Evangel March 2015 - Oasis Church of God

Transcription

CHURCH OF GOD
Evangel
MARCH 2015
understanding the times • facing fear with faith
finding faithfulness • prevailing through prayer
Contents
march 2015
volume 105 n issue 3
“I AM STANDING on the spot where the end of the world began,” were the words
of a radio reporter after nuclear bombs devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the
closing chapter of World War II.
Those bombs were dropped 70 years ago, and the world still stands.
Today, as Islamic terrorists strive to wipe out Christianity in villages, towns, and
entire nations . . . as shooting sprees break out in schools and workplaces across the
U. S. . . . as Christian values are lambasted on movie screens, in courtrooms, in colleges, and elsewhere . . . we wonder, Are we standing in the era when Jesus Christ will
finally return and make all things right?
such a time as this
10 Understanding the Times by Bobby G. Duncan
Redemption draws near.
12 Finding Faithfulness by M. Darrell Rice
Will Jesus find faith on the earth?
14 Fighting Fear with Faith by Mark L. Walker
Who is in your boat?
16 Loving Boundaries by David Platt
God knows what is best for us.
22 Burden Off My Shoulder by Susan I. Smith Jesus is my healer.
columns
24 Prayer That Prevails by Doug Small
5 In Covenant, Mark L. Williams
Desperate for divine intervention
7 On My Mind, Lance Colkmire
34 Church of God Chronicles, David Roebuck
26 A Resurgence of Religious Fervor departments
by Lance Colkmire
Interview with Edley Moodley
4 Ministry Snapshot
6 By the Numbers
feature
8 Currents
28 It Happened in Cuba . . . and Beyond 17 GlobalConnect
30 Viewpoints
by James M. Beaty 32 People and Events
The amazing story of Arthur W. Pain
EVANGEL • mar 2015
3
PUBLICATIONS MINISTRIES
DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR
M. Thomas Propes
DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS
Terry Hart
MANAGING EDITOR
Lance Colkmire
MINISTRY SNAPSHOT
The Riverside Church of God (Powder Springs, Georgia) bought, assembled,
and gave away more than 200 bicycles as a Christmas 2014 outreach.
CENTRAL DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR
Robert McCall
CFO
Wayne Walston
PRINTING DIRECTOR
Mike Burnett
EVANGEL STAFF
EDITOR
Lance Colkmire
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
Elaine McDavid
COPY EDITOR
Esther Metaxas
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Bob Fisher
EDITORIAL AND
PUBLICATIONS BOARD
Tony D. Cooper, Les Higgins, Ray E. Hurt,
David W. Jarvis, Cheryl Johns,
Antonio Richardson, T. Dwight Spivey
INTERNATIONAL
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Mark L. Williams, David M. Griffis,
J. David Stephens,
Wallace J. Sibley, M. Thomas Propes
CHURCH OF GOD congregations meet throughout the United States and in more than 180
other countries. To find a church and times of
services near you, access the church website,
www.churchofgod.org, or fax your request to
423-478-7616.
Publication of material in the Evangel does not necessarily imply endorsement of the Church of God.
The Church of God Evangel (ISSN 0745-6778) is
edited and published monthly. n Church of God
Publishing House, 1080 Montgomery Ave., P.O.
Box 2250, Cleveland, TN 37320-2250 n Subscription rates: Single subscription per year $17, Canada
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4
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Church of God DECLARATION OF FAITH
WE BELIEVE:
1. In the verbal inspiration of the Bible.
2. In one God eternally existing in three persons; namely, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
3. That Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father, conceived of the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary. That Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. That He ascended to heaven and is today at the right hand of the Father as the Intercessor.
4. That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that repentance is commanded of God for all and necessary for forgiveness of sins.
5. That justification, regeneration, and the new birth are wrought by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ.
6. In sanctification subsequent to the new birth, through faith in the blood of Christ; through the Word, and by the Holy Ghost.
7. Holiness to be God’s standard of living for His people.
8. In the baptism with the Holy Ghost subsequent to a clean heart.
9. In speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance and that it is the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Ghost.
10. In water baptism by immersion, and all who repent should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
11. Divine healing is provided for all in the Atonement.
12. In the Lord’s Supper and washing of the saints’ feet.
13. In the premillennial second coming of Jesus. First, to resurrect the righteous dead and to catch away the living saints to Him in the air. Second, to reign on the earth a thousand years.
14. In the bodily resurrection; eternal life for the righteous, and eternal punishment for the wicked.
IN COVENANT
mark l. williams
general overseer
peace in a troubled world
I
N THE HEARTS of most people,
there is a deep hunger for peace.
In Hebrew, the word for “peace” is
shalom—a sense of wholeness, completeness, security, salvation, well-being
in the presence of God through His covenant. In Greek, the language of the New
Testament, “peace” is predominantly the
word eirene, which carries with it many
of the definitions of shalom, but adds to
it a sense of rest and tranquillity.
We look at our world and it seems
all of creation is groaning and travailing.
Internationally, our world is filled with
tension and maelstroms of all kinds. We
see peril written in the headlines and on
the faces of world leaders.
In recent months, we were shocked
over multiple assassinations by radicals
in Europe. We watched in horror at news
reports of the Taliban executing schoolchildren in Pakistan, and of ISIS aggressively moving in northern Iraq and Syria.
We saw tensions escalating between
Israel and Hamas at Gaza. In Nigeria,
extremists detonated bombs killing
hundreds of people, and abducted 276
girls and women from a school. We have
seen Ukrainians fighting back over Russia’s annexation of Crimea. We felt panic
over Ebola virus ravaging through West
Africa, and listened as the World Health
Organization declared a world health
emergency due to the spread of polio to
10 countries of the world when it was on
the verge of being wiped out.
Here in the United States, our
hearts have been torn over the death
of unarmed black men and youth that
sparked waves of protests and, in some
cases, violence and looting in the streets.
We were dismayed at the shootings of
police officers in New York City and
attacks in other places.
Then there are the challenges, personal tragedies, health crises, and losses
that you and I have experienced and
many are living with now.
For many today, there are questions without answers, sickness without
health, portraits without paint, and flowers without perfume. Deep inside there
is a lonely heart, aching to be loved and
longing for hope.
Here is good news: God has sent His
Son to bring peace to a world filled with
violence and corruption, oppression, and
darkness.
It was for a time of gloom and despair
that Isaiah predicted, “The people who
walked in darkness have seen a great
light; those who dwelt in the land of the
shadow of death, upon them a light has
shined” (Isa. 9:2).* Zacharias declared,
“The Dayspring from on high has visited
us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide
our feet into the way of peace “ (Luke
1:78-79).
The peace foretold by the prophets
and fulfilled in the Gospels is more
than a pact, a contract, an accord, or an
armistice. Peace is a person—the Prince
of Peace, Jesus Christ. This peace “surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7).
This peace is “perfect” (Isa. 26:3). Jesus
achieved this peace through the blood of
His cross.
Peace with God. Peace with others.
Inner peace. Jesus promises it to each of
His followers:
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give
to you; not as the world gives do I give to
you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither
let it be afraid (John 14:27).
* All scriptures are from the New King
James Version.
“Let not
your
heart be
troubled,
neither
let it be
afraid”
(John 14:27).
5
BY THE NUMBERS
CHANGING BORDER
APPREHENSIONS
ABSENT MOM OR DAD
ABOUT 229,000 MEXICANS were apprehended by the U.S. Border
Patrol in fiscal year 2014 compared with 257,000 non-Mexicans. Taken
together, total apprehensions of Mexican and non-Mexican unauthorized
immigrants (more than 486,000) were up 16% over the previous year.
These numbers are dramatically different than in 2007 when Mexican
apprehensions totaled 809,000, compared with just 68,000 non-Mexicans. The last time Mexican apprehensions were as low as they are now
was in 1970, when 219,000 Mexicans were apprehended. In 1970, nonMexican apprehensions totaled just 12,000.
How the American Family Has Changed
More Non-Mexicans than Mexicans
Apprehended in 2014
LESS THAN HALF (46%) of U.S. kids younger than 18
years of age are living in a home with two married parents
in their first marriage. This is a marked change from 1960,
when 73% of children fit this description, and 1980, when
61% did, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of
recently released survey (ACS) and census data.
Percentage of U.S. children living with . . .
Border Patrol apprehensions, 1970-2014
1.75 million
1.50
MEXICANS
1.25
1.00
73
.75
61
.50
.25
0
257,473
219,254
11,862
’70
NON-MEXICANS
’80
’90
’00
46
229,178
’10
Two married
parents in their
first marriage
’14
NOTE: 1976 covers 15 months due to change in fiscal year period.
SOURCE: U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions table, FY 2000-2014. Immigration and Naturalization
Service statistical yearbooks, FY 1970-2000.
salaries
in the U.S.
Clergy.......................................................................................$47,580
Elementary & middle school teacher.....................................$56,630
Lawyer...................................................................................$131,990
Librarian................................................................................... $57,500
Police & sheriff patrol officer...................................................$58,200
Social worker...........................................................................$48,370
Substitute teacher...................................................................$29,350
Waiters and waitresses.......................................................... $20,880
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (averages from May 2013)
6
1960
1980
2013
14
16
15
Two married
parents, one or
both remarried
9
4
19
4
34
5
Single parent
No parent
at home
NOTE: Based on children ages 17 and younger. “Married parents” refer to those in a
heterosexual marriage only. In 2013, the “single parent” category includes the small
share of children living with two parents who are cohabitating or in a same-sex marriage. Data on same-sex marriage and cohabitation is not available for earlier years.
SOURCE: Pew Research Center
ON MY MIND
lance colkmire
editor
SPIRITUAL DECEPTION
T
HANK YOU all for your kind
words and energies,” said a relative of mine following the passing
of her mother earlier this year.
She was referring to psychic energies—
natural and invisible forces which supposedly surround all living things.
This woman was brought up in a
Church of God home and once was a follower of Christ. Now, however, she does
not even celebrate the birth of Christ, for
she is a Wiccan.
Wiccans typically worship nature, personified as Mother Earth and Father Sky.
Individuals also venerate various gods and
goddesses from all types of religions.
Wiccans practice “some form of ritual
magic, almost always considered good or
constructive. Some are solitary practitioners;
others belong to covens” (Merriam-Webster.
com). There are many dozen Wiccan groups,
loosely connected, around the U.S.
Followers live by the Wiccan rede
(“council” or “advice”), which can be summarized, “Do what you like, so long as it’s
not going to hurt anyone.”
“All acts of love and pleasure are my
rituals,” writes a Wiccan who calls herself
Dragonsong. “We were born on this incredible planet in order to savor it, as well as
serve the divine. If it makes you feel good,
and it doesn’t hurt anyone, then go for it!
It’s your sacred duty to enjoy yourself!”
Besides the obvious absence of a list
of “thou shalt not’s,” what else attracts
individuals to Wicca? Radio host Steve
Russo identifies tolerance (regarding sexual
orientation, religious beliefs, and marital
status); concern for the environment (feeling
closely connected to the earth and cycles
of nature); flexible involvement (performing
rituals anytime and anywhere); the sense of
power (casting spells); and sexual equality.
A couple of years ago at a family
gathering, I was speaking with another
relative about the physical struggles he
is facing. He, too, grew up in a Church of
God home, but now believes that various
religions can lead to God. His wife is a
Wiccan, and when she overheard me say
I believe Jesus Christ is the only way to
God, she was visibly upset.
My two personal references reveal
my concern about Wicca, but it’s not
only witchcraft that troubles me. I have a
friend in a northern state who once was
a strong Bible teacher but now subscribes
to the concept of universal consciousness
(which Wiccans also believe): “People, animals, and plants are all connected to the
hidden energy of universal consciousness
In 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11,
the Bible warns about
a “powerful delusion”
fueled by “all kinds of
counterfeit miracles, signs,
and wonders” (NIV).
that permeates the entire universe and
‘wires’ all of us together” (New Age Directory). Consequently, he has lost faith in the
uniqueness and divinity of Jesus Christ.
The idea of universal consciousness has permeated popular media for
decades—including the mental telepathy
in Star Trek and “the Force” in Star Wars.
The popular children’s cartoons Avatar:
The Last Airbender and The Legend of
Korra also convey this unbiblical idea. In
the ongoing TV series Supernatural, two
brothers follow their father’s footsteps as
“hunters” fighting monsters, demons, and
gods that roam the earth.
In the U.S., 24 percent of the public overall and 22 percent of Christians
say they believe in reincarnation—that
people will be reborn in this world repeatedly—which Wiccans believe. Similar
numbers (25% of the public overall, 23%
of Christians) believe in astrology. Fifteen
percent have consulted a fortune-teller or
a psychic; 18 percent say they have seen
or been in the presence of a ghost (Pew
Forum Research, 2009 and 2013).
Responding to the ghost question
online, a man named Mike posted:
“I don’t believe in heaven and I don’t
believe in hell. I have not seen either of
them and have never met anyone who
has either—but I have seen ghosts and
I know plenty of other people who have
seen them too.”
In 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11, the
Bible warns about a “powerful delusion” fueled by “all kinds of counterfeit
miracles, signs, and wonders” that will
lead to the destruction of those who
refuse “to love the truth and so be
saved” (NIV).
To love “the truth”—which is recorded in the Scriptures and personified in
the living Word (Jesus Christ)—we must
know what the Bible says. Be certain:
• Only the Creator, not the creation,
is to be worshiped (Rom. 1:25).
• Reincarnation is not real—we die
only once (Heb. 9:27).
• The practice of witchcraft is sinful
(Ezek. 13:20; Acts 19:18-20).
• If we live simply to indulge ourselves,
we will be destroyed (Gal. 6:8).
• Jesus Christ is the “one and only”
Son of God (John 3:16 NIV).
For the sake of Christians who have
been deceived and individuals who have
never accepted Christ, are we interceding in prayer and leading faithful Christian lives?
Four ways to
contact the editor:
• [email protected]
• 423-478-7592
• Church of God Evangel on Facebook
• Box 2250, Cleveland, TN 37320-2250
7
CURRENTS
The purpose of CURRENTS is to
inform readers of trends and
events influencing the culture.
young skeptics opposing good news clubs
n A GROUP OF ATHEISTS, humanists,
and skeptics in Rochester, New York, has
started its own after-school program—
a Young Skeptics club featuring science,
logic, and learning activities—to counter
the local Good News Club sponsored by
Child Evangelism Fellowship.
Young Skeptics was started by the Atheist Community of Rochester—the
same group that offered the first atheist invocation before a town meeting
after the Supreme Court ruled last May
that public meetings could begin with sectarian prayers.
Both clubs are based at Fairbanks
Road Elementary School in Churchville.
Calling itself the “Better News Club,”
Young Skeptics is thought to be the
first non-theistic after-school club for
elementary-aged children founded as a
direct response to Good News Club. Kevin
Davis, speaking for the skeptics, said, “It
isn’t atheism for kids; it doesn’t address
debunking religion because they are little
kids and we don’t want to use the same
tactics as the Good News Club by telling them what to think. Our focus is on
science-based critical thinking.”
8
The Good News Club, a project of
Child Evangelism Fellowship, had 4,225
clubs attended by 174,174 students as of
2013, according to its website.
Rochester is not the first community to
organize against Good News Club. In several communities—including Seattle, Denver,
and Portland (Oregon)—critics have lobbied school administrators to ban the Good
News Club, claiming it conducts deceptive
marketing, authoritarian conditioning,
shame, and fear indoctrination.
Child Evangelism Fellowship has
responded to critics before. “It is clearly
explained on the registration form that
Child Evangelism Fellowship sponsors the
Good News Clubs,” CEF vice president
Moises Esteves wrote in a 2013 letter to
the Atlantic Monthly after it published an
article critical of the Good News Club.
“It should be obvious to any parent what
the clubs are teaching and the parent can
withdraw his or her children or continue
attendance as desired.”
The pushback against Good News
Clubs and Child Evangelism Fellowship,
based in Warrenton, Missouri, gained
momentum after the 2012 publication
of a book written by Katherine Stewart.
Stewart describes the organization as
“pizza evangelists” proselytizing children
through parties and other recreational
events.
In the same interview, Stewart said
she thought it would be “a bad idea” for
atheists to set up alternative “atheist
clubs” because they, too, could be seen as
proselytizing young children.
Regardless of the perception, from a
legal standpoint, both types of clubs may
be on solid ground. In 2001, the Supreme
Court ruled in Good News Club vs. Milford Central School that when public
schools open their facilities to after-school
programs, they cannot discriminate
against those programs based on the content of their speech.—RNS
persecuted find
safe houses in
england
n AS A 17-YEAR-OLD convert to Christianity living in Pakistan, Ali (not his real name)
was stabbed in the chest and left for dead
by Muslims upset he had rejected their
faith. When he fled to England, his assailants tracked him down and threatened him.
An encounter with an Anglican priest
led to temporary lodgings with a Christian
family interested in offering refuge to
Christian converts from Islam.
“I can’t tell you where I live—not the town, not even which part of the
country,” Ali said. “I want friends but am nervous about forming friendships in
case, at a moment’s notice, I have to
move house again.”
Ali, now 23, works part-time at a
supermarket. He is among dozens of exMuslims living in safe houses, most of
them created by the nonprofit Christian
Concern, a London-based organization
that wants to infuse British society with a
biblical worldview.
Leena, Anniesa, Nissar, Sarah, Kubra,
Issar, and Miriam Hussain—a Christian
family in Yorkshire, England, who
have been threatened with death for
converting from Islam
There are over 2.8 million Muslims in
England. Christian Concern believes thousands of them are anxious to convert and
in need of housing so they can get back
on their feet after suffering verbal—and
sometimes physical—attacks from families, friends, and coworkers.
“We are motivated by a deep sense of
love and compassion for those that feel
trapped in a situation from which they
cannot escape,” said Andrea Williams, the
group’s chief executive.
“The penalty for converts at best is to
be cut off from their family; at worst they
face death,” she added. “This is happening
not just in Sudan and Nigeria but in East London. The government has failed
to deal with the rise in anti-Christian sentiment.”
Shokit Ali Sadiq, a 46-year-old father
of five, said that when he converted to
Christianity a member of the church he
attends gave him a home. He asked that
his church not be identified to avoid
harassment from the Muslim community.
“There are hundreds of people out
there who want to leave Islam,” said
Sadiq. “But they’re frightened of making
their desire known.”
Sadiq was born in England but grew up
in Pakistan. At age 6, he returned to England and rejoined his strict Muslim family.
“One day in the mosque I prayed to
Isa (Jesus in the Koran) and asked Him
to send me a woman who really loved me.
Soon afterwards, I was offered a job in
[the British territory of] Jersey where I
met my wife to be, Carla, a Roman Catholic from Portugal. . . . When I converted
to Christianity, I was beaten by men with
baseball bats. I was in a coma for several
days, but today I am all right and Jesus
is now using me to convert Muslims to
Christianity.”
Church leaders in several different
parts of Yorkshire say they are opening up
church halls—even parts of churches—
and installing showers and beds to make
welcome Muslims who convert.
A woman who left Islam to become a
Christian said she is living in a flat made
available by a retired man who had a spare
room in a Victorian house near Bradford.
“I will stay here for the time being,”
she said, “hoping and praying to Jesus
that one day my own family will have me
back,” she said, asking that she not be
identified because she had been physically
attacked by other women.
Ali, the 23-year-old Pakistani native,
said he wants one day to return to
Pakistan.“My life’s ambition,” he said, “is
to return and start a charity that would
provide safe houses for Muslims who convert to Christianity.”—RNS
likely trial site opened to public
n THE SITE WHERE many scholars
believe Jesus was put on trial is now open
to the public for the first time. Located
in the Old City of Jerusalem, the spot
is within easy walking distance of the
Christian Quarter and Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, where tradition holds Jesus
was buried.
Discovered under an abandoned
prison building that is part of the Tower
of David Museum grounds, the trial site is
one piece of a vast excavation undertaken
by archaeologists from 1999 to 2000 but
sealed off for the past 14 years largely due
to lack of funding.
The excavations include what may
be the foundations of the palace of King
Herod. It was here, many scholars and
archaeologists believe, that the Roman
governor Pontius Pilate put Jesus on trial.
Archaeologist Amit Re’em of the Israel
Antiquities Authority said the palace was
built at the end of the first century B.C.,
according to Josephus, the Jewish historian and Roman citizen of the era. “It was
enormous, with a lot of gold and silver
and running water and guest quarters,”
he said.
The ruins uncovered by the Antiquities Authority were discovered in the area
described by Josephus and included a
complex sewage system.—RNS
The Tower
of David in
Jerusalem
9
by bobby g. duncan
understanding the times
Why are terrorism, religious extremism, and moral corruption increasing exponentially?
W
HAT’S HAPPENING to our
once God-fearing America?
How can a relatively young
nation such as ours—one
built on the Judeo-Christian ethic, and
once touted as a “shining city on a hill”—
take such a rapid nose-dive into spiritual
darkness and moral depravity? How is it
that we have given up the high ground
on the world stage and have plunged into
political chaos and economic uncertainty?
Furthermore, how is it that an alwaysviolent world seems to be reaching new
levels of violence, often fueled by the
perverted ideologies of religious extremists?
Although these questions trouble us
deeply, they are not questions without
answers. However, if we are not careful,
our human sensibilities override our faith,
and panic sets in. Jesus warns of this
condition in Luke 21:25-26: “There will be
signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the
stars; and on the earth distress of nations,
with perplexity, the sea and the waves
roaring; men’s hearts failing them from
fear and the expectation of those things
which are coming on the earth” (NKJV).
When Jesus delivered His discourse
on the end times only days before His
crucifixion, He informed His disciples
that the intensifying deception, wars,
natural disasters, persecutions, and family
dysfunctions of the last days would only
be “the beginning of sorrows” (Matt.
24:8). These distresses, He added, would
usher in a period of “great tribulation”
unlike anything happening before it or
anything following it (v. 21). Really? Is
that possible?
Escalating Evil
Our world has been a vicious and violent
place ever since Cain rose up against his
brother Abel and coldheartedly murdered
him—the direct result of disobedience
to God. At that moment, the human race
began a visible downward spiral that has
10
continued for 6,000 years. Paul noted
this wicked progression by saying evil
men would only grow more evil (2 Tim.
3:13). As emphatic as his statement is, we
still cannot conceive the full weight of its
meaning, or of Christ’s meaning when He
spoke of great tribulation.
How could a nation be more violent than
the brutal Assyrian Empire, or fiercer
than the Nazi regime that orchestrated
the extermination of millions of Jews and
other “undesirables”? How could there be
a future day that would see more ferocity
than that perpetrated by the Communists
under Stalin, Lenin, and Mao Zedong, or
that could conceivably be more atrocious
than the Khmer Rouge’s Pol Pot, who was
responsible for nearly a million of his own
people being massacred in the infamous
killing fields of Cambodia? Do the words
of Jesus really mean there will come a
time that literally will surpass the evil and
violence of these governments?
Yes. Just ahead, there awaits the prophetical
rendezvous with unprecedented disaster.
However, this trouble and distress will
not descend on the earth overnight; the
escalation of evil in our world occurs
gradually. We are witnessing humanity
march toward a kind of destruction
unparalleled in history.
As deeply disturbing as today’s
unprovoked slaughter of innocents
by Muslim extremists, as troubling
as the wanton beheading of Western
journalists, and as alarming as the
planned destruction of America and Israel
are, these are but precursors of what is to
come. Radical Islamist terrorists with their
grossly distorted theology will continue to
smite fear into the hearts of people and
nations around the world by perpetrating
unimaginable violence against anyone
who opposes their twisted view of God
and the hereafter.
Increasing Immorality
Juxtaposed with the increasing savagery
of man is the prophesied breakdown
of a moral code of conduct. Just as the
Bible predicts the growing violence in the
world, it also predicts the dramatic decline
in morality. Wasn’t this the condition
existing in the days of Noah and in the
last days of Sodom and Gomorrah? And
did not Christ liken the time of His return
to these evil populaces (Luke 17:26-30)?
As a nation, we have moved from
supporting traditional (biblical) marriage
and family to an all-out embracing of
same-sex “marriage”—to the point that
our culture now identifies anyone who
opposes such a relationship as intolerant
and on the wrong side of history. We
have become a people with undisciplined
minds and unbridled passions. Just as
sexual immorality played a leading role
in the collapse of kingdoms throughout
history, so today the sexualizing of our
own culture portends the end of America
as we have known it.
Clear Reasons
Again, why are terrorism, religious
extremism, and moral corruption
increasing so exponentially? The answers
are not complicated. First, the departure
from the faith gives rise to these
corrupting influences. Second, God allows
and uses these events and conditions
to call His people to repentance. Third,
these maladies fulfill biblical prophecy
and prepare for earth’s final conflicts that,
ultimately, will usher in the Millennium.
Although we can draw close to God, touch
lives, and do the work of His kingdom,
we cannot change the course of this age.
Jesus makes it clear that “all these things
must come to pass” (Matt. 24:6).
As believers trying to negotiate these
troubled waters today, we must find
the common ground of truth and
stand firmly thereon. Granted, in the
midst of increasing hostility among
nations, cultures, families, and people in
general—and among decreasing morality
before God—it sometimes seems we are
fighting a losing battle. From the human
perspective, when we consider the spiritual,
social, political, and economic conditions
in our world, God seems either to have lost
control or simply abandoned us.
Searching for God
Indelibly etched in my mind is an episode
that occurred when I was three or four
years old. My loving and protective
parents, along with three supposedly
attentive older brothers, departed for
home following a revival service, leaving
me asleep on a wooden pew in our small
church sanctuary.
When I woke up, I fretfully looked around
the partially darkened building (some of
the lights had been turned off) to discover
everyone had departed except the pastor
and the evangelist. Realizing my family
was gone, I panicked, bursting into
uncontrollable tears.
Mercifully, at that very moment, Dad
stepped through the back door of the
sanctuary in search of one fearful little
boy. I will never forget the overwhelming
sense of relief that swept over me when I
saw the face of my father and the telltale
grin on his face—a grin that probably
signaled relief in him to find me under the
watchful eye of the pastor.
Sometimes, it seems that our heavenly
Father has mysteriously forgotten
us, having inexplicably vanished. Our
emotions shout that He is nowhere near.
Even David, psalmist and king, once
gloomily asked, “O Lord, how long will
you forget me? Forever? How long will
you look the other way?” (Ps. 13:1 NLT).
At some point, every child of God has
grappled with His apparent absence, His
elusiveness, His seeming preoccupation
with other concerns. We’ve wanted to
see Him, but could not; we’ve wanted to
hear Him, but silence sometimes hung
like a dark and depressing cloud over
us, threatening our security and sanity.
During such times, we ask with David,
“Where are You?” And with David, we find
comfort in realizing He is always present,
as the psalmist declares in verse 5: “But I
trust in your unfailing love” (NLT).
We take comfort in knowing that the abject wickedness in the world will not,
and cannot, dim the bright light of Jesus
Christ and the glorious good news of His
forgiveness and cleansing. We are also
comforted in knowing He will never forsake
His children. Yes, God is forever in control.
Evil conditions in the world do not speak
of His abandonment, but rather that His
forewarnings are legitimate. God did not
design the fulfillment of these prophecies to
discourage us, but rather to strengthen our
faith in Him as the omnipotent God.
Look Up
After Jesus discussed the unprecedented
evil that would befall the earth in the last
days, He concluded, “Now when these
things begin to happen, look up and lift
up your heads, because your redemption
draws near” (Luke 21:28 NKJV).
Global terrorism is worsening, but
redemption draws near. Religious
extremists grossly pervert the truth, but
redemption draws near. Evil men grow
more evil, but redemption draws near.
Moral decadence might be the order of
the day, but redemption draws near.
In these threatening times, we need not
panic nor be afraid. Christ frequently
charged His disciples to “fear not.” David
declared, “The Lord is my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life; of whom shall I
be afraid?” (Ps. 27:1). If we fix our eyes
steadfastly on Christ, He will deliver us
from every evil. “Let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us, looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”
(Heb. 12:1-2 NKJV). Bobby G. Duncan is pastor of the Parma
Park, Ohio, Church of God, where he has
served since 1994. He is author of Is Truth
Enough? (Pathway Press, 2013) and several
other books. [email protected]
11
David
Metzger
finding
faithfulness
by m. darrell rice
W
Michael Reynolds
Bruce Deel
David
Simmons
E OFTEN LOOK at
the tragedies of our
culture and world and
assume it is the result
of a faithless generation. But where do we draw such crude
and baseless conclusions? Frankly, I am
convinced we have no reason to believe
any generation is any less “faithful” than
another is.
Perhaps it’s what we’re looking for—like
the story of two shoe-company representatives who visited a potential new market
for their product in an underdeveloped
country. The first wrote back to the boss,
“It’s a bust because no one wears shoes
in this country.” The other wrote and
announced the unlimited possibilities: “No
one was currently wearing shoes in this
emerging market. Everyone needs shoes!”
Present Potential
James Decanter
“When the Son of
Man comes, will He
really find faith
on the earth?” (Luke 18:8 NKJV).
12
in proclaiming, “As for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).
A Love Issue
What are we saying “yes” to when we
affirm our faithfulness? What is biblical
faithfulness? It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit,
according to Galatians 5:22.
The dictionary gives the technical definition: “to follow through with a commitment regardless of difficulty.”
Several years ago I heard Pastor John
Maxwell say, “Faithfulness is love hanging
on. If I’m not following through, it’s not a
‘commitment’ issue, it’s a ‘love’ issue.”
His point is that falling in love with Jesus,
and nurturing that love relationship,
takes care of all commitment and faithfulness questions. If faithfulness lags, I must
check on my love for the Lord.
Jesus offers a telling parable in Luke
18, where a persistent widow continually
approaches an unjust judge, begging for
justice and intervention. Because of her
faithfulness in asking, the judge relents
and grants her request. To drive home
the point of the parable without further
explanation, Jesus asks, “Nevertheless,
when the Son of Man comes, will He
really find faith on the earth?” The question implies an answer in the negative.
However, the potential is there to answer
in the affirmative.
Listen to what the Bible says. Here are
some of the scriptural challenges to be
faithful:
Call me a dreamer and visionary, but I
know countless Christ-followers from
their teens through their 90s—six generations by some standards—that would
love to have been in the crowd that day to
announce their answer. Though they may
not answer for every generation past and
future, I sincerely believe they join Joshua
• Be faithful to follow instruction (Prov. 23:12).
• Be faithful in stewardship (1 Cor. 4:2).
• Be faithful in service (Eph. 6:21).
• Be faithful to one’s family (1 Tim. 5:8).
• Be faithful in witnessing (Rev. 21:5).
• Be faithful in prayer (Rom. 12:12).
• Be faithful in ministry (Col. 1:7).
• Be faithful in following the Lord (Rev. 17:14).
• Be faithful in the truth (3 John 3).
• Be faithful even in times of persecution (Rev. 13:10).
• Be faithful unto death and receive the
crown of life (Rev. 2:10).
This list is daunting, but with God all
things are possible as we love Jesus more
and more.
Inspirational Examples
As with most questions of faith, we’re
all looking for evidence to support this
abstract concept. Are there real people living today whom we can look to for inspiration and example?
When our eyes open to the beauty of
human engagement in the activity of following Jesus, examples abound.
I think of the lead elder at a small church
in Oklahoma where I recently helped
facilitate a pastoral transition. When I
first received his name, title, and contact
information, I assumed he was an elderly
gentleman, but I discovered he is younger
than me and has been in this church his
entire life. Remarkably, this was the 27th
time he had been through a pastoral
change. Through all the ups and downs of
five decades of church involvement, David
Simmons has weathered the good times
and lean times as a portrait of faithfulness, and is still enthusiastic about the
future of his local church. Faithfulness!
I think of my former pastor in Little Rock,
Arkansas (1978-82), who determined to
explore the potential of improving his
preaching style and content and began
writing a full manuscript of each message.
In doing so, James Decanter demonstrated faithfulness to the Word, the chosen
text, developing disciples, and pastoral
care. Faithfulness!
I think of a retired Navy chaplain who
determined to extend ministry after
retirement from the military. David
Metzger accepted a pastorate in Beloit
(Wisconsin), earned a doctorate in theology, persevered through the highs and lows
of pastoral ministry, grew the church,
influenced a city, and continues to thrive.
Faithfulness!
I think of my associate pastor who left the
comforts of suburban living and ministry
in 1997 and decided to move his family
(wife and five daughters) into the innercity of Atlanta to reach the “least and
the lost.” Bruce Deel established a model
community-development ministry that
has lifted thousands out of poverty and
hopelessness by the power of the gospel
and proven social, medical, and job-
training programs. Faithfulness!
How Do We Develop
Faithfulness in Our Lives?
That’s something like an apple tree saying, “How do I develop apples?” An apple
tree produces apples because that’s what
apple trees do.
As Christians, we are branches attached
to the “true vine,” Jesus Christ (John 15:1).
Producing the fruit of the Spirit, which
includes faithfulness, is the natural thing to
do. We don’t have to sit around analyzing
it. However, we do have to guard against
detaching from the Vine or letting some
disease destroy our fruitfulness. How?
First, we must realize temptations will
come. As surely as Jesus was tempted to
be unfaithful, we will be tempted to be
unfaithful—in our marriage, in our relationship with the Lord, and in the church. That’s
what Satan does. He will tempt us.
Second, we must seek the Holy Spirit’s
reinforcement and develop regular, positive, spiritual habits—loving Jesus more and
more.
Third, we need to get back up when we
fall or are knocked down.
While the above examples of faithful
Christians inspire us, our celebration of their
accomplishments must include an embracing of their brokenness. Their visions and
goals were often met with resistance and
failure. However, their love for Jesus and His
leading brought a response of faithfulness
to achieve their destiny.
Do you feel you’ve been knocked down,
or maybe that you’ve fallen? Have you been
irresponsible? Are you tempted to quit?
Don’t stop. Keep pressing on. Hang in there,
because “faithfulness is love hanging on.”
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal.
5:22-23 NKJV).
I think of an African-American pastor
who studied denominations and chose the
Church of God as his destiny and place of
ministry. Michael D. Reynolds submitted
to culturally challenging requirements to
meet the demands of his newfound church
family, and then planted a Church of God
that is a model of urban ministry in the
nation’s third largest city. Faithfulness!
I think of an unheralded pastor in North
Georgia who, in his nearly 60 years of
ministry, likely never led a single church
for more than two years. However, Roy
Horton repeatedly accepted pastorates
of broken and challenging situations,
brought stability and growth, then moved
on to the next fragmented handful of
people that could hardly qualify for the
title “church”—almost always to the
criticism and chagrin of those advocating
long-term pastorates. His legacy is leaving
behind dozens of healthy core-groups that
are today thriving, vibrant churches. He
was an “intentional interim” way before
the term was invented. Faithfulness!
I think of an anonymous layperson with
a heart for missions that began supporting a national worker decades ago and
asked the Lord to increase his ability to
give, then tested the Lord by adding a
new national worker every year. At last
count, he was supporting more than 30
national workers monthly and has been
responsible for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to advance the Kingdom
through Church of God World Missions.
Faithfulness!
I think of my own children—who are now
adults with families of their own—who
demonstrate faithfulness to their gifts and
abilities by pursuing educational opportunities, making godly career choices,
and raising their children in the fear and
admonition of the Lord. Faithfulness!
Look around—find faithfulness.
M. Darrell Rice is administrative bishop of
the Church of God in the Heartland Region.
[email protected]
13
W
HEN MY SON Justin was
about 15 years old, he was
not feeling well one night
and couldn’t sleep. So he
came to our bedroom about two o’clock in
the morning to ask if there was anything
he could take to make him feel better.
It was a cold night and he had a blanket
wrapped around him and over his head.
He did not turn on any lights, and quietly
bent over his mom to whisper in her ear.
However, as he was bending over, Udella
sensed this presence hovering above her
and she opened her eyes. She saw this
dark, hooded figure moving toward her
face, and she screamed!
by mark l. walker
fighting fear with faith
Out of a dead sleep, I sat straight up in
the bed and started screaming too, but
I had no idea why! Justin fell flat on his
back, which sent the blanket flying in the
air. He yelled, “Mom, it’s me, Justin!”
My son, my wife, and I were shouting,
yelling, and screaming at . . . well . . . nothing. For about 30 seconds, we were experiencing sheer terror when there wasn’t
anything terrorizing us. We were reacting
to perceived fear.
Fear has several meanings:
• to have an unpleasant feeling of anxiety aroused by impending danger,
real or imagined
• to be cowardly and timid
• to have concern, anxiety, and nervousness
• to show reverence, respect, and awe
(Encarta).
Fear and Faith
The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake
approximately 8 miles wide and 13 miles
long. Because of its position beneath the
surrounding hills, a sudden shift in wind
can create a wind-tunnel effect bringing
on a violent storm without warning. In
Mark 4, such a storm seems to have blown
in as Christ and His followers headed
across the lake.
14
Jesus Christ was asleep in the boat as the
storm raged, and His disciples awakened
Him by pleading, “Teacher, don’t you
care if we drown?” (v. 38 NIV). Christ
performed a miracle by calming the wind,
waves, and rain with a single word. He
then asked two peculiar questions: “Why
are you so afraid? Do you still have no
faith?” (v. 40 NIV).
Christ didn’t ask, “Why are you afraid?”
He asked, “Why are you so afraid?” Christ
wasn’t questioning their fear, but their
level of fear. He was asking, “Why has
your fear level reached this height?” They
were overreacting—they were having an
unhealthy fear response.
Christ didn’t downplay the size of the
storm. Instead, He asked, “Do you still
have no faith?”
Their unhealthy fear was not a storm
issue, but a faith issue. When we place
Christ’s two questions together, He
seemed to be saying to the disciples, “Your
fear has reached such a level that you’re
reacting as if you have no faith.”
Unhealthy fear will arise when (1) we
don’t trust what can sustain us, or (2)
we are trusting in something that cannot
sustain us. Our faith is either lacking or
misplaced.
The obvious question then becomes,
“How do I respond to fear-invoking circumstances with properly placed faith?”
Three Fear-and-Faith Observations
1. The object of my faith must be greater than the size of my storm.
Most of Christ’s followers accompanying
Him across the Sea of Galilee knew how to
weather a storm, but this one was larger
than their training, experience, and expertise. It was beyond their capability and
confidence to handle.
My family discovered the sudden wind of
change when, in 1980, my older brother
and only sibling, Paul Dana Walker, was
killed in a head-on collision two days after
Thanksgiving. As a family of pastors and
ministers, we had counseled, taught, and
preached to people that they can trust
Christ in such painful and challenging
times. We were highly trained and experienced in spiritual and faith matters. But
now our life-storm was greater than our
training and skill. The trustworthy Jesus we
talked about now had to become the Jesus
we fully trusted in. Our sermons weren’t
enough; we needed Him alive and real.
He didn’t disappoint. Just as He proved
Himself to His followers that day on the
sea, we discovered Jesus is larger than any
life-storm.
2. Faith in Christ leads to more than tem-
porary solutions to temporary problems —it leads to an eternal life plan for an eternal destiny.
Even though the fear of Christ’s disciples
apparently overshadowed their faith, they
knew where to turn for help. Too many
people call on Christ only when they have
a problem. Until they have a storm they
can’t handle, they want Christ to stay
asleep and let them steer their own lives.
Christ wants to be more than a temporary
problem-solver; He wants to be our eternal, abundant life-giver.
I remember visiting a man fighting cancer.
He had just received word from the doctors that they could not do anything else
for him. Barring a miracle, he would soon
die. I was trying to comfort him, but he
ended up comforting me. My friend said:
“Pastor, Christ is my life and should He
heal me, I will spend the remainder of my
days glorifying Him by telling of His great
love and power. If He chooses for me to
remain ill for a longer period of time, I will
glorify Him until my death, testifying of
His sustaining comfort and grace. If He
chooses for me to die soon, I will be with
Him forever and my death will glorify
Him. No matter what, Pastor, I can’t lose!”
3. Fear sees the temporary ruling the eternal; faith sees the eternal ruling the temporary.
The disciples let the temporary storm seem
greater than the eternal Creator who was in
their boat. Fear tends to exalt the temporal
above the eternal, so we begin to believe our
life-storm is greater than the resources we
have in God. Faith looks to the eternal God
who is greater than the storm.
In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, the apostle
Paul says our earthly troubles are temporary and light compared to the eternal
existence that awaits us in Christ. He
even suggests that our temporary storms
actually work for us a better eternal lifeexperience. We should “fix our eyes not
on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary, but what is
unseen is eternal” (v. 18 NIV).
Paul did not instruct us to avoid looking at
our storm; he instructed us not to become
fixated—consumed and obsessed—by it.
Instead, we should become consumed and
obsessed with the eternal person, purpose,
and promises of God.
Shifting From Fear to Faith
Rest in the One who is leading. Jesus Christ
initiated the trip across the lake, and He
said they were going to “the other side”
(Mark 4:35). Christ’s promises will come
to pass, and no storm can stop them.
Jesus said,
“Let us go
over to
the other
side.”
If Christ is my Leader, then He has
brought me to where I am, no matter how
great the storm. If I trust in His sovereignty, He can take any storm and work it to
my greatest good and His greatest glory. I
can rest in Him.
Resist expecting the worst. “A furious squall
came up, and the waves broke over the
boat, so that it was nearly swamped” (v.
37 NIV).
I heard the story of an elderly woman
who lived in London, England, during
World War II. The possibility of air raids
was imminent, so her adult children
attempted to convince her to stay with
them outside the city, but she refused.
She pointed to a plaque hanging on the
wall and said, “You know that’s what I live
by, and I’m not leaving,” The plaque read,
“Don’t worry. It may never happen.”
Her children reluctantly gave in and left
her there. Soon, the city was bombed as
they feared. It was days before the woman’s children could make it to her apartment building, only to find her section of
the building quite damaged. They feared
the worst.
However, when they arrived at their
mother’s apartment, she was sitting in her
rocking chair rocking away. One of her
children pointed to her plaque that now
hung crooked on the wall and mockingly
questioned, “What do you have to say
about your ‘don’t worry’ plaque now?”
She jumped up and said, “Oh, I forgot!”
She turned the plaque over. The other side
read, “Don’t worry. You can take it.”
Try to resist immediately expecting the
worst; it may not happen. If it does, rest
in the One who leads.
Realize who is in your boat. Christ leading
His disciples through the storm brought
them to a fuller understanding of His
greatness. They declared, “Who is this?
Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
(v. 41 NIV).
Why did the winds, water, and rain obey
Him? They obeyed because He made
them.
Was the disciples’ boat taking on water?
Yes. Were things looking bleak? Absolutely. However, the disciples didn’t wake
up Christ and say, “Hey, we are taking on
water!” They said, “Don’t you care if we
drown?” (v. 38 NIV).
Do we know who is in life’s boat with us?
Are we getting to know Him, or is He just
someone we know about?
Why do we expect the worst in adversity?
Here’s a news flash: “The worst may not
happen.” And if it does, we can rest in the
One who is leading.
Mark L. Walker is lead pastor of the North
Mount Paran Church of God in Marietta,
Georgia. This article is adapted from his book
Mind Games (Pathway Press).
Christ said, “Let’s go over to the other
side.” Do we trust Him?
15
loving
by
david platt
G
According to
God, sex with
anyone who
is not your
husband or
your wife is sin,
whether that
happens before
marriage, during
marriage, or
after marriage.
boundaries
OD CREATED US as
sexual beings. We are men
and women with distinct
bodies that have been
made in God’s image. The
Bible emphasizes the importance of our
bodies, saying the body is meant “for the
Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Cor.
6:13). That simple phrase is a substantial
starting point for understanding God’s
design for us. Our bodies have been
created not only by God but also for God.
This is a very different starting point than
most people have in our culture. We are
driven today by whatever can bring our
bodies the most pleasure. What can we eat,
touch, watch, do, listen to, or engage in to
satisfy the cravings of our bodies? We are
swimming in a cultural ocean that cries out
with every wave, “Gratify your body!”
God desires the best for us, and He has
designed our bodies not just for His glory
but also for our good.
This is why God, in His love, gives us
boundaries for our bodies: He loves us
and knows what is best for us. He desires
to protect us from harm and provide
for us something greater than we can
see. Whenever God gives us a negative
command, He always gives two positives
to us: He is providing us with something
better while also protecting us from
something worse.
Look back at that phrase from 1 Corinthians: the body is meant “for the Lord,
and the Lord for the body.” Not only are
our bodies designed for God, but God is
devoted to our bodies. Literally, He is for
your body. God wants you to experience
the maximum joy for which your body is
built, and as the Creator of our bodies,
He knows what will bring them the most
pleasure. This takes us back to one of the
core truths of the gospel—the reality that
God loves us and is for us, not against us.
These simple truths help us to see more
clearly what we are doing when we ignore
God’s good instructions. All throughout
the Bible, He gives us boundaries for how
our bodies are to be used. But when we
ignore these boundaries, it’s as if we’re
saying to God, “You don’t know how this
body is to be used. I know better than
You do.” It seems a bit arrogant, doesn’t
it? Kind of like my 4-year-old telling me I
don’t know what I’m talking about when
it comes to cars on the road.
16
According to God, then, this is the safety
zone in which sex is to be enjoyed. God
creates this loving boundary to maximize
the sexual experience in all of its richest
meanings. Moreover, this is the reason
the Bible is full of prohibitions against any
and all sexual activity outside of marriage
between a man and a woman. For example, God prohibits sexual prostitution (see
Lev. 19:29; Deut. 23:18; Prov. 6:25-26)
and sexual violence (Deut. 22:25-27). He
commands us not to have sex with animals (Lev. 18:23; 20:15-16) or relatives
(Lev. 18:6; 1 Cor. 5:1-2). These are boundaries that most people agree on in our
culture (at least for now), but they are not
the only boundaries the Bible includes.
With the same force of command, God
also prohibits sex between a man and
woman who are not married to each
other. The Bible calls this adultery, and it
is forbidden in the Ten Commandments
(Ex. 20:14; see also Lev. 20:10; Prov. 6:2832). But this isn’t just an Old Testament
command. Jesus and the writers of the
New Testament reiterate this restriction
(Matt. 19:7-9; Rom. 13:9; Heb. 13:4).
According to God, sex with anyone who
is not your husband or your wife is sin,
whether that happens before marriage,
during marriage, or after marriage.
Continued on p. 21
^
But what if our bodies have not ultimately
been created for self-gratification? What if
our bodies have actually been created for
God-glorification? And even better, what
if God-glorification is actually the way
to experience the greatest satisfaction in
our bodies?
Consider an example from everyday life.
When I tell my kids to stay in our yard
and not run into the road, I’m telling
them this for their good. I know what
could happen when a car comes racing
down the street, so I rightly give them
this restriction—because I know it is best
for them. I want to protect them from
harm while also providing them a safe
environment in which they can flourish.
In a much greater way, the God who
designed our bodies knows what is best
for their flourishing.
In His love for us, God has told us the
best use of our bodies, and He has been
specific when it comes to our sexuality. As
we’ve seen from the very beginning of the
Bible, God designed a man’s and a woman’s body to join together as “one flesh”
in marriage (Gen. 2:24). The language of
“one flesh” points to the personal nature
of this union. Sex is not a mechanical
act between two objects; it is a relational
bond between two people. And not just
any two people. This physical union is
designed by God for a man and a woman
who have committed their lives in a covenant relationship with each other (see
Prov. 5:3-20; Mal. 2:14). There is not one
instance in all of God’s Word where God
advocates or celebrates sex outside of a
marriage relationship between a husband
and a wife. Not one.
TIM HILL
Director
Year of the Missionary
Holding Up the Hands of Missionaries
From the Director
JOHN CHILDERS
Assistant Director
CHURCH OF GOD
WORLD
MISSIONS
FUSING TODAY’S DREAMS WITH TOMORROW’S POTENTIAL.
Global Connect
March 2015
WORLD MISSIONS LEADERSHIP
Tim Hill, Director
A bold new effort is underway to recognize and honor career missionaries in the Church of
John Childers, Assistant Director
God, and the people of the church are responding enthusiastically, according to Director Tim
Dee Raff, Missions Administrator
Hill and Assistant Director John Childers.
After naming 2015 the “Year of the Missionary,” leaders are ensuring that the church
will more deliberately and publicly esteem these servants of God who cross boundaries of
EDITOR Bill George
language, culture, and geography to take the message of salvation and help sustain the work of
DESIGN EDITOR Brandon Spell
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Janet Polen Price
the church.
“We often do not realize the extra difficulty and demands that are placed upon men and
women, as well as their children, when they labor far from home,” said Dr. Hill. “They deserve our profound respect, admiration,
and support. Just as Aaron and Hur held
up the hands of Moses (Exodus 17), we
must sustain our missionaries in their
battles.”
Among the blessings will be a time
of rest and relaxation provided by World
Missions where the career missionary and
family can get away from their normal
workplace for a few days. A new allowance
for tech support, such as Internet
expenses, will be provided to enable
missionaries to better stay in touch with
family members and supporters. One of
the major new benefits will be a one-time
gift of money to help offset the rising
cost of insurance. In addition, each career
missionary received a personal offering for the recent Valentine’s Day. Further, on his or her birthday and on their anniversary date
of appointment a special offering will be sent.
A gesture warmly welcomed by the career missionaries is that their room costs for the next General Assembly will be paid by
World Missions. Previously, each person had the responsibility of paying for his or her own room.
“These considerations are indications of our tremendous appreciation for the dedicated work of these men and women of
God,” said Childers. “We are looking for those who will join us in making sure our career missionaries feel love and support in
tangible ways.”
Those who wish to share love gifts with missionaries may visit the website, www.cogwm.org, and click the “Give” button; or
send gifts to Church of God World Missions, P.O. Box 8016, Cleveland, TN 37320-8016. 
Visit globalCONNECT online at www.cogwm.org for updated information weekly.
global
17
What
Is a
Missionary?
Ken Anderson
Now the Lord says, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant …
(Isaiah 49:5 NKJV).
In his classic devotional, My Utmost for His Highest,
Oswald Chambers wrote:
The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is
the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our
other allegiances—we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. … And
when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for
the human race, namely, that He created us for Himself. This realization of our election
by God is the most joyful on earth.… A missionary is created for the purpose of being
God’s servant, one in whom God is glorified. Once we realize that it is through the
salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will
understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands.
18
global
The standard definition of a
missionary is a Christian worker
who crosses some kind of border—
geographical, linguistic, tribal, cultural—
for performing service for God. He
chooses and uses weak, ordinary men
and women to accomplish His purposes
for His kingdom. It is not about great
men and women of God, but a great
God. The life of a missionary is not
glamorous; it may be full of hardship.
Some of the adjustments missionaries
must make are easy. Some are much more
difficult. Sometimes God will ask them to
sacrifice family and friends.
The reality of missions is changing
in response to the highly mobile,
interconnected world where missionaries
serve. There are some places in the
world where the traditional work
description remains: pastor, evangelist
and church planter, theologian, Bible
translator and Bible school/seminary
teacher. The rapid transitions in societies
mean that the job of a missionary can
now be anything: IT technician, video
specialist, personnel, accountant, teacher,
orphanage worker, and so the list goes. It
is understood that the missionary role is
one in which he acts as a catalyst, support
and/or a resource for the indigenous
leaders that God is calling and preparing.
This paradigm is driven by a fundamental
belief that a missionary’s primary
purpose is to work himself/herself out
of a job.
The missionary’s purpose as a believer
is to be obedient, to be open completely
to God’s transforming grace. His
purpose is to pray. Her purpose it to
see each interaction as a God-ordained
opportunity for God’s purposes to
be accomplished in another life. The
missionary’s purpose is to let go of life in
such a way that it can become connected
to another life through the bond of
Christ. That is the missionary’s job.
Every Christian is called to go or to
send. 
From Honduras to Alabama
Latino Pastor Survives Murder Attempt
Pastors on the mission field—especially those in certain countries—
are sometimes called upon to give their lives for the gospel.
Pastor José Santos Ramos and his wife, Deysi, of Honduras,
have recently passed through a trial that might have resulted
in their deaths, if not for the protection of God. As a respected
pastor for 15 years in a suburb of San Pedro Sula, with
friendships among government leaders, Pastor Ramos was
asked to champion a large group of people who had pooled
their resources and bought a large piece of property where
they intended to build their homes and develop a subdivision.
Learning they were having difficulty officially registering the
property, he discovered that the people who sold it were not
the rightful owners; the property actually belonged to the
Honduran government.
Pastor José Santos Ramos (r) speaks with interpreter, Kenny Vega
In the actions that followed, the offenders were forced to
reimburse the purchasers nearly $800,000. The perpetrators
were part of a drug cartel, and they called to tell him this large
amount could be repaid only with his life and the life of his
family. Some weeks later, while he was helping the community
get street lights, working to dig holes for light poles, a car
approached, three men exited and began shooting at him. He
was hit six times—twice in the side, once in each arm, once in
a hand, and once in the face. He was in hospitals for weeks.
Pastor Ramos and his family fled into the countryside,
moving from place to place, for several months. When it was
discovered that he did not die, cartel thugs entered the church
where he was still listed as pastor, and when they did not find
him, they murdered a layman leading the service. Consulting
the head of security of the nation, the pastor learned the only
way he could survive was by leaving the country; however, he
could not secure a visa.
When he could not leave legally, he sold his house and paid
smugglers to take him and his three children to the United
States. He surrendered to immigration authorities and asked for
asylum, explaining the situation. After being detained for some
months while the case was being investigated—he in Chicago
and she in Texas—they moved to a South Alabama town where
they are presently living. The pastor found a local Church of God
by identifying the logo. He has been helped by that pastor and
assisted by the pastor of a larger church in a nearby city and his
Hispanic pastor. These men of God have helped with financial
support and assistance in paying attorneys to help finalize the
asylum action.
It is unlikely that a U.S. pastor would ever face this
situation, but in certain areas, this kind of attack is a daily reality.
San Pedro Sula is called “Murder Capital of the World,” with
more violent deaths per thousand than any other place. Arms
and drug trafficking have flooded the country, contributing to
high gang violence. Lax gun laws—civilians can own up to
five personal firearms—corruption, and poverty make life even
worse. Inmates have controlled Honduras’ 24 prisons since the
state gave up on rehabilitating convicts, according to a recent
report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Despite the threats against righteousness, the Church
of God has scores of churches scattered throughout the area,
doing its part to bring the city to its knees before God. Pray for
the godly pastors and their wives who work for the coming of
the Kingdom.
Legal counsel has recommended that this article not have
place names included. Pastor and Sister Ramos are truly
named. He fully intends to continue preaching the gospel, scars
and all, among the Latino diaspora in the United States. 
Pastor José Santos Ramos
global
19
What’s Happening in Missions
News from around the globe
New Prayer Site
A new website has been initiated to help guide
prayer for missions. You may visit it at www.1plus1.cc
to learn more about the direction needed for praying.
Each Monday, a new devotional is posted, along with
prayer guides. World Missions is recruiting intercessors
who will devote one minute of prayer daily. Together
these praying people will accumulate one million hours
of prayer each year. 
Invitation to Guatemala
one + one
minute of devotion
minute of prayer
one million hours of prayer. one minute at a time.
C H U R C H O F G O D W O R L D M I S S I O N S • W W W. 1 P L U S 1 . C C
Casa Shalom invites friends to two events. First is a short-term mission trip for child sponsors, April 11–15, when they can
bond with their sponsored children during activities at the orphanage and field trips. The trip is open to present and prospective
Casa Shalom child sponsors. The second is a men’s work trip, May 2–6. Men can use their skills in electrical work, plumbing,
carpentry, and more to bless the orphanage. They’ll also enjoy a pig roast, sightseeing, and a five-star buffet! For more info on
either trip and cost information, contact Director Josh Hanson at [email protected]. 
Challenge in Burma
A growing church in Myanmar (Burma) faces yet another location shift. In the past two years, the congregation and its
accompanying small orphanage have been forced to relocate four times. Although Buddhists are typically depicted as peaceful, in
the country’s capital they have evidenced sharp hostility. Because the church does not own its own property, they must rent; this
opens the door for outside influences to compel property owners to withdraw rent privileges. Include this church in prayer, and ask
for permanent property to become available. 
Israel Advancing
Thanks to generous contributions from YWEA,
the past General Assembly, and continuing gifts
from people who love Israel, forward momentum
is taking place in the Holy Land. Land has been
purchased for a new school in Aboud, the Mount
of Olives property is being remodeled to host
an extension of the European Bible Seminary,
church planting is underway, benevolent ministry is
progressing, and other projects are in progress. 
Director Tim Hill , Assistant Director John Childers along with leadership from the Aboud School
anoint a new property .
20
global
Indonesia Action—A team from the Mount
Paran, Atlanta, Church traveled to Indonesia and
conducted a weeklong Old Testament course for
pastors and workers. During last year’s round-theworld Bible reading emphasis, more than 10,000
individuals—not counting families—signed up to
read the Word, according to Missionary Tommy
Smith. 
loving boundaries
Continued from page 16
In God’s complementary design of man
and woman for marriage, this prohibition
also includes sex between a man and a
man or a woman and a woman. On this
the Bible is explicit. Right before prohibiting sex with animals, the Old Testament
reads, “Do not lie with a man as one lies
with a woman; that is detestable” (Lev.
18:22 NIV). Someone might say, “But
that’s just Old Testament law, which also
includes prohibitions against eating pork
(11:7). Does that mean Southern barbecue
is also sin?”
This may sound like a good argument
until we realize the clear and critical distinctions between different types of laws
in Leviticus. Some of the laws are civil in
nature, and they specifically pertain to the
government of ancient Israel in a way that
they do not necessarily pertain to governments today. Other laws are ceremonial,
prescribing particular sacrifices, offerings,
and festivals for God’s people under the
old covenant. These civil and ceremonial
laws applied specifically to Jewish people
in the Old Testament, and we know this
because these laws are not reiterated
for all people in the New Testament.
However, various moral laws (such as
prohibitions against stealing and lying, for
example) are explicitly reiterated in the
New Testament. These laws, based upon
God’s character, clearly apply to all people
for all time.
In many people’s minds, we’ve already
gone too far at this point, but we’re actually only getting started when it comes to
seeing and understanding God’s protective boundaries and sexual prohibitions
in Scripture. In order to protect us from
lusts, greeds, desires, and temptations
that give birth to sin, the Bible also prohibits all sexual looking and thinking outside of marriage between a husband and
a wife. In Jesus’ words, “Everyone who
looks at a woman lustfully has already
committed adultery with her in his heart”
(Matt. 5:28 RSV). According to Christ, it
is sinful even to look at someone who is
not your husband or wife and entertain
sexual thoughts about that person (see
also 2 Peter 2:14).
Even Christians who
refuse to indulge
personally in sinful
sexual activity
often watch movies,
read books, and visit
Internet sites that
make light of sexual
immorality.
It’s sick, isn’t it?
Not only is it contrary to God’s grand
desire and therefore wrong to possess
and cultivate sexual desires for others
outside of marriage, it is also wrong to
provoke sexual desires in others outside of
marriage. God forbids immodest clothing
(see 1 Tim. 2:9-10) and warns sternly
against seductive speech (see Prov. 5:1-23;
7:1-27). Even more, God prohibits any kind
of crude speech, humor, or entertainment
that remotely revolves around sexual
immorality. In the words of Ephesians
5, “Sexual immorality and all impurity or
covetousness must not even be named
among you. . . . Let there be no filthiness
nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which
are out of place. . . . For you may be sure of
this, that everyone who is sexually immoral
or impure, or who is covetous (that is,
an idolater), has no inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and God” (vv. 3-5 ESV).
Addressing the rampant sexual immorality
in the culture surrounding the church in
the first century, Ephesians 5 continues,
“It is shameful even to speak of the things
that they do in secret” (v. 12 ESV).
These words cut to the core of the
church in 21st-century culture because
we are so often colluding in rather than
countering a culture of sexual immorality.
Even Christians who refuse to indulge
personally in sinful sexual activity often
watch movies and shows, read books
and articles, and visit Internet sites that
highlight, display, promote, or make
light of sexual immorality. It’s as if we’ve
said to the world, “We’re not going to do
what you do, but we will gladly entertain
ourselves by watching you.” It’s sick, isn’t
it, this tendency that brings delight to us
when we observe others in sexual sin?
Ultimately, God prohibits sexual worship—
the idolization of sex and infatuation with
sexual activity as a fundamental means to
personal fulfillment. All throughout Scripture and history, people have mistakenly
fallen into the trap of thinking that the
God-created pleasure of sex and sexuality
will bring us ultimate satisfaction (see Ex.
32:2-6; Deut. 23:17; Prov. 7:1-27; 1 Cor.
10:8). Sadly, it seems that we are no different in our time. All across our culture,
people believe, “If only I have sexual freedom in this way or that way, then I will be
happy.” But this is not true.
Sex is good, but sex is not God. It will not
ultimately fulfill. Like anything else that
becomes an idol, it will always take more
than it gives while diverting the human
heart away from the only One who is able
to give supreme joy.
Each of the Bible’s sexual prohibitions
is encapsulated in the all-encompassing
command “Flee from sexual immorality”
(1 Cor. 6:18 NIV). These words were
written to a church in the sex-crazed city
of Corinth, where singles were sexually
involved before marriage, husbands and
wives were sexually involved outside of
Continued on page 32
^
We know that moral laws include prohibitions not only against stealing and
lying, but also against homosexual activity
because, when we get to the New Testament, Jesus himself teaches that the only
God-honoring alternative to marriage
between a man and a woman is singleness
(see Matt. 19:10-12). Moreover, the New
Testament describes “dishonorable passions” with the example of women who
“exchanged natural relations for those that
are contrary to nature” and men who “likewise gave up natural relations with women
and were consumed with passion for one
another, . . . committing shameless acts
with men and receiving in themselves the
due penalty for their error” (Rom. 1:26-27
RSV). God is clear in His Word that homosexual activity is prohibited.
21
by susan I. smith
burden off my shoulder
Thanking god for his healing touch
II
T HAD BEGUN as a minor annoyance,
grown in intensity, and continued
unabated until it intruded on my
every activity. It was pain in my left
shoulder that had been there for more
than 10 years.
What had begun as a dull ache after
activity had now become sharp, searing,
excruciating pain that often awakened me
with the sound of my own voice crying out
in anguish. It placed limits on all that I did,
even kept me from raising both hands in
praise to my Lord—and that was the last
straw. After much prayer and patience, I
knew it was time to deal with it.
Dr. Michael Dvorkin, a middle-aged
man with dark curly hair and gentle
eyes, immediately sent me for an MRI to
discover the source of my torment. The
test revealed calcium deposits which had
slowly developed on the ball joint of my
22
shoulder and were now “shredding” the
rotator cuff. He advised surgery before
the rotator cuff was torn completely—a
condition which would require more
extensive intervention.
The procedure was scheduled for the
afternoon of March 19, 2014. As the
date approached, I solicited the prayers
of my pastor, Michael McDermott, and
those of my precious friends at Life
Source International Church of God in
Baltimore.
The day finally came. After I invited Dr.
Dvorkin to share a brief prayer with me, a
team of medical professionals in matching
green scrubs and white masks greeted me
in the brightly lit operating room. When
I was wheeled into place, I was given a
nerve block to render my left arm totally
numb for 18 to 24 hours. Then I was
anesthetized for the surgery.
An hour later, I awoke in the recovery
room with a deadened arm and a shoulder
swathed in a huge white bandage. Dr.
Dvorkin stood nearby with pen and
prescription pad in hand. When he
noticed I was awake, he spoke.
“I’m amazed,” he began. “Your rotator cuff
was completely undamaged.” His tone
revealed his surprise. “All I had to do was
remove the calcium deposits.”
I smiled as I replied, “Well, we prayed,
didn’t we?”
He just shook his head in wonder,
then announced, “I’m writing you a
prescription for Oxycodone, which you’ll
need when the nerve block wears off. Take
one tonight and one in the morning to
stay ahead of the pain, then every—”
I cut him off in mid-sentence, resolutely
stating, “I really don’t take narcotics.” The
thought of ingesting that particular drug,
after hearing so much negative reporting
on the risk of becoming addicted, horrified me.
Dr. Dvorkin looked equally horrified.
“But you’ll need it—believe me!” he
said forcefully. “Even with arthroscopic
surgery, you’ll be in a great deal of pain
when that nerve block wears off. Some of
my patients need Oxy for as much as two
months.”
What then? I wondered. Straight to drug
rehab?
I stood my ground. “I still don’t want
narcotics. Please prescribe something
else.”
He finally relented and scribbled on his
pad. He left with strict instructions to
keep my arm immobilized in a sling for
two weeks and to call him when I needed
the Oxy.
The next day, as the nerve block faded,
I had no pain at all! God had not only
totally healed my rotator cuff, He had
also totally removed any trace of postoperative pain. I could only praise Him
over and over again. Then I dressed and
attended the bimonthly meeting of the
pastoral care team at Franklin Square
Hospital (where I’d had the surgery just
the day before and where I serve as a
chaplain). When the meeting ended, I
visited all of my tiny patients and their
parents in the neonatal intensive care
unit, where I am assigned. By God’s grace,
I did it all pain-free. During the next two
weeks, I took no pain medication and
literally had to keep the sling in place to
remind me not to move my arm.
Dr. Dvorkin was amazed once more
when I returned to his office two weeks
later. As soon as the sling was removed, I
demonstrated full mobility in my arm and
shoulder. “You won’t even need physical
therapy!” he exclaimed.
Of course, I am no stranger to God’s healing power. When I was a small child and
too sick to attend church, my grandmother often took a clean white handkerchief
to the altar, had it anointed with oil and
prayed over in my stead, and pinned it
to my nightgown, in the manner of Acts
19:11-12. Soon thereafter, I would invariably be well. I was too young to understand the theology behind her action; but
when I got sick and Nannie wasn’t there,
I would rummage through my mother’s
dresser drawers until I found a white
handkerchief, which I then put under my
pillow. God knew my heart was pure, even
if my doctrine was a bit skewed, and He
would mercifully heal me anyway.
Shortly after my marriage, I contracted
an infection that left me with a fever
hovering between 104 and 105 degrees
for an entire week. Unconscious much
of the time, unable to eat, and becoming
weaker with each passing day, I was soon
barely able to move. Then, my precious
pastor, who was also my uncle, came to
pray for me; immediately the fever broke.
Several years later, my 5-month-old son,
Michael, developed pneumonia following
a severe cold. One evening, just as I was
about to leave the room where he lay in
his playpen fingering the mobile above
him, I was distracted for several minutes.
When I looked back at Mike, he was not
moving and his skin had begun to turn
an ominous shade of gray. I approached
the playpen and discovered my baby boy
was not breathing! As I grabbed him up,
all I could say was “Jesus!” It was enough.
His eyes popped open as he took in a huge
gasp of air and smiled at me.
I’ll also never forget when I discovered
my baby daughter, Valerie, unresponsive
with a sudden high fever at 2:00 a.m. It
was no time to call her pediatrician; and
with my husband, a police officer, working
the night shift, I had no way to get to a
hospital. I simply stood at the side of her
crib and prayed. By daybreak, Val was
completely well.
While competing in the high jump on
her high-school track team, my elder
daughter, Judy, missed the padded pit
and landed on the back of her head on
concrete. When my husband and I got to
the hospital, doctors viewing her X-rays
were in a heated discussion of exactly
where her neck was broken, how badly
her spine was damaged, and whether she
would be left a quadriplegic or simply a
paraplegic. We ignored that report, went
to Judy’s bedside, and began to pray. The
Lord’s report found her healed and back
in school within a week!
This same daughter, when in Bible college
in Maine, hurt her hand so seriously that
her thumb was almost severed. Once
again, prayer and the God-given skill of a
micro-surgeon restored Judy completely.
I’ll always remember the early morning we
received the news that Valerie’s husband
had been grievously injured when a frontend loader at his job ran over his right
leg. At the hospital, we were confronted
with doctors debating how far up they
would have to amputate since there was
no blood flow to the foot. As the entire
family stood around him and prayed, we
watched as his foot turned a perfect shade
of pink. He wasn’t even left with a limp.
God does good work!
Years later, their 20-year-old daughter,
Katie, lay unconscious in the ICU with
a massive systemic staph infection that
resulted in high fever, brain inflammation, and a stroke. Doctors said if she
survived, she might never recover completely and would require rehabilitation
for months. Again, the family gathered
around a hospital bed for prayer. Two
hours later, my granddaughter awoke
demanding food. One week to the day
after that prayer, she was the guest of
honor as we all gathered once more,
this time to celebrate her full recovery
at her favorite restaurant.
Oh yes, I am no stranger to the healing miracles of my Lord! Still, as my grandmother
always maintained, when God heals, we
must pay our “doctor bill” with our witness
and our praise. This is that joyous payment
to my Great Physician, for Jesus has graciously and gloriously removed the burden
from my shoulder.
Susan I. Smith, Th.D., Ph.D., lives in
Baltimore, Maryland, and attends the Life
Source International Church of God.
23
A
SSYRIA WAS gobbling up
nations. Several years after
capturing Israel, the Assyrians—led by King Sennacherib
—were camped outside Jerusalem, capital
of Judah.
Although King Hezekiah paid Sennacherib a heavy tribute with gold and silver
from the Temple (2 Kings 18:13-16), it
was not enough. A demand letter called
for national surrender. The letter was not
a mere political, economic, or military
matter; it taunted the Lord God. Sennacherib charged that trusting Yahweh was
futile—that He was offering false hope to
the people of Judah.
God and the Nations
The United States is in the midst of a veritable war against Christianity to enshrine
pluralism and privatize faith. Since faith
has a corporate dimension, sequestering it
can destroy it.
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the
Lord,” says Psalm 33:12. Heaven declares,
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin
is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34
NKJV). Surely, if God gathers and judges
nations (Zeph. 3:8), He also protects
them. Paul urges “supplications, prayers,
intercessions . . . for kings” (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
Indeed, God’s hand is “stretched out over
all the nations” (Isa. 14:26 NKJV), and “all
the nations that forget God” perish (Ps.
9:17). In Ezekiel 14:12-21, the Lord warns,
“If a country sins against Me by committing
unfaithfulness,” judgment will follow—
reaching a point where the righteous will be
able to “deliver only themselves,” not their
nation (NASB). God “makes nations great,
and destroys them; he enlarges nations,
and disperses them” (Job 12:23 NIV).
Desperate Appeal to God
In 2 Kings 18:19, Sennacherib’s threatening letter to Hezekiah began, “What confidence is this in which you trust?” (NKJV).
Hezekiah was unlike the former faithless
kings of Judah. Bolstered by encouragement from the prophet Isaiah, King Heze24
by doug small
prayer
that prevails
kiah “trusted in the Lord God. . . . He held
fast to the Lord” (vv. 5-6 NKJV).
With Sennacherib’s demand letter in his
hand, Hezekiah went to the Temple and
spread it out before the Lord in prayer.
Alone with God, the king pleaded for the
nation of Judah. He began, “O Lord, the
God of Israel, who are enthroned above
the cherubim, You are the God, You alone,
of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have
made heaven and earth” (19:15 NASB).
This is not a superficial appeal; it is full of profound implications. Note the affirmations:
• The Lord has made a national covenant—He is “the God of Israel” (which
included Judah).
• God is sovereign—He is “enthroned.”
• The Lord is incomparably singular—
He is “God . . . alone.”
• The Lord reigns everywhere—He is
God of “all the kingdoms of the earth.”
• God is the Life-giver—Creator of “heaven and earth.”
Assyria’s threat put God on trial. The
words of Sennacherib did not merely
question Jerusalem’s strength or Hezekiah’s resolve; they “insult[ed] the living
God” (v. 16 NIV). With the honor of God
in question, note the heart of King Hezekiah’s prayer: “O Lord our God, I pray,
save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are
the Lord God, You alone” (v. 19 NKJV).
That night, following the appeal specifically tied to the honor and glory of God,
the angel of the Lord struck the camp
of the Assyrians (v. 35). God fought the
battle for the nation and sent Sennacherib home (v. 36).
On August 10, 1941, President Franklin
Roosevelt and British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill met on the deck of
HMS Prince of Wales for consultation and
prayer. They bowed their heads and belted
out hymns. . . . During the years in which
London was bombed, it was said that every
eye searched the horizon as dawn came and
the smoke cleared, and if the spire of Saint
Paul’s Cathedral could still be seen pointing
heavenward, there was hope. . . . On D-Day,
June 6, 1944, President Roosevelt read a
prayer to the United States, “Let Our Hearts
Be Stout,” as Allied troops invaded Europe.
National Revivals
In the Bible, national revivals rose only
with righteous or repentant kings. Without righteousness or repentance by leaders, there was little hope. Israel’s national
leaders inaugurated 11 of the 12 renewals
in the Old Testament. They called solemn
assemblies for national repentance, and
spiritual renewal followed.
National sins are not merely the collective
sins of its people. Personal and corporate
sins are on different ledgers; the judgments
of individuals and nations differ. Corporate sins demand corporate repentance to
avert the threatening national judgment.
Three exceptions appear in the Old Testament, however, when God acted in His
own behalf, for His own glory, for His
name’s sake. In Egypt, enslaved and experiencing genocide, without hope, baptized
in Egyptian paganism, Israel cried out
and God intervened. Every one of the 10
plagues was a declaration of His superiority
over pagan deities. Wooing His people, the
Lord redeemed and emancipated Israel.
In Elijah’s day, Baalism had become the
state religion in Israel. Righteous prophets
had fled; the godly were persecuted. A day
of decision for the nation took place on
Mount Carmel. There, holy fire fell and
Baalism proved futile.
During the ministry of Elijah and Elisha,
a wave of miracles took place, apparently
designed by God to show Himself as the
true and living One. Yet, Israel did not
turn to Him.
Decades after Sennacherib’s threat failed,
Judah fell to the Babylonians, leaving
Jerusalem and the Temple decimated.
Then God acted again. The miracles in
the lives of Daniel and his three Hebrew
friends encouraged the exiles. A remnant
returned from captivity. The nation survived. Here is the miraculous birth of a
nation, its call to revival, and its resurrection from the dead—all pointing to Christ.
Deep Repentance
The thesis is simple: When the purposes
of God are threatened and the people who
carry God’s name are at risk, God acts in
His own behalf, for His own name! That
may be our only hope. So much repentance today is self-interested, and it will
never affect either a lasting revival in the
church or a change in the culture.
The quality of repentance rising out of
shame and guilt, out of the fear of consequences, is different from repentance out
of a heart broken because it has offended
the holiness of God. To repent to make
our life better, to start afresh, and/or to
get out of trouble is the lowest quality of
repentance. It uses faith for one’s own nar-
row self-interest, only pretending to love
God and righteousness. To repent in view
of God’s holiness, with deep contrition at
our offense to God, is noble repentance.
Repentance in hopes of restoring the
national economy and strengthen our
freedom is too shallow. However, repentance as a nation preserved and blessed by
the God we have abandoned and a Christ
we have dishonored is different. It is the
repentance that all the kingdoms of the earth
might know that the Lord is God alone!
These are the stakes; the world is watching.
Our Desperate Condition
Sadly, we are living in an increasingly
pagan cultural climate. For example, when
5-year-old Gabriella Perez bowed her head
to pray in her Oviedo (Florida) school
lunchroom last spring, a teacher allegedly
told her praying was not allowed. When
Sam Turner knelt down to say a quick
prayer after scoring a touchdown for Fort
Myers (Florida) High School last November, a referee flagged him for “unsportsmanlike conduct.” Attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom have defended
these cases and many more:
• An Arizona pastor ordered to stop
holding Bible studies in his home
• Five Christian men threatened with
arrest for sharing their faith on a public
sidewalk in Virginia
• A Christian student at a Missouri university pressured to write a letter to the
state legislature expressing her support
for homosexual adoption or not receive
her degree.
Affirmation of secular, anti-Christian values appears under new noble rubrics such
as “the child values initiative,” “the world
citizen enterprise,” “one standard for all,”
and “the empowerment campaign.” There
are clear, bold efforts to de-Christianize
society. Regrettably, we shrink back,
quickly surrender public expressions of
faith, trying to keep the peace.
Yet, revivals take place in climates hostile
or cold to the gospel—the first Great
Awakening (1730s), the Great Revival of
New York (1857), Camp Creek and Azusa
Street revivals (1896 and 1906), the
Hebrides Revival (1949). In every case, a
humble but bold catalyst, often unknown,
dared to call for repentance.
We are now desperate for divine intervention. Five social conditions are so morally
decadent that God packs His glory and
leaves. America is guilty of all five:
1. Shedding innocent blood (Num. 35:3334; Ezek. 7:23-24; 36:17-18)
2. Treating the dead (death) with disrespect (implication: the sacredness of
the body; belief in the resurrection;
Deut. 21:22-23)
3. The breakdown of the family (Lev.
18:20, 24-30; Ezek. 33:26; Deut. 24:1-4)
4. Sexual deviation (identity confusion
bringing social disorder, Lev. 18:22,
24-30)
5. Idolatry (pluralism, Lev. 18:21, 24-30;
Ezek. 36:17-18; Jer. 2:7-13; 3:9; 16:1719).
Nations have purposes. John Adams
believed God orchestrated the founding of
America to preach the gospel to the ends
of the earth. The Puritans saw the fledgling nation as a “city upon a hill.” Such
notions now seem like faint dreams.
Nevertheless, consider the multiculturalism of our country—the nations are here.
If a national great awakening came, it
could trigger a global spiritual explosion. A
national revival would be on the American
stage that the world watches. If a truly
sovereign visitation came . . . who could
withstand God?
The problem is not political. The only
hope is a national great awakening. History teaches that spiritual revolutions
come by violent, passionate, relentless
prayer from people who are desperate for
holiness.
Doug Small, coordinator of Church of God
Prayer Ministries, lives in Kannapolis, North
Carolina. [email protected]
25
evangel interview
by lance colkmire
A resurgence of
religious fervor
Edley Moodley, Ph.D., is director of the
Intercultural Studies Program (ICSP) at Lee
University, where he has been a faculty member since 1999.
Dr. Moodley, tell about religious persecution you have witnessed in
your travels.
To my mind, the most under-reported
demographic suffering religious persecution is the Christian Dalits of India, where
Hindu scriptures support the conviction
that caste is a sacred social system with
divine origins. Dalit comes from a word
meaning “oppressed” or “broken” victims.
They are not part of the fourfold caste
system in the social hierarchy in India,
but are relegated to a fifth category—the
“scheduled caste,” formerly called the
“untouchables.” They make up almost 17
percent of India’s population, and 80 percent of India’s Christians are Dalits.
Dalits suffer mass poverty, mass illiteracy, and mass unemployment. Beyond
these systemic injustices, Dalit women
are often assaulted and raped, and India’s
courts appear to condone or overlook such
inhumane acts. Men and boys go missing,
sometimes being murdered. Sex trafficking
of children is common. Christian Dalits are
deprived of economic assistance from the
state; non-Christian Dalits look upon them
with disfavor when they seek government
assistance as they are thought to receive
missionary patronage. Upper-caste Christians treat Christian Dalits with contempt.
Not more than a mile from the center
of New Delhi [India’s capital], a young
Dalit pastor took me to a slum where
the living conditions are deplorable and
inhumane. The church in the slum meets
in a mud house comprising two rooms.
The family living there sacrificially allows
the church the use of one room while they
confine their living to the other room.
You can visit dalitnetwork.org to learn
more about Dalits in India.
26
in their web of influence. The question as
to whether it is possible to follow Christ
and still remain a cultural Muslim has
generated much discussion on both sides
of the argument. However, these former
Muslims who have come to faith in Jesus
Christ via dreams and visions (Joel 2:28)
can only rely on the Spirit that led them
to Christ to direct them to further fruitful
endeavors for the sake of the Kingdom
without mitigating the person and work
of Jesus Christ.
What do you know about reaching
people for Christ in Muslim countries?
Last year in Thailand, I participated in
a conference where most of the participants were converts to Christianity from
Islam—almost all of them presently living
in Islamic countries. It was stated that
87 percent of Muslims living in “creativeaccess countries” who come to faith in
Jesus Christ do so through dreams and
visions.
In many predominately Muslim
countries, Christians are presumed to be
morally decadent and promiscuous. Theologically, the Christian doctrine of the
Trinity is offensive to the Muslim mind
as it hears “partners with God.” Thus, in
honor/shame cultures, a family member’s
conversion to Christianity visits shame
upon the family. Such a person is excommunicated from the family, sometimes
with the threat of death.
The only viable option for these fledgling converts who continue living in their
communities is to call themselves “followers of Isa” (meaning “Jesus”) rather
than “Christians.” They remain culturally
Muslim, even praying five times a day and
observing the mandatory monthlong fast of
Ramadan once a year, among other rituals.
Remaining inside the culture affords
converts the opportunity to impact others
How are other faith groups influencing Christianity?
We are experiencing a resurgence of
religious fervor and spirituality in the
world, and Christianity is one faith tradition among many others competing for
attention. A recent survey revealed that
Christians who live in countries that are 80
percent or more Christian declined from 95
percent (in 1900) to 76 percent (in 1970)
to 52 percent today. Christian countries are
becoming less Christian through secularization and religious diversity.
Today, one need not travel to India to
meet a Hindu, nor travel to Thailand to
meet a Buddhist. The most diverse piece
of real estate in the world today is New
York City.
Christianity in America is losing the
coherence of historical religious traditions. Younger and older Christians are
eclectically mixing and matching spiritual
practices from a smorgasbord of religious
faiths. The Hindu practice of yoga has
a certain appeal to Westerners; Buddhist meditation practices are common
among many people outside the Buddhist
tradition; the Hare Krishna movement
is growing; Islam appears to be gaining
more converts than Christianity each year
worldwide.
Why are Eastern religions and philosophies attracting new members to
their ranks at the expense of the Western
church? In Soul Searching: The Religious
and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers
(2009), the authors interviewed some
3,000 teenagers and postulated the thesis
that today’s youth hold to moral statutes
that are not necessarily “Christian” but
a morality inherent in the world’s major
religions. They called this “moralistic
therapeutic deism” (MTD).
Several megachurches in this country
are characterized by MTD philosophy—the
ultimate goal in life is to be happy, wealthy,
and healthy; it is tantamount to a “Christless Christianity” where nothing matters
save one’s own well-being. Jesus’ parable of
the prodigal son is interpreted thusly: The
wayward person needs direction, the sick
person needs medicine, and the antidote
for weakness is strength. It is human-centered rather than God-centered.
We hear less of sin and salvation and
more humanistic sermons in church
today. A return to orthodoxy that includes
a rediscovery of sin and its consequences
will witness a flight from Christ-less
Christianity and a resurgence of the Christian faith. The apostle Paul has the last
word: “For by grace you have been saved
through faith. And this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8 ESV).
of internship—a structured 10-week
experience, usually in a foreign country or
urban context—under the leadership of
a capable expatriate missionary or indigenous leader.
Can you give examples of Lee students being transformed through
cross-cultural experiences in countries where Christians are a
small minority?
In Cambodia, interns work under the
supervision of Julie Martinez of People
for Care and Learning (PCL). Cambodia is home to the Tonlé Sap Lake and
the famous 12th-century Angkor Wat
temples. Some 95 percent of Cambodia’s
14 million people adhere to Theravada
Buddhism. The country is still recovering
from the mass genocide perpetrated during the reign of the communist Khmer
Rouge in the late 1970s.
During the course of 10 weeks, our
interns in Cambodia teach English as
a second language, serve a displaced
Vietnamese community from a floating
church on the Tonlé Sap Lake, assist in
PCL’s sustainable farming project, and
work with disadvantaged children in two
children’s homes. The ultimate goal is to
help introduce Jesus Christ to a nation
steeped in Buddhism.
One intern commented, “My internship in Cambodia was an amazing and
enlightening experience. There was no way
for me to know how the events of the 10
weeks would unfold to surprise me, stretch
me, bless me, make me uncomfortable,
and cause me to grow. The experience as
a whole pushed me to learn more, to care
more, and to be able to enter more deeply
into the heart of people.”
Another intern—who traveled to
South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland—said, “Never before has the kingdom of God exploded before my eyes in
such a vast and creative array of interconnected colors and lives. I am realizing that
what I passionately desire to do in this
world cannot be done alone, and those
whom I am zealously gripped to help have
so much to teach me about living a radical,
transparent, and ardent life for the Lord.”
Our students understand that when
the church abrogates its missionary calling, it denies the very reason for its existence. Christian mission is the crossing of
boundaries—geographical, cultural, social,
economic, gender, ethnic, and religious—
with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Give your personal testimony—how
did you become a follower of Christ?
I was born in the city of Durban on
the east coast of South Africa, the third of
seven children—five boys and two girls.
My mother was the daughter of a Baptist
preacher, and my maternal grandmother
was the first Indian woman missionary
appointed by the founder of the Bethesda
Movement, John Francis Rowlands, in
What is the purpose of Lee University’s
the late 1940s. My father was raised in a
Intercultural Studies Program?
staunch Hindu home and, after converOur primary mandate is to train
sion to Christianity, married my mother.
women and men to be effective advocates
While my faith was nurtured within
of the Christian gospel, both locally and
a Christian home, I knew that one day I
globally. We recognize the need for intewould have to make a conscious decision
gration between academic studies and the
to make my parents’ faith my own. That
learning and application of missionary
day came when I was 8 years old. I was ill
skills on the field. Students serve a period
with rheumatic fever and confined to bed
for three months. My medical condition
AMERICANS’ SUPERNATURAL EXPERIENCES AND BELIEFS
was further compounded when I developed an unsightly lump the size of a golf
Percent who say they have . . .
Total
Christians
ball on my left side just above the hip.
Been in touch with the dead
29
29
My grandmother decided to take me
Had a ghostly experience
18
17
to church for prayer. Our pastor, John
Consulted a psychic
15
14
Francis Rowlands, and my grandmother
Percent who believe in . . .
laid their hands on me and prayed. That
Spritual energy in trees, etc.
26
23
day I committed my life to the lordship
Astrology
2523of Christ. The next morning, the lump on
Reincarnation
2422
my side was gone. In our Sunday morning
Yoga as a spiritual practice
23
21
worship service, I couched my testimony
Evil eye (casting of curses, etc.)
16
17
in one short statement from the lines of a
song: “I thank God for saving my soul and
Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion Poll (2009)
for making me whole.”
27
it happened
in cuba . . .
and beyond
by james M. beaty
the amazing story of arthur w. pain
W
HEN ARTHUR PAIN
heard church bells
playing “Nearer My
God to Thee,” he put
away the gun with
which he had planned to kill himself and
headed for the church.
He found the parish priest and shared
his desperation. The priest replied, “Man,
you need to see a psychiatrist.”
Pain later wrote, “What little flame the
church bell had kindled, the priest put out
with a single swat.”
The son of a British military doctor,
Arthur was born in India on April 26,
1867. His family moved back to London
when Arthur was 5 years old. When he
was 17, his father died, leaving the family
with few resources.
Arthur moved to Argentina, where
he was hired as an assistant cook on a
big cattle ranch near Santa Fe. He soon
learned that the ranch, like other ranches
for miles around, would drive its cattle to
a slaughterhouse in Buenos Aires (nearly
300 miles away) and sell them, where they
were slaughtered immediately. Because
the cattle would arrive dehydrated and
thinner than when they left the ranch a
couple of weeks earlier, the beef suffered
in quality. Arthur got the idea of building
“holding pens,” buying the cattle, feeding
them for a time, and then selling them
to the slaughterhouse. The quality of the
beef improved, and he made a fortune.
Consequently, he took two luxury trips
back to London. By the second trip, he
had run out of any purpose for living, and
headed for a meadow to commit suicide.
That’s where the church bells saved him.
Arthur went back to Argentina to
liquidate his assets, and then moved to
28
Colombia, where he exported precious
woods from the mountains. One day,
bandits kidnapped him! After his escape,
Pain moved to Nicaragua, and then to
Cuba, where he arrived in early 1900.
He decided to buy and sell real estate
along the northern shore. He heard about
two Quaker missionaries—the Woody
sisters—who were living there, and he
met with them. They tried to tell him
about Jesus, but their effort appeared
wasted. However, before he left, Arthur
asked if they had a book in English that he
could read. They offered him a Bible.
The next weekend, Arthur took his
pipe, tobacco, wine, bread, cheese, and
meat to a deserted farmhouse to read
the book . . . but it read him also! He read
almost all night for two nights, and an
overpowering conviction of sin fell on
him. He cried out to God, and he was
forgiven—the burden was lifted and he
felt clean inside. He wrote, “The first thing
that I did was to dig a hole, and in that
hole I put my pipe, my tobacco, and my
liquor. And I also buried the old Arthur!”
That was in July 1900.
When he told the missionary sisters
his good news, they saw the possibilities
in Arthur Pain. They suggested he go to
Nyack Missionary Training Institute in
New York, and he did so for one year.
Arthur then returned to Cuba as a
Quaker missionary, assigned to Bani, on
the eastern end of the island. However, he
soon transferred to be near Ellen Woody.
They were married in 1903, becoming the
parents of four sons.
Arthur ministered by witnessing
wherever he went, planting gospel seeds.
Seven years after the marriage of
Arthur and Ellen, Sam Perry and his
sister, Mattie Perry, arrived in Havana
and met the Pains.
Sam Perry had been ordained as a
Church of God minister at the Pleasant
Grove Camp Meeting (near Durant, Florida) in 1909. One year later, he and his
big sister—children of a Methodist minister—took the message and experience of
Pentecost to Cuba. The first issue of the
Evening Light and Church of God Evangel
(March 1, 1910) included the following
statement:
Bro. Sam C. Perry, our Field Editor,
and his sister Mattie Perry, of Elhanan
Institute and Orphanage, are now in
Cuba. . . . . We trust these soldiers of
the Cross will be able to start a flame
of Pentecostal fire in Cuba that will
expand and burn till Jesus comes.
Just before May 19, 1910, Sam wrote
to A. J. Tomlinson, Church of God general
overseer:
I feel that my trip to Cuba was a
success. I found hungry hearts there.
Brother and Sister Pain (missionaries
of about 10 years experience in Cuba)
are hungry for Pentecost. They are good
workers and have a good hold on the
Cuban people. I made many friends
among the Cubans and may go back in
the winter if the Lord wills.
Pray especially for Brother Pain to get
the baptism [in the Holy Spirit].
Sam and Mattie found hungry hearts
in Arthur and Ellen Pain—so hungry that
Arthur traveled to Florida. He wrote:
God opened the way for me to go to
Durant, Fla., where Sam Perry and
others were gathered for a camp
meeting, and where after two years
of seeking, God met me on the 26th
day of May 1910. He most graciously
baptized me with the Holy Ghost. . . .
I found God’s call for full obedience. I
asked God to show me what I did not
obey in, and soon found as I said “yes”
to what He showed me, other things
were brought before me, until at last all
was under the blood. . . .
Pray for Cuba, that God may use the
first missionary for His glory.
With Pentecostal fire burning in his
heart, Arthur Pain was a tireless witness
for Jesus and the power of the Word
of God. In the syllabus of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Los Pinos
Nuevos, he is called “one of the most
important foreign workers in the work
in Cuba.”
Arthur’s wife, Ellen Woody, had
wanted to be a missionary in Africa,
but instead she found a place to
minister in Camden, New Jersey, at an
orphanage run by John E. Wood, an
elderly Christian philanthropist. She
soon became the director of the Elhanan
Orphanage. At the end of the 1890s,
the elderly owner felt it would be best
to discontinue the orphanage. He found
places for all the children and made plans
to go to Cuba to avoid the bad weather of
winter. In order to keep Ellen employed,
he offered her a job as his personal nurse.
She accepted, and they arrived in Havana
on December 12, 1899.
Ellen sensed God calling her to do
missionary work in Cuba, and Wood
agreed to help her. They opened the
“Christian Lighthouse” in Aguacate. He
then made arrangements for Ellen’s sister,
Martha, to join her in March 1900, and
set up a small board to support the work.
After Ellen’s marriage to Arthur,
he had a life-changing impact on Justo
González, who became the father of
Justo L. González (a renowned Christian
historian and theologian). Justo first
made contact with Pain in the summer of
1906 when his father took the family on a
six-week vacation to Santa Cruz del Norte,
where Pain lived at that time.
One day soon afterward, Justo’s
father came home from a visit to Santa
Cruz with a valuable book, a Bible, which
a stranger sold him for 40 cents. Then, a
disciple of Arthur Pain began to show up
in their home: Conchita was an illiterate
black woman who had been converted
from a wayward life.
She came back often, especially when
Justo’s mother was sick, and would do all
kinds of work but always refused pay. She
only asked that someone read the Bible to
her, since she could not read.
Conchita had first heard Pain in a public
meeting in which he invited those who
wanted to know more to contact him. She
did, and he came to her humble dwelling,
made of palm wood. Pain sat on the only
stool she had, and she sat on a tree trunk,
as he led her to receive Christ. Years later,
the people called this woman “Conchita, the
Saint.” However, she carried the scar of a
knife wound on her cheek, made by a jealous, drunken lover after an all-night revelry.
She always said, “The mark of the knife
remains here, but the Lord Jesus erased the
marks of my sin.”
González said of Conchita, “She was,
in fact, the first person that brought the
gospel to my house. . . . Because of the
gospel, I studied and became a professor
and a preacher. Through me, the gospel
came to my sons, who also studied and have become university professors,
writers, and preachers.”
González called Arthur Pain “an English adventurer, able to conquer the
world, but who, in obedience to God,
chose to cast his lot with the poor of the
land of Cuba.”
The improbable series of events in
Arthur Pain’s story were God’s handwork:
• Except for a church’s bells, he would
have killed himself.
• Through the efforts of two Quaker
missionaries to Cuba, he became a
Christian.
• Through the influence of Sam C.
Perry’s short time in Cuba, Arthur went to
a Florida camp meeting and received the
baptism in the Holy Spirit.
• Arthur led Conchita, an illiterate
Cuban woman, to the Lord.
• Arthur and Conchita brought the
gospel to the home of Justo González.
He became a pastor and teacher, and his
son, Justo L., has influenced thousands
through his three-volume The Story of
Christianity, other books, and through his
seminary teaching.
James M. Beaty, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of New Testament at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary in Cleveland, Tennessee.
Sources: “Missionary Heritage in Cuba”
(seminary course syllabus) by José Elías
Ledesma Cobo; and Sembrador a Voleo by
Justo González
29
VIEWPOINTS
Every month, more than 200,000 Americans ask, “What is the meaning of life?” on the Google search engine. If you were asked
that question by someone from a non-Christian background, how would you respond?
identity and purpose
LEONARD C. ALBERT, a self-described “spreacher,” is a personal-evangelism specialist who lives in Cleveland,
Tennessee.
ACCORDING TO THAT Internet fount of all great knowledge
—Google—this is the most-asked question in the world. Anyone
would agree that this is no trivial matter. I think the answer is
found in two words: identity and purpose.
First is identity—who am I?
This seems like a simple question. We answer with our name,
where we live, our job or profession, or our family pedigree. At
some point, we see that nothing
we say really answers the question,
and we stop because the answer is
much more complicated than it first
appears.
Think deeper. Who am I? Every
time we fill out a job application,
update our resumé, fill in our
information at the doctor’s office,
or meet someone socially for the
first time, that question must be
answered.
We actually are a compilation of many elements, much like
a story. Many parts go into this story: interests, history, quirks,
talents, achievements, background, likes, dislikes, successes, and
failures. And our story changes as our life develops.
To discover our true identity, we must appeal to the ultimate
authority: God and His Word. The Bible says we are spiritual
beings who temporarily have a physical body. We are created in
the image of God with the ability to think, love, will, and choose.
God says in Genesis 1:27 that we are created “in His own image
. . . male and female” (NKJV). Sin has destroyed our perfect relationship with God, and thus our identity and purpose have been
marred. We have to get rid of this sin. God sent His Son, Jesus
Christ, to pay the price for our sins at Calvary, where He willingly
gave His life so we could be forgiven and go free.
First Peter 2:9 sums up the issue of the Christian’s identity:
“You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him
who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (NKJV).
We are now members of God’s family, chosen and made holy by
Him, now His own special people.
Second is purpose—what am I supposed to do?
30
EVANGEL
EVANGEL • mar
mar 2015
Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We
glorify God by fearing and obeying Him, keeping our eyes on our
future home in heaven, and knowing Him intimately. We enjoy
God by following His purpose for our lives, which enables us to
experience true and lasting joy—the abundant life He desires for
us. Once we establish our purpose, we begin to get the right perspective—we were made by God to minister to others and share
with them the wonderful story of salvation.
Someone said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The
purpose of life is to give it away.” We were designed by God; He
is the One who gives our lives purpose and direction. Look again
at 1 Peter 2:9. Our purpose is to proclaim the praises of Him who
called us out of darkness. This defines who we are. It shows the
world who we are—living for others and proclaiming the praises
of our great God. This is the meaning of life—God’s way.
life matters
ANTHONY T. PELT is administrative bishop for the Church of
God in Florida (Cocoa).
IN THIS DAY of divergent views, speaking with someone who
is not from a Christian background can be tricky. However, most
people—Christian or not—would agree that meaningful living
involves doing good for as many people as possible. Yet, many
people today hate, hoard, and try to find ways to handicap others
rather than help others be all they can and should be.
How can Christians engage in
conversation with non-Christians as
it relates to the meaning of life?
Establish common ground. All
of us have pondered, Where did I
come from? Why am I here? What is
the meaning of life? Believers should
be honest about our own questions
surrounding this issue. Saved or
not, we all have looked in the mirror of life and scratched our head.
Saved or not, most people want a
good, safe, and productive life. We all hope that our decisions
have not derailed, delayed, or even destroyed our destiny. We all
have this in common, and it provides a great starting point.
Practice consistent conduct. Most people display despair
rather than live for destiny. A life with meaning fuels actions
that lead to accomplishment. We are what we do, and many have
missed the meaning of life because we who are Christians have
been careless with the precious commodities of time, talents, and
treasure. As we have discussions with non-Christians, we must
explain that life will release its wonders only as they practice
consistent positive conduct . . . and we must show them how to
do this.
Be caring and compassionate. People may not remember what
you say, but they will remember what you do. Care and compassion are vital tools at our disposal. As we walk and work among
non-Christians, we must be kind and encourage them. If they are
in need, we must help them if we can. Care and compassion can
set the atmosphere for frank discussion. Care and compassion
allow us to see the environment of the nonbeliever in a new light.
When I see where the non-Christian is coming from and desires to
go, I pray my friendship will help them find the right path.
This question of meaning is never going away. Maybe God
has wired us all with this question to put us on the quest to find
our common ground, display consistent conduct, and show care
and compassion.
Recent civil unrest has reminded us that “life matters”; thus,
it has meaning. If that meaning is harnessed, it will no doubt lead
to the Lord Jesus Christ—the Author and Finisher of our faith—
the One who orders our steps so our living will not be in vain.
christ gives purpose
DWIGHT T. SPIVEY is administrative bishop for the Church of
God in Michigan.
THE MEANING OF LIFE has been pondered since the dawn
of time. Many parents have had a child ask, “Why was I born?”
What is the answer?
In 1860, Milton Bradley invented a board game called “The
Game of Life.” Originally, it was called “The Checkered Game of
Life.” It was the first game he had printed and mass-produced.
The object of the game was to collect money and “life tiles.” The winner was the one with the most money at the end of the game.
Many notables have weighed in on the topic of life’s meaning:
• “Life is the sum of all of your choices” (Albert Camus).
• “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about
life; it goes on” (Robert Frost).
• “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist,
that is all” (Oscar Wilde).
• “To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of
becoming, is the only end of life” (Robert Louis Stevenson).
• “Life is a big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it
you can” (Danny Kaye).
• “Philosophers can debate the meaning of life, but you need
a Lord who can declare the meaning of life” (Max Lucado).
• “If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion; for
your passion will lead you right
into your purpose” (T. D. Jakes).
As a person of faith, I look to the
Scriptures to give me the understanding of life. I will lift up three
passages that have helped shape my
understanding:
• “Now acquaint yourself with Him
and be at peace; thereby good will
come to you” (Job 22:21 MEV).
• “For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord,
plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a
hope. Then you shall call upon Me, and you shall come and
pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You shall seek Me and
find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart”
(Jer. 29:11-13 MEV).
• “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep
my commandments; for length of days and long life and
peace will they add to you. Do not let mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the
tablet of your heart, so you will find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord
with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct
your paths” (Prov. 3:1-6 MEV).
Based on the Scriptures, life is the following to me:
• A gift from my Creator
• A trust that He will direct me as I navigate through each day
• Something to share with those whom He has directed to cross my path
• A foundation to pass to those who follow after me
• A future to all who will follow Him.
In short, a purposeful life comes through following the One
who gives life—Jesus Christ.
EVANGEL
EVANGEL •• mar
mar 2015
2015
31
PEOPLE AND EVENTS
pentecostal research
center receives award
Nashville, TN—The Society
of Tennessee Archivists (STA)
recently presented the John H.
Thweatt Archival Advancement
Award to the Dixon Pentecostal
Research Center. The annual
award acknowledges significant
contributions to the advancement
of archives and archival issues
within Tennessee. The STA
commended the research center
for its collections that emphasize
the role of religious traditions
in Tennessee and recognized
the staff for actively promoting
these collections, for encouraging
archival best practices, and
for working to document the
Pentecostal and Charismatic
movements as well as the Church
of God.
The Dixon Pentecostal
Research Center is the archives of
the Church of God and one of the
world’s most significant collection
of books and other resources that
document the global Pentecostal
movement. Charles W. Conn
founded the center on the campus
of Lee University in 1971. The
center holds more than 10,000
books and other library materials as
well as personal papers and records
of individuals and institutions
related to the Church of God. Dr.
David G. Roebuck has directed the
center since 1997 and serves as
historian for the Church of God.
Director
David
Roebuck
and
Archivist
Melissa
Hope
boundaries
Don’t rationalize it, and don’t
reason with it—run from it.
Flee it as fast as you can.”
marriage, homosexuality was
condoned, and prostitution
was common. (Not much has
changed in 2,000 years.) So,
to the church in that culture
and to the church in our
culture, God says, “Flee from
sexual immorality—any and
all sexual thinking, looking,
desiring, touching, speaking,
and acting outside of marriage
between a man and a woman.
God says this for His glory.
Continued from page 21
32
And God says this for our
good.
Taken from Counter Culture,
by David Platt. Copyright ©
2015. Used by
permission of
Tyndale House
Publishers,
Inc. All rights
reserved.
Letters to the
EDITOR
Send your comments to the editor at
[email protected]
n I JUST READ “Breaking Financial Strongholds” (January Evangel)
and loved it! I was reminded of when I was first married and neither
of us were used to paying all the monthly bills. The second month of
bills came around, and we were $30 short. My husband flipped! What
were we going to do? Neither of us wanted to ask our parents for
help, so I told him, “Let’s pray about it, and God will take care of it.”
My parents had been in the ministry for many years, so I knew what it
was to live by faith.
I prayed and prayed, wondering how God would move. One
afternoon I decided to go through the bags and bows that were left
from our bridal shower. One of the bags fell from the closet shelf as
I eased them down. I reached to pick it up and saw a different color
in it. As I opened the bag to investigate, there was a personal check
looking back at me for $30! I began to praise and pray, and laugh and
cry! That is one awesome God! I knew God heard my prayers . . . and
He still does!—Kimley Edwards
n I RECEIVED THE DECEMBER 2014 issue of the Evangel and saw
the back page advertising the Christian Doctrine books by French
Arrington. I am currently incarcerated in the Walla Walla State
Penitentiary for 20 years . . . or until the good Lord decides differently.
Our library here has about 150 religious books—13 of which are on
various “covens” and satanic worship.
My father has sent several good religious books. Would you
happen to have any books you’d like to donate that we could read?
Anything I receive I read, write a “book report” to my wife, and then
give to other guys here or donate to the library.
I attended Lee University years ago. My dad and brother also
went to the School of Theology [now Pentecostal Theological
Seminary].—Jonathan K
Editor’s note: Subscriptions to the Evangel are provided to prisons through
the EvangelCare fund. To contribute to this cause, write to Elaine McDavid
at Pathway Press, 1080 Montgomery Ave., Cleveland, TN 37311.
David Platt is president of the
International Mission Board,
a best-selling author, and the
founder of Radical (radical.net).
Counter Culture is a call for
Christians to respond to many
of the critical social issues of our
day with gospel compassion,
conviction, and courage. Issues
covered include poverty, abortion, orphan and widow care,
sex slavery, marriage, sexual
morality, racism and ethnicity,
religious liberty, and unreached
people groups.
For daily news updates about what’s happening
in the Church of God and Evangelical world, visit
FAITH NEWS NETWORK, at www.faithnews.cc.
DECEASED MINISTERS
celebrate heritage sunday
Middlesex, NC—Every
Church of God congregation
should regularly celebrate a
Heritage Sunday. This day can
be used to acknowledge God’s
special blessings and favor on the
local congregation in the past,
and to help chart the course of the
church into the future.
Scriptures indicate we should
remember and reflect on the past.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
wrote narratives of the life of Christ
and His birthing the Church. Luke,
in the Book of Acts, provided us
the history of the first local church
(Jerusalem) and its early activities.
The apostle Paul wrote letters of
instruction to the early churches
that included historical information
and inspiration. The psalmist said,
“We will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the
Lord, about his power and his
mighty wonders” (Ps. 78:4 NLT).
Heritage Sunday could be
celebrated on Pentecost Sunday
or on the Sunday nearest August
19th—the birthday of the Church
of God. Careful planning, research,
and promotion will produce
interesting material to inspire
appreciation and excitement for
the congregation.
A team must be appointed to
work with the pastor in carrying
out the event. Sing hymns and
choruses from the past that have
a particular meaning to the local
congregation. A display of old
photographs and memorabilia
should be displayed.
The best source of materials
and information for your Heritage
Day observance will be older
members and prominent families
of the congregation. Interviews
should be conducted to provide
the planning team with materials for the celebration. Interviews
should be recorded, edited for
errors and time restraints, and
presented in short video clips or
vignettes to the congregation.
With the availability of smartphones, it is easy to conduct an
interview and edit the video for use
in the church service. The church
may wish to combine several
interviews and history notes into
a longer video for presentation to
the church during the celebration
service.
In addition to video vignettes,
you might prepare a PowerPoint
presentation for the congregation.
This presentation would give visual
information and photographs of
the history of the local church. You
might include photos of leading
members who are deceased,
Sunday school classes from the
n BENITEZ, José M.; 83;
ordained bishop; New York;
Naida Benitez (wife)
n LOCKLEAR, Numer Eugene;
63; ordained bishop; North
Carolina; Pamela Locklear (wife)
n CLARK, Charles Milton Lee;
64; exhorter; Texas; Geneva
Brazell Clark (wife)
n LOWE, Melvin Arnold, Sr.; 76;
exhorter; Texas; Mary Ann Lowe
(wife)
n DAY-GIBSON, Eileen H.;
83; exhorter; Ohio; Hilda
Dobson (sister)
n MONTOYA, Martha; 64;
exhorter; North Carolina; Luis
Montoya (husband)
n FEGLEY, Margaret P.; 90;
exhorter; Pennsylvania; Tamela
Livengood (niece)
n MORRISON, David Wayne;
64; ordained bishop; Michigan;
Marie Morrison (wife)
n FOSTER, Rena; 77;
exhorter; Mississippi; Leodis
Foster (husband)
n PALOMO, Roberto C.; 86;
exhorter; Texas; Esther PalomoMeska (daughter)
n GAMMILL, Minnie; 94;
ordained minister; Mississippi;
William Gammill (son)
n REESOR, James B.; 99;
ordained bishop; Florida;
LaWanda Reesor (wife)
n HARRISON, James R.;
79; ordained bishop; Texas;
Charlene Harrison (wife)
n STAFFORD, Thomas E., Jr.;
68; ordained bishop; Michigan;
Shirley Stafford (wife)
n HEIL, Wayne W.; 90;
ordained bishop; Indiana;
Duane Heil (son)
n TURNER, Burnett Wright; 89; exhorter; South Carolina; C. B. Turner (son)
n KIRK, Bobby Howard; 66;
ordained bishop; Texas; Linda
Kirk (wife)
n WHITTON, Iris M.; 82;
exhorter; Florida; Calbert
Whitton (husband)
past, special church services,
previous church buildings, former
pastors, and more.
It is important to give the
parishioners something as a
remembrance of the celebration
day—something to keep for future
reference. Include a short history
of the church, a timeline, copies of
old photographs, or other items as
an insert into the church bulletin
for the Heritage Sunday service.
As a conclusion to the Heritage Day celebration, after
looking back at the history and
legacy of the local church, the pastor can challenge the congregation regarding the future.
Reflecting on the events of the
past can often serve as an inspiration and challenge for movement
into the future.
“Only be careful, and watch
yourselves closely so that you
do not forget the things your
eyes have seen or let them fade
from your heart as long as you
live. Teach them to your children
and to their children after them.”
(Deut. 4:9 NIV)—Joel Trammel
(Church of God Historical Commission member)
33
CHURCH OF GOD CHRONICLES
by david g. roebuck
“Of like precious faith”
establishing the church of god in south africa
O
N THE EVENING of
plete the union. At their March meeting,
of the Full Gospel Church of South Africa.
Tuesday, March 6, 1951,
the Executive Council of the Full Gospel
Hearing that Saayman was on his way to
General Overseer H. L.
Church entered into an agreement with
tour the United States, Chesser invited
Chesser penned a letter
the Church of God. The agreement opened
him to visit the Church of God.
to Evangel editor J. D.
many doors for the Church of God to supSaayman’s visit culminated in his
Bright. Chesser had been reporting to
port what God was already doing in South
joining the Church of God and preachEvangel readers for almost a month as he
Africa and undergird a rapid expansion of
ing at the 1950 General Assembly, where
and World Missions director J. H. Walker
ministry there.
delegates gave an offering for building
Sr. traveled 4,000 miles by car from the
The amalgamation agreement signed
churches in South Africa. The Church
Belgian Congo to Johannesburg, South
on March 28, 1951, committed to carry
of God also appointed Saayman as the
Africa.
the gospel to all races
In his March letand ethnic groups in
ter, Chesser wrote:
South Africa under
“Prospects look promthe name “Full Gosising for the accompel Church of God in
plishment of unity
Southern Africa.” By
between the Church
virtue of their offices,
of God and the Full
the moderator of
Gospel Church of
the church in South
South Africa. We
Africa would sit with
have received a very
the International
warm welcome from
Executive Council
the brethren we have
at the international
met, and certainly
offices in Cleveland,
the two groups have
Tennessee, and the
many things in comgeneral overseer
mon. The fellowship
would sit with the
is grand; the men we
Executive Council of
have met seem to be
the national office in
very fine men. [It]
South Africa. Each
will be several days
body agreed to recSeated at the table are signers of the amalgamation agreement: J. H. Walker Sr.; F. J. M. Beetge,
yet before the conognize the ministers
moderator of the Full Gospel Church; H. L. Chesser; and H. R. Carter, secretary general of the Full
Gospel Church. Witnessing the ceremony are J. H. Saayman, Mrs. Saayman, and A. H. Cooper.
vention convenes,
and members of the
and we shall then
other body.
meet the Executive Council in full. We
When the amalgamation ceremony
denomination’s missions representative
have met several of them already, and
was concluded in 1951, the Church of
to countries in the southern region of the
surely they are brethren of like precious
God received 30,000 new members.
African continent, including the Union of
faith.”
Today, our ministry in South Africa
South Africa.
Chesser had anticipated the possibility
includes more than 300,000 members Seeing the value of a partnership
of this trip since May 1949 when he and
“of like precious faith.”
between the Church of God and the Full
other Church of God leaders attended the
Gospel Church, Chesser and Saayman
David G. Roebuck, Ph.D., is the Church World Pentecostal Conference in Paris. At
began to work toward an amalgamation
this second global gathering of Pentecosof God historian and director of the Dixon
of the two Pentecostal bodies. Their labor
tal denominations, he met J. H. Saayman,
Pentecostal Research Center in Cleveland,
proved successful and led to Chesser and
Tennessee. [email protected]
who was the assistant general moderator
Walker’s trip to Johannesburg to com
34

Evangel March 2015 - Oasis Church of God

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