SGM Survivors

While it is true that in ourselves we cannot live a holy, overcomer's life, God has made provision for our holiness if we'll walk in faith and humble depend­ence upon him. Jesus came both to for­give and to liberate us from sin's power

That is a good pamphlet. I'm glad Larry did not extol Hannibal and the Carthaginians any more than he did - I'm pretty sure they were the "bad guys." But, yes, this is what God has been showing me - He doesn't want my rules and regulations - He wants my HEART! It looks very cliché in print, but once God makes that real to you it changes everything.

Because of Hannibal's determina­tion, his men went forth and ac­complished their "impossible, unat­tainable" goal, though at a terrible cost. Fifteen thousand of them died while crossing the mountains. Those who sur­vived entered foreign territory and defeated the Romans in northern, central, and finally southern Italy. At the Battle of Cannae, they destroyed almost fifty thousand troops in a day—­the worst defeat ever suffered by the Roman empire!

Hannibal, a barbarian whose "faith" was vainglorious and worldly, nonethe­less inspired his troops to sacrificial ef­fort. Without condoning his ruthless­ness, we can acknowledge his resolve. In our lives, sin and temptation can tower over us like the Alps towered over Hannibal's army. Realizing Jesus is returning for a church without "blemish, but holy, and blameless" (Eph. 5:27), we must respond to the Holy Spirit as he beckons us to "see beyond the Alps." The "Comforter" —"one who stands alongside to instill courage [like a general]"—is preparing us as an army to do battle for the Holy One of Israel.

Across the land genuine followers of Jesus Christ are speaking out in mounting unison: "I see no Alps—­those obstacles in my way—I'm on a ‘Way of Holiness’ (Is 35:8) to bring glory to his name."