E-pistle for April 22, 2005
Posted by: info <info@...>
Dr. Curt Scarborough, President FreeWay
Foundation April 22, 2005
In This Issue:
"The Queen of Sheba"
Theological studies at Pillsbury
Curt Scarborough's Holy Ground Interviews
Featuring today's special guest, THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
CS I'm sorry that I don't know your name, but the Old
Testament
merely uses your title, the Queen of Sheba, and Jesus referred
to you as the Queen of the South. I don't suppose your name
could be Dixie?
Queen I acknowledge with a faint smile your vain attempt at
humor,
Dr. Curt. But let us not stand on ceremony; you may
address me
as "Your Majesty."
CS I'm sorry if I violated protocol, Your Majesty. We
barbarians from
The Colonies are not used to dealing with royalty.
May I ask whether
the rumor is true that you and Solomon, the King of
Israel, ever were
romantically involved?
Queen Certainly not! I only met him once, on a state visit to
his palace in
Jerusalem. Our visit was diplomatic, not romantic!
CS Again, Your Majesty, I must reveal my ignorance, but
where exactly
is the nation of Sheba located?
Queen My kingdom also was identified in the Bible as the Land
of the
Sabeans, For you geographically-challenged
peasants, it's now called
Yemen, located in the southwestern corner of the
Arabian Peninsula.
CS That's quite a distance from Jerusalem.
Queen More than twelve hundred miles. It took my caravan over
a month to
make the trip from Sheba to Israel.
CS Your Majesty, why did you make that difficult journey
to visit King
Solomon?
Queen Word of Solomon's wisdom and wealth had spread around the
world. I
wanted to see for myself, and to ask him some
questions.
CS To see whether he really was as intelligent as his
publicity indicated?
Queen Yes! I had prepared a list of difficult questions to
test his knowledge.
To tell the truth, I am a scholar myself. But
Solomon's wisdom far
exceeded mine and all my professors . . . even the
Magi of the East and of
Egypt. He had identified, studied, and classified
all of the various trees
and plants, and all the species of animals, birds,
snakes, and fish!
CS He was a biologist and a zoologist?
Queen He also was a philosopher and a poet!
CS He wrote Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, I know!
Queen Plus, some of the beautiful songs in the Book of Psalms.
CS But if Solomon was so wise, how could he have
collected a thousand
women for his harem?
Queen He lived on a grand scale, as befitting an eastern
potentate in his day.
Many of his "wives" were merely state-arranged
weddings to seal
treaties between nations.
CS Like his marrying the daughter of the Pharaoh of
Egypt?
Queen That is correct. Of course, part of that arrangement
included his building
a beautiful palace in Jerusalem just for her
residence.
CS Tell me, Your Majesty, did you ever have a "Holy
Ground" experience . . .
a spiritual encounter with the God of Israel?
Queen Indeed I did. During my visit to Jerusalem, I spoke
frankly with Solomon
about what was on my heart, and he gave me clear
answers to all the
questions which had been puzzling me.
CS About the birds and the trees?
Queen He revealed to me more than scientific facts. He spoke
about his God
who created the world, and of how mankind could
worship the Creator
and have fellowship and communion with the Divine
Being.
CS Did Solomon tell you about the temple he had build for
Jehovah?
Queen He showed me that magnificent structure, and he taught me
how to
bow in awe and reverence to worship the true and
living God.
CS Your original skepticism turned to faith?
Queen Not only did I become a believer in the God of Israel, I
even uttered a
word of prophecy!
CS You prophesied, Your Majesty?
Queen I exclaimed: "I did not believe the words until I came
and saw with my
own eyes."
CS You were talking about Solomon's wealth and wisdom?
Queen More . . . much more! I said: "Happy are your men and
happy are
those your servants, who stand continually before
you and hear
your wisdom!"
CS But what about the spiritual prophecy?
Queen I concluded my testimony with these words: "Blessed be
the Lord your
God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne
of Israel! Because
the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made
you King, to do
justice and righteousness."
CS It was customary on a state visit to bring gifts to be
presented to the king.
You brought treasures from your nation to Solomon, I
think.
Queen I gave him over eight thousand pounds of gold, a casket
of precious
stones, and an abundance of spices such as he'd
never seen before.
CS That all adds up to a king's ransom!
Queen But Solomon out-gave-me! He gave me all I asked, or
desired . . .
much more than I brought to him! (II Chronicles
9:12)
CS Solomon shared his wisdom with you; do you have any
words of
wisdom that you'd like to share with us, Your
Majesty?
Queen Jesus Christ asserted that He is greater than Solomon!
My advice is
to go to the Lord with all your questions and
problems. Open your
heart to Him, bowing in reverence and worship.
CS Jesus is King of Kings!
Queen And, King of Queens! Praise Him, because "He is able to
do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we ask or think!"
(Ephesians 3:20)
CS I thank you, Your Majesty, for taking us back in
history 3,000 years.
Queen In God's time, my visit with Solomon was just three days
ago!
Institute of Theological Studies
After more than a year of investigation of Christian higher educational
resources, the administration, faculty, and Board of Regents of Pillsbury
College & Seminary decided to add to our present courses the curriculum
developed by the Institute of Theological Studies of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
We have studied and are in full agreement with the ITS Statement of Faith,
and with its Vision, Mission, and Purpose Statements.
The Institute of Theological Studies is not a school; rather it is the
world's leading network of distance learning theological education
resources. ITS courses meet the highest graduate level requirements of
theological education, and all ITS courses have been developed and approved
by the Dean of 24 large participating schools, including Covenant
Theological Seminary of St. Louis, Missouri, The 58 courses (24 lectures
each) were recorded by a virtual "Who's Who" of evangelical theologians, and
are available on audio cassette, CD-ROM, video, or the internet.
Over 100 Bible Colleges and Theological Seminaries use ITS curriculum.
Among these schools are five Southern Baptist seminaries (Midwestern in
Kansas City, MO, Southern in Louisville, KY, Southwestern in Ft. Worth, TX,
Southeastern in Wake Forest, NC, and Golden Gate in Mill Valley, CA,)
Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA, Wheaton Graduate School in
Wheaton, IL, and many other very prominent schools also use ITS curriculum.
Pillsbury has no intention of entering into competition against these great
theological institutions.
However, these 100 colleges and seminaries that endorse and use ITS
curriculum primarily are on-campus schools which allow students to take only
a few select ITS courses by distance learning. Pillsbury will stand
uniquely as a degree granting institution that offers all 58 ITS courses in
six areas of concentration by distance learning, leading to an accredited
Master of Ministry of Doctor of Ministry Degree.
For more information call Dr. Scarborough at 314-739-1121 or email
info@freewayfoundation.org
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