is not to make us happy. If we find our happiness is based on events of this world our focus and attention in life is wrong. It is to be God and His plan and purpose for our lives is what is to bring happiness. We are eternal beings reaching forth into the heart of the Father for the things He has already prepared for us. God ever awaits to bring to us His life in a richer and fuller way so that we may receive of His abundance, but not in the prosperity of earthly things like many believe. Today many Christians equate their salvation from God to earthly riches, the more things they have the more God loves them, how sad to draw this conclusion. Our salvation, in Christ Jesus, is based on our relationship with knowing the Father. The more we know the Father the more we will receive of His life and the more we receive of His life the more this world will not make us happy. So too, the more we come into the light the more we can see the darkness in others, and if we have not allowed God to soften our heart, by His dealing and judgments, we will react to their darkness and not to their great need for the light. Therefore, let us ever be ready to share light of the Gospel and the truth that abides within. Let us be ready to endure God’s dealing and judgments so that we will be in a soft place to see not only the light, but the darkness also.

Karen “my sweetheart” and the kids send their love. Connie and Joshua have been accepted at Eastern Carolina University and will be joining their big brother David in August who is already attending. I must commend Connie, she was accepted back in January, but chose to wait until August so that she could help her brother Joshua make the transition from high school to college. Life is worth the living the more if we can see God as our source. God has been so faithful to me and my family how can I not love Him the more?

NEEDS NOT WANTS:

1. In Silistra, Bulgaria Pastors Yanko and Niki and the church.

2. In Constanta, Romania Pastor Ritisan, the Lighthouse Church, and their Mission Bible School.

3. In Suceava, Romania Pastors Nicu and Marcel at St. Andrews Church, their Bible School, Christ for Romania, and for the $60,000 needed to complete the training center and summer camp building.

4. Pastor Joseph Mutua in Nairobi, Kenya needs your prayer and financial support.

5. Pastor Mike Olufemi in the north of Nigeria. He needs your prayers and support to be a light in great darkness.

6. Pastor S. J. Peter, Founder of DAWN Ministries and Pastor Wilson and his son Pastor Julian both near Hyderabad, India.

7. Financial support for the printing of: “God Still Performs Miracles Today: A Book of Person Encouragement.”

8. Pastor Metin Mintaz and the members of Uskudar Son Buyruk Kilisesi in Istanbul, Turkey.

9. Pastor Elieti Msangi in Dar Es Salaam and Pastor Isreal Mutaitina in Bukoba, Tanzania.

10. Major Rob McIntosh, Chaplin, Gatwick Airport, Salvation Army, London, England.

FUTURE SCHEDULE:

June: Local Ministry

July: China, Kuwait, or Istanbul, Turkey with Pastor Metin

August: Local ministry

I am still available to share what God has given me at churches and/or home groups. Also, if God moves on your heart to bless the ministries I visit and share God’s love I would be honored to make it possible for God and you. God told Abram, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” (Genesis 12:3) If you want a blessing, then bless someone Remember, God is to you what you are to God.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Address:

David and Karen Stahl

141 Coke Place

Jacksonville, NC 28546

Phone:

Home: (910) 346-1739

Mobile: (910) 273-5712

FAX: (910) 346-1739

Email:

dstahl@ec.rr.com

Website:

www.beholdinghisglory.com

If you know someone who would enjoy receiving this newsletter or if you receive this newsletter and do not wish to please let me know. Also if you would like to contribute to this ministry please feel free to contact me with the above information. Costs ever increase.

PLEASE look within your abilities to begin supporting or to increase your support to cover these costs. The cost is great, but the cost for not supporting is even greater. And remember, all donations are tax deductible.