July 1, 2006
 
Dear Associate Member,
 
‘To God be the glory, great things He has done’. These words from a beautiful hymn form the basis of our faith in our blessed Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Indeed, being a child of God gives us much joy and hope that no matter what our struggles or heartaches are in this life, one day, we will be seated with our Messiah in the heaven of heavens forever more. Hallelujah for this wonderful blessed hope that is ours.
 
During the month of June, 2006 you blessed us with your prayers for Shalom Scripture Studies, Inc., Thank you.
 
This month we are sending you a copy of our new brochure ‘LORD, who may abide in thy tabernacle’ (Psalm 15: 10). We hope that some of the thoughts therein will be a blessing and encouragement to you.
 
Please remember our ‘three’ ministries in Minneapolis, MN., Naples, FL., and Savannah, GA., in your prayer life, as we accomplish the will of our God and please Him in these areas:
 

Preaching His holy word in spirit and in truth.
 
Reaching out to the lost, ‘to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile’
 
Always living and practicing what we preach
 
Yelding our lives, totally and completely to our Lord
 
Enduring the scoffing and rejection from unbelievers
 
Resolve to continue our mission as long as He desires
 

 Until next time, we say, Shalom Alechem (Peace unto you),
 
Dr. and Mrs. Elias E. Hidalgo

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"LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?" (Psalms 15:1)

Not only did our Messiah Jesus TABERNACLE (dwell) on earth, in the 'Jerusalem of God', in order that through His death, burial, and resurrection, we would have 'mercy' and 'grace' in relationship to Eternal Salvation, but also, that He might provide for us 'mercy' and 'grace' in the here and now life as we sojourn in this temporal body. How exciting that as believers in God through Him who "tabernacled (dwelt) among us" (John 1:14), Jesus Christ our LORD, our everyday life can be victorious all the time.

We are reminded in Romans 8:37 that "...We are more than conquerors through Him (Jesus our LORD) that loved us." All because "...God commendeth His love toward us, in that while were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). There is coming a day that the Jerusalem of God will be called the 'New Jerusalem' according to Revelation 21:2. With much interest, we also find in this verse of Scripture that "Behold, The TABERNACLE OF GOD is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." Indeed the TABERNACLE OF GOD that dwelt among men almost 2,000 years ago in the Person of Jesus our LORD will return again to Jerusalem, but this time as GOD HIMSELF and He will "...wipe away all tears from their eyes: and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away."

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"And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there." (I Kings 17:2-4)

The LORD commanded Elijah to speak to King Ahab, and immediately sent him to the 'Brook Cherith'. The spiritual testing for Elijah was that he had to declare by faith that no dew nor rain would fall upon the land of the kingdom of Israel, while on the other hand this meant that even Elijah would have no water for the necessities of life. As with all of God's servants that speak the Truth of the Word of God, sometimes what The LORD commands to be spoken is either very difficult or nigh impossible, but nevertheless, God has spoken, thus He also will perform! Notice if you will that Elijah "...went and did according unto the Word of The LORD." (I Kings 17:5). This of course is the wonderful way in which our LORD allows us the privilege to grow spiritually, that is by our response to His command. Is it immediate and unequivocal? Is it with delay and with much groaning and griping? To grow in the spiritual realm, one must obey in faith what The LORD has spoken to us to do, or say! As Elijah obeyed The LORD, he was given the necessary water for sustenance, as well as bread and flesh. This was given to him by The LORD Himself through the ravens of the air! What a wonderful LORD we do have, that requires of us our total obedience, while at the same time, He provides, sustains, protects, and grants more and more growth in the spiritual sphere because we are His children.

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"...And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

One thing that we can be assured of is that what God predicts, He also brings to pass. Since all things are made by Him, and sustained by Him, He and He alone has the first and final word on all matters. Wish to God that we as believers would not only understand this, but fully accept it. Putting this Truth into practice in our lives would be the final step for us to fully acknowledge that He is the Creator, and we are His creature. By understanding, accepting and practicing this, we will spiritually grow much faster and be of better use for our Beloved LORD and SAVIOUR, Jesus of Nazareth.

You and I can understand the process of trusting The LORD in a progressive manner. We can remember the first testing that we went through, and with The LORD by our side we came out of the time of trial triumphantly. This in turn increased our faith and belief, so that when the next testing came around, because our belief in God through faith was sure and stedfast, we became more than conquerors through Him that loves us, The LORD Jesus Christ.

May The LORD help all of us to be able to see in our own lives the progression of betterment, according to God's standards and not according our own standards. By this I mean that no matter what situation or circumstance surrounds our life, The LORD God, Who is our Heavenly Father, will watch, care, protect, sustain, and resolve all to His honor and glory and praise.

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"O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee." (Psalms 84:12)

The aspect of 'Faith' is an exercise that we involve ourselves with on a daily basis. Briefly, some examples are:

(1) Our relationship with other people.

(2) Our use of the senses - that is, walking, talking, smelling, seeing, hearing, and touching.

(3) Our reliance in that which is higher and mightier than we are, such as flying in an airplane, driving or riding in a car, being a passenger on a steamship as it cruises across the waters.

(4) Our living for today. Even knowing that tomorrow has no guarantee of life itself.

I am sure that the 'Faith' or 'Trust' list could go on and on, but nevertheless, before we go any further, let us look into the Word of God, as to the true and proper definition of faith. In Hebrews 11:1, we read "...now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The eleventh chapter of Hebrews gives us a fairly good insight into the matter of faith.

God is the Grantor of faith, as well as the Acceptor of it. No wonder, we are told in the Word of God that He is the beginning and the end; the alpha and omega; the first and the last; all things proceed from Him, and through Him. Amen!

Faith is interconnected with the Jerusalem of God, since it was in the Golden City of Jerusalem that the highest form of faith was manifested, that is God's Son's life as payment for all sin. For Jesus of Nazareth to follow through with His Sacrifice, even to His death, indeed took on His part the most courageous act of faith ever demonstrated in all of humanity!