God Lives and Works Today - Part 2

We sisters of Mary want to live to love Jesus. Nothing can draw us so close to Jesus. Nothing can show us our sins more clearly and bring us to repentance than beholding his suffering. Therefore, said Mother Basilea, let us make a prayer garden on our little land of Canaan to portray his way of suffering. Jesus in Gethsemane, forsaken, my Savior goes to suffer. Beloved Lamb of God, O let me stay close by you and share your way, dear Lord. O let me weep, lamenting, my sin caused you such pain. Contrition will unite me with you, so scorned by men. For me to death you're going, O Jesus, Lamb divine. Your precious blood is flowing, that joy may now be mine. Christ is risen and is in our midst as all-conquering love. He has reconciled us with the Father and with each other. This is why it says in our Canaan rule, a special kind of mail. You deliver it yourself before sunset. Please forgive me. I'm very, very sorry. Only a few words, but they change everything. Us, the other person, and the atmosphere. Then let us taste God's grace and a bit of heaven. Our little Jacob's well. At Jacob's well, Jesus told a woman the truth about her life. She said, we too want to hear the truth, for it sets us free. The beginning of our weekly fellowship in the light. Our song is a prayer that we too might encounter Jesus at the well of truth. We want to live in reconciliation. That means to live in the light. If we really love a person, we cannot stand by and watch him persisting in sin. We need to help each other to see ourselves in God's light. Only contrition can remove spiritual blindness and hardness of heart. Without repentance, our fellowship with God and each other will die. This is why our mothers have held fellowships in the light with us from the very beginning, according to the scripture verse. Jesus uses many ways to bring us to reconciliation. Once, there was a disagreement between two of our sisters here in the print shop. Suddenly, this printing machine stopped. We switched it on, but after a moment or two, it stopped again without any reason. This happened for hours, but after the sisters were reconciled, it worked normally. God doesn't only use machines to speak to us, but also nature. Our farm has not always had such good harvest. We have been disciplined in the same ways as the rest of the world. Heat waves, droughts, rabbits, plant lice, beetles, grubs. We started using poisonous insecticides, but Mother Basilea said, the things that are destroying our earth today do not belong to Canaan. If each one of us turns from his specific sins, God will act according to his word and rebuke the devourer. And God really did. He gave us the right weather, the right insects and birds to combat the plant lice and beetles. Year after year, by living in daily repentance, we have experienced ever-increasing harvest through the Father's grace, without using poisonous sprays. The crucial problem of pollution is dealt with by Mother Basilea in one of her pamphlets. Destruction of life on our earth has begun. We cannot help facing this reality. The worldwide pollution of air and water and the poisoning of plants are causing the death of countless animals, fish, birds and other wildlife. It is also damaging the health of man to an immeasurable extent. Scientists are prophesying the end of the world and the suicide of mankind for the very near future. Do we understand that God is speaking to us? Man has rejected God's commandments and so has separated himself from God. He has chosen his own moral standards, leading to unrestrained sexuality and perversion and a morally polluted society. Now God is answering. We have to live in a polluted environment. Autonomous man has rejected the call of Jesus our King. Deny yourself. Lose your life. Carry your cross. In our time the slogans are just the opposite. Enjoy life. Make money. Satisfy your desires. Discard inhibitions and be free and happy. These have brought corruption, disillusionment and chaos. Oh may Jesus write this word in our hearts. Repent. This is a watchword of the hour. Repentance is a lifeline, the only thing that can help us. Repentance means turning from all our old sinful ways and fighting the battle of faith against sin. Let praises ring aloud this day that Jesus name has power to break apart the fearful chains of sin that bind us. We Canaan Franciscan brothers from Germany in the United States are sharing with the youth community about how Jesus can change our lives. On Canaan we've learned how to fight against sin, but we have really experienced that relationships with each other have become totally different, but not through violence, hatred and rebellion. All right, but how does it work out at home or at school? Instead of using violence against each other, we fight against the evil within ourselves, against conceit, desire for recognition, insisting upon being right and all the other bad things in us. After our decision to follow Jesus, we don't automatically stay on his side. We have an archenemy, but we know which weapons to use against him. And if you'd like some of the spiritual aids that Mother Basilea has given us, you can take what you need from the books that are here in the middle. Take whatever you want. Many others looking for a turning point in their lives come to Canaan. Our guests receive help through Bible studies, counseling and literature. This wall in the Jubilati Hall has become a great attraction. They come and take a slip of paper which mentions one of many different sins. Then they can find the corresponding chapter on the wall with the biblical diagnosis and therapy. Many have discovered the truth about themselves in this way and have experienced that Jesus can break their chains. Also, they've discovered how conflicts at home and at church can be solved and how they can actually live in reconciliation. I came in here the other afternoon and was just looking around and I found one just for you. It's marked curiosity. Oh, that's not me. Yes, it is. Now, just you listen to what I was saying the other day. Curious people usually look at things and listen to things that are not meant for them. Typically, they read letters and notes on other people's desks. Oh, John, I do do that. I do that every so often. Yes, I know. Our retreat guests from 15 nations joined with us in a joyous celebration in anticipation of our heavenly goal. Whenever there is repentance and forgiveness of sin, there is life and real happiness. Our guests have experienced forgiveness and reconciliation here. Now, they will take it back to their homes and churches. Families are reconciled. A daughter with her mother and the mother with her neighbors. Children with their parents and parents with their children. Daughters-in-law with their mothers-in-law. A teacher with her class. Church members with their minister. Reconciliation spreads even across national borders. How warmly the Polish people responded to Mother Basilia's plea in Auschwitz for forgiveness on behalf of the Germans. Lidice, Czechoslovakia, at the mass grave of a village wiped out by us Germans. Graves of victims of the Danish resistance movement, Copenhagen. In some places, plaques that we have mounted have brought reconciliation. With this plaque in northern Norway expressing our deep grief, we ask forgiveness of the Norwegian people for the serious guilt of our German nation during World War II. Our branch in Jerusalem especially should help to heal wounds because our German guilt towards God's chosen people is greater than words can express. At the dedication, a former mayor of Jerusalem said, this house is a token of a new beginning that has come to us from Germany. Reception of Jewish guests on Canaan. The sisters are singing, we are deeply honored and grateful today and overjoyed that you've come our way. Shalom, we greet our Israeli guests. Shalom, we wish you the very best. Here on Canaan and in our little house in Jerusalem, we have truly experienced how Jews can forgive. This has deeply moved us and put us to shame. A Jewish author once said, there is only one weapon against hatred and that is love. If we are in danger of repaying hatred with hatred, you have helped us to overcome this temptation. Mother Basilia was invited by Jewish friends to speak in Israel and also in the United States. She received a warm welcome. They also respond warmly whenever we send greetings for their religious festivals. A bishop from India, while visiting Canaan, prayed, let Canaan's spirit of reconciliation spread from land to land and reach the ends of the earth. Jesus prayed for us before his death, that they may all be one. We can taste the beginning of this unity in Jesus, for after all, we ourselves come from many different nations and Christian backgrounds. Repentance has taught us to live in reconciliation. If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. This unity of love and reconciliation with other nations, God also gave us with brothers in other denominations. Lutheran, Reformed and Anglican ministers assisted Holy Communion. The closer we are to the heart of God, the closer we are to each other. The unity which we shall experience in heaven must begin here. People from all nations gathered around the Lamb of God. You know, we can be quiet and harmonious and go about our work faithfully and yet become very guilty towards God and our fellow men if we are not on fire. A heart that really loved Jesus and that is what we want to do, is set on fire, always pressing forward, never stopping for rest, dead to all self-interest. Then we will take advantage of every hour, every minute for his kingdom. We will be on the lookout for each new opportunity to pass on the call of repentance and love for Jesus, to proclaim his kingdom, the greatest and most beautiful kingdom of all. God's creative spirit has used Mother Baselia to express the truths of the Bible in many practical and relevant ways. He has shown us how to be heralds for Christ through herald posters, records and hundreds of new songs, pamphlets which deal with current problems, books about first love for Jesus, Mother Baselia's autobiography, our testimony of thanksgiving about the first 25 years of the sisterhood, literature to help us understand Jesus' suffering. The kingdom of God in this world has no universal language but that makes his miracles even greater. He has let the books reach the farthest corners of the world in many languages. Chosen sayings and little booklets find their way into lonely lives and hopeless situations. Evangelistic groups or fire teams as we call them, do not always get their material by mail. They love to come personally to pick up material for distribution. Canaan not only supplies them with literature but also gives them prayer support. Folders containing tracts and sayings in about 30 languages. Words of encouragement but first for their own hearts. These are the youngest members of the fire team. The more experienced ones are our Canaan friends in many different lands. Closely linked with us are our sisters of thorns, single or married, they live and work in Germany and abroad. There are also sisters of Mary who don't live on Canaan. For Jesus' sake they left Canaan, their mothers and sisters, so that there might be little Canaan centers in our dark world. The first was Beth Abraham in Jerusalem, soon followed by Beth Gaudia Day on the Mount of Olives. Later they were joined by Catalima to Thayou in Greece. Jesus returned near London. Jesus Delight in Arizona, a real little Canaan in the desert. Sola di Gesù in Italy and in Denmark Jesulile Paradis. But their spiritual home and headquarters is Canaan. Here material for the evangelistic fire teams is produced at top speed. The King of all kings longs to draw his children home, to comfort, warn and save them. We must hasten to bring them this call before it is too late. In his love Jesus has provided everything that we need for our spiritual nourishment. In this book, Realities the Miracles of God Experienced Today, you can discover the heart of God, our Father. My country needs this, said a Dane and translated it. A Canadian suggested, if necessary sell your bed, but by all means buy this book. An Australian who read it said, how can I get to Canaan? I've just got to go there. And a lady from India wrote, I laughed and cried as I read it. So it has traveled around the world. Mother Vasileia has written over a hundred books. Why? She says, because we can never give God enough glory. These have resulted in over 200 foreign publications in about 30 languages. When God wants to give a spiritual help, language is no barrier. But radio reaches even further than the printed word. The Canaan studio produces radio messages from one minute to 30 minutes in length. The Canaan programs are broadcast in many languages, reaching all five continents. For so many messages, the supply must keep flowing. The secret of this, says Mother Vasileia, is quiet times of encounter with God, a life of prayer. The Canaan tape lending library. Nothing is greater than Jesus, not even our sinful bondages, not even our fallen nature. Hallelujah. In the name of Jesus is victory. Dial a message for today. Never forget to give thanks to God, not even on the darkest day. He's your father in Christ Jesus. He's waiting for your thanks. Manufacture of praise plaques and herald boxes. Everyone must be reached by Jesus. The chosen sayings have kept some from despair and suicide. Countless others have found comfort in suffering. One of them shares with us. Last year my wife and I entered into a pathway of deep suffering and were completely engulfed in a sea of darkness. On one of the first occasions that we went out after this blow struck us, it was for a walk along a steep cliff on the English coast. And there we suddenly came across a plaque. And on it were the words, God is always greater than all our troubles. This was indeed the first comfort we received. One of Canaan's chosen sayings reached them in a letter from Galilee. Later when they were in the Holy Land, they saw a plaque in the Garden of Gethsemane. And again on it were words which deeply comforted them. In a book room at Tiberias at the Sea of Galilee, they came to know Mother Vasileia's books. It seemed as though they were being pursued by comfort from God. There are hundreds of praise places in our country and throughout the world. They are like a divine seal imprinted on many of the most beautiful sites in his creation. From the Swiss Alps to Athens Greece, in the Holy Land, on Mount Sinai, in the Himalayas, and at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Not only tourists, but most important of all, God's heart is reached with a plea. Father, continue to give us a time of grace, and let our worship hold back the destruction. Destruction is approaching the earth. Come home to your God. A rehearsal of our herald play, Lo, He Comes. The heavenly world calls and warns, but the powers of darkness seem mightier than ever. Weep and mourn, for the day of the Lord is near. The judgment of God is beginning. The angels are standing ready to sound the trumpets of judgment. These are the true words of God. The Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Lord, we adore. The Lamb has fulfilled God's plan of salvation. Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Thus says the Lord. Behold, I am coming soon. Prepare yourselves. Looking at the increasing darkness in our world today, we can see that we are approaching the midnight hour, but this means Jesus is drawing near. The joyful expectancy of his coming should radiate from the lives of those who love him, especially in these times, our mother said. We must prepare more wonderful festivals for Jesus than ever before, out of love and thanksgiving. This led to our festival of love for Jesus. A lasting symbol of praise and thanksgiving to Jesus is the Jesus pathway, with its large plaques proclaiming how wonderful he is. We brought him songs of worship and adoration, because Jesus' heart is so full of tender love. My heart rings with that wondrous song of Jesus' name. The sweetest tone I ever found, my Jesus' name. A bright star arises in our dark times, bringing us great tidings. Jesus Christ, the King, is coming. He is coming very soon, for we are living in the last times. Jesus will come in glory and radiant beauty, as King and Bridegroom to those who love him. But he will come as a judge to those who have rejected his dominion. The King draws near and we are going out to meet him. We are approaching the great day when he will take over his dominion. At present we can only find a foreshadow of his kingdom here and there, in individuals or in groups who repent wholeheartedly. But soon the joyous shout will resound throughout all the heavens. The dominion of the world has now come into the possession of our Lord and of his Christ. He shall reign forever and ever, for the eternities of the eternities. Then the words of our Lord Jesus will come true for this corrupted world. Behold, I make all things new. I make all things new.