"Crisis Point" is a hard hitting and thoroughly scriptural from the
Reformed point of view. Not only will you be receiving biblical
instruction from our regular panel of Reformed pastors, but guest
writers as well as sections on: Letters to the Editor, Book Reviews,
and opportunities to be in contact with other Christians in the
business community will also be included.
"3 Pastors & Their Bibles" include:
*Pastor Kelly Birks: birks4@juno.com
*Pastor Phil Kayser: kayser@top.net
*Pastor Glenn Durham: glenndurham@top.net
<+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><
MISSION STATEMENT
* Our purpose for Crisis Point is to spread the word of God.
* To increase biblical understanding to Christians all over the world.
* To bring the Christian community (where ever you are) closer
together.
<+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><
DISCLAIMER
The panel of the "3 Pastors & Their Bibles" may or may not agree with
the contents of this newsletter, other than the "Featured Article".
<+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><
SPONSORED BY:
ASSOCIATION OF NONPROFIT CREDIT COUNSELORS, INC. member ICA
HAVING MONEY TROUBLES?
*Stop Collection Calls
*Debt Repayment Program
*Reduce Interest Charges
*Free Living Expense Budgeting Service
*Creditor/Debt Consolidation
*Debt/Credit Evaluation
*Free Phone or Mail Consultation
RESTORE YOUR CREDIT AND YOUR PEACE OF MIND
Make the call TODAY!
402-397-3710
<+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><
SPONSORED BY:
EXTRACTOR MARKETING
The Home of Your Internet Marketing Solutions.
Go visit now at: http://www.extractor.com
Learn how to fully utilize the power and reach of the Internet!
We'll show you how to:
*Use Email to attract new customers!
*Use Email to keep in contact with current customers!
*Use Email to bring more traffic to your website!
*Attain better positioning in search engine results!
Visit our site for details, then call our sales office for
personalized information to get your business up and running
on the net! http://www.extractor.com
734-728-5310
<+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><
IN THIS ISSUE:
REVIVAL VERSES REVIVALISM:
By Pastor Glenn Durham
BLIND MAN'S BLUFF IN THE YEAR 2000:
By Gary North
CHARTER MEMBER'S AREA
SPONSOR CRISIS POINT
ADVERTISE IN CRISIS POINT
OOPS! What Happened to April's Issues?
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
CLASSIFIED ADS
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM Q & A
SUBSCRIBE AND UNSUBSCRIBE INFO
<+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><
REVIVAL VERSES REVIVALISM:
by Pastor Glenn Durham
Harvest Community Church
Omaha, NE USA
Many Christians today want revival. That is good. God's Word is clear
that seeking revival from Him is something we are to do. Among many
other verses, Psalm 85.6 comes to mind: "Will you not revive us
again, that your people may rejoice in you?"
However, the Scriptures are also clear that revival is a God-given
event. It cannot be fabricated by human will, power or flesh. Like
being born-again, the work is wholly of God. John makes it clear in
his book that those who believe in Christ are those "who were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God" (Jn 1.13).
Even so, men are often not satisfied with God's timing and God's ways
of revival. Thinking that it is best to hurry God along a little by
helping Him out, we easily fall into the trap of trying to create a
revival using any means at our disposal.
The result is called "REVIVALISM."
Revivalism is a work of the old, natural man which imitates true
God-initiated revival but which cannot do any true work because it is
not of God, but of man. As Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the
branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for
without Me you can do nothing" (Jn 15.5). Nothing includes creating
revivals.
Therefore, this edition of Crisis Point is calling lay people and
pastors to seek God's face for revival rather than seeking to create
a revival by man-made means.
To begin, it would be helpful to get some presuppositions and
definitions clear.
1. WE ARE PEOPLE CALLED, TODAY, TO REVIVAL, REFORMATION AND RENEWAL
(PERSONAL RENEWAL).
Revival: "Revival is a powerful activity of the Spirit of God in
large numbers of people at the same time. Revival is a time when
spiritual issues become the pressing and absorbing concern of many.
Revival is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. The effects of
revival are the reinvigorating of Christians, the conversion of
sinners, and the conviction of worldly people as to the truth of the
gospel" (John Murray).
Reformation: "As long as Christians restrict their Christianity to a
faith that is compartmentalized and isolated away from life, they may
have revival, but never reformation. Reformation goes beyond revival.
Reformation happens when the structures of society change according to
patterns of godliness. It means a new art, a new economy, and a new
educational system. All forms of society are renewed" (R. C. Sproul).
Renewal: "[Personal] Renewal is a theme for humble, penitent,
prayerful, faithful exploration before the Lord, with a willingness to
change and be changed, and if necessary to be the first to be changed,
if that is what the truth proves to require" (J. I. Packer).
Given these definitions, do we really need revival. The answer is
absolutely YES! Just look at the points Dr. John Murray makes
(in an article in The Banner of Truth Trust):
2. HOW DO WE KNOW WE NEED REVIVAL?
1) We have gone on so long without seeing a revival. There has been no
major revival this century (Hab 3.2).
2) There has been a great spiritual and moral decline in the land and
some areas are dark and almost pagan.
3) The prevailing Christianity is powerless and the church has lost
her credibility.
4) Deadness, formality and worldliness have taken hold of many
congregations (Rev 3.1).
5) True conviction of sin is lacking. The first work of the Spirit is
to convict of sin (Jn 16.8).
6) The broken spirit and the contrite heart are rare. We do not mourn
over our sins (Zec 12.10).
7) Many of us have "left our first love" to the Lord Jesus Christ and
lack warmth and fervency (Rev 2.4).
8) Zeal for the glory of God is lacking and we are not grieved by the
dishonor done to His name in church and nation.
9) We are not deeply moved by the sight of multitudes passing into
eternity without Christ.
10) In many pulpits the true Gospel is buried out of sight and sinners
are flattered and encouraged in nominal Christianity.
11) Trust in the infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible has been
undermined and the distinction between truth and error lost.
12) Preaching is in decline and there is a famine of hearing the Word
of God. There is no great hunger for the Word (Am 8.11).
13) There is widespread ignorance of the basic truths of the Gospel
and of the nature of Christian conversion. The doctrine of the new
birth is watered down.
14) Evangelism is centered on man and his need instead of on God and
His glory.
15) The decay of family religion and family worship. The subversion of
the family threatens the very fabric of society.
16) The decline in church attendance and the failure to retain the
youth.
17) The neglect and desecration of the Lord's Day.
18) The lack of any fear of God in our communities. There is open
defiance of God and of His ways.
19) Ignorance of what God has done for us in the past (Jdg 2.10).
20) We are sinning against great light because God has so blessed
this nation in the past.
"It may be observed that from the fall of man to our day the work of
redemption in its effects has mainly been carried on by remarkable
communications of the spirit of God. Though there may be a more
constant influence of God's Spirit always in some degree attending his
ordinances yet the way in which the greatest things have been done
towards carrying on this work always has been by the remarkable
effusions at special seasons" Jonathan Edwards.
Finally, does the fact that all true revivals are God-initiated and
God-directed mean that there is nothing for us to do? It does not. As
believers, we are responsible for acting on God's word in faith. Here
are some practical suggestions of things that we all can do because we
have faith in God's word that He will send revival in His time. These
do not cause revival, but would more accurately be called our response
to God having already given us personal revival.
PRACTICAL STEPS TO REVIVAL
BY GEORGE SWEETING
1. BE DISSATISFIED WITH YOURSELF
Develop a holy dissatisfaction. The contented Christian is the sterile
Christian. Paul said in substance, "Jesus arrested me on the Damascus
road. Now I want to lay hold of that for which I was arrested by God!
Be thoroughly dissatisfied with your spiritual posture.
2. ASK GOD TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE
I think of Jacob wrestling with God. He wanted blessing. He would not
be denied. Throw your entire life into the will of God. Seek God's
very best.
3. PUT YOURSELF IN THE WAY OF BLESSING
If we desire revival and neglect prayer, that's hypocrisy. To pray for
growth and neglect the local church is absolute foolishness. To pray
that you'll mature and neglect the Word of God is incongruous. Put
yourself in the way of blessing.
4. DO A THOROUGH JOB OF REPENTING
"Create within me a clean heart!" David sobbed. For a whole year David
was out of fellowship. But he confessed his sin; he turned from that
sin and then he could sing again; he could write again; he could pray
again.
5. MAKE RESTITUTION WHEREVER POSSIBLE
If you owe a debt, pay it. Or have an understanding with the people
you owe. Zacchaeus said, "Lord, the half of my goods I give to the
poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation,
I restore him fourfold" (Luke 19:8). As much as possible, make the
crooked straight.
6. DEVELOP A SERIOUSNESS OF PURPOSE
Keep off the detours. Let nothing deflect the magnetic needle of your
calling. If there is anything that is a Trojan horse in our day, it is
the television set. Beware lest it rob you of your passion and your
purpose.
7. DELIBERATELY NARROW YOUR INTERESTS
The Christian life requires specialists. Jesus said in effect, "Be a
one eyed man" (cf. Luke 11:34-36). Paul said, "This one thing I do."
Too many of us burn up too much energy without engaging in things that
bring us nearer to God.
In Summary: Refuse to rust out. Start sharing your faith. Make your-
self available. Back you decision with your time and talent and
dollars. Finally, ask God for great faith in Him. Begin to expect
great things.
<+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><
BLIND MAN'S BLUFF IN THE YEAR 2000
By Gary North
What are you going to be doing for a living in the year 2001? Unless
you're a fix-it man living in a small town, you won't be doing what
you do today. If you make your living in financial services, you will
surely be doing something else. If you're a journalist, you will be in
a new profession. But what? What other useful service can you provide?
You have very little time to make the switch.
Let me show you why.
We live in a world that depends on a high division of labor. That
world has less than three years to go. In one gigantic collapse,
the division of labor will implode. This implosion will begin in 1999. It will
accelerate in 2000 and thereafter. Those who work in highly
specialized fields will find little or no demand for their skills, in
the face of an enormous supply of desperate, low-wage competition.
Any job classification that did not exist in 1945 will probably not
have a lot of demand in 2001, with one exception:
computer software programming.
The June 2 issue of Newsweek ran a front-cover story on the looming
computer crisis of the Year 2000 -- called y2k (Year 2 K -- shorthand
for a thousand).In the week the article appeared (late May), the Dow
Jones Industrial Average set a record new high. (It was beaten a week
later.)If investors believed the information reported in the Newsweek
article, the world's stock markets would have collapsed. Clearly,
people don't believe it. That's why a small handful of people can get
out now -- out of the stock market, the bond market, and any city over
25,000.
Not everyone can get out at the top of a bull market. This includes
the "bull market" known as modern industrial society. Pull the plug
on the local power utility for 30 days, and every city on earth
becomes unlivable. What if the plug gets pulled for five years?
How do you rebuild the shattered economy if the computers go down,
taking public utilities with them? Without electricity, you can't run
the computers. Without computers, you can't fix computers. How can
you assemble teams of programmers to fix the mess? More to the point,
how do you pay them if the banks are empty?
Chase Manhattan Bank has 200 million lines of code to check and then
repair. Citicorp has 400 million lines. All big banks are similarly
afflicted. And even if this could be fixed, bank by bank, there is no
universal repair standard. Thus, the computers, even if fixed (highly
doubtful) will not work together after the individual repairs. A
noncompliant bank's data will then make every compliant bank
noncompliant. Thus, the world banking system will crash in 2000. When
the public figures this out in 1999, the bank runs will begin.
You probably will not have your present job in 2001.
"It Just Can't Be True!"
You don't believe me, of course. Not yet. But I have published the
evidence on this Web site. You can verify what I'm saying. But you
still won't believe it. Why not? Because it's too painful. In their
book, The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg make a very
important observation:
A recent psychological study disguised as a public opinion poll showed
that members of individual occupational groups were almost uniformly
unwilling to accept any conclusion that implied a loss of income for
them, no matter how airtight the logic supporting it. Given increased
specialization, most of the interpretive information about most
specialized occupational groups is designed to cater to the interests
of the groups themselves. They have little interest in views that
might be impolite, unprofitable, or politically incorrect (p. 339).
My views are all three: impolite, unprofitable, and politically
incorrect. Impolite, because I am saying this:
(1) those advising you are as blind as an eighth-century Israelite
king;
(2) they have given you information that will prove to be wildly
unprofitable;
(3) all the hype about your getting rich -- the world's getting rich
-- is a clap-trap. We are heading for a disaster greater than anything
the world has experienced since the bubonic plague of the mid-14th
century.
Because the year 2000 begins on a Saturday, millions of victims will
not be aware of their dilemma until the following Monday or Tuesday.
They will pay no attention to advance warnings, such as this one,
that they are at risk.
As you read this report, I want you to think to yourself: "How will
this affect me? Is my business at risk? Is my income at risk? What
should I do?" I also want you to visit my Web site,
http://www.garynorth.com and examine the accumulating evidence, week
by week.
The Origin of the Problem
Here is the problem. Over three decades ago, computer programmers who
wrote mainframe computer software saved disk space -- in those days,
very valuable space -- by designating year codes as two-digit entries:
67 instead of 1967, 78 instead of 1978, etc. Back then, saving this
seemingly minuscule amount of disk space seemed like an economically
wise decision. This may prove to be the most expensive forecasting
error since Noah's flood.
What the programmers ignored for three decades is this: in the year
2000, the two digits will be 00. The computer will sit there, looking
for a year. At midnight, January 1, 2000, every mainframe computer
using unrevised software dies. If old acquaintances are in the
computer, they will indeed be forgot.
Programmers who recognized the implications of this change did not
care. They assumed that their software would be updated by year 2000.
That assumption now threatens every piece of custom software sitting
on every mainframe computer, unless the owner of the computer has had
the code rewritten. In some cases, this involves coordinating half a
billion million lines of code. (Example: AT&T) One error on one line
can shut down the whole system, the way that America Online was shut
down for a day in 1996 because of a one-digit error.
The handful of reporters who have investigated this problem have met a
wall of indifference. "We're all using microcomputers now." "This is a
problem only for a few companies that are still using mainframes."
"Cheap solutions will appear as soon as there is demand."
"The software will be updated soon, and I'll buy it then." "If this
were a serious problem, we'd have heard about it." Yet this last
response is given to someone -- a reporter -- who is trying to tell
people about the problem.
I first read about this problem years ago in a book by the
pseudonymous author, Robert X. Cringely: Accidental Empires. It is not
as though the computer industry has been unaware of it. Only a few
weeks ago, I read a Wall Street Journal column on computers that
mentioned it. The writer wrote that his editor is getting tired of
having him mention it. This is typical. The general public hasn't
heard about it, yet editors are already tired of hearing about it.
"It's old news." Well, it's new news for most people.
What does it matter, really? We use microcomputers. Microsoft has
solved The Year 2000 problem, we assume. So have most software
companies. Everyone uses desktop computers or, at the largest,
minicomputers, right? Wrong.
Governments Rely on Aging Mainframes and Software
On September 24, 1996, Congressman Stephen Horn, who is Chairman of
the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and
Technology, submitted to the full committee a report on the Year 2000
problem. The Subcommittee held hearings on April 16.(Just one day of
hearings. This indicates the degree of concern that the government
has.) He said that these hearings revealed "a serious lack of
awareness of the problem on the part of a great number of people in
business andgovernment. Even more alarming was the cost estimate
reported to the Subcommittee to remedy the problem, which was said to
be $30 billion for the Federal Government alone." Then he announced:
Without greater urgency, those agencies risk being unable to provide
services or perform functions that they are charged by law with
performing. Senior agency management officials must take aggressive
action if these problems are to be avoided.
Yet despite Horn's valid warning, nothing visible is happening. He
knows this. These agencies must shift hundreds of millions of dollars
from their existing budgets to hire outside programmers to rewrite the
code that runs these agencies. This isn't being done. More to the
point, the longer they delay, the worse the problem gets. You can't
just go out and hire programmers who are familiar with the code.
As businesses find out what threatens them, the demand for these
highly specialized services will soar. (If businessmen don't figure
this out in time, payment will come due in January of 2000.)
The Subcommittee's report warns: "This issue may cause banks,
securities firms and insurance companies to ascertain whether the
companies they finance or insure are year 2000 compliant before making
investment decisions." It also says that companies will start
demanding contractual warranties guaranteeing against Year 2000
breakdowns.
A memorandum from the Library of Congress Research Service (CRS) has
warned that "it may be too late to correct all of the nation's
systems." So, the question arises: Which systems will survive and
which ones won't? Here are some problem areas, according to CRS:
Miscalculation by the Social Security Administration of the ages of
citizens, causing payments to be sent to people who are not eligible
for benefits while ending or not beginning payments to those who are
eligible;
Miscalculation by the Internal Revenue Service of the standard
deduction on income tax returns for persons over age 65, causing
incorrect records of revenues and payments due; Malfunctioning of
certain Defense Department weapon systems; Erroneous flight schedules
generated by the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic
controllers; State and local computer systems becoming corrupted with
false records, causing errors in income and property tax records,
payroll, retirement systems, motor vehicle registrations, utilities
regulations, and a breakdown of some public transportation systems.
I don't think these are small issues. They will probably start
receiving media attention when it is so late in the process that there
will be massive foul-ups in coordinating the revisions.
Notice, the biggest one is missing: an international bank run, as
depositors demand cash. From that day on, all exchanges will be local:
the collapse of the division of labor.
When the computers' clocks think it's 1900, it soon will be.
I realize that there has been tremendous progress in microcomputer
power, but does anyone really think that all of the Federal
government's forms -- not an infinite number, but approaching infinity
as a limit -- can be put on three dozen Compaq desktop computers and
run with, say, Lotus Approach or Microsoft Access? And even if they
could, how would you re-train all of the bureaucrats to use the new
systems? How fast will they learn? How fast do bureaucracies adapt?
The Subcommittee's report warns:
The clock is ticking and most Federal agencies have not inventoried
their major systems in order to detect where the problem lies within
and among each Federal department, field office and division. The date
for completion of this project cannot slip.
By "cannot," the Subcommittee's report-writer meant "must not." The
date can surely be allowed to slip. It almost certainly will be
allowed to slip.
Additionally, the task may be more difficult for the public sector,
where systems have been in use for decades, may lack software
documentation and therefore increase the time it takes from the
inventory phase to solution.
Did you get that? The software code's records are gone! Remember also
that we're not just talking about the United States government. We're
talking about every government -- national, state, and local --
anywhere on earth that has its data stored on an unrevised mainframe
computer system or which relies on any third-party computer service
that uses uncorrected software.
As the year 2000 approaches, word will slowly begin to spread: "After
the three-day weekend that will inaugurate the year 2000, there is
going to be a hangover the likes of which we have never seen before."
For some, it will be a time of celebration. For others, it will be
the end of their dreams. It depends on whether they are being squeezed
by the government or dependent on it.
But it's not just government that is at risk. It's private industry.
Kiss Medicare Goodbye
Some 38 million people will receive Medicare payments in 1997. In
2000, an estimated one billion claims will be filed, totaling over
$288 billion. This, according to a May 16, 1997 report of the General
Accounting Office (GAO): "Medicare Transaction System."
Problem: the Medicare system won't make it through 2000. The same GAO
report shows why. Medicare claims are not actually administered by
Medicare. It's administered by 70 private agencies. These agencies
have been informed that their contracts will not be renewed in 2000.
The agency that officially supervises Medicare has plans for one huge
computer system that will bring the program in-house. It is the same
dream that motivated the Internal Revenue Service for the past 11
years. The IRS announced earlier this year that after 11 years and
$4billion, the attempt had failed.
Medicare now knows that it has a problem with its computers. They are
not Year 2000-compliant. So, to make sure that they will be compliant,
Medicare has issued an appeal to the 70 newly canned companies: please
fix the year 2000 problem for us before you leave. As the GAO report
puts it, "contractors may not have a particularly high incentive to
properly make these conversions. . . ."
What if the system fails? (What if? Are they kidding? When!) The
report says that the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA),
which is responsible for running Medicare, has not made contingency
plans. "HCFA officials are relying on the contractors to identify and
complete the necessary work in time to avoid problems. Yet the
contractors not only have not developed contingency plans, they have
said that they do not intend to do so because they believe that this
is HCFA's responsibility."
<+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><
"Crisis Point" Newsletter - END OF PART ONE OF TWO
(C)Copyright Crisis Point Publishing 1998
<+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><+><
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe, send a blank message to crisispoint-on@mail-list.com
To unsubscribe, send a blank message to crisispoint-off@mail-list.com
To change your email address, send a message to crisispoint-change@mail-list.com
with the other address in the Subject: line