Jesus Is

My name is Mark VanOuse. I am a Christian living in Central Pennyslvania, USA. I’ve been a Christian since October 1981. I have been a full-time Christian broadcaster since January 1983. My calling and gifting is to communicate Christ in this day and age.

I have a wonderful family. My wife Cathy and I have been married since 1988. We have three sons: Ben, who is 16, Jared 13 and Nathan 7.

In my journey as a Christian, I’ve encountered many incredible promises in the Bible that seemed “too good to be true”. Amazing scripture passages glowing with the promise of a truly abundant life in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear anyone else teach on these amazing promises. It was as if they didn’t exist. For some time, I thought that I might have been misunderstanding the scripture and reading too much into these promises. What else would explain why I heard no else talking about it?

Well, that began to change when I entered the Way Bookstore in State College, Pennslvania in the mid-1980’s. The owners, Ed and Joan Hoch, had a real love for classic Christian devotional literature. Thank God they did. They gave such books a very special, prominent place in their store (bookstore owners today would be wise to do the same). It was there that I was introduced to such great Christians as Andrew Murray, Watchman Nee, A.W. Tozer, Brother Lawrence, John Wesley and many others. Through the writings of these great men of God, I saw that they did teach about the wonderful promises of God in the Bible.

Time went on and while these writings were more or less in the “background” of my life, yet it was something that wouldn’t leave me. Until 2002. At that time, I had a renewed interest in learning once again from these greats. Don’t get me wrong. I’m no historian, neither am I reading these writings merely for some sort of historical or literary value. I’m much more pragmatic than that. My interest lies in the simple fact that history shows that there were men and women of God who walked faithfully with the Lord to the very end of their earthly lives. No scandal. Nothing to tarnish their reputations. No heresy. More than that, these great men and women of God were unusually productive in the Kingdom of God. Thousands were led to Christ through their ministries. Many reached out to the needy in Jesus’ Name. Most importantly, they had a burning message to share. Their words were recorded, written down, for posterity. Believe it or not, their writings are still in print today, some even hundreds of years later! I figure that they have something to say to us today. They have something to say to me today. Most, if not all, of these writings are readily (and freely) available through the Internet. I have immersed myself in study of the Bible, as well as reading classics like:

• “Victory in Christ”, by Charles G. Trumbull
• “The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification” by Walter Marshall
• “Abide In Christ” by Andrew Murray
• Sermons by Dwight L. Moody
• “How to Live the Victorious Life” by An Unknown Christian
• “Except Ye Repent” by Harry A. Ironside
• “The Christian’s Secret to A Happy Life” by Hannah Whitall Smith
• “Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret”, by Dr & Mrs. Howard Taylor
• The writings of the Puritans
• “An Humble, Affectionate, and Earnest Address to the Clergy” by William Law

And many, many more. As I’ve read, I’ve compiled notes and quotations from these great Christians. In addition, as the Lord has been teaching me through personal Bible Study, I’ve written many of these things down as well. All told, I’ve collected well over a thousand of these notes in total. I’ve also noted and categorized well over a thousand scripture verses. What I’ve learned is positively staggering. First, there are many striking commonalities in these “burning messages” on the hearts of these saints. At the epicenter of what they taught, proclaimed and wrote is a very uniform message. It doesn’t matter if the writer is Calvinistic or Arminian, Methodist, Presbyterian or Baptist. It is the central message and hope of the New Testament — and the New Covenant. Sadly, this message is almost never heard today. What is it? Simply this: God is the source of everything good. Not ony does He command holiness, note this: He provides it. The One who call us to holiness is also the the very means of our holiness. Not only that, Jehovah God — “I Am” is the one and only true source and means of:

• righteousness
• peace
• provision
• victory
• guidance.
• and so much more.

All of the treasures and riches of God are found in precisely one place… or should I say Person: the Lord Jesus Christ. “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.” Colossians 2:9,10.

The purpose of this blog is to share what I’ve learned. More importantly, to show you the Way, Jesus Christ. A lot of Christians will say, “Yeah, I know all that stuff. It’s basic”. If you have that attitude, rest assured you really don’t truly understand these revolutionary truths. Most Christians today embrace only a partial Gospel. They experience a sort of myopic, weak and fruitless Christianity. They know only about forgiveness in Christ. Praise God for that, but there is so, so much more. The complete Gospel provides:

• Forgiveness of sins
• Freedom from the power of sin, Satan and this world.
• Fruitfulness, both in character (Galatians 5:22) and in productivity in the Kingdom of God (fulfilling the Great Commission).

My earnest prayer is that you (and I) will absorb this, embrace it, and fully experience the wonder of all that God has for us right now in Jesus Christ! I guarantee you (GOD guarntees you) that it will completely revolutionize your life. The ultimate goal is: LIVING TO THE GLORY OF GOD!

Yours in Christ,

Mark VanOuse