Letters Letter From the Editor Letter From the Editor Happy holidays and welcome to Volume 2.4 - our Christian Men's Issue. Hopefully many of you will find the stories in our Features area as well as our Ministry and People Profile columns to be a blessing. The end of a year is always a time to reflect, and looking at what the Lord has done with this electronic magazine over 1992, I can only wonder in amazement. What started in mid-1991 as an idea for a small magazine to be made available on a single computer network has turned into something totally incredible. Morning Star is currently read in over a dozen countries (that we know of) by thousands of people. Many of the teaching articles we have published have been used by Bible study teachers as well as missionaries in places as remote as the deserts of Chad and the jungles of the Philippines. Praise God! Expectations are often a strange thing. Initially, I thought it would take a long time for the magazine to find its way into other countries. I also expected difficulties in dealing with the multitude of articles and stories I thought we would be receiving by all the would-be Christian authors amongst our readership. Well ... I've learned two lessons from all this. Lesson Number #1 - When God is handling one aspect of a project (distribution in this case) expect miraculous results. Lesson Number #2 - When men and women are handling the other aspect of a project (providing articles and stories in this case) expect to call on God quite often for help in making deadlines when things "don't pan out". Perhaps 1993 will find more people "inspired" to write for Morning Star. As I keep mentioning - we do not have a writing staff. We are always in need of personal testimonies and ministry profile stories. Also, in every issue we have a "theme" for our Feature area which we count on your help for. Here's the upcoming lineup of Feature themes for the spring. Please consider writing something for one of these, or sending in a testimony. Volume 2.6 - WITNESSING IN THE WORLD TODAY (Any stories to share about witnessing at work or school etc?) Volume 2.7 - FREEDOM FROM SUBSTANCE ABUSE (A testimony issue - were any of you delivered by the Lord from such things?) Volume 2.8 - MARRIAGE & FAMILY IN TODAY'S CHANGING WORLD (Any of you husbands or wives have a Christ-centered story to share?) Volume 2.9 - BIBLICAL PROPHECY (Please contact me with your proposed idea before actually writing, to avoid duplication of topics!) Help me keep a good thing going. Shalom to all of you during this holiday season! In service to the Holy One of Israel - Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Toby Trudel Commentary Commentary WE HAVE SEEN HIS STAR by Moishe Rosen From the JEWS FOR JESUS NEWSLETTER Imagine the amazement and consternation in Jerusalem when that delegation of foreign dignitaries appeared at Herod's palace in search of "the King of the Jews." Even more puzzling was the fact that those Gentiles had brought gifts with them. From bitter experience, the Jews usually thought of the Gentile nations in terms of looting, pillaging and brutality. Yet here were these strangers bearing gifts and asking, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him" (Matthew 2:2). The incident was unprecedented, but Jerusalem should not have been totally surprised by the goodwill of those giftbearing Gentile visitors. After all, the Hebrew Scriptures from Genesis down through the prophets had foretold that one day all nations would worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Isaiah 42:6,7 we read, "I, the LORD have called You (the Messiah) in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house." In those days before Y'shua's birth, hope abounded in Israel that soon the Messiah would come to rescue His people from the Roman invaders and to establish His kingdom. Today most Jewish people no longer hope for the personal Messiah that Isaiah described. Instead, they reinterpret Scripture, choosing to believe in a messianic age or "Utopia" in which God somehow will bring peace to all the earth. Even such a diluted version would, of necessity, include Gentiles as well as Jews in the worship of the one true God. Yet many Jewish people who hold to this messianic age theory piously cluck their tongues at the thought of proselytism and claim that they would never try to persuade non Jews to turn to the God of Israel. Nevertheless, God did include the Gentiles in His plan of salvation, and they must know that they are to be saved by faith in the Jewish Messiah. The magi (or wise men) were quite specific. They had come to see the one whose divine right it was to be King of the Jews. They were not looking for a ruler appointed by Rome. Yet because they were seeking a royal personage it seemed natural to them to begin at Herod's palace. Their gifts, however, were not for Herod, who had been designated king of the Jews by the Roman senate; nor was their tribute for his throne, which Rome kept in power. Herod might have coveted the magi's tribute for himself, but their veneration and loyalty belonged to another much greater than Herod. It belonged to Y'shua, God's appointed King, the author and controller of creation, who alone could command a star to herald His birth. Just as Herod felt threatened by the existence of a king other than himself, rabbinic Judaism leaves little room for other peoples to have a special relationship with God. It sees only the Jews as God's chosen people and the Gentiles as being OK the way they are, not really needing to ally themselves with the "Jewish" God. Yet Genesis 12:1-3 clearly shows that God's purpose for choosing Abraham was that through his seed He might bless all nations. Other Scriptures point out more specifically that this blessing will come through the Jewish Messiah, who will bring all people together. In the Incarnation we see the beginning of this fulfillment. Here was God's blessing for the nations: a Jewish infant-human, yet divine-born to suffer and die, rise again and reign over all the earth. Angels sang, "Peace on earth to men of good will." The three wise men came to pay Him homage. Those Gentile dignitaries who followed the Bethlehem star were guided by divine wisdom. They were seeking what the Jews as a nation did not see then, nor will allow themselves to see today. Ever since the adoration of the magi, many Gentiles have embraced Y'shua, the King of the Jews, but for the most part the Jewish people to whom He came were, and still are, oblivious to His arrival and the meaning of His presence. People of many nations have seen that Y'shua, the Jewish Messiah, is the only Savior for everyone. Yet today He does not seem to mean much to most of my Jewish people, His kinsmen after the flesh, who, for the most part, have neither believed in Him nor acknowledged Him as Messiah and King; but even this is predicted in Scripture. In Romans 11:25 Paul wrote that partial blindness had happened to Israel, so that the fullness of the Gentiles might come in. Only a few of us Jews have found and followed Y'shua, the Messiah of Israel, but since the days of the Apostles many Gentiles have found salvation in Him. Yet at this season, even as Christians rejoice and celebrate the birth of King Messiah, the Jewish people who do not believe in Him feel uncomfortable. Just like Herod, who sensed the foundations of his kingdom creaking and crumbling at the appearance of the wise men, my Jewish people feel threatened by the birth of that Baby. They fear that if they allow Him into their hearts and lives, the religious structures that have kept us together as a people for thousands of years will crumble and fall into oblivion. They fail to realize that this messianic faith in Y'shua is Jewish in origin and in essence. Yet the prophet proclaimed, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:2). While many Gentiles have come to the light of Y'shua and the Jewish people as an ethnic entity have not, many individual Jews have seen His star and have followed His light. In that holy illumination we do recognize Him. We realize that He came for both Jews and Gentiles, and suddenly our world is filled with new light. We allow the star to guide us to Bethlehem. With the magi of old, we kneel at the manger and worship, and we are changed. No longer blind, we see. We become willing subjects of our Heavenly King, and we look forward to the day of His return when every knee will bow to Him and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. Staff List Morning Star Staff MORNING STAR STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF Toby Trudel - Nashua, NH SENIOR EDITOR - Biblical Department Geoffrey Kragen - Roseville, CA SENIOR EDITOR - Christian Life Department Teresa Giordanengo - Canonsburg, PA SENIOR LITERARY EDITOR Al Murillo III - El Paso, TX ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jerry Johnson - Modesto, CA Clark Stephens - Huntington Beach, CA Dale Strand - Dublin, CA J.C. Trudel - Naples Park, FL Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA Dr. Charles Wootten - Matoaca, VA SENIOR PUBLISHER - DOS and WINDOWS Editions Steve Paulovich - Derry, NH NETWORK DISTRIBUTION: AMERICA ONLINE Network: Jerry White - Germantown, MD COMPUSERVE Network: Jorge Lopez - Lubbock, TX GENIE Network: Mike Wilkinson - Citrus Heights, CA DIRECTOR OF BBS DISTRIBUTION - USA Walter H. Bauer Jr. - Sugar Land, TX MSDOOR PROGRAM DISTRIBUTION Alan Graff - Wheelersburg, OH INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION: ISRAEL Sharon Sanders c/o Christian Friends of Israel P.O. Box 1813 - Jerusalem, 91015 Israel Tel: 972-2-894-172 / 894-187 FAX: 972-2-894-955 CANADA John Vickers PO Box 511 Ucluelet, British Columbia Canada V0R-3A0 FIDONET: 1:351/715 NORWAY Lars Storstrand Lion of Zion BBS: 011-475-293009 Voice: 011-475-290554 PHILIPPINES Roger J. Obe P.O. Box 191 Iloilo City, 5000 - Philippines FRANCE Peter Cunliffe 5 Allee A. Croizat F-77186 Noisel, France UNITED KINGDOM Ted Day 18 Denton Drive Wilford Hill, West Bridgeford Nottingham - NG2 7FS 602-234047 GERMANY Wonderland BBS BBS: 421-4422980 Sysop: Marc JAPAN Deane Hibbarb PSC 80 Box 12416 APO AP 96367-2416 NEW ZEALAND Shane Haney BBS: 635-62058 AUSTRALIA Mark Smith 4 Third Ave, Macquarie Fields, NSW 2564 Cross Beat BBS: 61-2-605-9438 OFFICE SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN Patrick Auriemma - Nashua, N.H. ------------------------------------------------------------------ MORNING STAR is produced and published monthly, by a staff of born again believers in Jesus, located across the United States of America. Correspondence to MORNING STAR may be sent via the U.S. Postal Service or one of several computer networks. POSTAL ADDRESS: P.O. Box 7755 Nashua, NH - USA 03060-7755 ELECTRONIC MAIL LINKS: INTERNET: MStarMAC@aol.com (Toby Trudel) AMERICA ONLINE: MStarDOS (Steve Paulovich) GENIE: M.Wilkinson1 (Mike Wilkinson) COMPUSERVE: 70743,603 (Jorge Lopez) FIDONET: 1:106/3118 (Walter Bauer) CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK: 8:3003/5 (Walter Bauer) CHRISTIAN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK: 8:2000/2005 (Walter Bauer) POLICENET: 150:402/53 (Walter Bauer) To receive a free copy of the MS DOOR program, which allows viewers to read the magazine onscreen, contact: Alan Graff P.O. Box 131 Wheelersburg, OH 45694 AMERICA ONLINE: Alan Graff FIDONET: 1:2260/50 Features The Men's Movement The Men's Movement by Robert Higgins THE MEN'S MOVEMENT By Robert Higgins Fort Worth, Texas This past July I was led by God to attend a men's conference in Boulder, Colorado. This conference was known as "Promise Keepers" and was led by Coach McCartney of the University of Colorado. God had given him a vision - that he was, through the help of such outstanding family speakers as Gary Smalley and John Trent, Dr. Edwin Louis Cole and many others, to show that God has a plan for true masculinity ... and it is contrary to what our society is teaching. Men seek and need the company of other men. They yearn for true fellowship. This can be observed very easily by their participation in "men's clubs" such as Elks, VFW, Optimists, Masons, etc. Yet, even "whooping it up" in the woods does not satisfy this deep inner yearning by so many men. The first area of a man's need after a relationship with God is a deep relationship with other men of God. "As iron sharpens iron, so also does one man sharpen another." Men need and desire; accountable, personable and deep relationships with other men. However, as men, we find it difficult to do. One of the elements of the "Men's movement" in ministry is to enable men to develop these kinds of relationships. Men also need to develop stronger ties to their families, as husbands and as fathers. Our society has drastically changed since fathers took their five year old sons out to the fields and taught them the disciplines, "on the job", of being a man. We are no longer a farm economy and whole families lose their fathers to their work. Worse yet, when men come home from work they act at home like they are still at work, failing to act relationally, and instead treating family members as either co-workers or employees. Gary Smalley and John Trent explain this as the improper use of the "silver sword" (a man's work related power) and his failure to pick up and use his "gold sword" (his relationship power). Within this family relationship bond, men also need to recognize that they are "sons". In a recent poll taken during a retreat led by well known author Gordon Dalby, not one man in a small group could think of two positive attributes of his father. Our fathers are who we learned how to father from - and we will father in response to how we were fathered - either in mirroring or in rejecting their fathering tools. Part of the men's movement seeks to heal the broken hearts and mend the relationships we have had with our own fathers - freeing us to be the fathers that our Father in heaven destined us to become. Men also begin to learn the value of their word. A man's word is his bond, it expresses his character and defines who he really is. A parallel between a man's word and God's word is vital. God's word is not broken ... ever! Yet how often do we break ours? Have you ever seen a father promise to do something for a child and fail to do it, for even a very good reason? Yet to the child a broken promise and a lie are indistinguishable. The overall men's movement is one of the Holy Spirit, reaching in to churches all across our nation. Our androgynous society needs so desperately the impact of men becoming Godly men. A real man is a godly man! As a result of this conference, God led me to my own church to start a men's group there. At our first retreat this November 6th, we had 65 men attend and experience changes and challenges to their lives. The Holy Spirit moved mightily and has transferred the vision Coach McCartney and others passed to me last July to these men. God willing, they too will pass this vision on and live it themselves. For further information on Promise Keepers conferences contact: Promise Keepers P.O. Box 18376 Boulder, CO 80308-9806 For more information on how to start a men's group in your church, or to conduct a retreat to challenge the men of our church, you may contact me. Bob Higgins 6340 Valley Ridge Dr. Fort Worth, Texas 76140 The Promise Keeper's Conference The Promise Keeper's Conference by Mark Cole THE PROMISE KEEPER'S CONFERENCE By Mark Cole Lawrence, Kansas A huge Christian Men's Rally was taking place in Boulder Colorado. I was intrigued by the announcement of it on the Christian radio show, "Focus On the Family". I was especially intrigued when I went to my weekly Bible study and Dave Barfield, the study leader, announced that he was going. About 6 weeks later, 7 of us Christian Men piled into a van at 5:00 am on a Friday morning. We talked about various topics. Larry, a business man, told us how his son had burnt his face with an iron at the age of three. In order to get the face to heal without scarring, he and his wife had to scrub their son's face until it bled three times a day. We talked about other things as well - Rush Limbaugh, sports, politics, our trials in life - the things Christian men talk about. When we arrived it began to rain. Fortunately, we were prepared for all contingencies (the rally was in the Colorado Football Stadium), so we put on our ponchos and went to the stadium. According to the Denver newspaper, homosexual activists demonstrated and disrupted the conference. I did not see a single activist - and I saw no disruptions. This seemed to me to be a very instructive lesson - do not believe everything you read in the newspaper! We entered the stadium. It was a very impressive situation - there were over 20,000 men! I wondered how they were going to feed us all the next day. We sang songs. Luis Palau proclaimed the gospel and gave an invitation to receive Christ or rededicate your life to the Lord. It was pouring down rain! This man is truly an electrifying speaker and a great evangelist. After him, E.V. Hill spoke. He is a great preacher, who works for Billy Graham. He got the entire crowd into chanting and praising the Lord! I could not take notes because my paper would get soggy from the pouring down rain. That night, we stayed at a house of a Christian doctor. They had baked cakes for us, and had many good things for us to eat and drink. I really appreciated their hospitality! The next day, the place was so packed we had to sit way up in the stadium, instead of on the field like we had wished to do, and like we had the night before. One song that particularly struck me was "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High". What an awesome song! An American Indian spoke on the spiritual needs of his people, as well as what God is doing in this mission field. Edwin Cole spoke on a "man and his word". First he spoke about God's Word - Cole talked about its trustworthiness and how it is God's BOND to us. When God promises us salvation, in the Old Testament - He meant it - and He kept His Word with the blood of His very own Son. God's name is only as good as His Word. I felt very convicted when he then reversed this and said our name is also only as good as our word! Our words are an expression of our character! In our age of divorce and unethical business practices, this is a message that I think is very important to hear. A Christian man is a man of integrity. I bought his book, "Maximized Manhood", largely because of the importance I saw in what he said. (It's an excellent book!) Jack Hayford spoke on "the man and his friends." He talked about how we need to believe the best of people and the need to be in accountable relationships. One of the highlights of the conference was a Workshop given by Wellington Boone - a black pastor who has a vision to see white Christians and black Christians reach the inner city blacks for Christ. He said, "I did not choose to be black. God made me black. If you don't like blacks talk to God about it." May GOD DO A MIGHTY WORK IN OUR INNER CITIES!" This is really a test case, as far as I am concerned, as to the power of the Gospel in a place that is crying out for answers. Promise Keepers is planning another larger conference this summer. In 1994, there will be four stadium conferences taking place all at the same time. I would recommend these conferences for any Christian man who wants to make a serious impact for Christ in America. Checklist for Fathers Checklist for Fathers by John M. Drescher CHECKLIST FOR FATHERS By John M. Drescher "What should I have done differently? If your children were small again, what would you do?" These words burst from the heart of a father sitting across from me who felt he had failed. They are not the words of just one father. In them are the questions which are uppermost in the minds of many fathers (and mothers), if they take parenthood seriously. I've pondered these questions and a few suggestions have surfaced. FIRST, if I were starting my family again. I would love the mother of my children more. That is, I would be more free to let my children see that I love her. I would seek to be faithful in doing little loving things for her - opening the car door, placing her chair at the table, giving her little gifts on special occasions, and writing her love letters when I'm gone from home. I would take her hand as we stroll in the park. I would praise her in the presence of my children. A child who knows his parents love each other has a security and stability about life which is gained in no other way. * Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. Ephesians 5:25 SECOND, I would listen more,. Most fathers find it hard to listen. We are busy with the burdens of work; at the end of the day we are tired. I would listen when my child shares his little hurts and complaints, and what he is excited about. And I would try to refrain from words of impatience at the interruption. Such times can be the best times to show love and kindness. One evening a small boy tried to show his father a scratch on his finger. Finally, after repeated attempts to gain his father's attention, the father stopped reading the newspaper and said impatiently. "Well, I can't do anything about it, can I?" "Yes, Daddy," his small son said, "you could have said 'Oh.'" I would try to understand what my child says because I now believe that the father who listens to his child when he is small, will find that he will have a child who cares what his father says later in life. In listening I would pay more careful attention to my child's questions. It is estimated that the average child asks 500,000 questions by the age of 15. What a privilege for every parent - about the meaning of life and about your own dependence on God! * These commandments ... are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 THIRD, I would seek more opportunities to give my child a feeling of belonging. When a child feels he belongs in his family and is of real worth there, it is not a big step to also feel accepted, loved, and of worth to others and in God's sight. A child feels he belongs when he is involved in the responsibility and work of the family. Celebration of birthdays, when the person rather than the gifts is central, creates a sense of belonging. That same sense is built into the child when he hears prayers prayed on his behalf. No part of child guidance is more important than assuring the child by action and word that he is important and that he has a place in the affections of the family. * Children are an heritage from the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Psalm 127:3 (KJV) FOURTH, I would express words of appreciation and praise more. Many children seldom hear words of commendation and encouragement when they do a job well or exhibit good behavior. Will Sessions, discussing the topic "If I Had a Teenager" says, "I would bestow praise. If the youngster blew a horn I would try to find at least one note that sounded good to my ear, and I would say a sincere good word about it. If the school theme was to my liking, I would say so, hoping that it would get a good grade when it was turned in ... I would be vocal." Probably no other thing encourages a child to love life, to seek accomplishment and to gain confidence more that proper, sincere praise - not flattery, but honest compliments when he does well. * See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. Matthew 18:10 FIFTH, I would spend more time together. A group of 300 seventh and eighth grade boys kept accurate records of how much time their fathers actually spent with them over a two-week period. Most saw their father only at the dinner table. A number never saw their father for days at a time. The average time a father and son were alone together for an entire week was 7 1/2 minutes! Arthur Gordon tells an interesting experience from his youth. "When I was around 13 and my brother was 10. Father promised to take us to the circus. But at lunch there was a phone call; some urgent business required his attention downtown. My brother and I braced ourselves for the disappointment. Then we heard him say, 'No, I won't be down. It will have to wait.' When he came back to the table, Mother smiled. 'The circus keeps coming back, you know.' 'I know,' said Father. 'But childhood doesn't.'" * Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:16 SIXTH, if I were to start my family again, I would laugh more. That's right! I remember when I laughed with my children - at the humorous plays they put on for the family, at the funny stories shared from school, at the times I fell for their tricks and catch questions. I recall the squeals of delight when I laughed with them and shared in their stunts on the lawn or living room floor. I know when I laughed with my children our love was enlarged, and the door was open for doing many other things together. * A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 Somehow we manage enough muscle to handle the big things of life but forget that life is largely made up of little things. A father's faithfulness in the small things determines the happiness of his children ... and, not just that, it strongly influences their spiritual direction. The best father is the one who knows God as his heavenly Father. Only Jesus Christ can provide that relationship. Only He can say, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). When we place our childlike trust in Christ, When we believe that only His death and resurrection can bring forgiveness, then we become a part of God's family. At that time we receive a new potential for fathering, for we have gained access to God's unlimited resources. I Need a Quick Fix I Need a Quick Fix or Why Doesn't God Just Deliver Me? I NEED A QUICK FIX or WHY DOESN'T GOD JUST DELIVER ME? By Josh Williams From TRACKS IN THE SAND magazine I'm a Christian man. There are areas in my life that I feel a lot of shame and guilt about. As a matter of fact, I feel guilty for even feeling guilty. I live in constant emotional pain which has it's roots deep in my past. I want to be like the man Jesus healed that day in the temple. However, I feel more like Jacob wrestling with the angel of the Lord all night long. I wish I could just "go forward" and have somebody pray for me and that would be the end of it, or someone could just "cast out the demon" and I would never have to struggle again. My whole life I have looked for "the Quick Fix". I am familiar with the passage "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away, and all things have become new" and I say, "but I don't feel new. Why am I still entrapped in old behaviors?" When I read the scripture that tells us, "we are more than conquerors", I question how I can feel like a conqueror when I am enslaved by old thought patterns which hold me captive. I am like Paul in Romans chapter seven, "Who will deliver me from this bondage?" and I desperately want to move into chapter 8 "I thank God, that it is through Jesus Christ". So how does Jesus deliver me? I can only speak for myself. I have heard many accounts of people who were healed of various addictions or compulsive behaviors in an instant, never to be tempted by them again. But for me, Jesus chooses to work in a different way, beginning with self honesty. It is very hard for me, as a Christian, to admit my sins to God because it feels like I am failing Him. And because my parents abandoned me, I am afraid that God will abandon me too. Sure, I know that Jesus promised in scripture, "I will never leave you nor forsake you", but this is hard for me to believe. I may want to believe it in my mind, but my heart is afraid. I know I must take a risk and actually trust that God will not abandon me. I must repeatedly admit before Him my short comings and character defects... my sins and compulsions, the dark side of my existence which I have spent my whole life either denying or indulging. But just being honest with God is not enough in my case. It seems that God wants me to start a pattern of being real and honest before men. Let me give you an example: If you go on a diet without telling anyone about it, you will most likely fail. Without accountability to anyone, it is easy to give in during a moment of weakness. Jesus wants us to confess our faults one to another. For most of us, this starts the moment we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. We may have even gone forward and made a public confession of our faith. My starting point was when I chose to share one of my deepest, darkest secrets with a particular friend that I felt I could trust. When he did not condemn me, his acceptance broke my cycle of shame and guilt and brought it into the light of God's grace. I was able to accept the forgiveness of Christ because of the acceptance of my friend. Maybe that's what it means when it says "whosoever's sins you loose on earth, they shall be loosed in heaven". I don't claim to be a Greek scholar, but I know that the power of that particular sin over me was broken in that moment. So where am I now? I have to continue being honest before God and men. I feel SO MUCH PRESSURE from within the Christian church to keep up the good Christian image, I know all the right words to say, I know all the scriptures to quote. And I so much want to be accepted by the church that I have been willing to put on a mask and to live a double life, just so the they would like me. I had been doing this so long I even fooled myself . But the price I paid was not worth it. And besides, it is a price which was already paid two thousand years ago. Manhood in Crisis Manhood in Crisis by Tom Thompson MANHOOD IN CRISIS By Tom Thompson From TRACKS IN THE SAND magazine "I promised my wife that I'd call you." His voice, quivering and shame-filled reached out anonymously from his phone booth in Riverside to my office. "My pornography habit has gotten me into deep trouble this time, and she has threatened to tell the authorities if I don't get some serious counseling... this time..." The caller proceeded to describe a painful life of lust-obsession which had escalated to the point to which he has begun to molest patients in the hospital where he worked as a male nurse. This call followed a steady stream of telephone and personal confessions of men - most of them Christian leaders in the greater Los Angeles area. Men who, having heard of our advocacy work on behalf of pornography-related victims and addicts have called to seek support and steps towards health. Stewart, (names have been changed) a Sunday School Superintendent in a prominent Protestant church, called and confessed to a "romantic" attraction to first and second-grade girls in the classes. Other callers included Nathan, whose brother was an elder in their church - until his depression led him to suicide. Upon finding his brother, the family discovered his apartment was literally crammed full of thousands of dollars of hard-core pornography!! Then there was the priest in Newport Beach who was arrested because of his role in a pedophile and child pornography ring operating out of Mexico. Dozens just like him continue their toxic habits among our youth, unchecked. Statistics show they will not be apprehended until an average of 60 children have been violated. "If the gold rusts, what will the iron do?" (Chaucer) The "sexual revolution" of the sixties, along with it's marketing campaign, the pornography industry, has spread the toxic messages which have produced profound weaknesses in the way today's male leaders think and act. Hardcore, degrading pornography has become a curriculum for our identity, behavior and general expression of manhood. Leaders whose theology and ethics reject this message are nevertheless pulled into it's seductive grip and are toppling in staggering numbers. Just recently their public exposure has monopolized the press, shamed their families and devastated their followers. Names like Jimmy Swaggart, Billy Preston, Gordon MacDonnald, and Jim Bakker have been widely touted as symbols of frailty in Christian leadership. Beyond the institution of the church, the institutions of the corporation and the family are quickly crumbling in the vacuum created by these former heroes. Heroes, whose sexuality has become lust-laden, have had their souls torn and their lives shattered. Men who have become unwilling impostors are split from their real person; to walk alongside themselves. "I have never done it before-stepping out of life into the Alongside and looking at oneself living as if one were not alive. Do they all do that in your world, Pieblad?" - C. S. Lewis, Perelandra And the cycle of addiction and victimization continues. Statistics and research show these dreadful findings: * Approximately 25% of today's children will be molested by the age of 18 * Over 100 children are so severely abused in Orange County each day that the county agencies must intervene; 25 are victims of sexual abuse * Rape is America's #1 crime; having increased over 526% since 1965 * Over 40 sexually transmitted diseases are currently at the epidemic level. AIDS, having claimed near 1,300 lives in Orange County alone * Sexual addictions and substance addictions (to deaden the shame) are the coping medication of choice, and claim a huge portion of the male culture.... And the church oftentimes is not a part of the solution. In fact, in many cases the church may be a part of the problem. Her presentation of the answer must deal with real issues that men face as well as an honest view of Biblical truth. Consider these facts: * 80% of all child abuse cases are in churched homes! * 25% of all clergy are estimated to be sexually addicted! Some pitfalls in the church are actually heresies which emanate from weak theology, and lack of understanding in the human development and recovery process. Popular among these are three heresies: Heresy #1: "All traumatic influences from one's past magically disappear upon conversion" Some of the scriptures used to support this are "laying aside the past, I press on" and "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new." The implied message here is that the embracing of one's past and a study of personal frailty is, at best, unproductive and at worst, unspiritual. Taken out of context, these quotes from St. Paul must be matched with the exhortations which are replete in Scripture, admonishing us to carefully and frequently examine our past and personal depth. The sins I have committed and sin committed against me (Ps 51:5). Psalm 51 could well be named "The Victim's Psalm," because of it's progression from personal inventory, "Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being. And in the hidden part Thou will make me know wisdom." v.6) to ultimate health and rejoicing in timely manner. Heresy #2: "If I study, memorize and apply the scripture, then my emotions will follow." This is a strictly cognitive approach to the "Victorious Christian Life" However, it is neither consistent with the healing process of the mind and emotions, or with Biblical models. It is significant that the powerfully strong characters selected by the Holy Spirit for their inclusion in the Scriptures also display a wild and deep emotional dynamic. A study of the persons of Peter, Job, Elijah, and the disciples reveals human terror, depression, anger and doubt - all uncontested by a Father-God who created and honors the human process. With the epidemics of early childhood trauma, adult addiction and depression so prevalent among us, the sensitive application of Scriptural truth by trained counselors and support groups is most needed for deeply rooted wounding. Heresy #3: "Jesus only" Glib application of an oversimplified understanding of the healing process is another denial system cloaked in religiosity. This heresy also underplays the employment of spiritual gifts in the context of the community of faith. Automatic healing of the needs of the heart- like a fractured ankle- does not usually heal instantly the day one accepts Christ into his life. This "rush toward healing" often produces abscesses of the soul and spirit. The infected wound, covered quickly becomes venomous and has a life of its own. It ultimately requires lancing, or the whole body will live in reaction to the growing needs and pain. "A great crisis experience of Jesus Christ, as important and externally valuable as it is, is not a shortcut to emotional health. It is not a quickie cure for personality problems." (Donald E. Sloat, Ph.D, "The Dangers of Growing Up in a Christian Home". Thomas Nelson Publishers) If, then the process for restoration of the masculine soul is not in the taking of "Bible Pills", "Pressing On" or a system involving religious repression of pain and memory; then what is the answer? "We say 'The trail is the curriculum', and we watch community" happen. Our support networks focus on accumulated time with intentional attention to ourselves and our stories. (Donald Joy, "Unfinished Business". Victor Books) "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." (II Chron. 20:12b) "Your inadequacy is your first qualification." (The Master and The Disciple, by John Gaynor Banks) "We admit that we were powerless and that our lives had become unmanageable." (Step One of The Twelve Steps - A Spiritual Journey Recovery Publications) Note the Prodigal's Pathway in Luke 15. Many Christian men lead the life of the older brother in this parable. His achievements were socially and politically correct, while his repressed anger and hurt separated him from true intimacy with the father. His status and productivity were probably greatly hampered by this condition of pain and isolation. In contrast, the fallen prodigal is shown to courageously take humble steps which result in grace and re-bonding, father to son. "I will get up and go to my father...." (Luke 15:18) Christianity and the healing process is not simply a "decision" to the lost son, it is a journey; one step after another. And restoration was not summed up in a litmus test for the father to administer to the prodigal; he immediately rushed toward the recovering addict in his stinking condition, carrying the robe of restoration and the ring of sonship. "He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their sons, and the hearts of the sons to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." (Mal 4:6) The great crisis in manhood is indeed a result of our prodigal generation whose soul has been abandoned by their human lineage, and whose spirit is separated from their Father, God. This Warrior-God stands literally in the middle of His scriptures declaring a covenant of hope for the re-bonding of the tear in the masculine soul. This is incredible news to my anonymous caller, Jimmy Swaggert, King David, Solomon, St. Augustine and the rest of us who are struggling with loneliness, abandonment, and compulsions of our male culture. The great "bonus" is in the company of Men of Destiny who are experiencing sonship and grace, men who have been abandoned and wounded by their fathers and who will be empowered to "father" and "brother" each other - affirming and initiating each other into health and leadership. Bringing healing to the tear in the masculine soul. These groups actually become "containers" of Father - Love. The prodigal's path to leadership is one of integration, wholeness, humility and balance. Unless we seize the subtlety of his model, we will be left with the swill and cornhusks of our mundane, aching world. The prodigal's journey is counter to the "Type A" paths of today's male. He calls us to cease "doing" and start "being." He tells us the way up is found by descending down, and that: * Before we become men of exuberance, we must become men of sobriety, * Before we shout the resurrection, we must weep the crucifixion, * Before we structure lives of discipline, we must walk steps of surrender, * Before we call down the miracles, we must live with the mysteries, * Before we rush in with answers, we must rest with the questions, ...and * Before we seize our Destiny, we must commit to the Journey. (Tom Thompson is a fellow prodigal moving among the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Newport Beach, and is Regional Director for the California Care Coalition. Comment and dialogue is encouraged by contacting the Tracks in the Sand, or Tom directly at (714) 435-9056) A Look at Sexual Problems in the Clergy A Look at Sexual Problems in the Clergy by Bob Matthews A LOOK AT SEXUAL PROBLEMS IN THE CLERGY By Bob Matthews Marriage Family and Child Counseling Center Orange, California From TRACKS IN THE SAND magazine "Even as I begin this article I am aware of the tendency by those to whom it may apply to ignore or discount the fact that this relates to them. Denial is the core of any addiction. Sexual addiction can be defined as a "pathological relationship with a mood-altering experience," as Patrick Carnes says in his book Contrary to Love. The sex addicts behavior has become a cycle of thinking, feeling and acting which is beyond their ability to control. I will deal with one particular segment of the population, those in ministry. However, anyone who reads this may see elements which are directly applicable to their own lives. We have all heard the over-publicized stories of the evangelist caught with a prostitute or the pastor guilty of sexual misconduct with a church member. But these stories are only the tip of the iceberg. The fact is that the number of people in the ministry with sexual problems is far higher than we may wish to admit. What causes these "men or women of God" to fall? Why are they often so vulnerable to dangerous situations and yet seemingly unaware of the danger? As a former pastor and one who now works with those who are sexually addicted, I have become increasingly aware of characteristics that are similar to both men and women in all parts of our society - even those in the ministry. Let's take a look at some of these dynamics. ISOLATION: The ministry, by its very nature, can cut off clergy from those who might otherwise offer them emotional support. Those in ministry can experience a unique form of isolation and, compared to others don't live normal lives. A recent newspaper article outlined this unique isolation as the so called "clerical fishbowl," the unusual situation that ministers exist in. Elements include the need to be the "perfect family," a lack of privacy, meager finances and lack of quality time for family life. Among other things, these factors support and maintain a perceived need for secrecy among those in public ministry. SECRECY: If someone in ministry is involved with some type of sexual problem, shame about what the person is doing or feeling makes it difficult to discuss the subject with anyone. In her book "Escape from Intimacy," Anne Wilson Schaff says that "sexual addiction carries a particularly large component of shame and denial with it." Steve Arterburn in his recent book "Addicted to Love," says "...the stigma of being a sex addict is... great. Sex addicts fear what others would think if they knew of their problem." The fact that sexuality may not have often be discussed freely contributes to the shame. Any sexual trauma in childhood will only intensify the problem. Sometimes incidents in childhood are blocked from memory. Other times, effect is discounted but the shame and secrecy of those events only surface later in a sexual addict's life. CARETAKING: People involved in the ministry, need to help others. Often, this need to focus on others and the desire to steer situations towards a particular end, conspire to keep those in ministry from the important task of developing a healthy sense of self-identity. This perpetuates the denial system and promotes secrecy. ACCOUNTABILITY: Often those in ministry place themselves, or are placed by others, in situations that require little or no continuing accountability. Even in ministerial training the idea of leaders developing close friendships within their congregations is often discouraged in order to avoid favoritism. Attempts to become accountable to another may be perceived as a sign of weakness. Rejection can result, again sustaining the system of isolation, secrecy, caretaking, and sexual addiction. Pastors who talk amongst themselves tend to focus upon success rather than failure, which only gives the impression to those who are struggling with sexual problems that they are in fact less than "perfect" or less than "the ideal." There is only one way to break this pattern and that is to talk about it. A simple answer? Yes! But it is not so simply done. The need to break the cycle of addiction - of preoccupation, ritualization, compulsive sexual behavior and despair - requires help. In more severe cases it may require a hospital setting. Many will need to talk to a therapist or counselor. Some may find help in a group of pastors, although the lack of trust will probably be a limiting factor to this solution. Because of these reasons, many will find it easier to make excuses not to seek help and to remain in pain and denial. This is true not only for those in public ministry but anyone who identifies with part or all of an addictive cycle. If you find yourself in this position, it will take an extraordinary amount of desire, strength and courage to break the pattern of secrecy, isolation, and co-dependency but I encourage you to do so. Though difficult, this journey will likely be the most rewarding one of your life. Biblical Department New In Christ New In Christ "New in Christ" is a regular MORNING STAR column written primarily for people who wish to learn more about the basic teachings of Biblical Christianity. The editorial staff at MORNING STAR encourages all readers to freely use this information to help new Christians grow in their walk with the Lord. In this issue, we continue the "Letters From God" series, by Pastor Dale Strand of Dublin, California. LETTERS FROM GOD (#4 - For People Who Think They're Self-Made Individuals) Dear Earth creation: Before quartz was discovered, watches used to be run by intricate spring mechanisms. (By the way - guess who created the world's first sundial!). No one would ever believe that a fine watch could come into being by shaking a box of old watch parts out on a table. Because there can be no design without a designer. No creation can take place without a creator. Man can design a camera lens. But he cannot design an eye. Man can design a robot. But he cannot design a heart that beats and lungs that breathe - automatically and perpetually. Man can count the number of seeds in an apple but he cannot count the number of apples in a seed. But I can. Think of your amazing brain with a memory that no "586" or "System 8" computer could ever match. Think of the miles and miles of veins that carry your life's blood throughout your body. Think of your kidneys that tirelessly cleanse that blood 24 hours each day for a lifetime, without rest. Think of your food processing plant within your stomach and bowels. Think of your hearing and smelling and sense of touch. Surely Someone who designed you in such a unique and unusual way, would also love and care for you in an even greater way. Because, you see, when I began creating worlds and humans and animals and things, I also created love. And whether you believe it or not, I love you. And I really do care about every detail of your life. And I desperately want to be a part of it. If you only knew that an intimate relationship with Me could enable you to live your life to the fullest, you wouldn't hesitate to invite Me into your heart and life. I hope you don't wait until we inevitably meet at life's final crossroads. You just cannot afford to miss out on all the special blessings I have planned just for you. Remember, if you ever want to talk, I'll always be there for you. In fact, guess Who placed that little feeling to "discover God" in your mind? Bible Study Bible Study This issue features the fourth in a series on the Epistle of 1st John. Future studies will include Psalms, and books from both the Old and New Covenants. "THEY'RE HERE" 1 John 2:18-27 Recently a book was released showing why Scripture taught that the Rapture would occur on September 28th, 1992. Since you're reading this, either you aren't saved, Scripture is wrong, or (heaven forbid), the author of the book didn't know what he was talking about. Of course there are others who hold for October 10th as the date of the Rapture. Oops, that date has gone by too. Others aim for Rosh Hashanah, 1994. And some Christians accept this view. Even a well-known televangelist has recently almost set a date. People want to know something that others don't. It gives a sense of superiority. These people don't want teachings of Scripture to interfere with their positions. So they find ways to show that the words of Scripture don't mean what they teach. Many of these individuals love the Lord. They probably are believers. But, they get caught up in fads like Millennial Madness, or Deliverance Ministry, or the Shepherding Movement. And while these teachings can be harmful to individual believers, and make Christians look like idiots, they don't usually contradict the foundational truths of Scripture. But, over the years, some individuals, who have started by simply being eccentric, have moved from side issues to denying the basic truths of Scripture. Where this occurs, they have taken immature believers with them. These teachers, who appeared to be Christians, obviously aren't. These people come in the spirit of Antichrist. This is the specific problem John speaks to in this passage of his First Epistle. John was concerned that believers might turn away from their walk with God. The potential for this existed because of the heresies being taught by the false prophets. It was important that the lives of John's readers showed the love of God. They were not to get caught up in behaviors that were motivated by love of the world. One major reason not to love the world is that any satisfaction derived from such love is illusional. Service to God, and relationship with Him, is eternal in nature. Service to the world, and relationship with it, is transitory in nature. 2:18 And, in this section John goes on to note just how transitory this world is. He states that his readers were living in the last hour. Obviously, John was expecting Christ to come at any minute. And when Christ came He would shut the world down and set up His kingdom. Was John wrong? ... Christians have been here some two thousand years. Many are falling for Millennial Madness, as CRI (Christian Research Institute) calls it. People are looking for the Lord's return any minute. Are they wrong? ... First, Scripture is without error. The writers of Scripture, both the Old and New Covenants, were inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit and therefore did not make mistakes. "All Scripture is God-breathed ... " (2 Timothy 3:16). Consequently, John was not in error when he identified this period as the last hour. So what is the last hour? Glenn Baker puts the concept succinctly: "The term 'last hour' occurs only here in the New Testament. Like the similar terms 'the last days' and 'the last times,' it owes much to Old Testament expectations." "The New Testament writers thought of the 'last days' in two ways. Theologically, they connected this period to the new age that they associated with the advent of Jesus. ... In Acts the new age is referred to as the 'days to come' and is signaled by the pouring forth of the Spirit (2:17) and salvation through the calling on the name of the Lord (2:21). The New Testament writers did not believe the new age had completely come. They recognized it as being present provisionally in Christ and in the Holy Spirit." "They also used the term 'last days' eschatologically to designate the last days before Christ's return." 1 John refers to the last hour as the period between the ascension and the return of Christ. One of the proofs of this is the presence of many antichrists. After all, who was the one that warned that these antichrists were a sign of the end times? The Lord said: "For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. -- For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect -- if that were possible" (Matthew 24:5, 24). 2:19 John calls the false teachers antichrists. These individuals who were acting against the teachings of Scripture, the Apostles and most importantly Christ, were men who had been part of the local Christian community. Some speculate that they had been members of the Apostolic churches of Jerusalem. It may be that they had actually withdrawn from the church to which John was writing. Often, some of the greatest heretics are individuals who came out of the Christian community. This was true in John's day, and it continues to be true in ours. This confirms that the "last hour" has continued since the time of the early church. Since the birth of the church and until Christ does return, the greatest attacks on truth come from those who call themselves Christians. But these individuals are in reality antichrists. Believers must be willing to recognize them as such. John's concern is that Christians always stand firmly for the truth of God. 2:20-21: John contrasts the supposed anointing of the false teachers with the true anointing of believers. The false teachers "probably claimed superior knowledge because they had received an exclusive ritual anointing that gave them knowledge (gnosis)." 2 In contrast believers have all received the true anointing which is the Holy Spirit. As a result, they have access to that which is true. This is a general statement dealing with truth. It reflects an understanding of basic foundational doctrines that are denied by the false teachers or antichrists. John was simply reminding his readers that because they had truth, they should be able to recognize that, where there are lies, there is no truth. Frequently, naive believers hold that these heretics, although what they are teaching is wrong, love the Lord. And, since they do, they should be accepted as brothers in Christ. However, the Lord commanded Christians to minister with wisdom. As He said: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16). John would argue that if these men were lying about Christ, salvation, the Christian walk, etc., they were not part of the body and therefore had no part of the truth. Believers must stand for the orthodox teachings of Scripture and reject individuals who teach something else. 2:22-23: While there will one day be a specific individual known as the Antichrist, the spirit of antichrist has been present in the world since the birth of the church. Anyone who rejects the Scriptural teachings about the identity of Christ, His virgin birth, deity, sacrificial and intercessory roles, is of the spirit of antichrist. The Antichrist will be an individual who tries to convince the world that he stands in the place of Christ. Also, he espouses teachings that contradict God's word. Those who function as antichrists are primarily identified as such because of their false teachings. 2:25: In contrast with unbelievers, the believer knows truth. As a result, he has eternal life, eternal relationship with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 2:26-27: John concludes this section by telling his readers that he wants them to understand clearly the differences between doctrines presented by the false teachers, and the true knowledge they possess because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. John wasn't saying that, just because of the Holy Spirit indwells each believer, they don't need teachers. After all, Paul said: "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Ephesians 4:12). What John is saying, however, is that these believers should not fall into the trap of false teaching. These false teachers insisted they had received some secret teaching. Therefore, they claimed that only they had the truth and, therefore people had to follow them. In contrast, the believers have Scripture, teachings of the Apostles, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. There are no hidden truths as the cults claim. There is truth accessible to all under the leading of the Holy Spirit. Believers are called to "... not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). And as they tested the words of teachers against Scripture, and dependent on the Holy Spirit, they were protected against the attacks of the antichrists. Believers can fall into the trap of believing that only their own little group has its act together doctrinally. The "secret knowledge" approach is always appealing. Elitism is still a problem within the church. Historically, many denominations have felt that only they had the truth. Therefore, they have acted as if they were better than anyone else. Every cult teaches exclusivity. The basic premise is this: the truth of Scripture has been lost since the days of the early church, and only they have rediscovered it. In other words, for some seventeen hundred, eighteen hundred or nineteen hundred years, nobody was able to be saved. But now, so they claim, salvation has arrived because they have found this lost knowledge. John is concerned about believers getting entangled in doctrines that are clearly contrary to Scripture. The problem isn't with peripheral issues such as tongues, the timing of the rapture, or even the method of baptism. A problem arises when the view that "only we have truth" moves the individual to accept teaching that is heretical. For example, believers have fallen for the teachings of the "Name it and Claim it" movement. This "doctrine" teaches that God gives the believer everything asked for. Of course a specific formula is used when asking. In reality this is nothing more that magic, and goes directly against the teaching of Scripture. Unfortunately, there are many immature believers who still think certain televangelists are actually believers. John makes it clear that we do not need to be led astray. Believers must demand doctrinal orthodoxy within the local church. They have Scripture and must know it. Christians have the Holy Spirit and must depend on Him. You are to test whatever you are taught against God's perfect standard, His word. As you spend time in prayer and study, and as you stand firm for the historic Christian faith, you will not be led astray. "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming" (Ephesians 4:14). Those that change direction with every fad are not just ignorant, they are unwilling to do the hard work of staying close to God and in His word. The message of this section is: that this is the last hour. This is verified because the spirit of antichrist is active. In addition those who give out heresy are come from within the Christian community. Be alert for the problem. Hold fast to truth, spending time in the word on a daily basis. And depend on the Holy Spirit, Who indwells believers, to provide discernment. Believers must help those around them to beware of the teachings of the antichrists. Remember, believers can be led astray. Therefore, it is the responsibility of each believer to care for others, discipling and consequently fighting false teaching. 1. Baker, Glenn W., THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY, Vol 12, 1, 2, 3 John, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1981, p. 323-324. 2. Ibid., pg. 325. Special Studies Special Studies The Bible is an account of God's relationship to man, a covenant relationship. We find this from the day of creation to the eternal relationship we can have with the Messiah. This is the eleventh in a series of articles detailing the individual covenants found within the Scripture. AN OVERVIEW OF THE REVELATION OF GOD ACCORDING TO HIS WORD (Part 2 of 2) By Dr. Charles A. Wootten Whole Counsel Ministries, Inc. Matoaca, Virginia "I have observed the business that God gave man to be concerned with: He brings everything to pass precisely at its time; He also puts eternity in their mind, but without man ever guessing, from first to last, all the things that God brings to pass. Thus I realized that the only worthwhile thing there is for them is to enjoy themselves and do what is good in their lifetime; also, that whenever a man does eat and drink and get enjoyment out of all his wealth, it is a gift of God. I realized, too, that whatever God has brought to pass will recur evermore: Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it-and God has brought to pass that men revere Him" (Ecclesiastes 3:10-14, JPSA). Just as these selected Scriptures give more than adequate testimony to God, so do the Books of the Old Testament, in themselves, testify of Him. Genesis is the Book of Beginnings--an introduction to the story of Redemption. It speaks of God's dealings with sin, judgment, redemption, and new life. In Exodus, we see the central place of God's revelation to His people in the Redemption. This is shown not only through the Law, but also in the Sacrifice for our redemption. Leviticus spells out how God combats sin in the life of His children: through sacrifice and purification by means of His promises and warnings. This book presents the means of atonement, the means of purification through the Great Priest, Prophet, and Teacher. In Numbers is His revelation as One greater than Moses who takes care of His people. He is revealed as unchangeable in His covenants through His faithfulness; through His holiness; through His sovereign dominion; and in occurrences and laws. In Deuteronomy, He is the Lord of the Covenant who, through redemption, shows His loyalty as Lord, King, Judge, and Warrior asking only obedience, faithfulness, and worship. In Joshua, God fulfills promises while providing analogies for discipleship observed in the Sabbath Rest. In Judges, the Holy Spirit empowers the "deliverers" to rescue and preserve His people. This reveals God's eternal mercy towards the transgressions of His people. In book of Ruth illustrates the formal entrance of the Gentile. This leads to the demonstration of the role of the Kinsman Redeemer. In Samuel I and II, God is revealed as compassionate. He allowed His people to govern themselves under a theocratic monarchy. Kings I and Kings II express the hope of His people in throwing themselves back upon His grace. They did this despite destruction of material things and the persecutions they experienced. God will involve Himself in the political machinations of human government. The Shekinah and the covering of His mantle will prevail despite man's free will. The books of Chronicles I and II show God's concern with faithful worship and obedience. The Kingdom of God is open to those who will decide to enter. Ezra reveals God in the political realm. Nehemiah shows God's dealing with man's conscience so man can rebuild God's Temple willingly. Esther reveals the guardianship, or protection, of God in times of difficulty. His people will be raised up in victory. The book of Job reveals God as the Deliverer in time of need. Also demonstrated are the roles of God and Satan related to human suffering. The book of Psalms is a rich source of the revelation of God. It shows His majesty in creation, His omnipotence, His omniscience, His omnipresence, His ability to guide, judge, rule, and to vindicate. He is shown in His mercy, His faithfulness, His being just and righteous. He is the One Whom men and angels adore. He is also revealed as Lord and Defender of His people. This particular book is an excellent guide in how to communicate with God, and walking with the Good Shepherd. Proverbs is a manifestation of God's Wisdom and Love. This is a guidebook pointing toward the One in whom true love became incarnate. In Ecclesiastes, God reveals Himself as not only the One who walks with us in our daily lives, but also as One to whom we must give an account of that daily walk. In the Song of Solomon human love is revealed weaker than the love of God. In Isaiah God is revealed as the Holy One within the context of trust in Him in judgment and salvation within and without the People. He is presented as a living God bending down in mercy and restoration of comfort. Jeremiah presents a God who lives and works in a spiritual and moral one-to-one relationship with His people. In accepting obedience and faithfulness, God is the fountain of life to each one who accepts Him. In Lamentations, the covenant-keeping God, in His righteousness, is seen through the wrath of His judgment. This judgment allows people to see their guilt. Ezekiel presents God in His grace. This grace is shown through His working in the heart of His children, bring them to repentance. Daniel presents the revelation of the Messiah. God's omniscience shown in an eschatological glimpse of the end times. Hosea sees God as One who initiates the need for forgiveness and restores His people to full benefits in a covenant relationship. Joel is an entertaining look at God's judgment both temporal and eschatological with Him revealed as the Holy Spirit of power. Amos presents JEHOVAH-ELOHIM as the sustaining God whose righteousness is only bolstered by His moral attributes. In Obadiah, we see the revelation of God's desire to build His Kingdom. Jonah presents the revelation of the power God for His own purposes in His unbounding love for all men. Although God punishes, as seen in Micah, and other books, here God reveals that His saving grace cannot be earned and is to be manifested in the Messiah. Nahum shows God as the Controller of destinies and actions of all nations. Habakkuk shows there is life in God's mercy and grace. In Zephaniah God reveals Himself as One who tests and purges in order to raise up His people to be blessings to all men. Haggai reveals God as one who blesses commitment to Him richly. Zechariah reveals God's grace and mercy in the promise of total restoration in the Messiah. Malachi reveals God in His promise of the coming of the Day of the Lord and in judgment for the wicked, but the righteous will rise like the sun. Thus, God in the Old Testament is revealed to be a true, viable God who is seen in everything, in signs and in seasons, in life and in death. The testimony of the Old Testament is adequate to answer all necessary questions regarding the nature and work of God. Now to Him who "...has been made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith--to God, alone wise, be glory forever" (Romans 16:26b-27, NKJV). Messianic Studies Messianic Studies The Messianic Studies column explores the world of the Messianic Believer. Like the church at large, Messianic Judaism contains much diversity. It is made up of numerous views as to what it means to be a Messianic Jew, who we are, what we call ourselves and what we believe. This column will be used to explore this variety, giving the reader a broader perspective of Messianic Judaism than found elsewhere, exposing those of us who are Messianic Believers to the wide spectrum of practice found within the movement. Hopefully we will succeed in helping our Jewish brothers and sisters to understand why we follow Yeshua as our savior. We also hope that what is provided here will give our gentile readers both a better understanding of their Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as the Jewish roots of their own faith. This is the second in a 2-part series dealing the historic Jewish understanding of Messiah as G-d's light. Within the celebration of Chanukah was a clear understanding of the need for Messiah to suffer and for His role in the redemption of His people. As you read part two of this article keep in mind that the extra-biblical sources are neither inspired or correct in their understanding of the deity of Messiah. They are used to demonstrate the fact that historical Judaism understood the role of the Messiah, and that this understanding has been lost. CHANUKAH & THE MESSIAH (Part 2 of 2) From Burt Yellin Congregation Roeh Israel Denver, Colorado A further connection between "light" and the Messiah is found in the comments of our sages on Isaiah 61:10 which says, "As a bridegroom puts on a princely crown." Pesquita Rabbati commenting on this portion states, "This text teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, will put upon Ephraim, our true Messiah, a garment whose splendor will stream forth from worlds end to world end; and Israel will make use of the light of Messiah and say; 'Blessed is the hour in which He was born. Blessed is the womb from which He came. Blessed is the eye which merits seeing Him, the utterance of whose tongue is pardon and forgiveness for Israel.'" From these two portions we can see that Messiah is the Light, the Shechina Glory of G-d, come to man and that in that Light, was found grace, mercy and forgiveness. We can begin to see that those who listened to the words of Yeshua had no doubt as to what He was saying. All who heard understood His claim to be Messiah. Pesquita Rabbati further describes the Messiah and what He would do, "He is submissive, and yet He promises salvation, according to Zechariah 9:9. This speaks of Messiah, for when they laughed at Him while He sat in prison, He submitted for the sake of Israel, to the judgment imposed upon Him. Why is He spoken of as 'Yet He promises salvation'? Because after submitting to the judgment for their sake, He said; 'All of you deserve death, nevertheless, you will be saved, every one of you, by the mercy of the Holy One, blessed be He.'" From this we can determine that the idea of salvation is not alien to the Jewish mind. Zechariah speaks of the Messiah riding into Jerusalem upon an ass, the precise manner in which Yeshua chose to enter. Those who watched and waved the palms before him understood what he was doing for they had understood how the Messiah would arrive. The Midrash asks the question, "Why does Zechariah say the Messiah will come riding on an ass?" The answer, "the ass represents the wicked who have no merit of their own. But through the merit of the Messiah, the Holy One, blessed be He, shields them and guides them in the straight way, and He redeems them." He redeems - buys them back from the sin into which they were sold. The Midrash continues, "The L-rd speaks to Ephraim, the Messiah, the son of Joseph, before the congregation of Israel and says to Him, 'For I am become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My first born, and His enemies will I clothe with shame and upon Himself shall His crown shine.' This indicates that His crown will shine upon Himself, and upon those who are one with Him." They will stand in His righteousness, and be clothed by Him. Does this deny the plan of G-d's salvation as declared in the New Covenant or does it confirm that G-d has always revealed to His people His plan? Our sages ask: "When did G-d ordain this to be so? From before the creation of the world! For G-d spoke to the Messiah before He came to earth and said: 'The sins of the people will be upon Your head as a yoke of iron. Because of their sin, Your tongue will cleave to the roof of Your mouth. Do You accept this? If You do not, I will remove the decree from You.' Messiah replies: 'Master of the Worlds, I accept this with joy in My heart, and gladness in My soul, that not one of the house of Israel should perish, but all have everlasting life. It is enough that the servant be like the master.'" In speaking on Isaiah 59:16, our sages were also clear on who would need this redemption - everyone: "In the latter days, the fathers [Patriarchs] shall stand up in the month of Nissan, at Passover, and say, 'Ephraim our righteousness, though we are the Fathers, yet Thou art better than we, because Thou hast borne all the sins of our sons, and hard and evil measure has passed either upon those before, or those after.' Messiah tells them that He did this for their sakes, and the sakes of their children. To this they reply: 'Ephraim the Messiah, our righteousness, be Thou reconciled to us, because Thou has reconciled The Maker and us.'" The reconciliation that Messiah brings is universal in scope including even the patriarches. Further, Psalm 146 and Isaiah 35:6, in its interpretation showed one of the signs of Messiah was that He would be able to open the eyes of the blind. Another interpretation of that verse, which also deals with Messiah, states He would open the eyes of His people, who are blind to G-d's ways, that when He came they would be able to see the proper way to follow G-d, the proper understanding of the Torah. This He did in many ways and forms, but in John 10:22-30 He revealed His True nature, stating in verse 30, "I and the Father are One." The Greek word used here corresponds to the Hebrew word "ECHAD." Yeshua is revealing His equality with G-d. Today, there is great discussion over whether this is what He meant, but certainly the people to whom He was speaking knew what He meant for they took up stones to stone Him; not for any of His works, which all pointed to His Messiahship, but because He declared Himself to be G-d. Yeshua was revealing Himself in the SHEMA to them, He was revealing His divine nature, that He was the master workman who was beside G-d during the creation of the world, as stated in the Proverbs. It was he to whom G-d spoke when He said, "Let us make man in Our image." Again we draw upon the words of Pequita Rabbati to understand Yeshua's displeasure with those who would have no part of Him. Commenting further on Zechariah 9:9 "The Holy One, blessed be He, will say to all righteous men of generation after generation, 'O righteous men of the world, even though your obedience to words of Torah is pleasing to Me, yet you wait only upon my Torah... you do not wait for my kingship, and My Messiah... Now I bear witness for them... I Myself will rise up to witness for the Messiah, whose merit is equal to that of the entire household of heaven... since you know of all the attributes with which I have endowed the Messiah, could you not have waited for Me to send Him to you?' They reply, 'Father you have given us a heart of stone, and we have sinned.'" At this point the same questions enter everyone's mind, "If this is true, why did not our people over the centuries believe that Yeshua was the Messiah?" The fact is that many of our ravanim did believe in the first century. Scripture and historians tell us there were many Jewish people who did believe in Yeshua as the Messiah. Chanukah is a time of dedication, a time to turn our hearts to the G-d who is represented by the light, and there is no better time to consider the claims of the one who called Himself the Light of the world. For as He came first, as the Messiah Ben Joseph - to bring G-d's redemption - He is returning soon as a Messiah Ben David - to bring G-d's judgment and rule to the earth. Let me leave you to ponder the words of our sages (Sanhedrin 98a): "Rabbi Yoshua met Elijah standing at the entrance to the cave of Rabbi Simeon b. Yochai and said to him: 'When will the Messiah come?' Elijah responds: 'Go and ask Him yourself.' R. Yoshua: 'And where does He reside?' Elijah: 'He abides among the poor, the sick and the stricken.' R. Yoshua went and met Messiah and said: 'Peace be unto You, my rabbi and my L-rd.' Messiah replies: 'Peace be unto you, son of Levi.' R. Yoshua asks the Messiah: 'When will You come my L-rd?' Messiah: 'Today!' Upon returning to the cave, Elijah asks him: 'What did He say to you?' R. Yoshua: 'He said, "Peace be unto you, son of Levi."' Elijah explains to him that the Messiah has assured both him and his father of the World to Come. R. Yoshua perplexed said: 'But He deceived me, in that He said He would come today, and He has not come.' Elijah replies: 'By the word "Today", He meant, "If you but hear My Voice!"'" (Psalm 95:7) Anee M'Amin Anee M'Amin WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR SON, A NICE JEWISH BOY, COMES HOME AND SAYS HE BELIEVES IN JESUS? From THE CHOSEN PEOPLE magazine Dick Brown, a mortgage banker, had such high hopes for his son, Scott. How could Scott wreck his life with this crazy belief of his? An interview with Dick Brown and his son, Scott, pastor of Son of David Messianic Congregation, Silver Spring, MD. Dick: When Scott first told us he believed in Jesus, I thought, "You've been out in the wilderness too long." (Editor's note: Scott had spent seven years living in a cabin he built in northern Wisconsin.) He was young, and I figured it was just another one of his passing phases. Then, the more he talked, the more I put my guard up. To be perfectly honest, it was so foreign to hear that a Jew-especially my son-could believe in Jesus. I just couldn't accept it. Scott: My folks told me if I wanted to worship a Gentile God, it was OK, but not to expect them to join me. Dick: I was the next thing to an agnostic. I was raised partially by Orthodox aunts who made observing Judaism seem like paying penance. I ended up pushing it away. But when Scott started talking about God, I (falling back on my training) said that Jews don't believe in Jesus. I think I was just looking for something to say. I thought that if could ignore this phase, he would grow out of it. Scott: Finally I got the message. I sat down and told my dad, "Listen, you've seen me go in and out go fads. You've seen me do all sorts of things. Just watch my life. If this is real, you'll see me change." Looking back, that was a pretty risky thing to do. Dick: Over the months I could tell Scott was changing. Before, he had always sounded like he was looking for something. He had always had a searching look in his eyes. Now I could see the changes. He looked peaceful. He talked like he had a purpose. I was a mortgage banker, a successful salesman, and I knew when I was being sold; it was obvious Scott was sincere. I remember thinking how much I wished something like that would happen to me. Scott: I was a believer for about a year when I decided to go to Bible school in Alaska. While I was there, I learned about a Bible study near my folks, so I suggested they attend. Dick: Normally I'd have made an excuse to avoid going to a Bible study. I wasn't interested. But something compelled me to go. When I met the people there, something happened to me. It was inbred in me to look for the worst in people, to be cynical, to be suspicious of their motives. But I was just plain jealous of these people. They seemed to get so much out of something so simple. There was harmony inside them -blissful sounds corny- but it was something. And it was obvious they really loved me. They were strangers who were not strangers. Scott: Then my dad came up to visit us in Alaska. Dick: I kept looking for the gimmick in all this, telling myself that it couldn't be real, that he had to be into some scam. So I went up to see him for myself. I went looking for the worst. And I found the best. Scott: My dad was overwhelmed by the love of the people at Bible school. One night he came to see me, almost furtively, and said, "It's ironic - I own or have owned, almost everything I ever wanted. But I wish I had the peace you have." Dick: I started to see things about God, and my life was changing, too. When I got home from Alaska, we continued going to the Bible study. One time my wife asked me if I was doing all this for Scott. I thought about it and said, "No, it's for me." Scott: While I was at school. I got a letter from my dad that showed me what was really going on. He wrote, Did you know there were about 400 years between the Old and New Testaments? Did you know that the first mention of the Messiah was in Genesis 3 and that Daniel 9? Mom and I were fascinated by our first real exposure to Messianic Jews. Here were people who had Jewish names, sounded Jewish, looked Jewish, and yet believed that Jesus is the Messiah. Now, I understand what you were trying to tell me, Scott ... As for me, well I am ready to go further by attending future (Bible study) get-togethers. Dick: The sky never opened up for me, and God never wrote a message in the heavens. But I was a real type-A personality - inpatient, pushing, never listening. I saw I was changing, was listening more, was slowing down. Scott: There were still hard times ahead. For instance, when I knew I was going to quit my job and apply for full-time work with Chosen People Ministries, one of the first Jewish missions in America, founded in 1894 by a rabbi who came to believe Jesus was the Messiah. It had taken me years to come to this point, and I prayed, rehearsed, practiced and prayed some more before I told my parents. When I finally told them, my parents were very still, clinging to every word. My mother began to cry and left the room. Only later did I learn that this reaction was from her own sense of conviction and that the very event I feared might turn her off would be a catalyst for her coming to faith. Dick: I wondered how Scott would raise his family. I had always made a lot of money and thought my children would too. Scott had such a promising future. I couldn't believe he'd give it all up. Then I looked at my own life. I had plenty of everything money could buy, and it was obvious that it hadn't been enough. Scott: I remember most vividly a time years after I returned from Bible school. I'll never forget the day my dad called me. He was going in for triple bypass surgery. He told me he knew he was a sinner and was separated from God. He wanted to pray with me to be reconciled with God. There I was, praying over the phone at work, crying my eyes out as he accepted the Messiahship of Jesus and acknowledged Him as his Sinbearer. Dick: I called Scott to pray with him. There was something about having triple bypass surgery that made me start to ask, "I wonder exactly where I stand, right now and for all eternity?" I had never had time in my life to listen to my children. I was glad God had changed me enough so that I was listening to them now. Scott: The Lord has fulfilled the promise of Ezekiel 11:19 in our family: "And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh." My father, who was always generous, now has a tender heart. It's the greatest thing God has done. Dick: I can see the changes God has made, and I trust Him. It's a miracle. That's really all I can say about it. It's truly a miracle. The WORD for Today The WORD for Today In Hebrews 10:25 we read "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." The responsibility of all Christians is to encourage one another. This new series is intended to help provide some guidelines in the process of encouragement. It is recommended that the book, ENCOURAGEMENT, THE KEY TO CARING, by Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr. and Dan B. Allender, be read with the series. Each message can be read in conjunction to the related chapter in the book. The series can be used as the basis of a group study in your church. Please let us know if you find the material helpful or if you have any questions or suggestions. The article presented here is the first of fourteen messages given by Pastor Geoff Kragen. They were presented at Foothill Bible Church in Lincoln, California. ENCOURAGEMENT - "An Introduction" "Encouragement is the kind of expression that helps someone want to be a better Christian, even when life is rough." (1) This is the first article in a fourteen-article series. Its purpose is to help the reader become more effective in caring for other believers. This series can be considered the flip side of the series on the Dysfunctional Church Family completed in this column last month. There we saw how dysfunctional behaviors are brought into the church. Here we will consider what a functional church family looks like. First, let's take a moment and give one definition of the church: a living organism created by God for the care of believers. The Holy Spirit provides different people and skills within the church for the maturing of the Saints. As Paul noted "And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues" (1 Corinthians 12:28). Beyond these people and gifts, God provides the fellowship of believers within the local church. "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us ENCOURAGE one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25). In this series, we will discuss how each of us can contribute to the functionality of the church to encouraging of one another. Our concern deals with two areas. First, how we can lovingly reach out to each other within the church. And second, how, in doing so, the church family can reach out to a hurting world. We can think of this as a form of lifestyle evangelism. The Lord has given His body three specific commands. The first is "... go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28: 19-20). This is not a call to evangelism. It is a call to first, be used to bring individuals to a saving knowledge of Christ. And second, to help them mature in their new relationship. The second and third commands go together. "...'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:37-40). The basic proof of salvation in the life of the believer is obedience to Christ's commands. Additionally, they became the basis of our testimony to the non-believer. "A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35). Thus, the church is only functioning as the church when everything it does is typified by the work of discipleship carried out in mutual love. In the healthy church, the presence of the Holy Spirit is shown by the expression of God's love. This being the case, the local church frequently has to rethink its priorities. From an organizational perspective, decisions regarding which programs to take on, whether to add staff, etc., must be made based on how the decision fulfills Christ's commands. The issue for us as individuals relates to how our behavior towards others shows our obedience to these same commands. The promise of this message is that we are not called to love others out of our own strength. This would frequently be impossible. First, some people aren't lovable. Second, some of us don't have a disposition that makes it easy for us to love others. In fact, some don't know how to love because they never received it themselves. Fortunately, all we have to do is be willing to be obedient. The Lord provides us with the power we need to carry out His will for our lives. It is hard work, but it is worthy work. The purpose of this series is to help us learn how to care for one another. We might even call it Counseling 1A. I say this because Biblical counseling is nothing more than intensive discipling. The cover to the book ENCOURAGEMENT puts it this way. "ENCOURAGEMENT is written in response to a deeply felt burden. Many good, decent people sit in countless solid churches feeling very alone and uninvolved with the messages they hear. However, to impose some counseling program on a congregation filled with lonely, uninvolved people who pretend to be happy and lighthearted, is not going to work. God's people must see their times of coming together as rich relational opportunities--to share deeply, to deal with real problems, to enjoy felt intimacy." (2) The following will be our approach to this series. I will be following the outline provided by the chapter headings of the book ENCOURAGEMENT. This book, however, is to be considered supplemental reading. The articles will bring out issues of concern, and will not follow the text directly. Between both the articles and the text, I hope that we will cover a full range of issues that will help us love one another more effectively. The call to love one another is not an optional command. It is a command for each and every one of us. Considering this, why don't more people encourage one another? Why don't we want to get involved? I think there are primarily two reasons. The first is selfishness, and the second is ignorance, not knowing how to encourage. Assuming we desire to please the Lord, if we want to stay separate from others due to selfishness, then let us ask the Lord to change our attitude. If we don't know how to care for others, then I hope this study will help with that problem. Now, I can understand why we may not want to get involved with the lives of others. There are costs to loving one another. These costs can be identified in this way. - In a hectic world encouraging takes TIME. - In a painful world encouraging can bring PAIN. - In a hiding world encouraging requires TRANSPARENCY. And finally, there is the cost of OBEDIENCE, because true encouragement must be grounded in truth. We must walk with the Lord if we are to help others. But there is also joy in caring for others. - There is joy in PLEASING GOD. - There is joy in seeing non-believers receiving SALVATION. - There is joy in seeing believers GROW. Additionally, we find personal freedom in no longer being controlled by self-protection. We find freedom in allowing the Lord to work through us, caring for others, more than worrying about ourselves. We find the freedom to love unconditionally. For many of us, we can practice loving others, by more effectively loving our spouses and children. And the basis of Biblical love is that the love be unconditional, "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing" (1 Peter 3:8-9). Let me reiterate some comments made about unconditional love from our previous series. How does Scripture define love? "Love is patient,..." How do you respond when your spouse blows it for the upteenth time, with patience? "Love is kind. ... " When your child fails you, do you react out of anger, or do you deal with him out of kindness? "It does not envy, ... " When someone in the body gets a new house, one better than yours are you glad or jealous? "It does not boast, ... " Do I make sure everyone knows how I have helped someone out of love so they can say, "What a great guy!", or do I keep my mouth shut? "It is not proud. ... " Or even if I keep my mouth shut, I know deep inside just how wonderful I am to put up with you. "(Love) is not rude,... "Do we interrupt with advice, showing how much we know, or do we listen? "It is not self-seeking, ... " Are we happy when someone else sits at the head of the table, or is our reaction one of feeling rejected because it isn't us? "It is not easily angered, ... " Are we more concerned with the other guy or our bent feelings? "It keeps no record of wrongs ..." Do we say, "I forgive, but I'll never forget!" "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ... " If we love we do react to the failures of our brothers and sisters. But we do so out of concern for them and a Biblical desire for restoration. And when truth prevails, we rejoice, not because we can say "I told you so," but because the Prodigal Son has returned. "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). If we love one another, then we will desire the best for each other. We will care for each other. We will trust one another, even when disappointed. And we will never give up on one another, no matter how great the failure or how long the time. The Lord never gives up on us, therefore we can never say, "enough already!" If we show these qualities, then we are loving unconditionally. The church isn't to be the home of super saints, but a hospital for hurting people. And here we are both the patients and the physician. We are all under the direction of the Great Physician. If you would like to take some steps to make this study practical for you, consider doing the following. First, be in prayer that you will desire to be obedient to the Lord. Be willing to make the changes necessary to carry out His commands. Second, pray that the Lord will show you where you need to grow in willingness to love. And then, ask that He will provide someone to reach out to. This individual needing encouragement doesn't have to be someone you know well, or even personally. Pray for them and pray for an opportunity to encourage them. As you read about the different elements of encouragement, consider how they might be applied to this individual. Believers must be willing to commit, not only growing in their understanding of the issues, but also in applying what to they have learned. This will be risky because it means giving up some preconceived notions about priorities, and maybe give up the right to protect our feelings. As we consider how to encourage just remember these two truths from ENCOURAGEMENT: 1. People are hurting more deeply that we know (and more than they themselves sometimes know, like the person who is not yet aware that cancer has formed in his body); 2. Relationship with Christ provides resources unique and indispensable to substantially heal now and perfectly heal forever. (3) 1. Crabb, Jr., Lawrence, J. and Allender, Dan B., ENCOURAGEMENT-THE KEY TO CARING, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984, p. 10. 2. Ibid., book jacket. 3. Ibid., p. 15. Prayer Guidelines Prayer and Others by Michael Wilkinson PRAYER AND OTHERS Article 11 of the "Prayer and ..." Series by Michael Wilkinson "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, 'Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust'" (Matthew 5:43- 45). In the above verses, Jesus tells us that we ought to pray for our enemies, even those who mistreat us. This is not abnormal. It is better than normal. The normal thing to do is to return hate for hate, get even, and essentially become just like those who mistreat us. Praying for other people is an important ministry. Praying for another person is an act of Christian love. I began this article writing about praying for enemies because God's love is more apparent in that practice. We are called to love as Christ loves, both enemies and friends. We should follow the example of the apostle Paul. In many of his letters to the churches (Rome, Ephesus, Colosse, Philippi) he mentions that he constantly prays for the people in those churches. Paul is known as a great writer, evangelist, church leader and traveler. But it seems his prayer life may have actually been greater than all the other things he did. Jesus never expressly told us to pray for our friends as he told us to pray for our enemies. This is probably because we Christians should naturally pray for our friends and fellow believers. Yet, if it is wrong to neglect praying for our enemies, we should also not neglect to pray for anyone we know. --------------------- A Prayer for a Friend --------------------- Sometimes it is difficult to know how to pray for someone else. I wrote the following prayer using portions of prayers found in the Scriptures. I changed some of the words in order to fit them all into one prayer. Heavenly Father, Please grant my friend strength, through your Spirit, in his inner being. May Christ dwell in his heart through faith, and may he be rooted and grounded in your divine love. Please help him to comprehend the love of Christ which passes knowledge, and may he be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:16-19). May this love increase in knowledge and discernment so that he may approve the things that are excellent, and be sincere and without offense until the Day of Christ (Philippians 1:9-10). Sanctify him completely, and may his spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Please make him complete in every good work to do your will, and work in him what is pleasing in your sight (Hebrews 13:21). Please may he be counted worthy of your calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of your goodness and the work of faith with power (2 Thessalonians 1:11). Please answer his prayers in the Day of Trouble, defending him and sending help and strength (Psalms 20:1-2). Please multiply the seed he has sown, and increase the fruits of his righteousness (2 Corinthians 9:10). And may the Lord of Peace give him peace always in every way (2 Thessalonians 3:16). In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen. SCUD Warnings SCUD Warnings by Jerry Johnson S piritual C ounterfeits U ndermining D octrine W A R N I N G S --------------- By Jerry Johnson THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JUDAS This parchment was recently (not) found in a sealed clay jar in an ancient burial excavation site near Jerusalem. The jar was found near the skeleton of a middle-aged male whose skull had been fractured, possibly in a fall. The translators have used modern idiomatic phraseology to try to more fully convey the impact of the document: To Whoever gives a rip: Boy, did I blow it! I really thought I had this thing nailed down and then he chokes when it comes down to it! I had been with him for nearly three years. I had seen him heal sick people ... and I mean really sick people, like lepers and blind people. No faking there ... that stuff was legitimate. Not only that, but I was part of it when he fed thousands of people with just a couple of fish and a little bread. Not only that, but he did it twice! The twelve of us had talked a lot about him and we were all convinced that this was the guy we'd been waiting for: the deliverer. We'd been under Roman rule for what seemed like ages and the time seemed ripe for it to come to an end and restore Israel to the status that the people of God deserve. Now, granted, the rest of them seem to kind of lose their focus about that over time, but I didn't. I mean, he had it all! He could heal, he could feed people with almost no food, one time he even got Peter some money out of a fish! But the thing that got me was that he had guts. He took on the religious powers-that-be and won ... every time. And, although I know it's hard to believe, I saw him walk on the water and even tell a storm to stop, and it DID! I KNEW all he needed was a little push and he'd take over as king and get rid of those crummy Romans. So I figured I could arrange a bit of a squeeze play and he'd HAVE to kick butt. I knew the religious leaders were just waiting to get him and I knew those jerks would pull in the Romans to do the dirty work (the cowards!). Not only that, but I really thought he had a sense about what I was going to do. You see, just a couple of hours ago the thirteen of us were celebrating Passover when he said that someone was going to betray him. Everyone acted shocked, and I know that what I had planned may LOOK like betrayal, but then he said he'd give the matzoh soaked in wine to that person. That's when I knew it! Only the guests of honor get the sop. So he must have known what I was up to and kind of giving me the go-ahead, in code, so no one else would know (those guys were pretty thick-headed anyway). And then he told me to go and start it quickly. Man, I was jazzed! I went and told those fat hypocrites where he and the other guys would be and we went over to the garden. That's when it all fell apart! I mean it started out OK. The Roman scum asked which one was Jesus and I kissed him. (It seemed right after he'd given me the sop.) Then Peter caught on right away. He hauled out a sword and started swinging, but he always did tend to be more blow than go; he didn't go after any soldiers, just cut the ear off a clerk, the dummy! But Jesus didn't do anything! He just put the ear back on the clerk and went with them. For a while I thought he might just be going along so he could get inside the Roman court and then take over. But then they started to beat him and the word was out on the street: the people preferred to have that terrorist, Barrabas, and he just went along with it. Then they nailed him to that *&^$&^) Roman cross and the prophets had said that anyone who hung on a tree is cursed of God. He just died. No taking over. No kicking butt. No fire from heaven. He just died. And it's my fault. And I can't live knowing that. I screamed at those religious jerks, "he's innocent!" and I threw their blood money at them, but they just laughed. HE JUST WASN'T WHO I THOUGHT HE WAS. I've killed an innocent man, and a friend. I'm going to the edge of town to kill myself. With my luck, I won't even do that right. Judas, Iscariot People love villains. Or, more accurately, we love to hate them. Nothing like a Hitler, Judas or Saddam Hussein to get the old blood boiling! And the more wicked they are, the easier it is to loathe them. After all, strong emotions taste much better in black and white. We find it abhorrent to think that we could ever be comfortable in the presence of such people. Just getting near them, even if we didn't know who they were, would make our skin crawl ... or so we hope; if for no other reason than just because they are SO different from us. I believe that Hitler and Hussein and various psychotic killers are really quite different from common man. Not in the fact that they are sinners, we all share that disease, but in the extent to which they impose their sin on others. But, in my opinion, Judas was just like us. "Now you've gone too far! Are you accusing me of being like Judas?!" No. I'm accusing Judas of being like us. The first part of this chapter is a theory about what motivated Judas to do what he did. It explains why the disciples didn't catch on when Jesus clearly indicated that Judas would be the betrayer, and it explains why Judas got so upset when his planned betrayal actually came to pass. In Judas' time it was a commonly held belief, and hope, that the Messiah would be a political deliverer. It is pretty clear that the rest of the disciples had some of this thinking as well and then slowly, some very slowly, began to understand that Jesus might be different than they expected. They didn't realize that there would indeed be one Messiah, coming twice; once to die, once to reign. Judas didn't realize it at all. And then he killed himself two days before the resurrection would clarify for all time just who Jesus was, and is. "It still doesn't explain how Judas is like us." It was the statement, "He just wasn't who I thought He was" that is like us. It doesn't matter if someone is Buddhist, atheist, New Age, Mormon or into some of the deceptions outlined in this book. If someone is not in right relationship with the Biblically revealed Christ, it is because they have a mistaken concept of who Christ is. Some have no desire whatsoever to know about Christ. Others like certain aspects about Him, but want to produce a Reader's Digest version, edited to their liking. Still others like part of what He taught, but choose to ignore certain aspects or motivations that He wanted. Even the most ardent and dedicated believers often have some aspect about God's character that they are less comfortable with than others or areas that they would like to emphasize more than any other. We finite, limited, temporal beings have, for some reason, a hard time fully comprehending an infinite, unlimited, eternal being like God. Because of the gaps in our understanding we can choose to ignore what we don't know or study the Bible to try to fill the gaps or make up theories that may or may not have anything to do with the Biblically revealed God or, in appreciation of God creating us in Him image, reciprocate the favor and create Him in ours. Matthew 24:23 indicates that in the last days there will be people saying "Look, here is the Christ" or "There he is." Scripture also indicates that there will be many false Christs ... but not all of them will be flesh and blood. I believe many of these false Christs will be fundamental redefinitions of who Jesus is and what He teaches. I recently saw a picture of Abraham Lincoln and a journal written by a close friend of his. Did you know that he was a short, fat man with no hair at all and a total inability to write or speak? "No way! From history we know what Lincoln looked like and what his abilities were. Either you are lying, or the picture and article were fakes." The same is true when people claim to be serving a Jesus whose "teachings" contradict the scripture. Someone is lying or mistaken, without having a heart to seek the whole of the Word for the truth. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 says that in the last days people will not put up with sound doctrine but will gather about them teachers who will teach them what their itching ears want to hear. As this book indicates, I think we're getting an increasing amount of ear itching going on in the church as a whole. When the Bereans heard the teachings of Paul they searched the scriptures to find conformation for what he taught. They didn't hold a vote to see what the majority of them thought, nor did they have a talk show to see if Paul's teachings "felt" right. They went to the owner's manual to see if this new model was a legitimate version of the original. "OK, so maybe we do tend to pick and choose a little about what we focus on in God ... but we didn't betray Jesus, so Judas and I aren't really at all alike!" That's the amazing thing about when we accept and hold to a deception, even a "minor" one. If we hold an opinion about Jesus, or the Father, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, etc., and that opinion is in contradiction to the whole of the Scripture, we have betrayed (ignored, discounted, denied) the Biblically revealed Jesus. "Oh great. Last time you blasted guilt and now you're trying to induce it! Will you please stay on the same track!" It is becoming increasingly popular to say that we are not sinners saved by grace, but saints. The sinner-saved-by stuff is just a downer and gets us thinking about our inadequacies. That's true, if we're just thinking about ourselves. But if God is the focus then it is His omnipotence and love, not our inadequacies that takes center stage. Again, any deception is dangerous to a believer if it ends up compromising the preeminence of Christ. And that includes when we make a choice regarding a doctrinal truth in terms of how it affects us, or makes us feel about ourselves, or affects our comfort level. I believe our thinking is just enough like Judas' that it would be appropriate for us to take a good long look at Jesus ... and make sure we are seeing Him with Bible colored glasses. Next time: The Saga of Harry K. Bible Quiz Bible Quiz BIBLE QUIZ NAME THAT DAD! Fill in the blank with the name of the correct father. 1. ___ lamented over a wayward son who tried to steal the kingdom (2nd Samuel 18:33). 2. ___ was Saul's father (1st Samuel 9:3) 3. ___ was the father of an apostle named James (Matthew 10:3). 4. ___ was the father of Methuselah (Genesis 5:22). 5. ___ was the father of Samuel (1st Samuel 1:1-2). 6. ___ lost all his children in a wind storm (Job 1:19). 7. ___ acted as a father to his cousin who became queen (Esther 2:11). 8. ___ was the father of twins (Genesis 5:20,24). 9. ___ sacrificed his daughter (Judges 11:34-40) 10. ___ was a priest whose two sons went bad (1st Samuel 2:12,17) Christian Life Department People Profile People Profile Morning Star Senior Editor, Teresa Giordanengo, conducted this interview with professional baseball player, Kevin Bass. Kevin is a free agent at this time, but formerly a star outfielder with the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. Morning Star: Kevin, how did you become interested in baseball? Kevin Bass: My father started me in baseball. He coached me and my older brother and others in the community. This was a family recreation and a fun thing to do. I played in the Little League baseball teams and on other teams all through high school. When I graduated from high school, I signed my first professional contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. I played five years in the minor league and made it up to the big league in 1982. I was 23 years of age at that time. MS: Did it take a lot of discipline to qualify for the big leagues at such a young age? Bass: First, I want to thank God for helping me in every way in my life. I was disciplined in that I worked out daily and I enjoyed it. If we work at anything hard enough and put enough hours into it, we will eventually be good at it. I was always very happy playing baseball and it was my dream to keep physically fit. MS: When did you become a born-again Christian? Bass: My parents took me to Church and Sunday School as a youngster. But when I became a teen-ager, they gave me a choice. I had to make my own decision about attending church. I never went to Sunday School any more, but I did attend church. It was not a big deal at that time. But two weeks after I signed with the Milwaukee Brewers minor league, I slid into second base and got a bad strawberry on my hip. I ended up in the hospital with blood poisoning. A teammate came to visit me and brought me a Bible and Tracts. He told me to be sure and read the book of John. I did as he said and I read the Tracts also. This is when I said the sinner's prayer and accepted the Lord as my Savior. I began having love for the church when I got saved. I couldn't wait to tell others about my decision and witness to them about Jesus. I lived the life and hungered after the Lord. I did what the Word said. I read the Bible every day. It was not a magical formula ... I just wanted to learn about the person who saved me; I wanted to know about Him and know His ways. My prayer to the Lord was always that I wanted to make it to the Major Leagues. I knew that God would answer my prayer. At the time I gave my heart to Him, I knew He would help me. I always knew that I could not do all these things alone ... I needed His help. So I left it up to Him. I threw all my cares on Him and trusted Him. MS: Did you always have the confidence and sense of security that you have now? Bass: I lacked confidence in my early years, but the Lord worked with me to have the confidence I needed to succeed in life. I realized that I needed self-confidence in my career as well as in accepting responsibilities as a husband someday. MS: How did you meet your wife? Bass: I remember praying to the Lord for a wife. Even though I went to a disco now and then, I never cared for the smoke filled rooms that burned my eyes and the loud music. I was bored with the dancing and parties. This type of life left only a feeling of emptiness. Even though there was nothing else to do, I quit going to the disco. I didn't feel like I was missing a thing. I felt that as a Christian I needed to set an example. I knew I would never find a girl there that the Lord had in mind for me; that I would spend the remainder of my life with. I started praying more fervently for a wife. God provided one for me after 5 years. I wanted the right one and I knew I could not do it alone. I was 24 and she was 21. We now have 3 children and our marriage is based on the Lord. We do everything together. God is the center of our marriage and life. I have never been sorry ... it was worth waiting that long. God does care about our life and our marriage. I asked the Lord to bring me a certain type of girl. I hadn't even realized that I wanted a certain type. But the Lord placed desires in my heart, and I just prayed and waited. I met her at a Bible study. She was a youth counselor at 18 and I was 20. We wrote for a while because I was away playing baseball. We met in 1980 and we married 3 years later. At first she was not interested in me, but in time and maturity for the both of us, the Lord just brought us together. I can look back at my life and be thankful that I came to the Lord at an early age. I didn't experience some things in life that others did ... so sometime it takes time for God to get rid of the "junk" in our life so that we can be mature enough to accept the responsibilities that a marriage requires. I had a lack of confidence in my life which could have destroyed a marriage in many ways but as I matured and the Lord molded me the way I should be, it all worked out. MS: What would you say to the young people today? Bass: I have been a Christian for sixteen years and everything has changed. Evil abounds in the world more so than ever today. What was good for me is still good for others today. It is not enough to just be saved ... but we have to make Jesus the Lord of our life. It's the relationship with the God who made us that is important. He knows us ... he manufactured us. The manufacturer knows the ingredients and everything about his product. It's the same with the Lord. He knows us through and through ... and He knows what is best for us. If we listen and obey we will be so glad we did. He will make it possible for all things to work out in our life according to His will for us. I have learned that the Christian life is a battle. It's a spiritual warfare ... the world doesn't have that. It's a constant battle ... a competition. I am well informed on what it means to compete. We never give up ... and the enemy never gives in. I get weary but the Lord comes in and refreshes me. The Christian life is exciting and not easy ... but very challenging. MS: As a "free agent" what are your plans for the future? Bass: In baseball, a free agent simply means that I have more than 6 years in the major league service. Therefore I am eligible, as a free agent, to sign with any team in the 28 teams. This can often times mean more money. It can also mean that I will be changing teams, waiting to see if any team is interested in me. I don't have anything specific at this time. I want to complete my years in baseball. After that, I know the Lord will lead me as to what He wants me to do next. MS: How did your father relate to you in your life? Bass: My dad influenced me a lot. I had one of the traditional fathers, for which I am thankful. Today the fathers are not what they were a few years ago. I really found out how important his role was in our home. I am able to be a good father to my children because I watched how my father was in our home. He worked his job and came home every night to us ... his wife and family. He coached little baseball leagues in our community and was my role model. He was the person I could look up to and know what I should do as a father. Many times as situations arise in my life today, I will stop and think about what my father would do in the same situation. Many times the same circumstances that came up in his life come up in mine. Because of the way I esteemed my father and the way I looked up to my father, I am able to function and operate rationally. My dad never jumped up and got angry and left my mom. He never beat her up and we never had to worry about the horror stories you hear about today. My dad took on responsibility ... and that is one of the first things he taught us. He was a gentleman. He made a commitment in life and he never reneged. That is what manhood is all about ... taking on responsibility and if we make a mistake we will take it by the horns and work through it. Running from it does not solve the problem. That is the easy way out. MS: What would you say to all the Christian men who read this magazine? Bass: Christ is all in this life. If we walk in obedience, God will turn this country around and bless this land once again. This whole nation has strayed away from God. The whole issue is money and economics. If we have a moral decay in this country our pocketbooks are going to suffer because we are living out of the realms of where God wants us to live. We want more money and jobs. If we will start to live the way God expects us to, we will see a big change in our country. MS: You are a young person. What do you think about the manner in which the older generation is being treated these days? Bass: Everything in this world today is out of line as far as the word of God is concerned. I believe that society feels that older people are more of a problem than anything else today. Many feel that older people are a big joke. But older people should be esteemed. Everything is about the young on television. TV dictates how one should act and be. There is no place for older people in our society. A lot of attention and notoriety goes to the young. The older people are the ones who are in the know ... they are the ones who have been there and have walked the road. They are the ones who fought the wars. They are the ones who built this nation and deserve the utmost respect. We should honor our fathers and our mothers. I believe that the people are feeling a lot of repercussion in this country due to sin and deliberately going against the word of God. Many times we blame our problems on one thing or another, but the real problem is the fact that we have turned away from God. MS: What would you say to all the Christian men today? Bass: I would say, keep Christ their focus. As fathers and men we are going to be held accountable to God for the families we have. We are going to be held accountable for all the talents and everything He has given us. As Christian men we need to be a light to the world. Those who are walking the fence and who have extra-marital affairs, should not be doing that. Especially in this particular time and age, we can't afford to be doing that ... because Jesus is coming soon! He is coming back for His church ... for a holy people. He is coming back for a people who have been set apart. That's what being holy is ... not as goody-two-shoes ... but set apart for God. A Christian man is to get serious and stay serious. We should be walking not in the ways of this world, but in a way that is above reproach in this world. MS: What would you say to the men as the head of the home? Bass: I believe that if men would be men, then women would be women. That is the natural order set by God. God made Adam, and then He made Eve from Adam's rib. The men are to lead the family in the ways of the Lord. He should set an example. When he takes the rightful headship in his home and prays over his wife and children, things happen. God honors this in a home ... we need to line up with what God says about men as the head of the home. If a Christian man finds it hard to pray, then something is wrong. All workers have roles to play on the job. Women have roles and men have roles. The roles of women today have been played down so much. For instance, it is so insulting to be a homemaker. The reason women work now is because they HAVE to work. In my heart, I believe that the majority of women in our society would rather not work. They would rather not go out and have to make ends meet. They would rather be at home raising the children rather than allowing someone else to raise them. But of course that is another story. Consider the women in the home, who wear many hats! Many times she is the wife, lover, mother, financier, cook, maid, chauffeur, nurse, and counsellor. She is shaping the next generation. How dare anyone consider a housewife a profession of less worth! MS: What would be your final thought to our readers? Bass: This is for the skeptic, the believer, and for the whole world. God is not a myth; God is not a fairy-tale; God is REAL! HE IS REAL! The Bible is REAL. It doesn't matter how many times men and women use the excuse that the Bible has been translated and changed, God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Unless we read His word and experience it for ourselves, we will never know. What the Lord says in his last will and testament, the Bible, will come to pass. God wishes for no one to perish. For everyone who reads this, God is there FOR YOU. He wishes for no one to perish. Just call out to Him. He is waiting for YOU! Ministry Profile Ministry Profile TRACKS IN THE SAND Uncovering Christian Men's Issues By Gary S. Kalus TRACKS IN THE SAND came out of a Christian men's group that had been meeting for about four and a half years. It was only after being together experiencing trust, acceptance, and even betrayal that we were able to start being ruthlessly honest in facing the fears, telling the stories, and naming names. For many of us, this began the healing process. A common thread in the group was the isolation. Many of us had garments of shame to protect us from the betrayal, abandonment, and rejection of our youth. It would have been easy to hide in the competitiveness of our scholastic abilities if we had decided to have another "Bible Study." However, some men had gotten into recovery programs. This was helpful to bring focus to the group. Others ventured off to some of Robert Bly's weekend retreats and seminars or spent some time at a Gordon Dalbey retreat. Books like Iron John, Fire in the Belly, The Wounded Male, Healing the Masculine Soul, and Just Between Father & Son, were being read as well as recovery books. The group started as a closed group of eight men. You had to be invited to come. This was one of the elements that made it safe for us to begin to address our wounds. It was about three years into the group that we began our own retreats. A member of the group knew of a monastery in the California desert. Like most of the men in the group, my own experience with priests had not been the best. We decided to face our fears and go. What an experience! Since that first retreat we have been back at least ten times. This year we hope to have five or more retreats. In the group, at retreats, and at gatherings, acceptance of other men for where they are is the first priority. Learning to accept someone does not mean that I am where they are or that I have to give up anything about myself to accept them. We encourage honesty regarding religiosity, religious addictions, sexual addictions, drug & alcohol problems, and relationship problems. It is in this way we can begin to look at the things that bind us. When other men see me get as honest as I can, wrestle with God, and then see me limp, they may see a glimpse of the reality of God in my life. It was about two years ago that we started talking about how we could get the information out to other men. The name Tracks in the Sand comes from the idea of someone who is walking in the sand with a wound and is easy to follow because of the limp. Those who don't walk in their woundedness are hard to follow. It is denial that lifts up; Caught in a prideful state of strength, they do not touch the sand, they leave no tracks to follow. Tracks is for ANY man who is struggling with his masculinity and identity. We also have many women that read Tracks. Through donations (that are not tax deductible) Tracks is available FREE to those who want to receive it. It is our belief that Tracks is one of the tools that is being used to begin to turn the heart of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. With this happening in the lives of men, it is our hope that the curse will begin to be removed from this land. We hope to publish a calendar, listing events for men, on a national level. There is a network of men throughout the nation that are starting and running men's groups. We are developing a listing of them. Tracks supports and sponsors retreats, gatherings, consortiums, ropes courses and speakers. We hope to be a source of books, tapes, and videos. It is our hope through the community of men, being developed, we will see the rites of passage take place. That is, to be called out from a boy to a man. It is here, men can learn and actually receive what it means to be in a relationship called, husband - father - grandfather - elder - mentor. In this community, men can touch and receive the calling that is for all men - "TO BE A SOURCE OF LIFE." Tracks is published when the finances and material are available. I would like to see it go to a quarterly publication and then monthly. To date there are three issues out. Some of the topics covered are: Manhood in Crisis, Sexual Addiction in the Clergy, The Absolutes of Homosexuality, Freedom from Sexual Addiction, My Father's Blessing, and An Interview with Gordon Dalbey. Tracks uses a format of actual stories that men have lived. At times pen-names are used to protect the identity of the author. Poetry has been a phenomenal way of expressing where men are at. There is no paid advertising. Tracks is uploaded on computer bulletin boards as TRACKV03.TXT, the number is the issue number. We are on America on Line (GSK502) and CompuServe (71461,166). Feel free to upload and pass the issue around. We appreciate letters to the Editor, comments and articles. You can be added to our mailing list by contacting us on CompuServe or America On Line. Anyone can receive Tracks by contacting us and asking to be placed on the mailing list. (Editor's Note: See Feature articles from "Tracks" in this issue of Morning Star.) Tracks in The Sand P.O. Box 1828 Tustin, CA 92680 (714)751-1012 Education Education TURNING POINT TALKS YOUR C