the continuing christmas story

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CHURCH OF GOD

Evangel

DECEMBER 2012

THE CONTINUING CHRISTMAS STORY angels are still at work the spirit of herod prophetic words then . . . and now resurrection at christmas

Contents

december 2012 volume 102 ■ issue 12

THIS ISSUE focuses on three aspects of Christ’s first coming—the ministry of angels, the terrible decree of Herod, and divine prophecies. Our purpose is not just to reflect on those events of two thousand years ago, but to consider also the following realities: • Angels are active in our world, accomplishing God’s purposes. • The Holy Spirit is still ministering to His people through the gift of prophecy. • Abusive tyrants are still abusing children to death. In the U.S., child abuse is an epidemic. This Christmas, let’s celebrate what God has done, give thanks for what He is doing, and reach out to people who desperately need Christ’s touch.

the continuing christmas story

10 The Christmas Angels Are Still at Work by Toby S. Morgan An unseen heavenly force 12 The Spirit of Herod by Tim Cranfill Children dying from abuse 14 Prophetic Words Then . . . And Now by Lance Colkmire A gift we should desire 16 Resurrection at Christmas by Steve Gardner Miracle on the church lawn 17 Christmas Loneliness Answered by Evelyn Horan The doorbell rings. features

columns

19 Settled With Fruitcakes by Johnny Hoskins An unexpected solution

5 In Covenant, Mark L. Williams 7 On My Mind, Lance Colkmire 30 Church of God Chronicles, Edgar Loyd Robbins III

20 No Place for Prejudice by Tammy Darling Overcoming biases and stereotypes 22 Sure Mercies by Susan L. Smith Claiming God’s promises 24 Pray the Bible by P. Douglas Small Life-transforming Scripture study

departments 4 6 8 25 28

Ministry Snapshot By the Numbers Currents People and Events Viewpoints

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PUBLICATIONS MINISTRIES DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR M. Thomas Propes DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Terry Hart ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Raymond Hodge MANAGING EDITOR Lance Colkmire

MINISTRY SNAPSHOT Lee University employees celebrate the school’s receiving The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work for Honor Roll.”

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 Stephen Darnell, Les Higgins, Ray E. Hurt, Cheryl Johns, David Nitz , Tony Cooper, Antonio Richardson

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.

If you have a ministry photo to be considered for this page, send it to [email protected].

November Evangel Poll Which statement best describes your response to people in poverty? I volunteer in a ministry serving the poor. - 19.4%

Publication of material in the Evangel does not necessarily imply endorsement of the Church of God.

I follow a regular plan of giving to the poor. - 16.1%

The Church of God Evangel (ISSN 0745-6778) is edited and published monthly. ■ Church of God Publishing House, 1080 Montgomery Ave., P.O. Box 2250, Cleveland, TN 37320-2250 ■ Subscription rates: Single subscription per year $17, Canada $24, Bundle of 15 per month $17, Canada $28, Bundle of 5 per month $7.50, Canada $11.25 ■ Single copy $1.50 ■ Periodical postage paid at Cleveland, TN 37311 and at additional mailing offices ■ ©2012 Church of God Publications ■ All rights reserved ■ POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Evangel, P.O. Box 2250, Cleveland, TN 37320-2250. (USPS 112-240)

I give to people in need spontaneously. - 54.8%

I rarely help the poor. - 9.7%

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MEMBER OF THE EVANGELICAL PRESS ASSOCIATION AND THE INTERNATIONAL PENTECOSTAL PRESS EVANGEL • dec 2012 ASSOCIATION

IN COVENANT mark l. williams general overseer

WHAT IF GOD WAS ONE OF US?

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T WAS ONE OF the biggest songs of 1995, winning seven Grammy Award nominations and making its author, Joan Osborne, an overnight sensation. Its lyrics fraught with spiritual curiosity, the song verbalized a contemporary question that still rings in the hearts and minds of a 21st-century, postmodern culture: “What if God was one of us?” During the 1960s, the question was, “Does God exist?” The question today, however, is, “Which God do you believe in?” More particularly, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He? ” (Matt. 22:42 NASB). Many are prepared to accept Jesus as a great teacher, but not the Messiah. Others accept the historical Jesus as a miracle worker, but not “the only begotten” Son of God. His life was exemplary, some say, but His death saved no one. In short, much of the political and religious world will embrace Jesus if He will tone down His rhetoric, get back in line, and take His place as “one among many.” However, we believe “Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father, conceived of the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary.” This doctrinal statement bears witness to the scriptural Christ, who is the unique Son of God. He alone is “the brightness of [God’s] glory” (Heb. 1:3) and “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). The fullness of deity dwells in Him, for Jesus is coequal, coeternal, and coexistent with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. “He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Col. 1:17 NKJV). He precedes all others in priority, for “He that cometh from above is above all” (John 3:31). He outspeaks the prophets, outranks the angels, and upholds

the universe by His powerful word. Miracle of miracles, the eternal Word became the incarnate Word (John 1:1, 14). “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (3:16 NKJV). Jesus became a “Son given” and “a Child born,” thus joining God with humanity forever. The Word became flesh and, in a sense, God became one of us. Jesus was born of a virgin. Though biologically impossible, Isaiah 7:14 declared 700 years before that the sign of the Messiah would be His virgin birth. Joseph would have divorced Mary privately to save her from public disgrace, but the angel declared, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:20 NIV). When Jesus was born— though wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger—the angels declared Him to be “Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). One night a man became so inebriated and disoriented that he stumbled and fell into the open door of a stable. Bewildered by his surroundings, hungry and tired, he tried to think of a neighbor who might help him find his way. Suddenly, he heard bells ringing and realized it was Christmas. What was that story again about shepherds, a manger, and God? Recalling his early years in church, he remembered the One born in a stable. He wondered if Jesus first appeared in a stable to save someone lost like him. He knelt and accepted Christ as his Savior. He later testified, “I found God in a stable.” Didn’t we all? Word of the Father, Now in flesh appearing; O come, let us adore Him! Christ the Lord!

Jesus outspeaks the prophets, outranks the angels, and upholds the universe by His powerful word.

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BY THE NUMBERS

growth of the

religiously unaffiliated

T

HE NUMBER OF Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace. In the last five years alone, the unaffiliated have increased from just over 15 percent to just under 20 percent of all U.S. adults. Their ranks now include more than 13 million self-described atheists and agnostics, as well as nearly 33 million people who say they have no particular religious affiliation. 

hearing about political and social issues in church Percentage who hear their clergy talk about the issue often or sometimes

Black Americans

Hispanic Americans 54%

Economic inequality

49% 48%

Racism or discrimination

A new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, conducted jointly with the PBS television program Religion & Ethics News Weekly, finds that many of the country’s 46 million unaffiliated adults are religious or spiritual in some way. Two-thirds of them say they believe in God (68%). More than half say they often feel a deep connection with nature and the earth (58%), while more than a third classify themselves as “spiritual” but not “religious” (37%), and one-in-five (21%) say they pray every day. In addition, most religiously unaffiliated Americans think that churches and other religious institutions benefit society by strengthening community bonds and aiding the poor.

25 % Source: Aggregated data from surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 2007-July 2012

47 % 47 %

The issue of homosexuality

20 %

43% 15%

30%

The issue of abortion

54% 20%

Nothing in Particular

10%

Immigration 40% Note: Among respondents who attend church at least once or twice a month

5% Agnostic

Source: Public Religion Research Institute, African American & Hispanic Reproductive Issues Survey, June 2012 (N = 810 Black Americans; 813 Hispanic Americans)

Atheist 2007

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ON MY MIND lance colkmire editor

THE MOVING OF THE SPIRIT

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HERE IS nothing more precious than the moving of the Holy Spirit . . . and nothing sadder than a “Pentecostal” church where the Holy Spirit is not moving. In the beginning, “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” (Gen. 1:2 NASB). The Holy Spirit did not simply pass by our barren and shapeless planet, but “hovered” over it like a hen brooding over her nest. The Spirit “hatched” light into our world when the heavenly Father said, “Let there be light”; the Spirit gave breath to creatures when the Father said, “Let there be life.” In the last book of the Bible, we see the Holy Spirit longing to move in seven churches. Repeatedly, the Lord Jesus says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22 NKJV). One of those churches, in Laodicea, was not experiencing the moving of the Holy Spirit, yet they thought everything was fine. The Laodiceans viewed themselves as spiritually self-sufficient—“rich . . . wealthy, and have need of nothing” (3:17 NKJV). The truth is, this church was much like the dark and empty earth before the Holy Spirit brooded over it— “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (v. 17). Today there are congregations that “do church,” and do it well, without the life-giving activity of the Holy Spirit. Sunday services are seamless, captivating, and motivational. People might leave with a smile on their face, but they have not encountered the living God, so they leave unchanged. What are some marks of a church where the Holy Spirit is moving?

1. The Holy Spirit convicts people of their sins. When Adam and Eve sinned, they realized their nakedness and tried to hide it from God. In a congregation where the core gospel message of sin, repentance, and salvation is preached, sinners realize they are spiritually naked and need to be clothed by God. Unlike the king in The Emperor’s New Clothes, who paraded around clothes-less without realizing it, sinners who walk into a living church will be convicted of their condition. 2. The Holy Spirit moves spontaneously. A church’s teachers, worship leaders, and pastor prepare “in the Spirit,” asking for His direction and anointing. Then, as they teach, lead worship, and preach, they do so “in the Spirit,” depending on His power and following His leading. Sometimes this means speaking and singing exactly as planned. At other times, the Holy Spirit will prompt the leader to go in an unplanned direction. 3. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are active. In a church where the Holy Spirit is moving, He does not only minister through clergy but also through Spiritfilled laity. Under the inspiration of the Spirit, an elderly widow might speak a word of wisdom; a child might offer a prayer that brings healing; a teenager might give a message in tongues; a middle-aged mechanic man might give an especially generous donation to a missions project. 4. Where the Holy Spirit is moving, love prevails. After writing about the gifts of the Spirit, Paul said, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. . . . But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. Pursue love” (1 Cor. 13:1, 13; 14:1 NASB).

Where the Holy Spirit is moving, conviction of sin occurs, spontaneous ministry happens, spiritual gifts are active, and love prevails.

Four ways to contact the editor: • [email protected] • 423-478-7592 • Church of God Evangel on Facebook • Box 2250, Cleveland, TN 37320-2250

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CURRENTS The purpose of CURRENTS is to inform readers of trends and events influencing the culture.

first from hand-picked institutions, then a broader pool. In choosing a recipient, the Greens sought an institution with an orthodox Christian mission and the financial wherewithal to pull it off. GCU aims to begin Northfield classes in fall 2014.—G. Jeffrey MacDonald (RNS)

iranian pastor freed Jerry Patengale, who was hired by the Green family to help find a new owner of a college campus, points out the stone chapel that was once deemed unsafe but has been repaired.

christian college wins free campus ■ NORTHFIELD, Mass.—Phoenixbased Grand Canyon University plans to open an extension campus here, on a 217-acre site formerly owned by Northfield Mount Hermon School. The private secondary school sold the campus in 2009 to Hobby Lobby, a craft store chain owned by the billionaire Green family of Oklahoma. The Greens invested $5 million in upgrades with the intent to give it to a Christian institution. “We hope this campus will provide a home for students to find their purpose in Christ and realize their full potential in life,” said Hobby Lobby President Steve Green. “We look forward to seeing what the future holds for this historic campus and for this community.” Grand Canyon University (GCU), whose president and CEO Brian Mueller built the for-profit University of Phoenix into a giant with 340,000 online students, is part of a movement to reinvigorate Christian higher education. Key to the effort is a for-profit model that relies heavily on tuitions from online students.

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GCU has 7,000 traditional students on campus in Phoenix, plus another 40,000 online. The vision for Northfield is to host 4,800 residential students and 1,200 commuters. Mueller also envisions thousands of online students in the Northeast visiting the campus for concerts, sporting events, and learning programs that last a few days or weeks. “We like to make our online students feel that they are part of the campus,” Mueller said. “This will give us a home base in the Northeast to help them better identify with Grand Canyon University.” Founded in 1879 by legendary evangelist D.L. Moody, the Northfield campus attracted the Greens to the prospect of reviving Moody’s evangelical legacy in a region known for secular views and liberal politics. But giving away 43 buildings in bucolic New England proved surprisingly challenging.   Late last year, plans fell through to launch a new C. S. Lewis College in Northfield after fund-raising efforts came up short. Owners solicited new proposals,

■ TEHRAN, IRAN—Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been acquitted and freed after nearly three years in an Iranian prison on charges of apostasy. International pressure for Nadarkhani’s release was strong with condemnation of his conviction from U.S. political leaders, including President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, as well as many human rights and religious freedom advocacy organizations. Pastor Yousef, the head of a network of Christian house churches in Iran, was sentenced to death by hanging in September 2010 for apostasy. The Iranian Supreme Court upheld his conviction in July 2011, while offering to rescind the conviction if Nadarkhani would deny his Christian faith. The charge against him was finally lessened to “evangelizing Muslims,” and he was released based on time served. Youcef and Tina Nadarkhani

Sayed Mohammad Jawad Al-Qazwini leads prayers at the Iman Islamic Center.

shiite muslims in u.s. quietly growing ■ QUINCY, Mass.—Sayed Mohammad Jawad Al-Qazwini was 12 years old when his family fled Iran and settled in Los Angeles. Now 28, he sat with some 70 Shiite Muslims at the Iman Islamic Center on a recent Friday night, preaching about the Mosque of the Trash Picker in Iran, and a Turkish mosque peculiarly named “As if I have eaten.”  Al-Qazwini, a descendant of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, soon veered into a theme he had raised before on his twoweek visit to the center: the discrimination and violence that Shiite Muslims have suffered at the hands of Sunni Muslims.  “Some Muslims don’t like other Muslims praying on the rock,” Al-Qazwini said, referring to a biscuit-sized stone or piece of dried mud that Shiites place their foreheads on when prostrating during prayer. Sunnis do not use this stone, and some believe it goes against Islamic tradition, and is even heresy. “It’s happened to me at least 50 times in Saudi Arabia. They see the rock, they take it away and say that it’s shirk, polytheism,” Al-Qazwini declared, eliciting gasps from his audience. The variation in the proper way to pray is one among several differences that exist between Shiites, who make up about 15 percent of Muslims globally and in America, and the majority of Sunnis. Until recently, those differences mattered little in the United States, where the two groups bonded as Muslim minorities and prayed in the same mosques.  “There weren’t enough of either to justify the cost of building sectarian mosques, and because in general, earlygeneration immigrants were less focused

on establishing formal houses of worship,” said Andrea Stanton, a religious-studies professor at the University of Denver. That is changing, however, as American Shiites are increasingly establishing their own mosques. Currently, 7 percent of roughly 2,100 mosques in America are Shiite, and most have been built in the last 20 years. One reason: Shiites have become numerous and financially strong enough to manage the expensive process of buying or building their own mosques. Another factor: the growth in Shiite populations as immigrants flee persecution in Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, where Taliban gunmen recently executed at least 22 Shiite bus passengers. Many Shiite Muslims say that while American mosques profess to be open to any and all Muslims, they tend to be Sunni in practice and can be hostile to Shiite beliefs and practices. In some ways, the Sunni/Shiite divide is similar to divisions between Protestants and Catholics—both follow the same faith, but with different ways of understanding and worshiping God. The differences between Sunnis and Shiites are historic and theological. After Muhammad died in AD 632, some Muslims believed he should be succeeded by his male relatives, beginning with his cousin and son-in-law, Ali. They became the Shiites. Others supported the prophet’s closest companions; they became the Sunnis. The disagreement led to a series of civil wars beginning in 656 and that climaxed in 680 at the Battle of Karbala, in Iraq, where Sunnis routed Shiites and killed Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein. The city

is sacred to Shiites, and the mosque where Hussein is buried is led by Al-Qazwini’s grandfather. The two sects use different sets of hadith, or stories related to Muhammad, and also pray slightly differently. Shiite immigrants started coming to the U.S. in the 1870s, along with Sunni and Christian immigrants, from modernday Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Following Iraq’s war with Shiite Iran, Saddam Hussein started persecuting Shiites, triggering another wave of Shiite immigrants. “They came here as refugees because they could not practice their religion,” said Muthanna Waili, whose family was expelled from Kuwait in 1985 and who helped establish the Iman Islamic Center in 2006. Human rights reports allege persecution of Shiites in several Muslim countries. The State Department’s 2011 human rights report alleges that Bahrain’s government fired thousands of Shiite workers from their jobs, barred them from the police force and military, destroyed many Shiite religious sites, and tortured thousands of political prisoners, most of them Shiites. While American mosques once offered a reliable refuge from this persecution, Shiite immigrants who have come more recently have found some mosques unwelcoming to their creed. “They couldn’t find mosques that would let them pray the way they wanted to pray,” said Waili, 39. “I’ve personally had people label me as a kafir, an infidel. People look at you like you’re trying to change the traditional way.” As their numbers grow in the U.S., Shiites are also increasingly divided themselves, often according to the different religious scholars they follow overseas. Not long after the Shiite center in Quincy was founded, some of the more conservative members objected that males and females were not segregated, and founded yet another center in Boston.

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the Christmas angels are still at work

by toby s. morgan

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NGELS AT CHRISTMAS . . . it would not be the same without them. What Christmas pageant would be complete without some cherubic child, gleaming with anticipation of the Christmas season, striding down an aisle or climbing onto a platform and announcing the birth of the Christ? Sadly, that sums up all many people know about the angels who were prominently involved in the birth of the Savior. We all have our ideas of what angels look like and what they do. For some, an angel is a small, scantily dressed, chubby childlike being who flits around doing good. That idea is more suited for Cupid than for the angels in the Christmas story. Others, influenced by the imaginations of artists, see angels as tall, angular beings, usually with wings and white feathers. Various movies and TV series have portrayed angels as beings who look very much like 10

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you and me. I am more drawn to Clarence, who finally earned his wings when he convinced George Baily that life was really worth living in It’s a Wonderful Life! The Scriptures provide dependable insight into the ministry of angels when we survey the Christmas story. Beginning with the sudden appearance to Zacharias

while he ministered before the Lord in the Temple (Luke 1:11) and continuing to the announcement of Jesus’ birth to Mary (v. 26) and to the working shepherds (2:9), the ministry of angels is instrumental in the arrival and ministry of Jesus. Without their indispensable involvement in His birth and immediate childhood, there would have been no Christmas story to celebrate. Of course that was centuries ago, and we face a probing question today: What can we learn about the current ministry of angels by looking at the beautiful story of Christ’s birth? Active Though Unseen Angels are active even when we are unaware of their ministry. Consider the plight of Zacharias. He was faithfully doing his priestly duties before the Lord even though prophetic words from heaven were rare. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a mighty angel of the Lord appeared. Naturally, Zacharias was afraid. Literally, Luke tells us, he was agitated, startled by the sudden appearance of an angel. Zacharias had not been looking for an angelic visitor. He had no awareness that something was going on behind the scenes. Yet the whole time he was making preparation for his season of ministry in the Temple, God was working behind the veil of human vision to bring the Savior into the world. Angels were deeply involved in the plan of God. We may not regularly see angels, but that does not mean they are uninvolved in our lives. The Bible teaches us to be kind to strangers because we could well be entertaining angels without being aware of

“I remember the moment I came to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The angels rejoiced [See Luke 15:7]! Since then I have been in thousands of battles with Satan and his demons. . . . As I prayed and believed, I am convinced that God ‘put a hedge about me’ —a hedge of angels to protect me.”—Billy Graham

“An angel is a spiritual creature without a body created by God for the service of Christendom and the church.”—Martin Luther

Decades later, when the apostle Paul was trapped on a battered ship in the middle of a hurricane, an angel was dispatched with the message that the destiny of all on board was secure (Acts 27:23-24). Under the Father’s Orders

their presence (see Heb. 13:2). We can rest with calm assurance during this Christmas season that no matter how troubling our times may be, God is at work and He does include His angelic hosts in His plans for our lives. We, like Zacharias, must faithfully serve and trust God, and expect Him to be active in our lives. Ambassadors of God’s Kingdom An ambassador is one sent on behalf of the ruling government in his or her native land. In Luke 1:19, the angel Gabriel announced that he stands in the very presence of God and was sent to convey the message of John’s miraculous birth. A few months later, Gabriel was once more sent on a mission—this time to announce the arrival of the Savior. In both cases, this angel carried news from God’s throne to the earth. Angels act under the orders of the Father. What they say and do corresponds directly with the will of the Father for our lives on earth. Like the inhabitants of Israel in the days of the birth of Jesus, we live in difficult and trying days, yet we are given angelic assistance and guidance. Just as angels ministered to the key players surrounding Jesus’ birth, so today the angels of God stand ready to aid those who look to heaven this Christmas season. The heavenly beings instrumental in the birth of Jesus have been “sent to serve” us who receive the salvation Christ brought (Heb. 1:14 NIV).

Announcers of Good News An angel appeared to Mary and informed her that she had been chosen by God to be the mother of the Messiah (Luke 1:28). An angel instructed Joseph how he should proceed regarding his pregnant fiancée, Mary (Matt. 1:20). A single angel startled the shepherds on that first Christmas night, announcing the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:9-11), followed by a host of angels shouting, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (vv. 13-14 NKJV).

You and I may or may not see a supernatural visitation of angels this Christmas. Our eyes might only behold angels portrayed in reenactments of the Christmas story. But that does not mean angels are uninvolved in our lives. We might not witness obvious angelic involvement in saving us from harm or delivering us from disaster, but that does not diminish their acts of protection and deliverance. We may not hear one utterance

“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.” —Psalm 8:4-5 NKJV A later visit from an angel gave a message of warning to Joseph that the time had arisen for the holy family to flee from the presence of Herod (Matt. 2:13). A final appearance of an angel informed Joseph that the time to go back home had arrived, for the danger had passed (vv. 19-20). One of the main jobs of the angels is to speak into the lives of God’s servants the plans and destiny intended for them. Without the announcements of the angels, the story of Christmas would have ended in catastrophe.

“The English word angel comes from the Greek word for messenger. Throughout the Scriptures, angels are messengers who carry the word of God to earth.” —Orthodox Study Bible

from a heavenly visitor this Christmas, but that does not mean heaven is silent in our lives. The angels who were under the direction of the Father when Jesus graced this planet as a crying baby are still much involved in our world. Jesus alluded to this fact when He said the angels assigned to those who humble themselves before God are constantly gazing into the face of the Father, no doubt eager to carry forth His wishes in His people’s lives (Matt. 18:10). I believe we will be amazed when we stand with Christ in eternity and discover how deeply intertwined the heavenly beings in the Christmas story have been in our journey through life. Toby S. Morgan is administrative bishop of the Church of God in New Mexico and author of An Acts 2 Church in the Twenty-first Century (Pathway Press). [email protected] EVANGEL • dec 2012

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I

RONICALLY, as we celebrate the coming of the Christ child, we can easily close our eyes to the plight of hurting children.

Consider Matthew 2:16-18—a dark account that is not often recited during the holidays because it is so raw: Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise-men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned of the Wisemen. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be comforted, because they are not (ASV).

This event is an important piece of redemptive history because of the attempt to eradicate the kingdom of God from the earth. Let’s take a closer look at this story, what it might have to say to us today, and how we as Christians should respond. Massacre of the Innocents After the birth of Jesus, wise men from the Orient visited King Herod to inquire the whereabouts of “He who has been born King of the Jews” (v. 2 NKJV), because they had seen His star in the east and therefore wanted to pay Him homage. Herod, as appointed ruler of Judea, was alarmed at the prospect of a usurper. Herod assembled the Jewish chief priests and scribes and asked them “where the Christ was to be born” (v. 4 NKJV). They answered that He was to be born in Bethlehem, citing Micah 5:2. Herod therefore sent the wise men to Bethlehem, instructing them to search for the Child. Herod commanded the Magi, “Report to me, so that I too may go and worship him” (v. 8 NIV). However, after they had found Jesus, the Magi were warned in a dream not to report back to Herod. Similarly, Joseph,

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the spirit of

herod A “massacre of the innocents” is still taking place through child abuse.

by tim cranfill

the earthly father of Jesus, was warned in a dream that Herod intended to kill Jesus, and he and his family fled to Egypt (vv. 13-14). When Herod realized he had been deceived by the Magi, he gave orders to kill all boys of the age of 2 and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Joseph and his family stayed in Egypt until Herod’s death.

Echoes of Herod in the Present

This “massacre of the innocents” was one of many brutal acts committed by Herod, including the killing of his own wife and two of his sons. The fact that Bethlehem was a small town and thus not many babies were likely murdered does not lessen the horror of Herod’s actions. Paranoia, selfishness, and greediness overtook him as he considered his descendants losing his throne, resulting in the destroying of innocent young lives.

I spent 10 years working with one of the six largest pediatric hospitals in the United States. As a chaplain there, I covered oncology, intensive care, trauma services, and burn services involving children. In this role, “weeping and mourning” were heard over and over again—mothers, grandparents, fathers weeping for their children—yet they would not and could not be comforted, because their children were no more.

“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be comforted, because they are no more” (Matt. 2:18 NKJV).

Though a king did not harm the children I worked with, many were harmed by Herod-like selfishness, paranoia, and abusiveness inflicted by those who were supposed to love them. Working with terminally ill children was difficult enough, but when confronted with children who were severely or terminally injured through abuse and neglect, I struggled greatly. More times than I care to remember, we had innocent children brought into our burn unit who had been submerged in scorching water, resulting in second- and third-degree burns from which they would never fully recover. Many of these poor kids had contact burns from the superheated surface of stainless steel sinks that compounded their injuries. I also recall kids who were rushed in with third-degree burns and severe lung injuries from meth labs run by their mothers and fathers that exploded in the middle of the night. Some survived; others did not. Unfortunately, that is not all I witnessed. Over those 10 years in a pediatric hospital, many innocent children were brought through the emergency room and into intensive care who had been beaten and sexually assaulted by family members or trusted friends of the family. Tragically, these children’s injuries go far beyond physical pain and trauma. The Unanswerable Question In the preface to Violence Against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook, Judith Hermann notes: The traumatic event challenges an ordinary person to become a theologian, a philosopher, and a jurist. The survivor is called upon to articulate the values and beliefs that she once held and that trauma destroyed. She stands mute before the emptiness of evil, feeling the insufficiency of any known system of explanation. . . . Why? The answer is beyond human understanding.

Though the why of Herod’s political motive is easy to answer, the whys of the mothers and fathers of Herod’s victims

Number of Child Deaths Per Day Due to Child Abuse and Neglect

The United States leads the industrialized world in child abuse.

still hang in the air just as do the whys of the loving family members of abused children with whom I have worked. Though the philosopher and theologian inside each of us may strive to understand, some atrocities are beyond our grasp—some questions remain unanswerable. Though some may simply attribute the evil of abuse to Satan, I believe it is more complex than that. I believe it is more the influence and consequence of sin and fallenness in the world that contributes to violence against children in its many forms. However, even such an attribution remains insufficient to answer the question when someone is grieving over his or her own child. A Christian “Christmas” Response Beyond why, let’s move to how: How then are we to respond to such atrocities? This being the holiday season, let’s make a Christmas response. The word Christmas means “Christ’s Mass,” and mass is the Latin word used to designate a worship service. So a Christmas response to the abuse and neglect of children is one that honors and is worshipful to Christ. In short, our response should be threefold: 1. Get help, if you are involved. 2. Send help, if you know about it. 3. Be help, for those you can.

Get help. Violence against children exists everywhere, even in the church. If you have hurt a child, the right step to do is to stop and get help. Send help. Most states in the U.S. have reporting laws that support those who report abuse or neglect in good faith. For example, in Texas all residents are required by law to report child abuse or neglect. But the law does not stop there. Texas statutes protect those reporting from civil and criminal liability as long as the report is made in good faith. Most all states have similar protections in place. However, even if your state does not require you to report, protecting innocent children in this way may still be the most Christ-honoring thing to do. Be help. Reach out to those who have been hurt. Not only will you be touching “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40), but you will also be touching the church of the future. Let us not allow the spirit of Herod to continue to take our children away from us and rob God’s kingdom of its future. What greater gift could we give than to protect our children and thereby protect God’s kingdom? Tim Cranfill, D.Min., is director of pastoral care at Mission Trail Baptist Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, and an adjunct faculty member for the Pentecostal Theological Seminary.

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by lance colkmire • Ezekiel lay on his left side for 390 days, and then on his right side for 40 days.

prophetic words

then. . . and now

• Jeremiah built a yoke and wore it around his neck. • Isaiah and his prophetess wife gave birth to a son and named him “Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty” (MaherShalal-Hash-Baz). These actions were not signs of mental illness. Instead, each deed was a Godinspired symbolic warning of impending judgment. But the prophets of old did not just deliver warnings to God’s people. Over and over, God inspired them to prophesy the most important message of all: A Savior was coming to rescue the world from sin. Here is one of hundreds of examples: “You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah, yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past” (Mic. 5:2 NLT). John, Anna, and Simeon

We should ask God to minister through the gift of prophecy.

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HAT COMES TO MIND when you hear the word prophet?

• An important role in biblical times that is not needed today • A greedy huckster who promises to send people a special message if they will donate to his or her “ministry” • A soft-spoken Christian speaking inspired words to a hurting person • A boisterous preacher shouting, “Thus saith the Lord” Biblically speaking, a prophet is someone who delivers a message from God. The message might reveal a present reality or predict a future event. If the message is 14

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untrue or does not come to pass, it is not a genuine prophecy . . . and the person who delivered it is not a genuine prophet (see Deut. 18:21-22). A prophetic message might be a loud declaration to a group or even a nation, or it can be a quiet word spoken from one individual to another. God used individuals to speak prophetic messages in Old Testament and New Testament times, and He is still sending prophetic messages today. Old Testament Prophets In the Old Testament, prophets did some bizarre things:

Prophecies did not end with the Old Testament, but occur again from the beginning of the Gospels. In Luke 1, we meet Zacharias and Elizabeth, who had no children “because Elizabeth was barren, and now they were both very old” (v. 7 NLT). Suddenly, an angel appeared to Zacharias and prophesied, “God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John. . . . And he will persuade many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God” (vv. 13, 16 NLT). When John began his ministry, he preached out in the Judean wilderness, yet throngs came to hear him (Matt. 3:1, 5). No matter who showed up, his message was the same: “Repent!” (v. 2). When the religious leaders came, he called them “snakes” and “firewood” (see vv. 7, 10). Most importantly, John prophesied about the Savior: “He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with

the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (vv. 11-12 NASB).

John’s preaching took place just before Jesus launched His earthly ministry. Three decades earlier, just after Jesus was born, the Holy Spirit inspired two godly individuals with prophetic words about the Savior. When Jesus was six weeks old, Mary and Joseph brought Him to the Temple to present Him to God. At that moment, a devout elderly man named Simeon, “inspired by the Spirit,” also entered the Temple (Luke 2:27 RSV). God had promised Simeon he would not die before he saw the Savior, and he immediately realized who this Baby was. Simeon picked up Jesus and declared, “My eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a Light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (vv. 30-32 NASB). Simeon then prophesied to Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (vv. 34-35 NASB). The prophetic words did not stop with Simeon. Immediately, a prophetess named Anna, who was at least 84 years old, “gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (v. 38 NIV). The prophecies of Anna, Simeon, and John were fulfilled perfectly in Jesus Christ. Prophetic Words Today Early during my wife’s first pregnancy, I flew north to Chicago for a meeting while Sharon drove east to visit her family in

Virginia. The morning after my arrival, I received a phone call saying Sharon had been hospitalized. By the time I reached that little hospital in Wytheville, Virginia, late that night, Sharon was miscarrying.

First Corinthians 14:31 declares that God’s people can “learn” and “be encouraged” through the gift of prophecy (NKJV), and I have experienced that firsthand more than once.

One Sunday night a few months later, Sharon and I went to the church altar to pray together. Our pastor knelt beside us and whispered, “Sharon, may I ask if you are pregnant?”

Several years ago while attending Focus— the Church of God international childen’s ministries conference—the Lord spoke to my heart that He was calling Allison, our youngest daughter, into children’s ministry. She was not on my mind when that word came to me, and I knew it was from the Lord.

A Message From God The gift of prophecy is a message from God given spontaneously in the language understood by the people. Its primary purposes are to edify, to encourage, and/or to comfort. The gift of prophecy is a miraculous intervention of God as He gives a message to His people. This miracle . . . glorifies God as the all-wise God who knows His own intimately and cares enough to give them a specific message to meet their needs.—Jerald Daffe and John Lombard (Spiritual Gifts, Pathway Press, 2008).

Allison was a teenager who regularly served with me on summer children’s ministry trips, but I did not feel I should pass on that message to her then. Instead, I “treasured” that prophetic word, “pondering” it in my heart as Mary did when angels spoke to her regarding her newborn Son (Luke 2:19 NASB). A few years later, on the day Allison, then a Lee University student, announced she had decided to become a schoolteacher, I told her what the Lord had spoken to me, affirming her decision. She is now a second-year teacher, and her husband, Kevin, is a youth ministry leader. Something to Desire

We thought she might be pregnant again, but had not mentioned it to anyone. Pastor Riley told us, “I feel led to pray for your unborn child. May I?” We said yes, and he prayed.

The Bible urges us, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy” (1 Cor. 14:1 NIV).

When we found out Sharon was indeed with child, our pastor’s prayer was an encouragement to us anytime we were tempted to worry about another miscarriage. The pregnancy went full-term, and April Lauren was born a healthy girl.

This does not mean we should chase after self-proclaimed prophets and attend “prophetic conferences” in a never-ending effort to hear something fresh. Instead, we should pray for the gift of prophecy to operate in our churches as a source of divine encouragement, affirmation, and education.

While our pastor’s prophetic prayer did not have the global implications of the prophecies concerning baby Jesus, it was a word from God concerning a baby—our baby—nonetheless. And we were thrilled when we presented our firstborn to the Lord in a worship service.

As you pray for this gift to function, be ready . . . the Holy Spirit might use you to speak a timely word to a fellow believer or to your church. Just as He spoke through Jeremiah and Anna, God’s Spirit can speak through any devoted believer who is sensitive to His voice. EVANGEL • dec 2012

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Resurrection at

Christmas The EMT felt for a pulse, checked his breathing, and said, “Pastor, this boy is dead!”

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HILE PASTORING our first church in a Milwaukee suburb, my wife put together a Christmas party for the congregation. It was a cold night, but we were having a wonderful time of fellowship, food, and singing carols . . . when suddenly one of our members came running in and said there had been a terrible car wreck on the church’s front lawn. We called 911, and I ran outside. The car was literally wrapped around a tree in our front lawn. Hanging upside-down tangled in the car’s wiring was a 16-year-old boy. He had only recently received his driver’s license, and on that night had decided to race. A freezing mist had begun to fall, and the boy lost control, and now was dangling from his car. The wiring soon gave way and the boy fell to the ground. An EMT (emergency medical technician) and I knelt down beside the boy, and the EMT said, “Pastor, he’s dead!” “Check him again,” I asked. The EMT felt for a pulse, checked his breathing, and announced to me again, “Pastor, this boy is dead!” I couldn’t believe it! How could this happen to this family so close to Christmas and at our church? The voice I heard next was the Lord saying to my spirit, “Have the people begin to pray for this boy’s life, claiming it in My name. I am going to show My power to this community!”

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I shared this with the people, and we began praying. Sensing the leading of the Holy Spirit, I laid my hand on the boy and said, “In the name of Jesus, live!” Immediately the boy took a deep breath of air, blinked a few times, and opened his eyes! He was alive! I told the boy what had happened and led him to ask Jesus into his heart. Later that night at the hospital, the stunned parents thanked me, and I informed them what Christ had done for them. Two weeks later, that boy came into our church on crutches and thanked us for praying for him.

by steve gardner

Revival broke out in our church, and our community was impacted. People talked about how those Pentecostal people at the Church of God prayed for a lifeless teenager, and God brought him back from the dead! The power of the Holy Spirit has not diminished. He still ministers through those who earnestly seek more of Jesus and His power, to bring glory to our King. Steve Gardner is pastor of Christ the Rock Church of God in Knoxville, Tennessee. [email protected]

by evelyn horan

When the holiday season arrived, I could not help thinking about happier times.

I

T WAS CHRISTMAS EVE, last year. How I had dreaded its arrival! I knew I shouldn’t feel that way—but inside my little house the silence had become unbearable. My only company was the television, and most shows weren’t the kind that held my interest long. I had my daily Bible reading and my prayers. I often talked to the Lord during the day, and there was comfort in that. I tried not to think about the past, but when the Christmas season arrived, I couldn’t help thinking about happier times. I thought about last spring when my Ted went to be with the Lord. Ours had been a good marriage. Ted was my best friend, and we were happy and contented with one another’s company. What made it even more difficult was that at my age, 82, most of our family members had passed away.

christmas loneliness answered This time last year, I didn’t feel like putting up Christmas decorations. It was my first Christmas without Ted. However, I displayed the most important decoration, the Nativity scene of the baby Jesus. It sat on the dining room table where my family once had gathered in happy excitement. In years past, we’d shared a wonderful Christmas Day with a feast of good food and lots of love and laughter. I had not forgotten for one moment the true meaning of Christmas. I knew it was to celebrate our Lord’s birthday. In my heart, I was more than happy that I had a Lord and Savior who cared for me and was always there for me. But I had such a yearning for something or someone to love and hug on that Christmas Eve. “Dear God, please help me cope with my loneliness,” I prayed as I stood at my front-

room window in the late afternoon and gazed out past the front yard to the street. I looked across to my neighbors’ house. Patrick and Desarae McDonnell had a pleasant young son, Aiden, and a pretty daughter, Alyssa, who was now in her late teens and finishing her senior year in high school. I could see the McDonnells’ tall spruce Christmas tree, standing near the large picture window. It was decorated with colorful ornaments and bright flickering lights. In my imagination, I heard the happy sounds of family love as they sat down to their Christmas Eve dinner. Later on, there would be gifts to open amid excited cries of delight. I took the remote control and flicked on the television to the Christian station.

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Soon, they would perform the story of the birth of Jesus. I’d enjoy that presentation. Before I sat down that evening, I thought about having some cookies and milk. I still bake oatmeal cookies with raisins for the Christmas season. Looking at my platter of cookies, I questioned whether I had baked too many just for myself. Then I heard the doorbell ring. When I opened it, there stood Aiden. “Merry Christmas!” Aiden said happily. He held a little black Scottie with a redcolored, plaid ribbon tied around its neck. On its head was a tiny, black, Scottish beanie-cap with a round fuzzy pom-pom on top. The puppy’s pink tongue licked at Aiden’s hand. With his free hand, Aiden offered me a paper plate wrapped in aluminum foil. “Mom wanted to share some of our Christmas Eve dinner with you,” he explained. “She hopes you will enjoy it.” I held the warm paper plate smelling of delicious food. “Why, thank you, Aiden!” I exclaimed in surprised delight. “How thoughtful of your mother! Give her a big hug for me.” Aiden nodded and gave me another wide grin. “I guess Mom told you Molly had three puppies a few weeks ago. It’s too many puppies for us. We thought maybe you might like to have this little guy to keep you company. We call him ‘Mac’—short for ‘MacDonald’—a good Scottish name.” “Oh, Aiden, he’s precious,” I said softly, as he put the squirming puppy in my arms. “How kind of you all. I’d love to have Mac. And I know how to house-train and care for him,” I said confidently. “Don’t worry about that. We had several puppies when my children were small.” “Merry Christmas!” Aiden said again. “If you need any help with Mac, just give me a call, and I’ll be right over.” Tears filled my eyes. “Thank you for thinking about me,” I whispered. “Please, Aiden, 18

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12 Ways to Brighten a Senior Adult’s Holiday 1. Help decorate their home for the season. When the holidays are over, have an “un-decorating” party. 2. Use photo albums and other memorabilia to spark conversations about holidays past. 3. Help with the writing and mailing of Christmas cards. 4. Go shopping together by using Christmas catalogs. 5. Listen to favorite Christmas music together. 6. If the person is homebound, arrange for a pastor or church friend to visit. 7. Get out recipe books and prepare Christmas desserts together. 8. Watch a favorite Christmas movie together. 9. Sit down, turn off your cell phone, and listen, listen, listen. 10. Create new memories by visiting a Christmas-light display, preparing a new Christmas dish, creating a Christmas craft, or attending a Christmas concert. 11. Bring supplies for wrapping Christmas gifts together. 12. Read the story of Jesus’ birth together, and pray together for family members who need to put their faith in Christ.

come inside and take some of my homemade oatmeal cookies to your family.” “Thanks,” Aiden said. “And Mom told me to tell you she hopes you’re not cooking for yourself tomorrow. She’d like for you to have Christmas dinner with us about two o’clock. There’ll be turkey and the trimmings. I’ll come over and help you cross the street.” This time a few tears escaped and rolled down my cheeks. Aiden tried to avoid my eyes. I’m sure he saw them. I gave Aiden a quick hug. “Tell your mother I said thank you for the invitation. I’ll look forward to coming over.” With a covered plate of oatmeal cookies in his hands, Aiden crossed the yard and turned and waved. “Merry Christmas,” he said once more, smiling.

“Merry Christmas, Aiden, and thank you all again,” I called as a warm, squirming Mac wriggled in my arms. His little pink tongue spread wet kisses all over my cheeks. I closed the door. “I love you, too, Mac,” I said. I looked up for a moment and smiled. “Thank You, God,” I whispered. “Thank You for answering my prayers.” That night I slept a contented sleep. Mac and I are great friends. He keeps me active as I follow him around the house and take him outside for exercise. And yes, he’s spoiled. He even sleeps at the foot of my bed. I’ll never forget how God used my neighbors to turn my loneliest Christmas into a happy holiday. Evelyn Horan lives in Temecula, California.

those buildings seemed to tower over me larger than ever. I felt so small and helpless, and as the traffic noise grew louder, and the people gazed at me as they passed by, I felt the pressures of the whole day coming down upon me, pushing me against the hot pavement beneath my feet.

settled with

fruitcakes by johnny hoskins

I

WORKED IN the sales department of a large bakery in Cincinnati, and my job was “running errands.” My days were usually spent driving a bread truck through all kinds of traffic, making special deliveries to area restaurants and grocery stores. After each delivery, I returned to the office to receive instructions for the next errand and to load the truck with the bakery products. The schedule was usually tight, making the job stressful, but it paid the bills. On one particular day, I arrived back at the office around 4:00 p.m., exhausted and hungry. I had been so busy, with no time to eat. Thinking that my day was over, I prepared to leave. Just then, the bakery’s vice president walked in with that familiar look that said he wanted me to run “one more errand” for him. Now, this man stood about 6 feet 2 inches, and next to my 5-foot-7-inch stature (standing up straight), he was an intimidating figure. In addition, I was quite young. He explained that the Cincinnati Reds were in town, and he wanted me to drive downtown to Riverfront Stadium and purchase tickets for him. He said I would be doing him a “big favor,” and that I could drive his company car. In spite of how I felt, I gave in to his “request.” After all, I was a salaried employee with no time clock to punch.

Driving the luxury Ford into downtown Cincinnati, I realized this was not a good idea, given my condition. It was rush hour, and as I saw the faces of the other drivers, they looked as tired as I was. As I meandered through the heavy traffic, the situation began to pull on my nerves. I was being stretched to the limit. I eventually approached an intersection near the street that led to Riverfront Stadium. I was in the curb lane and should have turned right, but in my confusion I continued straight ahead. The driver to my left could either go straight or turn right. He did turn right, and our fenders collided. We managed to pull our cars over to the curb out of traffic. The damage to the vehicles was minor, but it was still an accident, and it was my fault. The other driver was nice enough, and walked up the street to find a police officer.

At that moment, I recalled the words of my pastor: “There are only two times to praise the Lord: when you feel like it, and when you don’t feel like it.” I certainly did not feel like praising the Lord, but I did. At first it was without meaning. I just let the words stumble across my lips, with the same emotion one would have kicking a flat tire in disgust. But I did it again . . . and again. Eventually, I said with real meaning, “Praise the Lord!” I don’t know if anyone on the street heard me or not, but I know two entities that did. The devil heard, and he left me alone. God heard, and He flooded my spirit with a peace and assurance I desperately needed. Then He spoke to my heart, saying, “Son, you look on these tall buildings, but I am much bigger than this whole city, and I am bigger than this situation you are in.” Right then, the other driver returned, explaining that he could not find a police officer to come. We exchanged insurance information, and he drove away. As he did, a police officer did come, and seeing we had everything under control, he said I could go. I thought, Thank You, Lord.

While the other driver was gone for what seemed like a small eternity, my past driving record entered my mind. I had been a Christian for only a short while, and in my past I had several accidents and citations. I can’t afford another ticket, I thought, and believed I would lose my license. It seemed the devil was telling me, “You’ve really done it now. You’ll lose your license and your job.”

There is an epilogue to this story. Garage mechanics at the bakery repaired the company car, and the accident was not charged on my record. The vice president seemed to be more disappointed over not getting the tickets to the ball game than he was about his car. Further, the other driver said he would repair his own car, provided the bakery would send him some fruitcakes, which he loved. Imagine that! God arranged for this whole ordeal to be settled with fruitcakes.

Cincinnati is not nearly as big as Chicago or New York, but at that moment, all

Johnny Hoskins pastors the Church of God in Williamstown, Kentucky. [email protected] EVANGEL • dec 2012

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by Tammy Darling

NO PLACE FOR

PREJUDICE However we try to hide it or whatever we call it, prejudice is sinful.

I

WAS RAISED in a Christian family, but those Christian beliefs didn’t extend to everyone. My aunt made the “mistake” of marrying someone outside her race—at least her brother (my father) saw it as such. Every Sunday when the extended family got together at my grandmother’s

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house to visit, this man was ostracized. No one spoke to him. No one got near him. No one acknowledged he was even there. At age 8, I found this not only strange but wrong. And if I could see that it was wrong, why couldn’t they? My family said they were Christians, but their treatment of this family member

brought nothing but confusion to my young life. Their beliefs and actions did not coincide. Nonetheless, I grew up to love people of all races and nationalities. While many people who grow up in a racist family tend to carry on the pattern, I am so thankful that I did not.

Prejudice comes in many forms; racism is just one of them. I would venture to say that prejudice of one kind or another poisons the heart of every one of us at some point, and perhaps more than we know. Religious prejudice occurs not only between various religions or the religious versus the nonreligious, but also among the different denominations of Christianity. But in the early church, there were no denominational titles or divisions. There was just one body of believers. Civil wars based on race and religion have filled history because people have a deep-seated prejudice against others who are different. Hate crimes happen for the same reason. The issue of male-female prejudice touches nearly everyone. Class prejudice is universal. There is even prejudice between mothers who work and moms who stay at home. Prejudice is so varied and widespread that there does not appear to be anyone who can escape all of its forms. Therefore, to some degree, we are all part of the problem. Basically, prejudice is magnifying a particular experience into a universal principle—for instance, deciding that all women are poor drivers because one woman ran a stop sign and crashed into me. We could endlessly describe how people—ourselves included—tend to make universals out of particulars. But when we look at Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, we find that He did no such thing (John 4:1-29). The Jews were very prejudiced against the Samaritans, but Jesus was different. He gave her more than the time of day; He gave her the water of life. Jesus treated her as an individual with as much value as any other individual. The encounter at the well demonstrated that Jesus was free from the prejudice that dominated Jewish society. In this instance, Jesus rejected racial, religious, and sexual prejudice to reach out to a woman in need. Jesus had to address prejudice in His disciples. They wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy a Samaritan village (Luke 9:51-54) and even had issues with little children (Mark 10:13).

Jesus went against the grain of His culture and dared to love all people equally. The Pharisees were the worst; they belittled everyone who did not follow their impossibly long list of religious regulations. They especially criticized Jesus and His disciples. Jesus told them, “On the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matt. 23:28 NIV). One of Simon Peter’s greatest spiritual battles was letting go of his prejudice against Gentiles. Even after Pentecost, Peter could not bring himself to eat with Gentiles. Only after God spoke to him in a vision did Peter visit and eat with the Gentile Cornelius (see Acts 10).

Correcting Social Injustices This statement is from the Church of God Practical Commitments. Love for others and the recognition of the equal worth of all people in the sight of God (Acts 10:34; 17:26) should compel us to take steps to improve the situation of those who are underprivileged, neglected, hungry, homeless, and victimized by prejudice, persecution, and oppression (Matt. 22:39; Rom. 13:8-10; 1 John 3:17). In all of our dealings, we must be sensitive to human needs (Luke 10:30-37; James 1:17) and guard against racial and economic discrimination. Every person should have freedom to worship and participate in the life of the church regardless of race, color, sex, social class, or nationality.

Peter’s battle indicates that prejudice is not easy to eliminate. For starters, we have to be aware of it, and often we’re not. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us. If we are mindful of prejudice, we have a tendency to justify it and keep it under wraps so it does no obvious damage. We may even call it by another name so that it doesn’t seem so ugly. But however we try to hide it or whatever we call it, prejudice is sinful. Prejudice creeps into our lives easily and is often linked to unforgiveness. For instance, if you have been mistreated by a person of another race, sex, class, or religion, you may hold all people in that category accountable—that’s prejudice. If, however, you are hurt by that same person but forgive him or her immediately, prejudice will not take root. You will not stereotype every person of that same class, race, or culture. Jesus had absolute, deep-seated convictions, yet He was able to accept all people regardless of how they were different from Him. It’s pretty basic, really. A prejudice-free person believes that everybody is worth respect. It doesn’t mean you agree with everything about a person, but you don’t let it hinder you from treating him or her properly. Jesus went against the grain of His culture and dared to love all people equally. As His followers, shouldn’t we strive to do the same? Jesus was free of prejudice; He never closed the door on any individual. Because our goal is to be like Him, we cannot let the values of our culture control our lives. In God’s kingdom, there is no place for prejudice of any kind. It goes against the very nature of God. No one race is loved more by God than another. No denomination is more anticipated in heaven than another. No government, economic class, or educated group is more favored than another. We all need a Savior—the Savior who loves all of us without prejudice. Tammy Darling lives in Three Springs, Pennsylvania. EVANGEL • dec 2012

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by susan l. smith

sure mercies I Praying God’s promises for a soldier in Afghanistan

WOKE WITH a start at 2:00 a.m. Outside, chilly winds whistled through restless tree limbs, and at first I thought it was the light tapping of a pine branch against my window which had interrupted my rest. In the next instant, however, I knew I had been awakened to pray for my granddaughter’s husband, Cameon—a young soldier deployed to an especially dangerous area of Afghanistan. My mind drifted back to a beautiful day in May. The sun shone brightly on new green grass as flower petals floating from young fruit trees promised summer growth. Cameon, resplendent in his Army dress uniform, stood transfixed at the end of the path as my granddaughter, Kirstin, in a shimmering white dress, strolled down a flower-strewn aisle to meet him before their minister—my husband and her beaming grandfather. The small group of assembled family and close friends listened as the two high school sweethearts repeated the ancient marriage vows, then celebrated the happy couple at their joyous wedding reception. In due time, their union was blessed with the birth of their first child, a beautiful daughter they named Payton, who owned her daddy’s heart from her first breath. Now, I could only wonder what was happening on some faraway battlefield that could change all of their lives forever. I shuddered involuntarily at the thought. My concerns quickly became prayers of petition for the young man I had come to love as a grandson. For the next several hours, I cried out to God for him. Early in his deployment, God had given me specific scriptures to claim for Cameon every day. First, He called my attention to a single sentence recorded four times: “The Lord preserved David wherever he went” (2 Sam. 8:6, 14; 1 Chron. 18:6, 13 NKJV). In all of his battles, in all of his hand-to-hand combat, David had never once been wounded. The Lord also led me to these scriptures: 22

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• Isaiah 55:3: “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” • Acts 13:34: “I will give you the sure mercies of David.” • Isaiah 54:17: “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.” • Job 5:20: “He shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.” That long night, I trusted those promises as I had each day, believing that the God who had preserved David wherever he went, would give the identical sure mercies to our Cameon. Finally, peace

came to my troubled heart and I drifted off to sleep again, knowing that, somehow, someway, God would shelter our soldier and protect him from harm. An hour away at her parents’ home where she lived during Cameon’s deployment, Kirstin slept peacefully beside their infant daughter. Suddenly, she was awakened with the alarming knowledge that Cameon needed her prayers immediately. Just as I had, she spent the next few hours crying out to God for her husband’s life. Early that morning, Kirstin called me. As we compared notes, we realized the Lord had arranged for Cameon to be

covered in prayer for the entire night here —that is, the entire day in Afghanistan. We could only wonder what God had in store. We prayed together over the telephone, and I reassured her as I reassured myself that Cameon would be safe in the hands of the loving God who had awakened us both to pray. We encouraged ourselves with the certain knowledge that our intercessory prayers were a kind of spiritual warfare, and that our God never got into a battle, or called us into one, that He did not plan to win. Our conversation closed with Kirstin’s assurance that she would call as soon as she heard anything. All that was left to do was trust God and wait. I thought back some 50 years, to the bittersweet days when my husband and I were also high school sweethearts who were separated for long months during his service in the Navy. Back then, letters were our only means of communication,

and those were few and far between since his duty on a submarine patrolling under the oceans offered few opportunities to send or receive mail. I remembered the dear postman who, knowing our situation, never failed to whistle “Anchors Aweigh” to alert me whenever he placed one of those precious letters in my mailbox. Now, military families are in touch nearly every day by cell phone, email, or Skype. I knew it wouldn’t be long until Kirstin and I had our answer. Finally, that evening, Kirstin phoned again, her voice quivering as she told me Cameon had just called. “When I asked him how he was,” she reported, “all he said was, ‘Alive.’” The trembling tone with which she related his words let me know he had experienced a terribly close call. She continued, “Cameon and his squad were out on a mission when suddenly a Taliban soldier crouching in front of them

fired his automatic weapon directly at them at point-blank range. Before he could move, four bullets came right at him.” She continued in a hushed whisper like that heard in a quiet chapel when one has touched the divine and is left barely able to speak by the overwhelming majesty of that hallowed moment. “Nannie, you won’t believe this. One bullet grazed his helmet, one went right past his cheek, another stirred up the dust beside his foot, and the last one severed the shoelace on his boot. But Nannie,” she said as her voice grew even more muted with wonder, “none of them ever even touched him!” I believed every word of it, because my Lord is the shield for His own, the strong Tower into which they can run for safety. He does battle for His children every day, but we seldom get to witness it quite so dramatically. We cried and prayed together, praising God for His miracle and thanking Him for waking us both and allowing us the profound privilege of participating in it with Him. We were left awed by such a God. The precious One who had preserved David had given our Cameon those same mercies. And, as it turned out, it wouldn’t be the last time. An enemy grenade tossed over a wall exploded a few feet away from Cameon, but did not harm him. The vehicle in which he and his sergeant were traveling hit an IED—one of those diabolical devices which has taken so many lives—but neither he nor his sergeant were injured. Again and again, those sure mercies that had preserved David in the face of all his enemies protected one modern-day soldier against all of his. Our courageous Cameon returned to his family on September 7, 2012. Today, he watches in wide-eyed wonder as his now 1-year-old daughter toddles into his waiting arms. He will soon enter Army Ranger school to prepare for even more deployments and ever more hazardous assignments. But Kirstin and I will be praying, and we know that the God who preserved him in Afghanistan will walk with him into his future. Susan L. Smith, Ph.D., lives in Baltimore, Maryland. EVANGEL • dec 2012

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2. Reflect on the passage. Mentally walk through the passage again with your Bible open. This is about your heart exploring the narrative. You are inside the passage, walking with the biblical writer. Ask yourself, What one verse, phrase, or one word captures my attention?

A life-transforming approach to studying Scripture

by P. Douglas Small

PRAY THE BIBLE

D

IETRICH BONHOEFFER observed, “In the Incarnation we learn of the love of God for His creation; and in the Crucifixion we learn of the judgment of God upon all flesh; and in the Resurrection we learn of God’s will for a new world” (Seize the Day). God, at diverse times and in different epochs, spoke through the prophets; but in one most definitive way, He spoke through His Son (Heb. 1:1-2). The Old Testament gives us bits and pieces of the puzzle revealing God, but in the New Testament we see God revealing Himself in one glorious picture. 24

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So the Bible is not read the same way as other books. Bonhoeffer noted, “One must be prepared to really question it. Only then will it open itself up. Only when we await the final answer from the Bible will it be given to us” (Meditating on the Word). We engage this living Book as if in a dialogue. The Bible is not so much meant to be “read” as to be “prayed.” Read it; then pray it. Pray it; and let it read you. 1. Read the Bible. Read a bite-size section or short chapter in several versions. Who are the players, people, and places? What is said and done? Get a grasp on the main idea(s).

3. Reason and wrestle. Let the Word come alive, whether you are in the “heavenly places” of Ephesians or in Psalm 23’s mountain pass; whether you and David are a few feet away from the towering Goliath, or you are on Patmos with John. What does this passage say to you at this moment on this day? Dialogue with God in the context of the passage. Meditate. Listen with your heart. Pray. Use the Bible’s language and connect your situation to the narrative. Question—yes, question. Gasp! Stand in awe. Wonder! Ideas may explode in your heart. Light will come, not just about facts and actions, but motives and character. 4. Rest and listen. Get still and quiet. Let God read you! Let Him talk. Don’t hide doubts or fears. Be authentic. Slow down the inner dialogue. God may lift a passage off its hinges and burn into your heart. The Scripture speaks—logos does become rhema. Let the Holy Spirit speak. His words are consistent with Scripture. Quiet yourself to hear His voice. Is there an attitude or action to be changed? A promise to be claimed? A blessing to be received? 5. Renew and become. Christianity is not merely a matter of the will. It is not seeing a biblical principle and by volition applying it to our lives. It is not simply new information, but transformation by the Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit renew your heart, giving the power to flesh out and live the Word of God. This is the second “incarnation”— Christ in us, the hope of glory! Don’t just read the Word; pray it until the Word becomes alive in you. P. Douglas Small, coordinator of Church of God prayer ministries, lives in Kannapolis, North Carolina.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Zach’s phone after the lightning strike

SURVIVING A LIGHTNING STRIKE PARKERSBURG, W.Va.— On July 11, my 18-year-old nephew, Zach Sandy, was playing softball at youth camp when an unexpected storm came up. The first clash of lightning struck Zach in the back of the head and went through his body and out his feet. His clothes were burned, torn, and singed from the strike, and his cell phone burned and shattered. When the lightning exited his body through his shoes, it left small holes. He lay lifeless on the ground. Four others were knocked to their knees by the jolt but uninjured. One of the ministers there, Caleb, rushed to Zach and began CPR. He said smoke came from Zach’s mouth and nose. His body smelled like he had been in a furnace. Caleb worked on Zach for 15 minutes before EMTs arrived and took over. There was still no pulse or heartbeat when they loaded him into the ambulance. The EMTs continued trying to revive Zach for another 15 minutes. One said, “You want

to call it?” The other said, “No.” They continued to work on him. Finally, the ambulance door opened and they said, “We have a weak pulse! We are headed to

Zach Sandy Camden Clark.” However, doctors there were not equipped to handle this type of emergency. One of the doctors said Zach should not be alive with the 20,000 to 40,000 volts that went through his body. Zach’s parents and family were notified, as were Cecil and

Verna Welch, retired Church of God ministers. We began to pray as did the kids and workers at camp. Word spread across Facebook for everyone to pray. Zach was flown to West Penn Burn Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On the way, Zach began breathing without the assistance of the respirator. Zach was kept heavily sedated during the flight and throughout the night. They feared he would be in tremendous pain if taken off the medication. However, the next morning they began to slowly reduce the pain medication. He began to respond. He was moving his arms, legs, neck, and body. When he awoke, his first words were “hungry” and “hamburger.” He recognized his family and friends and asked for prayer. There appeared to be no brain damage. Zach had burns down his spine, on his right side, his right forearm, and his feet. His hair was singed where the lightning struck. Yet, not one of his organs

STILL BUILDING “BRIDGES” IN BLOSSOM

Larry and Glenda Bridges

BLOSSOM, Texas—Larry and Glenda Bridges have reached a milestone that few ministers ever obtain—leading the same congregation for 30 years. Associate Pastor Benny Dollins said, “Brother and Sister Bridges have been faithful stewards leading the church with integrity and diligence that has blessed the church spiritually and financially. Their burden for the church and people is evident in their longevity. They have truly become the pastors of the Blossom community.” In August, the church’s family life center, which includes a community food pantry, was destroyed by fire. However, the hard work of volunteer firefighters kept the blaze from reaching the sanctuary. Pastor Bridges told a local newspaper, “What the church is about, fire can’t destroy.” The Bridges’ ministry . . . and the ministry of the Blossom Church . . . move forward.

was damaged. The only burns he sustained internally were in his sides and legs. Zach did suffer short-term memory loss. He did not remember going to camp. He last recalled being at Ocean City for vacation the week prior to the accident. Although his legs were very weak and he had trouble walking without assistance, he was at West Penn only a few days. From there he was sent to Health South in Morgantown, West Virginia, for therapy. He began to remember bits and pieces of camp. He said, “We were asked to pray for three miracles at camp—one for our family, one for our church, and one for ourselves.” I asked him, “Do you remember what you prayed for?” Zach said, “Yes, for growth in our church, a stronger family, and to be a living testimony.” I said, “You are definitely a living testimony!” Zach was released from Health South July 25. The doctors cannot explain how someone who should be dead is alive. But we know prayer, faith, and trust in God is what brought Zach back to us.—Cissy Cutlip

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PEOPLE AND EVENTS

GEORGIA KICKER TAKING A STAND CALHOUN, Ga.—“I love that moment at the end of the game when I get to take off my helmet and shake my hair loose . . . and hear the players from the other team yell, ‘They’ve got a girl!’ It seems that everyone’s first question is always the same: ‘Why?’” That’s how Annah Pierce, kicker for the Gordon Central High School football team, begins to describe her three years playing varsity football. She attends the Calhoun Community Church of God. When Annah was a sophomore, the school was holding a contest in which one teacher and one student would attempt to Annah Pierce (right) and Kelsey Hale

kick a 10-yard-field goal to win Chick-Fil-A biscuits for a year. The selected teacher was practicing while Annah and a soccer teammate were running around the school track one afternoon. Annah says, “We jokingly started giving him a hard time about his kicking abilities, to which he responded, ‘Well, let’s see you do any better’ . . . and I did. After making several 40-yard field goals, the football coaches noticed. The next day I was asked to try out for the team. At first I didn’t take it seriously, but when that year’s quarterback told me ‘girls can’t handle football,’ I changed my mind.”

Known for using the ukulele as an evangelistic tool, Dr. Robert May sang during West Coast College’s Sunday reunion service.

WEST COAST ALUMNI GATHER FOR REUNION FRESNO, Ca.—More than 150 former students, staff, and administrators of West Coast Bible College gathered in Fresno, California, August 30—September 2 for a multi-generation reunion. Events included a banquet, Saturday brunches for men and women, a celebratory “birthday” party, Sunday morning worship, and an evening of inspirational music. Attendees honored former administrators, including Presidents Horace S. Ward (1971-1980) and H. B. Thompson Jr. (19891992). P. Douglas Small, former dean of students, preached in the Sunday morning worship service, which featured the music of Robert May and a reunion of the college choir and New Life Singers, directed by Dan Petty. First began in 1949 as West Coast Bible School, the school evolved from a high school to a college offering two- and fouryear degrees. Known as West Cost Christian College when the residential program closed in 1992, ministerial training continued as the Western School of Christian Ministries and Mission California. Dewella Williams coordinated the reunion and provided entertainment. Newly elected alumni officers are Marlette Finger, Darlyne Swenson, and Arleen Durant Leischner. She continues, “When I was 15, I just wanted to prove I could do it, but now as a senior I want people to see what God can do through me. I choose to take my talent and use it to express my faith. I train hard both physically and spiritually in hopes of being a positive role model to others.” Annah is not a token player. After missing the team’s first two games this year because of an appendectomy, Annah was again kicking extra points for a Warrior team undefeated midway through the season. She says, “As the ‘female kicker,’ it would be easy to get

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caught up in all of the attention, which is something I don’t want to do. I pray constantly for humility and direction because I do realize how blessed I am to have this opportunity. “There have been times when someone has made an off-color comment about another girl or used inappropriate language in front of me, but for the most part they are very quick to apologize and correct their behavior. I think that’s because everyone who knows me knows what I stand for, and there is nothing more important to me than my relationship with the Lord.”

For daily news updates about what’s happening in the Church of God and Evangelical world, visit FAITH NEWS NETWORK, at www.faithnews.cc.

LaFollette congregation (around 1949)

DECEASED MINISTERS ■ ACRE, Walter Evan, Sr.;

■ MCCALL, William R.; 92;

92; ordained bishop; Alabama; Mary Acre (wife)

ordained bishop; Tennessee; Robert McCall (son)

■ ALTMAN, Eddie

■ MORGAN, John; 65;

Talmadge; 79; ordained minister; South Carolina; Jean Altman (wife)

ordained minister; West Virginia; Judy Morgan (wife)

■ ANDERSON, Mary

Frances; 87; exhorter; North Carolina; Lyndon Anderson (son) ■ ASH, David Merle; 61;

■ NORTHCUTT, J. W.; 87; ordained minister; Michigan; Barbara Northcutt (wife)

ordained bishop; Texas; Sheila Ash (wife)

■ PATTERSON, William D.;

■ ATWOOD, Larry Wayne;

55; ordained minister; Ohio; Carolyn Atwood (wife) ■ FORD, Shirley Ann; 64;

ordained minister; Arkansas; Eugene Ford (husband) ■ GRANT, Cecil Lee; 86;

ordained bishop; South Carolina; Betty Grant (wife) ■ JOHNSON, Carrie E.; 79;

ordained minister; North Carolina; Tom Johnson (son) Pastor Sonny and Joanie Wilkes

TENNESSEE CHURCH CELEBRATES 95 YEARS LaFOLLETTE, Tenn.— When the LaFollette Church of God outgrew their facilities in the late 1930s, Pastor Baxter Bryant and the congregation could not get a building loan in that depressed economy. Yet God met the need when church member Homer Broyles purchased a school building that

was dismantled and the materials moved to the church’s new property on East Beech Street. When the materials ran out, additional lumber to finish the building was purchased by Ruth Baird, longtime church clerk. Founded by Pastor Jim Kelley and 12 charter members in 1917, the LaFollette Church celebrated

■ NOLAND, Carl Dennis; 78; ordained bishop; Ohio; Dennis Noland (son)

■ MARTINEZ, Rafaela; 75;

exhorter; Florida; Ruben Martinez (son) ■ MAYNARD, Millard W.;

86; ordained bishop; North Carolina; Ernestine Maynard (wife)

its 95th anniversary on August 12, 2012. Located on Jacksboro Pike since 1985, the congregation’s 30th and current pastor is Sonny Wilkes. Since its small beginning with 12 members in 1917, hundreds

85; ordained bishop; Tennessee; Betty Morrison (daughter) ■ PHELPS, Jim, Jr.; 74;

ordained bishop; Kentucky; Viola May Phelps (wife) ■ QUALLS, James Alford;

78; ordained bishop; Illinois; Martha Qualls (wife) ■ SHIPMAN, Horace

Lawrence; 75; ordained bishop; South Carolina; Sandra Shipman (wife) ■ UNDERWOOD, Austin E.; 86; ordained bishop; Tennessee; Evelyn Underwood (wife) ■ WILLIS, Marie; 70;

exhorter; Pennsylvania; Rosemary Willis (sister)

of people have accepted Christ through the church’s ministries. This congregation has mothered several other churches, and has sent many of her sons and daughters to various parts of the world as ministers of the gospel.

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VIEWPOINTS

Does God have a specifically detailed plan for each person’s life, or does He have a broader plan in which He leaves many of the details up to the individual? NEVER FEARED, BUT EMBRACED Les Higgins is administrative bishop of the Church of God in Arkansas. [email protected]

WORKING WITH STUDENTS for a large part of my ministry, I’ve probably been asked more questions regarding God’s will than any other subject. There seems to be a prevailing idea God has a plan for our life but He is reluctant to share it with us. For some reason we have to convince God to reveal this mystery to us so we can walk in His perfect will. Nothing could be further from the truth. The answer is quite simple—God’s will for everyone is that we know Him and enjoy daily, intimate communion with Him. He is far more concerned about relationship than anything else. Humanity was created for this purpose. Understanding His purpose for us brings focus to our daily walk. When this truth is understood and experienced, we discover the leading of the Lord in the decisions of our life. Our will and His will do not oppose each other but merge into one. At this point, the question ceases to be His plan or my plan; it becomes our plan. During this process, we still have a will and operate within our personality and gifts. We never become a robot unable to make choices. It’s just that everything we are has been surrendered to the Lord and He works through us. At times He will speak with specific direction. At other times, our ability to make decisions will be exercised. How-

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ever, at all times we are walking hand-in-hand with the Father and allowing our steps to be ordered by Him. The plan of God should never be feared but embraced. He knows us because He created us. He created our desires and dreams and will work through them to bring us to the place He has destined for us. He will open and close doors for our benefit. His timing will always be perfect. We can rest in His plan, knowing He is in control. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand” (Ps. 37:23-24 NKJV).

A GOD OF ORDER AND DETAIL Brian Yaun is youth and discipleship director for the Church of God in Kentucky. [email protected]

THE OPENING WORDS of Genesis depict God as One of specific order and explicit detail. His first command in Genesis 1:3, “Let there be light,” was the beginning of God turning a chaotic and formless earth into a place where His purposeful plan would unfold. Throughout Scripture, God continued His detailed plan. We are given the choice to follow God’s plan or go our own way. By following God’s directions, we experience blessings—some immediate, others delayed. Disobedience to God’s specific plan

brings heartache and pain—sometimes immediate, other times delayed. The times when I acted out of rebellion, fear, or pride and veered from what I knew to be God’s specific plan, I inevitably faced frustration. During my senior year of high school, I was aware of God’s call on my life to be a minister; however, I chose to pursue an opposite path. A general sense of dissatisfaction and a deep void in my spirit were constant reminders that I was going the wrong direction. Proverbs 3:5-6 became a foundational scripture that set me on the right course and has served as my “spiritual GPS” in my adult years: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (NKJV). The word ways means “a road, a course, or a mode of action” (The Spirit-Filled Life Bible). Simply stated, if I take time to inquire of God regarding the specific opportunities He has planned for me, I can trust Him to guide me on the best possible path of life. Every new day, I am given a new opportunity to “trust in the Lord.” The word acknowledge refers to “direct, intimate contact” (The Spirit-Filled Life Bible). It is life-giving intimacy. I can have an intimacy with God in prayer that conceives and births within me guidance for every step I take. Even when I face hardships that are common to every person at times in life, I do not “lose signal” with God. He is always aware of my location. So, does God have a specifically detailed plan for your life? I believe He does. It starts by not being “wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones” (vv. 7-8 NKJV).

IRREVOCABLE GIFTS AND CALLING Johnny H. Moore is pastor of the Cairo, Georgia, Church of God. He writes a blog at ruralpastor.com.

PERHAPS THE MOST asked questions in the life of a believer are these: • What is God’s plan for my life? • How can I know God’s plan? • Am I fulfilling God’s plan for my life?

These questions, and others like them, are always on our minds. However, God’s Word is clear. He has a plan for our lives and He wants us to know it and fulfill it. Even when God’s people found themselves facing judgment because of their sins, Jeremiah encouraged them with this word from God: “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope’”(Jer. 29:11 NASB). I believe specific things about God’s plan are fixed and unchangeable. The apostle Paul wrote, “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:29 NASB). God has called me and gifted me in certain ways, and there is nothing I can do to change that. He is also going to hold me accountable for my gifts and calling. However, I believe there are also many details that He leaves entirely up to me. I believe that someone who is called and gifted to be a pastor could be dropped from an airplane (with a parachute, of course) in any location and build a church. I am pastoring in Cairo, Georgia, because that is where my heart is. I wanted to come here, and God honored that desire. If you were to ask me now if it is God’s plan for me to serve in Cairo, I would tell you definitely yes. However, God’s plan has more to do with my gifts and calling than it does with a specific place. God is going to hold me accountable for whether or not I used my gifts and fulfilled my calling. Do you know God’s calling? Do you know your gifts? If so, then find your heart a home and spend your life living according to God’s plan. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21 NASB).

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CHURCH OF GOD CHRONICLES by edgar loyd robbins III

the calling of e.l. robbins

A

LMOST 70 years ago, E. L. and Elsie Robbins were praying urgently outside their daughter’s hospital room when a nurse rushed into the hall to call them back to the bedside. Betty was about twoand-a-half years old when she became very sick with complications from the measles. The nurse said they should come quickly because Betty was dying. In the days before trained music ministers, Edgar Loyd Robbins Jr. was serving the Lord faithfully as the song leader at the Church of God in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He also owned a business with about 10 delivery trucks. Yet, the events of that day forever changed his life. Edgar Robbins fervently prayed as he approached Betty’s hospital bed. Laying his hand on his dying daughter, he promised, “Lord, if You’ll heal my little girl, I’ll do anything You want me to do.” In that moment, he heard the voice of the Lord reply, “Will you preach My

Word?” Robbins responded, “Yes, I’ll do anything, Lord.” Instantly Betty was healed by the power of God. Opening her eyes, her first words were, “I want Mama.” A nurse, who happened to be a Catholic nun, was in the room and exclaimed, “That came from a higher power!” Everyone recognized God’s obvious presence and witnessed a miracle as the glory of the Lord filled the room. E.L. and Elsie took Betty home that very night. E. L. Robbins heeded his call and preached for 27 years. For most of his ministry he pastored in the Atlanta area, including serving the Roswell Church of God from 1952 until 1965, when he went to be with the Lord at the age of 53. He was known for his great wit and love for people. He always worked a secular job to support his family and the church, and many who attended Georgia camp meetings and youth camps remember him as the man who delivered the bread and concession items to the campground.

Patricia Robbins Allen, Betty Robbins Standifer, Elsie Davis Robbins, Edgar Loyd Robbins Jr., and little Eddie Robbins

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E. L. Robbins’ call to preach was no ordinary calling. It served as an anchor throughout his ministry, and his vivid testimony of Betty’s healing and his obedience influenced numerous lives, especially those of his children—Betty Standifer, Pat Allen, and Edgar (Eddie) Loyd Robbins III. Betty grew up to become a missionary and is now a chaplain in a women’s prison. Pat has been involved in ministry for many years, including a recent tenure in Scotland. Eddie has just completed a book about completing the Chicago Marathon after losing a substantial amount of weight. Although his time on earth was short, E. L. Robbins’ influence continues through those he mentored. God had a plan and used Robbins for the advancement of His kingdom. Edgar (Eddie) Loyd Robbins III lives in Cumming, Georgia, and is the author of All My Strength: My Journey From 333 to the Chicago Marathon.

Mission Opportunity

For the last 20 years, people from the Cary, North Carolina, Church of God have traveled to Ecuador for mission work. Over the years, many individuals and other churches have joined with them to take the good news to the people of Ecuador.

Teams Available Church Planting Construction Community Evangelism Prison Ministry University Outreach Medical Missions

Come Join Us In 2013, we are planning to travel to Guayaquil from July 13 to 21. If you are interested in joining us either individually or as a church group, contact Janet Baggett ( [email protected] or 919-439-0808). Our kick-off meeting is in early February and will be streamed on our website.

Testimony From a Missionary in 2012 “Because of delayed flights we were unable to go to the prison on Monday, so we went to the streets of Guayaquil. Despite the lack of sleep and some of our team feeling unprepared for street evangelism, God moved as we surrendered our weary bodies to His will. On this day alone, many people prayed to receive Christ. Additionally, several were delivered from evil spirits, many heard about Jesus for the first time, the sick were prayed for, and people of other faiths were challenged by the truth of God’s Word.”