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Letters
Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor
Greetings and welcome to our twentieth issue of Morning Star!
We all praise the Lord for His faithfulness. This month's
Feature Theme area concerns "Marriage and Family" and contains a
variety of excellent articles. Our Commentary, People Profiles,
Book Review, "New in Christ" and Ministry Focus columns are all
tied into this topic.

Wonderful news on the distribution front. Morning Star is now
being read in Cape Town, South Africa and Moscow, Russia. This
brings to sixteen the number of countries that receive the
magazine in some format each month. (Some get the hard copy via
mail, others receive a computer edition either on disk or via a
computer network connection.) Can you believe this? Praise God!

Add to your prayers that we may find our way into even more
countries. We are currently "targeting" twelve specific
countries. If any of you know friends or missionaries in
foreign lands that could help distribute Morning Star, please
get in touch with me.

Another BIG development ... we now have a Fax number! Make note
of it please and pass it on. I have designed a page-sized
"mini-poster" for Morning Star that I will fax to any ministry
or church requesting it. Send me a fax at 603-883-0466.

As always we need your help with articles and stories! Our
specific needs are for these columns:

New In Christ
Testimony
Ministry Focus (Formerly Ministry Profile)
Education
Music
Mission Field

We especially need articles and stores for our upcoming Feature
themes:

Vol 2.10 - REVIVAL (Personal, Church, National)

Vol 2.11 - LOCAL CHURCH MINISTRIES (Choir, Singles,
           Visitation, etc.)

Vol 2.12 - THE FEASTS OF AND PROMISES TO ISRAEL

Vol 3.1 - ANNUAL "HIGH-TECH" ISSUE (Christians using technology to
          do the Lord's work, i.e. computers, TV, radio,
          Faxes, BBS)

Vol 3.2 - DOCTRINAL ISSUE - Theme: "Grace and Legalism"

Vol 3.3 - BIBLE PERSONALITY ISSUE - Theme: "Paul the Apostle"

Vol 3.4 - TESTIMONY ISSUE - Theme: "Victimization" (all forms,
          i.e. toxic faith, spousal abuse, childhood abuse, etc.)

Quite a variety of themes wouldn't you say? People around the
world will benefit by us sharing information on these topics.
Won't you please consider writing something, or asking a friend,
relative or Pastor to submit an article or story? It's up to
YOU our readers to keep this magazine ministry going strong!

In Service to our Lord and Savior,

Toby Trudel
Commentary
Commentary
Currently, there is a great deal of confusion over the
definition of family. The confusion is cultural, not Biblical.
Social engineers are striving to redefine family to encompass
every conceivable relationship. As believers, we must not accept
this revisionism. Scripture presents only two type of families.
The first is the earthly family, the second, the spiritual
family.

The earthly family was created by God in the Garden. "The LORD
God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a
helper suitable for him" " (Genesis 2:18). So God created Eve.
The human family is made up of a husband, wife and children.
The Biblical family encompasses the couple and their children.
Scripture values the children within the family. "Like arrows in
the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth" (Psalm
127:4). However, this doesn't mean that it is wrong for a couple
to remain childless.

The family may also contain extended elements. These may include
grandparents and adult siblings. The family cannot be a same sex
couple, even when children are part of the relationship. A
family is not made up of two adults of opposite sex living
together without benefit of marriage. God hasn't redefined the
family, and therefore we can not allow society to do so.

Certainly, we have to recognize that many of the units within
the church include a single parent. We cannot act as if we live
in the 1950s and ignore the increase of this group. Also, we
cannot accept the modern position that the Biblical model is
passe. Keep in mind: most cultures began to decline when they
denigrated the significance of the family structure.

The strength of the church is found in the family. The model of
Christ's relationship to the church is illustrated by the
Christian husband and wife. "Husbands, love your wives, just as
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ..."
(Ephesians 5:25). We must stand firmly for the Biblical family
model. We must hold to God's standards for behavior.

Again, this doesn't relieve the church of the responsibility to
care for the single parent. Nevertheless, single parenthood is
not God's ideal. No matter how hard the single parent strives to
meet all the needs of a child, there always remains the need for
both a father and mother. Scripture assumes that children have
both parents. "Children, obey your parents in everything, for
this pleases the Lord" (Colossians 3:20). This doesn't mean
there weren't single parents in Biblical times, but this was not
the norm, or intended to be.

Single parenthood by choice is also inappropriate. For a woman
to chose having a child without a father to help raise it is in
direct defiance of God's intent for the Biblical model of
parenthood. On the other hand, someone who is a single parent
through no desire of their own deserves support and aid from the
local church. You men within the church should help provide a
male role model for the children without fathers. You women can
provide a female model for the children without mothers.

As, we appropriately strive to protect the family, we mustn't
allow the single individual to feel left out. Paul highly values
the single state as a life of service. And certainly the single
parent has a ministry to the child(ren) "Are you married? Do not
seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. ... I
would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is
concerned about the Lord's affairs--how he can please the Lord.
But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this
world--how he can please his wife-- and his interests are
divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the
Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both
body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the
affairs of this world--how she can please her husband. I am
saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you
may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord" (1
Corinthians 7:27, 32-35).

For the church, a high priority for ministry must be the
survival of the family. God's desire is for all couples to
remain married. As God said: "I hate divorce," (Malachi 2:16).
He also calls parents to raise their child in His ways. "These
commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at
home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and
when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them
on your foreheads" (Deuteronomy 6:6-8).

Within the church, we also find the spiritual family. Here, we
should no longer worry about singles, versus couples. We are all
brothers and sisters because we have one father. "For you did
not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but
you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba,
Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we
are God's children" (Romans 8:15-16).

This truth can be of great comfort to believers. Many do not
come from Christian families. They are estranged from parents,
siblings, even children. But, as Christians within the church,
Christ has provided a new family. Paul spoke to this when he
said: "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all
people, especially to those who belong to the family of
believers" (Galatians 6:10).

As Christians within the community of the local church, we are
called to be examples of God's love and mercy to a fallen world.
We can model God's ideal of the family. We can show how God
loves us as we care for one another within our individual
families. We can show how He cares for us as we care for one
another within the church family. Let us not fall for society's
view that the family is dying and irrelevant. Instead, let us
depend on the Lord as we strive to strengthen the family. Let us
teach the word that will help families to stay together, to
raise children, and to love one another. Then the world will see
that God is still in control. If we as God's children commit
ourselves to uphold His word as the standard for our lives, He
will richly bless us.

In keeping with this call, this issue of Morning Star focuses on
families and marriage. We hope this will encourage you to praise
the Lord for your family, both earthly and spiritual.
Staff Listing
Staff Listing
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MORNING STAR is produced and published monthly, by a staff of
born again believers in Jesus, located across the United States
of America. Correspondence to MORNING STAR may be sent via the
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Theme: Families
Honoring Your Parents
Honoring Your Parents
HONORING YOUR PARENTS

by Dennis Rainey
National Director
Family Life Ministry
Little Rock, Arkansas


You might remember Mark David Chapman, the man who killed John
Lennon back in 1980. In an interview with Dr. Jonas Salk in
McCalls magazine, Chapman made this statement about his
relationship with his father:

"My father was never very emotional. He never told me he loved
me, never said he was sorry; we never ever really got along.
He smashed my head down in a plate of spaghetti one time. He
never showed any emotion of love, just maybe if I needed money
for school he would give it. Mom always told me my father
couldn't show these kinds of things, but he would try in other
ways. You know, he was always home, and he never drank. But I
needed more than just a father who was responsible not only
morally, but ethically for his family. I needed more than that.
I needed emotional love."

When I read that interview, I thought of the many people I've
talked with and counseled over the years who have said much the
same thing. Many of us are in the same boat with Chapman. We
need emotional love. We desire for our parents to reach out to
us. We want them to express their love and affection.

Many of us receive that love and affection from our parents, and
others do not. During the last few years, scores of books have
been written about reconciling childhood. Celebrities have
streamed forth to tell of their awful childhoods. It's almost
chic to describes ourselves as "victims."

My concern is that many of us focus too much on condemning our
parents. We form a model in our minds of what the perfect
relationship should have been, or could be. Then we grade our
parents on how well they fit that model. And we forget God's
commandment to us to "Honor your parents."

When God set the course for the nation of Israel, and gave them
the 10 Commandments, the second mandate involved the family:
"Honor your father and your mother that your days may be
prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you" (Exodus
20:12).

Note that God promises a blessing to children who do honor their
parents. Throughout the biblical record you can find stories
that demonstrate how God keeps His word in this matter.

The Book of Ruth, for example, describes a woman who lost her
husband, yet decided to help care for her mother-in-law, Naomi,
in hard times. Ruth responded to Naomi with love and loyalty,
as though were her own mother. This is the first indication we
receive of the type of woman Ruth was. And God later rewards
Ruth for her faithfulness by giving her a godly husband, Boaz.

But not all of the snapshots in the scriptures are good.
Absalom actually overthrew the throne of his father, David,
because he was a spoiled brat. The picture that Absalom
presents for us in the Bible is one of conspiracy. He connived,
he manipulated, he did not honor his father.

To begin honoring your parents, a good first step would be to
evaluate your relationship with them. Often, while trying their
best to develop relationships with parents, children make two
types of mistakes. They let themselves become either too
attached or too detached.

For example, many adult children are too dependent upon their
parents for emotional support. You need the emotional support
of family members, but you do not need to run home to mommy for
emotional support every time you face a struggle or conflict.
There needs to be a healthy balance.

Another problem is being too attached for acceptance and
approval. You need to learn how to live without their approval
and do things on your own because you believe it is right. God
has to bring about this conviction in your life.

On the other hand, children can move to the opposite extreme and
become too detached. Two things usually happen here: First,
children neglect their parents. I imagine that this problem is
becoming more acute in today's mobile society, when many
children live hundreds or thousands of miles from their
hometown. But even when children live nearby, they often
neglect their parents by not visiting them enough, or by not
helping meet physical or financial needs.

Second, children reject their parents. Some reject their value
systems, or show compassion on them and where they have come
from as people. We are merciless. Aren't you glad God doesn't
deal with us like we deal with our parents?

Paul Meier, a Christian psychiatrist in Dallas, Texas, estimates
95 percent of all Christians have bitterness or anger in their
hearts toward their parents. That means a lot of Christians are
isolated from the people they owe so much to. Whether good or
bad, parents need our love.

Too often we do not recognize that our parents have needs and
struggles too. Our parents are needy and they have struggles.
Just as you are growing up, some of them are growing old.

For many of you, the idea of honoring your parents is not
difficult at all--you just need some creative ideas. For
others, this will be one of the most important tests of faith in
your Christian life. If you cannot trust God to give you the
strength to show love for your parents, what good is your faith?

In order to develop that honoring relationship, you must first
clear the air of any resentment. Allow God to search your
heart. Psalm 139:23, 24 says, "Lord, you search me, you know my
thoughts and you see if there be any wicked way within me, and
you lead me in your everlasting way."

Have you ever said anything hurtful to your parents? Have you
ever failed them? Confess any sin that pops up. Take any wrong
attitudes or any wrong actions to God first, your heavenly
Father. Use I John 1:9 as a reference.

Next, accept your parents as God's selection for you. Do you
realize God was not wringing His hands when your parents had
intercourse and you were conceived? And He didn't say, "Oh, my
goodness, I made a mistake -I meant for this other set of
parents to have her."

Do you think He knew what kind of parents you would have and how
you would respond, what your personality would be? The
Scripture speaks of a God who knew you even in your mother's
womb (Psalm 139). Can you accept those parents as God's
selected gift for you?

Then, take the initiative to build the relationship. I know of
too many adults who let their relationships with parents
languish for years, waiting for their parents to make the first
move. Yet their parents may not have the knowledge of what to
do, or the ability to do it. Paul said, "I can do all things
through Him who strengthens you" (Philippians 4:13). Have you
ever considered that you may know how to tap that strength, but
your parents may not?

Tell your parents you love them. Those few words may do more to
melt the wall of ice between you than anything else you could
do.

You know how old I was before I told my parents I loved them?
Nineteen years old. I'll never forget that day, standing out in
the gravel driveway in front of our house and I looked my dad in
the eye and I can almost see a tear in his eye. I always looked
in his eyes for tears because I never saw any emotion in his
eyes. I put my arm around him and as I left to go away to
college and said, "Mom and Dad, I love you."

You also may need to approach your parents to ask for their
forgiveness about specific offenses from the past. This may be
the hardest step of all for you, especially if you think your
parents wronged you more than you did them. But nothing will
happen unless you take the first step.

I'll never forget the year I was teaching a series of classes on
the family at Campus Crusade for Christ's Institute of Biblical
Studies. Within one 24-hour period, three single gals came up
to me and described the same father - aloof, detached,
unexpressive, very successful in providing but not in giving
them affection.

I looked one girl in the eye and said, "What do you need to do?"
She said, "I need to call home and tell my dad I love him, and
I'm sorry for being such a spoiled brat."

She came up the next morning in class with tears streaming down
her face. "For the first time in my life, my father and I
communicated," she said. "He wept over the phone and so did I.
I can't wait to go home."

On an ongoing basis, another way to honor your parents is to
share your life with them. Write letters, and call home no less
than twice a month. You should do this regardless of their
response to your victories and your losses.

Another way to share your life with your parents is to build new
memories. Take your dad fishing, or join your parents for a
vacation. A couple of summers back, Barbara and I had the
privilege of vacationing in Northern Minnesota with her parents.
One day we ended up with a boxcar full of memories as all ten
of us spent over 12 hours together in the automobile. We toured
the port at Duluth, a huge iron ore mine, and a beautiful high
school in Hibbing. We reminiscenced together as Barbara's dad,
Bob, showed us where he vacationed as a boy with his family. It
was loads of fun.

Finally, seek creative ways to honor them. For example, utilize
their strengths - if your dad is good at carpentry, for example,
invite him to help you put in that new set of bookshelves you've
been wanting.

Or consider writing a "tribute" to your parents. Take some time
to describe specifically how much they mean to you. Several
years ago I wrote a tribute to my mom, honoring her for all
she's done for me over the years. (See below)

Remember my quote from Mark David Chapman? There is an
epilogue to Mark David Chapman's story. The editors noted this:


"As this issue went to press, Chapman wrote Dr. Salk expressing
compassion and forgiveness for his father, explaining that he
could only give Christ the credit and marvel at his different
attitude towards his father."

If the presence of Christ in this man's life could make a
difference in his relationship with his father, just think what
being obedient to Christ's control and power in your life can
do. Anything is possible.


Dennis Rainey is director of Family Life, a ministry of Campus
Crusade for Christ.



TRIBUTE TO MOM
by Dennis Rainey


Since I began suggesting to others that they write a "tribute"
to their parents, many have followed my advice. Here is what I
wrote to my mom a few years ago:

When she was 35, she carried him in her womb. It wasn't easy
being pregnant in 1948. There were no dishwashers or Pampers,
and there were only crude washing machines. After nine long
months, he was finally born. Breech. A difficult, dangerous
birth. She still says, "He came out feet first, hit the floor
running, and he's been running ever since." Affectionately she
calls him "The Roadrunner."

A warm kitchen was her trademark - the most secure place in the
home - a shelter in the storm. Her narrow but tidy kitchen
always attracted a crowd. It was the place where food and
friends were made! She was a good listener. She always seemed
to have the time.

Certain smells used to drift out of that kitchen - the aroma of
a juicy cheeseburger drew him like a magnet. There were green
beans seasoned with hickory smoked bacon grease. Sugar cookies.
 Pecan pie. And the best of all, chocolate bon-bons.

Oh, she wasn't perfect. Once when, as a mischievous
three-year-old, he was banging pans together, she impatiently
threw a pencil at him while she was on the phone. The pencil,
much to her shock, narrowly missed his eye and left a sliver of
lead in his cheek ... it's still there. Another time she tied
him to his bed because, when he was five years old, he tried to
murder his teen-aged brother by throwing a gun at him. It
narrowly missed his brother, but hit her prized antique vase
instead.

She taught him forgiveness too. When he was a teenager, she
forgave him when he got angry and took a swing at her (and
fortunately missed). The most profound thing she modeled was a
love for God and people. Compassion was always her companion.
She taught him about giving to others even when she didn't feel
like it. She also taught him about accountability,
truthfulness, honesty, and transparency. She modeled a tough
loyalty to his dad. He always knew divorce was never an option.
 And she took care of her own parents when old age took its
toll. She also went to church ... faithfully. In fact, she led
this six-year-old boy to Jesus Christ in her Sunday evening
Bible study class.

Even today, her age doesn't stop her from fishing in a cold
rain, running off to get Chinese food, or "wolfing down" a
cheeseburger and a dozen bon-bons with her son.

She's truly a woman to be honored. She's more than somebody's
mother ... she's my mom. "Mom, I love you."
The Ten Commitments of Marriages
The Ten Commitments of Marriages
THE TEN COMMITMENTS OF MARRIAGES

From THE SYSTEM BBS, Nashua, NH


Marriage was designed by God. Then, why do so many marriage
relationships go steadily downhill to ultimate destruction and
ruin?

I believe it is because before marriage, many couples never made
in their hearts certain foundational commitments that can
strengthen and sustain marriages for this life we are called to
live in. In many more cases the couple arrive in marriage as
non-Christian, and fail to adjust their thinking AFTER they
receive Jesus Christ as their Savior. We read secular and
non-secular reports that link the failure of marriages to money,
sex, children or that old-time favorite of the world -
incompatibility! What most us fail to look at is that problems
are only symptoms for the real failure.

In a recent "ordeal" that I found I had subjected myself to in
my marriage, I found myself talking with many couples, and found
that they have not developed one or more of ten basic
commitments, which I have just recently found in my own life. I
observed that the majority of these couples were destined or
were now experiencing severe difficulties that should never need
come up. Husbands and wives need to grow into these commitments
as the need for them becomes clear through the teaching of the
Holy Spirit. But God in His wisdom granted that you should be
reading this or hearing this at a time that the Spirit has
appointed for you to hear or read.

Most couples didn't fully understand these godly concepts before
they got married. Many don't take the time to understand them,
now.

These ten commitments, which must be made in the heart - for the
heart is "the wellspring of life" (Proverbs 4:23)-and by faith,
since faith is the only way to please God (Hebrews 11:6), are as
follows:


COMMITMENT #1

To Commit your marriage and your family to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many marriages begin with a vow to be under the authority of
God, but then fail to follow the promises on this vow and others
that the marriage vow ask. We are to make a decision and commit
our family to God in a deep and meaningful way. "Choose ye this
day whom ye will serve, but for me and my house - we will serve
the Lord." (Joshua 24:15). Only by having Him as the head of
both husband and wife will the marriage prosper.


COMMITMENT #2:

To grow in Christ for the Rest of My Life.

Not every Christian has decided to "grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18).
Instead, Christians often think that they have already arrived
or that there is "nothing wrong with me." There is nothing wrong
with a two year old acting like a two year old, but the child
should eventually grow out of that behavior. In the same way,
none of us has matured enough that our present state should be
classified "mature" we are only able to be "maturing." We must
seek growth. We must seek to grow. The result of a lifetime
commitment to growth in Christ is that we become more mature in
every area of life.

In marriage, which demands increasing maturity in character,
responsibility, and wisdom, non-growing Christians cannot make
it. Their pride will not allow them to accept the learning,
correction, rebukes, and questions that require them to humble
themselves. Only an open and teachable person can develop the
characteristics needed to make a good marriage partner.


COMMITMENT #3:

To stay committed to my marriage for life, and to work to solve
all problems that arise.

This commitment provides the security of permanence and keeps us
from running away from problems. Either we face up to them and
solve them, or we live with them.

Christians and Christian leaders are part of the climbing
divorce rate in our society, but God still requires faithfulness
to our marriage vows (Malachi 2:14). He declares, "I Hate
Divorce" (Verse 16).

Does this enslave me as a Christian? No! instead it give
security in the midst of a world in which "you will have
trouble," as Christ stated (John 16:33). And it means living in
hope that no problem is too great to be solved.

God is working in marriage to fulfill His own desires as well as
all married Christians. He is "seeking godly offspring" (Malachi
2:15) from our homes, and therefore He requires faithfulness in
marriage.


COMMITMENT #4:

To be faithful to my mate in both mind and action.

Unfaithful actions can be headed off by commitment to think
romantically ONLY about the husband or wife. (Matthew 5:28).

To decide, "My mate is the only one I will allow myself to think
about in this way" will cut off a lot of problems before they
begin. The result in marriage will be a greater level of mutual
trust.


COMMITMENT #5:

To practice and allow to be practiced the "help meet" of Genesis.

Mankind has heaped years and years of garbage upon the alter of
marriage by downgrading the role of the woman in marriage. Many
women have allowed themselves to live under these conditions in
the interest of peace, Mostly to no avail.

God created woman to complete man, which transmits the idea that
man was lacking in some areas, and this lacking has existed
since man began and continues today. Too many men refuse to
accept this gift from God for completion and "macho" it out
trying to be all capable and "support the little lady!" Well,
God, in His wisdom set a wife on the life of a husband to allow
them to be presented to Him as "One Flesh" and complete in their
TOGETHERNESS!

This does not mean that a wife simply takes orders - it means
that SOMETIMES she is the ONLY messenger God has to get through
some thick skulls of some husbands. The wife must be able to
deliver rebuke, reproof and exhortation in accordance with the
leading of the Holy Spirit; However, it is IMPORTANT that the
wife recognize that her responsibility ENDS when she delivers
the message! God has ordained that the Husband be the head of
the family - not the dictator - the HEAD "just as Christ is the
head of the church" and with the same servant manner and
sacrificial attitudes of the Lord Jesus Christ!

When the husband has COMPLETELY lived up to the standards set by
God, THEN he can dictate! Until then God has seen fit to have
another person come along side and travel the road of life with
him, and he had better listen to what she says. Most of the time
she can be the KEY to success and failure to listen can result
in failure.

The wife must realize that she is commanded to obey her husband.
 Not blindly, but in accordance with the Word of God. God has
set up a plan for marriage and families and the plan works to
the good of those who follow the precepts, and disaster results
in straying from the plan. The wife should OFFER her advice and
admonitions in LOVE and not in confrontation. Communicate to him
in the same manner as God communicates to you, with overwhelming
Love - AGAPE love! If the husband wants to do something you
don't really care to do, and it is not against the laws of God,
then God asks that you follow your husband. (I Corinthians
11:3)! If you follow his request just as you would follow the
request of Jesus Christ, then you will be blessed in ways that
you never thought possible. Trust in the Lord.


COMMITMENT #6:

To communicate - NO MATTER WHAT!

Most people learn not to reveal many of their thoughts and
feelings because these are personal and so easily judged by
others - "You shouldn't feel that way." This fear of judgement
from others brings about an attitude of "I'll never mentions
that again."

But just as nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ
(Romans 8:35-39), so nothing should stop us from communicating
in marriage; silence, tears, explosions of anger, defiance,
defensiveness, the children, or lack of time.

This is a commitment to communicate not just facts and
accomplishments, but feelings, thoughts, problems, and failures.
Both the positive and the negatives in our lives need expression.


COMMITMENT #7:

To be a Servant

God created both men and women to be servants of God, of each
other, and of their neighbors. The husband and wife are equal in
dignity and worth, and work together as "joint heirs of the
grace of life" (I Peter 3:7,RSV) to achieve common goals.

Yet each fulfills different roles. The husband takes
responsibility as the leader in the marriage (I Corinthians
11:3), but his success begins and ends with a servant's
attitude. A willingness to serve each other will bring about
mutual dependence and appreciation.


COMMITMENT #8:

To assume in everything that my mate's intentions are good.

We are told not to impute evil to God (James 1:13), and in
marriage we are likewise to assume the best about our partner's
intentions. Some of our mate's actions may not seem to be good,
but we must believe that the intent was good.

Let us give our wife/husband the benefit of the doubt. He or she
may be immature in some ways and may act out of jealousy or
revenge-but even these are cries for help. By avoiding the
accusations, each of us will have far less grounds for conflicts
and hurt feelings.


COMMITMENT #9:

To forgive and forget the transgressions of our mates.

The hardest act for a human to do is admit to a wrong and ask
forgiveness. To be met with a list of acts of contrition that
must be followed before forgiveness is "granted" creates a
schism in the very foundation of marriage. To compound this
error by "dredging up past offenses" is a direct sin against the
very Word of God when God tells us to keep "no record of wrongs"
(I Corinthians 13:5). This sin is not reserved for any single
partner - it is practiced by both. It is sin. It is to be
confessed and repented and washed from us. Then the healing of
God's power will be able to be received!


COMMITMENT #10:

LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

It may seem strange that I make this the last of the
commitments, yet it has been the critical facet of each of the
previous nine.

The "norm" heard in the divorce courts is "I just don't feel any
love for ..... anymore!" The world teaching that Love is a
feeling. The Bible tells us that Love is a verb - an ACTION.

We are not called to "feel" love, we are COMMANDED to LOVE! We
are to love our spouse, and sometimes we must love them in spite
of our "feelings" and "please God and not man (ourselves)" (Acts
4:19). We must commit all the other nine commitments in our
heart and attach this tenth one to every one of the other nine.
Only by His power can we join the Lord when He told us to "be of
good cheer for I have overcome the world" and we need so much to
be overcomers.

Allow the world and our own families see the Rock that our lives
CAN be founded on. Let us enjoy the life "and life more
abundantly" by following the plan that God laid out for us in
His Word, the plan that many times counters our own plan because
it requires the Lordship of Jesus Christ and not ourselves. It
requires that a husband Serve his wife! It requires that we ALL
have the servant nature that sees us washing feet in the
spiritual manner that Jesus provided such a physical example of.
Let us each ask our spouse the simple question that can very
well blow our present "ship" out of the water of the world and
settle us on a Rock, the Rock of Jesus Christ. That question is
"What are your REAL needs and how do you think I could be more
able to supply them?"
Ancient Customs
Ancient Customs
ANCIENT CUSTOMS SYMBOLIZE THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE
By Ron Hembree
Goodyear, Arizona


THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE

No formal marriage ceremonies are found in the Bible. Rather,
these rites have evolved from society's awareness that an
emphatic statement of intent should be made publicly to family,
friends and legal structures affirming the meaning and
importance of marriage. The closest we seem to come to a
Scriptural description is in Genesis, when Isaac takes Rebecca
into his mother's tent. (Genesis 24:67) The obvious other
reference is the Cana wedding Jesus attended. (John 2)
The exact structure of various wedding ceremonies has changed
much through the centuries, with each culture adding its own
touch to emphasize what it feels is important. While ceremonies
have changed, the meaning of marriage remains the same. To help
clarify that meaning in a different way, perhaps it would be
well to review some of the ancient ceremonies and what they
symbolized then and now. The first rite started with:


SEALING THE BETROTHAL

In the ancient eastern world marriages were arranged by parents,
since the emphasis was on "becoming", not "finding". Abraham
could safely seek a bride for his son because his faith made him
feel it was more important for each partner to "become" the
right mate than simply to find the right mate. Obviously
selection is important, since Abraham
refused to choose a daughter-in-law from anywhere except within
the family of God. That seems to still be the only guideline on
selection the Bible gives. (II Corinthians 6:14-18)

When selection had been made by the parents for a bride, the
bridegroom traveled to the bride's home to formalize the
agreement. The bride and her mother sat under the ancient
kitchilika tree and the bridegroom formally asked permission to
marry the bride. Permission was obviously given and he then
poured into her hands ten specially minted coins that had been
in the family, sometimes for generations. One side of the coins
contained the family identification and the other displayed the
year that identification had become part of the family. The new
bride would wear these coins in her hair on her wedding day and
then put them away in her treasure chest to pass down to her
oldest son when he repeated this sacred rite at his marriage.

Powerful tradition swirled around the ten coins. Tradition
claimed love was born in the bride's heart the moment the coins
fell into her waiting hands. But tradition also said that if
she ever lost one of those coins it meant God had withdrawn
favour from her household. In some cases women were divorced or
banished because they had lost one of these very special coins.

Remembering these powerful traditions, one can better understand
the meaning of Christ's parable of the lost coin. (Luke
15:8-10) In this chapter of three powerful parables, Jesus is
speaking of how God loves the lost: the lost sheep, lost coin,
lost son, and lost elder brother. The coin is irreplaceable and
that is exactly the meaning of marriage in this sense. The coin
ceremony was saying: just as the coins were unique to this
family so the new union was to be unique in the lives of both
bride and bridegroom. God wanted us to build the walls of
marriage so high that no invader could crawl over to defile it
and no one inside that unique relationship would climb out to
destroy the concept of having one God and one mate.


TEN WEDDING DAYS

Researching ancient marriage ceremonies, the number ten keeps
popping up. There were ten coins, ten days of the ceremony and
ten bridesmaids, each serving as hostess for one of the wedding
days. The final vows would be said by the couple on the tenth
day, while the preceding nine were spent in counseling,
preparation and feasting. There would be no fasting during
those ten days because tradition said God attended each wedding
and to fast would be to insult God.

In God's great shorthand, numbers seem to have significance.
The number six represents man, while seven indicates perfection.
The number eight signifies new beginnings but there is
something special about the number ten. Ten stands for
completeness. This ancient rite reminds the couple and
community that man is only complete in woman and woman in man.

God created man but he was not complete. Only after God created
woman did God officially name them "Man" or mankind. (Genesis
1:17) We are made for relationships. From the beginning God
told us it is emotionally unhealthy to be isolated. (Genesis
2:18)

Usually the greatest source of pain in our lives is isolation
from God and each other. Jesus came to restore relationships.
Ever since Adam sinned, we have been separated from God. Ever
since Cain killed Abel we have been fighting among ourselves.
Jesus came so we could come back to God and back to each other.
That is why He always insisted that real faith involves both
dimensions of reconciliation: Man with God and man with man.
(Matthew 22:36-40)


THE CANOPY

All ancient eastern ceremonies of marriage took place under a
specially prepared canopy. Vows were said, the couple was
counselled by the priest, and instructions about each role and
responsibility were given. The canopy symbolized the brooding
presence of God over every marriage. The Psalmist's illusion of
the "shadow of the most high" hints of this old custom.
(Psalms 91)

Most of us know, either by experience or example, that real
marriage is a triangle. At the bottom of one side is the
husband. On the bottom of the other side is the wife. At the
top of the triangle is God and the closer each gets to God the
closer he gets to each other.


WEDDING GARMENTS

When a king's son married, the king knew common people could not
afford the needed rich garments required to attend the
magnificent wedding ceremonies. Thus, months before the
wedding, the king employed the nation's best tailors and
seamstresses to make the garments, at the king's expense, for
all the invited guests. All they were expected to do was to
come properly attired. All costs had been taken care of by the
king.

This ancient custom helps us understand a hard parable Jesus
told in Matthew 22:1-14. Here we see God as the rich king who
has made ample provision for the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Through the sacrifice of His most priceless possession He has
provided a robe of righteousness so all can stand honourable and
unashamed. Is it too much to expect that we show up in that
robe?

Certainly we see His expectations as reasonable in the light of
its true meaning. However, this ancient garment custom means
much more also. It simply emphasizes that all the provision we
need to make a good marriage is given to each by God. If we but
choose to wear the garment we will find acceptance and approval
by God and each other. Should we contemptuously cast it aside
for our own rags of selfishness, we are banished from the
wedding feast by our deliberate disobedience. Those who have
betrayed the marriage bed and defiled the feast with their
selfish rags have tragically learned what it means to be
banished from the most secret chamber of a mate's heart. There
is no reentrance to the feast, but only as the robes of
righteousness are again donned by each disobedient partner.


A TOUCH OF SALT

On the tenth day, the formal vows are said. Following this, the
priest touches the couple's tongues with salt and the two break
bread together. This ceremony is perhaps the most sacred of all
in the marriage rite. From mankind's beginning, to break bread
and eat salt together symbolized a sacred covenant between two
parties. One might seek to break a legal contract on paper but
one would never dare defile a salt and bread covenant. Salt
symbolizes truthfulness, while bread speaks of communion or
communication. We still celebrate this in our own communion
ceremonies on holy days.

Each participant knew exactly what this ceremony symbolized.
Marriage was pledging unconditional love and acceptance. A
contract is conditional, predicated on whether the other party
fulfills his obligations, while covenant is totally
unconditional. It is kept regardless of what one mate does.
God has made a covenant with His people, not a contract.
Regardless of our compulsive behavior and patterns, He keeps His
covenant. (Jeremiah 3:14)


THE SILVER CORD

Wedding rings were not used in the ancient east. Rather, after
the vows the husband gently tied a silver cord around his
bride's neck. She wore this symbol of their pledge all her
life. If she died before him, she wore it in death. If he died
first, at his grave she loosed the cord from her neck to
symbolize that she was loosed from her husband and free to form
a new relationship. The cord symbolized the temporal and the
eternal aspects of marriage. While marriage is for this earth
only, still it is the most sacred of all human covenants. (Mark
12:25) But, in heaven we will also be married, not to each
other but to Christ. (Revelation 21:9) The silver cord is
referred to in Ecclesiastes 12:6.


THE LIFTED VEIL

One of the last rites the husband performs in the ancient
ceremony is to gently remove the veil from his wife's face and
place it on his shoulder. Isaiah takes this ceremony to
prophesy about the coming Messiah, "The government shall be upon
his shoulder. (Isaiah 9:6) The total responsibility for our
faith and eternal existence rests on Christ. That happened when
He took the veil from our face and brought us into His heart at
conversion.

The veil symbolizes the role God ordains for the husband. He is
to be provider-protector. The care of his wife and family is
directly placed on him. Peter and Paul both understood this
perfectly when they wrote their epistles to the young churches.
(I Peter 3:1-12 and
Ephesians 5:22-33)


THE HONEYMOON

Eastern honeymoons lasted for one year. During that time the
bridegroom and bride are never apart. They even are expected to
refuse dinner and feast obligations. (Luke 14:20) The
honeymoon is spent at the home of the parents of both partners.
One month they live at the bride's parents and the next at the
groom's. When the year is over, the families come together and
the bridegroom says solemnly to the bride, "Let not your heart
be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my
father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither
I go ye know, and the way ye know."

Jesus used these same words to describe why he was leaving His
followers for awhile. (John 14:1-4) After saying these words,
the bridegroom went away to build a home for his bride on the
estate of his father. When this was finished, he returned and
took his bride to her new home to live for the rest of her life.

The symbolism of the honeymoon is obvious. The first year is
spent in establishing a relationship that would last a lifetime.
Nothing is as important to the couple as that relationship.
Time with the parents indicates the importance of the extended
family. It is a wise man who does not insist his wife walk away
from her family without tender and continuing relationship. It
is a foolish woman who would insist that a harsh choice be made
between his mother and herself. Rather, all effort and expense
must be made to work through relationships, however strained
they might be between parents and the new couple.


MARRIAGE IS A MIRROR

Perhaps the most succinct statement of all on the meaning of
marriage is made by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, "This
is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the
church. (Ephesians 5:32) In this poignant passage Paul says
marriage is to mirror how much God loves us and how He never
turns us away, even though we fail in our covenant relationship
with Him. But it even goes beyond that.

Marriage does not create problems, it reveals them. A personal
example might help. I can hide my selfishness from my friends
because, while we are close, we are not intimate. But, in the
unique relationship of marriage, there are times of stress and
strength, good and bad, health and sickness, profit and loss.
At some time that compulsive selfishness will surface. When it
does, I must face that selfishness and appropriate Christ's
forgiveness for salvation and change rather than blame my mate
for having provoked my problem. I cannot excuse my behavior by
claiming she is responsible for my sin because I perceive she
created a climate for my compulsion.

If we really believe the purpose of God for our lives is to be
conformed to the image of God's Son, then we understand better
how God uses marriage to make the most of us. (Romans 8:28)


A FINAL WORD

Nowhere in the Bible do we see the common worldly definition of
love. The world sees love as a feeling. God calls it a
commitment. He says it is an act of the will, something we
choose to do. We do not "fall out of love". Rather, we simply
choose to close off our love. When I counsel with couples who
are troubled in their marriage, they often say, "I can't love
him or her anymore." Gently, but firmly, I try to correct them
saying, "No, it isn't that you can't love, it's that you won't."
 When we face this stark reality of our lives we then have a
chance to make marriage work. Then our expectations of our
mates diminish, tensions lessen, tempers cool, and hearts warm.
We begin to learn together why "God setteth the solitary in
families." (Psalms 68:6)


Used with permission.
Taken from "The Meaning of Marriage" by Ron Hembree.
P.O. Box 2000
Goodyear, Arizona 85338
To My Wife / To My Husband
To My Wife / To My Husband
Pastor Joseph DeMarco is a dedicated family man. He is a
husband, father of three sons, and grandfather to five
grandchildren. He loves the Lord with all his heart and God has
blessed him with 75 years of life at this point of time. Pastor
DeMarco is a prayer warrior and the Pastor of the Belmont
Christian Church in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

Rose DeMarco is the wife of Pastor Joseph DeMarco, a mother of
three sons, and a grandmother to five grandchildren. She is a
God-fearing woman who is ready, willing, and able to help
anytime and anywhere she is needed. She loves the Lord with all
her heart and is an inspiration to others.

TO MY WIFE
By Pastor Joseph DeMarco

If I had it to do all over again, I would still marry Rose, my
wife of 54 years. I don't think I could have ever met a more
loving and caring woman. She is always doing her best for
everyone in the family and puts the Lord first in her life. She
is a wonderful Christian lady who loves others as the Lord loves
all of us.

I am thankful for a godly woman because I know what it was like
living in an ungodly home. When I was growing up my family
were not Christians. I was raised in a family of four children
... two brothers and one sister. My father could not work
because he was asthmatic. Somehow he and my mother were able to
make "moonshine" in order to have a little money for
necessities. Since I was the oldest son at home, I was the one
who delivered these bottles to local families. I had to hide
these bottles under my clothing because this was against the
law. I was caught one day and due to the fact that my father
was ill, my mother was taken prisoner instead. She was put
behind bars on the second floor of the local jailhouse. I
remember how we children would go there and stand outside and
she would talk to us from this second story window. The
authorities kept her there for six months. That was a terrible
time in our lives.

My older brother who was married and lived in Follansbee, West
Virginia asked me to look for a job in his area. It was easy
for me to get a job because I was big for my age. At the age of
twelve I quit school and got a job at a mill in West Virginia
and lived with my brother and sister-in-law. I stayed with them
for almost a year. Every weekend we went back home to visit our
parents. But first, we would go to the liquor store and
purchase a fifth of whiskey and coke. It was a 70 mile trip one
way back to Pennsylvania, and the drinks were all gone by the
time we got to our parents' home. The three of us drank the
whole thing. I thank the Lord for watching over us because I
don't see how we ever got from one place to another without an
accident in the condition we were in.

One day my dad's friends, who had previously been Roman
Catholic, came to visit my family and talk about Jesus. They
were so excited and happy to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. They had become Born-Again Christians and wanted to
tell my family all about it and ask them to accept Jesus too.
My parents and my brothers and sister accepted. I was the only
one who did not accept the Lord at this time. I was young and
single and still living in West Virginia and felt like I had a
lot of time to decide.

At the age of thirteen I decided to come back home and get a
job. My family was in a relief program and I was their only
means of support. At age thirteen and was willing to work at
any job in order to help my parents.

Coming back home to live with a family who had accepted the Lord
was a God-sent. Because I saw the change in my family, I too
accepted the Lord at age fourteen. I realize today that time
waits for no man! I thank the Lord that He had patience with me
and gave me many chances to accept Him. God watched over me
because He had other plans for my life and I can't thank Him
enough.

Once I was born-again, I remained faithful to the Lord. I never
looked back, but kept moving forward toward the mark of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. I couldn't wait to attend all
the church services we had. Our Pastor Domenic Giammarco would
ask me to minister to others in order to help him in the church.
I was so happy to do anything and everything I could for Jesus.
It was a wonderful feeling to know that I was included in the
Family of God. I helped in the Sunday School area too.

At age fifteen I went to the CCC Camp to build highways and Army
camps for $30.00 a month. That meant I received only a dollar a
day! The government sent $25.00 a month home to my parents and
I lived on $5.00 a month. I was there for one year. When I
came home at age sixteen, I got a job in the coal mine. The
minimum age was eighteen but I was well built and already
weighed 175 pounds, so I was hired. I looked older because I
had worked at so many different jobs in my younger years that I
appeared older. I believe a man needs to work ... idle hands
are the hands of mischief!

The highlight of my life was when I met Rose. I was eighteen
and knew that she was for me the first time we met. But her
parents were very protective of her. I would visit her parents
twice a week just so I could see Rose. When we sat at the
dining room table, we would be at opposite ends. Her mother
always sat between us as we talked together. I prayed and asked
God for a good Christian girlfriend ... and Rose was exactly
what I wanted. I fell in love with her because she was a
wonderful Christian girl who loved the Lord with all her heart.

I wanted a woman who would be good to me as my mother was to my
father. It makes me think of the popular song that says, "I
want a girl just like the girl that married dear old dad." I
felt that Rose was "that" girl.

Rose and I had our own secret signals to communicate with each
other, even though her parents hardly left us alone for a
minute. I was very happy that her parents consented to my
marrying Rose, but that didn't happen until three years later.

We married when I was twenty-one years of age and I have never
been sorry. I am and always will be one of the happiest men in
the world! We had our share of problems too, just like any family.
It was very hard for my own family to accept that fact that I was
married and had a wife to care for. They felt that I still had
to support them in the fashion I had done before. For instance,
I bought my wife a fur coat and my sister felt that I should
give her and my mother a fur coat too. I did as she asked
because I felt sorry for them. I knew that it would take a
little more time to get my family acclimated to the fact that I
was a married man now, with a wife to think about. I know that
Rose must have had mixed emotions at the time but she was very
understanding and we worked everything out together. We always
discussed every situation and circumstance and came to a mutual
agreement. We always try to understand each other's viewpoint
and I believe this is what helps make a good marriage.

My wife can tell you that I went directly home after work each
night. My wife always knew where I was and where I was going.
If I am going to be late, I always call her so that she will not
worry about me.

My wife and I always do everything together. It is rare that
she is not with me even when I make hospital or home visits.
She is ready to assist me in anything I ask of her. I love her
as the Lord loves the church. Homes are in an uproar today
because God is not first in their lives. Many do not even know
the Lord and many do not realize that if we do not have God in
the home, there is chaos and confusion there. They live above
their means and do not live a surrendered life to God. Their
values have changed. They have forgotten the God of our Fathers.

God is important in every relationship. Where God is revered
and part of a household, there is unity and love abounds. In
our home we spend much of our leisure time together. My wife
plays the piano and my son plays the guitar. There are many
evenings we gather around and have a hymn sing. Everybody is
welcome at our home. We encourage Bible discussions at our
home. We serve refreshments and have a good time. We like
others to come in and join us in a happy fellowship with the
Lord.

I have tried to be an example to my sons so that they could
learn. The love I showed them through the years is coming back
to me now, and I am so thankful. I counseled them, prayed for
them, and taught them each day through our devotions. The
scriptures have the answers to any question or problem we may
have.

I thank the Lord for Pastor Giammarco who was like a father to
me. On his death bed, he asked me to take care of the church.
I have endeavored to do the Lord's will in my life and ask Him
constantly to lead me ... that is my heart's desire to follow
Him! I thank God that He saw fit to bring Rose into my life
... because He knew we would be good for each other.


TO MY HUSBAND
By Rose DeMarco

I consider myself the happiest woman in the world! I have so
much to be thankful for. God has made it possible for my dreams
to come true.

I was raised in a Roman Catholic home with two brothers and two
sisters. At the age of seven, old friends of the family brought
the Word of God to us. My mother and dad accepted immediately
and taught us children the Word of the Lord. At age nine I
accepted Jesus as my Savior and attended church every time there
was service. I never missed Sunday School or a prayer meeting.

I prayed and asked the Lord for a young Christian man to come
into my life. One day I visited Christian friends of ours. I
had no idea what was in store for me that day. I met Joe! He
was a tall, handsome, young man at the age of eighteen. My
parents were very strict with me and even at the age of sixteen,
I was not permitted to date. Joe would come over to the house
to visit twice a week, with my mother sitting between us at all
times.

Somehow we knew we were falling in love with each other. Joe
was a very patient and understanding young man. My parents
thought we were too young and that his parents needed him at
home. He was their sole support. This went on for two years.
Finally Joe walked my dad to work one day which was a half mile
walk. When they reached the entrance gate, Joe blurted out the
fact that he was in love with me. He told my dad that he wanted
to see me more often and that he wanted to marry me. My dad
told him that we had a lot of time yet ... that we should wait
ten years! Joe was so afraid of what the answer would be but he
felt encouraged that at least my dad did not say "no". My
mother was not in favor at this time at all because of the needs
of his family. But Joe continued to visit every Wednesday
evening and Sunday afternoon.

Finally when I was nineteen and Joe was twenty-one they agreed
that we could be married. I had never dated another man in my
life. That was 54 years ago and we are even more in love today.
We didn't have much but we had each other. We had our first
son after we had been married five years. Our second and third
sons were born five years apart also. Joe was more excited
everytime I gave birth to another son. It didn't matter to him
that we had no daughters. He accepted what the Lord gave us.

It didn't matter what problem came up we always dealt with them
together. We came to an agreement together. We loved each
other and were patient with each other in everything. Joe never
put me down!

If one of the children asked something of us, we always agreed
on the answer. We never went against each other. We trusted
each other's judgment in a given situation. We all know how
children can play parents against each other ... we never
permitted this to happen. Joe and I confided in each other ...
we had no secrets between us.

We encouraged input from the children in discussions in the
family. We listened and tried to relate matters to what the
scripture had to say about it. Even if we disagreed on
something, we talked it over until we came to a mutual
agreement.

Our youngest son was in a terrible auto accident several years
ago. He had been drinking with friends due to "peer pressure",
and lost control of his car. The doctor told us if we knew "the
man up above", He would be the only one who could save our son.
We immediately called a few key people who started a prayer
chain around the country and possibly world. God gave our son
another chance, and for this we praise Him. He is in the church
and a happily married man today with two children.

I dislike it when I hear spouses refer to each other as "the old
man" or "the old woman". I believe there must be respect
between a husband and wife. We want to be respected by our
children, so we should show respect to one another as an example
to them. Our love goes beyond just plain love ... we cherish
each other. We "want" to be together. We do everything
together. If I am going to be away for a few hours, Joe knows
where I am in case he needs me. I try to help him as much as
possible in his ministry work too.

I have never raised my voice to him and he has never yelled at
me either. We speak softly to each other ... we do not believe
in being angry and speaking harshly to each other. Harsh words
make everything worse ... just as a soft, kind word turns away
wrath. We are not afraid to say we are "sorry". We make sure
we go to bed each night completely forgiven of any differences
we may have had. I have to admit that even today, I sit close
to my husband when riding in the car. This has always been a
habit of mine. In fact Joe will tease and say that he needs
more room ... that I am sitting in his pocket. We spend a lot
of time together ... more so since he retired from the factory
where he worked for many years, and I retired from the job I had
outside the home. He always had a job at the factory, besides
being a Pastor of the church.

When I worked outside the home, Joe pitched in and helped around
the house in any way he could. I would go on visitations with
him and stay up very late to get the chores done around the
home. I always considered them a "labor of love". One day I
counted the shirts I had ironed on the table, after I had folded
them neatly. There were 45 shirts, including the ones for our
three sons. I thank the Lord for the strength and help he gave
me through all the years. I thank him especially for the
strength he gave me when I had to work outside the home, while
raising a family. I worked for 22 years and retired due to
arthritis. Joe retired 8 years after I did. God has been good
to us in every way.

I still like to do all my own house work, and bake and cook. We
have at least twelve for dinner every Sunday. We like all our
family around us and I think they enjoy it too. We especially
enjoy the grandchildren. They are the ones who keep us young!

I have a wall hanging of Proverbs 31. It is a constant reminder
of what God expects of me in this life in reference to my
marriage and family. If I were to live my life over again, I
would marry the same man. I have never said that I regretted
marrying Joe. We married for better or for worse.

I put God first in my life and He keeps me perfectly content in
all ways. I love Him. I would have it no other way. Praise
the Lord!
The Woes of the Working Mother
The Woes of the Working Mother
THE WOES OF THE WORKING MOTHER
by Randall Hillebrand


"Few would debate the almost mystical significance of the
mother-infant bond. Research from many fields, including
psychiatry, child psychology, and studies of other animal
species, has confirmed our intuitive respect of the
mother-infant bond. Studies have indicated that the first two
years of a baby's life are when that bond forms." (White 27)

Does the mother's staying home with the child(ren) versus having
a full-time job help, hurt or have a neutral effect on the
family? This is the question that will be addressed in the
following article. First though, a brief history of why women
went into the job force will be discussed as background.


Why Women Entered The Work Force

During World War II, the men went overseas to fight, and the
women were called upon to work in the factories to keep America
going. Many mothers left the home to come to the call of their
country to serve. These mothers were applauded by our culture
and became the symbol of patriotism of the highest order.
During this time the government set up child care programs with
federal funds and many companies set up stores and hair-cutting
salons right in the industrial plants for the women's
convenience. But then the war ended.

After the war was over, the government and the private sector
banded together in an enormous propaganda campaign to get women
to leave the work place and return to the home. The
mother-child relationship and the support of the husband and his
career were stressed (Levine 65). Up until World War II, few
women worked outside of the home, the great majority of those
being single. The big boom of women (including married women)
joining the labor force was after World War II, starting in
1947. "Between 1947 and 1978, married women's rate increased
from 20 percent to 48 percent." (Smith 4). (Note: these
percentages are of the total amount of women joining the work
force).

As previously stated, the initial reason for mothers joining the
labor force was due to the war effort, which was very
commendable. This was a time in history when people needed to
pull together and do their part. But then after the war, for
whatever the reason, the government and the private sector had a
campaign to bring women, in general, back to the home. The
majority of the women rebelled at this as can be seen by the
union grievances filed. One study showed that 75 percent of the
women wanted to continue working (Levine 66). Why was this the
case? Two main reasons are usually given. First is that of
economics. As Smith says in his book, The Subtle Revolution,
economists feel "that the perceived benefits of being in the
labor force have been increasing, the benefits of not
participating have been decreasing, or both." (Smith 3-4).
Therefore, "the 'opportunity cost' of staying at home all day
has become too great for an increasing proportion of women." So
a choice needs to be made, "unpaid" labor in the home versus
paid labor outside (Smith 3-4).

The second reason given for women going into the labor force is
given by Barbara Deckard when she said that women are "trapped
in a situation that provides little opportunity for intellectual
growth or the satisfactions of achievement."
(Finsterbush/McKenna 127). By this she was saying that a woman
cannot find these things if she is a housewife who has to watch
after children, so she leaves the home to find that fulfillment.
This second reason is probably more of a recent thing (late
60's, early 70's till present), but could have its roots in the
post World War II era.

World War II was a special time in history that called for the
mothers of this nation to give a helping hand, but in the
postwar times, the mother was called back to a much more
important task, that of raising our nation's children. But the
questions that need to be asked are: (1) are economics really a
reason for mothers to work outside of the home, and (2) can a
mother not find intellectual growth or satisfaction of
achievement by being a homemaker? We will see.


ECONOMICS AND PERSONAL GROWTH

"Working women are stung and enraged by the guilt-provoking
suggestion that their careers are more important to them than
their children; that if they loved their babies more they'd be
willing to put their work aside. And full-time mothers are
angered and shaken by the low esteem with which many career
women regard them." (Levine 64)

On the economical side of things, a comparison needs to be made
between the homemaker and working-wife families. If the two
families have the same amount of income per month, the
homemaker's family total income will be higher than the
working-wife's family income. This is due to the fact that the
working-wife spends at least 15 percent of her paycheck,
excluding income tax, on her work-related expenses. This 15
percent is mainly spread across such things as transportation,
social security and clothing (Smith 161). Not only does this 15
percent not cover income tax, but it also does not cover child
care, which can run between $40.00 to $120.00 or more per child
per week. If we take it a step further, her income should also
be reduced according to the amount of time that is taken away
from the domestic duties that the wife no longer has time to do,
which are either sent out for someone else to do or are not done
at all.

It has also been shown that in the homemaker's family they spend
as much as 50 percent less on clothing, transportation,
recreation, and retirement over that of the working-wife's
family; and their basic food and shelter expenditures are also
slightly lower. So there is at least a 30 percent difference in
income between the two families, the homemaker's family having
the higher savings (Smith 161). In many cases, the mother is
going back to work so that the family will have more income for
specific bills, for future purchases, or usually just for a
better standard of living. But is it worth it? We will be
looking at that a little later.

The other reason that mothers have left the home is for personal
growth and fulfillment. They feel, according to Barbara
Deckard, that they have little opportunity for intellectual
growth or the satisfaction of achievement as stated earlier.
Her view says, "Why should I be tied down to my family? What if
I have dreams or plans for doing something more with my life?
Don't you know that childbearing is another link in the chain of
men's oppression over women? If I am with my children too much,
I could damage them and scar them for life. Housework is no
fun, it's not creative nor interesting, it's boring and
never-ending, so why should I stay home doing these kinds of
things, and those diapers !!?"

Well, she has a point, they can be boring and tedious, but
Phyllis Schlafly's rebuttal to this is that "Marriage and
motherhood, of course, have their trials and tribulations. But
what lifestyle doesn't? If you look upon your home as a cage,
you will find yourself just as imprisoned in an office or a
factory. The flight from the home is a flight from yourself,
from responsibility, from the nature of woman, in pursuit of
false hopes and fading illusions." (Finsterbush/McKenna
115,120,124,125,127). Why can't a woman feel fulfilled as a
mother? She can! Then why do these other women say that they
are not fulfilled unless they are out of the home and in the
labor force? Good question. It could be for a number of
reasons. Maybe at home the husband or children or both do not
appreciate the mother as much as she needs, so she looks
elsewhere for it. But if this is the case, she had better
beware, because she may end up working somewhere where they
don't treat her any better, maybe even worse.

Possibly she has low self-esteem and just does not feel
important. If this is the case, as in the first example, she
needs to sit down with her family and work it out, instead of
trying to find relief somewhere else. Maybe she just wants a
change of pace. This too can be accomplished through part-time
volunteer work, a home business, etc. What am I trying to say?
That if she has unmet needs at home that are driving her to look
for a job through which she thinks she will find fulfillment,
she is barking up the wrong tree. She needs to get those needs
met at home through her husband and children.

Phyllis Schlafly makes this point in a more specific example
when she says, "If you complain about servitude to a husband,
servitude to a boss will be more intolerable."
(Finsterbush/Mckenna 120). She goes on to say that "Everyone in
the world has a boss of some kind. It is easier for most women
to achieve a harmonious working relationship with a husband than
with a foreman, supervisor, or office manager."
(Finsterbush/McKenna 120). If the base problem is not dealt
with, the problem will reoccur somewhere else. But can the home
provide opportunity for intellectual growth and the satisfaction
of achievement? Yes, if you truly desire it. It may take a
little work, but it can be achieved. Also, raising a healthy,
productive and happy family that adds to society is one of the
greatest achievements a woman can obtain.

Then what about the effects of a working mother on the children
and family as a whole?


THE EFFECTS OF A WORKING MOTHER

"The past twenty years have brought dramatic changes in the
typical American family. During this period the overall female
employment rate rose by more than 50 percent (for married women
with children living with their spouses, the rate doubled).
Birth rates dropped by 40 percent, and divorce rates doubled."
(Kamerman/Hayes 93)

No wonder that we see the divorce rate double in the
working-wife families, when there is an approximate increase of
16 percent in women having affairs in this group over the
homemaker families (Norris/Miller 254). This not only affects
the home of the working mother, but that of the homemaker whose
husband participated in the affair with her. It can and usually
does have long-reaching negative effects. It's not a pretty
picture!

What about the children of the working mother? If they are not
taken care of by relatives of the family, more than likely they
go to a day care. Day care centers can have a ratio of adults to
infants and toddlers anywhere from one to two in the better
places, or as many as ten or more infants to each staff member.
The common ratio is about four to one. One of the problems that
arise is that the day care industry is not a healthy one. "The
work is difficult, and in most cases the pay is very low, and
the training of the providers leaves much to be desired." (White
28).

What is most likely, is that the child in the first two or three
years will be exposed to numerous primary caretakers. Also
infectious diseases, especially those involving hearing ability
and middle ear infections are three to four times as prevalent
than in the home (White 28). Some would say that it is good for
the child to be in an environment like that because an
"increased sense of independence, well-being, and greater
appreciation for their parents have been found to be the
attributes of many of the offspring of two-career marriages."
(Swann-Rogak 6).

But I disagree. During these first years a very important
process is taking place in the child's life, that of
socialization. For children this is called primary
socialization in which the child develops language, individual
identity, the learning of self-control and cognitive skills.
Also, the child learns the internalization of moral standards,
appropriate attitudes, motivations and a basic understanding of
social roles (Hagedorn 87). During the most important time in a
child's life, when the foundation of his personality, morals and
attitudes are laid that he will build off of for the rest of his
life, we cannot just give him to a complete stranger to mold.
These are the years that can either make or break the child for
the rest of his life. Can we leave this up to someone else, even
a relative?

What about the working mother and the family in general. As
seen above, adultery and divorces have risen due to women in the
work force, but what about other problems. As I page through
books for the working mother I see chapter titles like these:
"Succeeding with Your Children," "Getting Organized on the Home
Front," "Feeding the Family," "New ways to Be Together,"
"Having a Baby," "Keeping Your Marriage Strong" (Norris/Miller
v); "How Do You Manage It All," "I Can't Keep Up with It All,"
"This House Is a Mess," "Where Has Our Togetherness Gone?,"
"What if Something Happens When I'm Not There?," "I'm Tired All
The Time," "Where Does All My Money Go?," "I Feel So Guilty"
(Skelsey); etc., etc., etc.!!

As can be seen from the titles, it is not easy on the family
for the mother to go to work. Many adjustments must be made, and
even then it cannot be done successfully. The only real
superwomen are in the comics, not in real life. This is the
feeling of many professional women and can be seen in the book
Mothers Who Work by Jeanne Bodin and Bonnie Mitelman on pages 52
through 58. Many trade-offs had to be made. Is it worth it?
From all of the negative effects on the children and family that
have been shown in this paper, it is very easy to see that it is
not. But of course I cannot make that decision for you. You
need to decide!!


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bodin, Jeanne and Bonnie Mitelman. Mothers Who Work. New York:
Ballantine, 1983.

Finsterbusch, Kurt and George McKenna, eds. Taking Sides.
Guilford: The Dushkin Publishing Group, Inc., l984.

Hagedorn, Robert, et al., eds. Sociology. Dubuque: Wm. C.
Brown Company Publishers, l983.

Kamerman, Sheila B. and Cheryl D. Hayes, eds. Families That
Work: Children in a Changing World. Washington D.C.: National
Academy Press, l982.

Levine, Karen. "Mother vs. Mother." Parents (June, l985):
63-67.

Norris, Gloria and Jo Ann Miller. The Working Mother's Complete
Handbook. New York: Plume, l984.

Skelsey, Alice. The Working Mother's Guide to Her Home, Her
Family and Herself. New York: Random House, l970.

Smith, Ralph E., ed. The Subtle Revolution, Women at Work.
Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, l979.

Swann-Rogak, Lisa. "Careers." Baby Talk (April, l985): 6.

White, Burton L. "Should You Stay Home With Your Baby?"
American Baby (October, l985): 27-28, 30.

Copyright 1989 by Randy Hillebrand
You are allowed to reproduce this article only in its entirety
and without additions or deletions.
Family Discipline
Family Discipline
The following article is intended to assist Christian parents
understand why discipline must be a part of their family
responsibilities. Discipline is not an easy task. It is
especially most difficult where loved ones are concerned. The
Christian parent of the late 20th century lives under extreme
stress where discipline is concerned. We must be faithful to
God, His Church, and to His Word which is our manual for
parenting as well as living our own lives. I trust that as these
pages are read, that the reader will have his Bible at hand to
refer to the passages in reference. As a pastor, I trust that
these words will have the sound of my voice in them to the one
who reads these pages, for I write them with love, concern and
sincerity.

FAMILY DISCIPLINE
By Pastor Jake Popejoy
Solway Church of God
Knoxville, Tennessee

The Christian Family requires certain powers, abilities and
authorities in order to satisfy the mandate of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Idealistically we wish to see the family with every
member secured in his proper place continually fulfilling the
responsibility of his calling. Unfortunately, all too
frequently, members of the God ordained institution (the family)
become self-willed and independent. The result, in effect, is
rebellion. Consequently, the Head of the Church has given
instruction to His body to deal authoritatively with such cases
of self-will and insolence found within its ranks. The purpose
of this paper is to examine discipline within the family as it
parallels church discipline, and to view several pertinent
elements pertaining to the disciplining of the Family.

The church is the prime example of the administration of the
Family. It is able to discipline its own only because it has
been given power from Christ to do so. The nature of the
Family's power is both Spiritual and Ministerial. "It is a
spiritual power, because it is given by the Spirit of God, Acts
20:28, can only be exercised in the name of Christ and by the
power of the Holy Spirit, John 20:22,23; I Cor. 5:4, pertains
exclusively to believers, I Cor. 5:12, and can only be exercised
in a moral and spiritual way, II Cor. 10:4".

Like the church, the Family has no power except that which has
been given to her Jesus. The Family may not act independently
of the will of Christ. Consequently, individual members are not
to act independently of the will of Christ. Any disciplinary
power administered by the Family must always be exercised in
harmony with the Word of God and under the direction of the Holy
Spirit.

REASONS TO DISCIPLINE
It is absolutely essential that we have a proper understanding
of the meaning of discipline before we are able to utilize it
for its divine purpose. Discipline can be understood and
implemented in several way. Most commonly we think of
Discipline in three ways.

First, discipline is an act of correction. Properly understood,
this is the idea of 'teaching a lesson' that they may not make
the same mistake or same error again. Second, we may consider
discipline in light of an individual's personal comportment or
behavior. The bible speaks to us about this element in our life
as temperance (discipline). In this case, we personally are the
ones who are concerned with the course of our own life. We
appeal to the Holy Spirit who strengthens us and enables us by
Christ to stay on spiritual course Thirdly, we understand
discipline to be a field of study or practice. It is obvious
that we could read dictionaries, both secular and Biblical, to
obtain a forensic definition of the word "discipline". However,
we would not arrive at the conclusions necessary to validate and
Theologically justify the reasons why we, as a church or family,
discipline our members when they stray from the paths of
righteousness.

ELEMENTS OF DISCIPLINE
The singular motive of the family, when exercising discipline,
is ultimately to restore to fellowship the fallen or erring
member. It is unfortunate that discipline may result in the
severing of fellowship but its Theological intent is
reconciliation. Reconciliation is a work of God and should be
considered the mission of the family. For the Apostle Paul
tells us in II Corinthians 5:18-20 "And all things are of God,
who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath
given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To with, that God
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word
of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as
though God did beseech you by us we pray; you in Christ's stead,
be ye reconciled to God."

Discipline is therefore a work and ministry of the people of God
If the discipline of our family is motivated by the prospect of
restoration and reconciliation it is in harmony and accord with
the will and design of God. If however, discipline is utilized
as tool to separate a member from the family or the church
without an exhaustive attempt at restoration, it has simply
fulfilled the role of sin itself. Sin is that element in life
that separates us from God. If discipline is executed with the
intent to separate, sin and discipline become one and the same.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCIPLINE
It is obvious to all who are Christian minded that the Lord
requires obedience from His followers. The purpose of obedience
should not be understood only as an act of honor and loyalty to
the King of Kings, but as prerequisite to the blessings of God.
While we do demonstrate our love and loyalty to God by obeying
His commands and ordinances, we also become acceptable
recipients of His blessings of salvation.

Obedience is the prime factor of discipleship. Although
obedience and discipline are not synonyms, it is not conceivable
to have one without the other as pertains to our relationship
with Christ and His church. It would be incongruent to think
that one could be a disciple without being obedient to the
master. Likewise it should be understood that obedience is the
actualization of all that a disciple has learned. The importance
of discipline is that its design is to ultimately bring an
individual or community into precise harmony with the mind of
Christ (and in this case the individual family). Furthermore,
discipline must be a transforming experience and not merely a
conforming experience. We never feel quite satisfied with the
individual who conforms to our position only because they wish
not to undergo the consequences of our discipline.

To understand the importance of discipline there are two most
vital elements to consider. First, if discipline is considered
only in the context of punishment for a wrongful act it will
surely fail. Second, discipline must be looked at as a training
program. The apostle Paul gives us an example of discipline
being an act of training in I Thessalonians 5:14, 15, "Now we
exhort you brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the
feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See
that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow
that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men."

Here we see Paul helping the church avoid catastrophe
discipline, that is, discipline that waits until something goes
wrong. The Greek text gives this rendering as "... admonish the
idle, console the faint-hearted, hold on to the ones being weak
...". We can clearly see that the apostle is instructing the
church and consequently the family to exercise discipline in
terms of a rebuke, yet in the same breath he is teaching the
church to help others avoid the same failure.

Authors White and Blue, in their book, Healing the Wounded, say,
"Failure of discipline as it is often practiced can be explained
in part because we are installing smoke alarms after the fire
has started." The necessity of discipline is pointed out to us
in the words of Dr. R. Hollis Gause when he stated, "Discipline
is necessary because we are capable of falling. Discipline does
not expel but rather Discipline embraces."

THE ATTITUDE OF DISCIPLINE
The single most important element to the tempering of our
disciplinary procedures will be our spiritual attitude at the
time of administering the discipline. Before discipline can be
an act of righteousness and benevolence it must be executed with
righteous motives. We know from scripture that is not the will
of God that any of His little ones should perish, we should
therefore have this same mind in us. Unfortunately we the
church, all too often attempt to use discipline as a means for a
contrary brother to "see" things our way rather than to use
discipline as a means to restore this brother to the way of the
Lord.

Second Corinthians chapter 13 is an excellent example of the
Apostle Paul's ability to make distinction of motive. He
commences this chapter with a sharp rebuke to sinners within the
church who have participated in uncleanness and fornication. By
the time the chapter is concluded he has balanced his rebuke by
informing those to whom he speaks that, "This is why I write
these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have
to be harsh in my use of authority, the authority the Lord gave
me for building you up, not for tearing you down." (NIV)

We cannot treat discipline with mediocrity, yet we must exercise
care and restraint in our actions lest by applying discipline
with the wrong attitude or spirit we create strife and division.
Noting Matthew 18:15-21, we see the context in which this text
is found is sandwiched between the Lord's parable of the lost
sheep and Peter's query about forgiveness. Without stretching
the meaning we can see that discipline is an act of God directed
to His church (our Family) for the distinct purpose of
ministering forgiveness. Christ's main concern relating to the
disciplining of a brother is, "If he shall hear thee, thou hast
gained thy brother." The attitude that we must enter in to
situations that demand discipline is the attitude of
reconciliation. Unlike Christ, many times we don't care if we
have 'gained our brother', we just want him to 'hear us'.

THE AUTHORITY OF THE FAMILY RELATING TO DISCIPLINE
Matthew 18:15-21 is a paradigm (example or formula) for church
and family discipline. As we have already noted the prominent
factor in this paradigm is that a brother is gained as a result
of the disciplinary confrontation, let us now look at the
echelons of authority that are mentioned by Christ.

First, the Lord says, "if thy brother shall trespass against
thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone:" We
have both the admonition and authority from the Lord to act
individually in an act of discipline providing that we are
attempting to resolve a situation that exists between the two of
us as principal parties of the trespass. We should learn a great
truth from this illustration. The fewer people involved in any
disagreement, the less likely will be the possibility of
enlarging the existing problem.

In the second place we will note that it is not always possible
to resolve a situation in the manner described, hence, the Lord
authorizes involvement of witnesses. This is a most serious
undertaking. The intent of the witness or witnesses is not
someone who will accompany for mere moral support or be of
partisan support for the offended person, but rather to
undertake the responsibility as a guarantor of truth. Not to
intimidate the individual who is being confronted but rather to
give him the assurance of care and concern for his soul as well
as the privilege to speak his own feelings in the presence of a
witness of the family or church.

Thirdly, if the second confrontation did not bear the fruit of
restoration, the Lord then authorizes the intervention of the
family body. This will obviously by its nature entail
humiliation. If the trespasser does not heed the admonition of
the church or family in public session it is as if he has
neglected the voice of the Lord. The consequence of his action
will be that he is treated as a heathen man and a publican, for
in essence he is denying the body of the Lord and determines no
longer to be part of it.

In verses 18 through 20 the Lord reinforces the disciplinary
rubric by giving it heavenly dimensions. The authority of the
individual is seen in the Lord's statement of verse 18. "Verily
I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth...". The
authority of the witnesses is seen in verse 19, "Again I say
unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching
any thing...". And finally the authority of the congregational
setting is noted in verse 20, "... where two or three are
gathered together in my name...".

THE IMPACT OF DISCIPLINE UPON THE FAMILY
The burden of administering discipline goes far deeper than
would first meet the eye. While a shepherd or elder of an flock
may well see the need to exercise an admonition or rebuke in
order to correct and restore an erring brother, it must be noted
that the responsibility of discipline will ultimately fall upon
the whole family. One or both parents or guardians may act on
behalf of the family to administer the discipline, but it is the
grave duty of the whole family to maintain discipline. This can
only be accomplished by adherence to scriptural guidance.

In II Thessalonians 3:6 the apostle Paul teaches us two
important things about discipline as relates to the actions of
the church. First, we see that Paul is commanding the church to
implement discipline within its own body, "...we command you,
brethren,...". Secondly as an act of discipline to inordinate
believers we are to withdraw ourselves from equals (brothers)
who walk disorderly. Sin is contagious. For this reason the
Family cannot afford to be careless about sin in its midst. As
well as contaminating the Family, open sin among God's people
does damage to its (the church's) witness in the world.

In Romans 16:17 Paul exhorts the church the 'mark', that is, to
watch or keep their eyes open for those around us who would
cause divisions among us. The warning is to avoid them. In I
Corinthians 5:11 the apostle warns against socializing with
anyone who calls himself a brother yet manifests the works of
the flesh. The context of this passage is relating to the
horrors of sin that were found in the church being practiced by
members. Paul's call for purging in the 7th verse is a call for
church discipline. I Corinthians 5:6,7, "... Know ye not that a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the
old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened
...".
From a pastor's perspective, who is also a parent, and as a
member of the local church I am very much aware that the
actualizing of the disciplinary charge to the family is much
easier to teach or preach than to actually put into everyday
practice. Yet, Paul would actually demand that our socializing
come into subjection to the authority of the church, Hence,
socializing by family members must come into subjection to the
discipline of the family. This becomes a great dilemma for the
family because we can think of manifold reasons, all in the name
of love, why we should not severe any relationships.

THE DOCTRINAL IMPLICATIONS OF FAMILY DISCIPLINE
In a broad sense the doctrinal implications of discipline are of
a two fold nature. The consideration of the salvation of the
individual and the preservation of the purity of the Family. I
Corinthians 5:5, "... deliver such an one unto Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the
day of the Lord Jesus". Herein is Paul's hope of salvation for
the backslider indicated.

The interpretations of this passage are legion however, the
implication is for the disobedient brother to be able to view
the blessings of the family by contrast. The ultimate goal
would be the repugnancy of the world being a factor that guide
the wayward back to his Family and parents. The preservation of
the purity of the church and family has always been of doctrinal
importance. This is the body of Christ manifest on earth. God's
desire for His Church is spotless perfection. His desire is none
less for the individual family. The illustration of the leaven
mentioned earlier in the paper is a doctrinal thread treated
through the entire context of the Bible. Jude warns us about
"spots" in our feasts of charity. The warning is to guard
against hidden rocks in our communities of worship.

CONCLUSION
Family discipline must be considered in doctrinal context. If
we view discipline as anything other than a scriptural doctrine
our lives and families will be chaotic. If discipline is not
given full doctrinal support we will find ourselves making up
the rules of discipline as we need them. The Bible has outlined
for us both importance and the imperative of the execution of
this great work of the Family and Church. If it is exercised
with great relish it is most probably being exercised in the
wrong attitude. If it is given little consideration and
utilized only as an absolute 'last resort' then it is probably
not really being exercise at all.

The most difficult thing for the 20th Century Christian family
is to administer discipline. You stand in a world which rejects
sound biblical principles of the church and family discipline.

I trust that we will be strong enough to rely on the wisdom of
God.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Pastor Popejoy's article is presented with the
intent to assist Christian parents understand disciplinary
issues. Discipline is not an easy task, but it is one that all
Christian parents are called to. There are many Biblical
principles dealing with the subject of discipline, including
God's discipline of us, His children.

One area of Scripture that has a lot to say on the subject is
the book of Proverbs. For consideration of discipline from this
book see our Old Testament Study column in the Biblical Studies
area of this issue.
God, What Do I Do Now?
God, What Do I Do Now?
GOD, WHAT DO I DO NOW?
(What happens when your child wants to date a nonbeliever.)
By Joanne and Guy Miner

Our journey as parents began at a young age. We were not ready
for what lay ahead. Within the first couple of years of marriage
our daughter was born. Our twins were born 3 1/2 years later. It
was then we, in our role as parents, began to apply the Word of
God to our lives. God began to reveal to us the importance of
not only reading his word, but also applying it to our lives.
Our lives were not perfect. We had many struggles to deal with.
These not only including trying to be the parents God wanted us
to be, but also dealing with the struggles in our own lives.
These struggles often were a product of our family backgrounds.
Guy came from a well structured family, while I came from a very
dysfunctional family.

When our children were younger, our lives were very busy,
especially with the twins. As they grew older, our concerns for
them also grew. We watched them grow up in a world that believed
the opposite of what was taught in God's Word. This was a
serious concern.

We struggled for years with our oldest daughter, Nicole, and her
academic performance. This problem continued right into her high
school years. Also, we tried to communicate to all of our
children God's standards for their lives. One specific standard
related to dating.

It was in this area we faced conflict with our daughter during
her junior year. She had never wanted to date until then. We
knew, with some reassurance from a counselor, that God only
wanted her to date Christians.

Our daughter began seeing a young man. He was very nice and
polite. The relationship went on for about 2 months. We
continued to ask Nicole if this boy was a believer. Her
response: "I don't know yet." He had talked to her a little
about going to church and knew she also attended. So, we felt it
was time to talk with him. We needed to explain what we and God
wanted in their relationship. Nicole was a believer. So, we
believed God did not want her to be in an "unequally-yoked"
relationship that could one day end in marriage.

After that day, we began praying for the young man's salvation.
We also prayed that, if he was a believer, God would restore his
heart. We also prayed that our stand would not cause him to be
bitter towards God. This was a very painful and delicate
situation, not only for our daughter, but also for us. Nicole
had already grown closer to him. Much to our amazement, God
began a work in this young man's heart. After about 2 months,
Nicole and Joanne were very burdened for him. The Lord keep
placing him upon our hearts. We decided to allow Nicole to
contact him, only to see if he was OK.

This gave Nicole a chance to share the testimony of her
salvation with him. He explained that he had been searching for
some answers about Christ from friends, and especially one who
was a youth worker. He also was asking some questions of
Jehovah's Witness. He was to be given a Bible from them, which
he had committed to read. We found out that this young man had
accepted the Lord, but had never been discipled or supported.

From that time until today, he consistently attended church and
youth ministry. This is not because he is forced to. It is
because he loves the Lord and wants to attend. What a blessing
it has been to see him growing in the Lord.

During the period we required Nicole to stop seeing him. It was
a very painful situation. Although it did not feel good to see
our daughter hurting, we knew we were doing what God wanted us
to do. It was a wonderful blessing to see the Lord encourage our
daughter. And this encouragement was in the same areas where we
had struggled with her. We were very proud of her this year. She
made honor roll, something we thought was out of reach for her.
The Lord also gave her a ministry in music. We thank God for
this.

There is so much more we could share. The most important point
is, we are not perfect parents. Our kids are not perfect kids.
There have been many trials and tribulations which we have had
to deal with. We feel it was, and still is, very important
during these times to teach and apply God's word to each
situation. This must be done as we face different situations
with our children. As it says in Deuteronomy 6:6-7: "These
commandments I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them upon your children. Talk to them when you sit at
home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and
when you get up."

We believe as problems arise, they present us with an
opportunity to teach our children. We show them what the Lord
would have them do or how He wants them to react. Through these
times, we can also cultivating our relationship with them. We
can continue learning how to love them unconditionally. May you
experience the same opportunities.

Biblical Studies
New In Christ
New In Christ
You have just started a new adventure. You have accepted Christ
as your savior. Join us an a mission to new ideas. Meet new
people. Go where you have never gone before. Presented for your
consideration ...

NEW IN CHRIST

"God's Word For The Christian Teenager"

By Mr. and Mrs. Clarence A. Elzinga
Galesburg, Michigan


When choosing entertainment ... Abstain from all appearance of
evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

When ridiculed for witnessing ... "And they departed from the
presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy
to suffer shame for his name" (Acts 5:41).

When instructed by parents ... "Children, obey your parents in
the Lord: for this is right" (Ephesians 6:1)

When tempted to smoke ... "An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and
in his lips there is as a burning fire" (Proverbs 16:27). "Know
ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16).

When taking a test ... "Pray for us: for we trust we have a good
conscience, in all things willing to live honestly" (Hebrews
13:18).

When speaking to others ... "To speak evil of no man, to be no
brawlers, but gently, shewing all meekness unto all men" (Titus
3:2).

When participating in sports ... "And if a man also strive for
masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully" (2
Timothy 2:5).

When tempted to drink beer, wine or liquor ... "But Daniel
purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the
portion of the King's meat, nor with the wine which he drank:
therefore he requested of the prince of eunuches that he might
not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8). "At the last it biteth like a
serpent, and stingeth like an adder" (Proverbs 23:32).

When planning for the future ... "Order my steps in thy word:
and let not any iniquity have dominion over me" (Psalms 119:133).

When choosing companions ... "Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"
(2 Corinthians 6:14).


God has a plan for YOU! He earnestly desires to work out this
plan in your life. Don't spoil the plan! Just ask yourself the
question, "What would Jesus do?"

Remember God loves us as His children. We love Him as our
Father but we also fear His wrath.

"And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you
as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening the
Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord
loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If we endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for
what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be
without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye
bastards, and not sons.

Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us,
and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own
pleasure, but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of
his holiness.

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but
grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable
fruit of righteousness unto them which be exercised thereby."
(Hebrews 12:5-11).

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,
If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him"
(1 John 2:15).

"Let no man despise thy youth; but he thou an example of the
believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in
faith in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12).

The Christian Teen-ager must be as different from the world as
the world is different from the Bible.
Old Testament Study
Old Testament Study
OLD TESTAMENT STUDY

SOLOMON'S PROVERBS ON RAISING CHILDREN
by Randall Hillebrand

"To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of
understanding, To receive instruction in wise behavior,
Righteousness, justice and equity; To give prudence to the
naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, A wise man will
hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will
acquire wise counsel, To understand a proverb and a figure, The
words of the wise and their riddles." (Proverbs 1:2-6)

Solomon tells us that it is a good thing to study proverbs. This
is because proverbs is filled with wisdom and instruction through
which one can increase in learning and acquire wise counsel; where
one can discover sayings of understanding and be taught wise
behavior. This is why I chose to glean the Book of Proverbs for
bits of wisdom on the proper way in which to raise children, in a
manner pleasing to God. Also, as the proverb above states, "To the
youth knowledge and discretion" come from their learning and
understanding of proverbs. So the first piece of wisdom that I see
Proverbs teaching on the raising of children is that it is very
profitable to teach one's children the proverbs contained in this
book. Not only would it be profitable to teach from this book, but
from all of the wisdom literature in the Old Testament for the
understanding which they will receive.

To take it even a step further, we know that not only is wisdom
literature profitable for teaching, but that "All Scripture is
inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for
correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God
may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (II Timothy
3:16-17). So, we should teach all scripture to our children,
keeping in mind the application derived from Deuteronomy 6:4-7,
which is an exhortation to love God with everything we have, to
keep in our heart the word of God, and to diligently teach the
scriptures to our children at all times ("when you sit in your
house and walk by the way and when you lie down and when you
rise up." vs. 7).

Maybe Deuteronomy 6:4-7 was in the back of Solomon's mind when
he wrote Proverbs 1:8-9 which says, "Hear, my son, your father's
instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching; indeed,
they are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments about
your neck." Where Deuteronomy 6:4-7 is an injunction to parents,
Proverbs 1:8 is an injunction to children.

Solomon is not only telling them to listen to their father's
instruction, but this verse has the idea of obeying them also.
So when the father gives instructions, the children carry them
out. The children are also told not to forsake or abandon their
mother's teachings, probably meaning the teachings of the
scriptures which were usually part of the mother's duties since
the father did not always have the time to do so. So as the
parents are told to teach, the children are told to listen and
respond.

Verse 9 gives the results of children that abide by verse 8, which
is that "they are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments
about your neck." In other words, they are something to be
displayed because of their value and they are prize possessions
that bring pride to their parents. Any parent would be happy and
proud to display their children for others to see if they are
obedient.

The next proverb which shed light on the raising of children was
Proverb 1:7. Here we see that "the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge;" but "fools despise wisdom and
instruction." Solomon's use of the phrase, "fear of the Lord,"
has more than just the idea of fear. When the Israelite used this
word fear (Hebrew -"yare'") with respect to God, it had the idea
of the highest reverence and respect combined with love that a
child could have for a parent. The aspect of fear was still there,
but because of the expression of love involved, it became more of
an awe toward God; a fear without torment. (Kufeldt 475).

This is what we are to teach our children when teaching them the
fear of God, not a type of fear that causes them to go and hide in
a corner from, nor attempt to lie to God every time they sin
because of their fear that God will be cruel and mean toward them.
This kind of fear knows that God will chastise the disobedient,
but also knows that it is for their best. So having this type of
fear is the beginning of knowledge, because understanding what it
means to fear God is in itself an important piece of knowledge to
have. But also, having a fear of God shows that one believes in
God, which gives him the ability to grow closer to and learn more
about God, which is the beginning of true knowledge.

So the second thing we need to do as parents is to teach our
children the "fear of God" which "is the beginning of knowledge,
"otherwise we will have children who are fools, 'fools' who will
"despise wisdom and instruction." The word instruction here has
the idea of discipline, correction, chastisement, which says
that these are the kind of things that they despise. The man
who despises these things will live a life that is undisciplined
and irresponsible, a life that is full of one mishap after
another because he has not learned the fear of God and put God
in His proper place.

The Book of Proverbs has a number of things to say about the
discipline of children. We will even see that in some of the
proverbs, the rod will be discussed as a tool of discipline,
challenging some today that would say that when a child
misbehaves we should talk to him or her, but never spank. This
would especially challenge those today that say children should
not even be disciplined by talking to them because we may hinder
their creative abilities. But as we will see, Solomon disagrees
with this philosophy of child rearing.

Proverbs 23:13 brings Solomon's view across vividly when he
says, "Do not hold back discipline from the child, although you
beat him with the rod, he will not die." The word "beat" here
has the idea of smiting or striking with a powerful effect. It
is not talking about a couple pats on the child's behind. And
as Solomon states further, "he will not die." Some may say,
that's too cruel, children do not need a spanking like that.
Yes, there is some truth in that. All children are different
and they all respond to discipline in different ways.

But Solomon has a very good reason for this as can be seen in
the next verse. He says, "You shall beat him with the rod, and
deliver his soul from Sheol." I believe this truth can be seen
in Proverbs 22:6 where Solomon says, "Train up a child in the
way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from
it." If a child is trained in the way he should go, which
includes a fear of God, teaching about God and discipline to
keep his way straight, then we are told that "when he is old he
will not depart from it."

In other words, what one learns as a child will in most cases be
lived out by that person in adulthood. So an undisciplined
child will in most cases turn out to be an undisciplined adult,
as a disciplined child will probably be disciplined as an adult.

Solomon is just letting parents know that the discipling of
their children has eternal consequences (delivering them from
Sheol). Solomon further tells us in Proverbs 13:24 that the one
"who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him
disciplines him diligently."

The word "diligently" means to look for early. So it is not the
kind of situation where the parents discipline the child when
they get around to it, but it is an immediate handling of
disciplinary action. Solomon also says, "Discipline your son
while there is hope." (Proverbs 19:18) A literal translation
might be, "Discipline your son for there is hope." Solomon is
telling us here that there is hope for our children if they are
disciplined. He states further in that verse, "And do not
desire his death," or in other words, do not set your heart on
his destruction. Do not make the decision that he is a hopeless
case without trying to help him." (Kufeldt 548) Again trying to
help this child can be done through discipline as stated in this
verse and two others that we will be looking at.

Proverbs 22:15 tells us that "foolishness is bound up in the
heart of a child," but there is hope as stated above. What is
that hope? That hope is seen in the latter part of this verse
which says, "the rod of discipline will remove it far from him."
The foolishness that the discipline will remove can be defined
as silliness or folly; acting in such a way so as to be
irresponsible in their acts and behavior.

Another instance where discipline brings hope is in the case of the
one who forsakes his way. Solomon tells us that "stern discipline
is for him who forsakes the way" and that "he who hates reproof
will die." (Proverbs 15:10). This verse is true for any age, but
with our specific application to children, we can see that a child
that forsakes or decides to leave the way can be brought back
through the use of discipline.

What is Solomon talking about when he talks about him that
forsakes the way? From the context it seems as though he is
talking about forsaking the way of God -- going your own way and
doing your own thing. In the case of a child, not obeying his
parents, which is a direct sin against God assuming that the
parents are not having the child go against the moral law of
God. The latter part of the verse makes it clear that he who
hates reproof or correction is headed for death. This is
because the child in our case is not listening to the parents'
reproof, which shows his lack of sense. By not listening to the
parents, the child may never consider the things of God in his
life, which will definitely lead to spiritual death. From a
physical standpoint, the child may not listen to the parent's
reproof about the proper way to cross a street. This could
later end in the child's death because he did not look both ways
before crossing as he was told.

Solomon further states along these lines that "whoever loves
discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid."
(Proverbs 12:1). In the case of the child above, if he would be
one that loves discipline (knowing that it is for his best), it
would then be true that he has a love for knowledge because he
understands that when discipline is applied, there is a definite
lesson to be learned for future living. He would be happy to be
set straight each time he falters, knowing that this discipline
would keep him living a life pleasing to God.

As the child above may run out in front of a car someday because
he did not listen to his parents' reproof, the child who loves
discipline would not do that because he would have taken heed to
past warnings. Solomon says that the child who hates reproof is
stupid. He is stupid because if he is not reproved, he will not
learn. So we can say that this child hates knowledge because he
does not want to learn from his past mistakes.

Along these same lines, Proverbs 13:1 tells us that "a wise son
accepts his father's discipline, but a scoffer does not listen
to rebuke." Why does the wise son accept his father's
discipline? Because his father's discipline is knowledge for the
son to live by as stated previously. But the scoffer, one who
intensely looks down at others, does not listen to rebuke. This
is because the scoffer sees himself above everyone else and
above anything that they would have to tell him. So when the
scoffer is rebuked for wrongdoings, it means nothing to him
since he would never make a mistake. He, as the child above
that hates reproof, is himself stupid.

Relating to the son accepting his father's discipline, Solomon
tells his son not to reject God's discipline. He says, "my son,
do not reject the discipline of the Lord, or loathe His reproof,
for whom the Lord loves he reproves, even as a father, the son
in whom he delights." (Proverbs 3:11-12).

Parents need to have good communication with their children so
that they can discuss pretty much anything and everything with
them. This can come in handy by being able to help the child
see God working in his life, whether in the area of discipline
or blessing to the child. If the parents are keen to the
happenings in the child's life, they may be able to see if the
child is rejecting the Lord's discipline or loathing His
reproof.

In other words, to see if the child is rejecting the Lord's
discipline by continuing in the sin that the Lord just
disciplined him for, indicating no regard for the Lord or for
his discipline. Also to watch and see if the child is loathing
the Lord's reproof which means basically having a hatred, or
sickening and intense fear toward that reproof. Reproof being an
understanding of the sin committed as well as any actions that
need to be taken because of and/or against that sin.

We need to show our children that God has a good reason to
discipline and reprove them and us alike. This reason is seen
in verse 12 when Solomon says, "for whom the Lord loves He
reproves, even as a father, the son in whom he delights." God
disciplines because he loves us. Not only does he love us, but
he loves us as a father loves his child in whom he finds great
pleasure.

Lastly in considering the area of discipline, Solomon tells us
that "the rod of reproof gives wisdom, but a child who gets his
own way brings shame to his mother." (Proverbs 29:15). What
Solomon is telling us here is that through discipline of our
children, they will learn the proper way in which to act. They
will learn to fear God, to respect their parents, and how to
live a valuable life for God and others.

As can be seen from the latter part of this verse, the child who
is not disciplined but gets his own way and does what he wants
will do nothing but bring shame to his mother. This is so
because this kind of a child becomes nothing more than a
self-centered, uncaring and disrespectful person that brings no
honor to his family, especially his mother. This kind of child,
besides bringing his mother shame, also brings her grief; and he
despises her (Proverbs 10:1; 15:20).

This kind of a child is nothing but a heartache to his mother,
who shows his dislike towards her by being foolish in his ways
and by bringing her sorrow and shame at the mention of his name.
This type of child is a disgrace to this whole family in
contrast to a child who has learned from the rod of reproof.
When the rod of reproof is used in such a way so as to bring
wisdom to the child, proverbs say that it makes his father glad
(Proverbs 10:1; 15:20).

As can be seen from the above discussion on discipline,
discipline is very important in the rearing of children. So the
third thing parents need to do in the raising of their children
is to discipline them, using a rod when necessary. I will end
this section on discipline by quoting Proverbs 29:17, "Correct
your son, and he will give you comfort; He will also delight
your soul."

Two other important truths of Proverbs that I believe a child
should know will now be discussed. The first one is seen in
Proverbs 14:12 which says, "there is a way which seems right to
a man, but its end is the way of death."

We need to teach our children that the word of God is our
authority and that we need to check everything against it. Just
because a way seems right to us does not mean that it is the way
that God wants us to go. God may very well want us to go in the
other direction.

The other verse is Proverbs 22:1, which states, "a good name is
to be more desired than great riches, favor is better than
silver and gold." Here Solomon is stating that a good name in
the sight of men is more important than riches because riches
may not last. Also, if your riches do not last, your friends
may not either; but with a good name it does not matter if you
are rich or poor because you will have friends not because of
what you have, but because of who you are.

Solomon also states that favor (meaning grace or charm) is
better than silver and gold because one's grace can go much
farther than silver or gold. Especially for a person who is
poor; if he has grace, he can win people to himself and to his
cause.

So if our children grow in the grace and knowledge of God and
have a good name and favor among men, they will have things that
are important in God's eyes. They will also understand that
wealth is not everything and that their pursuit of it, bypassing
the things of God, is nothing but striving after the wind.

To summarize on raising children according to Proverbs, we need
to remember the following:

(1) Teach children the scriptures according to Deuteronomy 6:4-7.

(2) Teach children what it means to fear God.

(3) Discipline children:
  a) To deliver their souls from Sheol.
  b) To train them up in the way they should go.
  c) Because you love them.
  d) As soon as the child misbehaves.
  e) While there is still hope.
  f) To remove foolishness from them.
  g) If they forsake the way.
  h) To add to their knowledge for living.
  i) Because it gives them wisdom.
  j) So they do not bring shame and disgrace to their mother.
  k) So your children will not grow up despising their mother.
  l) So they will bring you comfort and delight to your soul.

(4) Teach children that the word of God is to be their standard
    by which to live.

(5) Teach children that a good name and favor are more important
    than riches and gold and silver.

(Note: The two references used in this paper were taken from The
Wesleyan Bible Commentary, Volume II.)

Copyright 1989 by Randy Hillebrand

You are allowed to reproduce this article only in its entirety
and without additions or deletions.
Special Studies
Special Studies
THE REVELATION OF GOD THROUGH HIS KENOSIS

Dr. Charles A. Wootten
Whole Counsel Ministries, Inc.


In a great act of condescension and self-humbling, Jesus, "Who,
being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the
very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and
became obedient to death -- even death on a cross!" (Philippians
2:6-8 NIV). All of this was for our salvation. The Revelation of
God here is firmly sealed in the "grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became
poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (II
Corinthians 8:9 NIV). This is not only the stated fact of the
incarnation but its meaning.

The kenosis theory, a view propounded by Bishop Gore in 1889,
stated that Jesus had to empty Himself of some Divine qualities.
This is a fallacy because God could not give up what was His.
The Scriptures, especially the New Testament testimony,
repeatedly, emphatically, shows the omnipotence and omnipresence
and omniscience of Him (see also Matthew 28:18, John 21:17,
Ephesians 4:10). The impression of Jesus that the Gospels give
is not that He was without these qualities, but that He drew on
them intermittently, while being content much of the time not to
do so. This is so obvious a testimony of Divine capacities
restrained rather than Divine capacities discarded.

The real kenosis is a laying aside of glory for an acceptance of
hardship, isolation, ill-treatment, malice and the sins of the
world so that through His poverty we might become rich. The
Revelation of God here is a serious, wonderful manifestation of
Love, Tender Mercy, and Grace in all meanings.

Thus, the kenosis became flesh in a manger in Bethlehem. In his
book, Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim remarks that "He was
to be revealed from Migdal Eder, 'the tower of the flock.' This
Migdal Eder was not the watch- tower for the ordinary flocks
which pastured on the barren sheep-ground beyond Bethlehem, but
lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem. A passage in
the Mishnah leads to the conclusion, that the flocks, which
pastured there, were destined for Temple-sacrifices, and,
accordingly, that the shepherds, who watched over them, were not
ordinary shepherds. The latter were under the ban of Rabbinism,
on account of their necessary isolation from religious
ordinances, and their manner of life, which rendered strict
legal observance unlikely, if not absolutely impossible. This
same Mishnic passage also leads us to infer, that these flocks
lay out all the year round, since they are spoken of as in the
fields thirty days before the Passover that is, in the month of
February, when in Palestine the average rainfall is nearly
greatest. It was ... the very place consecrated by tradition as
that where the Messiah was to be first revealed." The doctrine
of grace, mercy, and redemption was even shown in the witness of
shepherds.

After the time of her purification was complete (see Leviticus
12) Mary took the child Jesus to be circumcised. She presented
Him in the Temple according to the Law. She offered up a
sin-offering for the Levitical defilement, symbolically
attaching to the beginning of life. Also offered was a burnt
offering which marked the restoration of communion with God. She
could again partake of the sacred offerings as, through prayer
and praise and offerings with a grateful heart, she was declared
Levitically clean. Luke chapter 2 shows the prayers of
thanksgiving and of prophecy from Simeon and Anna all combine to
stress the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. The thought is:
If He were only God and not man, there would be no need to go
through the required ritual. The painful circumcision was only a
very small part of His true kenosis.

This was the first of the requirements of being human just like
any other male. Jesus passed through the various stages of
growth like anyone else. Since we have no accurate history of
His childhood, we can infer that His growth and development were
according to the laws of nature and the training He received in
a Godly home. We are sure that in His later years, much of His
knowledge was via Divine Revelation. But, according to the Law,
His entire being was the handiwork of God. As such, He was
totally subject to the Law of God.

The Revelation of God shown here is: There is not an area of
man's life and being that can be held in reservation from God
and His Law. In order to know what the Law is, all of us, and
this included our Lord during His youth, have to acknowledge
that education in the law is basic to and inseparable from both
obedience to the law and worship. This could be taken a step
further in our lives by saying that anything other than a
Biblically grounded schooling is an act of apostasy for a
believer.

In order for Jesus to handle and dispense the keys of the
kingdom during His ministry, He had to have been educated in the
Law. He came to understand that these keys were inseparable from
the Law, and the faithful declaration of the law. This was
because they were the law as the only instrument of true power
under God.

Eusebius (Proof of the Gospel, X/1) states "we recognize Him
(Jesus) as the Word of God, the Power of God, the Wisdom of God,
the Angel of the Great Counsel, and the Great Eternal High
Priest, offering sacrifice for the existence and preservation of
all, and propitiating the Father. And as Human we know Him as
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, as a
sheep led to the slaughter. And this was the human body, which
as a high priest He took like a lamb or sheep from the flock of
humanity, and offering the firstfruits of the human race,
sacrificed them to the Father. By it He entered into human
nature, which could only thus perceive the Word of God, and His
spiritual unembodied power, being able with eyes of flesh to see
nothing higher than flesh and physical things. So that
everything that follows, which may seem to lower His glory, must
be taken as conceived of the Lamb of God that takes away the sin
of the world, and of His human body."

The revelation of the humanity of Jesus Christ is shown in that
He was subject to the ordinary laws of human development. To all
eyewitnesses He had the appearance of a man in all respects. The
difference in this carnal nature is that it was sinless (1 Peter
2:22: "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his
mouth."). By His incarnation, the kenosis, Jesus Christ came
into possession of a real, human, physical nature consisting of
spirit, soul, and body. This gave to Him a true humanity. W.
Evans in his The Great Doctrines of the Bible says, "There is
not a note in the great organ of our humanity which, when
touched, does not find a sympathetic vibration in the mighty
range and scope of our Lord's being, saving, of course, the
jarring discord of sin." As we read in the Scriptures to form a
life of Christ we see Him subject to the ordinary physical
limitations of human nature, such as hunger, thirst, weariness,
pain, and death.

"Christ possessed no moral limitations which were due to sin or
which involved the possibility of sinning. This must be true, or
the plan of redemption would be always liable to failure. Our
Lord was the Lamb 'ordained before the foundation of the world!'
A lamb to be accepted for sacrifice must be 'without spot or
blemish.' As the antitype, the Christ must be sinless from an
essential point, and without sin because of victory over it. Had
he yielded to temptation and sinned, His fall could not have
changed the fact that He had been ordained as the Lamb of God.
If that ordination remained, we should have the fixed, ordained
Lamb of God guilty of sin and denying the very demand of both
type and principle that He should be without sin. He could not
be man's Redeemer.

"The Scriptures give no warrant for the teaching that our Lord
might have sinned. The illustrations from Satan and Adam cannot
come into court. Satan was a created angel; Adam was not the
begotten Son of God, but a creation of God. Our Lord Jesus
Christ was not a created angel; He was not a created man. He was
begotten of God by and through the Holy Spirit from the seed of
the woman. That which was begotten was not a person but a
nature, a human nature. This human nature was holy. It was in
its quality the holiness of God. Since its quality was the
holiness of God, there was no sin in it and no possible tendency
to sin. This holy, sinless, human nature was indissolubly joined
to the personality of the Son. His human nature could not have
sinned without the consent of His unique person.

"Since the personality of our Lord Jesus Christ is the
personality of God, it was impossible for Him to consent to sin.
Since His personality could not consent to sin, it was
impossible for Him in His human nature (seeing that human nature
was inseparably joined to His personality) to have sinned."
(Emery H. Bancroft, Elemental Theology, pp. 135-136).

The kenosis, that emptying of Himself for us, is not an easy
concept to discuss. This is a concept to be believed in the
spirit, trusting that God is Whom He says He is, and depending
on Him for the faith to do it.

The next discussion shall center around the revelation of God
through baptism.
Messianic Studies
Messianic Studies
The Messianic Studies column explores the world of the Messianic
Believer. Like the church at large, Messianic Judaism contains
much diversity. It is made up of numerous views as to what it
means to be a Messianic Jew, who we are, what we call ourselves
and what we believe. This column will be used to explore this
variety, giving the reader a broader perspective of Messianic
Judaism than found elsewhere, exposing those of us who are
Messianic Believers to the wide spectrum of practice found
within the movement. Hopefully we will succeed in helping our
Jewish brothers and sisters to understand why we follow Yeshua
as our savior.


We also hope that what is provided here will give our gentile
readers both a better understanding of their Jewish brothers and
sisters in Christ, as well as the Jewish roots of their own
faith.



BASIC DOCTRINES OF SALVATION

From "The Roots of Our Faith" series
By Chuck and Karen Cohen
Jerusalem, Israel


"...I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which
are written in the Law and in the Prophets." (Acts 24:14)

Messianic term used in this teaching:

Yeshua = Jesus
Messiah = Christ
Tanach = Old Testament

(Unless stated otherwise, all scripture verses are from the New
King James Version)


All of the basic doctrines of the New Testament have their roots
deep in the Tanach. It is hard to understand the full meaning of
these doctrines unless we dig into their Hebraic soil. This
background permeated the hearts and minds of Yeshua and the New
Testament writers. Only with this foundation could they
"fulfill" the Tanach (i.e., explain the true meaning) from a
spirit-anointed point of view.

The next several articles the "Roots" series will explore some
basic doctrines pertaining to salvation. Specifically, we will
examine what the Tanach says about grace, faith, blood atonement
and forgiveness.

To give an overall picture, we will start with the Feast of the
Lord known as Pesach, or Passover. This particular feast, the
first of the seven yearly celebrations mentioned in Leviticus
23, is a dynamic picture of salvation by grace through faith in
the blood of the Lamb. The whole story of Israel's redemption
from the bondage of Pharaoh and subsequent freedom to receive
God's law at Mt. Sinai is a pictorial type of our redemption
from the clutches of sin and Satan and our freedom to live under
God's rule. Paul also, uses Tanach scriptures for examples of
our walk with the Lord. Thus, this is legitimate exegesis (I
Cor. 10:11).

Besides teaching us spiritual truths, Tanach stories recount the
penetration of world history by the God of the universe, the God
of Israel. These episodes actually happened to a real flesh and
blood people. Israel is never just a symbol.


Background of the Passover

As the book of Exodus opens, Israel finds herself in severe
bondage to cruel taskmasters under a tyrant who is using them to
build a kingdom and glorify himself. God hears their cries and
chooses a man whom He can use as His ambassador, an instrument
to set His people free. Moses, who in many ways is a type of
Yeshua (see Deut. 18:15-19), is sent as God's prophet to say to
the god of this world, "Let My people go!" The Lord knows that
Pharaoh will not listen (Ex. 3:19). Pharaoh hardens his heart.
Then God stiffens Pharaoh's chosen state of heart, allowing
ample opportunity for God to display His power and turn many to
Him.

This process, found in both Exodus 9:16 and Romans 9:17, is a
clear attestation of God's sovereignty in the affairs of men
(see Dan. 4:17, 25, 32, 35; 5:21). It is also an attack against
the concept of dualism, i.e., that there is in the universe a
good force and an evil force fighting for the souls of men. This
doctrine is basic to many religions but cannot stand in the
light of the Scriptures which declare that our God is the Lord
of heaven and earth (Ex. 8:22; Ps. 2:1-9; Isa. 40:17-26;
Matt.11:25; Acts 10:36).

We are all familiar with the story of the ten plagues the Lord
sent upon Egypt (Ex. 7:14-12:30). Each of these plagues was a
specific attack on the gods of Egypt, the last being on the
future god-king of Egypt, Pharaoh's son (Ex. 12:12). Note two
items that might be overlooked in all this excitement.

1. After three plagues the "Israeli" neighborhood of Goshen was
set apart. God protected His people from His wrath to
demonstrate His Lordship to the Egyptians (Ex. 8:22,23; 9:4,26;
10:23; 11:7). Believers also live protected from God's wrath. We
face the wrath of man (Jn. 16:33), and the discipline of our
Father (Heb. 12:511), but in Yeshua, we will escape the wrath
God will pour out on this world (I Th. 5:9).

2. God's judgments were for the specific purpose of redemption;
not just Israel's, but also that of the Egyptians! The Lord
states nine times that He sends these plagues so that "he
Egyptians may know that I am the LORD" (Ex. 7:5,17; 8:10,19, 22:
9:14,29;14:4,18). This is an example of Ps. 9:16, "The LORD is
known by the judgment He executes".

Our God still executes judgment on Israel's behalf and will
continue to do so until the whole world knows that He is the
Lord (Ps. 98:3; Rom. 11:15). On the cross, the Father executed
His righteous judgment on our sin, which was laid on Messiah
Yeshua (Isa. 53:4-6). Not only by this do we possess the
knowledge that God is faithful, just, loving and merciful, but
we also now have a heart knowledge of Him. His judgment on our
sin removed the barrier, the veil. Now we enjoy a mutual love
relationship with Him (Isa. 59,1,2).


Exodus 12 - The First Passover

As we examine certain verses in Exodus 12, the Egyptian
Passover, we will see how they not only relate to our salvation
through Yeshua, but bring out facets of God's glorious
redemption that the New Testament alone does not. The reason the
New Testament does not expand on many root issues is that all
its writers, as well as the Spirit of God, assume that believers
will study and know Yeshua's Bible, the Old Testament as their
foundational scriptures (see 2 Tim. 3:16,17 and the first
"Roots" article).

v. 1.2
By telling Moses and Aaron that "this month... shall be the
first month of the year to you", God indicates that this
redemption from bondage in Egypt will mark the start of a new
life. We also start a new life when we accept the sacrifice of
our Lamb and become "new creatures in Messiah"
(2 Cor. 5:17).

v. 5
The "lamb without blemish" is a type of the Messiah as a man
without sin (Heb. 4:15). In the life of sheep, a "male of the
first year" is in the prime of his life as was Yeshua at 33,
when He was sacrificed.

v. 6
The lamb was examined for four days to see if there was any
defect in it, then it was killed. Yeshua walked and taught
openly throughout the land of Israel for three years (and some
months) so all could examine Him. He once asked, "Which of you
convicts Me of sin?" (Jn. 8:46) None. He is the spotless Lamb of
God (1 Pet. 1:19).

v. 8-11
Israel is commanded to eat the flesh of the lamb, which is
described in v. 11 as "the LORD's Passover". Compare this with
vv. 21 and 27. God speaks of the lamb when He uses the term "The
Passover". Paul, by the Holy Spirit said, "Messiah our Passover
was sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7). Calling Yeshua "our
Passover" is identical to calling Him "the Lamb of God", the
title used for Yeshua more often than any other in the New
Testament except for "the Messiah", "the Christ" (Jn. 1:41).
"Messiah our Passover was sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7) makes
perfect sense with this background of Exodus 12 in mind.

The Last Supper, which was a Passover Seder, the meal
commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, has its roots in Exodus 12.
Yeshua broke the bread and told His disciples to eat it. "This
is My body..." (Lk. 22:19). This bread, called "the bread of
affliction" in the Seder. was unleavened as commanded in Ex.
12:X. Leaven represents the power of sin (I Cor. 5:6-8). Yeshua,
the sinless Lamb, used unleavened bread to represent His body.
At the Seder, Jewish tradition calls the cup of wine after
supper "the cup of Messianic redemption". Yeshua said this cup
now represents His blood that seals the New Covenant promised in
Jer. 31:31-34 (Lk. 22:20). "And they overcame him ("...that old
serpent, called the Devil and Satan...", v.9) by the blood of
the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not
their lives unto the death" (Rev. 12:11 KJV)

v. 12
This verse reminds us who destroys evil. The Lord says, " will
pass through... Egypt, and (I) will strike all the firstborn...
and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am
the LORD" (emphasis ours). If we compare this with vv. 13, 23,
27 and 29 we see that only in v. 23 is there reference to "the
destroyer". This is not Satan! Satan would not destroy his own
kingdom, rooted so firmly in Egypt! God says four times that He
Himself is the destroyer of Egypt's gods. This is none other
than the pre-incarnate Son of God Who destroyed the works of the
devil in our lives at His first coming (1 ln. 3:8) and will
totally destroy Satan's kingdom when He returns (Rev. 11:15-17;
19 21)!

v. 13
The children of Israel were commanded in v. 7 to apply the blood
of the Passover lamb to the door frames of their houses, then
they were to go inside and eat the Passover meal. Once inside,
they would no longer see the blood. The blood was a sign for
God. The Hebrew word for "sign" is "ot" and can also be
translated as "token", "flag", "monument" or "miracle". The
inference here is that God the Father is looking for the blood
of His Son applied to our lives and when He sees it, He not only
passes over us, i.e., does not allow His wrath to fall on us,
but He also protects us when it falls on the world. Yeshua
presented His blood to His Father and the Father accepted it
(Ac. 20:28; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:12,22). We only need to trust in
His sacrifice.

Another similarity to our salvation is that, unlike the later
sacrificial system, the Passover was a "once for-all"
deliverance within enemy territory! "Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; ...You
prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies... my
cup runs over." (Ps. 23:4,5)

In the rest of this chapter the children of Israel are commanded
to keep this meal to remember God's redemption for ever. Both
Jews and the Gentiles who joined themselves to the house of
Israel were to keep this feast (vv. 19, 47-49) as a way to teach
the next generation about God's goodness and power (vv. 26,27).
We teach this when we keep the Passover as well as when we
celebrate Communion. "For as often as you eat this bread and
drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death [redemption from
spiritual Egypt] until He comes" (I Cor. 11:26).

The scripture passage instructing God's children to keep a
yearly Passover observance is Exodus 12:25-27: "It will come to
pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you,
just as He promised, that you shall keep this service.... when
your children shall say to you, 'What do you mean by this
service?' that you shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice of
the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel
in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our
households.' So the people bowed their heads and worshipped." If
you can join one this year, you will find it edifying and
exciting. "...knowing that you were not redeemed with
corruptible things ...but with the precious blood of Messiah, as
of a lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Pet. 1:18,19).


Conclusion

We stated that Passover "is a dynamic picture of salvation by
grace through faith in the blood of the Lamb." It was by grace
because it was God who delivered the children of Israel when,
through faith, they obeyed His instructions to apply the blood.
They rested and ate under its protection until the Lord Himself
destroyed His and Israel's enemy. Applying the blood of God's
Passover Lamb, resting in Him, partaking of Him and remaining
under His protection, we "Stand still and see the salvation of
the LORD" (Ex. 14:13). The basics of salvation in both the
Tanach and the New Testament are the same.

"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who
trusts in Him! (Ps. 34:8)

"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
(Jn. 1:29)


Chuck Cohen is on the Pastoral Staff of King of Kings Assembly,
Jerusalem. Please feel free to copy and disseminate this
information.
The WORD for Today
The WORD for Today
In Hebrews 10:25 we read "Let us not give up meeting together,
as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one
another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." The
responsibility of all Christians is to encourage one another.

This series is intended to help provide some guidelines in the
process of encouragement. The book, ENCOURAGEMENT, THE KEY TO
CARING, by Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr., and Dan B. Allender, is
recommended reading with the series. Each message can be read in
conjunction to the related chapter in the book. The series can
be used as the basis of a group study in your church. Please let
us know if you find the material helpful or if you have any
questions or suggestions. The article presented here is the
fifth of fourteen messages given by Pastor Geoff Kragen. They
were presented at Foothill Bible Church in Lincoln, California.


"MIRROR, MIRROR ... WHO'S THE FAIREST ... ?"

"Encouragement is the kind of expression that helps someone want
to be a better Christian, even when life is rough." (1)

The young woman looked in the mirror. "My hair is nice. I do
have good eyes. I've been very lucky to have clear skin. But ...
I'm so heavy. If only I could lose another twenty pounds, then
I'd be beautiful. David would really notice me then. Maybe he'd
take me to the senior prom. That would be so wonderful. We could
date. We could get married. Then I could have my own life. -- If
only I could lose twenty more pounds! -- If only I could ..."

If you're quiet, you can come into the room. She won't notice
you. See how she looks into the mirror. What do you suppose she
is thinking about? She looks so sad. Her eyes are so dull, like
they have seen too much pain. Her complexion is sallow, her hair
dray and stringy. The most tragic thing of all, however is how
thin she is. You can see her bones right through her skin.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest of them all? This
young lady is not seeing the real person in the mirror. She
doesn't see herself accurately. This young person suffers from
anorexia. She is starving herself to death. Her life is
controlled by others. Using food, she has finally found an area
in which she has reclaimed power. She doesn't understand this.
She believes she is fat and wants to diet to be more attractive.
As she looks into the mirror, all she sees is a fat little
thirteen year old. She may never see fourteen. She is a real
person. Who is she? I don't know.

There a many young girls who are killing themselves because of
an inaccurate self-image. The problem is so prevalent that the
comic strip "Luann" has used an anorexic character to help the
reader identify the danger of the problem. This is the extreme
example of lacking an accurate self-image.

How does this problem apply to our desire to encourage? I
suspect that your saying, "I can't help encourage someone with
this problem." And, your right. You can't. I'm providing this
example to show just how deluded people can become. The point is
that we all have areas that, when reflected in our mirrors, may
show something equally inaccurate.

As we have considered the different aspects of encouragement in
previous issues of Morning Star, we have focused on some factors
related to both personal and corporate areas. We have seen that
both open and closed environments don't really contribute to the
process. What is necessary for encouragement to flourish is an
environment of total commitment. Before we can to be committed
to others however, we must first be aware of the factors in our
lives that can prevent this.

Encouragement is the first level of counseling, if we consider
counseling a specific form of discipleship. The purpose of
discipleship is to conform one another to the image of Christ.
To do so, we need to see where we are, and where we are headed.
And we need to help those we encourage make the same
self-examination. The spirit in which we encourage requires a
particular type of self-awareness. This can be defined as having
an accurate self-image. It is the accurate self-image that
allows us to root out those behaviors and beliefs that could
affect the level of our commitment.

Encouragement requires a willingness to be unselfish. To be
unselfish, we have to be aware of our specific areas of
selfishness. This means we must have an accurate self-image.
When we look in the mirror, we must see what is really there.
When we can see ourselves accurately, we will recognize where we
have taken a legitimate desire and made it into an illegitimate
goal. For example, the desire for material comfort is a
legitimate one. However, when that desire turns into an
obsession which destroys our obedience to the Lord, it has
become an illegitimate goal.

As we see ourselves for who we are, we will learn to recognize
our self-protection techniques. We will understand the hidden
agenda that affects our ability to encourage others with God's
love. To see and care for others effectively, we must first must
see ourselves correctly.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?
Hopefully, when we look in the mirror, we see the Lord. For as
we see Him, we see the fairest. And, as we see Him, we need to
see ourselves for who we are. "Why do you look at the speck of
sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank
in your own eye?" ( Matthew 7:3). To see our brother's speck, we
must first recognize the "redwood tree" in our own eye and get
rid of it.

In this article, I want to first make clear the distinction
between a good and an accurate self-image. Second, we will
consider how we can go about developing this view of ourselves.
Finally, we will consider how life approached from this
perspective will give us the opportunity to be more effective in
ministering to others.

Currently a lot of attention is given to the importance of
acquiring a good self-image, or having high self-esteem. We are
told it is important that children feel good about themselves.
Some Christians teach that to love others, as Christ commands,
we first must love ourselves. Of course Christ never called us
to love ourselves; after all, we do that so effectively already.

I do find it interesting that in the school systems where
children are supposedly helped to find good self-worth, there is
an almost instinctive hatred of Christianity. The assumption is
made that the teachings of Scripture, which say man is fallen
and faces judgment, somehow undermines the self-esteem of the
individual. This is a correct assessment. Therefore, the
position of many teachers, and even more so, for many
"educators," is that Christianity is an anathema to healthy
self-esteem and self-love. Therefore, secular education is
determined to undo the "damage" the Christian home has made in
the lives of children.

What is sad is that many Christians want to encourage striving
for a good self-image, and emphasizing the importance of
self-love. But to live as God requires we must have an
accurate-self image. An accurate self-image does not mean a good
self-image.

A good self-image is the goal of humanism. "We are all good.
Environment is what makes us bad." The logical conclusion of
this kind of thinking allows for a self-deification that is
endemic to humanism.

What do you think it means to have an accurate self-image? It
means first, to see ourselves as God sees us. Second it means
that we need to see ourselves in contrast to Jesus, the model
God provides for us. If we do this, it is impossible to have a
good self-image. However, this doesn't mean we are to have a bad
self-image.

Consider the following verses: "The heart is deceitful above all
things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah
17:9). -- " ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God," (Romans 3:23). -- "As it is written: "There is no one
righteous, not even one;"" (Romans 3:10).

This teaching isn't conducive to feeling good about oneself.
These words present an accurate view of who we have become as a
result of the fall. This teaching deals with the total depravity
of man. We were created in the image of God, but with the fall,
that image become corrupted in all its aspects.

Logically, part of having an accurate self-image is recognize
that people are not fundamentally good. Actually, I can't
understand how anyone could believe this, living in today's
world. There is however, a counter-balance to this truth.

"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our
likeness,"" (Genesis 1:26). We are created in God's image, even
if that image has been corrupted. And we are loved by the
Creator of that image. "For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

We were so loved by God that He was willing to die for us ... in
the midst of our sin. "But God demonstrates His own love for us
in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8). And, He loved us enough to give us the gift of
salvation. "For many are invited, but few are chosen" (Matthew
22:14). We do have value, not because of who we are, but because
of Who God is.

Having received the gift of salvation, we have a relationship
with the Father. "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of
his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba,
Father"" (Galatians 4:6). We have value, not because of who we
are, but because of Who our Father is.

A good self-image is self-centered. I can feel good about myself
because of what I do, or the nice words others say about me. I
have a good self-image, because I have a good ego. However, to
continue to feel good about myself, I am dependent on
circumstances over which I have no control.

In contrast, an accurate self-image is God-centered. As I move
towards the Lord, I see myself as a fallen human, redeemed by
the blood of Christ. I will see that even as a believer I fall
short of God's standard as modeled by Christ. "If we claim to be
without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us"
(1 John 1:8).

I will not have any illusions of having any intrinsic worth in
myself. Simultaneously, I will see myself as extremely valuable.
Christ was willing to die for me. He was willing to allow God to
impute His righteousness to us. "You were taught, with regard to
your former way of life, to put off your old self, and to put on
the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness" (Ephesians 4:22 & 24). We have this new self that is
created by God. He values us as His children, for what He has
done for us, not for who we are.

We stand before God spotless. "For he chose us in him before the
creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In
love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus
Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will -- to the
praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in
the One he loves" (Ephesians 1:6).

Thus, an accurate self-image recognizes our intrinsic
unworthiness, while appreciating our imputed value. We can see
both our shortcomings and our worth. Our self-image isn't
dependent on our performance, or circumstances, or the opinions
of others. Praise the Lord! It is because we are the loved
children of our Father in Heaven. We have worth because God
created us, and sent His Son to save us.

So what is the point of all of this? We need to examine our
behaviors and motives considering who we truly are. As we reach
out to others to encourage them, are we doing so from a
God-centered or self-centered position? Am I sincerely allowing
God's love to flow to you, or am I trying to build myself up by
being such a good guy? Am I loving my spouse because God does,
or am I trying to straighten her or him out to make my life
easier? Am I, who is way up here, trying to help you little
schmucks who are way down there? Have I lost sight of the truth
that we are both fallen and hurting people?

We must see that our worth comes not from ourselves, but from
the Lord. And, if we recognize that our value comes from the
Lord, then we can move towards others in His love. We will not
be concerned with protecting ourselves. As I live in the reality
of God's love, and all that he has done for me, my desire is to
please Him. I will encourage and care for others in a way that
will please the Lord. I will strive to deal with them
unselfishly, in sincerity and with God's love.

Equally important, as we see ourselves accurately, we will be
less likely to be judgmental. Recognizing my own shortcomings
makes me able to accept that you aren't perfect. We can help one
another move towards the Lord. We are all God's children, and we
all need to grow in our maturity, because none of us are there
yet.

And it is these truths that we will use to encourage others. As
we disciple people, we must help them develop an accurate
self-image. We must move them towards the Lord, letting go of
self-centeredness and moving towards God-centeredness. People
will only find true peace and joy in relationship with the Lord.
Only He can be trusted never to fail His children.

We can't teach others what we don't know for ourselves. We must
be willing to do the difficult job of seeing ourselves
accurately. For as we see ourselves for who we are, we no longer
need to hide. We no longer need to protect ourselves. We become
free to be the people God intended us to be. Praise the Lord.

1. Crabb, Jr., Lawrence, J. and Allender, Dan B.,
Encouragement-The Key to Caring, Zondervan Publishing House,
Grand Rapids, MI, 1984, p. 10.
Prayer Guidelines
Prayer Guidelines
PRAYER AND AUTHORITIES

Article 15 of the "Prayer and ...." Series
By Michael Wilkinson


"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for
kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all
men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For
there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man
Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified
in due time ..." (1 Timothy 2:1-6).

Did you know that we are responsible to pray for those who are
in authority over us? Our governors, employers, supervisors and
teachers need to have Christians pray for them, and the Lord has
called us to do so.

We are to pray prayers of supplication, asking God's guidance
and blessing for our leaders. In Proverbs, God's Wisdom says,
"By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes
rule, and nobles, all the judges of the earth. I love those who
love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. Riches
and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness. My
fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue
than choice silver. I traverse the way of righteousness, in the
midst of the paths of justice, that I may cause those who love
me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries"
(Proverbs 8:15-21). We need to pray that our leaders today would
receive Wisdom.

We are to pray prayers of intercession, asking God to help our
leaders pursue righteousness and shun evil. "When the righteous
are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man
rules, the people groan" (Proverbs 29:2). "If a ruler pays
attention to lies, all his servants become wicked" (Proverbs
29:12).

We pray for them also to believe in Jesus as their own Savior.
This is pleasing to the Lord, who wants all men to come to the
knowledge of the truth. Also, the church is less likely to be
persecuted when Christians are in authority of the secular
government. For instance, the early church suffered under the
reign of Emperors such as Nero, Domitian and Diocletian, who
persecuted and killed many Christians out of spite. When Emperor
Constantine converted to Christianity in AD 324, the church was
free to worship openly and spread the Gospel freely.

Although we may not always agree with our leaders, especially if
they abuse their authority, we know that God establishes earthly
authorities. "Let every soul be subject to the governing
authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the
authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever
resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those
who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not
a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid
of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from
the same" (Romans 13:1-3). Therefore, we must be subject to
authority, yet without sinning, and pray.

Therefore, as good Christians, let us remember to pray
constantly for our leaders.
SCUD Warnings
SCUD Warnings
S piritual
 C ounterfeits
  U ndermining
   D octrine

W A R N I N G S

By Jerry Johnson


I was down to just a couple of days before my deadline to get
this column done and I was all hyped and ready to write about
the current trends and difficulties in Christian activism,
instead of doing Reformationator II as I had planned. Then a
co-worker hands me a copy of the March 29, 1993 U.S. News and
World Report and while reading it I find that on page 17 was the
"On Society" column by John Leo.

It was my column. He didn't use scripture or weird humor, but he
definitely delivered my message: "The sheer practical fact is
that abortion will become rarer only when more women come to see
it as wrong." and (although he's more optimistic than I am)
"Practices that were once regarded as natural and moral, such as
infanticide, torture and slavery, gradually come to be seen by
the whole world as barbaric. Abortion, too, I think. But to get
there, the appeal has to be to conscience, not to menace to the
clinics ."

I have no idea if John Leo is a believer, but I think he has
spoken rightly, (whether he knows it or not) Biblically and
wisely. I encourage you to go to your library and read a copy.

So, now onto my previously scheduled, nearly postponed, but now
back on track, REFORMATIONATOR II.

Partial transcript of the February 28, 1993 showing of the
OPRAHUE! Show.

O: Have you ever been involved in a really unbalanced
relationship? You know the kind I mean. You're in a relationship
with someone who is just so much better, smarter and cooler than
you are and you're scared to death that if you do one thing
wrong they'll leave you for someone better. You're faking it and
know that if they ever come to realize what you're really like,
it's all over. That's today's topic on ... OPRAHUE!

(Opening music theme and credits)

O: Today, we'll talk to some people stuck in these unbalanced
and stressful relationships as we explore ... When You Can't
Measure Up To The One You Love. Our first guest is wearing a
veil because she is in mortal fear that if her "better half" saw
her discussing her inadequacy, he'd leave her in a second. We'll
address her as Mrs. X. Now, Mrs. X, what is it like to be in a
relationship like this?

X: It's horrible now, Oprahue! When I first met him, it was
WONDERFUL! I couldn't believe that someone like that could
actually love me. It was like a fairy tale.

O: What made that feeling change?

X: It happened really pretty quickly. After all, if you spend
any time at all with him, you realize how accomplished and
polished he is and then you realize how many others are
attracted to him ... and they have so much more to offer him
than I do!

O: When you realized you were beginning to have these feelings,
did you seek advice?

X: Definitely. But that just made it worse.

O: How?

X: They just confirmed how wonderful he was and how it was a
miracle that we were together at all.

O: Whoa! Who needs friends like that? Mrs. X, how do these
feelings define your relationship with him?

X: He's done so much for me, I have to spend all my time proving
that I'm worthy of his attention and love.

O: How do you do this?

X: I do whatever he asks, as well as whatever I think might even
possibly make him happy.

O: Does it make him happy?

X: I'm really not sure, you see, I'm afraid that if I spend too
much time with him, he'll see me for who I really am, so I spend
most of my time doing things for him, but not necessarily with
him.

O: (to the audience) It sounds like that may be part of the
problem! Now our second guest, also wearing a disguise for the
same reason as Mrs. X, is Mr. Y, who is in a nearly identical
relationship. Mr. Y, please describe your relationship.

Y: Frankly, Mrs. X has pretty much said it all. It is just so
stressful. I know that regardless of how much I try, it may just
not be enough.

O: You're in love ... is that love reciprocated?

Y: Oh, the love is obvious, but that is what creates such a huge
feeling of obligation ... how can I return such a great love?
How do I prove I'm worthy?

O: Is that kind of proof being requested?

Y: Get real Oprahue! Who stays in a relationship if they're only
giving and not getting ... and don't all of us expect to get
back at least as much as we give?

O: We now have an expert, Dr. Bertram. Doctor, you have examined
these relationships, what are your conclusions?

Dr.: They're right. They've received so much, they must work to
prove they are worthy of such an incredible love.

O: But Doctor, as a Doctor of Theology, a pastor, do you really
believe that these people can earn the love of God that they
have received?

Dr.: They have to try!



I sincerely apologize to those who were hoping that
REFORATIONATOR II would start with an Arnold
Schwartzenegger-style intro, but it is impossible to keep up a
written accent (Ah'll be bach) for any length of time and have
it be understandable.

This column is, hopefully, a culmination, summary and conclusion
of some things that God has been trying to get through my
thicker than normal skull. I've touched on some of these issues
in previous columns and hope to tie it up here.

The above transcript points out a trend I have been observing in
numerous churches and heard from many Christians, both lay
people and pastors. It is a disturbing trend, and definitely
qualifies as a SCUD ... it is bad theology and inhibits the
liberating work of Christ in his people.

(Bummer, I'm almost sounding like a theologian)

Back in 1517 Martin Luther stuck a notice on the Wittenberg door
that declared, among 94 other things, that we couldn't buy
forgiveness, but that we are saved by grace through faith. Soon
after followed the Reformation, the Protestant movement, and
some historians believed it significantly contributed to the
Renaissance.

And many Christians, in the close of the Twentieth Century, who
still happily hold to that understanding of not being able to
buy forgiveness ahead of time, have begun to cling, with great
pain I might add, to a brand new misunderstanding regarding the
gift of the cross: that even though you can't buy forgiveness,
you can pay it back.

"Say what?"

That's the trouble, nobody's actually saying it, but they are
living like they believe it.

"Could you be more obtuse, so I can't understand what you are
saying at all?!"

I have interacted with an increasing number of believers that
seem to have an overriding feeling that God is really unhappy
with them because they are not doing enough on His behalf. The
weird thing is, they are working their fingers to the bone for
Christ. If the church is open, they are doing something. If
there is a possible new ministry, they are either involved or
trying to get other people involved. If they talk about the Lord
they always share how we, themselves included, are not doing
enough.

Personally, I find these people annoying.

"You shouldn't say that!"

Sorry, but it's true. No offense, but I was brought up with the
idea that I wasn't doing enough for God, that I had to
constantly recombine my life to Christ, that God was just
waiting to disapprove of me.

Then I read the Word.

That trashed most of that condemnatory thinking, really quite
effectively. Here are a few verses that helped color my current
theology and my irritating habit of being comfortable in God's
love for me:

Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we yet sinners, Christ died for us." (In other words, He
sacrificed Himself for me, in the totality of my life's sins. He
has NO illusions about my character.)

Romans 7:25, 8:1: "So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to
God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Therefore, there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in
Christ Jesus." (Paul wasn't pulling any punches. He admitted, in
writing no less, that his sinful nature had influence and he
still declared himself to have no condemnation in Christ.)

"Yeah, but he really did a lot for God!"

And before God knocked him off his horse, he did a lot against
God, enough for him to feel totally justified if he wanted to
believe he should feel condemned by God.

Isaiah 64:6: "All of us have become like one who is unclean,
all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (And without going
into detail, the Hebrew indicates yucky, filthy rags. Hey, if
that's my best and God still wants to relate to me ... He must
REALLY be committed to His people, which includes li'l ol' me.)

Philippians 1:6: "... being confident of this, that He who began
a good work in you will carry it on to COMPLETION until the day
of Christ Jesus." (Excuse me, but if Jesus is committed to
bring me to completion, with Him being omnipotent enough to do
what He wants and omniscient enough so he knows beforehand every
mistake, sin and cruddy attitude and belief I'll ever hold, who
am I to say He won't be able to do it?! But more of that just
two paragraphs later.)

Romans 9:10-24, but only writing verse 21: "Does not the potter
have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery
for noble purposes and some for common use?" (I am them Lord's
creation, warped by my participation in my sin nature, but
nevertheless His creation and if He wanted to make me Jerry
Johnson rather than another Billy Graham, that's His choice!)

There are tons of other scriptures, but let me just soapbox on
this as a bottom line. These people I was referring to have a
basic fear of God. Not fear in the Biblical sense of being in
awe and respectful of the incredible power of One who could make
you or break you with a mere portion of a thought, the are just
plain afraid of Him ... because they fully expect His
disapproval. They have this gut feeling that when they stand
before the Almighty at the Bema (or is it Beeema) Seat judgment
He'll say, "Boy, did you blow it!"

So to cover their bases, they work and work and work to show
themselves approved ... essentially to prove to God that they
were worth dying for.

That's their main mistake.

They weren't worth dying for.

None of us were, are or will be.

Christ was just TOO GREAT a sacrifice for billions of imperfect
people to ever act good enough to pay off the debt He paid. If
we buy into the concept of paying God back for the cross, our
"acts" become based on compulsion and obligation.

Christ did not make fun of the Pharisees, who were into works as
righteousness, to die at the insistence of the Pharisees, just
to create a whole new pile of Pharisees.

He died to reconcile us to Him, when we didn't deserve it and
would NEVER be able to deserve it.

To quote Wayne and Garth (Saturday Night Live characters for
those who go to bed at a rational hour) ... "We're not worthy!!"

AND THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS! We can relate to the Almighty as Abba,
Poppa, Daddy. That's a privilege, not an earned right.

The thing that annoys me about "those people" is that they are
scared to death of disapproval from a God who sent His son to
die, so He could approve them through His son's blood. They fear
they are not doing enough when God is primarily concerned with
us just doing the very specific things He would require of us as
individuals that He gave very specific gifts to.

I Samuel 15:22 ... To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed
is better than the fat of rams.

I believe that includes a sacrifice of driven, maniacal service
to try to appease an already loving God. It is my opinion that
we are to seek the Lord's face and spend time with Him so that
we may come to know what specific tasks he has designed and
called us to do. To do less, or more, is to be out of obedience,
regardless of how sacrificial the acts are.

These same people sacrifice their time with their family,
sacrifice the assurance of God's love through Christ's death,
sacrifice the "Good News" part of the gospel, sacrifice the
enthusiasm of their hearers and sacrifice the joy that comes
only from understanding how little of what we accomplish in
Jesus' name is accomplished by us.

Christian Life
Anee M'Amin
Anee M'Amin
ANEE M'AMIN is Hebrew for "I believe". Each month this column
presents the story of a Jewish believer in Yeshua (Jesus).


SAVED BY HIS GRACE
The Testimony Of Gil Singer

From ISRAEL MY GLORY magazine


Homemade chicken soup, my mom's special hors d'oeuvres, and an
invitation to our best friend Charley were the only things that
distinguished the Jewish holidays from any other day in our
home. Although all of my grandparents were Orthodox Jews, the
extent of my family's religious life was my bar mitzvah and
Hebrew school for my sister and me. We were taught Hebrew, but
it was hardly enough to enable us to make sense of the synagogue
services, which were read in Hebrew. We learned about Jewish
traditions, the Jewish holidays, a Messiah who might come to
usher in a golden age for the Jews, and the innate goodness of
man that would eventually make everything in the world turn out
all right

Those early years were very frustrating for me. I could never
fit all of the pieces together, and there never seemed to be
anything practical in my training. I remember the anguish we
felt when loved ones passed on, because there was simply no
comfort in being Jewish.

My odyssey to the cross began in second grade when, during the
Christmas season, that forbidden name-Jesus-was sung in the
carols. I didn't know if it was even legal to mention His name,
and I wondered if I'd be struck dead if I did. But then I heard
my friend Joel say 'Jesus," and he didn't die, so I ever so
softly and cautiously, said that word. I didn't die either, but
it felt very strange.

When I was 16 years old, I was confronted with the gospel.
Charley, one of the customers in my family's luncheonette, was a
godly man who loved the Lord and the Jewish people. (It was
Charley who was invited to our home for all the special
occasions and who, I later learned, prayed every day for over 20
years for our salvation.) Charley responded to a question I
asked by taking a little Bible from his pocket. That was the
beginning of my 22-year journey home. For the next two years, I
visited Charley's home regularly, disputing the ridiculous
notions that we needed a Savior and that the man Jesus was that
Savior and very God Himself. Preposterous!

Charley was, indeed, a good friend. My mom and dad both needed
medical attention, and he was always there to provide
transportation and offer a calming word. We even attended a few
prayer meetings in his home. But, while traveling there one
evening, some well-meaning Christians used my mom as a Ping-Pong
ball as they tried to witness to her in the back seat of a car,
and it turned off the family to the gospel. We told Charley we
wanted him to be our friend, but we wanted no more of this Jesus
business. And that's the way it remained with Charley and our
family for over 20 years. When my father died (never wanting to
hear anything about God), it was Charley who drove us to the
cemetery and said the prayer at the grave. And it was Charley, a
year later, who drove the family back to my father's grave for
the unveiling of the headstone. We all loved and trusted him,
yet we wanted no part of his message about Jesus.

Nine years after I first heard and rejected the gospel, God
dealt with me in a very special way. I was training for a sales
job, and one night in a hotel room far from home, I was so
excited I couldn't sleep. As I heard my heart pounding in my
ears, I asked God to calm me. It was a prayer from an
unbeliever, but, to my stunned amazement, the pounding stopped
instantly, and I felt completely calm. From that moment on, I
realized there was some kind of a God. A few months later,
during a big sales drive, I asked God for a very specific sale
to begin the day. Again, to my amazement, my first contact
purchased our product for himself and his entire family-exactly
as I had prayed. I was stunned. That turned out to be the best
sales week I had ever experienced, but that morning I was so
unnerved that I could do nothing more than drive home,
shuddering and wondering about this God who had heard and
answered my prayer. I knew there was no other explanation for
what had happened.

Over the next 13 years, I had many jobs, and I kept encountering
those strange people who said they "loved the Lord" and who had
a special peace about them. And all the while there was a deep
longing in my soul. I would mull over my purpose in life, and
the best I could come up with was that there was a core. But
every time I thought I had the answer and knew what that core
was, a loose end would unravel my conclusions, and I'd have to
start all over.

Although I was never involved in drugs or alcohol (cigarettes
gave me a headache, and the one glass of New Year's Eve liquor I
drank when I was 16 made me sick), my life was far from angelic.
I had an attitude. I was selfish and unloving-things I never
realized until after my salvation-and the resulting loneliness
brought an ache that couldn't be measured. I had a feeling deep
down that there was something else and that God had destined me
for something, but the years rolled by, and I was no closer to
peace than when I began my search.

When I was 38 years old, I was working as a salesman in the
evenings. Being single, I had plenty of free time, so I watched
a lot of daytime television. Flipping through the channels one
morning, I discovered the televangelism talk shows that were on
four or five hours each day. They fascinated me, and I was
intrigued by the testimonies of the guests, particularly Jewish
people who had gotten "saved." And I continued to meet those
strange people who were "born again" and said they loved the
Lord. Each day for an entire month, I watched every Christian
television show on the dial.

One evening, while on a sales call, a Christian lady witnessed
to me. By this time, I had heard the gospel many times over many
years, but there was something different, special, unique about
that evening. I knew something was happening to me, something I
could not understand, something that was making me light-headed
and uncomfortable. The next morning, when the TV preacher gave
an invitation, I knew I had to receive Christ as my Savior. And
that wasn't easy! It was, in fact, the single hardest decision I
had ever made in my life. Jewish people simply do not believe in
Jesus. What on earth was I doing even contemplating such a
thing? I was hesitant to ask Jesus to be my Savior, but I felt I
must. The Holy Spirit dealt so strongly with me that I knew I
had to ask God to forgive me of my sins. And, finally succumbing
to the loving pull of the Lord, that's exactly what I did. I
prayed, "Oh, Lord Jesus, come into my heart." At that instant I
knew that I was saved! Forgiven! On my way to heaven! I also
knew that from that moment on God would teach me about the
Bible, which I now understood was His Holy Word. A great weight
was finally lifted. I was free!

I vividly remember that very evening when I called on my sales
prospect. The family had a large Bible on their coffee table,
and I asked if they were Christians. When they said they were,
I bellowed, "Guess what happened to me today? I got saved!" We
laughed, cried, and rejoiced together-but we never did get into
the sales pitch. The irony of the situation was that I was
selling fire alarms, telling people how they could be saved from
death by fire. Now I could tell them how they could be saved
from spending eternity in the Lake of Fire.

It was quite a while before I could comfortably say the name of
Jesus, but there was never a doubt where I stood with the Lord.
I experienced glorious peace for the first time in my life. I
finally knew the purpose of my life: to tell others about the
great gift of salvation through the Messiah of the Old
Testament, the Lord Jesus of the New.

God graciously led me to a sound, Bible-believing church where I
was baptized and sat under the teaching of a godly pastor. Soon
a dear widow who loved the Jewish people gave me a subscription
to Israel My Glory, and six years later (in 1985), through a
series of circumstances engineered by the Lord, I began a
full-time ministry with The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.

A few months later I married my lovely wife Sandi, and we are
now experiencing the blessing of caring for the three beautiful
children the Lord has given us. It was a joy to our hearts when
our oldest daughter Shayna recognized that she was a sinner and,
at the tender age of three years and ten months, asked the Lord
Jesus to be her Savior.

It is our heartfelt desire to serve and please the Lord in all
that we do. Sandi and I pray that our family will be a light to
our neighbors and that our ministry with The Friends of Israel
will touch the hearts of the people in our community,
particularly those Jewish people who do not know the Lord Jesus
as their Messiah and Savior.
People Profile
People Profile
Morning Star Senior Editor, Teresa Giordanengo, conducted this
interview with Joel Shields of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joel
and wife Susie are adoptive parents to Aaron and Maria. He is
the manager of the Pizza Hut in Canonsburg.


Teresa: Why did you want to adopt children if you could not have
any of your own?

Joel: Children are gifts from God. My wife and I are very
happily married and want to complete our family circle with
children. We also thought that if we could not have any of our
own, we would like to help children who were not in a family
environment. We both love children very much.


Teresa: When did you and your wife discover that you were not
able to have children of your own?

Joel: Nearly four years ago my wife and I were taking part in
numerous tests to determine our ability to conceive children.
During this time we were lead to two conclusions. The first
being that our infertility is not at all uncommon and touches
many lives. Secondly, and more importantly, our God is faithful
and sufficient to meet all our needs.


Teresa: How were your prayers answered?

Joel: Less than one month after learning that we would never
have our own children, we were contacted by a pregnant teenager
looking for help. My wife developed a very good phone
relationship with her over the ensuing months, realizing what
this girl needed was Christ's love. Our prayer was that the
baby being carried would at the very least be given the
opportunity to be born, as abortion was being considered as an
option. Approximately two months before the due date we
received the call asking us if we would consider adopting the
baby. We sensed God's leading as our ultimate request of God
had been to be given the blessing of raising this baby as our
own. We were rejoicing in God's goodness to us!


Teresa: When were you permitted to adopt this child?

Joel: On February 9, 1990 our son Aaron was brought into this
world. In a very unusual situation, my wife and I were present
at the hospital, holding the baby even before he was cleaned up.
Less than four months later, our adoption petition was signed
by the judge and without much fanfare our legal proceedings were
complete.


Teresa: I am sure Aaron is the apple of your eye. What changes
has he brought into your household?

Joel: The Lord has richly blessed us with the addition of the
bright ray of sunshine that he brought into our lives. Our son,
who recently had his third birthday, is full of love and life
itself. Through this wonderful adventure we have been fortunate
to have the support of our family and friends. And, of course
we couldn't love our precious boy any more than if my wife had
carried him herself.

Watching our son grow up is reminiscent of what I did growing
up. It takes time to see what the inside of a flower looks like
and he likes to pick up worms to look at them. I hurry home
from work and rush off to somewhere else or to bed because I
have to get up and go to work. He makes us stop and reflect on
our childhood and what it was like to be young again. He keeps
me young. He is doing the same thing that I did and I enjoy
watching him. We do so much hi-tech today that it is great
watching him take things apart to see what makes them tick.


Teresa: Did you find the adoption proceedings difficult?

Joel: We found private adoption to be quite rewarding and
basically simple to complete. The cost for the entire procedure
was less than five hundred dollars, all in legal fees.


Teresa: What advice would you like to pass along to anyone
thinking about adopting children?

Joel: The advice that we would give concerning private adoption
is that it ultimately could be the easiest of options, however,
each situation is different and needs to be handled that way.
Nearly everyone we have spoken with concerning adoption gives
the same advice ... network. Talk with people who have gone
through the process and had experience with the agencies. We
went through the phone book and asked for information. Many are
concerned about adopted children everywhere and are interested
whether or not you are adopting through them or not. One agency
we spoke with, and were very encouraged by, was an Internal
Agency in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Networking with friends, acquaintances, relatives, anyone and
everyone that you can communicate your desire to adopt with. In
this way, you are able to have additional eyes and ears out
there keeping you informed of possible adoption situations.


Teresa: How did you find out about the adoption agency in Peru?

Joel: We have friends at church who have also adopted a child.
A woman they were acquainted with at work, had previously
adopted a child in Peru. During conversation we found out that
babies were available for adoption in Peru. This is why I say
that networking is so important.


Teresa: Tell us about the adoption of your new daughter.

Joel: Through networking, we were made aware of our newest
addition, a newborn baby girl from Lima, Peru. We began our
preparation to go to Peru in December of last year and departed
for South America the last weekend in January.

Let me pause again to remind you, all of this (and I mean ALL)
was made possible through our sovereign God. The process by
which we prepared to leave differs according to the country in
which the adoption is taking place. However, several common
items include a home study, passports, marriage and birth
certificates and medical exams. All these require notarization
and certification. Through the resources of an agency we were
able to secure a Peruvian lawyer and begin our adoption before
actually leaving the United States. Currently, I have since
returned for work, leaving my wife and baby Maria in Lima to
finalize all paperwork.

While international adoption has proven to be much more
expensive than the private process we completed nearly three
years ago, again the Lord has met all our needs and continues to
generously touch us with His love.

The Chaplain of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers initiated a
fund-raiser for us. The players who were available came to an
event. We had an autographing session set aside for anyone who
was interested. Every little amount raised helps with the
expenses and we thank the Lord for all the help He made
possible.


Teresa: What would you say to the childless couples reading this
column?

Joel: Susie and I were married only for a short period of time
when we discovered that we were not able to have children of our
own. We were content if we were to be alone ... even though we
wanted children. When we got the opportunity to adopt our son,
we were elated at the option to adopt him. It has made all the
difference in the world in our family. Children are definitely
our gifts from God. We realize that even more so when it
happens as it did with us. We hate to see the families that
take their children for granted. We see them especially in the
shopping malls. It breaks our hearts to see how some of the
children are treated. So many couples want children and can't
have them and it really hurts to see children mistreated and
treated with anger. It means so much more when we can't have
children of our own.


Teresa: Who encouraged you and your wife to adopt children?

Joel: No one convinced us to adopt, but it was wonderful and a
blessing that we knew our family and our friends at church were
behind us and supportive of our adopting ... especially
adopting a baby from another country. My mother stayed with us
almost the whole time that my wife was away in Peru. My mom and
dad live approximately a three hour drive from us. They were
willing to sacrifice some of their time together in order to
help us. My dad was home alone when my mom stayed here to help
us ... and at times my dad would spend time here with us too.


Teresa: Why did your wife have to spend so much time in Peru?

Joel: My wife has been in Peru for eleven weeks, and will
probably be there another three before she will return with our
daughter. When I was there from the end of January through
February 1993, I handled most of the paper work, but we still do
not have legal custody of the child. My wife stayed in Peru in
order to take care of the child until the court finalizes the
documents to bring her home. We have legal guardianship but not
custody as yet. She is in Peru taking care of the child
otherwise she would have to be put into a foster home. We
couldn't afford to keep flying back and forth so my wife stayed
there. It takes a real commitment but God provides that inner
peace that only He can give.

While we were there together, we rented an apartment with two
other couples. They were adopting also and had their babies
with them. We shared expenses so it made it easier for all of
us.

It is amazing how the babies compliment and match the families
so well in personalities. They seem to melt together from the
very beginning.

One couple was on edge about everything and pushed the paper
work through as soon as possible because they were homesick.
But it was tearing them down instead of helping them. They
missed out on many good aspects of the stay in Peru that without
God we would not have been able to do either. While we were
there we tried to focus on what God had in store for us. We
were able to see the family situations there as well and we
trusted God all the way.


Teresa: Since your stay in Peru, how have the adoption laws
changed?

Joel: In March, the laws changed. If the paper work is done
before going down there, it will take only three weeks to
complete and return with the baby. The judge basically has
about two days to decide. He wants to see if the mother was
serious and whether she had bonded with the child. They are
trying to make it as readily accessible now because so many
people were discouraged having to wait so long. Many could not
afford the long wait. They are really trying to place the
babies. They think of Americans and Canadians as being very
wealthy and they don't want the babies to be made slaves to
these families. Culturally they feel that they are in a lower
class situation and are better taken care of outside their own
country.


Teresa: Where is your wife and new daughter living while they
wait for the final papers to be approved?

Joel: They are staying at a home in Lima that is staffed full
time, similar to a boarding house, where people share meals and
are helped in their shopping. They try to make your trip as
pleasant as possible, in your free time, while you are away from
friends and family. She can relax and see the country. My wife
met two other couples there from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It
was so nice that they were there at the same time.


Teresa: Are you doing anything special for your new daughter?

Joel: We want to keep our daughter in touch with her ancestry
and appreciate where she came from. We bought some art and
other articles that have the flavor of her country so that she
will always have something from her heritage.

We felt led to pray for missionaries who are actually discipling
there. They are the citizens from their own country and are
accepted more readily. We pray for our daughter to have a
missionary heart to go back to her ancestry to share the gospel
someday. There is a great need there and the people will accept
the gospel more readily from one of their own.


Teresa: What is a final thought you would like to leave with our
readers?

Joel: My wife and I have had numerous leads end up fruitless.
However, as we humble ourselves before the Lord and submit our
lives to Him, He will work all things out to our good.

Ultimately the best advise is to seek the Lord's will, no matter
how desperate a situation looks or how unattainable it seems.
Anything in His will is possible with Him. Seek the Lord's
will, follow His will and don't be discouraged. Things may seem
impossible because it is not an easy road, but God will see you
through. Pray about it, be prepared emotionally, and put your
total trust and confidence in God and allow Him to work for you.
Ministry Focus
Ministry Focus
This month's Ministry Focus column features reports on two
ministries dedicated to Christian marriage and family. We are
thankful for Christian Marriage Enrichment of Tustin, California
and Family Life Ministry of Little Rock, Arkansas for providing
the following material.

---------------------------------------------------------

CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT

Christian Marriage Enrichment is an organization located in
Southern California (specifically, Tustin). Owned and directed
by H. Norman Wright, we are a Biblically based group that offers
professional services and current resources to people and
churches around the world.

H. Norman Wright is a licensed Marriage, Family and Child
Therapist. He was former director of the Graduate Department of
Marriage, Family and Child Counseling at Biola University, as
well as an Associate Professor of Psychology. He was also
Associate Professor of Christian Education and Director of the
Graduate Department of Christian Education at the Talbot School
of Theology. He has taught graduate school for over twenty-five
years.

Dr. Wright is a graduate of Westmont College, Fuller Theological
Seminary (M.R.E.), Pepperdine University (M.A.). He has
received two honorary doctorates-- D.D. and D.LIT.

He is the author of over fifty books, including Crisis
Counseling, Recovering From the Losses of Life, Marital
Counseling, Premarital Counseling, Quiet Times for Couples,
Communication: Keys to Your Marriage, Family Is Still a Great
Idea, and Holding on to Romance. Dr. Wright has pioneered
Premarital Counseling Programs throughout the country, as well
as Marriage Enrichment Training Seminars for ministerial couples.

Currently, Norman Wright is Director of Family Counseling and
Enrichment and Christian Marriage Enrichment, and is keeping
busy with counseling several days a month, writing books, and
speaking at his seminars around the country.

Norm, being aware years ago of pastors that would marry any and
every couple that came to their church, saw a need in the church
for premarital and marital counseling curriculum. He began
developing this curriculum and various tape series, as well as
training ministers through two-day seminars. As the ministry of
Christian Marriage Enrichment was established and continued to
grow, a mail-order bookstore was added. Along the way, several
seminars were added.

Currently, Christian Marriage Enrichment has two main areas of
focus:

1) VARIOUS SEMINARS

Norm Wright has 4 different seminars that he presents in several
cities around the country each year. Using practical input that
he has gained from over 25 years of counseling and ministry
experience, Norm presents the relevant and up-to-date
information via lecture, discussion, case studies and
demonstrations. All of the seminars are one-day events, with
fees ranging from $60.00 to $70.00 a person. Seminar size is
usually fairly small (60-100 people) as Norm prefers a personal
setting with opportunity for discussion, as well as
question-and-answer time.

His Crisis Counseling Seminar is a unique practical seminar
designed for ministers, doctors, nurses, counselors, secretaries
and lay counselors. (This seminar provides seven (7) hours of
continuing education credits for nurses.) In this seminar Norm
covers topics such as:

- the typical stages of a crisis
- which counseling techniques to use at each stage
- when to pray and use Scripture
- what happens to families in crisis
- how children and adolescents handle crisis how to help people
  turn crisis into a growing experience without denying their
  feelings
- how to assist others in taking charge of their crisis
- what to do and say at the time of a suicidal attempt, a severe
  loss, an abuse case

Also discussed:

- learning the causes and extent of stress, solutions and its
  relationship to crisis
- a very specific and structured model of helping in a crisis
  situation
- learning how to determine the strengths of each person in
  crisis, what spiritual resources to use and apply, and when to
  apply them.

The Day of marriage Renewal seminar is designed for couples who
have a good marriage and would like to strengthen and enhance
their relationship. The focus of this seminar is to help
increase the positive and healthy aspects of marriage. Engaged
couples are welcomed as well. Topics include the following:

- identifying the purpose of marriage
- how expectations and needs affect your marriage
- learning to speak your partner's language
- how to anticipate and handle changes throughout your marriage
- building romance into your marriage--it can be done!
- increasing intimacy and love

A main emphasis in this seminar is on communication:

- how to communicate your feelings
- how to communicate so your spouse will hear you and respond to
  you--understanding your differences
- applying a Biblical pattern of communication

A third seminar, based on Norman Wright's 25 years of experience
in using the Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis personality
test, is a day of training in the use of this test. This
seminar is open to pastors and counselors, as well as those who
are in some type of counseling work, such as local church
ministry, mission work, education, etc. Participants will be
taught how to administer, score and interpret the test, and how
to use these findings to assist those who need help. Also, Norm
teaches creative Biblical integration of the T-JTA with the
counseling ministry. This seminar provides participants with
the training needed to be an authorized user of the T-JTA, and a
certificate of completion suitable for framing is provided.

A special new seminar that Norm has put together for ministers
and laypeople is the Premarital/Marital Training seminar.

Critical Issues and New Approaches in Premarital Training: The
greatest opportunity the church has today to impact marriages is
in the area of premarital preparation and enrichment. Presented
and demonstrated in this seminar will be specific approaches to
create a learning atmosphere for the premarital couples. Step
by step topics, approaches, resources and tests will be covered,
as well as video presentations of actual premarital counseling.
The following questions are addressed and answered:

- How is counseling those who have been formerly married
  different from those never married?
- What is the best way to use the Family History Analysis and
  Prepare in premarital counseling?
- How can you determine which couples should not marry? How can
  you help the couple make the decision not to marry?
- How can you educate your church and community about premarital
  counseling?
- How can you assist interracial couples to anticipate their
  adjustments?
- How can you involve in-laws and parents in the counseling
  process?

Effective Short Term Strength-Oriented Marital Counseling:

What can you do when you see a couple for just six, four or even
one session? That is what this seminar will approach.

Many couples seek help first from their minister rather than
going to a counselor in private practice. But often ministers
are frustrated in knowing what to do with the couples or just
one member of the marriage. Several models of what to do will
be taught through lecture, visual presentations and
demonstrations. Behavioral approaches, confrontational methods,
indirect techniques, focusing on the process, and strategies for
changing marital interaction will be included. Specific
techniques for helping couples increase positive behaviors,
change communication patterns, and how to discover their
strengths rather than focus on faults will be stressed. The
emphasis is on the specific how-to rather than theory. This
seminar is designed for the lay counselor or those in the
ministry.

2) MAIL-ORDER BOOKSTORE

A second aspect of Christian Marriage Enrichment is our
mail-order bookstore. Among the hundred or so resources that
are available, we offer books, audio tapes, video tapes,
teaching curriculum, workbooks, and devotionals, all of which
cover material such as marriage, family, children, dating,
parenting, divorce, sex, grieving, God, etc. from a Biblically
based approach. We also have several resources that are geared
toward pastors and counselors: premarital, marital and crisis
counseling suggestions, training tapes, counseling aids
(questionnaires) etc. All are resources that Norman Wright has
personally handpicked; every six months he updates our resource
list with only the best and most current publications that are
available. Twice a year we create an informational newspaper
listing the resources and seminars, as well as additional
relevant information such as upcoming conferences and various
ministries and services around the country. Every one of the
30,000 names on our international mailing list receives this
information bi-annually.

Norm Wright has been one of the leading counselors in the
country to help make premarital counseling what it is (and is
increasingly becoming) today. Based on Norm's own experience
and intense format in conducting premarital counseling, CME is
excited to offer material on the cutting edge of this relevant
subject. Included are in-depth outlines for pastors and
counselors to create your own premarital program, an invaluable
intake questionnaire called the "Family History Analysis", video
tapes on finances, sex, and communication, audio tapes dealing
with the sexual aspects of marriage, and various resources that
Norm has his own premarital couples work through.

Although some of our resources may be found in your local
bookstore, CME also offers some exciting and helpful materials
that can only be ordered through our organization.

For a free catalog, seminar brochure, or any additional
information or questions that you have, please feel free to call
[phone], fax [phone] or write us at 17821 17th
St., Ste. 290, Tustin, CA 92680.

------------------------------------

FAMILY LIFE MINISTRY

Who We Are

The roots of Family Life go back as far as 1951, with the
beginning of Campus Crusade for Christ. Its founders, Bill and
Vonette Bright, had a great desire to help fulfill Christ's
Great Commission - taking the gospel to every nation in the
world. Starting on one college campus with one couple, Campus
Crusade has grown into a multifaceted ministry of more than
40,000 full-time and associate staff serving in more than 150
countries.

In 1976, Campus Crusade began the "Family Ministry" to provide
pre-marriage seminars for its staff members. Following our
phenomenal success in meeting the needs of "pre-marrieds,"
married staff couples began asking for encouragement through
marriage seminars. As these were added, and success continued,
we opened them to the public. Since that time in 1978, hundreds
of thousands of lay people have attended our conferences and
used our materials.

For nearly two decades, our ministry has experienced explosive
growth, taking our conferences into over 70 cities each year, at
times drawing as many as 2,500 attendees at a single conference.
As these numbers continue to grow, we have also added cities in
15 other countries where we present our conferences. Family
Ministry, now known as Family Life, is led by co-founder and
director, Dennis Rainey, and operates with a staff approaching
150 in number, and a volunteer corps of several thousand
throughout the country.


"FAMILYLIFE TODAY" RADIO PROGRAM

This daily, 25-minute program can be heard on top Christian
radio stations from Los Angeles to New York, and from Seattle
to Orlando. Your host on the program is Dennis Rainey, who is
joined by radio veteran Bob Lepine. "Family Life Today"
presents a format that is conversational in nature and provides
you with biblical insights and practical "how to's" for
successful marriage and family relationships. At the core of
every program will be motivation, encouragement and help.


FAMILY LIFE MARRIAGE CONFERENCE

"It encouraged me. Challenged me. It's been fun! This is one
of thousands of comments we receive each year from those
attending this weekend conference, which offers practical,
biblical ways to achieve oneness and intimacy in marriage. With
powerful messages you'll learn about God's plan for marriage,
and by completing our practical couples projects, you and your
mate could experience the positive difference God's principles
can make. It is a unique opportunity for you to revitalize your
marriage. And as many say, "It's a great romantic getaway."


FAMILY LIFE PARENTING CONFERENCE

This conference is presented in the same style as our marriage
conference - enthusiastic delivery of biblical principles and
humorous real-life examples. It will help you clarify your
convictions and assist you, as a parent, in evaluating your
relationships with your children. You'll also have the
opportunity to take practical steps to help your children mature
in their emotional, sexual and spiritual identities.


THE HOMEBUILDERS COUPLES SERIES

This home Bible study series is a "best seller," having sold
over a quarter million copies. It is designed to provide you
with biblical help for your marriage in a setting of fellowship
and encouragement among a small home-based study group. Couples
can participate in an existing group or follow a few simple
steps to set up their own small-group study. And with "life
application" at the heart of each session, it's no surprise so
many couples are using HomeBuilders material for small-group
study in churches and neighborhoods.


FAMILY LIFE MINISTRY
3900 North Rodney Parham
Suite 100
Little Rock, AR 72212
[phone]
Education
Education
"IT'S A PARENT'S DECISION" -
AND PRESIDENT CLINTON HAS CHOSEN A RELIGIOUS SCHOOL

By Dr. Paul A. Kienel, Executive Director
Association of Christian Schools International


There is nothing unusual about public officials in Washington,
D.C. choosing a private or religious school for their children.
The Washington Monthly found that none of the 67 top education
policymakers in the Bush Administration send their children to
public schools, including the United States Secretary of
Education Lamar Alexander. The press and the secular education
establishment expect that pattern from conservative Republicans.
What they did not expect was President and Mrs. Clinton's
decision to send their daughter, Chelsea, to the 108-year-old
Sidwell Friends School where the annual tuition is $10,800. The
President's decision sent shock waves through the National
Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of
Teachers (AFT), the two major public education groups who gave
their enthusiastic support of Bill Clinton's candidacy for
President.

Obviously back peddling, USA Today quoted several public school
officials as follows:

- Washington, D.C. board president David Hall said, "It's one
decision about one child ... Clinton's commitment to public
education still stands."

- AFT President Albert Shanker said, "It took a lot of courage.
I'm sure Clinton is and will continue to be committed to
improving public education." He defended the Clinton's decision
as one based on what's best for their daughter. When you're a
public figure," he said, "you've got to preserve the closest
thing to a normal life for your children as you can."

- Several Clinton supporters, including the National Education
Association, the nation's largest teachers' union, saw no
contradiction between Clinton's personal decision and his
opposition to the use of public money to send kids to private
schools.

- A spokesperson for the Clintons, George Stephanopoulos, said,
"They didn't reject public schools ... families have to make
decisions that are right for them at the proper moment."

- Finally, Laura Anthony, a Washington school board employee and
college classmate of Hillary Clinton's at Wellesley, said she
didn't think "it's a signal at all. It's a parent's decision to
make, and I don't think a child should be an instrument of
policy."

The Clintons, themselves, in a press release, said, "As parents,
we believe this decision is best for our daughter at this time
in her life based on our changing circumstances."

Other public school leaders, however, were not so supportive of
the President's decision to bypass the local public schools.

It looks like "an unfortunate vote of no confidence in urban
education," said Michael Casserly, interim director of the
Council of Great City Schools, representing the 44 largest
school systems. "Such a decision by the President, however
personal, has important symbolic impact on parental school
choices." 1

Wray Herbert, writing in US News and World Report said, Critics
accused the Clintons of hypocritically abandoning public
education ... This tempest reflects the extreme jitters of the
public school community ... That community knows that public
schools can work well only if they can attract deeply involved
parents. It is, however, clear that those schools are not
always the right choice. 2

Unsettling as it is to President Clinton's constituency, he has
reaffirmed an important American freedom - the freedom of
parents to select the school of their choice for their children,
be it a public, private, or religious institution.

There were two attempts in the past by individual states to
force all students to attend public schools. In 1922 Oregon
voters, by state initiative, attempted to require all students
between eight and sixteen to attend Oregon's public schools.
The law was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court and ruled:

Parents have a right to be free of unreasonable state
interference in upbringing and education of their children.
States are forbidden from standardizing resident children by
forcing their attendance at public schools only. 3

Also, in the 1920s the State of Ohio had, for a short time, the
following law in their state's education code,

... the natural rights of a parent to custody and control of ...
children are subordinate to the power of the state to provide
for the education of children. Laws providing for the education
of children are for the protection of the state itself. 4

Thankfully, these restrictive laws were set aside and Americans
from the President on down may choose a school which best
reflects their family values.

While it is not likely that Sidwell Friends School where the
President's daughter now attends would characterize itself as an
evangelical Christian school, the President's action to choose a
non-public school for his daughter will cause many Americans to
consider enrolling their children in non-public schools,
including Christian schools.

Christian schools continue to be on the forefront of growth in
American education. Dr. Bruce S. Cooper, a university professor
and a well-known specialist in private education wrote,

The meteoric rise in evangelical Christian schools is likely the
most important new development in American education in the last
three decades. Their growth, energy, and strength signal a
major change in religious beliefs, family and church life, and
the education of children in the United States. 5

This past year the combined enrollment in member schools of the
Association of Christian Schools International increased by
39,761 giving ACSI a total student count of 566,410. While the
recent action of President and Mrs. Clinton to select a
religious school for their daughter did not affect the above
growth figures of ACSI, and while the President is not prone to
advance the cause of Christian schools, his recent action may
indeed cause many Americans to look our way. Not a bad idea!

1 Dennis Kelly, Brian O'Connell, Andrea Stone and Johanna
  Neuman; USA Today, January 6, l993, P. 1,2.
2 Wray Herbert, US News and World Report, January 18, l993, P.11.
3 U.S. Supreme Court, Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 1922.
4 Revised Education Code, page 195, Ohio School Guide, section
  7.06, Compulsory Education Law.
5 Bruce S. Cooper, Independent School, winter 1978, P.78.
Music
Music
GOD'S WAY
By Dale E. Strand


These lyrics, written to the tune of the Sinatra, Elvis and
others' big hit, "My Way" turned an "I, Me, My" man-honoring
song into one that puts the priority in the proper place - that
of honoring the One who made us and loves us. The One who longs
to lead us and guide us into what I like to call, "His blessing
zone" - that place where He becomes first in everything we do.

This "new" song was first introduced by the Victory Temple
recording choir, "Children of the Lord", from Oakland,
California and has since been sung in churches throughout the
country. It is my hope that it will also touch and challenge
your life as you come to recognize that, "without Him, we can do
nothing".


Vs. 1
I've tried, so many times, to please the Lord the way I'm living,
And yet, it seems that I'm not in accord, and unforgiving.
I tried to make it work, and when I failed to do it my way,
I learned that it was best, to do it God's way.

Vs. 2
And what a change it made when I gave all to serve the Savior.
I watched ambition fade, and idols fall, I didn't waver.
I'm proud to live for Him, I'm glad that I did not go my way,
There's so much more to life, when you go God's way.

Chorus
What can I say, I've really changed and my whole life is
rearranged.
Jesus is real, so real to me; I'm not the man I used to be,
As days go by, I'll testify, I did it God's way.

Vs. 3
I've shared this message true, with anyone who cared to listen.
I'll keep on sharing too, tell everyone just what they're
missin'.
The things that once were sad, turned into joy when I left my
way,
And yielded to the Lord, and did it God's way.

2nd Chorus
Thank God I am free, from all my sin,
His blood has cleansed me deep within,
I love Him more than I can say,
This really is a happy day!
I praise His Name, I'm not the same,
Since I took God's way!


HAS SOMEONE SEEN JESUS IN YOU?

By Dale E. Strand


Has someone seen Jesus in your life today?
Do your friends know that you're born anew?
Does your life show you're walking the narrow way?
Has someone seen Jesus in you?

Chorus:
Your friends measure Jesus by your life and mine.
So Christ must dwell in us, our nature refine.
Are you living now in His Presence divine?
Has someone seen Jesus in You.

Have you lost the victory since you found the lord?
Do you find that it's hard to live true?
Remember the world's watching you every day,
Oh, let them see Jesus in you.

Repeat Chorus:


Has Someone Seen Jesus In You was written in 1971 and published
and copyrighted by Zondervan in 1972.

Copies of this song will be sent free of charge to anyone who
sends a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Dale E. Strand, 6817
Cedar Lane, Dublin, CA 94568-2509.
Book Review
Book Review
Browsing With The Bookworm

Welcome to our column of reviews. This month we look at two
completely different publications about and for (?) the family.


WHAT IS A FAMILY?

by Edith Schaeffer
Fleming H. Revell Company
Old Tappan, NJ, 1975

The world of Christian publishing is a vast wasteland.
Considering the volume of words being published, there is very
little worthy of our reading time. There is even less of value
offered by women writers. Nevertheless, there have been
outstanding writers among Christian women including Elizabeth
Elliot, Dorothy L. Sayers, and the author of this book, Edith
Schaeffer.

As we examine the state of marriage and family, WHAT IS A FAMILY
is an excellent discussion of the subject. This work is
biographical in nature. Here Mrs. Schaeffer discusses her
experiences as a wife, mother and grandmother at L'Abri. L'Abri
is the Christian community established in Switzerland by the
will known contemporary Christian thinker, Dr. Francis Schaeffer.

Edith Schaeffer is concerned with the survival of the family. In
this work she considers the problems and challenges facing the
Christian family in the midst of a hostile world.

Dr. Francis Schaeffer in his books discussed the dangers of
contemporary thought in the world. He identified the
philosophical changes that are reflected in the modern world. He
warned of the effects on society and the responsibility of
Christians to understand and respond to these changes. Edith
Schaeffer applies these concerns to the Christian home.

This book however, unlike her husband's, reads like a piece of
literature. In a very lyric style she presents the family, its
environment, problems and qualities. Initially, she describes
the family as a mobile. "What is a family? A family is a mobile.
A family is an art form. A family is an exciting art career,
because an art form needs work" (p 19.).

Mrs. Schaeffer is concerned that her readers see the family as a
thing of beauty, needing care and love. She describes it as "An
Ecologically Balanced Environment" (p. 34), in which God works
and builds to His glory.

In other chapters the family is described as the "Birthplace of
Creativity," a center for relationships, and a place of peace in
a tumultuous world. It is clear as you read this book that Edith
Schaeffer has a high and loving view of the family. She
describes the family in a beautiful language.

As we see the family so lovingly presented, we again are forced
to recognize just how much is at stake in the battle to hold to
a Biblical model of family versus the redefinition of family
offered by today's social engineers.

This book should lead us to thank and praise the Lord for the
gift He has given us, our families. It should cause us to depend
on Him to conform our families to His standards. WHAT IS A
FAMILY? should be read by every Christian for it is even more
relevant today then when it was written in 1975. WHAT IS A
FAMILY? is highly recommended.


THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

Based on the book by John Bunyan
Written by Martin Powell
Marvel Comics/Nelson, New York, NY, 1992

What, another review of PILGRIM'S PROGRESS? Actually, no. I
don't get out much, but the other day I was in a comic book
shop. (It's a little tough getting around. While I am a large
worm (4 inches), I still have to avoid getting stepped on.)

There on the shelf was a graphic novel version of Pilgrim's
progress. (For the uninitiated, the graphic novel is an
expensive comic ($10) in a stiff cover.) The cover picture
showed a man in armor fighting against some kind of monster.

"Marvel comics?" I asked myself. This publishing company isn't
known for the theological soundness of its publications. In
fact, among Christian parents Marvel has more rejected titles
than its largest competitor, DC Comics. But I decided to take a
look at the book anyway. As far as production values, this is an
excellent work. It is up to the production standards of many of
the best selling publications: "Spiderman," "The X-Men" and the
"Death of Superman" series.

Comic books with Christian themes have been few and far between.
Most have been very amateurish. Neither Marvel nor DC have
provided many books with Biblical themes. The majority having
been done by smaller companies. The major exception was a Giant
Comic published by DC many years ago. This was an illustrated
version of the Bible and measured about 3 feet by 2 feet. Even
that was artistically weak.

THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS is done in the contemporary graphic
style. The characters are shown in modern clothing and live in a
contemporary environment. Interestingly enough, the rendition of
the story is fairly accurate, considering the space limitations
of the comic form versus the length of the novel.

Unlike many contemporary versions of the book, this comic
version even includes parts of the second half of the book
dealing with the story of "Christiana's Progress." This is the
account of how Christian's wife and children follow after him,
and their journey to the Celestial City.

Having noted the positives about this book, I do have some
reservations. First, I would not recommend this for small
children. It is a graphic novel. This means that the demons and
enemies of Christian are drawn in frightening detail. The
depravity of the fallen world is shown clearly through
illustrations of the homeless, drug users, prostitutes, etc.
Nevertheless much of the same characters and places as in
Bunyan's work are featured here.

Generally, I would prefer that the family read together a modern
language version of the book. But the comic book might be
another way to introduce older children to a work they might
otherwise never read. And certainly this can be a basis for a
discussion of the work of Christ and His gift of salvation.

This is one book you will have to check out for yourself and
decide if it is something you want to make available for your
children. Since Morning Star itself is on the cutting edge of
using contemporary communication techniques for the
disseminating of the Gospel, I though it might be interesting to
see other modern ways that Christianity and its themes are being
presented.

Marvel/Nelson is doing a number of "Christian" related titles,
including a series on the life of Christ, and a "superhero"
title called the "Illuminator." This type of comic book is
generally only found in comic book speciality stores, not in
your local book stores or supermarkets. I did see a couple of
these titles at the local Christian book store.

Until next month, good reading.

Your Friend,

The Bookworm
Chef's Corner
Chef's Corner
FRUIT AND VEGGIES ... SO REFRESHING ON A WARM SPRING DAY!


PASTA PRIMAVERA: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in saute pan and
add 1/2 cup cubed zucchini, 1/2 cup green beans, 1/2 cup
broccoli florets, 1/2 cup cauliflower, 1 diced shallot, and 1/2
teaspoon garlic. Cover and steam for 5 minutes. Stir and mix
well. Add fresh parsley and 1/4 teaspoon basil, recover, cook
until veggies are al dente. Season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and
1/8 teaspoon pepper. Toss with 1 ounce cooked fettucini.
Sprinkle with grated cheese.


FRESH VEGETABLE MEDLEY: Prepare a hot pan with olive oil. Add
fresh garlic. Saute garlic. (Remove garlic, optional.) Add
zucchini, yellow squash, onions, green and red peppers,
mushrooms, snow peas, and celery. Add basil, oregano, and
rosemary, to taste. Don't overcook. Leave vegetables crispy.
Garnish with fresh tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, and a
little fennel.


CUCUMBER SALAD: Wash one whole cucumber but do not peel. Cut
it very thinly and place the slices in a strainer. Leave to
drain for about 20 minutes. Wash and core one red apple, and
slice thinly. Wash and trim one medium-sized fennel, removing
the tough outer leaves and stem. Slice finely. Reserve
feathery leaves for decoration.

DRESSING: Mix 3 tbsp. corn oil or sunflower oil, 2 tbsp. cider
vinegar, 2 tbsp. fresh dill or 1 tsp. dried dill, 1 tsp. caraway
seeds, 1-2 tsp. paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
Mix with the drained cucumber slices, apple, fennel and 1 tbsp.
pine nuts.

Place the salad in the refrigerator or keep in a cool place for
about an hour before serving. Serve decorated with finely
chopped fennel leaves. Finely chopped celery may be used in
place of fennel in this recipe.


FRUITY CABBAGE SALAD: Remove any tough or discolored outer
leaves from 1 large red cabbage. Trim the base so that the
cabbage will stand upright, and cut about a quarter off the top.
 Using a sharp knife, scoop out the inside of the cabbage
leaving 1/4 inch for the shell. Set the shell aside. Discard
any tough pieces and shred the remaining cabbage very finely.
Put the shredded cabbage into a large bowl together with 1 green
pepper, de-seeded and chopped, 1/2 small pineapple, peeled and
finely chopped, segments from 2 medium oranges, 6 green onions,
finely chopped, 3 sticks chopped celery, 1/2 cup hazelnuts,
roughly chopped, and 1/2 cup sprouted aduki beans.

DRESSING: Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup thick set yogurt, and
salt and pepper together and carefully fold into the vegetables
and fruit. Put the mixture into the cabbage shell and place on
a serving dish garnished with parsley. (If preparing in
advance, refrigerate the salad and dressing separately and mix
them together just before serving.)


EASY VEGETABLE PIE: Saute 1 large onion, peeled and finely
chopped, in 2 tbsp. margarine together with 2 sticks of diced
celery and a little water until just tender. Add 3/4 cup cashew
nuts, chopped and dry roasted, 4 cups mixed frozen vegetables
(peas, corn, rutabaga, carrot, turnip, diced peppers, parsnip,
etc.), 2 tsp. tomato paste, 2/3 cup water or stock, 1/2-1 tsp.
yeast extract, and salt and black pepper to taste. Simmer for
3-5 minutes, adding a little more water if the mixture seems too
dry. Keep hot.

Cook 3-4 large potatoes until soft, mash with 1 tbsp. butter and
a little milk, adding salt and pepper to taste. Turn the
vegetable mixture into a casserole dish and cover completely
with the mashed potato. Fork over the top roughly, dot with
butter and broil for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Serve
immediately.


LEMONY BEANS AND MUSHROOMS: Wash, trim and place 1 1/2 pounds
green beans in boiling salted water; cook 10 minutes. Cool
beans under cold running water; drain and set aside. Heat 2
tbsp. butter in frying pan. When hot, add 1/2 pound fresh
mushrooms that have been cleaned and sliced; cook 2 to 3
minutes over high heat. Do not stir. Season generously with
salt and pepper; mix well. Continue cooking 2 minutes. Add
beans, juice and rind of 1 lemon; cover and cook 3 minutes.
Serve.


MINESTRONE: Heat 2 tbsp. butter in large saucepan. When hot,
add 1 onion, peeled and diced small, 1/4 sliced cabbage, and 1
leek, white section only; add 1/4 tsp. basil and 1/4 tsp.
oregano. Cover and cook 4 minutes over low heat.

Add 1 turnip, peeled and diced small; 1 potato, peeled and diced
small; 1 carrot, pared and diced small; mix well. Continue
cooking, covered, 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat.

Add 1 tomato, diced, 1 garlic clove, mashed and chopped, and 1
tsp. chopped parsley; pour in 7 cups cold chicken stock and 5
1/2 oz. can tomato juice. Stir and bring to boil. Season soup
to taste and cook, uncovered, 5 minutes over low heat.

Break 2 1/2 oz. spaghetti in three and add to soup. Season with
pinch celery seed and thyme and continue cooking 12 minutes over
medium heat or until pasta is cooked. Sprinkle with grated
Parmesan cheese to taste and serve.


COLD VEGETABLE LOAF: Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Generously grease 6 cup loaf pan. Place 4 slices white bread,
trimmed of crusts and cubed, in small bowl and cover with 1/2
cup milk; set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp. butter in large frying pan. Add 2 cups sliced
carrots, 1 green pepper, diced small, 1 cucumber, diced small, 2
cups diced cauliflower, 1 large celery stalk, diced small, and 1
garlic clove, mashed and chopped; season well.

Sprinkle in 1/4 tsp. thyme, 1/2 tsp. oregano, 1/2 tsp. powdered
ginger, 1/2 tsp. basil and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and cover pan; cook 8
to 10 minutes over medium heat.

Remove pan from heat and transfer vegetables to bowl of food
processor. Blend until pureed. Add soaked bread and blend
again.

Transfer mixture to a larger bowl. Mix in 6 eggs using whisk.
Correct seasoning. Pour mixture into loaf pan and cover with
foil. Place mold in roasting pan containing 1 inch hot water.
Cook 1 hour and 10 minutes in oven. 20 minutes before end of
cooking, remove foil. Cool slightly, then refrigerate 2 hours
before serving.


BERRY CREAM: Rinse 2 cups fresh cranberries (or raspberries)
and stew with a scant amount of water until softened. Remove
from the heat, add 2-4 tbsp. clear honey to taste and leave to
cool.

Whip 1/3 cup whipping cream and gently fold in 1/2 cup thick set
plain yogurt. Combine the yogurt and cream with the cooled
berries. Divide the mixture between four stem glasses and
decorate with toasted almonds.


STRAWBERRY SHERBET: Pare the rind from 1 medium lemon and put
into
1 1/4 cups water with 3/4 cup sugar. Heat slowly until the
sugar has dissolved then boil for 5 minutes. Strain and set
aside to cool. Hull 3 cups strawberries reserving a few for
decoration. Press the remainder through a strainer and add the
juice of half the lemon.

Whisk 2 egg whites until very stiff. Combine all the
ingredients well. Put into a container and place in the
freezer. Remove when half frozen, beat well and return to the
freezer, for overnight. Place in the refrigerator about 1 hour
before serving. Serve in wine glasses topped with the whole
berries.


PEAR AND APRICOT BARS: Peel and chop 2 pears into small pieces.
Soak 1 cup dried apricots, then chop finely. Mix together 1
tbsp. clear honey, 1/2 tbsp. pear and apple spread, and stir
into the pears and apricots. Add 1 tbsp. sunflower oil, and 1
egg and mix well.

Mix together 1 cup whole-wheat flour and 1 tsp. baking powder,
and fold into the pear and apricot mixture. Spread the mixture
in a greased 6x8 inch tin. Sprinkle with sliced almonds to
decorate. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes
or until risen and golden. Leave to cool and cut into 8 bars.
Praise and Prayer
Praise and Prayer
PRAISE AND PRAYER is our international prayer link column. Send
your praise report or prayer request to MORNING STAR for
publication in our next issue. Call on your brothers and
sisters worldwide and together we will call on God!


PRAISE REPORTS:

MORNING STAR online magazine is now being read and distributed
in South Africa and Russia! We received calls from Cape Town
and Moscow this week! The magazine is now being received in 15
countries: U.S., Canada, Israel, Norway, Finland, Northern
Ireland, England, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Australia,
Taiwan, Philippines, South Africa and Russia.

Donna in California thanks the Lord that the doctors have
discovered the reason why Solica, the counselor at her church,
is going slowly going blind. The doctors found a massive amount
of mercury in her bloodstream. They still don't know how
reversible the condition is, so keep praying for this situation.

Lyman in Mississippi wants to say praise the Lord for the better
job he now has.

Rob and Kimberly Kirsch in Pennsylvania just had a baby boy!
They named him Thaddeus Benjamin (his Hebrew name will be Tzvi
Binyomin). He weighed 7lbs, 6ozs. Praise the Lord!

Scott from Tennessee has been saved for a little over a month
now and thanks the Lord for changing him completely. He was the
class clown previously but now feels so much love for everyone.

For ten years, Mark in Illinois, got up each morning and got
"high" on marijuana. Then with one desperate prayer, that
desire was taken away ... Praise the Lord!

Michael in North Dakota was fired lately ... but thanks the Lord
for providing a job that ministers to others who are less
fortunate.

Deanna from Texas thanks the Lord because her students won the
District One Act Play contest and will move on to other
competition.

Jack in Illinois smoked a cigarette for the last time last week,
and praises God for complete deliverance.

Carol in California praises God for His infinite grace and
power! She underwent the bone scan on April 1st. The results
have come back negative and there are no malignancies!

Buster from Baltimore, Maryland praises the Lord because his
sister-in-law, Cookie, gave her heart to the Lord. Please pray
for her.

Denise from Florida praises the Lord for her Dad who went to the
sunrise and regular service on Easter and heard the Gospel.
Pray for him. She also praises the Lord that her husband's
company won a rather important contract this week. This means
the Lord has provided work for him for a while longer. Thank
you Jesus!

We are praising the Lord that Rox and Mike are back together
again.

Russ in Florida reports that Diane Thomas' operation went OK
(she had colon cancer surgery) but that there are still tests
before they give any kind of answer. She was visiting her
parents in Florida when this happened and so is very much alone.
Her brother asks that we continue to pray for her.

Dale from Maryland thanks the Lord that the facility where his
wife works will not be closed. This means she will continue to
be employed.

Bruce from Texas thanks the Lord for traveling mercies when
members of his church traveled to Belize, Central America on a
mission trip. They saw about 650 people saved at crusades and
trips to the schools in that area. The Lord REALLY ministered
BIG TIME to the churches there. There were healings everywhere
and they were told that this was the first time the churches in
that area all worked together for a city wide crusade. Praise
God - He is good!


PRAYER REQUESTS:

Pray for Denise's 87 year old grandfather. His name is Jim,
from Bessemer, Alabama. He is having a triple bypass. Pray for
her dad, also named Jim, who needs a closer walk with the Lord.

Pray for Tom in Texas, and his parents, who argue over spiritual
issues. Pray also for a safe and pleasant tour of Germany for
his friend Tom, whom he met in Saudi Arabia.

Scott in Tennessee asks for prayer for his Pastor who is having
back surgery.

Pray for John in Michigan, who is a high school teacher and
finds it very discouraging dealing with the students.

Pray for Geoff and Janette in California, who are dealing with
some spiritual oppression. This is probably a product of the
increased case load in his counseling ministry and the
establishing of the two support groups. Pray for their
financial needs as well.

Brian had a phone interview from an employment agency in
Columbus, Ohio concerning a computer related position. Also
pray for him and his fiancee Janet concerning financial matters,
and that the Lord will find a way for them.

Clifford in New Jersey asks prayer for a church group he attends
and also for a church member, Fred Everett, who was just
diagnosed as having a brain tumor.

Dale in Maryland asks prayer for his friend Larry and his wife
about her job travel requirements. Pray also for his church's
music ministry which is in need of a new leader.

Sharon from Tennessee needs prayer concerning her job that will
be done about the end of the year.

Thomas from Ohio asks for prayer concerning a job. Pray for his
parents also.

David in Texas asks prayer for the Baylor Religious Hour Choir
going on a mission trip to Belize this May 17-28. Pray that the
Lord will draw many souls to Himself.

Pray for Tony in Alabama who is going through a very rough time
with his marriage and finances.

Pray for Philip's mom in Arkansas, Marie, who was admitted to
the hospital. Keep Philip and his dad in prayer through all
this too.

Pray for Geoff's home church in California. The church is
growing and being blessed and is a blessing to the community.

Pray for Denise's sister Jamie in Florida. She is due to
deliver her firstborn in three weeks.

Pray for Robert in Ohio who has had a sore throat for over a
month which won't heal.

Wayne in Pennsylvania asks for prayer for Kol Simcha (messianic
choral group). They are going to St. Petersburg, Russia
(formerly Leningrad) in three weeks for a week long evangelistic
campaign! Pray for success, safe travel, health, etc. and
REVIVAL!

Kathy in California asks us to pray for her husband who is in
therapy right now to address a lot of childhood issues.

Lynn asks prayer for "DK" who needs prayer for salvation.

Michael in North Dakota has an opportunity to go to Arkansas
this summer as a youth pastor. His prayer request is that God
brings a strong Godly woman into the church that is willing to
help him with the female youth.

Mike in New Jersey feels the need for prayer for positive
assurance that a new job opportunity is in God's will.

Meta from Washington asks for prayer concerning a sugar problem.

Deanna asks for prayer for about 35 pregnant teenagers in a
school in Texas.

Karen from Maine asks for prayer for her dad. Her mom passed
away less than a year ago and he has lost the will to live.
Pray for his salvation.

Deb in Virginia asks for prayer for her sister Lynn whose
husband left her and she has no idea where he is ... but she has
received divorce papers from him. Pray that she will hear from
him this week.

Steve from Arkansas asks for prayer concerning his moving to
Knoxville, Tennessee in May. He is looking for a position in a
Youth/Music ministry at a church.

Pray for Karen in Virginia about a few family situations that
she is concerned about.

Pray for Danny's good health in Texas and for his financial
needs. Pray that his church continues to prosper in the Lord.

Richard in Tennessee asks for prayer for a friend who is dealing
with an alcoholic associate and having a hard time.

Michael in California asks for prayer for the family of someone
who was shot and killed in his apartment complex recently. Pray
for the safety of Michael as well.

Pray for Roxanna's financial needs.

Emily in Moscow Russia sent several prayer requests in this
week; Pray for Elianora & her son Volodya. She's the now
ex-chairman of a Holocaust survivors association, which she
founded because she and her son are moving to Germany next week.
She is a believer and was baptized last October in the Jordan
River. Pray for Emily and other missionaries in Russia. If the
Congress of People's Deputies gets into full power, all foreign
missionaries could be in serious jeopardy. Pray also for the
ever-present threat of anti-semitism rearing its ugly head in
Russia. Pray for a new messianic newspaper, written and xeroxed
by Russian messianic Jews. Hallelujah!

Pray for "K" who is doing counseling for a crisis pregnancy
center in Chicago Area. Pray for all the counselors.

Ron in Ohio asks prayer for his mom Beth, who lives in Colorado.
She is having some difficulty at work from bosses. She could
use encouragement and strengthening of the Holy Spirit.

Donna in California asks for prayer for herself because she is
having a real rough time right now. Pray also for a young
mother named Fretta who is pregnant and her boyfriend is leaving
her.

CM from New York requests prayer for Will & Penny and their
ministries. Pray also for her daughters Samantha & Sabrina that
they will sleep well.

Charles in Massachusetts needs a new career. Pray for guidance
from the Lord.

Steve in New Hampshire asks for prayer for his cousin Janette,
whose infant daughter was just christened. Her husband
committed suicide late last year and now she's trying to raise
four children on her own.

Lyman in Mississippi wants prayer for a friend who is in ICU
getting some sort of blood clot treatmeant and going to have
surgery sometime next week.

Pray for a family in Pensacola, Florida where the mother and a
young son were murdered by a friend's 20 year old son.

Dominic in California asks prayer for a job. He has been out of
full-time employment for almost a year and is seeking God's
direction.

Pray for Ronny in Ft.Worth, Texas who has pains in his chest
now, and previously had a heart attack in July.

Pray for missionary Kent Hart who was arrested in Egypt. He is
in a jail just south of Cairo. Charges have been dropped from
"Disrespect for Islam" to "Preaching without a license". Pray
also for another man, a native convert who could face torture
and death penalty for converting to Christianity.

Al in Texas requests prayer for the mother of his former manager
in the hospital. He requests continued prayer for a minister who
is closely involved with youth work but continues in the
intimate relationships he had as a homosexual and continues to
allow the flesh and emotion to be the leader in his life and
ministry. Pray that matters are resolved quickly and properly
by the Lord.

AB in Nevada asks prayer for a fiend, Bill, whose girlfriend
Kelly needs to be more committed to the Lord. Also they need
the Lord's guidance concerning their relationship.

Pray for JH in Arkansas who is teaching in a school and finding
some things difficult. He is new to the area, and among his
immediate peers, there are few believers and even less his age
making him feel lonely.

Brother Ron Elkin asks us to pray for Ellen, a 12-yr old Russian
Jewish girl, who made a profession of faith in July of 92 and is
now denying her need for God and is acting in a rebellious way
against Him. Also pray for Isa, a Russian Jewish woman is
struggling with her fear of rejection from the Jewish community
if she were to believe in Jesus.

Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim! - Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.
(Psalm 122:6a)
Potpourri
Potpourri
BUT YOU DIDN'T

Almost forty years ago my father gave me a wonderful little
plaque that said simply: "Never give up". The Never Give Up plaque
still hangs above my desk and contains three of the most powerful
and important words I've ever heard or read.

I wrote the following poem just after learning that my dad, now
seventy-six, has cancer. I wrote it to honor this very special
man whom I have the privilege of calling my father.

Dad,

Remember when I broke the window at the neighbor's house? You
know, the great big one? I tried to get you excited about the
fact that I'd hit a home run in the process; But by the look on
your face when you found out how much it was going to cost, I
thought you were going to strangle me,

BUT YOU DIDN'T

And remember when you found out that I had sold the Minister some
books on how to mix drinks (that I'd found in the alley) just to
make some extra money for Christmas presents? I thought for sure
that you were going to tell me that there was going to be no
more Christmas for me,

BUT YOU DIDN'T

Do you remember, Dad, when I borrowed your best knife, kinda
without your knowing it, and kinda lost it? Oh I felt awful. I
knew that you were going to tell me that I was a screwed-up,
irresponsible kid,

BUT YOU DIDN'T

Remember, Dad, when I split my head open for the fourth time in
only three years? For sure, I expected you to tell me that it
was a really dumb thing to do,

BUT YOU DIDN'T

O Dad, can you remember when you tried to teach me how to drive?
And I became an instant imbecile, unable to remember which pedal
did what, making the car jump up and down all over the road? I
felt certain that you'd adopt me out to another family until I
finally learned how to drive,

BUT YOU DIDN'T

And, can you remember, Dad, when you let me use your car, for
that "extra special" date and I got into an accident because I
was trying to show off? I was afraid to come home because I told
her you were going to ground me... for at least a year,

BUT YOU DIDN'T

O Dad, you were always surprising me, always loving me more than
I ever deserved. Somehow you always knew just what I needed.
Like, remember when I didn't make the team that year and I came
home in tears, feeling pretty sorry for myself? I was confident
that you'd join me in my self-pity party,

BUT YOU DIDN'T

Or, years later, when I finally made the All City and All State
teams and even got a scholarship to go to Stanford? I thought
you'd be so impressed and tell me that now I "really had life
made",

BUT YOU DIDN'T

I guess that's why you didn't seem so surprised when I got thrown
in jail for "celebrating a little bit too hard" after a State
Championship game. Remember, Dad, (how could you ever forget)
when you and Mom got a phone call at 4:30 in the morning from
the chief of police asking you to come down to the jail and get
your son? All the way home I waited and waited for you to blast
me,

BUT YOU DIDN'T

The first words, in fact the only words, you said to me were:
"Come on, son, let's go have some breakfast." How did you know,
Dad? How did you know? At the time of most critical failure; at
the very time when I knew that I had let you down the most, you
knew, you remembered to remind me that I was your son ... period
... in spite of it all.

How did you know? For a man with only an eighth - grade
education and no time to read, because you were always working
more than one job just to keep your family going, you were sure
smart. No, more than that, Dad, you had some of that "wisdom" that
must have come from the Other Father. You always told me that you
and "The Man Upstairs" (as you were fond of calling Him) were
pretty close friends.

The years passed, and our friendship grew even closer. I can
remember, Dad, the first time we had lunch together - just you
and me, alone. I was in my late twenties - almost a grown man.
We laughed and you told me stories about your youth that I never
knew before. That lunch seemed to go on forever. After that, you
seemed even closer and I began to realize who you really were ...
and how much I really loved you. Memories ... Special ones ...
Aren't we fortunate, Dad, to have so many? Steve and I have a lot
of rich memories, because you made sure that we experienced a lot
of life... together.

REMEMBER, DAD,

When we used to go duck hunting at Midnight, our little dog was
so small that she couldn't drag the ducks back? When I brought
forty-three kids home from a Young Life camp at three in the
morning, to sleep on the floor? When you and Mom could dance all
night and still knock the socks off everybody at work the next
day? When your sons finally graduated from college (it was
something you always wanted for us)?

REMEMBER, DAD,

When Steve, your number-one son and my number-one friend, got
married in Boston? What a grand celebration. You were so proud.
When you got honored for being the top man in your region, an
honor few men get (still working) at the age of seventy-four?
When you first had to tell me that "California was a long ways
away" and that you would like to come down, but maybe later...?

O Dad,

I've never quite had enough words to be able to tell you and Mom
just how much I love you.

Remember when Pam and I finally got our first house and the
children came? We wanted so much for you to be able to come
visit,

BUT YOU DIDN'T

You couldn't anymore. For a growing number of reasons. You
wanted to so much, but California was "such a long way".

Remember, Dad, the day they broke the news to you that you had
cancer? Everyone else seemed to fall to pieces,

BUT YOU DIDN'T

Never have I been more proud of you, Pop. The quiet courage that
you showed us all those years, sometimes when we weren't even
aware of it, has shown all the more brightly these past months.
I never heard you complain. In fact, I've never seen you laugh
more richly, Pop, and never seen you so much at peace. I'm
understanding, at even deeper levels, those three precious
words you gave me four decades ago,

"Never Give Up",

because, YOU DIDN'T

From ... "What kids need most in a Dad." By Tim Hansel


THE ART OF MARRIAGE

A good marriage must be created.
In the marriage the little things,
... are the big things...

It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you",
... at least once a day.

It is never going to sleep angry.
It is having a mutual sense of values,
... and common objectives.

It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that,
... gathers in the whole family.

It is speaking words of appreciation,
And demonstrating gratitude,
... in thoughtful ways.

It is having the capacity,
To forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere,
... in which each can grow.

It is a common search,
For the Good and the beautiful.

It's not only marrying the right person,
It's being the right partner.

-Wilfred A. Peterson


Come my Lord, my soul is searching,
All that I have, has come from thee;
Oh I adore thee, and I implore thee;
Oh my Lord, abide in me!

-Anonymous

International
Mission field
Mission Field
PARTNERS INTERNATIONAL - MINISTRY HIGHLIGHTS

February/March 1993


SERBIAN STUBBORNNESS

Even as the outside world agonizes over the tragic civil war,
one of our partner ministry leaders, a Serb himself, shares some
insights on his people. He says, "There is something of Don
Quixote in the Serbian people, idealism and courageousness and
living the dreams, heroic, suicidal, stubborn, ready to die but
not to change."

Despite the upheaval of the war, the Balkan Mission pressed
forward in 1992, planting two new churches and two new preaching
points in the former republic of Yugoslavia. One of the new
churches now has over 30 members, all Albanian. Fourteen
Albanians were baptized there the day before Christmas.

THE COST OF FOLLOWING CHRIST

Subhas Sangma, our ministry leader in Bangladesh, knows the
heavy price new believers sometimes have to pay in his country.
Mr. Ganendra is one of them. On the third day after he received
the Savior, his house was burned to ashes with all of his
belongings.

THEY NEVER HAD THIS KIND OF HELP!

Dr. Vijayam, our South Asia Coordinator, has helped start
community development programs among the poor Harijan (outcast)
congregations in South India: basket weaving, animal raising,
coconut trees, dairy production, etc.

He took the Harijan leader, Rev. Moses Swamidas, to nearby
Kerala University to request the help of the university's
agriculture department. The director of the university research
farm offered to help Rev. Swamidas any time, and to give them
coconut and banana nursery plants.

Since the Harijans are generally oppressed by the higher castes,
Moses was astonished to get this kind of attention from such
highly trained professionals. Dr. Vijayam wrote, "Moses could
not believe that there are people who are genuinely interested
in the poor and exploited communities. Let us hope that this
trend will help in eradicating not only the poverty but also the
caste-based social structure to establish His kingdom."

COMMITTED TO SELF-SUPPORT

Rev. Nonilo Sanchez, one of our partner leaders in the
Philippines, is concerned because their workers do not receive
sufficient financial help. At the same time, he is "convinced
that Partners International and other foreign friends have
already done their best to help us." He is encouraging the local
Filipino churches to grow in the support of their own workers.

Already nine church planters are getting regular support from
local donors, 20 churches have taken responsibility for their
full-time workers, and five churches have built concrete
buildings from their own resources.

A PERSONAL LOOK AT WAR

Rev. William Tarty fled Liberia with many other refugees when
the civil war began there in the fall of 1990. He has since
spearheaded the planting of 23 churches in the Ivory Coast.
About his own situation, he writes: "I lost my oldest sister and
my stepson in the war ... For the past two years my children
have not been able to attend school, but now by the grace of God
they are in school and doing fine in their lessons. Besides my
own family I have with me 25 refugees that I am taking care of,
both old people and children."

THE PRINCIPLE HOLDS

Johan Lukasse, director of the Belgian Evangelical Mission,
rejoices that five new couples joined the ministry in 1992.
Three of the couples are Belgian nationals, and one of these has
already seen remarkable results. According to Johan, "The
principle still holds-the best people to win Belgians are the
Belgians themselves."

EMPTY CHRISTMAS BOXES

Samuel Chiang, our East Asia Regional Coordinator, was going
through the lobby of a Westernized hotel in China. Some of the
Chinese ministry leaders that Partners assists were with him.
These leaders noticed wrapped presents under the Christmas
trees. They remarked, "How nice that the guests left gifts for
the hotel management." Samuel had to tell them that the gifts
were fake. Disbelieving, they said, "How nice that the
management wanted to leave presents for the guests." Samuel had
to repeat that the gifts were fake. They were still skeptical,
so he picked up one of the gifts and tossed it to them. They
recognized that it was indeed very light-an empty, wrapped box.
Disappointed, they made the following remark:

"China is opening up economically. We try to copy all that the
West has to offer. Our celebration of Christmas (still not
officially recognized) is almost as big as the celebration of
the Chinese New Year. The window displays show the festive color
of Christmas but they are laced with liquor bottles and
expensive clothing. The free Gift, the Christ of Christmas, is
missing like the empty boxes under these trees. As for us, we
may not have boxes to give, empty or full, but we have the
glorious promise to share!"

CHINA: JAIL DOES NOT STOP THEM!

As they were handcuffed and brought in, they felt the hostile
looks of the other prisoners. They knew that newcomers are
usually insulted and beaten up. In prayer, Brother L felt led to
share the gospel there, and to be patient and humble.

A prisoner asked why they were there. Brother L replied, "We
believe in Jesus." The prisoner asked what he could gain if he
believed in Jesus. Brother L shared about Christ, and said the
prisoner "went away with joy."

The other prisoners had heard the conversation, and the next day
they asked Brother L to share the Good News with them, too. In
all, they were there 17 days, and our partner workers were able
to preach to the prisoners every day. A prisoner remarked, "it
is true that God sent you here- how else could we meet you?"

Their last day in jail was a Sunday. One prisoner suggested,
"Let's have a Sunday service!" They worshipped the Lord together.

By the time our partner workers were released, they felt
themselves wanting to stay longer with the prisoners. One
remarked, "It is in such hardships that the Chinese Church was
built."

CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO AIDS

In Kenya, Rev. Isaac Simbiri has recently held five seminars on
AIDS-three for women leaders and two for pastors and youth
leaders. The participants came from eight denominations.

Rev. Simbiri has reason to be concerned. Africa has
approximately 64% of the world's AIDS cases. Rev. David Kitonga,
Partners International's Africa Coordinator, reported that in
some of the hardest-hit countries, whole villages have been
nearly depopulated by the disease.

Rev. Simbiri fights against AIDS through educational programs,
and by promoting biblical values that will help protect people.

AWARD FOR HIS "WITNESS"

Rev. Ki-Chang Ahn received a Witness Award from the 80th Korean
Presbyterian General Assembly. The award was in recognition of
his evangelization efforts in the unreached rural areas and
remote islands of Korea where Buddhism is still strong.

Rev. Ahn's research found that, besides the many unreached
villages in Korea, there are 517 inhabited islands; 302 of them
presently do not presently have a church. His Operation
Lighthouse ministry has planted 78 churches and 300 house
churches in the rural and island areas.

Upon receiving the award, Rev. Ahn said, "I believe it is our
Lord who was rewarded."

WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN ONE DOLLAR MAKE?

Rev. Charles Saydee, like many Liberians, fled as a refugee from
the civil war in his country that started in 1990. One day,
after he finished preaching to other refugees, a woman
approached him. Mrs. Seekie was formerly a well-to-do lady in
Liberian society. She said she had heard of "the great things
your ministry has been doing for many of our stranded people
here. I came to seek your help."

The tragedy of her story was beyond words. They had been caught
by the rebels after walking for a week. She was ordered not to
shed a tear or show any sorrow on her face as her husband was
beheaded before the eyes of her and her children. Since then
they had been surviving by begging.

Rev. Saydee was only able to give her the equivalent of one U.S.
dollar. She was nevertheless overjoyed and in tears. Rev. Saydee
commented, "Yes, prayer partners, she and her children need our
prayers, and we are trying to help them."

THEY KNOW HOW TO REACH MUSLIMS

Our partner organization of Arab Christians sent ten brothers
and sisters to three European countries where a lot of North
Africans live. They also sent six others to North Africa to
visit the homes of people who had shown interest in Christian
radio programs. Their expenses were met by donors who gave
through Partners International.

These young evangelists saw hundreds of Muslims come to Christ.
Local churches are now following up on these new believers.

In some places where there was only a handful of Christians and
no organized church, services were held to encourage and train
them in evangelism and follow-up.

One of the leaders of The Network was describing each of the
five members of the executive committee that leads this
ministry. His comments provide a clue as to why their ministry
is so effective. He said, "All five have a history of
reconciliation. They are reconcilers. None is a polarizer. And
that is the very secret of the movement-we need more reconcilers
than polarizers."

ADDICTS REACHING ADDICTS

Operation Dawn reaches drug addicts in Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Thailand and Sri Lanka. Rev. Simon Lau leads the Taiwan branch.

Simon was himself an addict and gang leader for ten years. His
mother prayed for him every day. Simon tried to kick his habit a
number of times. He went through detoxification programs. But
the craving for drugs was too strong, and he always returned.

Finally Simon found Operation Dawn. Their tough one-year
program, designed to lead the addict to Christ, disciple him and
rebuild his broken body, changed Simon. With God's help, he
found himself strong enough to stay off drugs. He also found a
vision to reach other addicts. Now there are five former
addicts, three men and two women, all products of his ministry,
studying full time in seminary.

FILIPINO MISSION LEADER EXPRESSES HIS THANKS

Rev. Nonilo Sanchez leads a ministry that has sent nearly 200
Filipino missionaries to the unreached areas of their country.
He wrote to me recently:

"You cannot imagine how much all of you mean to us as we work
together in partnership in the ministry of the Gospel. The lost
are saved. Thousands of lives are changed, churches established,
and ministry is expanded. The precious name of our Lord is
glorified. All this because there are people like you who are
willing to help us.


Ministry Highlights is published by Partners International, 470
North Fourth Street, San Jose, CA 95112-4787. For more
information write, or call [phone] or FAX [phone].
CFI Reports
CFI Reports
CFI REPORTS is our monthly column dedicated to the ministries of
CHRISTIAN FRIENDS OF ISRAEL in Jerusalem. Our October 1991
issue of MORNING STAR (Volume 1.1) presented a summary of the
various CFI ministries and explained the foundational principles
and objectives of CFI. In this month's column we present the
April 1993 "Watchman's Prayer Letter", direct from Jerusalem.


WATCHMAN'S PRAYER LETTER - April 1993


The tide of violence in this land has increased dramatically
over the past few months. How will God stem the tide? What are
the means He uses to do it? "When the enemy comes in like a
flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lit up a standard against
him." (Isaiah 59:19). God has His company of intercessors in
the earth who are instruments in the hands of the Holy Spirit to
lift up the standards and stem the tidal wave of satanic attacks
pouring into Israel during these days of "peace talks". Whether
we bow down (Genesis 24:26); bow our heads (Exodus 4:31); spread
our hands to heaven (II Chronicles 6:13); fall upon our knees
(Ezra 9:5); or kneel (Daniel 6:10); fall on our faces (Joshua
5:14); or stand (I Kings 8:22), the posture of prayer is
insignificant compared to the attitude in which we pray. The
promises are that when we call, He will answer. (Psalm 91:15).
As Abraham drew near to God and persistently pleaded with God
for the righteous to be saved in wicked Sodom and Gomorrah
(Genesis 18:23-32), God conversed with Him and answered his
persistent prayer. Likewise, may we be faithful to persevere in
the heat of the day for this tiny nation through our
intercession.


An unrelenting wave of terrorism against the Jewish presence in
Israel has plagued the country these past few weeks. Violence
has risen into a rod of wickedness and the land has been
polluted with innocent victims' blood. The days are indeed evil.

* PRAY that there be a realization by Arab workers that the
price of violence is high and that they will not go unpunished.
Pray that they will begin to disavow this rein of terror and
take a stand to have no further part in bloodshed.

* INTERCEDE for believers who call on the name of the Lord in
Israel to have the determination and the will to persevere for
God's help for this land from its troubles, for vain is the help
of man. "Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of
man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall
tread down our enemies." (Psalm 60:11-12).

* SINCERELY PRAY that stricter inspection of Arab laborers from
the Gaza Strip who try to defy the law by bringing in dangerous
weapons carried for one reason, to kill Jewish people, will be
enforced. May the "candle of wickedness" burning with a hot
flame be blotted out. (Proverbs 24:20).

* ASK IN PRAYER that the 2, 000 additional men and women which
have recently been added to the police force and those who have
enlarged the Civil Guard be able to control those who "lay in
wait for blood and lurk for the innocent without cause." (
Proverbs 1:11).

* GIVE THANKS for the numbers of Israelis who have volunteered
their labor in settlements without wages (particularly in Gush
Katif in the Gaza District which has suffered most from
terrorist attacks). "There is nothing better for a man... that
he shall make his soul enjoy good in his labor ...".
(Ecclesiastes 2:24).

According to poll and local voting patterns, at least one half
of the Palestinian Arab population is openly opposed to any
"peaceful" solution for the land short of the elimination of the
State of Israel.

* EARNESTLY PRAY that the PLO, Hamas and Islamic Jihad will have
severe drops in recruitment to their ranks of terrorism and
murder. May their yoke of bloodshed be broken. (Nahum 1:13)

* BESEECH THE LORD for uprightness and accountability in all
areas of government "When the righteous are in authority, the
people rejoice ...". (Proverbs 29:2). May the prayer of Elijah
be borne on our hearts . " Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this
people may know that thou art the Lord God ...". (I Kings 18:37).

Israel is talking of territorial concessions, and the halting of
settlement building in the waste places. The Israeli people have
been told that there are no guarantees against a complete
withdrawal from the Golan Heights. If this takes place, Israel
will be a divided nation. (Israel News Digest). Syria is also
appearing to want a treaty with Israel and Palestinians are
considering self-government. The talk of territorial
concessions, coupled with the spate of violence, left Jewish
settlers on the Golan Heights and in the Gaza in a state of
uncertainty.

* PREVAIL IN FAITH that a division of the Land will not take
place. It is God's Land and Israel has inherited it. (Numbers
26:53; Jeremiah 12:14). Pray that Israel not be drawn to
compromise or modify God's commands to possess the Land. May no
settlements nor negotiations be made that would endanger or
jeopardize additional lives of the people of Israel (Psalm
28:3). "Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers
of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbors, but evil is
in their hearts". (Psalm 28:3). Also Ezekiel 35:10; 36:5.

The shofar sounds for additional prayer for Jewish immigrants
still in Russia. Tales of woe are increasingly worsening. It is
clear that the Communist Party now see a possible path to
absolute power once again. It is difficult to name anything in
today's Russia that is under control.

* SEEK THE LORD for anti-God strongholds in Russia to be broken
down and hedges of political power to crumble in order for the
gospel of Israel's Messiah to be brought freely to Russia. "Thou
has broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his
strongholds to ruin." (Psalm 89: 40). Also Isaiah 24:10.
"Wherefore glorify yet the Lord in the fires, even the name of
the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea" (Isaiah 24:15).

Political difficulties in Ethiopia have stalled the bringing of
the Falash Mura to Israel and also the definite postponement of
a visit to that country by the present Absorption Minister. The
ancient Ethiopian Jewish prayer has always been: "The hungry go
to food; the thirsty go to water, but I shall go to Jerusalem".

* SERIOUSLY INTERCEDE that despite many difficulties, a smooth
way will soon be made for Ethiopian children and their parents to
be reunited in Israel. Pray that God will make a way with the
government to accept them. May Israel's increase of people
include the Falash Mura. "Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet
for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for
them; I will increase them with men like a flock." (Ezekiel
36:37) "And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and
I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I
the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord."
(Ezekiel 37 :14)

* PRAY that government officials will show understanding and
concern for the situation of the separation of families. May the
Lord be a "refuge for the oppressed, and a refuge in the times
of trouble". (Psalm 9:9) May they that know the Lord know that
"the Lord has not forsaken them". (vs. 10)

The world is indeed facing perilous times, but ultimately,
Islam, Arab terror and anti-God strongholds will be humiliated
and defeated, for whoever dares to touch Israel, is still
touching the apple of God's eye. "In righteousness you will be
established; you will be far from oppression, for you will not
fear; and from terror for it will not come near you. No weapon
that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that
accuses you in judgment you will condemn." (Isaiah 54:14,17).

Standing steadfast on the promises of God's Word,
Sharon Sanders,
Jerusalem

Please copy and disseminate this prayer material as far and wide
as possible to the Body of Christ for prayer purposes. For
further information contact Christian Friends of Israel.

P O Box 1813
Jerusalem 91015 ISRAEL
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Newsdesk
Newsdesk
MORNING STAR NEWSDESK - May 1993


WILL TWELVE BECOME TEN IN THE EC?

Support for the Maastricht treaty is waning in Denmark, giving
rise to fears of another No vote in the referendum on May 18th.
A second rejection would throw the European Community into
crisis. Defeat would raise questions over whether Denmark would
break away entirely from the EC and whether Britain would
abandon its Maastricht ratification. It is believed that Prime
Minister Major could not maintain his majority if he tried to
press ahead after a Danish No. (From THE EUROPEAN 3/28/93)


MORE EC-ISRAEL LINKS

Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres held talks in Strasbourg
with members of the foreign affairs and foreign trade committees
before meeting Council President Niels Helveg Petersen.
Appealing for European help to create a "new Middle East," he
expressed the hope that peace negotiations would start again
towards the end of April.

Israel was prepared to compromise and accept UN resolutions,
including the return of territory, as a basis for negotiations
with both Syria and the Palestinians, he said. One possibility
was jordan/Palestinian confederation. European leaders had an
important role to play in the peace negotiations, he said, and
this was emphasized by President-in-Office of Council, Mr.
Petersen, who said, the Middle East was a high priority area for
the Community.

The European Investment Bank is making available two new global
loans totalling 40 million ECU to the Industrial Development
Bank of Israel for promoting industry, tourism and environmental
protection projects. (EC - EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT NEWS)


PERSIAN PURCHASES

An Iranian military delegation is in North Korea to complete the
purchase of 150 missiles capable of reaching Israel with
conventional and chemical warheads, reported an Iranian
opposition official. Asked about the reported deal, Secretary
of State Warren Christopher said: "We would view that with
considerable concern."

Mohammed Mohaddessin, foreign affairs director of the National
Council of Resistance of Iran, an opposition coalition, said
sources in Iran reported that the 21-man Iranian delegation is
headed by Brig. Gen. Hossein Manteqi, head of Iran's Defense
Industry Organization. He said in an interview the Iranians are
pressing the Koreans for delivery of the missiles this year,
perhaps as early July or August.

The missiles have a range of 1,000 Kilometers or 625 miles, more
than doubling the range of military payload which Iran can now
deliver. Mohaddessin said the North Koreans would probably
fixed and mobile launchers for the new missiles. The Iranians
are repaying North Korea with oil shipments now running at a
level of 100,000 barrels a day. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)


MORE PLO DOUBLE TALK

PLO leader Yasser Arafat, broadcasting in Arabic over Monte
Carlo Radio, appealed to President Clinton to prove his
commitment to human rights by curbing what he called Israel's
"cruel oppression" in the territories. In the same address
Arafat also urged Palestinians to escalate the violence against
Israel "and burn the earth under the feet of the occupiers."
(JERUSALEM POST)


JEWISH PATRIARCH REALLY A MOSLEM

A Moslem professor stunned his Christian and Jewish colleagues
at an interfaith symposium last month by telling them it was
clear that Abraham was an upright Moslem, and not a Jew.

"Abraham is an imam of the Arab nation," said Professor Yassir
Mallah of Bethlehem University. He told the audience that "he
who turns away from the way of Mohammed turns away from the
religion of Abraham." The promised land, in Moslem tradition,
he said, was Greater Syria. It was given to the Jewish people
on the condition they follow the teachings of Moses, and it was
only for the era of Moses, which ended when the Jews were
invited to follow the prophecy of Mohammed, he said. (JERUSALEM
POST)
Ministry Information
Ministry Information
MORNING STAR INFORMATION AND PRODUCT GUIDE

April, 1993


******* READING *******


DECISION MAGAZINE
($7 annually, 11 issues per year)
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
P.O. Box 779
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55440-0779

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY MAGAZINE
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80935-3550
(free upon request)

HIGHWAY
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Transport For Christ - Highway
P.O. Box 303
Denver, PA
17517

IN OTHER WORDS
Newspaper of Wycliffe Bible Translators
PO BOX 2727
Huntington Beach, CA 92647

The OMEGA LETTER
(Prophecy newsletter from Peter LaLonde)
($30 annual, 11 issues per year)
US: P.O. Box 1440 Niagara Falls, NY 14302
Canada: 4429 Queen St. Niagara Falls, Ont. L2E2L2

PARTNERS PRAYER GUIDE (Partner Ministries)
1470 N. 4th St. PO BOX 15025
San Jose CA. 95115-0025
(free guide to praying for different nations)

PRISON EVANGELISM MAGAZINE
International Prison Ministry
P.O. Box 63
Dallas, TX 75221

THE TEACHING HOME
(A Christian magazine for home educators)
P.O. Box 20219
Portland, Oregon 97220-0219
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

TODAY IN THE WORD (Moody Bible Institute)
820 North La Salle Drive
Chicago Il. 60610
(free 3-month trial subscription)

TRACKS IN THE SAND
Uncovering Christian Men's Issues
P.O. Box 1828
Tustin, CA
92680
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WORLD CHALLENGE (David Wilkerson letter)
(free newsletter, 17 issues per year)
P.O. Box 260 Lindale, Texas 75771
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CHRISTIAN TAPES FOR THE DISABLED
(Write for catalog of cassettes and information)
Box 455 - Buffalo, NY 14209
[phone]

GREAT CHRISTIAN BOOKS
229 S. Bridge St.
PO BOX 8000
Elkton MD 21922-8000
($5 membership fee)

HERMENTEUTIKA
Computer-Aided Bible Research Software
PO BOX 98563
Seattle WA 98198
free catalog
toll free number: 1-800-55BIBLE

INSTITUTE FOR RELIGIOUS RESEARCH
1340 Monroe Ave, NW
Grand Rapids Michigan 49505
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY
PO BOX 62970
Colorado Springs CO 80962-2970
[phone]

KIRKBRIDE BIBLE COMPANY
-Thompson Chain Reference Bible (5th Edition) NIV and KJV
-NEW Thompson Chain Reference Bible Companion
1-800-428-4385

MESSIANIC RECORDS INC./LAMB
(A Concert Ministry)
7605 Brookhaven Road
Philadelphia, PA 19151
[phone]
Fax [phone]

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR RELEASE TIME CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
P.O. Box K
Ellijay, GA 30540
[phone]

ON LINE BIBLE COLLEGE
Servant of the Lord BBS: 804-590-2161
Whole Cousel Ministries
Mataoca, Virginia
Sysop: Dr. Charles A. Wootten
INTERNET: [e-mail] or 76476.1556@cis
Fax: [phone]

WYCLIFFE BIBLE TRANSLATORS
P.O. Box 2727
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
phone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]

ZONDERVAN PUBLISHING HOUSE
-NRSV Concordance
-NIV Atlas of the Bible
1-800-727-3480