In This Issue…
Love and the Law | Prison Ministry | Africa Feast Report | Life in India | E. Africa Camp Meeting | U.S. Feast Reports | Establishing the Children | Letter to Editor – Malaysia | TV: The Great Educator | A Bit of History - Niger, Africa | COGNews Purpose
From the Editor…
The Boomerang Effect
This is the first anniversary issue of the COGNews and it’s a good time to reflect on its worth and worthiness. No, we have not won a Pulitzer Prize and we struggle mightily with proofreading. We cannot know what you may have liked or disliked unless you write us, but I have observed two things.
First: Suzie asked (reading my mind), why so many reports from India, Africa, and prisoners? The foreign reports and prisoners (in the U.S.) indicate God is working strongly in these arenas. True, there are some scam artists out there and we do our best to screen our stories, but it would appear to me that God is repeating a lesson He taught 2000 years ago when, in Romans 10:19,He recorded: “But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke [or stimulate] you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.”
Now, your anger can be directed at God for ignoring you or the “foolish nation” because of their advantage, but what if we direct that anger back to the cause of the problem — us? A careful reading of the following verses shows the problem comes from our inattention to duty, so now we are being stimulated to do what we should have already been doing.
Romans 11:11-15, “I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?”
A Lesson from Business and Industry
Most organizations (including Churches) are in the business of self-adulation and preservation; and most meetings are to serve those purposes, make everyone feel good, cover up the truth, or create something unneeded or defective. Sorry, I get carried away with my cynicism sometimes, but I can’t deny what I see. Ecclesiastes 1:18, “For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.”
And so, those who see with open eyes sincerely and deeply sigh and cry for the abominations being done. It is my hope that this newspaper can, in a small way, “provoke” some positive changes.
Surely, the “ates” (described below) are best applied by you. But I must admit that many friends, and even enemies, have stimulated me to change. It’s a dirty job but somebody has to do it.
Maybe this “small way” to be applied is one of the five “ates” which are:
- Humiliate, to humble
- Agitate, to get you out of your comfort zone
- Stimulate, to tickle the conscience
- Irritate, that’s the way pearls are made
- Motivate, produce action and results
Those five things are not bad, but they can be very uncomfortable, all while producing a positive effect.
Second: There are a lot of uplifting things going on. It’s what I call the boomerang effect. When reading the following, note verse eleven especially.
Isaiah 55:8-12, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
It seems as though God designed everything to make a full circle, “what goes around, comes around,” if you like.
Here’s the principle: Ecclesiastes 11:1-6, “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.”
An interesting event unfolded recently. The January and February 2003 issues of the COGNews each featured a story of Loy Baker, 1651 N. Emerald Hills Dr., Nixa, MO. 65714.
Loy served his country and his fellow man faithfully through the World War II era. A man from Malaysia recently requested back issues of the COGNews and after reading Loy’s article, wrote him a commiserating letter that encouraged Loy greatly. Our man from Malaysia did not realize the importance of his letter and how it lifted Loy’s spirit because, you see, Loy is struggling with cancer.
Now let’s consider the non-boomeranging boomerang. If your boomerang is not shaped correctly, or if you throw it wrong, or not at all, it won’t come back. You never know when your bread will feed someone, but first it must be cast like the fisherman’s net. Unless it is thrown out, it will not function.
God’s principle works like knowledge: when you give it away, someone has gained something and you have lost nothing. I was told you can’t out-give God. Experience has proven its validity in tithes, offerings, and almsgiving. Malachi 3:10, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” This is especially true with time. The keeping of the Sabbath, giving back time to God that He has given you, rewards the giver tenfold with a full, complete, and satisfying lifetime.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
— by Steven J. Kieler
Article…
Love and the Law
We should get to know and teach God’s law. But what also needs to be kept in mind is that the law without love can be pharisaical.
Our Bible study should teach us to love God and our fellow man; if not, then we fail to grasp what God is trying to teach us.
We should not try to teach that the law is done away. Jesus said: “Think not that I have come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill,” Matthew 5:17.
Jesus said: “If ye love me, keep My commandments,” John 14:15. And in verse 21 He says: “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me.” We need to see the connection between love and the law.
We must hold fast to the truths that God has taught us.
We can have an institutional unity in some of our organizations, yet we can be lacking in the spiritual unity we should have. We may grow to learn all of the doctrine and agree that we should keep the law; but if we fail to apply it and the love that’s intended to be with it, then we suffer loss.
Vital doctrines are important, and we get on dangerous ground by trying to water them down. Some settle for a religion of emotionalism or ritual. There are many imbalances we can get into. One is that we can learn all of the laws and doctrines and be able to quote the Bible from cover to cover. And yet we can fail to allow the Holy Spirit to work with us to where we grow in the love of Jesus Christ. We talk about balancing our checkbook and balancing this or that, but there’s no place it is more important than in spiritual matters.
“…God is love,” I John 4:16. “If a man say I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” I John 4:20. I feel that a good gauge on how much you love God is how much you love other people. I used to be selective on who I would love. We can try to justify our behavior.
As we study Psalms 119, we see how the Psalmist loved God’s law.
And Psalm 1:2-3 tells us, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
God did intend that we meditate on His laws and ways; and that we would get to know Him as we apply what we learn. “He who does not love does not know God: for God is love,” I John 4:8 RSV.
The connection between love and thelaw should be learned: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another,” Galatians 5:14-15 RSV.
We can see the connection between love and the law in the above Scripture. Without love it won’t work; we can wind up devouring one another as the above Scripture relates.
The more time passes, and the more God teaches me, the more I see how important the love of God is, and how it will keep us in focus as we allow Him to put His love inside of us.
The law was not done away with; and we should seek to learn and grow in the love of God as we seek to understand His law.
— by Tommy Willis
Hmmm…
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the wife asked sarcastically, “Relatives of yours?” “Yep,” the husband replied, “in-laws.”
A Dream Come True
During the years of our ministry, we have received numerous letters from prisoners. Many prisoners are on the mailing list for the “Giving & Sharing Newsletter.” We frequently note that they tend to have a general attitude of seeking the Almighty’s Truth. One recent letter touched us. This man needs someone to visit him.
The prisoner, a Sacred Name advocate, has been involved in the bondage cult of the House of Yahweh, Abilene, TX. He noted that the House of Yahweh does not answer letters from inmates, and they also insist that he come to Abilene for baptism. We were happy to answer his questions, and send him literature.
Drugs and sex led to his incarceration. He blamed God for losing his marriage and possessions, and became a terror to jailhouse Christians. Then, on May 17, 1999, he had an unsettling dream. In his dream, he was athome sitting in his recliner with an open Bible in his lap. An arm clothed in a white robe pointed to Job 36:8-12. Then he woke up. He did not immediately have access to a Bible. When he read the passage later, he was shaken. He surrendered to his Heavenly Father and begged on his knees in prayer for forgiveness, and committed to Him and Him alone. Apparently, he has not yet been baptized.
Here is what he says: “Since then, I’ve read the Bible in various translations seven times completely. . . . All I am 100% sure of today is that I love, with all my being, the Father and the Son. . . . I seek only to please Them with my life!” He sees no love in the Assembly of Yahweh of Abilene, TX, and knows some of their major doctrines are erroneous. “There is no weekly Sabbath service here at this facility I can attend . . . I get days off work for the Holy Days of Lev. 23 but cannot assemble with the few here whose beliefs are similar to mine. I am in dire need of correction and pure teaching. Can you help me?” His name is Markus Dickey #8956511, J. Lynauch Unit, 1098 South Hwy 2037, Ft. Stockton, TX 79735.
Would you like to correspond or visit prisoners? Contact Earl Lewis, Giving & Sharing, PO Box 100, Neck City, MO 64849. Earl can also provide a card authorizing you to engage in prison ministry. He has worked with prisoners for years, and can give advice to new prison ministers.
— by Richard C. Nickels
Feast Report…
Greetings to you in the name of Jesus our soon coming Lord of lords. With unspeakable joy we concluded this year’s Feast of Tabernacles in Cotonou, Ganvié, Calavie, Godomey, and Ouidah. It was a joyous time in the presence of our heavenly Father who gave us all that we need through Christ.
We started with thunderous prayers as each participant prayed under the direction of the Holy Spirit. We interceded for one hour and thirty minutes for our nation, the nations of the world, the USA, and the Arab nations to embrace Jesus the author of peace, spiritual unity of believers all over the world, God’s Word to penetrate every heart, etc. We then began the worship with the band leading our worship and praises. We had workshops, Bible studies, etc. We encouraged each participant to embrace Jesus and be a good example for other believers.
This year’s Feast of Tabernacles was a fantastic, refreshing, and rejuvenating Christian experience with worship services, pot lucks, hymn sings, worship, praises, a fun quiz night, a Feast dinner, dance, and outdoor crusades/evangelisms. These were just some of the great activities we enjoyed, along with a trip to La Porte Du Non Retour (Entrance of No Return) in Ouidah where the white men came and bought slaves during the colonial era.
The Feast of Tabernacles reminds and helps us to see our lives in proper perspective. A sukkah built for the Feast lasts for just a week. Similarly, our bodies are “booths” that only last for a certain number of years. Without God, all is meaningless, as we learn from Ecclesiastes, a book traditionally read during the Feast. But when God comes to dwell in our booths, then our lives matter. It was a wonderful experience.
But why should we rejoice at the Feast?
Deuteronomy 16:15 gives us an answer, “. . . because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.” God has great things in mind for us, and celebrating the Feast can help us to grasp the full meaning of God’s purpose and provision for mankind. We also traveled to Lake Nokoue where people live in housing on top of the water. We witnessed to 30,000 inhabitants of Ganvié who had never heard about the Sabbath message, God’s Holy Days, or anything about the food laws. We preached and evangelized the inhabitants and gave out used clothes, reading glasses, Bibles, etc.
About 1,876 people in this unusual habitat requested Bibles, as many of them had never seen one. We baptized 45 persons who joined us in the family of God and planted five Bible study centers for them. From Cotonou it is 25 miles. The return trip to Ganvié from Cotonou is 15, and we need to send workers immediately. I will be there this Sabbath by His grace. These people are neglected, though there is a school, market, and tap water. Wonderful you may say. But life is difficult here, as you must own a boat in order to survive. The people are very poor and depend only on fishing.
We also evangelized in the strong hold of Voodoo in Africa, Ouidah. Satan put up a good fight to stop our outreach there, as the letter of authority that had been issued to us by the Mayor of Ouidah was surprisingly cancelled at the last minute because the Catholic Church protested against our meeting opposite their kingdom, and lied that, they, the Roman Catholics would be having a program at the venue the Mayor had approved for us the same day. The venue is in the front of the famous Python Temple-Ouidah. The Roman Catholic Church and the Python Temple are facing each other (two evils, wondering which is the greater evil). On reaching there, we were told that we couldn’t hold a meeting at the venue, even though the Roman Catholics never hold a meeting.
Very confused and not knowing what to do next, we called on the God of heaven and made our needs known to Him. He answered beyond our imaginations by using “Chef De Arrondissement” of Ouidah (the “quarter chairman” for Ouidah). He intervened and went to the King’s palace of Ouidah (because we had already gone to the King of kings palace, Jesus Himself) who granted us his domain for the crusade, which was far larger than the Voodoo venue. God’s ways cannot be understood as the King welcomed us and we paid him a courtesy visit, prayed with him, and gave him a copy of a Holy Bible and a 2004 “Good Seed” devotional book.
We held the crusade in his domain and immediately people heard the sound of the music and came by the hundreds to listen to God’s Word that has the power to change their situations. We preached Jesus who came to destroy the power of the destroyer, the devil. I spoke from John 10:9-10, and I John 3:8 and told them that the only weapon Satan can use to stop them from embracing Jesus Christ is fear. When I called on people to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, 158 people came, and several brought their magic books and charms to be burned. Fifteen women and six men came openly to renounce their association with witchcraft, and cried about how the devil had used them to destroy so many lives in accidents, miscarriages, sicknesses, and had made so many men and women barren or mad. I could not contain myself as I looked at these people crying to the God of heaven for help and forgiveness. It was a night I will never forget for the rest of my life.
Many invited us to their houses to either destroy their shrines or dig out the charms they had buried in their homes, some for protection from enemies, or for business successes, etc., which turned against them and kept them miserable. We prayed in the name of Jesus, destroyed the power of sorcery, and commanded the demons to flee in Jesus’ name. We prayed for them as they welcomed Jesus into their lives. We spoke about God’s Holy Sabbath, His Holy Days, the Ten Commandments, salvation only through Jesus Christ, and a life of holiness and prayers. We later baptized thirty-six people and started five home Churches, unbelievably, one at the King’s palace at his own request. I saw a great hunger for righteousness and the need of a liberator in all the villages we went to. Their only problem is fear of uncertainty and insecurity as the devil controls their entire lives. King Ouidah is originally from Brazil and came here during the slave trade era.
There are so many needs in most places, such as Bibles, Christian literature, clothes new or used, shoes, pens or pencils, etc., whatever you can no longer use will be useful here; you will always find someone who may need them. We need someone to support the brethren who will be witnessing/discipling in all these villages that have opened their hearts to the Sabbath message. We shall need $200 monthly to help for their transportation and food in these villages. We also need $1,500 to pay for nine months’ rent in all the villages where we have started home Churches. God provided us with His Spirit of peace and joy that pervaded the entire Feast.
We hope the entire Ouidah community was blessed by the presence of Christian believers. As the Feast site was not affiliated with a Church organization, the Feast site was comprised of brethren from a range of Church groups and representatives from eight countries which included: Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, Cameroon, and Benin Republics. Many Pastors came from the following Churches: Pentecostals, SDA, Church of God, White-garment Sabbath groups, and like minds, etc. Those who attended generally understood the Church of God to be spiritual in nature. There were no conditions for Feast attendance, other than the willingness to meet in peace and mutual respect. Two remarkable miracles took place during the Feast. A former Muslim woman, now a Sabbatarian, gave birth to twins (a boy and girl) on the fourth day of the Feast without medical assistance. God sent His angels as He did to the Hebrews. A mad woman came to disrupt the Holy Convocation and was healed instantly. At Ouidah, a woman who never used her right ear to hear was also healed, and she could not control her joy. We don’t know how all these miracles took place, praise the power of Jesus Christ who died to set us free from sin and destruction. We ask you to help with some bedding for the twins and mother through us, as I will make sure they get them. Napkins, sweaters, etc. would be appreciated. There are other women who are pregnant and need our assistance too. Several young people from different nations need our encouragement both spiritually and physically to continue witnessing and living for Jesus.
Our Father and His Son had to be so pleased with His Feast of Tabernacles held at Ouidah this year 2003. “God’s Family Reunion” as it could be called, was celebrated with love, rejoicing, and family caring. Attendees were always being directed, from the pulpit, to rejoice at “God’s Holy Party,” that this is a Family Affair, to believe that “what makes God happy should make us happy, and that the Feast is only eight days, but memories (made here) last forever. The amount of love and caring shown to each other this year was just fantastic!!! Not just from those who were the speakers and volunteers, but from the general run of attendees.
There was continuous fellowshipping attained at the planned activities, outside lunches, and dinners. Activities were always blessed by others offering rides, meals, etc. Everyone seemed to be so attuned to others’ wishes and needs. We were also blessed by many excellent sermons, beautiful special music, and activities that were unsurpassed. The attendance was up this year, hovering close to 480 each day and 895 were shown as being registered. The speakers who brought the messages each day all seemed to be God-inspired, since most of their sermons were working close to the same theme. We had fantastic and inspiring messages, sound spiritual meat with good encouragement about what God is doing, where God is working, what He expects of us and how to truly fear Him. The meaning of Jesus’ name, His Eternal work, along with the historical illustrations of His coming to the temple and the future coming Kingdom of God and the resurrections to eternal life rounded out the “Gospel” message of this year’s Feast. The meaning of the Last Great Day, along with Pastor Porter’s encouraging message to carry on with God’s work, inspired us all to continue with the work of God to preach the Gospel to the world and warn the descendants of ancient Israel of what’s coming ahead.
Those who blessed us with the messages and words of God were: Michaels Porter, Mark Josiah, Stella Porter, Agye Kuruma, Pierre Ndong, etc. Dr. James from the USA was our guest during the crusade/leadership conference held in Cotonou. The Feast in Ouidah this year was as expected: Tremendous!!! What else could we expect God’s Holy Party to be? We couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help in serving the 895 brethren that came to Ouidah Village this year. We want to “Thank Everyone” again!!! It was a wonderful Feast for us. I couldn’t imagine not being with my family, my closest friends, and you my brethren, at God’s Feast in Ouidah.
A guest speaker from Ghana commented on the “one-ness” of the messages and the positive spiritual attitudes of the brethren that were reflected throughout the Feast. “Everyone at the Feast was happy and in good spirits. Many folks just didn’t want to leave this year and wished that the Feast would truly go on. Their fellowship with each other and a deep spiritual ‘refilling’ of God’s Spirit filled the entire 8 days of this year’s Feast. It will truly be one to remember for a long, long, time. It was very good! For brethren who were celebrating for the first time, they regretted knowing this amazing truth so late. A 79 year old woman from Togo said, ‘I wish God could make me young again to serve Him better and go around the villages to tell people what they had missed in their fruitless effort without God Almighty’.”
Thank you immensely for helping make the Feast possible through your giving, prayers, materials, etc. You all are very special. Again my special thanks to all of you for a job well done! It was an excellent Feast. Thanks for helping it be so. We hope that you also experienced a joyous festival, and that you will find this report to be a source of further encouragement and stimulation. We need your help always.
— by Michael Porter, 03BP2991 Jericho, Cotonou, Benin, Africa
Hmmm…
If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.
— author unknown
News…
Book Price Comparison
My name is Ori Tend and I’m from Israel. I wanted to introduce you to a new Web site I’ve launched recently: www.FetchBook.Info. It’s a free service, allowing you to easily compare prices of any book among 70 bookstores, and find a price which is 30-80% off the market list price.
Here’s a sample comparison, where you can see that it saves so much for any book:
www.FetchBook.Info/0130408905.html).
Also, I’m striving to improve the site, so if you have any feedback, please feel free to send it! I hope you like my site. Thanks.
— by Ori Tend, Israel
Article…
Here is an article of one part on what life is like in India, and the Goatery program explained in brief. Well, here is the Goatery program I have discussed. Some of our members who live in a village have been infected by HIV, or their spouses have been infected. We have about twelve baptized families and nine prospective families. When somebody is infected with such a disease, they are looked down upon, are cut off from the normal world, their livelihood is denied, and their only destiny is to commit suicide. Actually, these brethren have productive lives to live and we believe God can heal them. It is not for anybody to judge about their sickness.
What we want to do is to help them with some livelihood sources, and after some study, we found that goats are like sheep and they reproduce faster. These goats are cash animals, so this would help them to have some income to live on. I am planning to organize a complete training program for them and then give them six she-goats and one male-goat. The training would cover how they should rear them, veterinary care, marketing arrangements, etc. It cost about $250 US dollars per family where they would get the six plus one goats. We have about twenty-one families in this program. When someone sponsors a family, they would be called guardian brother or guardian sister. It would give a lot of encouragement and motivation to these helpless brethren that somebody still loves and cares for them. Thanks for all the motivation and love you have given and shown.
— by M. R. Hubert, India
5 Budda Street
Madras 600024 India
News…
Greetings to you in Christ’s Name. The attached are photos for the crusade/camp meetings which took place in various places: Tabarit in Bomet District and Trasmara, youth classes in Bureti District, and the women’s ministries at Bureti Togomin care of Sotik.
The work of the gospel message is just going well in East Africa, mostly in parts of Kenya. So, it is our prayer that you pray for the gospel. May God bless you.
— by Overseer Andrew K. Koech
Giving & Sharing Representive
Kenya, East Africa
“Keys to the Kingdom —Keys to Your Future!” This was our theme for the 2003 Feast classes this year at Lake Texoma, OK. We had 18 students and 4 teachers for 6 mornings, plus 2 evenings and one afternoon for some Bible story videos. Everyone also enjoyed the Fun Park one day, the recreation building one afternoon for the kids’ carnival, and a potluck fish-fry picnic on another perfect-weather day. Nearly all ofthe children participated in the Talent Show, and also in the Youth Day assignments.
Becky Kelly led the children’s choir in singing “God is Still Workin’ on Me!” Becky and Nedra Pence taught the elementary class and began the first day with “Get on the Feast Train!” Of course, we had our regular Teddy Bear gift table where all the children can pick a bear to take home.
Doyle Carter taught the preteen’s class and began with Four Feast Keys to Keep, and a Feast Journal to make.
Pam Chambers’ teen class incorporated several artwork projects along with our theme of Keys to the Kingdom.
Each class day began with discussing the posters set around the room to coincide with the day’s topic. The elementary and preteen classes also were presented with special Bible coloring books and Bible storybooks to take home.
Another wonderful, full, and rewarding Feast! I can’t express in strong enough terms how thrilling it is to share our hope and great goals with such excited young people!
— by Pam Chambers
Feast Report…
Mountain View, AR
The Mountain View Church of God Fellowship held the Feast of Tabernacles for the first time in the beautiful hills of Mountain View, Arkansas this year with 80 in attendance from Little Rock, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Tulsa, OK, and Big Sandy, TX.
The Church building was open daily from 9 AM until 10 PM and sometimes later due to enthusiastic fellowshippers and game players.
The brethren provided a covered-dish lunch daily and the tables were always overflowing with great food.
Other activities included a special day for our youth, with Chad Tate, a young baptized member giving his first Sermonette. An afternoon at the go-cart track followed services. We also had homemade ice cream and cobbler night, a cookout at the park with games following, game night, a fun/talent show, pickin’ & grinnin’, and a tour of the beautiful Blanchard Springs Caverns. All activities were provided by the Feast offerings and hard work of all the brethren.
Feast pictures were taken by about 20 youth that were given disposable cameras at the beginning of the Feast. The pictures were developed the last day of the Feast and awards were given to each child on the Last Great Day, for their best picture. The award winning pictures remain posted at the Church building as a reminder of our first Feast in Mountain View. A set of pictures was given back to the child to keep or give away and the other set was made into a collage and remains posted in the Church building.
Most local members tabernacled in their back yards in tents and campers, and invited others to join them.
The willingness of the brethren to work hard to serve and help one another made this a wonderful Feast for everyone.
— by Wayne Holmes
Are Our Children Going Down the Tube?
Everyone talks about the downward spiral of our country’s morals. We are in very deep trouble with our youth because we adults do not seem to be able to control our own behavior and we have a loose standard toward the way we live our lives. We wonder what is wrong with our children, how did they become so rebellious, or why don’t they behave the way we want them to behave?
There are several factors why children develop wrong behavior, including family breakups, economic problems, peer pressure, wrong types of entertainment, and sometimes the environment that some children grow up in. There are some things we have control over and we can make a difference in our lives and the lives of our children.
Basically, children pattern themselves after our examples. But in the absence of good parental teachings, children will pattern themselves after others; for example, peers their own age, movie and television characters, etc. There is convincing evidence that children who watch or participant in the wrong kind of entertainment also may develop wrong behavior. Television programs, computer games and activities, music videos, compact discsand DVDs, all find their place in our homes as forms of entertainment. These forms can be good entertainment if used appropriately. However, more and more television programs are down in the sewer. Some computer games picture destructive behavior such as shooting and killing people, revealing too much action and detail. The music industry aims their music toward the young, and big bucks are spent on this type of entertainment, which can be very explicit, provocative, and crude. The music is hot, heavy, and for most of us, unintelligible. But the kids understand what the words say and what they mean.
The Television Monster
In this issue, we’re addressing how television affects our lives and our children’s lives. Years ago, there were great comedy and drama shows such as “I love Lucy,” “Father Knows Best,” “The Waltons,” “The Carol Burnett Show,” “The Bob Hope Show,” “The Smothers Brothers,” “Little House on the Prairie,” and many more wonderful shows that came along in the innocent years of television. Now, programs are full of deviant behavior, filthy words, murders, adultery, fornication, gay behavior, arguing, fighting, and much more.
Even situation comedies turn into shouting and arguing matches, bad parenting actions, etc. These days, do we sit in front of the television set watching and even laughing at shows like “Friends,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Will and Grace”? The reality shows defy description. Try watching “Fear Factor” without your stomach doing flip-flops. “Survivor” recently had one contestant lying by telling the other contestants that his grandmother had just died so he could win by getting their sympathy vote.
One recent episode of “Missing without A Trace” showed a houseful of teens in different stages of undress and engaged in various sex acts, leaving not very much to the imagination. Other programs like “ER” and “CSI” are very graphic in depicting murders, operations, and seemingly have an endless supply of blood and gore. “Everyone Loves Raymond” is an example of how not to have family peace and unity. Hopefully, not any of us are watching these shows while our precious little children are right there beside us, absorbing all the wrong kinds of behavior being played out before them by the television monster.
Slow Conditioning
Do we realize how we are slowly being conditioned to accept any behavior that man can come up with in this rush to busy and entertain ourselves? If we can’t resist watching these types of television programs, participating in computer games, entering Web sites that are inappropriate or watching and listening to crude offensive music videos, then, how can we expect our children to turn away from these types of entertainment?
Hopefully, we will wake up to how wrong kinds of entertainment can influence us and our children. Make a checklist of what type of entertainment programs you watch on television, games you play on the computer, or other activities you use the computer for, and what kind of music you listen to, including music videos. Don’t forget to check into what and how your children are being entertained.
Get rid of these entertainment monsters in your home by not participating in the wrong use of these forms. But don’t make the mistake of throwing out your television, computer, music videos, and discs (unless they are inappropriate). These forms of entertainment can still be used for the good of your family.
There are good educational programs such as The Discovery Channel and National Geographic, and every once in awhile there are good storylines that reflect love, kindness, generosity, hard-working people, sacrificing for the good of others, etc. Sometimes there are good shows that are produced by Hallmark and other producers that portray good moral values.
The computer is a marvelous tool when used for the right reasons. There is a great deal of information available on just about any subject, and the right type of music can be most enjoyable and make us feel better.
The important things to remember are: be vigilant, make a checklist of the types of entertainment that are acceptable, and make sure you weed out bad television programs, computer programs, and music that is inappropriate for your family.
Visualize in your mind and ask yourself this question, “Would we be taking part in this kind of entertainment if Jesus Christ, our elder Brother, were visiting with our family and sitting here with us right now?”
— by Shelby Faith
Youth…
What’s it Worth?
A man comes back home from a hard and frustrating day at work. His son sees him, and is quite excited, then sees his dad’s long face, and calms down a bit. His dad sits in his favorite Lazy Boy recliner as the boy walks up to him.
“Dad, can I ask you a question?”
His dad, not too enthusiastically, plays along.
“What is it, Son?”
“Dad, how much do you make an hour?”
Dad answers, “If you need to know, I make $20 an hour.”
The son looks down in thought for a moment, and then asks, “Dad, can I borrow $10?”
His dad gets quite annoyed, thinking he’s asking a lot of questions so he can ask for cash to buy a toy or something, which he’ll only lose interest in, in a couple of weeks. So his dad, annoyed and very angry tells him, “You come and bother me when I come home from a hard day’s work, and ask for money so you can buy something worthless? You know what? For being selfish, you can go to your room.”
His son, taking this all in and looking ashamed, heads for his room without another word. His dad eats, relaxes, and watches TV. After while he calms down and thinks to himself that he was too hard on his son. Maybe he wanted the money for school or something.
The father knocks on the boy’s bedroom door and asks, “Son, are you awake?”
“Yes, Dad, I’m awake,” the son answers.
His dad walks in and, says, “Look, I’m sorry I went off like that, here’s your $l0.”
His son, very excited, grabs his dad’s cash, reaches under his pillow and grabs more money. His dad, getting annoyed, realizing that his son already had money, says in as calm a voice as can be managed, “Son, why did you ask me for money when you already have some?”
“Because,” his son answers, “I didn’t have enough, and now I do! I have $20 now, and I can buy an hour of your time.”
— author unknown
Kids Prayers…
Three year-old, Reese: “Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name. Amen.”
Six year-old Anna and her four year-old brother Joel were sitting together in Church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough. “You're not supposed to talk out loud in Church.” “Why? Who’s going to stop me?” Joel asked. Anna pointed to the back of the Church and said, “See those two men standing by the door? They’re hushers.”
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, and Ryan, 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. “If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait. Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus!”
A father was at the beach with his children when his four year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore, where a seagull lay dead in the sand. “Daddy, what happened to him?” the son asked. “He died and went to Heaven,” the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, “Did God throw him back down?”
BIBLE TRIVIA See if you can answer the following
trivia questions without looking them up: (See
Genesis 2:21) (Jonah 1:5) (Genesis 28:11-15 (Daniel 2:1) (Matthew 2:13) (Luke 22:45) (I Samuel 26:7) (Genesis 15:12-16) (Daniel 6:18) (Judges 16:19) (Trivia questions from The Complete Book of Bible
Trivia by J. Stephen Lang.) Worksheet
by Shelby Faith - 2003
I didn’t find what I was looking for at the
mall that day. But I found something even better: a rediscovered hero. Even if
I don’t look a thing like him.