A Father's Love Letter

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Come to the Table

Some count carbs, some count calories, and others follow strict diet plans, all in an effort to insure that they have proper nutrition. The old saying, "you are what you eat”, rings true for our physical health. Proper nutrition is also of paramount importance for our spiritual health. The Word of God is compared to both "milk" (1 Peter 2:2) and "solid food" (1 Corinthians 3:2). Pastors are commanded to "feed the flock" (John 21:25). Without a doubt, the Word of God is the source of our spiritual nourishment.

It has been, and remains, the commitment of Bible Center Church that we provide a balanced diet of God's truth in every ministry. Whether it is a preschooler learning a simple verse in Cubbies, or if it is Scripture shared at the bedside of an ailing senior citizen, we desire to deliver a well prepared and well served “helping” of God's Word. For more than 65 years we have been blessed with great Bible teaching from our pulpit; and please pray for those of us who are called upon to deliver the message for today.

So won't you come to the table eager to enjoy hearing from God? Don't settle for a handful of vitamins or a fast-food meal; let’s together dig deep into God's Word and feast upon His truth.

Jesse Waggoner

The Crown

“They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’” (Matt. 27:29)

What kind of perverse mind would have thought of it; yes the would-be ruler needed to be taught a lesson, but how to do it….let’s see…a king wears a crown….then a quick glance at nearby thorn-bush and the plan was hatched. The king would wear a crown of thorns, what a clever, ironic, cruel and spectacular stunt. Quickly murderous hands wove the branches in the wicked circle and it was rammed into Jesus scalp.

The mind behind the hands never realized that thorns were not always part of creation, they were a direct result of sin…(“Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee;” Gen. 3:18) and that portion of sin’s curse was wounding the single sinless one as he was dying for the sinners that was everyone else. It was not a warped sense of humor that conceived the crown of thorns it was a message delivered, that declared it was grace, love and mercy which drove our Savior to accept the curse of sin so that I could ever go free. What wonder, what a matchless gift.

Question: What fitting tribute can I offer today to express my awareness of the gift of Jesus?

Jesse Waggoner

A look Inside

When we take a good look at ourselves it is not a pretty picture. We are all irascible, unlovely, self-absorbed, secretive, guarded, closed, defensive --- and lonely, seeking love and acceptance, needing someone to care, scared, scarred, ugly within and without, and unable to change ourselves into the persons we would like to be. Sounds pretty hopeless doesn’t it? We would remain hopeless except that God has sent us a Savior and He has taken on himself the responsibility to change us.

God knows us profoundly and intimately from the inside out. No sigh goes unnoticed; no tear falls unseen; no heart aches alone; no thought goes unknown; no life goes unheeded. God loves us all--right now, as we are; God loves us all--always, even in knowing who we were, as well as who we will be; God loves us all-- misfit, miscreant, and maladjusted. We are all, in some part, all of these: yet, God loves us all.

We are all in line for reconstruction; however, that reconstruction will be consummated instantly when we shall see Him as He is and we are changed in an instant, like unto His glorious body. Until then, we can actually decide how we want to change, and God willing, start on a path that leads us to a better version of ourselves.

Psychobabble and pop-psychology? I don't think so---just the reality that God is in control and He wants the best for His children.

James McQuerrey

The View from the Other Side

There is a side of ourselves that we present to the public. It is a carefully crafted image, one that is constantly refined, reviewed, tweaked and tended. We want to appear better than we really are. A recent experience reminded my of how true this is.

Last year my son Brian and I attended the WV State High School Basketball Tournament at the Charleston Civic Center. The game was carried statewide on television. While I was snapping a few pictures before the game, I got one of Tony Caridi (The Voice of the Mountaineers) and Fred Persinger getting ready to do the play-by-play. (The top picture is from the TV broadcast). I couldn’t help but notice that a wire was held to the back of Tony’s suit coat by a large and rather ugly strip of duct tape. I really don’t think Mr. Caridi normally uses duct tape as a fashion accessory. I am sure it was intended to keep the wire under control, after all what TV personality wants an out of control wire to contend with while talking to the sports-craving masses? I also noted that the duct tape was wisely placed out of the view of the TV cameras.

Don’t we also hide the ugly strips of stuff hanging on us? We are trying to protect our image for the masses who, for the most part, really don’t care. It might be better strategy to work on who we really are. The part that God sees clearly. The part that no makeup, clever phrase or insincere smile can cover. I want to seek God’s help in striving to be authentic with others and particularly with Him. By the way, could see if there is any duct tape on my back?

“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” (Heb 4:13)

Jesse Waggoner

Keep the Engines Running

This little picture was snapped out the window of Independence Air Fight 1577 between Charleston WV and Dulles International Airport. I don’t fully understand all the principles of physics that make an aircraft fly but I do know this, it has to have forward momentum. When a plane is going down the runway and reaches the proper speed it goes up. There is also that moment in airflight when the engines are throttled back and if feels as if your stomach is sinking faster than the rest of your body. In essence to go down you have decrease your forward speed. There is no staying put or even a moment of non-motion. (It is true that helicopters can hover –but there must be a constant and massive movement of air downward to stay in flight – or as my son Brandon –the fixed wing pilot—would say "helicopters don’t fly, they are so ugly the ground repels them.")

This is true of ones spiritual life. There is no standstill. It is either forward and upward or backward or downward. It is true there is a thing called coasting or gliding – but this is quite misleading. While one can have a controlled decent with the engines off it is inalterable a decent. It may be best described as a line from Woody of Toy Story fame – "That’s not flying – Its falling, with style." I am afraid that I spent time coasting and for those on the outside looking in – it may look good but I am still descending. The only thing that can keep me going up or staying up is to keep going forward. This leads to a sometimes-uncomfortable question. Am I leaning forward in my life with God? Are the engines of my passion for Christ at full throttle?

There is in every flight the moment of truth. The thing that flies through the air must come down. Again quoting from a clipping from Brandon, "Every takeoff is optional, every landing is mandatory." To make it to the destination the engines have to keep running, and a successful landing will verify a successful flight. I have been tying to make progress in my spiritual life for 34 years, sometime flying, sometimes coasting. I don’t know how many more miles until I land this thing called life but I do pray that I will accomplish all that God has for me.


Jesse Waggoner

FootHold on a Miracle

As a boy I enjoyed reading history. I had a favorite book from which to read. In that book about American history the first chapter was titled “Footholds on a New World.” There was a picture on the title page of a 16th century Spaniard dressed in his armor coming onto some American shore. The chapter’s title was very illustrative of what the Spanish and others were trying to accomplish, that is, to establish a first step into a new future. To them, being on the shore of a new world was a miracle.

Miracles are by definition a marvelous events manifesting a supernatural act of God. Miracles come in many different ways, forms, times, and events. The most common miracles today are those of healing from an illness, a deliverance from a problem, or a great blessing of aid. Taking a breath is a miracle of grace. Every believer will experience more than one in his or her lifetime. Sometimes, the person may not even perceive it when it happens. However, there are those times when we pray for a miracle to take place in our lives for whatever situation. There are those times when we seem not to receive any such Divine help from above regarding our situation. There are two reasons for this. First, what we are asking may not be in accordance with God’s will for us. Second, we may not receive the miracle until we make a foothold upon it. One fine example of this second reason is found in Joshua 3:15-17 when the children of Israel were to cross the swollen Jordan River.

Perhaps you, like Israel, are up against a seemingly difficult dilemma in your life and are in need of a miracle. For Israel their dilemma was to get multitudes of men, women and children safely across a wild raging river. When a river is flooded, there is no safe way to wade across to the other bank without being swept away with the current. Does your problem seem as difficult? What can you do? There are certain times when God only performs miracles when we by His leading take a foothold in it. The key to Israel’s deliverance was to take that step of Faith first, then see the miracle unfold. The text in Joshua records that the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant began to step into the edge of the fast flowing water and then moved a little ways in it until all were in the river, then God caused the water to stand up in a heap so that all the people could pass on dry ground. What a miracle! But this miracle did not take place until the priests bearing the Ark had a foothold in it.

Why does God require us to have a foothold on a miracle before it takes place? The answer is that He wishes to include a human interaction to cement the fact that it is God who is in charge of the circumstances. It is one thing to sit back and let God do the work, but in those times in which He desires our participation, He does much more than the miracle itself. There are many illustrations of this fact such as when Jesus had the unsuccessful fishermen to cast their nets once again and they brought in a boatload of fish, or when Jesus had some men roll away the stone to the tomb of Lazarus as Jesus raised him from the dead, or when Jesus bade Peter to walk on the water to Jesus to strengthen Peter’s faith. This pattern is not isolated but is widely illustrated in Scripture. God desires us to have a small, yet meaningful, part in His plan. One thing to note is that God is not hindered in any way if the believer does or does not participate. However, the participation further shows Him the desire on the part of the believer to seek God and give Him glory. He also wishes to see our measure of true faith, which denotes our earnestness for His help.

How far does a foothold commit the believer, and what difficulties can be expected? As the text in Joshua explains, the priests did not see the miracle until they were in the water. You may be committed a little or a lot depending on God’s will: however, you will not get anywhere over your head or travel into any strange situation without God being with you. The road may be difficult or fearful starting out. There may be steep challenges that you have cowered from in the past. Perhaps this is what is keeping you from starting out. Fear, like any other sin, is a tool of the Devil that he will tempt you with to hinder you in any way of taking hold on God’s blessings. The priests who bore the Ark knew if they would drop it in the swift water, or if the Ark were to become defiled in any way, they would instantly be killed. But they could not stand on the riverbank and expect the miracle.

Are you seeking a miracle today? Does it seem as if nothing is happening? It may be that God is waiting for you to step out in Faith and take that first foothold and claim that miracle in His name.

Jon Browning

Burkes Garden is Not for Sale

Just across the border from West Virginia and over East River Mountain one can take Virginia Route 623 up the side of Rich Mountain, traverse the short distance through Little Creek Valley and go through "the gap" into Burkes Garden. In July of 2005, I passed through the gap to enjoy some time in a little bit of paradise. Burkes Garden is a valley ten miles long by five miles wide that sits like an island on the top of a mountain plateau. The entire valley is ringed by mountain ridges and peaks that go up over 4000 feet. Along the southern ridge of Garden Mountain snakes the Appalachian Trail. The valley floor is home to 280 people and beautiful rolling farm land.


"First explored before 1748 by eastern Virginians while the entire region was being surveyed for James Patton, who claimed ownership, Burke’s Garden actually earned its name, and in an unusual way. James Burke, one of the survey team, left the peelings of potatoes he was cooking laying on the ground. A year later, he and other explorers returned and found a bountiful crop of fresh potatoes awaiting them." (1) As a joke the area was given the name "Burkes Garden."

Burkes Garden - Photo by AuthorOne item of history tells the beauty and value of this place. In the 1880s George Washington Vanderbilt II was looking for a place to build his lavish estate to be known as Biltmore. He was smitten with the beauty and uniqueness of Burkes Garden and with his vast financial resources thought he would have no problem acquiring the garden for himself. He found out that the land owners in Burkes Garden would not sell at any price. Jim Hoge the unofficial mayor of Burkes Garden recounts, "He tried hard to buy it. In those days to acquire land in Burke's Garden one either had to heir it or marry it and Vanderbilt had done neither. So Vanderbilt put the 255-room Biltmore in Asheville, N.C., his second choice."(2) The farmers of the Garden valued the ability to pass on the fertile soil and quiet solitude of the valley to their children as priceless. They as a group announced to Vanderbilt that Burkes Garden was not for sale!

Burkes Gardne Post Office - photo by authorIn this day when money talks, it is refreshing that in some things it doesn't even whisper. It stuck me as I drove across the valley floor how different if this place had been sold 120 years ago. I wouldn't be enjoying the sense of remoteness, the separation from the commercial. In the heart of the valley is the Burkes Garden post office. A sign over the door reads "Burkes Garden VA. God's Land." While I don't presume to know the full intent of the sign's creator - I can imagine, even after my short visit, that those who call this place home know that the land they walk is a gift from the Almighty.

I also wonder if I fully appreciate the gifts that the Lord has given me and if I ever "sell out" for cheap substitutes rather than reveling in who my God is and what my God has done and is doing. There is always the possibility of exchanging God's standards of morality for the quick payoff of self-gratifying pursuits. There is the temptation of valuing my ease and comfort rather than treasuring the blessing and contentment of doing God's work.

This struggle is one of the reasons that led me to this brief excursion into Burkes Garden. I schedule a day or two into my year to leave the office, phone and computer behind, to get out of town and reflect on my life and ministry and to spend some quality time with God. I always return refreshed and refocused and once again able to see what is of true value in light of life and eternity. The serene landscape of Burkes Garden provided the setting for my most recent escape. Perhaps it is time for you to get away and re-evaluate what is not for sale in your life.



Ariel photo of Burkes Garden by Melvin Grub
used by permission www.grubbphoto.com


Jesse Waggoner

A Nation at War

The Charles Dickens classic, “A Tale Of Two Cities” begins with, ”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” That line could be used to describe the United States in the early forties. At that time nobody in his right mind would have said they were the best of times because we were engaged in World War Two. Everyone would quickly agree they were the worst of times. Food, clothing, gasoline and almost anything you wanted were rationed. There were books of stamps given to each family and the stamps were required to buy practically everything. When your stamps were gone, you couldn’t buy rationed products, which included almost everything good. The word would quickly spread around town that a certain store had coffee. Everyone would rush to that store and get into a long line, hoping there would still be some left when they got to the head of the line. Being a young boy, I remember standing in a line at least two blocks long for five pieces of bubble gum (the maximum quantity allowed) and at other times for one Hershey bar. Adults lined up the same way for cigarettes.

This brought about the “Black Market.” Unscrupulous people managed to get large quantities of the rationed items and would sell them to anyone who had enough money to pay their greatly inflated prices. Government officials would prosecute anyone found guilty of selling black market items. Gasoline was probably the most sought after non-food item. This brought “Drip Gasoline” onto the scene. I don’t fully know what drip gas was composed of. I know it was to be found around sites where petroleum products were used in the manufacturing of chemicals. I also think it was a byproduct of natural gas producing stations. Later, as a young worker, I saw a large pool of it at Union Carbide’s Cobb Station at Clendenin. It wasn’t nearly as good as regular gasoline and I was told it would be harmful to an automobile’s engine. However, a Carbide pipe fitter from Lincoln County told me that his car had over 100,000 miles on it and he had never used anything except drip gas. He said you could add mothballs to the drip and it would work just fine. Guys would sneak onto the natural gas producing sites at night and steal the drip gas.

Eligible aged husbands and sons had either volunteered or were drafted into military service. Families who had members serving in the military were given stars to hang in their windows, proudly proclaiming their participation in the war. When a person was killed in battle, a different colored star was given for the family to display, indicating that their loved one had made the ultimate sacrifice.

People who were not in the military were participants also. Every able bodied person was called on to fill jobs in chemical plants, steel mills, shipyards, aircraft factories and in any manufacturing endeavor deemed vital to the war effort. “Rosie the Riveter” became a popular term and referred to the millions of housewives and other women in the United States who went into the workplace to replace the men who were now in the military. The women proved to be very good workers and were vital in our efforts to defeat our enemies. While their participation was necessary to supply our military, this was a new calling for millions of women and they enjoyed their work experiences outside the home so much, many of them were reluctant to return to the virtuous role of housewife and Mother. There are many who believe this was a giant step toward the moral decadence that our nation faces today.

Anyone could contribute. As an eight-year-old boy, I would take a wagon and go door to door, collecting any old metal pot or pan anyone could do without. I got a few and took them to a designated collection spot in South Charleston. Green’s Store on Montrose Drive was the collection point, and to reward us for our effort, Mr. Green would give us an ice cream bar for each vessel collected. Our commitment was to the war effort first and foremost and not to the ice cream bars, although we didn’t turn them down. Kids would collect old newspapers and magazines and turn them in at collection points, usually at their schools. Teachers would even grant some time out of class to gather the paper. To this day, certificates honoring my collection activities are a part of my treasured memorabilia.

But all of that collection stuff on my part was child’s play, mere kid stuff. Let me tell you of a matter of real importance. My biggest deal was that I was appointed a Junior Air Raid Warden! I now realize that the position was really trivial but at the time, I felt bigger than King Kong. Air Raid drills were held periodically to assure that every community did the right and safe thing in the event of an actual air raid. The drills were unannounced and the sounding of the city's fire alarm system would serve as notice that a drill was underway. I might add that an air raid was a real possibility. Enemy airplanes had actually come close to our west coast and an enemy aircraft carrier probably could have gotten close enough to either the east or west coast to launch an air attack on U. S. soil. The chemical plants and the Naval Ordinance Plant in South Charleston would have been highly desirable targets. In the air raid drills, every house was instructed to turn off all lights. Cars were to pull off the roads and turn off their lights. Streetlights were darkened and the whole area was supposed to be pitch black. Everyone was instructed to stay in their houses. It was a violation of the rules to be on the streets during a drill.

There were responsible community leaders who were given the jobs of Air Raid Wardens. They each had an area of the city as their prime responsibility. If someone failed to turn off their lights, it was the duty of the Air Raid Warden to go to the house and see that the lights were turned off. Anyone failing to comply with the order was subject to fine and possible imprisonment. I don’t know who decided that the Wardens needed helpers, but I am eternally grateful to whoever it was. Why? Because I was chosen to be a Junior Air Raid Warden. I was given a helmet like our soldiers wore. The only difference was theirs was O D green and made of steel and mine was white and made of plastic. It had a red triangle on the front and the letters, “Junior Warden.” I also received an armband to be worn on my left arm. I had a flashlight that I was authorized to carry and I could be on the streets during the drill. How important could a nine-year-old boy be? If someone left their lights on, I was instructed to go to the house and ask them to turn them off. No one ever refused (I guess I had an awesome presence with my helmet, armband and flashlight). The Air Raid Wardens and their junior helpers did a masterful job because not once during the war was the city of South Charleston bombed.

How could these times be called the best of times? They were good in that our nation was united in the effort to remain a free nation. Millions of Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Air Force personnel were actively fighting the Japanese and Germans. Civilians on the home front were working twelve hour days, sometimes seven days per week, in an effort to produce the supplies necessary to sustain our military activities. Never before or since have we been united in such an unselfish endeavor. Suddenly racial and cultural differences didn’t matter. The United States was the victim of a dastardly sneak attack and no sacrifice was too much to turn back the attackers. Collectively, our nation called on God, asking Him to bring our loved ones home safely and to allow us to keep our freedom and liberty. Sure, Americans poured out their hearts to God during the Korean, Vietnam, and Desert Storm Wars and after the September 11, 2001 crisis. And today, with our troops in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places around the globe, we continue to plead with God to deliver us from our enemies, but I don’t think we have ever come close to matching the dedication to a cause or the amount of prayers that were offered up to God during World War Two. This was good for us because God tells us in II Chronicles, 7:14, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Obedience and trust in God is always rewarded.

Gene Monk

Time

Time is a huge, irrepressible sphere, rolling down the incline of life.

From the time we are born until about age nine, it means very little to us except when we're waiting for Mom to come home from a long shopping trip or for Christmas and Santa to finally come.

At age ten, we want to get behind the sphere and push it faster because we can't wait to be grown up.

At age eighteen to twenty-five, we're pretty impervious to time. The world is our oyster. We are concerned with higher education, finding a job, a nice car, a spouse, and a home. Time hasn't even etched his signature into our faces. We are indestructible.

At age thirty, time begins to weigh upon us, press against us. If we haven't found the perfect mate yet, we feel a definite urgency. We begin to feel that time could be our enemy.

From thirty to forty, we coexist, being too busy with children, soccer games, Little League and the bothersome boss to really fret about the ever-grinding sphere.

At forty, there is no doubt that we are in a battle and that we are losing. Still feeling somewhat bullet proof, we rationalize and deceive ourselves by embracing the phrase that " life begins at forty".

At fifty, we know for sure that life didn't begin at forty. It began the day we were born and we can now feel in our bones every fall, knock and tumble that we have had over the years. We wonder if there is some way to slow down the descent of the ever-pressing sphere.

At age sixty, we know our way to the sphere and the incline, remembering the trip years ago when we were pushing it downhill, though we can't for the life of us remember why. We take a firm position in front of the sphere and strain against it with all our might, trying to reverse it or at least slow it down.

At seventy, we see the truth of God's word regarding "three score and ten". We know that the stairs they make these days are a lot steeper than the ones they used to make and that the food is so much spicier than it used to be. Aspirin, Advil, Tylenol and Mylanta are constant companions and our car could find it's way to the doctor's office by itself. We firmly embrace Psalms 71:18 which says, "Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not until I have showed thy strength unto this generation and thy power to everyone that is to come". Those of us who have asked God to save us, believing that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that He was raised from the dead, now realize that the aches, pains, and trips to the doctor is God's way of weaning us away from this world. Having God's peace in our hearts, a peace that passes understanding, we can only say "even so Lord, come quickly".

If you haven't asked Jesus to save you, do it today! Your ETD date is firmly cast in stone on the unrelenting sphere and it could be any day now

Gene Monk

Lessons from a Hard-Headed Dog

I remember back in my youthful days when I had just finished a tour in the U. S. Navy and returned to the Charleston area. I got a job at a local plant and established a residence in a house owned by an Uncle. My Uncle was a chicken fancier and had a beagle pup that was about six months old. That pup didn’t like the chickens and had roughed a couple of them up near to the point of killing them. I probably saved the pup’s life when I agreed to take him and keep him as my own.

I had never been an avid hunter but all of a sudden I had a beagle dog whose purpose in life was to hunt rabbits. I called a friend who had a couple of beagles that were pretty fair rabbit dogs and asked him if he would like to take his dogs out for some practice hunting (it was not hunting season) and allow me to take my pup out for some training. I thought it would be good for him to observe the other dogs and learn from them. I had only had the pup for a week or two and I had not given him a name, nor had my Uncle.

We took the dogs to the area where the Southridge Center now stands and turned them loose to find the rabbits. We hadn’t been there for more than five minutes when my pup stuck his nose into a clump of broom sage, right into a rabbits nesting place. I happened to be watching him closely at the time and he was so shocked that his long ears stood straight up to full extension and he took off after the rabbit, yipping away. This quickly brought the experienced dogs and they took up the chase very efficiently, leaving my pup behind, but still following and yipping.

At this same period of time, there was a television show, starring Jackie Cooper and a beagle dog named Cleo. Certain events would happen on the show and the beagle would show his surprise by raising both of his long ears to their full upward extension. This always brought lots of laughter from the audience and I wondered how they got his ears to stand up like that. I suspected that they used some small thread that was invisible to the cameras but regardless of how they managed it, it was popular and the show lasted longer than most sitcoms.

Of course, after seeing my pup’s reaction, he could never be called anything other than Cleo. My friend who owned the experienced dogs told me that he was very impressed with the way my pup, having never been hunting before, had jumped the rabbit and joined in the chase. This pleased me and I felt a sense of pride that only owners of hunting dogs can appreciate. I started hunting on a regular basis with my friend and some other friends that had beagles. During the hunting season, we could be found most Saturdays out in the briers and bramble hunting rabbits with our dogs.

Cleo became very efficient quickly and by the time he was one year old, he was clearly the outstanding dog in our group. I think I can safely say that he personally jumped ninety percent of the rabbits. Cleo had one devastating fault. He had the hardest head of any dog that ever lived. Part of his independent hunting was due to my inexperience in training him, but some of it was inbred, because I was told that his mother had been equally impossible to control. He hated to ride in a car and we routinely made long trips to Jackson County where rabbits were plentiful. As long as we were going away from the car, he was fairly manageable but when we turned and started back in the direction of the car, he was on his own. He would not respond to my repeated calling and wouldn’t allow me to get close enough to put a chain on his collar. After chasing, grumbling, and threatening to shoot him, I sometimes managed to get him back to the car. However, on several occasions, I left him in the remote woods in Jackson County, not caring at the time if I ever saw him again. By the next day, I would repent and drive back to Jackson County where I had last seen him and find him. He would be tired and hungry and I could catch him and take him home. Cleo’s fatal flaw was loving to chase rabbits too much and failing to heed his master’s voice.

My wife was looking through some old photos a while back and she found a good picture of Cleo, now dead many years, and she put the picture in a special frame and put it on my desk. When I saw the picture it brought back all of the memories and I wished I could have him back. As I thought of Cleo’s failures, it caused me to think of our relationships with God. I know that God loves us more than I loved Cleo because He gave His only begotten Son to save us. As I was pleased with the performance of Cleo, I am sure there are times when God is pleased with us, especially when we ask Him to save us and He welcomes us into His family. I am equally sure there are times when we displease God, pursuing things that are pleasurable to us, going places and doing things that God doesn’t want us to do. Like Cleo, we don’t obey our Master’s voice. God loves His children so much that He would never consider leaving us in the remote woods of Jackson County. In Hebrews 13:5, He promises to never leave us or forsake us. I used to have to take a long drive to get Cleo back. But that is not so with God. No matter how far we are from Him, how badly we have behaved, how ashamed we feel, or how much we have disobeyed the Master’s voice, His warm, comfortable, tender bosom is only a prayer away.

Gene Monk

A New Beginning

That title does seem a bit redundant, doesn’t it? Aren’t all beginnings "new," or are some newer than others? With the Labor Day weekend traditionally marking the beginning of another school year and the fall season, let me tell you about some of my repeated "new beginnings." You probably share many of these same experiences.

Just like all the other kids, I could hardly wait. I had fidgeted in my chair all day long, only halfway concentrating on my last few assignments that would wrap up the work for another year. The teacher always came around to make sure that we had properly erased all marks, accidental or otherwise, from the textbooks which would be used by another student the next year.

The clock dragged its hands around the circle of numbers like a giant, lumbering turtle sunning on the beach, moving so slowly and deliberately that you could barely tell that there was any progress being made at all. Every tick of the second hand seemed to take four seconds instead of the requisite one.

It was the same every year: the end was really the beginning, just like two sides of the same sheet of paper—different, distinct, and unique, but inseparable nonetheless. You can’t throw away just one side of a piece of paper.

Finally and thankfully, the last bell rang, and we were free at last! What an exhilarating feeling it was to look forward to a summer with no homework! A new beginning!

Some of you readers from my generation will probably remember the lyrics of an old song that touted "those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer." Sounds great—but that was not the kind of summer the kids in my family usually got to enjoy. The thrill of being out of school was soon swallowed up by days spent doing summer chores.

In place of pencil, paper and brainpower working together, came the ache of the back and legs bent over to pull weeds out of the onion, lettuce, greens and carrot patches. The warm sun, once a gentle friend, became an enemy as our sweaty arms and backs first burned under its relentless rays, then turned to a leathery tan as we hoed endless rows of corn, green beans, potatoes, beets, tomatoes, and cabbage.

Now, don’t think I’m complaining too heartily here. I knew that the work of the summer paid off in the winter, but I wanted to do other things—things that were more fun, like playing "Cowboys and Indians" in the woods that surrounded our 48-acre farm, or spending hours swinging on the grapevine that had taken us out over that 30-foot ravine and brought us back safely hundreds upon thousands of times. To us kids in Fayette County, West Virginia, this was our "King’s Island" and the grapevine was our "Beast." Those times of "just being a kid" were always too short; work came bashing through the seclusion of those woods, demanding our attention and time--usually heralded in a high-pitched, half-yodel of our names sounded by our mom, or a gruff, demanding baritone version clearly projected by my dad.

Soon, the cherries ripened on the trees, and we stripped every single cherry as far out on the limb as we dared to scramble, cheating the birds out of every bite that we possibly could. Honestly, we were all pretty good pickers considering that we had no ladders to use.

When all our trees were bare, we picked the neighbors’ trees clean. Sometimes we worked on a 50-50 sharing basis; sometimes the neighbors let us pick their trees in exchange for just enough fruit to make a good-sized cobbler. I can remember closing my eyes at night and seeing countless handfuls of cherries just waiting to be picked.

Then the blackberries ripened. We filled #3 washtubs with piles of dark, sweet berries, almost faster than our mom could cook them and get them into the Mason jars. I liked the green jars best because there weren’t many of them around in those days. I also liked those translucent blue jars that Bell made. Any diversion from the traditional clear canning jar was a welcome sight that made the job of cleaning them a little more interesting and bearable.

Sometimes I got to stay at home instead of going back to the berry patch to fill our buckets again and again. But this was no great treat: I was just the right size for my hand to easily slide into the mouth of those canning jars and clean each one in hot, sudsy water with an old dishcloth. The best treat was finding an occasional wide-mouth jar to wash; I often wondered why we didn’t use that kind all the time. They were certainly easier to clean, as well as easier to fill and empty. They must have cost more.

By this time in the summer, I could hardly wait for the beginning of school, even though a full month and a half still had to pass. Time had turned into a turtle once again, and each day seemed longer than the last.

Soon the beans and tomatoes were ready for picking and canning, and the gardens (notice "s" indicating the plural noun) were filled with produce that had to be "put up" right away. As soon as the gardens were pretty well established, the Transparent apples were ready; they made the best applesauce of all, but they rotted quickly if left on the ground very long. It was a good idea to get to them immediately and pick the tree before you had to battle the yellow jackets for the best of the crop.

Eventually it was time to go back to school, and the same old halls that seemed tiring and boring the previous spring now beckoned with the laughter of friends and the bright prospects of new things to do and learn in a new grade with a new teacher. Once again, the end of one thing had melded into the new beginning of another.

Looking back on all this now, it really wasn’t all that bad—or all that much work, especially for me, the youngest brother. My older brothers had to work a lot harder than I did. That said, there’s still no way you could talk me into "settin’ out a hundred and fifty" tomato plants or planting an acre of sweet corn. It’s the Farmers’ Market for me these days!

I am thankful that God gives us so many opportunities for "new beginnings." I find the breadth, depth and sheer number of applicable scriptures to be encouraging and truly profound. You may want to look up just these few passages in your Bible that speak of "newness." Here are some suggestions for you:

+ A New Birth John 3:3
+ A New Life in Christ --Romans 6:4
+ A New Covenant --Hebrews 8:8
+ New Attitudes --2 Corinthians 5:17
+ New Mercies --Lamentations 3:23
+ A New and Living Way --Hebrews 10:20
+ A New Name --Revelation 3:12
+ A New Song --Psalm 40:3
+ New Comfort --John 14:16
+ A New Home --John 14:1-3

These gifts of newness from God mark changes in lives that spark new beginnings for us every day. Perhaps God gave us the changing of the seasons, the unfolding of night into day, the melting of day into night, the turning of rain to snow, the end of one week turning into the beginning of another, a new month, or a new year, and all similar new beginnings as examples of the newness of life in Christ.

Jesus’ death on the cross of Calvary was only one side of the same page. He willingly laid down His life to pay the debt of sin for all mankind; but then He rose again from the grave that we might be reconciled to God and start our lives all over again: a new beginning, this time, clothed in His righteousness.

Each new day bids that all come to Christ--some for the first time ever, others for the beginning of another day in which to walk in His Way for His glory. Are you interested in new things---maybe new cars, new houses, new toys, new computers, or new clothes? I believe that God gave us a restlessness with the mundane and the ordinary so that we might be inclined to seek out new things. How about starting with a new birth?

If we can help you better understand these concepts, please contact us. The best new beginnings are the spiritual ones shared with "new babes" in Christ.


Jim McQuerrey

Security and Significance

Have you ever called time-out in your life to consider what you think of you? Everyone has opinions, (and sometimes very strong ones), of just about everything including music, restaurants, churches, clothes and other people. But it is unusual for individuals to call time-out and consider their opinion of themselves.

Christian counselor and author, Dr. Larry Crabb, suggests that we all do indeed possess an opinion of ourselves that is part of our internal makeup. Dr. Crabb refers to this self opinion as "Personal Worth". Crabb holds that this opinion of self guides not only how we feel about ourselves, but it also influences how we respond to life situations. This Personal Worth, claims Crabb, is made-up of two distinct parts:

1. Our sense of Security and;

2. Our sense of Significance

Security is a basic need of every human. Observe the activities of people and you will observe energy spent in searching for security, stability and sureness in life. And interestingly, how secure individuals feel about themselves strongly determines how they respond to others. Countless people are on a quest for security in finances, health, marriage relationships and employment. Actually the greatest impact of recent terrorist attacks on America is the alarming perceived threat to security. That is the real, often unspoken, fear that gnaws at everyone to some degree. But that's the topic for another article.

Given that everyone has this vital need for security, there is, in my opinion, a predictable cycle that follows a loss of security. This cycle goes like this: When a person lacks a sense of security, that person begins to lack fulfillment. When fulfillment is scarce, then that person loses hope. The end result therefore becomes despair. These insecure ones may wear masks of confidence, but down deep they feel fractures of despair.

So what then is next? The despairing person responds from despair by attempting to find security, but alas this security seems fleeting and just out of reach. Predictably these insecure people lamely attempt to replace this underlying loss of security with "stuff " from other sources, such as expensive possessions or harmful relationships. The spiritual enemy Satan, then conveniently offers a buffet of security fillers that are tantalizing and appealing, but inevitably never satisfy this gnawing hunger for security. Consequently there are countless people who feel like Swiss cheese, afflicted with little empty holes of insecurities which they attempt to fill with possessions, sin, addictions or obsessions. Regrettably however, these temporal fillings can't fill the holes. Not a pretty picture, huh? Read on. Things really do get brighter.


Significance couples with security to complete Crabb's notion of "Self Worth". Every person longs for a sense of purpose and distinction in life. We all desire to know, "Am I making a difference" or "Do I really matter ". I believe the greatest enemy of those in old age is not illness or poor health, but the fear of losing significance, feeling out of the mainstream; of not really mattering. This global longing for significance reveals a human drama where so many, spend so much time and so much energy, searching for so much significance. It's a never ending chase for that elusive feeling of finally "Making It".

Now dear reader, as you look at the title of this essay, you may be wondering what this discussion has to do with the Message of Jesus of Nazareth. After all this is a message uttered over two thousand years ago in another time, on another continent, to a different set of people. Let me assert that a serious and circumspect examination of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and the timelessly life-changing impact it can have on believers, can offer insecure and insignificant members of humanity those very same two ingredients of Self Worth; security and significance.

In fact I believe that no-one can ever truly be secure or significant without personally knowing Jesus Christ. Do I sound dogmatic? Let me explain:

First, the Gospel equips the believer with all that is necessary to be secure. It is because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that you and I can absolutely know, regardless of what missiles life hurls at us, we are always, always, always secure. Our Lord refers to this as Eternal Life, an existence that is immeasurably good, unshakable and totally secure. This is a permanent security that transcends time and space and flows into eternity. Thus in every defined sense of the word, Christians are, and always will be secure. And when we begin to grow in recognizing this iron-clad truth it is then that those darts of insecurity will lamely fall at our feet.

The Apostle Paul embraced this truth when he said the following:


"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor demons neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom 8:38-39 NIV


Paul covered the total universe of all possible security stealers. He knew, as we should know, that despite any and all difficult circumstances, ultimately the outcome is secure. I challenge you to examine this impenetrable and encapsulating blanket of security that covers Christ's followers. Paul describes this security as a "peace that passes all human comprehension."

Guess what? This same Gospel that offers us security likewise offers significance. At the moment Our Lord gave us Eternal Life, He also gave us Abundant Life. Examine His Message and you will find that He not only wants us to have a secure eternity, He wants us to have a significant life, right here, right now. Here's the Message:


"The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life,
and have it abundantly." John 10:10


We are all familiar with the eternality of the Gospel, but we can easily overlook Jesus Christ's intention for His followers to have a fulfilled, abundant life while here on this planet. Therein lays significance!

Therefore when the world is looking for security and significance, they should be able to see it in the followers of Jesus Christ. Peter knew this truth full well when he advised believers as follows:


....Always be prepared to give an answer
to everyone who asks you
for the reason of the hope that you have." I Peter 3:15b


So, let me suggest that you consider sitting down and take a reading on your "Personal Worth". Do you feel that you have security, and do you feel your life is making a difference? If you have placed your faith in the Person of Jesus Christ, His liberating Gospel can give you both security and significance. You can live a fulfilled, abundant life here and now while you look forward to an eternal life in His Kingdom. That's both security and significance. However if you haven't placed your faith in Him, you will never quite grasp either.

Bill Tanzey

Why?

Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?

Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

Why isn’t the word, “phonetic” spelled the way it sounds?

Why are there flotation devices under plane seats, instead of parachutes?

These questions provoke us with thoughts that are both intriguing and amusing. But often, for the believer in Christ, the “why questions” of life are neither intriguing or amusing.

Throughout my years of pastoral ministry so many Christians have expressed to me their belief that the serious “why questions” should never even be asked, let alone should we embark on a quest for any answers. “I know that I shouldn’t be asking why…”, or “I know that it’s wrong to wonder why…”, these hurting friends often say after a tragic set of circumstances visits them unexpectantly. But their wistful and mournful attitudes that accompany such statements indicate a heartfelt desire to know the answers anyway. And, I believe, rightly so.

I submit to you that there is nothing wrong with asking why something has happened as long as it is not asked in an angry, rebellious manner. Our sovereign God has perfectly good reasons for allowing difficult intrusions into our lives and, I believe, that He often desires us to know His purposes for them. At least He reveals what some of them are in His Word.

Sometimes God uses trials to humble us, His servants (II Cor. 12:7). Other times He employs them to teach us something (Psa. 119:71), or to chasten and return us to the right path (Psa. 119:67). Sometimes these unexpected “pop-quizzes” are designed to test our hearts and reveal our present level of love and obedience (Deut. 8:2). Through them God may be equipping us to minister to others who will later go through similar trials (II Cor. 1:3-4) or He may be positioning us near people who need a clear gospel witness (Acts 16:1-34).

Even if sometimes we cannot determine the specific, short-term reason for our suffering, we can be sure of its overall purpose. God’s Word tells us that He is working together with the all things of our lives for the purpose of bringing us into greater conformity to the image and character of Christ. He is using trials to develop endurance and maturity in us that we might bear even more fruit for His glory. He tells us that “…all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God” (II Cor. 4:15; Rom. 8:28-29; James 1:2-5; Rom. 5:3-5; John 15:1-8).

When God sends or allows surprise hardships to come our way, let us not run from asking the “why questions”. Instead, let us ask them in faith, believing that there does exist special reasons for them from a loving God. Let’s examine His Word and our own hearts for the answers and then cooperate with His work in our hearts. Let’s then respond by humbly trusting, submitting, learning, growing, bearing fruit, ministering to others, and by rejoicing because of the evidence that God is indeed at work in our lives.

I and my family have recently moved here to West Virginia from Eastern Pennsylvania. One of our memories of “back home” was that it often seemed that whatever road we would choose to take on any given day was found to be blocked, detoured, or filled with potholes or other challenges. We often asked, “How can this be? Why is this so difficult?!” The answer was usually provided by the message found on small yellow signs which read, “Men Working”, which message often we had to take by faith.

In much the same way, when we meet the jarring potholes and frustrating detours and delays of life, we need to, with the eyes of faith, see a sign along our road that declares “God Working”, and then cooperate with Him in the work that He is seeking to accomplish in and through our lives.

No, it’s not wrong to ask “Why?”. It may be wrong not to ask and thus not discover anew what wonderful things God may be doing for His glory.

By the way, you know that little indestructible black box that is used in planes? Why can’t they make the whole plane out of this same substance??


David Jones

Worry - the new national pastime

The great game of baseball was once described as "America's Pastime"; an arena where countless Americans spent much of their thoughts, discussions and activity. Evidence shows however the most prevalent activity in our modern culture has moved from the sublime game of baseball to the predominance of a single activity that seems to be shared by all: Worrying, Worrying, Worrying.

Dr. Lee Warren describes a worried mind as a "troubled mind that is not at peace". In past civilizations people's worries focused on simply acquiring the basic needs of warmth, food and shelter. But in this Twenty First Century worries make a darker and deeper penetration into our psyches.

Parents worry whether their children will live up to their expectations, breadwinners worry about the possibility of seeing their employment downsized or eliminated, students worry whether they will make the grade, patients worry about their health and everyone seems to worry about crime and drugs. Modern men and women have become consumed by worry.

There appears to be two roots of worry: Worrying because we lack knowledge of what the future holds, and worrying because of a lack of personal confidence in being able to deal with what might happen. So men and women worry, and worry and worry some more. It's as if the worrier believes that the act of worrying will somehow aid in facing real or imagined troubles. Troubles that probably won't ever transpire.

God's Word has much to say about worry. Job recognized worry when he said: "Man that is born of a woman is of a few days, and full of trouble" (Job 14:1).

More recently the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, recognized the destructive force of worry as America faced a horrible depression and imminent war, when he told the country that the greatest fear was fear itself. And now George McDonald accurately advises that, "No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than man can bear. Never load yourselves so. If you find yourselves so loaded at least remember this: It is your doing, not God's. He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present."

So can it be said that this epidemic of worry affects Christians also? Regrettably yes. Christians, those in our culture who should worry the least, often become champion worriers.. It's as if worrying is a dark secret that Christians don't want to recognize, yet are chronically victimized by its' gnawing effects. Christians join humankind in worrying about anything and everything. They can become all-star participants in this National Pastime.

If a Christian is a chronic worrier he or she has a greater problem. He or she has failed to recognize that worrying is a symptom of the inability or refusal to submit to the Holy Spirit and Comforter. When Jesus shared this truth with His followers He said it like this:

But the Counselor, or Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of
everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give
you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be
troubled and do not be afraid.(John 14:26-27)

What then, can Christians be free of this burden of fear and worry? Yes, not only can Christians lighten the unnecessary weight of worry, and all the damage that worry causes, but they should do so through the presence of His Holy Spirit working in and through their lives. The damages of worry are countless. Worry can result in a loss of sleep and health. Worry can retard our performance, reduce our relationships and rob our peace. Worry will introduce us to its' two partners, chronic stress and anxiety. In essence worry can steal both peace and an affective witness from believers.

Where then is the antidote to this enemy? The first place to deal with worrying is in P-R-A-Y-E-R. The needed spiritual connection to our Creator is through this simple, yet profound act of communicating with Him. Without a spiritual connection to God, we are hopeless in attempting to deal with worry, and without prayer we will never have that connectivity. Constant and committed prayer will accomplish many things, among which will be an increased trust in Jesus Christ and His ability to help us work out our real problems, quit worrying about imagined problems and maintain His peace regardless of the circumstances. This is implicit faith in Him and a focus off ourselves. Listen closely to what He had to say about this:


"Come unto me all that labor and are heavy laden and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light (Mt.11:28-30).

This summer would be a tremendous time for Christians to change their "National Pastime" from worrying, worrying, worrying to praying, praying, praying. Who knows? We might stand out as a people who seem to have an inner peace that "surpasses human comprehension." Stop the worrying by starting a regular, systematic prayer life. Before long you'll experience the wonderful change from a life burdened by chronic worries to a life that is in direct connection with Our Lord and His peace.


Bill Tanzey

Purposeful Parenting

Panic!

Questions flooded over me. Did I make a point to tell her about…? Or does she really understand…? "Does she know that you do not wash darks and whites together? Can she really organize her time without my 'motherly reminders?' Who will know if she made it to her destination and back safely? What happens if…."

I was indeed in a panic because time had seemingly run out all at once. Had I not been planning, working diligently for this moment in time since her birth? Wasn’t this the plan? They live and breathe 24 hours a day, seven days a week in our home so that we can teach them to be independent, self-sufficient, young adults…so they can leave? Where did the time go? My husband and I, along with our youngest daughter were driving back from a recent college visit. It had become very quiet in the car and I began reflecting on how our family was closing another chapter of our lives together. Wasn’t it just yesterday that our older daughter left home for college. How excited she was to leave home for her college experience. Memories of that day will ever be imbedded in my memory. What a contrast of emotions, Jennifer standing on the sidewalk waving happily, ready to get on with her new adventure - Mom and Dad crying, tissues pasted to our wet cheeks as we drove away. I thought to myself there should be a designated mourning area for parents.

Show & Tell

How precious is a child. Our Lord placed great value on the little ones in His day in a culture in which children counted for very little. He said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God (Luke 18:16)." And again, "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea (Mark 9:42)." As parents we are stewards of God for the little ones He places in our home. We are to "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4)." We also have the responsibility to show and tell how great God is in our home and before our children (Psalm 78:4; Deuteronomy 6:6,7). The weight of this responsibility bore heavily on the day our children were born. And now, once again, I felt that weight but in a much different way. At their birth we looked ahead. Now we were looking back with the awful thought that our time for molding and influence was just about over.

Trust

As we continued home that day I was reminded once again that my children are not my own. They never were. As infants we had dedicated them to the Lord, realizing that God had a plan and a purpose for their life. They have been and always will be in His care. Can we trust them with God? It is a comforting thought that God is their heavenly Father who loves them more than we ever could. And so we trust God to do all that we cannot do. And we trust our children to skillfully live by the rule that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," the same wisdom that I hope and pray they saw in me.

I recently came across the following challenge by Roy Lessin. It is a wonderful reminder that we should be training our children on purpose.

Lord, as my children grow

Help me to train them with…

VISION - So that they may discover all you made them to be.

DISCIPLINE - So that their hearts may be tender and yielded to you.

WISDOM - So that they will make good choices and hold right values.

FAITH - So that they will live free of fear and depend on you for all things.

TRUTH - So that they will grow strong in character and in favor of you.

LOVE - So that their hearts will come to know your heart and express it to others.

Confidence

It is only normal to question our work during these transitional times. There were so many days without a thought to the duties and responsibilities of parenthood. We just did it. But we did it with God’s strength and support. And we are confident in our great God and our wonderful, God-given heritage.

Diana L. Reynolds

Taxes

Ahh, April! Ahhh, taxes. I don't really resent paying taxes… we get a lot of services in our country. But, like most Americans, I am sometimes dismayed by how MUCH we pay. According to one source, tax freedom day doesn't come until May 10th. In other words from January 1st until May 10th we are all working to support our local, state and federal governments. So, it seems, our paychecks and income sources are always less than expected.

Can you remember when you first started getting a regular paycheck? Wasn't it neat? "My OWN money!" My first regular job was at a rose nursery in northern Ohio in the early 60's. Hard work, but at 75 cents per hour it was worth it! When it came time to get my first check, I had already figured it out: 5 days worked, times 8 hours per day, times 75 cents per hour should equal… $30. Right? Well, the math was right, but the expectation was wrong. There was this thing called "withholding." So my $30 turned out to be more like $26.50. Bummer.

There are lots of areas in life when reality turns out to be less than expected. Ever go to a restaurant and when it comes time to order dessert everyone at your table says "No," except you? But when your dessert arrives everyone wants a bite? Bummer.

The envelope SAYS you've won a GAZILLION DOLLARS. Your name is spelled right and everything. But the fine print… "IF you are selected by our Megamighty 2000 computer your name will be placed in a hat the size of Wisconsin. And IF your name is pulled, then, maybe…" Bummer.

In the New Testament of the Holy Bible Jesus spoke of a rich man who needed to learn the "less than expected" lesson. The rich man of Luke chapter 12 expected life to be long and good. Note his words:

"So he said, 'I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat drink, and be merry."'" (Luke 12:18, 19)

However, reality came calling in the very next verse.

"But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:20, 21)

Not all treasures are the same. There are the taxable, temporary, less-than-expected kind. Then there is heaven and "riches toward God." Talk about non-taxable benefits!

Life is full of the less-than-expected. And we are foolish if we spend all our time working for that which will be taxed. I am expecting some benefits that are not taxed, do not have to be reported on a 1040, and will be greater than I can imagine. Wonderful!

These benefits are available to all. If you'd like to talk about your riches toward God, drop us a note or give us a call here at Bible Center Church. These are riches we love to share.

Lee Walker

Slow Down

I thought , “Oh, no!,” as I turned the key in the ignition and got absolutely no response. I tried the radio: no sound, no clock, nothing. I looked up: no dome light. Then I pushed in the knob that turns the lights on or off---a bit late, of course.

Sheepishly, I called my wife to bring the jumper cables. After several failed attempts to start the car, we decided to let the local garage handle the problem; and a full charge to the battery solved the situation nicely. Then…

I did the same thing again the next week. I must add that it’s an old car: no bell that dings as a friendly reminder---much less an automatic sensor that turns the lights off for you. Another embarrassing call home, but at least we got it started this time.

The third consecutive week, a thoughtful day care worker turned off my lights as she came through the parking lot to work. Glad I parked near the front that day! (Please don’t tell Brenda).

Muddle-headed? Absent-minded? Distracted? Busy? Some of all of the above? Aren’t most of us like this at least some of the time? Our lives are cluttered with the process of daily living; we need to slow down and take the time to enjoy our journey through life, especially the spiritual aspects that keep us in tune with our Lord.

The Bible says it like this in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” We all need a time to just be quiet and contemplate the amazing love Christ showed at Calvary. Sounds like a great, although late, resolution for the New Year to me. How about you?

P.S. Don’t forget to turn off your lights.

Jim McQuerrey

Twenty-Six Cents

For this little visit we need a visual aid. Could I borrow twenty six cents please? Make sure it is a quarter and a penny. Once you have your visual aids take a look at the portraits on the front. Now you may be wondering why I have called your attention to Presidents Washington and Lincoln. It is true that we celebrate their birthdays this month. Washington has his 268th on the 22nd and Lincoln has his 191st on February 12. We will celebrate both on President's Day the 21th. But it is more than just their historical significance that brings them to mind, it is because both were men of deep faith. The following quotes should prove this point.

"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency...We ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven cannot be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained." George Washington.

"It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord." Abraham Lincoln.

Some would accuse Lincoln and Washington as well as most of the people of their time of being too religious. Perhaps in our day there are fewer people of faith. Are you a person of faith? Now, to be a real person of faith you must place your faith in the right person. Take a look at the words over Lincoln's head as well as under Washington's chin. It is only trust in the one true God that counts. For through faith in Him we can receive eternal life. The Apostle Paul said it this way. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26).

Now look at the single word over Washington's head (under his chin if you have one of the new "state" quarters) and just behind Lincoln's right shoulder. The designers of our money no doubt had in mind our political freedom but what of your personal freedom from the most pressing bonds ever to fetter mankind, the bondage of sin. Friend, give careful consideration to your liberty through trust in God. If you need help with that step of faith feel free to contact us.

But what of us who know liberty in the truest sense of the word? Not only is trust in God to save us it is how we are to live. To quote once again from Paul; "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1). We are not to fall into empty ritual but live with a trust in God everyday of our life. Flip that quarter over and take a look at the eagle on the back. Isaiah said this about trusting in the Lord: "But they that wait upon (trust in) the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31). Soar with the eagles through faith in God. Lastly, flip the penny over. Look carefully at the words just below the picture of the Lincoln Memorial (can you also see a tiny Abe sitting between the two middle pillars?). A slight change can take these words from "one cent" to "one sent." We who are trusting in the Lord are the ones sent with the message that Jesus saves.

Well our little visit is over, but as you drop your change back into your pocket remember the lessons of your twenty six cents.

Jesse Waggoner

It's Just a Jar of Peaches

Mother had a lot of faith in God. It was about 1933 because my sister was a baby and I was not yet old enough to go to school. Dad had left us for a waitress he had met at a local diner, where he was employed as the cook. Over the next few years until they were divorced, he would come and go. Mom always welcomed him back, hoping each time he would stay.

The Great Depression was at its worst and with Dad gone, Mom had to take in washings to make a living for us. That's when several Missions for the poor sprang up in Charleston. I think everyone of them helped us out at some time or another. One of the Missions in town was run by Earl Hissom; everybody called him, “Earl.” On our small table radio, we listened to him regularly.

A few days before Thanksgiving, he asked for donations of food people might have for his truck to pick up to give out to the poor. Volunteers, he said, would sort it all out and deliver baskets to the poorer sections of town the night before the holiday. Mom went to the kitchen where she kept food she had canned, took a jar of peaches from the top shelf, and set it on the porch bannister for the truck to pick up. The neighbors who saw it told her she was too poor to give away that jar of peaches. One, a particularly cynical woman, actually called Mom a fool for giving Earl Hissom anything. She said he was a crook and would either keep the peaches himself or sell them to someone else. I was listening to all this with big ears for a 4 year old and wondered, myself, if Mom was making a mistake.

But, Mom held her ground and the peaches stayed on the bannister. She told everyone who advised her not to do it, that she would give the peaches in good faith and it was up to Earl what he did with them. "For heaven's sake," she said, "It's just a jar of peaches!" They were picked up a few days before Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving Eve, just as we were getting ready for bed, there was a knock on our door and we heard footsteps quickly leaving. We waited until they were gone and then Mom opened the door. On our porch was a box of food. We were overwhelmed because Mom never really thought of us as being poor. She always stressed how much we had, not what we lacked, and taught us to thank the Lord for His blessings. Therefore we didn't expect that anyone would bring US a Thanksgiving basket! Excited, we brought it in and began to unpack it.

There was a freshly dressed chicken, some potatoes, dried beans, rice, flour, canned pumpkin, and - you guessed it - the jar of peaches Mom had canned herself and given to Earl. She sat on the floor and cried. I walked with her to the kitchen where she carefully placed the jar of peaches right back in the empty spot on the top shelf it had left just a few days before. It had come home, bringing with it all the other good things, and we had a scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner the next day.

“You can’t out-give God,” Mom said as she prepared our meal. “You reap what you sow.” My young, impressionable mind saw the fruit of Mom's faith and it made an indelible impression on me. Mother made sure the whole neighborhood knew about the goodness of the Lord, and I never heard anyone call Mom a fool after that.

"But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." 2Cor. 9:6

Evelyn R. Smith

Totally Free

"Beware of any product that claims to be totally free !"

That advice is quickly learned by modern Americans in a consumer driven society. The clever consumer, who at an early age becomes accustomed to being bombarded by exaggerated product claims, quickly becomes skeptical of any marketing ploy or advertisement that offers a product as "Free!"… or … "With Absolutely No Obligation!".

After all, weren't we taught early on as children, (either in kindergarten or shortly thereafter), that " There is never a free lunch!"?

Being owners of this consumer mindset, it is therefore particularly difficult for western Christians to grasp the fullness of that most important of God's gifts to us:

The gift of grace

Even though "grace" is a commonly used word in the Christian's vocabulary, far too often Christians struggle with conceptualizing and totally grasping this profound concept and the rich truths that grace embodies. And what is the hardest feature of grace to grasp?

Grace is free.

Now just hold on there. This notion that something that is worth having is absolutely free, conflicts with all that we've learned since childhood. Western Christians, in a post-modern society, may innately struggle with the rich truth that grace is free, and therefore unobtainable through our own achievements.

Such words as "assurance", "salvation", "redemption" and "faith" are routinely heard in "Christian circles". When one stops to embrace the weight of their true meaning however, the skies can open up with blessings. With "grace" there seems to be no end to it's usage in our conversation. We sing "Amazing Grace" at church, (even by thousands at the Opening Ceremonies of the 1996 World Olympics), we hear such phrases as "But for the grace of God there goes I", and express our thanks for God's grace. Yet when we take time to seriously consider what this little word really says, only then do we begin to scratch the surface of the fathomless depth of grace.

Stated simply, grace is the gift of unmerited love imparted by God to his children. Look at that definition closely. It means this little one syllable word describes a powerfully strong doctrine of the Christian faith. This grace is holistic; meaning that God totally forgives the sins of his children, and God's grace is dynamic; meaning the believer's sins of the past, present and future fall under grace's cure.

Now to the hard part. This magnificent gift is free. That's right, no amount of riches, work, personal deprivation, chanting, flagellation or good deeds can make us worthy of God's grace. And that fact simply flies in the face of what we've come to expect out of life.

This is why grace is characterized as unmerited favor. This means we are infinitely incapable of accomplishing deeds that will earn this grace.

That leaves us attempting to integrate a concept foreign to our cultural moorings. From childhood we have been taught the ethic that we are captains of our own destiny, and that we can't get anywhere without some good old fashioned blood, sweat, and tears. That is man's way.

Grace is God's way.

God's grace is bestowed on his followers without any preconditions. When God's Son spiritually transforms one of God's tarnished image bearers from being a condemned rebel to a child of God, there is grace, and only grace, that is personified.

And yes it is absolutely free.

God's Word has much to say about grace. From the pages of the Bible we can learn, among other things, that grace is all-abundant, glorious, great, manifold and rich. The Apostle Paul, himself a recipient of this wondrous gift of grace, spoke to the Corinthian Christians in these words: "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed." Mighty strong words indeed. Paul states that the extent of the gift of grace is so deep it actually "abounds in us" and allows us a voluminous abundance to handle anything.

If this gift of grace is free, is it therefore cheap? Hardly not. Grace is incalculably expensive. Even though grace is free to the recipient, it is most costly to the donor.

You see, the price of grace was the life of Jesus Christ.

Don't read past those words too quickly. Focus your mind's eye on them again. The innocent and sinless Son of God willingly left the throne room of Heaven, came to earth put on human skin, and was tortured, traumatized, terrorized, separated from His Father, and brutally executed in order to pay for that grace.

Is it any wonder then that we could never muster the resources or talents necessary to earn that grace?

Of course grace is free…..

Considering the price paid, how could it be any other way?

Bill Tanzey

One Solitary Life

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.

He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself...

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.

This essay was adapted from a sermon by Dr James Allan Francis in “The Real Jesus and Other Sermons” © 1926 by the Judson Press of Philadelphia (pp 123-124 titled “Arise Sir Knight!”).

Our Newest Missionaries

With the vote of the congregation last Sunday night We begin a new partnership with Joshua, Kristen, and Cassia Gee. Our newly expanded budget will provide $500.00 per month to support them as they send the gospel into Europe and much of the Muslim world from a base in Great Britain. Joshua is the grandson of Peggy Gee who has been part of our church family for many years. We also supported Peggy and her husband, Fred, as they served as missionaries with Child Evangelism Fellowship. The Gees join 53 other missionary families, and 6 organizations that comprise our global missionary family. Each month we contribute $30,270 to these missionaries through your giving. As the Gees begin a new chapter in their service for the Lord, let's praise our God for the opportunity to serve with them through our prayers and gifts.

Sparrows

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

I had a few minutes recently to try out some of features of my digital camera. Just outside of our dining room is a thistle seed feeder, suet feeder and a humming bird feeder. I enjoy watching the comings and goings at the bird feeders while I am at mine. This seemed a likely spot to do some photography. One picture (above) was just a quick shot without much thought. As was reviewing my pictures later my mind wandered to the verses above. Even though Brian informs me that this is female purple finch and not a sparrow it still reminded me of the verse above. For those of us who tend toward worry or feelings of being devalued, then this is a comforting reality. God knows about and cares for this little feathery one, and also us who not only carry the creative design of God (how much engineering would it take to design and build something that can flies that only weighs 6 ounces?) but also carry the image of God, and hence the greater value placed on us. These verses also indicate that the omniscience of God (the numbering of the hairs on our heads) is proof positive of His ability to carry out His favorable care for us. He knows and He cares. We should know this as well. To the lovely lady perched in my picture – thanks for the reminder.

Jesse Waggoner