GIVING - The Secret to Receiving  Salvation - A New Life with Christ Jesus God is Able Ready & Willing  to Deliver You Salvation - How Can I Be Saved? Five Truths You Should  Know About Jesus Christ Salvation - STIR Me O Lord

Alberta`s former lieutenant governor, Dr. Grant MacEwan, was buried in a moving State Funeral July 20, 2000 in Edmonton.

MacEwan, who lived to be 97, had touched many hearts with his humility, generosity and common-sense approach to life. He had served for decades as a politician, agriculture professor and Western Canada author and historian!

Ninety-seven year old Bob Hope was `recovering well` after a serious bout of gastrointestinal bleeding. Ward Grant, a spokesman for the hospital stated: "This man bounces back from things.  He is probably the most positive man I have ever met.   He is  just remarkable." 

 Missionary Evangelist Dr. Don Gossett was in Edmonton a couple of months ago and called me. Donna and I had just returned from the South Pacific and I was preparing to leave for six weeks of crusades in Europe, so was unable to meet our old friend! Don  preaches as powerfully as ever at age 71!

Recently, we met Reverend Thomas and Irene Tutyko in Vancouver. They had just returned from the Ukraine where they spend six months each year, teaching in the Bible College and evangelizing across that nation! Tommy is 74!

Joe and Donna Conroy have just completed another grueling but enthusiastic tour of orphanages, mission stations and churches, some of which they help support and supervise in Malawi, Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique! Joe, businessman and former Mayor of Invermere, B.C. is 69! In there retirement, Joe and Donna have gotten heavily involved in a missionary vision which is blessing thousands!

 AVISEN DAGEN of Bergen, Norway, recently carried a story about Reidar and Marit Skaiaa who have for the past 24 years operated Prokla- Media, printing Gospel literature and then spreading it across Norway at country fairs, kiosks and other outlets. Reidar states, "A preacher has a long reach, but Christian books can reach farther: They are able to get into the homes of the people." Reidar and Marit are retired seniors, still working for God and the people!

Pioneer bush pilot-missionary-church builder, Reverend John Spillenaar still travels to the far north among the Inuit, as he has for 64 years! He's still raising money for missions and building churches, about 50 so far, as he approaches his 84th birthday! He and his wife Tynne, who is 94, have been married for 62 years and both are in good health.

Freda Lindsay recently celebrated her 86th. birthday. Since her husband Gordon, passed away at age 67 - about 20 years ago - with the help of her family, she built a struggling little Bible School into one of America's most powerful Bible Colleges! Her son, Dennis,is president of `Christ For The Nations`.  Freda still writes a column for their magazine, travels for Jesus and preaches at 86!

A few  years ago, former U.S.A.  President George Bush celebrated his 75th birthday by parachuting out of an airplane as he had done when his plane was struck by enemy fire, and he was wounded in WW11!  His son, Governor George W. Bush of Texas is presently challenging Vice- President Al Gore for the presidency of the USA. He is talented, determined and a man of deep spiritual convictions. A news reporter asked the Governor, whom did he think was the greatest philosopher. Without hesitation, Bush replied enthusiastically: "Jesus Christ. He changed my life!"

It is impossible to name anyone other than JESUS CHRIST, whose teachings and spiritual dynamic has any divine power to change hearts and lives! I'm sure that the WHOLESOME EXAMPLE set by the elder George Bush has rubbed off on George W! THERE IS A LOT OF LIFE AFTER 65!

 I was recently in Norway for crusades and preached almost non-stop for almost six weeks, as well as traveling by air, bus, train, boat and automobile across the nation. And while in Oslo, I was privileged to spend several days before the television cameras, preaching and hosting OMEGA TV (9-10 AM; 12-1 PM; 4-5 PM), as well as ministering in the crusade! People ask, "How can you do it?" My answer is: "That`s all I know, after nearly 40 years. And if one has received `A CALL` from the Lord, there`s NO TURNING BACK!"

Dr. Billy Graham agrees that retiring from preaching Gods' Word, is not an option! A number of years ago he stated, "I have this feeling that if I were to stop preaching, these lips would immediately turn to clay". Even though Billy Graham is battling several debilitating diseases, he still soldiers on, powerfully delivering the Word of God at age 81. And his son, Franklin, whom many believed would never amount to anything in God's Kingdom is EVEN MORE POWERFUL AND UNCOMPROMISING in his messages than the 'old warrior' himself! The 'apple doesn't fall far from the tree' and that is clearly evident in the Graham family, as well as that of Oral Roberts' whose son Richard was also 'a renegade', but came back stronger than ever and leads the university that carries his father's name!

Dr. Oral Roberts at 82, continues unabated in proclaiming that 'God is a good God and the devil is a bad devil!' Hallelujah! The Bible was proven TRUE in both cases, where the sons went astray but their righteous upbringing and their parents faith in God brought them back. The Scripture says: "Train up a child in the way he should go : and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Prov. 22:6) It is also a proven fact that people usually live longer, stay healthier and happier, if they are busy doing what they enjoy and especially if they are helping someone else; or fulfilling a 'calling upon their life'!

It has been my experience in the Ministry, that those retirees who stay busy helping others - their children, grandchildren or those who cannot help themselves - and who get involved with their community, hospital, school or church, live a lot more fulfilling lives than those who think only about themselves and do nothing productive!

The 'Edmonton Journal' carried a beautiful story about Dmytro and Julia Ulan who recently celebrated their 70th. Wedding Anniversary. Commenting on their long and lasting marriage, Julia (87) stated: "Be true to each other and do things together. Don't drift away from each other. Work together when you`re raising your family. Talk together. Pray together." WHAT A SERMON! What wonderful counsel and advise! Ninety-year-old Dmytro believes the Biblical injunction, that married people should take their vows seriously. He says: "Marriage is sacred. People must retain that blessing. Once you flounder, you've got nothing else."

Enos Brubacher, the man behind the 'Gospel Signs' often seen beside freeways and in front of churches proclaiming: `CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS` and `BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED`, passed away in 1995 at the age of 76! He had labored for 45 years, producing and distributing Gospel signs and billboards to churches - without charge - across North America! Enos and Elizabeth Brubacher traveled to the USA, England, Denmark, Jamaica, Peru, Thailand and Japan, to teach Christians in those countries the technique of spreading the Gospel via signs! Their labor continues in Canada through their daughter, Florence Yake, who is acting director for the 'Gospel Text Crusades' !

HOW OLD IS OLD & HOW YOUNG IS YOUNG?

 On his 75th birthday - January 26, 1955 - General Douglas MacArthur made this outstanding statement: "Youth is not entirely a time of life - it is a state of mind. It is not wholly a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips or supple knees. It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions ...nobody grows old by merely living a number of years.  People grow old only by deserting their ideals. "You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair. "In the central place of the heart there is a recording chamber; so long as it receives a message of beauty, hope, cheer and courage, so long are you young. When the wires are all down and your heart is covered with the snow of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then, and then only, are you grown old." What a great philosophy. And what a great man, General Douglas MacArthur was!

 Researching materials for this piece and writing it down has given me a greater respect for the men and women of whom I an writing. Each time I converse with the Reverend Spillenaar,  I instinctively thank the Lord that He has allowed me the privilege of knowing such a man! I feel the same way about Vera Dowling, the renowned Canadian World War 11 test pilot, instructor and member of the 'group of 14 pilots' to become the first women to fly airplanes for the Royal British Air Force! Vera, who was born in England of Danish parents, has over the years, received so many awards and honors that she fears she gets too much credit, when her amazing story is told and re-told! Dowling states: "If it were not for our Lord Jesus Christ, I couldn't have done a thing. God spoke to me while I was still a teenager and told me that I would fly airplanes. He put the desire in my heart to do so. He opened doors for me to get ahead in the aviation business and He protected me many times when I could have been shot down by the Germans, and He saved me from certain death repeatedly when I got caught in 'impossible weather'! Vera was again honored on May 13, 2000, when she was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, at the age of 82! She still speaks at luncheons, clubs and churches, sharing the exciting life of an outstanding aviator who calls God, 'My Master Pilot'!

THE GOSPEL CHANGES PEOPLE: FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH TO ETERNAL LIFE!

When you think of the intellectually and sexually perverted 'riff-raff' (some are deviants, drunks and drug addicts) that appear on TV, skin magazines, home videos - it makes you wonder what "goes on between people's ears". Have they been 'fried' through drugs and is there any gray matter left?

 If by chance, I pick up a channel where so-called movie stars, comedians, Rock and Roll musicians, artists and talking heads pour out their prejudices and bigotry against the traditional family, normal sexual behavior, moral values and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I WANT TO VOMIT! What about all the sore losers who hang out in smoked-filled bingo halls, casinos and booze clubs in our land? In many cases, children, families and the elderly suffer because our governments have gotten into the GAMBLING BUSINESS. Only suckers need apply. There are no winners, even if one wins playing the VLTs, Bingo or Casino, because it`s the wrong way to make a living and to spend your hard earned-money, Sir! Lady! According to the Bible, gambling is motivated by covetousness and greed and is sinful!

 In my opinion, it is a tragedy that so many people go through life without any noble goals, aspirations or plans for their future retirement and for 'Life after Death'! And it is certainly an INDICTMENT upon the Christian Church that so many people - who should know better - have become lukewarm in their devotion to Jesus Christ and His Everlasting Gospel, and have "fallen away" from the "faith that was once delivered unto the saints." (Jude 3) What an awful shock is in store for those who have rejected the Gospel and who go into eternity with NO HOPE of salvation. The Word of God warns: "For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and have hewed themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jer.2:13)

WHY WOULD ANYONE TURN THEIR BACKS UPON JESUS?

What a tragedy! To think that people would turn their backs upon the truth and embrace error, to abandon Christ and His Word in exchange for the LIES of Satan, the deceiver extra - ordinare! To turn from the Savior, Who died for our sins and rose again for our justification (Rom. 4:25), to the bondage of secular humanism, materialism, occultism and the New Age movement, shows how far we have fallen as a people. May God have mercy upon us all!

In 1953, Dr. Ole Hallesby, president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church's Seminary and one of Norway's finest theologians, preached a powerful message over the National Radio Network (NRK), which shook that nation to the core. He spoke about life and death, heaven and hell and about eternity! At the conclusion of his sermon, Dr. Hallesby asked: "What about you listening to this message? Are you sure that you are saved? If you were to drop dead this very moment, would you go to heaven or to hell?"

 He instructed everyone who felt God's conviction upon their souls, to invite Jesus Christ into their hearts by faith in order to receive His forgiveness for their sins and be saved! Dozens of people received Christ that night; spiritually needed people flooded the radio station with requests for prayer, some  angry and others under deep conviction of sin!

There was such a stir in Norway after Dr. Hallesby`s address, that politicians debated in Parliament (Stortingen) about whether or not they should jail the great theologian for daring to preach about hell over the NRK, and upsetting the people! Recently, the Norwegian government passed a new law legalizing same sex marriages (Roman 1:18-28) and are allowing sodomists to be ordained as 'ministers of God' in the Lutheran State Church! What does all this mean?

 Does the Bible have anything to say about these things? What must we do to affect our generation? To turn men and women back to God and cleanse our society from ever-present evils of lust, greed, pride, hatred, violence and murder? How can we protect our children from perverts and drug dealers who prey on them? What shall we do to bring back normalcy, decency and sanity to this confused, bewildered, twisted and warped generation?

A recent letter to the editor of the 'Edmonton Journal' hit the nail right on the head when the writer wondered why politicians and media were so concerned about Stockwell Day's anti-abortion and anti-sodomy stance, as though that were a deeriment to good government! Any intelligent person should realize that according to the historical record, both of these sins have contributed to the degradation of society rather than the up abuilding of society! We were all appalled recently at hearing the news of a step-mother who kept her nine-year-old daughter in a clothes dryer for up to three weeks at a time and her mouth sealed with duct tape, yet it doesn't bother some people that 125,000 little unborn babies - every year - have their lives snuffed out, in Canada! And Harry Jaffa, professor Emeritus of Claremont McKenna College writes: "From ancient and Biblical times, anal sexual intercourse has been regarded by the greatest legislators and moralists as a vicious sexual perversion...Thomas Jefferson, in a criminal code written during the American Revolution, made it a felony in the same class as rape."

IS OUR NATION SICK, SPIRITUALLY & MENTALLY ?

So, is our nation sick spiritually? Are our legislators and judges off-track? Have our politicians, by and large, sold out the truth for a vote? Are our law makers thinking rationally or there something sinister going on? Is their a lack in their mental capacities or are some of them being mentored by evil spirits of perversion and lust for power? God's Word says: "My people have committed two evils. They have forsaken Me the fountain of living water; and they have hewn themselves out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water." (Jer. 2:13) "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn." (Prov.29:2) "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." (Prov.14:34) "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord..." (Ps.33:12)

WHAT MUST WE DO THEN?

 The Church must repent of the sins of compromise, acquiescence and not taking a strong stand on issues.  We must call for a time of Fasting and Prayer, asking God for HIS MERCY upon this backslidden nation! The Bible says: "If My people shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, and I will forgive their sins and HEAL THEIR LAND." (2 Chron.7:14) THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY: THAT IS JESUS CHRIST! Only Jesus Christ can help us! He is the life changer! He is the healer of broken hearts, broken lives and broken homes! Jesus said: "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) "Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37) The Bible invites us to cast all cares upon Jesus for He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7) Our Lord said: "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) My dear friend, take this opportunity to get acquainted with Jesus, the 'Friend of Sinners'. He said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."

 JESUS CHRIST invites: "Verily, verily I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24) Amen.