Call to Commitment

 

On October 19, 2015, I began an expositional study on the book of Isaiah, finishing it on May 9, 2017. In 2016, we were joined in the study by a large number of people. Although the order changes a little bit every year, those chapters from 2016 continue to be the most read articles on our blogspot. I will give you the top ten articles read up to this date in 2021.

 Other articles on the blogspot were outnumbered by those of 2016, but I want to give you a list of ten, which I think that you will enjoy and from which you will profit. They will be listed after the ten most visited articles from the beginning of the blogspot in 2010 which, as I mentioned, are chapters of Isaiah. There are two exceptions and one concerns the views of two famous preachers from the 19^th Century, over the return of Israel to its Promised Land: J. C. Ryle and C. H. Spurgeon. Also, please read what I believe to be an illuminating article about the meaning of the word hubris – the sickness of those, who believe that they know everything.

 Our grandson, John, created this blogspot in 2010 and so the statistics are dated from that time. As of today, the total number of visits to this English blog has risen to 189,157. This past year we have had 17,494 visits. When we add the visits to our Spanish blogspot, the total number of visits increases to 559,807 and the number of visits on both blogspots over the last year was 68,206 (obviously, we have many more Spanish than English readers).  

 

A little personal counsel

I chose the photo on the left to represent this article from Isaiah, chapter 7. It doesn’t show trees, bending in a storm, but trees that have been shaped by decades of contrary forces. Pick any tree… Does it tell the story of your life? Has the enemy of your soul beat upon you day after day, year after year, until you feel that there is no defense for these onslaughts? You need to know that you are not alone; other believers are targets of the same kind of attack. There have always been those, who have endured Satanic barrages and not all of them are people, naturally plagued by emotional and psychological weaknesses, as you might imagine. No these are spiritual attacks! It would surprise you to know the names of some – household names among Christians – who are among those most mightily used of God.

 My friend, there is an answer. God has good news for you through His prophet Isaiah. I am singling out this message from my study, which I published several years ago, of the entire book of Isaiah. It is before your eyes again, because I know that the soul of some of God’s people are under continuous attack these days. Please believe this: God intends to bring you out from under this storm and straighten your thoughts through the truth of His word. The truth will set you free!

 You will have to have your Bible open and follow along, as I attempt an expository lesson. I hope that I’m not being naïve, when I imagine someone sitting at a desk or table with the Bible on the right, open to Isaiah, and articles like this one on the left… 

Recently a fascinating documentary has been filmed about high school basketball in Chinli, Arizona, a village on the Navajo Reservation. Chinli was Herman Williams’ hometown, which he left to explore the “Land of the Cowhide”. An educated Navajo youth explained the geography of the US to Herman, as a cowhide thrown over a fence, when he was lost in an Arizona city, . The neck was New England, the front foot, Florida, the belly, Texas, the backside, California, and the backbone, the border with Canada. Unable to read or write, he couldn’t find his way home for years.  

 This article was first published on February 29, 2012. It was an attempt to write in a few pages a story which could easily fill a large volume. The life of Herman Williams has been a great inspiration to me personally. I don’t know of any other person, to whose story and testimony I have referred more often, when I am speaking publicly. I hope you will be able to grasp a little of the wonder of a most fascinating world… the world where God is at work in the lives of human beings.

  

Ilze & Matt in prayer (note Jesus T-shirt)

Matt Luneau Writes of Moving Events in the Enosburg Community!

 I think that this is the most exciting of all the segments we have presented so far of Matt Luneau with the story of Brandon Gleason. This is the final segment, republished from articles in 2013:

 It seems that the people who are experiencing what is happening in the Swanton-Enosburg, Vermont, area, are having a difficult time putting it into words. It is something unique... something that just does not happen anymore in America. A high school is a dark place, a habitat for demons. Many teachers are godless and teach evolution religiously. It is forbidden to bring anything about God into school. Laws have been made to prevent that. Many young people are given over to their pleasures, do not attend church, and have no time for God. But now this small high school has been confronted with the reality of death. The boy who died was a star basketball player and very well-liked by students and teachers. He came to Christ only a few months ago, but he had no inhibitions about sharing his new-found faith. Through his death, it would seem, the school has responded to this boy´s faith and wants to show their support for it. And it is not contained within the walls of the school; the whole community seems moved.

 The website of the Sunday morning service at our son Dan's church is no longer available. Many of the friends, including most of the team mates, and families, who wouldn’t normally come to church, were present at the service and the coach spoke very directly to them. He called to them one by one in the meeting and begged them to turn to God. Then Daniel preached on “Life is a Vapor; Teach Us to Number Our Days”. At the close of the service they sang the basketball team’s theme song, “Victory in Jesus.” The website was shared all around the state of Vermont, I'm sure it's in answer to many prayers for that area.

 Matt writes:

 Today was the first day back to school for the students since Brandon had passed away.   I just wanted to share a few of the highlights in seeing God work in an awesome way. I first wanted to tell you that a few weeks ago, Brandon wanted to start “Wednesday Worship”, where students would wear the Believe in Jesus T-Shirts in school on Wednesdays.  So he shared this idea with me, while he was wearing his orange Jesus T-shirt in school.  I told him that the idea was great, but he was going to have to be the guy who recruits people for the T-shirts and I would supply the T-shirts. So one day he comes to me with excitement "Coach, the Cook twins said they would wear the Jesus T-shirts."  

 

The Brandon Gleason Story… A Little Different

 We are reviewing Matt Luneau’s story in four segments, after having published it for the first time eight years ago. Brandon Gleason was an outstanding high school basketball player. He was not only the top scorer on his team as a senior, but if I remember right, he was the top scorer in the history of Enosberg with over 1000 points in his career. This is what I wrote then, before Matt’s account:

The high school in a town near Swanton, Vermont, called Enosburg, is very grateful to have a coach of Matt’s caliber to coach the team. In a newspaper article, Brandon Gleason, the leading scorer on the team, commented: “At first it was a little different. Guys were like, ‘Do we really have to do all of this?’ But it has helped us.” A little different? Matt insisted that the whole team up their grades. A little different? Matt went to a boy, who had missed two years of basketball, because of drug problems; he led him to Christ, the boy stopped taking drugs, and has become one of the best players on the team. Brandon Gleason also received Christ. A little different? Matt taught the team gospel songs (although they had never sung before) and took them to different churches to sing them. After a basketball victory, Matt texted a message to Brandon, “Oh, victory in Jesus!” To which Brandon texted back, “My Savior forever!”

 Standing before their former home in Syracuse, Matt texted a friend: “Why did we leave Syracuse?” He had a promising position as a women’s basketball coach in that very sports-minded university, with a larger salary and this nice home. You are about to read the answer to his question…