In It...Not Of It

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33 (NKJV)


Wow, with all that is happening in the world today, Supreme Court rulings, the deeming of all that is evil to be deemed good, and visa-versa.
We are living in some very different times than when I was growing up carefree with no worries about the government or entities within dismantling everything we hold sacred.
I find myself battling a bit of depression at times, seeing all the evil that no longer lurks around the fringes of darkness, but out in broad daylight for all to see, and we are forced to accept it as normal.
There’s plenty more to follow I’m afraid. Be strong and courageous!

The 16th chapter of John reminds us that we are not left alone in all the craziness, the Holy Spirit indwells every believer to lead us into all truth, pointing us to Jesus when all around us seems murky and bleak. He is our beacon, our lighthouse for such a time as this.

We must remind ourselves that this is not our home and that we are in this world but not of it. Jesus said in John 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” I want to be homesick for Heaven and have a renewed focus on the Great Commission’s mandate to win souls for Jesus Christ while we still have time. Life is short compared to eternity. James 4:14 says: “whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

My prayer today my Brothers and Sisters in Christ are a simple yet difficult one. May we love the Lord Jesus with all our hearts, minds, and strength, and love those dying around us enough to share the Law of God that convicts them of their need for a Savior, and boldly proclaim the truth of Christ’s Gospel to save their eternal souls.

False Conversion

This is an email I sent to Todd Friel and the crew of Wretched Radio/TV. All these years I thought I was a Christian when all I ever really was…a false convert. I asked Jesus into my heart in 1987 (not Biblical) but thought I could continue to do and say all the things that were displeasing to a Holy and Righteous God, and he would just have to forgive me upon my confession. There was no teaching of true repentance or a total trust in Jesus that will cause our faith to grow. Anyway, I share this with you for your thought, and so I can boast of God’s goodness. It is The testimony of His deep love for us.

Dear Wretched Crew,
I have been calling myself a Christian since March 4, 1987, but it wasn't until July 11, 2012, that I realized that I was as lost as I could be. After hearing Todd Friel's teaching
on the Wretched website "Are You Really A Christian?" I had to honestly take a look into my soul and I realized that the Holy Spirit was never allowed to dwell there due to my unrepentant heart, and the enemy of God I remained to be with all the lust, hatred, and excuses I made for my sin. Sure, I felt remorse at times, but not the deep sorrow I now feel as I look back over all these years when I was not honoring God but spitting in His face, and mocking the very cross where Jesus shed His blood and died that I may have life through of His resurrection.

I then bought the "Slaying The Dragon" mp3, I was convicted to the bone as I listened to Todd and the Holy Spirit point their finger right at me causing me to realize that I was a filthy wretch and that I deserved to gasp on my last breath right then and there.
I thought I had cut my Christian teeth on the full counsel of God, attending an Assembly of God church for years, becoming a member, and even being a Youth Worker. I also played drums with the Music Ministry...It just doesn't get more "Christian" than that or so I thought.

I was taught, (and yes I bought) that God is Holy, He is Love, but He forgives no matter what. This “Theology” allows for us to continue to have a foot in the world, and then slide back into the Kingdom when we are feeling like we need our feet washed. I realize now that it is a lie from the father of lies, and it is a stench in the nostril of my Heavenly Father.

I spent a better part of the afternoon yesterday literally on my face before God, confessing my sin, begging for his mercy to save my miserable life. I feel as if I have been “Born From Above” this time, in words and indeed.
I now take every moment a step at a time, walking in His mercy and grace. I now have been humbled, I know full well that I deserve nothing, God owes me nothing. His love now overwhelms me, to know that the God of the Universe, The King Of Kings and The Lord of lords knows me so intimately that He knows the number of hairs on my head, has felt the times I spit in His face, has forgiven me and now calls me son. Nothing to boast on my part, all glory, honor, and praise to my Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom so I might reign with Him in Paradise.

Thank you Todd for your willingness to boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It truly is the power of God to save our lives! My wife Veronika and I watch Wretched TV every day and even joined the Tomorrow Clubs to help the children of Ukraine hear the Gospel. My wife is from Ukraine and has many family members there. I have had a special place in my heart for Ukraine since our visit there in 2010. I know God does too!

God Bless!

Al Yerks
Chappaqua, New York 2012

Uncle Frank

In Loving Memory of Frank I. Yerks ~January 3, 1924 - June 12, 2012, ~

Frank Yerks was a Son, Brother, Soldier, Husband, Father, Uncle, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Friend, and for most of his 88 years, an outspoken American Patriot. He proudly served his country in the Army during WWII and continued to defend freedom for the rest of his days. I will always remember his mischievous smile, and his contagious laughter will echo down the halls of my memory as long as I live. I called him the "Prince of Pun" because he was always quick with a good one. The world turns a little slower today because he has left us. He is one of those remarkable people whose shoulders I proudly stand today. Thank you Uncle Frank for everything, especially for the example of a man you lived before me and the best friend and brother you were to my Dad.

Memorial Day 2012

“Greater love has no one than this than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13 (New King James Version)

Memorial Day, is a Federal Holiday that annually sets aside the last Monday of May to honor the men and women who have died in all of America’s wars. Originally known as Decoration Day after the Civil War to honor and decorate the graves of the fallen Union Soldiers.

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln spoke at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg:
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives so that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

To the brave men and women that so proudly and honorably served under the colors of The United States Armed Forces, I honor you, I salute you, but most of all, I THANK YOU! Without your sacrifice and that of the brave souls that never made it home, I would not have the blessing-filled life I enjoy, with all guaranteed liberty, and the full pursuit of happiness constitutionally afforded me.


Time and time again throughout America’s illustrious 236-year history, it has been the blood sweat, and tears, and all too often the very lives of the American Soldier, Sailor, Airmen, and Marine, to answer the call to raise up a standard against those that would threaten to destroy our way of life. Today we proudly stand on their honored shoulders. I pray for America’s resolve to remain vigilant and strong, under the call of building upon the rock-solid foundation toiled and tooled for us. We must stand as stalwart examples for those who will continue the fight, emboldening them to stave off any adversary opposed to America’s life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Freedom is never free; thousands died to gain it, millions have died to keep it, and one willingly died to offer it!

God Bless America!

Hurt And Anger...You Can't Have One Without The Other

Anger, it can motivate you, it can trip you up, or even kill you. Sometimes it is justified, but we are never justified to harbor it in our hearts. Anger comes from deep-seated hurt stuffed into the recesses of our soul, a soul that is meant to be free, free to express and shine forth the person we truly are from the inside out. I see hurt as that dirty closet somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of the house where we hoard all the negative and unkind words and deeds said and done over the years. They rapidly change appearance with every hurtful addition heaped onto the pile. The original article no longer has its own identity, merely an amalgamation of hideous words and deeds, fermented and putrefied over the ticking of time. The poisons of hurt and anger are subtle, taking their time over time to infiltrate and corrupt everything good and worth having in our lives. Life is seen through the poisonous cloud of our anger, causing our wounds to fester and callus. Every new event tears and reopens the old issue to make it today’s problem all over again. The vicious cycle continues until the door of the closet is about to come unhinged. I am on a journey of sorts to clean my closets. It is said that you don’t truly realize how much stuff you have until you go to move. So it is with the soul of man. Attempt to make an internal move forward, and see just how much junk falls on you when you open that cluttered old closet. The good thing about having the contents hit you right between the eyes is that you are forced to deal with them head-on. Plus once exposed to the light, they are no longer as dark and fearful. We all have issues that we harbor within, be honest as you muster up the courage to look. Forgive the person that hurt you long ago or just yesterday. Refuse to allow that junk to clutter your closet one day more. You will find in time, that the once dark spaces will be bathed in the light of peace. Make no mistake, the process is difficult and quite painful at times. It’s not easy to find that balance of forgiving and forgetting. Clara Barton, Founder of the Red Cross was once approached by a friend that reminded her of a cruel incident that had happened years before. “Don’t you remember the wrong that was done?” said the friend. “No,” Clara said matter of factly, “I distinctly remember forgetting about that.” Barton was able to accomplish great things in her life because she refused to carry the exhausting burden of hurt, anger, and resentment around like a knapsack full of bricks. That is the lesson for you and me, let it go, forgive yourself and others, and live in peace with others whenever possible. At the end of the day, true freedom (like a dream) starts from within. We’ll all be better at it!

Contemplate

Recently I heard an interview with Roger Daltrey, lead singer of the British Rock Band The Who. He talked about technology as it pertains to sports, pointing out the horrible referee calls in the 2010 World Cup. His thought was that technology is needed to correct the blatant errors the referees inflicted that possibly cost vital games, and possibly even the cup for the American soccer team. On the other hand, he warned of the effects technology is having on our society at large. We may not truly see the effects for twenty or thirty years, but the effects will be felt. Roger opines that in these days of megabytes, gigabytes, and nanoseconds, people have forgotten how to contemplate. Everything in today’s life is so fast that we basically make quick assessments of information or events, and make nanosecond decisions. Contemplation is a good way to get our heads around an issue and truly understand it. Without contemplation, the information literally goes in one ear and out the other. Life is too short as it is to not fully understand and enjoy what’s around us. Take the test. When you click on a website and it takes more than three seconds, do you start to tap your foot and check your watch? Three seconds and we feel the whole world is passing us by. I can remember as a kid waiting for the picture tube on our television to seemingly take forever to warm up, but we were excited to see what picture would pop up. And then when we got a color TV in the late 60s, talk about anticipation…WOW! Heaven forbid if we ever have to wait at that endless red light, or in a long line at the grocery store, or stare at the bumper of a slow car ahead of us when we’re in a big hurry. We just don’t have the patience to wait for anything anymore. We used to fill our time with thoughts of the future, or what we were going to do with our friends next weekend. Families spent more time together before iPods, iPads, and endless channels of High Definition Television at our fingertips. Cashiers don’t even have to know how to make change anymore. How many times have you noticed the person at the register waiting for the change back to be displayed before delving into the tray to “count-up” your change? I guess it goes to show that the more we try to make our lives easier, the more complicated they become. Technology is an incredible thing for sure. My wife and I just purchased iPhones with a million Apps that do a million things. We never have to worry about locking the keys in the car, yep there is an App that will summon a satellite to pop the doors open. Never again will I have to wait in line to buy movie tickets, not with my trusty iPhone! Heck, I can even deposit a check without leaving the comforts of my home. With all this time I’m saving, why do I feel just as busy and tired as always? I don’t really have the answers, maybe I should take some time to contemplate for a while, and then I’ll get back to you…

50

Turning fifty has a very peculiar feel to it. Well past middle age unless you are blessed to stick around to hit the century mark, yet young enough to remember the previous years leading up to this half-century milestone. In my case anyway, synchronicity seems to be a casualty in the battle of time passage, the mind refuses to age at the same pace as the rest of the structural framework. So many times I have unwisely thought to make a time-saving jump down off an elevated surface only to have my brain remind my good-intentioned inner-child that I would most likely land on my iPhone, break my hip or something, and not be able to call for an ambulance. I think of that lady’s refrain from the commercials, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Seriously, it’s pretty funny how the mind works. It’s strange to be at an age that you can remember your parents being, and you thought they were getting pretty old. Aging is uncharted territory for us even though others have gone before. Everyone’s journey is a solo flight that we hope is filled with excitement and grace. Like anything unknown, the future has its share of anxiety and stress. But if we dwell too much on what could happen in the future, we will surely miss all that is potentially good surrounding us at the moment before us. So for my next 50 years, I want to make it a point to anticipate less and participate more in what life has to offer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not jumping out of any perfectly good airplanes anytime soon, but within reason, I want to take some risks. I want to feel less encumbered by my fears, and perceptions, and stop listening to the unkind voices from the past that occasionally echo from a deep and dimly lit recess within my mind. I want to smile more than I do every day, and I want to recognize and seek out the people and things that make me smile. I want to love more things about my life, my country, and my world. And even though life is a continuous process of learning and growing, I want to be able to allow myself from time to time to say “You’ve made it to this point kid, use what you’ve learned so far…and go for it!” I want to play more and not worry about the consequences my muscles may pay the next day. I want to be more thankful for what I have had the privilege to experience in this life so far. I am thankful for the eyes that I have been given for which to see the world around me, whether they are through mine, or clarity revealed through the eyes of a loved one. So today I will lace up my hockey skates, or slide down an icy hill with my wife gripping our brand new super-duper sled. Tonight we go to my favorite BBQ Restaurant (which is a risk in itself for me, but worth taking) I just hope I will be fully functional and upright tomorrow…but hey, I’ll concern myself with that tomorrow!