Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
December 2009 Newsletter
My beloved fellow Servants, Saints and Phishermen,
May our King, Jesus the Christ, fill your days with the joy of knowing that God came to earth as one of us to redeem us from the curse of sin. I, Timothy Nathaneal, a doulos of Christ along with Jeremy, Greg and all the brothers who are with me, bring grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Christmas time has become so much more than celebrating the birth of our Savior. This time of year is being hijacked by many groups outside of the church. Over this month our pastors will do a great job at going over the events leading up to the birth of the Christ and even the details shortly after this blessed day. I too will teach on some important details later.
I want to encourage all of you to not be distracted by the commercialization of this time of year and even the date, December 25th. Don’t’ let the lost with their smoke and mirrors, false teachings and out right blasphemies deter you from the truth. “Don’t lose faith in what you know because of what you don’t know”. (B.B.S.) You might ask yourself what is that knowledge. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…” John 1:1 is, in my opinion, the strongest passage in the New Testament for declaring the Deity of Jesus the Christ. Many who deny this biblical doctrine, especially cultists, have attempted to tell us that He is not really God by arguing that this passage only says that Jesus is “a god”. They also want to point to pagan roots at this time of the year. Satan’s plan is to always use our doubts and lack of biblical knowledge to stop us from declaring the truth to the unsaved world.
Verse one of the first chapter of John reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. The last part of 1:1 is the major point they will argue. In the Greek, it reads Theos ēn ho logos, “The Word was God”.
I don’t want to come across smarter than I am, so I’m going to use the note from my study bible to cover this deeper. “God, or Theos, occurs in the verse without the Greek article ho, so that some have contended that the lack of the article in the Greek text should cause the statement to be translated ‘the Word was a god’. The best understanding for the translation however, as recognized by Greek scholars, is that since Theos is a predicate and precedes the noun logos and a verb, it is natural for it to occur here without the article. Greek scholars are agreed that the verse should be translated as it regularly is in modern and ancient translation, clearly affirming that Jesus is indeed God”. (Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible)
Jesus himself called himself God. Jesus’ “I am” statements would have great meaning to His Jewish audience. God had revealed Himself to Moses with “I am” (Ex. 3:14). Now Jesus was using the same words to describe Himself. There are those who would say that Jesus never claimed to be God. That is an outright lie from the pit of Hell.
John 6:35 “I am the bread of life”.
John 8:12 “I am the light of the world”.
John 10:7 “I am the door of the sheep”.
John 10:11 “I am the Good Shepherd”.
John 11:25 “I am the Resurrection and the Life”.
John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth and the life”.
John 15:1 “I am the true vine”.
Jesus’ Jewish listeners knew fully what Jesus was saying. “I AM God”. Father, I will let the “Good Confession” found in John 18:33-38 speak of the truth. “Then Pilate entered the praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are you the King of the Jews”?
Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the Chief Priest have delivered you to Me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My Kingdom is not here.” Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are you a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a King for this I was born. And for this cause I have come to the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.”
He is our King. He does not deny it. Over and over He says “My kingdom” and “my servants”. So, what are we to do with this baby on Christmas day? Forget if we have the date right or any so-called pagan roots. God changes what was bad-for a good use. So celebrate that our God, our King is born to save the world. That Jesus is the Messiah, tell the world! And when they ask you how do know He is tell them this: Jesus fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies.
Prophecy in OT and NT
“The Messiah would be the Gen. 3:15 Gal. 4:4
the seed of a woman”
“The Messiah would be a Gen. 12:3 Matt. 1:1
descendant of Abraham”
“The Messiah would be a Gen. 17:19 Luke 3:34
descendant of Isaac”
“The Messiah would be a Num. 24:17 /Matt. 1:2, 2:2
descendant of Jacob”
“The Messiah would be from Gen. 49:10 Luke 3:33
the tribe of
“The Messiah would be an Isa. 9:7 Luke 1:32,33
heir to the throne of David”
“The Messiah would be Ps. 45:6-7 Heb 1:8-12
Anointed and eternal” 102:25-27
“The Messiah would be born Mic. 5:2 Luke 2:4-7
in
“The Messiah would be born Is. 7:14 Luke 1:26-31
of a virgin”
____________________________________________________________________________
“The Messiah would also Hos. 1:1 Matt. 2:16-18
come from
“ The Messiah’s birth would Jer. 31:15 Matt 14-15
trigger a slaughter of children”
Jesus as man had no way to control these and other prophecies, and still they were fulfilled by Him! Don’t back down because of what you don’t know just tell the world what you do know:
“Jesus is God!”
Up date for this month:
*Winter has set in here at
*Something new in the works. You might have noticed that the top of the letter now says “In the Phish Bowl Ministries”. This has to do with domain names…I think that’s what it’s called. Two brothers in Christ from Calvary Chapel Loveland have stepped up to get PBM on the web. We (all of us who are a part of PBM, it’s a WE thing, not a ME thing) have a new blog page. Get this; I have never seen a blog page. I hear they are cool. I will add the address as soon as I get it. Through this page my hope is to touch as many lives with the redemption of Christ’s love…to call all saints to a walk of obedience and to shine a light on what sin will do in a person’s life if we don’t repent. By God’s grace today I’m in jail, NOT HELL!
*Once again to send thanks out for all of the prayers and support. Because of the brothers and sisters, PBM is going to do a Christmas spread. Please pray for the men and women behind the wall. Christmas seems to hit harder than other holidays.
*When is comes to Phish Bowl Coffee House, it has been under attack. First during a shake down, the c.o. took the coffee. It was being stored in a peanut butter jar and this is not allowed (not that breaking rules is ever OK!) I’ve used this for storage for a year now. Then, the next day my coffee pot died. Not bad for something that goes all day for almost 4 years. Now to the prayer request. Our brother in Christ, Greg, asked his boss if he could bring it to work in the electrical shop to fix it. His boss told him O.K. on Friday! So Friday, he took it to work and another c.o. stopped him and took it. Greg was informed that he is going to be written up for “unauthorized possession of someone else’s property”. I too can get written up for this. Keep this in prayer.
*Praise report: Last month I was asked if I wanted to join the church set-up team. I’m always thankful to our Lord for His continuous use of me in His service. This will now give me contact with both the eastside and the Westside of the yard. Before, I was confined to just the eastside.
God is good.
Merry Christmas!
“Chummin’ for saints..."
Love, Your brother -
Timothy -
Eph 4:29-32
Friday, November 20, 2009
November 2009 Newsletter
Matthew 4:19
To my fellow Phishermen whose desires are moving away from this world to the Kingdom that will soon be here. I, Timothy Nathaneal, am a doulos of Jesus the Christ, charged by the Holy Ghost with a burden to call His saints no matter which side of the wall they live on, to a life that shines a clear path to God our Father the only living God.
As always, I ask that the Trinity guide my pencil each month as I write you all and pray that somehow in this ever darkening world, that He will raise up men and women that will answer the call to serve Him and forsake this world and its lost system. Wake up all of you! Do you not see the times are coming and the signs are clear? Stop putting off today for tomorrow. What guarantees do you even have that there is a tomorrow?
There is living inside of me, a war that some days I’m empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in Victory and other days I find myself on my knees at the foot of the cross once again: broken with a heart filled with anger, judgment and self-righteousness. Am I a bondservant (doulos) of the living God, or am I a slave to this world? Dietrich Bonhoeffer found himself at this same road in April 1943 when he was imprisoned by the Gestapo and while facing certain death, he served his fellow prisoners with a passion for Christ that even moved his guards. And during this time, he also penned a poem of his war with the flesh and spirit, Adam and Christ, the world and the Kingdom to come.
Who am I?
Who am I? They often tell me
I stepped from my cell’s confinement
Calmly, cheerfully, firmly;
Like a squire from his country house.
Who am I? They often tell me
I used to speak to my wardens
Freely and friendly and clearly,
As though it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell me
I bore the days of misfortune
Equably, smilingly, proudly,
Like one accustomed to win.
Am I then really that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself?
Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
Struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my
Throat, yearning for colours, for flowers, for the voices
Of birds. Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
Tossing in expectation of great events, powerlessly trembling
For friends at an infinite distance, weary and empty at praying,
At thinking, at making, faint, and ready to say farewell to it all.
Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
And before myself a contemptible woe-be-gone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine!
The Cost of Discipleship
D. Bonhoffer
1943, Tegel prison, Nazi Germany.
(In April 1945, Bonhoffer was executed by special order of Himmler, at the hands of the Gestapo, in the concentration camp at Flossenburg just a few days before it was liberated by the Allies.)
I have no rights as a doulos of Christ but to participate in this, a life of Christ. See there are two ways to read Bonhoffer: behind the wall or outside the wall. But only from prison do I hear the silent voice in his writing. So to those who would say “Lighten up…” I do wish you have what I have now, but without these chains.
For awhile now, Father has put some things on my heart to talk about. God lets us go through things which are good and bad to learn from and grow in Him. Then it’s our responsibility to then take our testimony of what Jesus is doing in our life and use it to help others. But today, the church would prefer to dress up and look good. Put on a good show, as if our body of believers had no sin! “The church today is a museum for saints instead of a hospital for sinners”. Raggamuffin gospel by B. Manning (paraphrased quote from memory).
What is so funny is that I find this attitude (disease) here in our prison church of believers. We put on our best greens and lie about what got us here, and then try to help others from this tower of self-pride.
So I’m back to this war! How, out of the same mouth (heart) do I praise Jesus for His mercy on me and thank the Holy Spirit for working through me and for this ministry and at the same time, pray for the children I orphaned, the victims I made, the church I used and the bride of my youth I betrayed?
Am I a sinner or Saint? Both! I am a man in need of a savior! This is the ‘cross’ road I find myself at: To look good to the world and the worldly church or bear the mark of Christ on me? Did I truly count the cost when I gave myself to Christ to be used as He sees best and then when I vowed myself as a Doulos some years later. How I hate this war in me, it will bring me to the cross time and time again: alone, empty, longing for His comfort and, begging for His power to relieve us from this torment of the flesh. With the “cry of” to death with self—long live Christ within me! For to die to Christ is to truly live.
The cost of being a follower of Christ: Luke 9:57-62. “Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow you wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then He said to another “follow me”. But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “Lord I will follow you, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” But Jesus said to him, “No one having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” NKJV
*I will follow you: This man volunteered to follow Jesus without reservation. His problem was that he had not realistically counted the cost of discipleship. His enthusiasm, based on his feelings of the moment, would not be strong enough to sustain him during the trials that lay ahead. Jesus warned the would-be disciple that He, “the son of man”, did not even have the ordinary comforts of home.
*Son of man: Jesus used this Messianic title (drawn from Daniel 7:13, 14) over 80 times to refer to Himself.
*Let me first go and bury my father: This passage most likely describes a follower whose father was still alive, because by Levitical law, the man would not be out in public if his father had just died. His father was (?) aged, so the man wanted to go to his home, wait for his father to die, and then follow Christ. Jesus’ answer means that we must never make excuses for refusing to follow Him. There is no better time than NOW! Does the call of God receive priority over everything else? Is Jesus truly your first love?
*Putting a hand to the plow: Means going to (the) work. That work is serving the Kingdom.
*Looking back: makes it difficult to plow a straight line to the goal.
*Fit for the kingdom of God: Jesus’ remark points to the seriousness of this commitment to Him.
Prescription for Revival by R.A. Torrey
“I can give you a prescription that will bring a revival to any church or community or any city on earth. The prescription is as follows:
1. Let a few Christians (they need not be many) get thoroughly right with God themselves. This is the prime essential! IF this is not done, the rest that I am to say will come to nothing.
2. Let them bind themselves together to pray for a revival until God opens the heavens and comes down.
3. Let them put themselves at the disposal of God for Him to use as He sees fit in winning others to Christ.
THAT IS ALL!
If this is all foolish talk to you and you don’t think Satan is real or that he doesn’t attack Christians, you probably aren’t trying to do much for the cause of Christ and the Kingdom to come. But, if you too find yourself at a “cross” road, find comfort in this:
“…being confident of this. That He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”. Philippians 1:6. Other suggested passage readings: II Timothy 2:3, 4; Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10: 16-39; Romans 8:17; I Peter 4:12-14; Revelation 13:7.
Prayer requests:
*November 5th was Bishop (my son’s) 16th birthday. Please keep them (Monique, Brontë and Bishop) in your prayers.
*A friend was released from prison and is being turned over to I.C.E. (Immigration) for deportation. He talked to his sister who will help him get to San Juan del Rio (home). Thanks to the Phish Bowl saints, P.B.M. was able to mail his bible home since I.C.E. would not let him bring anything from prison. His name is Fernando.
*A brother and sister in Christ (on the streets) are going through a time of testing. To tell you the truth, this has been a long season for them both. They love the Lord and serve Him faithfully. But, they find themselves in need. I ask that those who have will trust our Lord and provide for their needs.
As for me:
*God is still working on me; did you pick this up in this month’s writing? Pray that I put pride at the foot of the cross and stop caring what others think of me, and work with the men God gives to me. No matter how dirty they are. At one time, I thought this was dead in me. Just to pop up again—it’s ugly! Dead bones head and this attitude in me make me sick and sadden my heart.
*I’m getting pretty good at volleyball and this gets me out to yard two or three times a week for about 1 hour 45 minutes of fun. I no longer am sitting on the sidelines hoping to get picked, but end up on one of the first two teams to play. I’ve never been good at sports. Since I can remember, I only had a love for motorcycles and the life style that goes with it. Sports are a big part of prison life.
Blessed Thanksgiving
May our Lord bring peace, joy and forgiveness to your Thanksgiving table. P.B.M. is planning a “spread” for this day, thanks once again to the donations provided by some of the Phishermen on the street that make sure that Phish Bowl is stocked with coffee, hygiene, aspirins and many other needs for the forsaken here at Fremont. Each month God provides just what is needed for His ministries and also to get this teaching to you.
And, that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers here say ‘hello’.
The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus the Christ, the awesome love of God our Father, the close friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.
Phish Bowl & Coffee Cup Daily Reading
December 2009
1 Galatians 1 16 Ephesians 6
2 Galatians 2 17 Haggai 1
3 Galatians 3 18 Haggai 2
4 Galatians 4 19 Philippians 1
5 Galatians 5 20 Philippians 2
6 Galatians 6 21 Philippians 3
7 Malachi 1 22 Philippians 4
8 Malachi 2 23 Habakkuk 1
9 Malachi 3 24 Habakkuk 2
10 Malachi 4 25 CHRISTMAS: I'M PRAYING FOR YOU ALL
11 Ephesians 1 26 Habakkuk 3
12 Ephesians 2 27 Colossians 1
13 Ephesians 3 28 Colossians 2
14 Ephesians 4 29 Colossians 3
15 Ephesians 5 30 Colossians 4
31 Obadiah
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