I walked into her room and Michelle gave me an update about all that had transpired and then she told me something that was very encouraging. Liz had finally uttered some words after a couple of days of complete silence. Her first words were, "Oh My Goodness." After Michelle conveyed this to me. Liz spoke again and she said, "Goodness." For the next couple of hours Liz repeated this word over and over again. I took her hand and asked her to say my name and do you recognize me? She said "Goodness." She then reached up and cupped my face with her hands and uttered "Goodness." She then drew me to her face and kissed me and uttered "Goodness." I couldn't believe this was happening. All we could do was to praise the Lord. Taking Liz's cue on the goodness of the Lord, we started to sing "God Is So Good." Unbelievably Liz joined in the chorus.

Her natural man was shut down. She could not converse, but she could say "Goodness" and sing praise to her faithful, loving Savior. I told Michelle that I'm so glad you a here to witness this. Know one is going to believe me.

Afterward as I tried to analyze what had transpired a few thoughts came. God had specifically answered Flip's prayer. Somehow in the murkiness and uncertainty of this ordeal. God had communicated His goodness to my suffering bride. Secondly, Liz has gone through nine months of hell on earth. She has suffered beyond my limited comprehension and the one word that comes from her mouth when her speech failed was "Goodness." I know for sure that would not be the word I would use. Lastly, God gave our family a special gift of grace by allowing this to happen. Whether or not God heals her or takes her home to be with Him. Our family has seen His goodness.

Of course, two Scriptures came to light through this wonderful experience. Psalms 27:13,14 declares, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalms 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." Notice that in life or in death the saint of God can still know, believe, and trust in the goodness of God.

We prayed these Scriptures over Liz and really emphasized the word "Goodness." I pray this report lifts your spirits and encourages your heart. God has been so merciful to us.

We also have received a lot of reports back from the different tests. They found no Lymphoma from the fluids in her spinal cord. This rules out Lymphoma in the fluid that surrounds her brain. They believe what caused her speech to be impaired was a reaction to one of the drugs in her chemo treatment. They are giving her an antidote and it appears to be working. I talked with Liz on the phone and she is conversing today. Praise God!

We still need to press in. We still do not know what caused Liz to go back into the hospital. Every test they run, it comes back cancer-free and yet something keeps hindering her. We need to find out what is it and by God's grace and power vanquish it from Liz's body in Jesus' mighty and wonderful name!

Dear Champion of the Lord and the Preborn,

The Lord richly bless you! One point of clarification about yesterday's extraordinary praise report. Not all the tests came back cancer free. The doctors reminded me that they found some Lymphoma from the biopsy that they took from the lymph nodes in Liz's neck. The good news is they are still convinced it is treatable and Liz has a chance of recovery. Obviously, we will maintain our prayerful vigilance and trust God for these precious results.

Yesterday, Liz's speech improved more and more, though she is still a little loopy. She has what I call "long wiring syndrome." She can comprehend, converse, and respond, it is just a bit slow. She actually imitated herself when she became mute and incoherent. She had Michelle and I in stitches. Her sense of humor was shining forth. This was also a good sign.

All in all, we have seen the goodness of the Lord. The grievous burden has been lifted. I felt like Christian in the classic story of Pilgrim's Progress. Once he kneeled before the cross, the heavy load fell to the ground and his burden was laid down. Thanks be to God for He is good and His mercy endures forever!

IN KING JESUS' SERVICE,

Rusty

A few years ago, James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, conducted a survey. The survey polled Evangelical Christians and asked them if there is such a notion called Absolute Truth. 63 % of those who claim to be born from above denied Absolute Truth was possible. This no doubt is the dreadful of effects of Modernism and Postmodernism taking its toll upon the Church of Jesus Christ.

Modernism is the philosophical child that was spawned by the French Revolution and the "Enlightenment" movement. Man began to drift from truth being found only as a revelation from Almighty God of Holy Scripture to man’s limited reason. The leaders of the Enlightenment believed man’s reason apart from God’s revelation could perceive and understand truth. The Scientific Method was the by-product of this reasoning. Thus truth can only be assured by empirical evidence. Science, not God, became the masters of truth. The Scientific Method rejected all supernatural explanations as a source of truth. To them, man must be able to have demonstrable proofs through observation and repeatable events to place their stamp of approval upon truth.

With the advent of World War One and Two, however, modernism began to lose its grip on men’s minds. The masters of truth through the devastating inhumanity against man took the wind out of their sail as the "utopia" of modernism was dashed upon the rocks of skepticism and cynicism. This paved the way for the Church’s next great enemy called Postmodernism. Postmodernism simply rejects all truth claims whether its source is God or science. The advocates of Postmodernism do not believe man can attain truth in this cruel world in which we live. The best man can do in this fatalistic world is to construct a truth of their own to cope with life’s struggles and challenges. This, of course, brings man back to the Garden and the first assault against the Truth.

Satan first attacked God’s standard of truth, His Law/word and seduced man by whispering, "Yea, hath God said?" This strategic fiery doubt concerning God's command tragically appealed to Adam and Eve to be a law and a god unto themselves. The lying promise of the Adversary, "Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil," is responsible for the battle that continues to rage over the issues of truth and whose laws should govern in the affairs of man. It is therefore vital that we discern the deadly deal Satan offered our first parents.

He wasn't just trying to sell them on the concepts of good and evil. His ultimate objective was to convince them to determine good and evil for themselves. He wanted them to develop an entirely different truth system apart from God. This treacherous act catapulted man to believe that he the master of his own ship, the lord of his life, and the one who determines good and evil for himself apart from the objective truth of God's Law. Man has been eating from that lawless tree ever since and the bitter fruit of it can be clearly seen today in our nation's pursuit of removing God as the source of truth and law.

Whether or not the Church admits it, the polls show that the Church is spending more time eating from the deadly tree of the knowledge of good and evil than it is partaking of the tree of life rooted in God’s truth. This pathetic trend helps to pinpoint one of the main reasons why America is on a downward slide into perdition. If Christians reject the notion absolute truth, can any wonder why our culture has become so course, perverted, and defiled.

No matter how much our culture embraces multi-culturalism, diversity, pluralism, and political correctness, this does not mean God grants permission to His Church to abandon His truth. Especially, if the cultural pressure seduces the Church to be more concerned about offending men than God Himself. The world can tolerate Christianity being presented as one faith out of many faiths. It cannot abide, however, Christianity’s claim to be the one true object of faith at the exclusion of all others. The world will not exercise "bulging veins" if Christianity is just one religion amongst the many of the world’s great religions. It will blow a gasket, however, if Christians contend that it is the only religion authored, endorsed, and approved by Almighty God.

Now there is the rub. Jesus distinguishes Himself from every other religious leader and religion in the world. He not only claimed to be "THE TRUTH," but also declared all other competing religions were thieves and robbers of men’s souls (John 10:1). Jesus was so concerned about truth and His authority as the source of truth that He made both positive and negative declarations, something the Church of today shrinks back from. We sheepishly will admit Jesus may be the truth (If we are not on Larry King Live), but all other religious leaders and religions false? Those kind of declarations may wind us up in court charged with a hate crime.

Again, whether we like it or not Christianity is an exclusive faith, truth, and life system and this is one of the main reasons why the world hates us. They believe if we would just be more tolerant of every other competing faith, philosophy, and religious system then the world will finally have peace. No more religious wars etc. Much of the Church has already bowed before this politically correct pressure. For example, Mel Gibson came under intense pressure and scrutiny for producing "The Passion of the Christ." When interviewed, the inevitable question came, "Do Muslims and Jews go to heaven?" Mel faltered and stated that Christians have an easier time of it, but the others should make it as well. Basically, according to Mel’s theology, Christians hold a first class ticket to heaven, while Muslims and Jews hold coach tickets. We all eventually make it to heaven regardless of what one believes.

A more recent example of this treachery against Christ centers on Pastor Joel Osteen from Houston, TX. He pastors a church of about thirty thousand souls. When you hear this dialogue with Larry King, you will gain more insight into his amazing "success," in Churchianity. KING: "What if you're Jewish or Muslim, you don't accept Christ at all?" OSTEEN: "You know, I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know." KING: "If you believe you have to believe in Christ? They're wrong, aren't they?" OSTEEN: "Well, I don't know if I believe they're wrong. I believe here's what the Bible teaches and from the Christian faith this is what I believe. But I just think that only God will judge a person's heart. I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don't know all about their religion. But I know they love God. And I don't know. I've seen their sincerity. So I don't know. I know for me, and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a relationship with Jesus."

Two blatant problems emerge from this dialogue. First, a prominent minister of the Gospel does not know whether or not people will go to heaven apart from faith and trust in Christ? This is basic Christianity 101 and he feigns ignorance? Why is this man and many more like him in the American Church standing behind pulpits preaching and prospering, if he does not know this most crucial of questions. Secondly, he seems to imply Hinduism with their plethora of gods, love the true and living God. He seems to think it is the sincerity of the belief that determines our love for God and His truth and not the object of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. Osteen was called on the carpet for his incredible betrayal against the Gospel of the Kingdom and to his credit he apologized. The damage was done, however, and many who heard that one can go to heaven apart from Christ will never hear his apology.

The Bible is the word of truth. John 17:17 declares, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." The Bible is a self-authenticating book. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16,17)." Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 2:20,21)."

The world does not appreciate nor accept the truth claims of the Bible. They gnash at the concept that the word of God is self-authenticating. God does not allow Himself or His word to be subject to the opinions, reason, and rationale of men to sit as judge over Him and His word. No, God sits as judge over our beliefs and so-called truth systems. Our belief, no matter how sincere, does not validate God’s word as truth. It is His word, His truth, that validates our beliefs. In other words, our beliefs do not determine truth, it is God’s truth that is to determine our beliefs.

Many of the world’s hammers have been broken on the anvil of God’s word. In history it has been called the "Indestructible Book" or "The Book That Wouldn’t Burn." Many dictators, tyrants, skeptics, and atheists have tried to destroy the credibility of God’s word. They are dust and God’s word keeps on marching forward as conqueror and conquering.

Besides to claim that God’s word is a fraud and a hoax, how do you then explain this conspiracy? The Bible took close to sixteen hundred years to write by over forty human writers. It was written in three different languages on three different continents. There is not one shred of historical evidence that these men faithfully conspired to concoct a hoax or fraud called the Bible. To believe that the Holy Scriptures were the invention of men over this long of period without a shred of evidence is ludicrous. Plus, how is it possible to place men’s hearts, minds, and will and bind them to the sixty six books of the Bible if it is just a collection of fanciful stories inspired by mere human imagination and not from divine origin? Eventually time would have exposed the fraud, but alas as Jesus has declared, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away (Matthew 24:35)."

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. John 16:13 states, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."

The Church is to be the pillar and ground of truth. 1 Timothy 3:15 declares, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." It is not the university, the media, Hollywood, our culture or government that is designated by God to be the pillar and ground of truth. He has designated the Church to be the foundation and support of truth. We have been given by God a sacred trust to safeguard His truth and faithfully present it to this poor-fallen world steeped in deception. We do not glorify God, help preserve our communities and nation, or do service to men’s souls by diluting, compromising, and lowering the standards of God’s truth. And yet a lot of the Church have been tempted to do this very same thing because we found out the world will hate us less and we can grow bigger churches without the conflict truth causes in our culture.

The nature of truth lends itself to the notion of moral absolutes. It speaks of a definite right and wrong that is not defined by the whims of fallen man, but by God Himself. It also gives rise to reveal and expose falsehood, deception, lies, and error. This perhaps is why many refuse to believe truth is possible. The world loves the color gray. Truth removes the gray areas of moral neutrality, and defines reality in black and white to the chagrin of the world.

Regardless, John 8:31,32 reveals that truth is the only source of liberation known to man. Jesus said, "...If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Without this revelation beating in the breast of humanity, we are enslaved by sin, Satan, and this illegitimate world system. Without truth penetrating our souls and changing our hearts not only is internal liberation not possible, but there is no basis for any external freedom, political or otherwise. Both are bound to God’s truth. To deny this is to welcome slavery, bondage, and oppression, both from within and from without.

One has to wonder, since the Church has lost its love for the truth, is this responsible for the ascendency of delusion that has gripped America? Is our nation believing lies, because the pillar and ground of truth has become "Sinking Sand Ministries?" Is our nation descending into damnation because the Church has become ashamed to proclaim God’s truth? Are we to cowardly to unsheathe the sword of the Spirit, God’s word to beat back the destructive lies that comes from the father of lies, Satan and set the captive free? I guess only time will tell.

Meanwhile, I’d like to leave you with a quote by Pastor Adrian Rogers. He states, "It is better to be divided by truth, than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than to speak a lie that will comfort and then kill. It is better to be hated for telling the truth, than to be loved for telling a lie. It is better to stand alone with the truth, than to be wrong with a multitude. It is better to ultimately die with the truth, than to live with a lie." You can’t state it any better than that. Remember my friend, a lie is a lie, no matter how many believe it and the truth is the truth whether no one believes it.

LETTER TO DENVER