I'M A BIG SUCKER FOR HAPPY ENDINGS!

      Hello again. I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.

The title of my short post today is “I’M A BIG SUCKER FOR HAPPY ENDINGS!” I’ve talked before about how I cry at almost any happy ending of a TV show, movie, or play, even if the ‘happy ending’ is in an action or a western movie. I’m not going to shy away from saying it, because it’s how God wired me.
      Last week we went to a Fourth of July/birthday family gathering. I engaged several young family members who were very honest about their disappointment that the “church” was not meeting their needs; therefore, they no longer attend church services, or if they do, it is very sporadic.
      One young family member said he wants to get married and have a family, but there is no venue for him to meet young single women. He said, especially, he has had little luck in the churches he has attended. He, in essence, wants a ‘happy ending’ like the ones you see in Hallmark movies, but doesn’t know how to make it happen. I gave him my example of trying to follow God closely and trusting that God would eventually meet my need for companionship, if that was His will. I don’t think it comforted him when I said I was much older (42) when I met and married Dee. I feebly said that I would pray for him.
      So, the next day, I felt moved by God to pray for these beloved family members and others who are desperate for ‘happy endings’ in their lives. I even went forward in church to ask the pastor and others to pray for them.
      Then I thought of the greatest ‘happy ending’ ever. I thought of the question singer Keith Green asked at a live concert during the “Easter Song”. He asked, 

"Do you know what the greatest healing is?” He then answered his own question “It’s the healing of the sin-sick soul. God wants to heal your depression and your heavy-laden soul right now.”

      In Luke 15:10, Jesus confirmed the greatest ‘happy ending’ that Keith Green was talking about. He said, 

“Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost! I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

      When I see my family members get saved one by one, I’m going to unabashedly act like the biggest sucker you ever saw and weep with joy like a baby.
      See you next time.

AND HE WALKS WITH ME, AND HE TALKS WITH ME!

      If you’re watching this video, you just saw my first attempt at an AI video snippet. In the Filmora video editing program, I added a picture created in Microsoft Publisher of a garden with a walkway. I then added to the garden picture another picture of Jesus standing with a man. I then added the lyrics to the first stanza and chorus of the 1912 song “In the Garden,” written by C. Austin Miles. Filmora, amazingly, added movement of Jesus walking with and talking to the man in the garden. Then I added a small portion of the piano accompaniment from Hymnary.org, along with the lyrics. I’m not a big fan of AI videos overall, but this venture encouraged me about the value they might provide in certain circumstances.
      With that said, I’ll say hello again. I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
      The title of my short post today is “AND HE WALKS WITH ME, AND HE TALKS WITH ME!" It’s about when we’re feeling down and misunderstood and need a good friend; then Jesus is right here by our side, offering us His arm on our shoulders, and His wonderful encouragement.

The “In the Garden” song says it all:

First Verse:
I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.

Chorus:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own,
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

      See you next time.

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE WE HAVE NEVER GONE BEFORE!

 

      

      Hello again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.

      I have a brother and a sister-in-law who are “Trekkies”, meaning they are Star Trek television show fans. I watched the show from time to time, but was not as much of a fan as they were. The famous Star Trek Mission Statement was “To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before”. The title of my post today is a take-off on that mission statement: It’s “TO BOLDLY GO WHERE WE HAVE NEVER GONE BEFORE!” We are, instead of being ‘Star Trek Adventurers', we are on what I call ‘Gospel Trek Adventurers'. You might also call us "Gospel Trekkies”.
      I was reading Jeremiah the other day, and I was a little startled by how direct or bold he was in his conversations with God. I think I would be a little frightened to be so bold. Here’s an example where, in Jeremiah 14:21, Jeremiah said the following to God:

“For your name’s sake, don’t despise us. Don’t disdain your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us; do not break it.”

      Can you imagine it? Jeremiah didn’t ASK God not to break His covenant with Israel; He BOLDLY TOLD Him!
      One of the benefits of online Bible programs is that we, as Christians, can look up the usage, timing, and context of certain words and phrases. We can never fully understand God’s ways, but by reading and seeking to understand them, we can attempt to emulate Him, however feeble our attempts may be.

Let’s look at a few uses of the word 'BOLD', ‘BOLDNESS’, or ‘BOLDLY’:

1. The writer of Hebrews 4:16 wrote:

 “Let us therefore come BOLDLY to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

      The writer encouraged believers to approach God directly and boldly, with the assurance and belief that God would help them.

2. Hebrews 13:5-6 gives an older, retired man like me hope and assurance. Satan loves it when I worry and fret over my circumstances, especially as they relate to having enough resources to live on. But the writer in Hebrews again uses the word "BOLDLY" to minimize my fears. He wrote:

“Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. Therefore, we may BOLDLY say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

      Now, let’s look at some times when we, as Christians, are encouraged to be very bold, and the believers in the Bible WERE very bold in the face of adversity. We’ll do these rapid-fire:

1. The writer of Proverbs 21:29 proclaims the following: “The wicked flee when no one is pursuing them, but the righteous are as BOLD as a lion.” Now, that’s not just a little bold!

2. The writer of Mark 15:43 wrote: “Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forward to the kingdom of God, came and BOLDLY went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body.” Joseph of Arimathea shed any fear he had of Pilate, who had just authorized Jesus’ crucifixion, and asked ‘boldly’ to bury Jesus appropriately.

3. Jesus, in Luke 11:8-10, encouraged believers with needs to use BOLDNESS in approaching Him in 'asking', 'seeking', and 'knocking' to have their needs met, and He would gladly do so.

4. Acts repeatedly refers to, 11 times, the Apostles either praying for BOLDNESS, or BOLDLY proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their audience, usually in the face of great opposition.

5. In 2 Corinthians 3:12 and Ephesians 3:12, the writers cite the hope and faith that we have in Christ that gives us great BOLDNESS to share Him with others.

6. Lastly, the writer of Ephesians 6:19 declares the following: “Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with BOLDNESS the mystery of the gospel.” Our journey as Christians is full of great mystery and adventure, and we can also pray, like Paul, to have boldness to make known the mystery of the Gospel.

      The draw for ‘Trekkies’ watching the Star Trek TV show was the many mysteries and adventures the crew encountered, including dangerous events and alien beings.
      People can also be drawn to our ‘Gospel Trekkie’ lives and want to join us in the many mysteries and adventures we encounter. And also “TO BOLDLY GO WHERE WE HAVE NEVER GONE BEFORE!”
      See you next time.

ARE YOU 'A WISE GUY, EH?'

      Hello again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
      I hate to admit it, but as a kid in the 1960s, I frequently watched “The Three Stooges”, a slapstick comedy filmed in the 1930s and 1940s. On The Three Stooges, if anyone was wronged on the show, usually Moe, he almost always said to the wrongdoer, “Oh, a wise guy, eh?” Then he would conk the ‘wise guy’ on the head. So, the title of my post today is a take-off on that saying. It’s entitled, “ARE YOU ‘A WISE GUY, EH?’ ”
      I recently came across a Bible chapter in Proverbs entirely devoted to wisdom. This piqued my interest, and, amazingly, I found the words “wisdom” and “wise” over 400 times in the Christian Standard Bible. At times, they were statements with a negative connotation, such as when Jesus said that some religious leaders were “wise” in their own eyes. But the vast majority had positive connotations, encouraging the use of wisdom in living a Godly life and remembering ‘wise’ patriarchs like Joseph, Moses, and especially Jesus, the Son of the Living God. And everyone has likely heard of the “Three Wise Men” who came from far-eastern lands to witness the cosmic event that was the birth of Jesus!
     So let’s ask ourselves, “When was the ‘birth’ of wisdom?”
Proverbs 8:22-31 explains it: 

“The Lord acquired me at the beginning of his creation, before his works of long ago. I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth began. I was born when there were no watery depths and no springs filled with water. Before the mountains were established, prior to the hills, I was given birth—before he made the land, the fields, or the first soil on earth. I was there when he established the heavens, when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean, when he placed the skies above, when the fountains of the ocean gushed out, when he set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate his command, when he laid out the foundations of the earth. I was a skilled craftsman beside him. I was his delight every day, always rejoicing before him. I was rejoicing in his inhabited world, delighting in the children of Adam."

      So it’s evident that God used His infinite wisdom to birth creation and mankind.
      We already talked about the Patriarchs, Bible heroes, and especially Jesus, who was well known for being by far the wisest person who ever lived on earth. Dee and I often talk about leaders and politicians who blatantly lack wisdom and any fear of God. So let’s talk about men and women who use the Godly wisdom discussed in Proverbs to lead governments, institutions, businesses, churches, and even families. The entire books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes share many benefits of wisdom. For the sake of time, let’s look at only the first four chapters of Proverbs to see what the benefits of being ‘a wise guy’ are.

1. Proverbs 1:

• Proverbs 1 declares that wisdom “calls out in the street”, or “cries out above the commotion.”
• Wisdom will bring us: discipline, shrewdness, knowledge, discretion, guidance, secure living, “undisturbed by the dread of danger”. I think the most wonderful outcome of wisdom is the following found in Proverbs 1:23: “If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words.”

2. Proverbs 2:

• Proverbs 2 declares that diligently seeking wisdom will lead us to “understand the fear of the Lord” and to “discover the knowledge of God”. 
• Wisdom will bring us: success, protection, understanding of righteousness, justice, integrity, “every good path”, and even land ownership.

3. Proverbs 3:

• Proverbs 3 declares that wisdom will bring us: happiness, pleasantness, peacefulness, safety, many “full of life” days, well-being, favor, healing, and yes, even “riches and honor”. I’m sure, however, that didn’t mean decadent riches. I feel very ‘rich’ even though I live a middle-class lifestyle.

4. Proverbs 4:

• Proverbs 4:23 gives us the warning to use wisdom to “guard your heart above all else”. This means that wisdom should lead us to avoid all forms of sin. It goes on to say in verses 25-27: “Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your ways will be established. Don’t turn to the right or to the left; keep your feet away from evil.”
• Lastly, I will read one of my all-time favorite Bible passages found in Proverbs 4:18 that declares a wonderful outcome for us who live by God’s wisdom: “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.”

      So, in conclusion, with all the things listed in the Book of Proverbs about the benefits of having wisdom, meaning God’s wisdom, are you and I on the path to becoming A Wise Guy, Eh?

THE GREATEST ‘SUPER’ BOOK OF ALL TIME, REVEALING THE GREATEST ‘SUPER’ HERO OF ALL TIME!

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is “THE GREATEST ‘SUPER’ BOOK OF ALL TIME, REVEALING THE GREATEST ‘SUPER’ HERO OF ALL TIME!” I Googled the phrase "who was the greatest superhero of all time," and AI disagreed with my assertion in this post. AI indicated that Superman was, in fact, the greatest superhero of all time. Here's why AI made that assertion: AI said, 

"Superman represents the ultimate picture of a good man with ultimate power. Despite being a godlike alien, his upbringing as Clark Kent keeps him grounded, moral, and relentlessly optimistic. He set the standard for the entire superhero genre and remains the definitive symbol of hope."

     As a boy who watched the half-hour Superman show every Saturday, and the boy who, when given the chance, ventured into the Dewitt Drug Store comic book section in Millersburg, Ohio, to read and buy Superman comic books, I would have agreed with AI back then.
     But things are so much different now, now that I know personally the real, greatest ‘super’ hero of all time. And it doesn’t even come close.
     I think John 21:24-25 explains much better than I ever could why Jesus is the greatest ‘super’ hero of all time, and why the Bible is the most ‘super’ book of all time. Here it is:

“This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.” John 21:24-25

     In essence, John was saying that Jesus is the centerpiece, the ‘super’ hero, if you will, of the Bible's narrative, and the reason why the Bible itself is the greatest ‘super’ book of all time.
     As an add-on to the magnitude of what Jesus did in a short three years, when I’ve read the Bible lately, I’ve been struck by what I call the ‘superlative’ words or phrases throughout the entire Bible. I’m only going to focus on what I have listed as “MY TOP SIX BIBLE ‘SUPERLATIVE’ WORDS OR PHRASES” that make the Bible the greatest ‘super’ book of all time. Here they are:

1. UNSEARCHABLE AND UNTRACEABLE WAYS OF GOD,  found in Romans 11:33:

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements and untraceable his ways!” Romans 11:33

2. INCOMPREHENSIBLE THINGS WE DO NOT KNOW, found in Jeremiah 33:3:

“Call to me, and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

3. VAST THOUGHTS TOWARD US, found in Psalm 139:17-18:

“God, how precious your thoughts are to me; How vast their sum is! If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.” Psalm 139:17-18

4. IMMEASURABLE GREATNESS OF HIS POWER TOWARD US, found in Ephesians 1:18-19:

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.” Ephesians 1:18-19

5. THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS, found in 1 Timothy 3:16:

“And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16

6. GOD OF HOPE. (Note: AI said that Superman “remains the definitive symbol of hope”. The Bible declares otherwise.) Here is Romans 15:13:

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

     So, the conclusion is that Jesus is the ultimate giver of hope, NOT Superman. 
     What do you think? Have I convinced you that Jesus is the greatest ‘super’ hero of all time, and that, by pointing out just a few of the many Bible ‘superlatives’, the Bible is indeed the greatest ‘super’ book of all time?
     See you next time.

TURNS OUT I’M AN ALIEN TOO!

 

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.

“We are strangers, we are aliens. We are not of this world.” (excerpted from “Not Of This World” song by Petra)

     This short snippet of the song “Not of This World” by Petra explains the gist of my post today, entitled “TURNS OUT I’M AN ALIEN TOO!” It’s based on a children’s book by Lou Treleaven, “Turns Out I’m An Alien”, which explores the world of a boy named Jasper. Jasper, however, is very different, and the difference is most noticeable in his green hair and eyes. His foster parents know the real secret—that Jasper is an alien from another planet. He then gets pulled into an intergalactic adventure to save planet Earth.
     Do you know that you and I, as Christians and as the Petra song explains, are aliens too? We don’t have green hair and eyes, but we are also very different. It says so in Psalm 39:12, a Psalm of David: 

“For I am here with you as an alien, a temporary resident like all my ancestors."

     Do you also know we are a part of God’s inner-planetary adventure to save the world? Jesus said in John 12:47: 

“For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.”

     Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20, before He ascended into heaven, 

 “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

     Then lastly, do you know that we are destined for an intergalactic journey to a wonderful new heaven, earth, and city? John the Revelator said so in Revelation 21:1-7:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life. The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son." Revelation 21:1-7

     So the bottom line is, TURNS OUT YOU AND I AS CHRISTIANS ARE ALIENS TOO!, ON AN INNER-PLANETARY ADVENTURE TO SAVE THE WORLD, DESTINED FOR AN INTERGALACTIC JOURNEY TO A WONDERFUL NEW HEAVEN, EARTH, AND CITY!
     Remember again the excerpt from the "Not Of This World" song by Petra.

“We are strangers, we are aliens. We are not of this world.”

     See you next time.

A BELOVED TEAMMATE”—JUST LIKE RHYS HOSKINS!

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is " 'A BELOVED TEAMMATE'—JUST LIKE RHYS HOSKINS!" It’s about recently watching the Cleveland Guardians play the Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia, and the fact that now Rhys Hoskins plays for the Guardians, but he spent the first six years of his career with the Phillies. With an injury to his knee that sidelined him for over a year, the Phillies made a financial decision to go another direction and didn’t re-sign him. He spent some time with the Milwaukee Brewers, but another injury kept them from re-signing him.
     So, the Guardians signed him to a minor league contract this year, but he quickly proved his value and made the major league roster. The TV announcer reported that in Philadelphia, Rhys was “a beloved teammate” and a fan favorite. Rhys Hoskins was never a major star, but when the press interviewed him in his old stomping grounds, many Philadelphia reporters showed up around him, which showed their appreciation for him.
     Tears came to my eyes when the announcer said that Rhys was “a beloved teammate” in Philadelphia. What was it about his statement that touched my heart? I think it’s because I would like to be thought of as 'a beloved teammate' at some point in my life. Maybe the same holds true for you.
     The Bible tells stories of people who might be called ‘beloved teammates’, which shows that desiring to be one is not a bad thing. Here are some examples:

1. David was beloved by Jonathan, and vice versa.
2. John the Apostle was beloved by Jesus. 
3. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were also beloved by Jesus. He showed his love for them by weeping over the death of Lazarus, before He brought Lazarus back to life. It was one of only three times the Bible reported that Jesus wept. 
4. Paul, in a couple of his books, mentioned in his final greetings people that he had grown to love, like in both Ephesians and Colossians, he mentioned Tychicus, a “dearly loved brother”. 
5. Paul called Timothy “my true son in the faith”, a term of endearment.

     I know our value to God doesn’t depend on being ‘beloved’ by others. But I think if we admit it, most of us want to be considered a ‘beloved teammate—just like Rhys Hoskins!'
     See you next time.

CAN ACTS-LIKE ACTS HAPPEN AGAIN IN TODAY’S WORLD?

 

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is “CAN ACTS-LIKE ACTS HAPPEN AGAIN IN TODAY’S WORLD?” It’s about the actions of Acts in the Bible, and whether some form of those same actions can occur in today’s world.
     I was listening to the audible version of Acts this morning. If you ever get the chance to ‘listen’ to the Bible, I heartily encourage you to do so. I think it will open your eyes, at least a little, and enhance the stories told there.
     I was amazed by how focused the men and women were on God—and on each other in the book of Acts. How did they keep that focus? I think Jesus explained it in John 7:38. He said, “The one who believes in me (Jesus), as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” In that verse, Jesus referenced ‘one’ person who has ‘streams of living water (or God’s Holy Spirit) flow from deep within him’. Just imagine if many people gathered together, with the same streams of living water (or God’s Holy Spirit) flowing collectively from deep within them. It would be inevitable that God would act in an exponential way—just like in the book of Acts.
     So, what can be done in today’s world to bring about the same type of ‘acts’? I think it’s clear that we need the following:

1. We need to be made aware of those same ‘streams of living water flowing from deep within’ each of us. I think that we’re semi-aware of it, but not deeply aware of it.
2. Then we need to be educated about the great amount of power of God’s Holy Spirit flowing within each of us.
3. Then we need to be educated on the exponential greatness of the power of God’s Holy Spirit flowing within a large group of believers who are bonded together.
4. Lastly, we need to pray, sometimes in tongues just like they did in Acts, for God to manifest this power in, through, and around us.

     Then, and only then, ‘can acts-like acts happen again in today’s world’.
     See you next time.

ARMINIANISM VS. CALVINISM VS. SIMPLE 'BELIEFISM'

 

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is "ARMINIANISM VS. CALVINISM VS. SIMPLE BELIEFISM”. It’s about the ‘isms’, and the schisms among Christian believers that ‘isms’ cause.
     Many believers these days hold beliefs that they try to impose on other believers. It often results in hurt feelings, confusion, and schisms among believers who hold different beliefs. They do it in the name of ‘rightness’. They want others to see how right it is to believe the specific ‘ism’ they believe.
     For most of my 48 years as a Christian, I didn’t know of any of the ‘isms’. The only thing that resembled an ‘ism’ I encountered in my early years as a Christian was a group of “King James Only” Christians living in my local community in Berlin, Ohio. At festivals and other events, you might see them standing in groups, praying for the people passing by. My concern was that if they had a convert, they would require that convert to also use only a King James Bible.
     When I married Dee in 1996, I became informed gradually about Arminianism, as she grew up in the Church of God, whose main offices were in Cleveland, Tennessee. Also, Dee attended and graduated from Lee University, a Church of God college. The Church of God held to the doctrine of Arminianism, which I will explain later.
     Then, in about 2008, Dee and I got involved with Mission to Amish People, and I hosted a Bible study in our home for young former Amish men. The leader and another older man, both wonderful brothers, believed in the Baptist doctrine of Calvinism. We discussed our differing beliefs cordially, and we didn’t try to convert each other to our own way of thinking.
     So let’s discuss the two different ‘isms’ that I have become acquainted with:

1. Arminianism: A Protestant theological tradition based on the teachings of 17th-century Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, which asserts that God’s sovereignty and human free will are compatible. It emerged as a reaction against strict Calvinist predestination, emphasizing that salvation is available to all and that individuals have the free will to accept or reject God's grace.
2. Calvinism: A Protestant theology named after the 16th-century reformer John Calvin that emphasizes the absolute sovereignty of God in all things, particularly in salvation. It teaches that humans are totally depraved and unable to save themselves, meaning salvation is entirely God’s work, initiated by His choice and secured by His power.

     So, many disagreements and even verbal harm, hopefully not physical harm, stem from these two ‘isms’. I recently watched two documentaries about William Tyndale, an English Biblical scholar in the 15th century who suffered physical harm when he was strangled and burned at the stake because he translated the Bible for common people. Hopefully, something like this won’t ever occur because of differences in ‘ism’ beliefs.
     So I want to present an exponentially more important ‘ism’ that I came upon today. I call it “Simple Beliefism”. Long before the 16th and 17th centuries, when the doctrines of Arminianism and Calvinism were born, Jesus said the following in John 3:16:

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.

     Then He said the following in John 3:36:

“The one who believes in the Son has eternal life . . .” John 3:36

     Jesus didn’t say in verses 16 and 36, “whoever believes in ‘Arminianism and/or Calvinism’ should not perish but have eternal life.” He said, “The one who believes in the Son (meaning Jesus) has eternal life.”
     So, in conclusion, when other people try to force their ‘isms’ on us, let’s remember the ‘Simple Beliefism’ that Jesus taught us.
     See you next time.

THE DAY MY WORLD TURNED UPSIDE-DOWN!

 

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is, "THE DAY MY WORLD TURNED UPSIDE-DOWN!” It’s about when everything is going along smoothly, without too much chaos or difficulty, then something happens to rock your world, causing it to figuratively turn ‘upside-down’.
     Most of us have a deep set of beliefs and understanding of the Bible that seems to ‘get to the heart of the matter’, as my last post indicated. It gives us comfort to know that God is right there beside us, guiding us every step of the path in our journey.
     We also derive comfort when others walking beside us share the same beliefs and understanding. We’re walking, or perhaps even floating, along in our world in an upright position. Then, a person we trust and love, whom we think shares those same beliefs and understanding, suddenly one day does an about-face on one of them. To put it mildly, that day our world is literally turned upside-down.
     We try to reason with that person, but they won’t listen to our reasons for not wanting to go down the path they are on. They usually double down on their belief that their path is the absolute right path. They even indicate that those who disagree are flawed for not wanting to go.
     What do we do in our upside-down state? If you’re like me, you usually just bail. Getting away from the upside-down world seems the only solution to get some relief. But, as I used to tell my mental health clients, “the grass doesn’t usually end up being greener” by moving away from a location or situation.
     I’m a big fan of Western drama. Recently, I watched a Jimmy Stewart movie called “The Far Country”. A certain town was known for its wonderful people and good morals. But it was a gold town. And what usually happened in gold towns back then was that unsavory people moved in to take advantage of those hard-working people who were finding gold.
     The people in that town looked toward Jimmy Stewart to help them against the people trying to take advantage of others, because he was a strong-minded man who rarely backed away from trouble. At first, he was like me. He told Walter Brennan, his sidekick, that he wanted to bail, just like I usually do. He was his own man, and he didn’t want to interfere in other people’s affairs.
     But then they killed Walter Brennan, his old buddy, even as they were moving on. That was the last straw. He went back to the town, and the rest of the townsfolk rallied around him to drive out the unsavory people.
     I’m not saying my situation is even close to a matter of life and death like what Jimmy Stewart faced, or others really faced in the Old West that wasn’t just a fictional story. But the principle is the same. If someone is turning the world upside-down in a town or area, perhaps it’s better to stay and, at the least, not bail out on the ‘townsfolk’.
     I’m more of a ‘townsfolk’ person, and not a hero, like Jimmy Stewart was. But I want to band together with other townsfolk, if they want me to, to call on Jesus, our real hero, to help us to turn the world right-side up.

GETTING TO THE 'HEART' OF THE MATTER!

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is, "GETTING TO THE 'HEART' OF THE MATTER!" Main Point: Jesus was different from the religious leaders of His day in that He reached straight into the hearts of men and women. Can you and I be like Jesus and reach straight into the hearts of our loved ones, friends, and community members?
     I’ve always been a softie when it comes to crying at movies, TV shows, and other stories. -They seem to have a way of reaching straight into my heart and causing emotion. Also, when my Dad died in 1980, everything was going along normally during the funeral, but then they started reading my now blind brother’s essay about his relationship with Dad. I lost it. I never had that kind of emotion before or after that time. I wasn’t mourning. Something had reached deep down in my 'HEART'.
     I’ve been wondering lately—what causes that emotion in us? I think it’s because our hearts were made by our great creator to see the beauty and wonder in life, which takes us out of ourselves and into the beauty and wonder of God.
     Over the Easter holidays, I watched the movie “Jesus of Nazareth”. In it, there were several references to Jesus reaching into people's ‘hearts’. One was where Joseph of Arimathea spoke in defense of Jesus to the Sanhedrin before Jesus was even arrested. I realize that what he said in the movie isn’t found in scripture.
     But, I believe it correctly portrays why the masses followed Jesus. He said to his fellow members of the Sanhedrin: 

“How can we guide them if we don’t know what’s in their hearts?" I have seen Him, I’ve heard him preach. His words reach into men’s hearts, not like ours.”

     Then Nicodemus got up, also to defend Jesus. He said:  

"Like our brother Joseph, I’ve heard Him preach. I was moved, lifted out of myself, and seemed to see all things in a new and blinding light. I was aware of wonders, signs, that God may be with Him, and through Him with us.” 

     Again, I realize that what they said in the movie isn’t in scripture, even though the movie quoted a lot of scripture. But again, I believe it correctly portrays why the people followed and loved Jesus, even the children. I believe it’s the essence of the Gospel. That men’s hearts need to be reached into, to allow change to come about!

     In Biblical terms, one internet citation defined the ‘heart’ as representing “the center of one's being, encompassing emotions, will, and intellect”.
     There are 685 references to the 'hearts' of mankind in the Christian Standard Bible. I think that vast number alone should tell us something about how important the hearts of men and women are to reach them for Jesus. Let’s look at a few of them:

• Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.”
• Ephesians 1:18: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”
• Acts 16:14: “The Lord opened Lydia's heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.” 
• Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is near to those with broken hearts and saves the crushed in spirit.” 
• Hebrews 4:12: “The Word of God is active and pierces to the division of soul and spirit, penetrating the heart.” 
• Hebrews 10:16: “This is the covenant that I will make with them, after that time, says the Lord, I will put my laws in their hearts…” 
• Romans 10:9 is the salvation verse: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” 
• And who can ever forget the greatest commandment found in Matthew 22:37? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."

     I’m not sure, like Jesus did, how we can reach into the hearts of our loved ones, friends, and people in the community. I know we can’t do it with our own power.
     I think with all MY ‘HEART’ that we need to cry out to Jesus and His Holy Spirit to reach into ‘OUR HEARTS’ to give each of us inspiration on how to reach ‘THEIR HEARTS’. I think then, and only then, do we have a chance of "GETTING TO THE ‘HEART’ OF THE MATTER!

SIMEON AND ANNA’S LONG WAIT REWARDED!

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
    The title of my post today is, “SIMEON AND ANNA’S LONG WAIT REWARDED!"
     What’s part of the Christian life? It’s ‘waiting, and waiting, and waiting’. The older I get, the more aware I am of the sometimes long wait for God’s promises, when it seems they will never be fulfilled. 

     I did a devotional for our church Serve Team a couple of weeks ago titled “Waiting, and Waiting, and Waiting For What Seems Impossible!” It was about the almost unbearable wait for what God promises each of us. The devotional, however, emphasized that we are in very, very good company. The Bible is full of heroes like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and many others who had to wait, and wait, and wait for God’s promise that seemed impossible to fulfill. And then all of a sudden, God fulfilled them!
     The last Bible heroes I mentioned in the devotional were found in Luke 2. They were Simeon and Anna, both very elderly servants of God, who spent their lifetimes waiting in the temple for the promised Messiah. What’s impressive is that their wait was preceded by 400 years of spiritual darkness after the time of the prophets.
     How did Simeon and Anna know that God had a plan for them to be rewarded after so many years of waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the promised Messiah? Did one or both of them have a dream? Were they visited by an angel? We’ll never know exactly how they knew the Messiah was about to be born after 400 years of darkness, but we can be amazed at how these two faithful servants waited, and waited, and waited until they were very old for God to reward them for their faithfulness. 

     Can you and I be so faithful in our wait for what God has promised us?

A BIBLICAL ‘EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE’: TO DECLARE GOD AND HIS ATTRIBUTES TO THE NEXT GENERATION!

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is, “A BIBLICAL ‘EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE’: TO DECLARE GOD AND HIS ATTRIBUTES TO THE NEXT GENERATION!"
     I just turned 72, and I'm having trouble deciding which direction, or directions, to take as a senior citizen. For 35 years of my life, I worked in fields that required a lot of continuity and predictability. My job as a Supported Employment Coordinator in a community mental health center required me and my workers to use ‘evidence-based practices’.
     Then, for 6 years after I retired as the supported employment coordinator, my job in writing grants for Mission to Amish People (MAP) was also very ‘evidence-based’. I had to be very specific in my wording of the grants and in answering all the detailed questions the foundations had about MAP, and how we would use their money effectively for a specific project.
     Evidence-based practices are defined as the following: “A systematic approach to decision-making that integrates the best available research evidence, expertise, and values and preferences to guide professional practice to improve outcomes.”
     I’m a very concrete thinker, so ‘evidence-based practices’ fit me and my personality very well. But now that I’m ‘totally’ retired, I’m struggling to find my niche in this world related to this strength and to my role as a Christian senior citizen. About two weeks ago, however, I came upon several verses that gave me great hope, even amid my struggles. They’re found in Psalm 92:12-15. Here they are:

“The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green, to declare, “The Lord is just; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

     So, I think I’ve found a tried-and-true ‘evidence-based practice’ in Psalm 92 for older believers like me.

• The evidence-based practice is, “To declare God and His attributes to the next generation.”
• The improved outcome is: “Bearing fruit, healthy and green, in old age.”
• What that means is: “Loved ones, friends, and others will give their hearts to Jesus as a result of our declarations about the attributes of God.”

         See you next time.

WHY DO ‘SMART’ PEOPLE NOT SEE WHAT SEEMS OBVIOUS?

     

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.

     The title of today’s post is, “WHY DO ‘SMART’ PEOPLE NOT SEE WHAT SEEMS OBVIOUS?”
     I worked 29 years in community mental health with many master's and PhD-level workers. They were obviously very smart and accomplished persons. I was taken aback a couple of times, however, when a master’s-level counselor whom I knew for years would email me and address me as “Arlene” instead of “Arlen”. I had a good relationship with that counselor, and I think she didn’t even realize that she made a mistake, and I didn’t point it out to her.
     Which brings me to the point of this short post. It amazes me that world leaders, inventors, scientists, heads of corporations, and even very smart and accomplished family members have never explored the deep mysteries of the Bible—the obvious, if you will. What seems plain to me, they deem a complete waste of time to even consider. They don’t look beyond the here and now. They don’t delve into the unknown, although the Bible reveals many known mysteries of the universe. 

     For example, Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things which you do not know.” So, in other words, if we call out to God, He will answer us and tell us ‘incomprehensible’ things we don’t know. What is the meaning of ‘incomprehensible’? It means that God will reveal to those who ask Him things that are seemingly impossible to understand with human intellect alone. These things go way beyond what ‘smart’ people can grasp without God’s help.
     I’m praying that God, by His wonderful Holy Spirit, that many people start calling out to God, and that He opens the eyes and hearts of many ‘smart’ people, especially my family members, so that they ‘see what seems obvious’!

“ARE YOU WITH ME—OR AGAINST ME?”

     

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of today’s post is, “ARE YOU WITH ME—OR AGAINST ME?” It’s based on a Bible verse I read recently that startled me. It’s found in Luke 11:23, where Jesus speaks to a crowd of people. Here it is:

“Anyone who is not with me is against me, and anyone who does not gather with me scatters.”

     I’ve heard sports coaches yell the line, “Are you with me?” to rally the team to heed his advice or encouragement to work hard to win the game—or at least give it their best shot. If a teammate has a bad attitude, it’s evidence that the player is not 'with' the coach and is indeed 'against' the coach. That player is usually a detriment to team success and is often sidelined or even asked to leave the team. They, in a sense, are not ‘gathering’ the team together, but have a ‘scattering’ influence away from the coach’s advice or encouragement.
     The startling thing to me about what Jesus said to the crowd was how stark His statement was about people who might even just be on the fence about Him. Or those who have never heard, or heard very little, about Him. You would think that God, in His great mercy, would give them a pass.
     But, to the contrary, Jesus indicated in strong words how serious the matter of following Him is, no matter what point a person is at in the spiritual spectrum. He wants on His team of believers, those who are ‘with’ Him, not ‘against’ Him. He knows they will then ‘gather’ other people toward Him, and not ‘scatter’ people away from Him.
     See you next time.

THE HOLY SPIRIT GETS US 'COMING AND GOING'!

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of today’s post is, “THE HOLY SPIRIT GETS US 'COMING AND GOING'!”
     The word pictures Jesus and the apostles used were, quite frankly, amazing!
     Paul the Apostle wrote an example in Romans 5:3-5: “And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” So, on the one hand, Paul said of the believer in Romans 5 that by the incredible power of the Holy Spirit, God’s wonderful love was ‘pouring’ or ‘coming’ into our hearts.
     Jesus in John 7:38 said, “The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” So, Jesus said of the believer in John 7 that by the incredible power of the Holy Spirit, God’s wonderful ‘living water’ was ‘flowing’, or ‘going’ from deep within us out to the world around us.
     So, the bottom line for the believer is: “The Holy Spirit gets us coming and going!”

BIBLE WORDS MATTER!

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     Today’s post is entitled, “BIBLE WORDS MATTER! So do certain Bible ‘superlatives’ help dispel the perception that the Christian life is ‘boring’, ‘dour’, and ‘uninteresting’?”
     Recently, I’ve noticed certain words, 'superlatives', if you will, in the Bible. What’s a ‘superlative’, you might ask? A superlative is defined by Merriam-Webster as a word used “to denote an extreme or unsurpassed level or event."
     Many assume that the Christian life is ‘boring’, ‘dour’ or brooding, and ‘uninteresting’. But some of the ‘superlative’ words the Bible authors used to describe God’s greatness, and specifically God’s greatness toward His people, blow this assumption out of the water.
     I’m just going to focus on three of these ‘superlative’ words that the Bible authors used, but there are many more. Here are the three I chose:

1. ‘Superlative’ Word #1: “Incomprehensible.”
2. ‘Superlative’ Word #2: “Inexpressible.”
3. ‘Superlative’ Word #3: “Immeasurable.”

     Now, let’s look at one Bible verse associated with each ‘superlative’ word and break it down a little bit:

1. ‘Superlative’ Word #1: “Incomprehensible" verse: Jeremiah 33:3.

“Call to me, and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things which you do not know.”

a. Synonym #1: “Mysterious.”
b. Synonym #2: “Unintelligible.”
c. Synonym #3: “Unfathomable.”

Conclusion: The Christian life is, or should be, very far from boring.

2. ‘Superlative’ Word #2: “Inexpressible" verse: 1 Peter 1:8-9.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; though not seeing him now, you believe in him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

a. Synonym #1: “Incredible.”
b. Synonym #2: “Indescribable.”
c. Synonym #3: “Unspeakable.”

Conclusion: The Christian life is, or should be, very far from dour or brooding.

3. ‘Superlative’ Word #3: “Immeasurable” verse: Ephesians 1:18-19.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.”

a. Synonym #1: “Infinite.”
b. Synonym #2: “Endless.”
c. Synonym #3: “Unlimited.”

Conclusion: The Christian life is, or should be, very far from uninteresting.

     Final Conclusion from the Bible Superlatives written by Bible Authors is the following: Living for and with Christ and His Holy Spirit is so wonderfully good that it can’t be described—and I pray that each of us realizes it deep within our souls. It will make a big difference in how we live our lives.
     See you next time.

ARE YOU LOST IN 2026? DO YOU NEED SOMEONE TO SEEK AND TO SAVE YOU?

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     My question I have for the new year: “ARE YOU LOST IN 2026? DO YOU NEED SOMEONE TO SEEK AND TO SAVE YOU?”
     The ABC TV show “Lost” was a very popular science fiction adventure drama that followed the survivors of an airline flight that crashed on a mysterious tropical island in the South Pacific. The survivors faced trial after trial, challenge after challenge, trying to overcome the various dangers the island held, not to mention the interpersonal battles they all faced. Their goal—to survive until someone came to seek and to save them.
     Also, the other night I watched the movie “The Diary of Anne Frank”. It was very reminiscent of the story of Corrie Ten Boom entitled “The Hiding Place”. Anne Frank, her family, and several other Jews hid from the Nazis for over two years in very cramped quarters in an Amsterdam secret attic of a business. They had to keep very quiet all day during business hours and at night when Nazi guards were trolling the streets. They desperately wanted the Allied Forces to seek and to save them. Sadly, it never happened, and Otto Frank, Anne’s father, was the only survivor in his family of the Nazi concentration camps. It was reported that Anne, at the age of 15, and her sister Margot, at the age of 19, both died from typhus fever after only about three months in one of the camps.
     Let’s face it. Life on this earth is full of trial after trial—challenge after challenge. We are, however, blessed in America that most of us don’t face starvation, murder, or as much disease on a regular basis as people in many other countries do. But all of us will, at some point, face a serious trial or challenge. For example, I have a brother who was shot and almost killed on the job in 2001. He ended up with medical complications and is currently 100% blind. He is a reminder that most people face trial after trial and challenge after challenge. And the rampant turmoil and wars in the world today are constant reminders of the lostness of people in need of someone to seek and to save them.
     About a month ago, praise the Lord, I read Jesus’ profound pronouncement found in Luke 19:10. He said of Himself, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
     The bottom line is—Jesus is the ultimate and the best one ever—to seek and to save you if you are lost in 2026!
     See you next time.