"On Earth is not his equal".

[Lucifer, by Guillaume Geefs (Cathedral of St. Paul, Liège, Belgium)]

At the end of a church service a few years back, the worship band had us all stand, and sing "A Mighty Fortress is Our God". However, since time was short we sang only the first verse.
So with fervent voices being lifted to the Lord and singing from our hearts, our last words in the service that day were: His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal".
And then we were dismissed.

We all had a laugh about it later. And we realized when the church sings this particular hymn, we must sing each and every verse, which Luther so masterfully put together, for it to have the impact on our souls as it does; and this is a most powerful hymn for the Christians soul.

However, the devil truly doesn't have an equal here on earth, and we always need to remember this. Here are some words from JC Ryle to take to heart:

"Let us take heed that we are not "ignorant of Satan's devices." He is still going to and fro in the earth, seeking whom he may devour. He is about our path, and about our bed, and spies out all our ways. Our only safety lies in resisting him at the first, and not listening to his advances. For this we are all responsible. Strong as he is, he has no power to do us harm, if we cry to the stronger One in heaven, and use the means which He has appointed. It is a standing principle of Christianity, and will ever be found true. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James iv.7.)

Once let a man begin tampering with the devil, and he never knows how far he may fall. Trifling with the first thoughts of sin,--making light of evil ideas when first offered to our hearts,--allowing Satan to talk to us, and flatter us, and put bad notions in our hearts,--all this may seem a small matter to many. It is precisely at this point that the road to ruin often begins. He that allows Satan to sow wicked thoughts will soon find within his heart a crop of wicked habits. Happy is he who really believes that there is a devil, and believing, watches and prays daily that he may be kept from his temptations."

"Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power,
And the glory, Forever and ever. Amen"


"A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever." -Martin Luther

"The Church in Africa" by Peter Hammond

I have put together some excerpts from an excellent, and very heart-wrenching, yet encouraging, article from the November issue of TableTalk magazine.
May the Lord open our eyes to the plight, and great faith, of our brothers and sisters in Sudan. And so be in prayer for them, and be built up in our faith in seeing how our Savior is mightily glorified in their persecutions and love for the truth. Amen.

"An epic conflict is raging throughout Africa. ...Tens of thousands of Christians have been killed and hundreds of churches burned down by Muslim mobs in northern Nigeria. .... To those involved in the spiritual warfare of seeking to win souls to Christ in Africa, it is apparent that much of the violence is in retaliation for the success of Christian missions. Some of the worst atrocities and most intense violence has taken place in countries where the church has made great strides in winning people to Christ from animism, secular humanism, or Islam.


There has been a revival amidst persecution in Sudan. Tremendous sacrifices have been made. ...The cathedral in Lui, the birthplace of Christianity in Moruland, has been bombed ten times. Three times the cathedral was destroyed; yet each time it was rebuilt, restored, and filled with joyful Christians bringing a sacrifice of praise.

I have seen Sudanese evangelists, continue to take the gospel to their neighbors despite having an arm amputated or feet axed off at the ankles. One pastor I know had the joy of adding over fourteen thousand people to his congregations in less than five years. Numerous pastors have multiple congregations to care for.

The resilient Christians of Sudan have stood up steadfastly against the onslaught of Islamic jihad. Not only have they withstood the assaults of Islamic jihad, but they have also succeeded in winning many of their enemies to Christ. ... One Sudanese evangelist leader observed: "People have seen the real Islam, and they want Jesus instead!"

I have seen Muslims coming to Christ in Sudan and Nigeria. What used to be a rare event is now becoming a mass movement in Christ. Millions of Christians worldwide come from Muslim backgrounds. The Scriptures are being fulfilled: "The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust...all kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him (ps. 72:9-11,NIV). ....

....Africa is a continent in conflict. The opportunities for fulfilling the Great Commission in Africa are tremendous. The openness to the gospel and hunger for Bible teaching throughout Africa is intense. Bad times are good for spiritual work.

As missionary C.T. Studd declared, "Some like to live within sound of church or chapel bell; I would like to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell."---[Dr. Peter Hammond is missionary director of Frontline Fellowship. He has pioneered evangelistic missions and established Christian schools and Bible colleges throughout Africa, particularly in Sudan. Website: http://www.frontline.org.za]


Let us keep our Lord's words etched on our hearts, and renewed in our minds: "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth laborers into His harvest."

Ravens 37 Browns 27 You Go Joe Flacco!!!

Joe Flacco finished 17-of-29 for 248 yards and Mason had nine catches for 136 yards.

I almost turned the game off, after the Ravens fell behind 27-13, and they were looking quite bad; ugly really. But they came back.
It's amazing what Joe Flacco has done this season as a fresh rookie in the NFL out of the University of Delaware. I believe the Ravens finally have a quarter back in their future.

You Never Let Go

I have enjoyed singing this song with my church the past two Sundays, and thought I'd share it. It's from the pen and guitar of Sir Matt of Redman. or Matt Redman. The video was put together by Salvezza.

There are many Scripture passages which correlate with the words in this song, but the one passage I thought of was John 10:27-30: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ....neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."