By Robert A. Meyer

Mark 4:35 states, "And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side." After describing the passage through a storm in the following six verses, Mark 5:1 states, "And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes." There are some practical lessons here for those who would be a missionary or for that matter anyone who would be a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ to those on the other side.

The Lord may lead to the other side of an ocean; the other side of the border, the other side of the state line or the other side of the street. In these verses He was leading his disciples to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. On the west side of this sea were the Jews who were worshipers of God. On the east side were the heathen who were worshipers of idols.

Lesson 1 - The Lord knows what or who lies on the other side.
• A demon possessed man - one man who believed in Christ
• A city and a country - who rejected the Lord
"And they began to pray Him to depart out of their coasts" (Mark 5: 17).

Missionaries go to the other side to preach to the one or to the city or the country. They may believe or they may reject the message, but at least they hear it.

Lesson 2 - The Lord knows what lies between this side and the other side.
• A storm - He is in the storm with us.
• Christ rebuked the wind and the sea and then He rebuked the disciples.

"And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace be still..."(Mark 4:39a). Praise God He arose from the dead and rebuked death!

Lesson 3 - No matter how difficult the situation or condition of the people, the Lord has the power to save individually or collectively. Before he went forth to the other side, he instructed the one who had been possessed that he should go back home.

Lesson 4 - How you and the Gospel are received is not up to you. The Lord was rejected on one side and Mark 5:21 states, "And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto Him; and He was nigh unto the sea."

The Other Side
My Lord may lead me to the other side
Across the street or over the ocean tide.
There may be danger - it may be drear,
But I know my Lord will be very near.
He knows who is there the Gospel to heed
And so on my journey over I must speed
To show that one or a thousand more
That He is the Lamb - their sins He bore.
In telling my house that story I've been true
And now to the other side I must pursue.
R. A Meyer

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By Alan Brooks

Someone has wisely said, "Life is made up of choices!" Others say that "We are the sum total of the choices that we have made in life." Joshua, the servant of God and leader of Israel stated that he and his family made the choice to serve God. "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). Recently, I heard a statement that has motivated me to a great deal of contemplation: "We are the masters of our decisions but slaves of our choices." I do not know to whom this statement was originally credited but it is permeated with truth.

God has given man the freewill to make decisions, good or bad, right or wrong, positive or negative, man ultimately decides. As individuals, we are convinced that we have the right to decide exactly what we shall do with our lives. So much so, we insist that we and only we make all the decisions that determine our destiny. Man, by choosing to receive Jesus Christ or not, does determine his destiny. Man goes to hell not because God wants him to but because man chooses to reject or ignore the Light of the Gospel (Romans 1:18-23). Peter states in 2 Peter 3:5 - "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:"

We have also been given the ability to choose to do the will of God or not. Jesus taught us in the model prayer, or as some call it the "Lord's Prayer," to pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This means that God's will is not always done on earth! We may choose to do right or to do wrong. A loved one, child, wife, husband or friend may choose to do wrong, which does affect us. Yes, God can work it out for our good and His Glory but we do not always see it at the time. It may not be until eternity we understand. Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." If we choose to do wrong as God's child, than He will chastise us (Hebrews 12:5-11). Now here is the rub, we cannot discern if problems in lives of others are chastisement, affect of others or God simply molding them into His image (Philippines 1:6). We can discern for our own lives but we cannot tell what God is doing in someone else's.

Even our sinless Savior, in His humanness, asked His Father, to "let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Of course, our Lord did not and never would sin but He surrendered His will to the Father—for which we are eternally thankful.

Many scream for freedom and total independence, but we become slaves to our choices. We become slaves to our own drives and desires. We become fettered to our own folly, our own pride, our own vanity, our own emptiness. People may choose to live for God and surrender their will to the Father or they may decide to be immoral or rebellious. That decision sets a wheel in motion that affects events in their lives and those they influence. Godly decisions create a benevolent Overseer but ungodly decisions create a stern taskmaster. The Bible clearly says that the way of the transgressor is hard (Proverbs 13:15). Paul said that he was a bondservant of Jesus Christ and our Lord said that His yoke is easy and His burden light. C. S. Lewis said, "Everytime you make a choice you are turning the control part of you, the part that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, you are slowly turning this control thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish one."

Many in the church assume it is possible to be set free to serve both our own interests and God's interests. They boast openly about their liberty in the Spirit as if they are free to do as they choose. This is a dreadful delusion. It simply is not so! When the Israelites were entering the promise land, Joshua made an unwise decision to make an assurance with the Gibeonites. The Israelites experienced many victories but still endured continuing conflicts caused by this decision. I am so glad that the grace and mercy of God has overcome many of the wrong and poor choices in life but the law of sowing and reaping is still true. We can experience forgiveness but still suffer the consequences of our choices. There are a myriad of examples to show this truth. Immorality, abortion, and divorce all result in many regrets and consequences, but thank God for His gracious forgiveness. It has been my experience in life that it is not just the big decisions that totally change our lives but it is generally the culmination of small decisions or compromises that greatly change us. It is said that we surrender our souls one piece at a time. In reality we yield our lives to the Lord one decision or choice at a time.

Yes, God has given us the right to choose our way but we must realize that those decisions become our masters!

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BIMI is purchasing 28,000 Bibles to distribute to students on the island of Malatia. Malatia is north of Guadalcanal and a part of the Solomon Islands. The Bibles will include the plan of salvation inside the front cover. The first distribution team is scheduled for November 2010. Your help is needed to supply the final $15,000 for this exciting opportunity to influence an entire generation of young people for Christ.

Donations may be sent to Solomon Islands Student Bible Project, BIMI, P.O. Box 9215, Chattanooga, TN 37412. Or contact Alan Brooks.

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By Robert Gunter

On February 7, 2009, my wife, Lisa, and I drove on the Melba highway between Kinglake and Marysville to celebrate a sister church's 40th anniversary. On that fateful day, now known as "Black Saturday," temperatures were reaching 110-120 degrees, and the winds gusted up to 62 mph. We had seen a great ball of smoke to our left as we entered the forest area but did not realize the magnitude of the impending disaster. Like many others that day, we thought it was safe. Within hours, the very road we drove was enveloped by two large fire complexes that erupted into a firestorm, which left both Kinglake and Marysville in ashes.

Emergency responders, equipment, and volunteers from across Australia began to stage their resources at Alexandra, a town on the northern boundary of the fires, to confront the devastating firestorm. They quickly realized that they were undermanned, underequipped, underprepared, and unable to cope with the magnitude of the disaster.

Many people tried to hide in their homes, businesses, or anywhere away from the wall of flame, but they could not escape. Help came too late. The tragedy became Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire, with 173 perishing. Eventually, the fire burned 1.1 million acres, destroyed over 2,000 houses, and displaced over 7,500 people.

In the weeks following the tragedy, the Here2Help ministry was established under Calvary Baptist Church where we serve. Thousands of dollars from across the nation began to pour in, and the ministry was initially able to assist families that were affected within the churches. However, we were frustrated in not being allowed to directly meet the families affected. Many were dispersed throughout the land due to loss of housing, utilities, and communications.

After a time of planning, the Here2Help ministry purchased and shipped a thousand leather Bibles one year after the disaster, with another 1,500 Bibles in transit as of this writing. The ministry is preparing for the largest area Gospel outreach in Victorian history. Lord willing, beginning September 23, 2010, a different staging event will occur at the Crystal Creek Christian Camp, our independent Baptist campground located just outside Alexandra. This time, prepared and equipped Christian volunteers will be mobilized into teams to walk every street, nook, and hollow in the Kinglake and Marysville townships where some 1800 houses were destroyed and 158 lost their lives. These teams will personally distribute a Bible, Gospel literature, and follow-up information to every family that decided to rebuild their house.

Today, many of those families have a false security in the spiritual "houses" of their own making but do not realize that there is an even greater, eternal, and more dangerous fire that is coming. We need to get there with the saving message of Jesus Christ before it is too late.

Will you help us?

If you would like to assist this outreach, please direct funds to BIMI, account #683 and mark it "Bushfire Outreach." There is still a need of approximately $1,500 for advertisement and literature.

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India
Sean & Suzanne Canavan
7 County Road 830
Wadley AL 36276-3529
(404) 402-5520

Australia
John & Richelle Jones
706 North Empria St.
Eldorodo KS 67042
(316) 621-1040

Australia
Patrick & Jen Bauer
P.O. BOX 337
Zullinger PA 17272
(610) 406-2334

Oceania - Fiji
Stephen & Sarah Koch
17810 Monterey Rd
Morgan Hill CA 95037
(408) 782-7806

Indonesia
Philip & Kristine Lien
1650 Stanley Ave
Groveland FL 34736
(352) 449-9413
(865) 235-2895

Kiribati
Sam & Mary Beth Snyder
C/O Mount Pisgah Baptist Church
103 Old Hen Valley Rd.
Oliver Springs TN 37840
(865) 851-5817

Thailand
Brian & Jamie Cone
11105 Chisholm Ct West
Crowley TX 76036
(817) 781-3582

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Scot C & Katie Daku -  AMERICAN SAMOA
Paul J & Wendy Daku Jr -  FIJI ISLANDS
James & Dawn Daley -  INDONESIA