Fellow Americans, once again I ask you all to repent. Especially so-called Christians who have shirked the responsibility of sharing the gospel with others and prefer to be couch potatoes just watching football on a Sunday afternoon. They have made viewing sports equal to or more important than reading the Bible and acting on its prerogatives.

Blinded by Satan, they stand by and let lunatic murderers roam the streets of our nation unimpeded by our laws. Savage incidents like the Ukrainian girl having her neck punctured repeatedly by another crazed passenger. And more recently, a woman had flammable liquid thrown at her and was set ablaze, plus other atrocities all across the nation.

Yesterday, even as I was handing out my Repent America cards, another demonized man slashed the neck of a pedestrian even as he walked down the street, minding his own business. In each case, no one privy to these acts of violence did anything to help the fallen and dying people! Such is the case everywhere you look these days.

Parents are killing their children, children are killing their parents, and war is looming on the horizon. I could go on and on about the fallen state of our nation, but I won’t – since I’m sure you are aware of these atrocious and evil doings.

Where are the caring heroes? Where are the pastors? Where are the so-called followers of Jesus Christ (Christians)?

Despite all these happenings, I went out yesterday loaded down with 150 of my “Repent America” cards at God’s urging – hoping to contact a few people I could give them to. I had gotten up early to go to the Grand Opening of a grocery store new to the area. There was a line a mile long waiting for the doors to open when I arrived, and it was growing longer by the minute.

I went to the front of the line to ask what time the doors would open, just as the manager arrived. “Thirty more minutes,” she replied. This would give me the opportunity to begin distributing my cards, so I fished them out of my cargo shorts pocket and started right in with the very first person in line.

As I progressed down the line, people became curious and often held their hands out to get one for themselves. I was also able to share the gospel with two Jehovah’s Witnesses who refused the cards, explaining that the Lord would soon arrive to take us believers home. Just so you know, I don’t preach with condemnation but with pity and concern – looking at people straight in the eyes. I was having the time of my life, meeting so many people in one place at one time, and I felt I was on fire for the Lord.

After it was over, I thanked God over and over for the wonderful gift of communication and headed away from the rush of the crowd, who were jostling to get into the store. My mission was completed.

Book report:

That night, I went to bed satisfied that I had had a distinct mission earlier in the day, so I reached for one of the books I had recently acquired, named ON FIRE by John O’Leary. My, what a coincidence – or was it? I hadn’t looked at the title carefully as I had bought four books that I might find interesting at the Goodwill store, looking for Bill O’Rielly books, of which I have two issues, Killing Kennedy and Killing Reagan of the Killing series. What a writer he and his co-writer are! They really know how to weave a story.

Going back to the book On Fire, as I opened the book, a note fell out from the inside cover and fell at the foot of my bed. It read – Dear Jim! Yadda yadda yadda…. DEAR JIM?!!? Hey, that’s me! Was this a message from God?…. It was.

A famous Rabbi once said that there are no coincidences in life – and I believe he was right, because as I read, I began to feel as though it was written especially for me. I’m sure, though, that everyone who reads the book will feel the same way. The writer’s instincts and insight were right on, and I know it from my thousands of encounters with my fellow man.

Here are some of the things the writer has to say:

“We all have unique experiences that make us who we are. Those experiences create the gifts that you, specifically, and only you, can share with others.”

Here are a few more:

“If you want to live a radically inspired life, it’s time to embrace your story and to celebrate the amazing miracle of your life.”

“Living life on fire means you aren’t afraid to know and own your story; you celebrate the scars you’ve accumulated along the way, and you are ready and willing to live life honestly.”

“No one else has your story, your scars, your wisdom. No one. Embrace them. Accept them. Learn from them and celebrate them. You wouldn’t be here without them.”

And so it is that God is verifying my attempts to get my evangelical movie made. All the pieces are there – The screenplay is ready, and I know the actors I want to flesh out the story with. Friends and acquaintances I’ve worked with like Jim Carrey, Tom Berenger, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Matthew McConaughey. Of course, I’ll need a crew who knows what they are doing. If you know anyone who excels in these disciplines, please have them contact me at jt.fillmmaker@yahoo.com.

YBIC

Jim Towers

You can write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com or visit me at www.dropzonedelta.com. You can also find me on my newly restructured website www.propheticsignsandwonders.com, which now features the Gospel and videos of worldwide events taking place in the present time, as well as proof of God’s existence and the reality of Biblical places, and Moses himself, and you can order your QR cards to help me evangelize our fellow countrymen.

What is the version of the Bible that built our great nation, America? Many are shocked to find out that, indeed, it was not the King James Version—but, rather, the Geneva Bible!

The Geneva Bible is the most influential book in the history of Western Civilization—of which you may never have heard.

Moreover, as the direct fruit of the second generation of the Reformation, and being the Bible that formed the faith of our Thanksgiving Pilgrim Fathers, this Bible genuinely establishes the link between October (the month of Reformation) and November (the month of Thanksgiving).

The Geneva Bible was the Bible of both the Pilgrims and the Puritans who came to these shores, beginning with the arrival of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower at Provincetown Harbor in Cape Cod on Nov. 11, 1620, and continuing later with the arrival of the first Puritans in the 1630s.

The story of the Geneva Bible traces back to the city of Geneva, Switzerland, where 223 English Reformers gathered after fleeing the persecution advanced by Bloody Mary Tudor, who ruled in England from 1553 to 1558. A number of these men (including Miles Coverdale, John Foxe, and John Bale) joined Theodore Beza and others congregated in the city where John Calvin preached, and there—for the first time in history—translated the Bible completely from the original languages into English. The work they produced is called the Geneva Bible.

The New Testament and Psalms were completed in 1557. The Psalms were revised in 1559, and the Old Testament was completed (along with a revised New Testament) in 1560. Many revisions would follow over the next eight decades.

But as important as the translation itself was, this Bible was invaluable for another reason: It was truly the original study Bible. Foremost among the array of materials it offered were its annotations regarding the Biblical text. In fact, these explanatory notes greatly upset King James I, who authorized a new English translation that famously bears his name. Published in 1611, the King James Version ultimately surpassed the Geneva Bible in popularity—even in the New World. This, of course, was the same King James who subjected the Pilgrims to tremendous persecution in England.

But here are a few other firsts regarding this great historic treasure of the Christian faith for the English-speaking world, the Geneva Bible:

• It was the first complete translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into English.
• It was the first English Bible to use the verse numbers devised by French printer Robertus Stephanus.
• It was the first Bible to put implied words in italics.
• It was the first Bible printed with Roman letter type.
• It was the first mass-produced Bible.
• It was the first Bible printed by Cambridge University Press, in 1591.
• It was, without a doubt, the Bible that built America.

The Pilgrims brought this beloved Bible with them on the Mayflower and lived it out in their community of faith, the Plymouth Colony. It was their daily, vibrant, living connection to the Reformation, which had given birth to their separatist church movement at Scrooby Manor, in Nottinghamshire, England, in 1606.

There are other incredible aspects of the Geneva Bible and its history. The one that I find to be the most astonishing is how the study notes, beginning in 1599, reflected a glorious prophetic hope and future for the nation of Israel, especially in Romans 11. In this way, the Geneva Bible influenced the theology of generations in the English-speaking world toward Zionism.

I hope that this brief reminder of the importance of the Geneva Bible and the connection it forms between October and November will cause each one of us to stop and thank God for this spiritual building block of our nation and the way that God used it providentially in our amazing history.

As we celebrate another Thanksgiving, may this remembrance of the Pilgrims and their vibrant faith drive us more deeply into the Scriptures ourselves, and cause us to be more grateful than we have ever been that we have Bibles to hold in our hands and read. And may we be ever mindful of this godly foundation upon which we still build today.

We have so many incredible blessings for which to display our gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!

***

Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Wisconsin, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.