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The Ozark Letter – February 2009
By MMCG.ORG | February 1, 2009
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FEBRUARY GREETINGS: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his
love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34 NIV
A Publication of the Mid-Missouri Church of God
February, 2009
Volume XIII, Issue 2
The Ozark Newsletter
Lake of the Ozarks
It’s not hard to accept that even something God says once in scripture is meaningful. But what does it mean when
He tells us the same thing over and over? The words of this verse appear dozens of times.
Think God’s trying to get something critical through to us?
Though God tells us repeatedly that He is good and His love never ends, it’s strange, isn’t it, that every time a war
starts, we start questioning that first assertion. Is God really good if bad things happen? Has His love changed?
If life isn’t going our way, we easily ignore the culpability of humans and throw the blame right on God.
Maybe God repeated this scripture so often because He knows how badly we need it. Satan has such an easy time
tricking us that we need to keep reality directly in front of us. So over and over, God reminds us of His true na-
ture.
This is a good verse to memorize, because when Satan starts attacking, we can ask ourselves, Why should we give
thanks to the Lord? And we’ll have the answer, For He is good and His love endures forever. (taken from The
Power of Thanksgiving, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. used by permission)
We had a wonderful Super Sabbath on January 10th with about 80-85 people in attendance. The messages were
great, the food was good, the fellowship was outstanding, and our Great, Wonderful, Outstanding God reigned in
all things. Our special speaker, Tim Scull, touched us all with his message from God about God’s Great Love.
The afternoon continued with music, testimonies, readings, etc. which were also filled with God’s spirit. We ap-
preciate all of you who attended and we missed all of you who couldn’t. We hope our next Super Sabbath will be
even bigger and better!
FEBRUARY GREETINGS: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his
love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34 NIV
A Publication of the Mid-Missouri Church of God
February, 2009
Volume XIII, Issue 2
The Ozark Newsletter
Lake of the Ozarks
2009 HOLY DAY CALENDAR
• April 8—Passover (Lord’s Supper observed the evening before, April 7/Tuesday, after
sundown)
• April 8—Night to Be Much Remembered (Wednesday)
• April 9-15—Days of Unleavened Bread (Thursday-Wednesday)
• May 31—Pentecost (Sunday)
• Sept. 19—Feast of Trumpets (Saturday)
• Sept. 28—Day of Atonement (Monday)
• Oct. 3-9—Feast of Tabernacles (Saturday-Friday)
• Oct. 10—Eighth Day Festival (Saturday) Page 2 The Ozark Newslet ter Volume XI I I , I ssue 2
Is Something Wrong?
by Roger Day
Has anything ever gone wrong for you? Is something wrong now? Something that we say has gone wrong is usually a
blessing in disguise, but it is hindsight that reveals that, and not always right away. A few months or years must sometimes
pass before we see the blessing in an adversity.
Even the things we consider annoying inconveniences may be important blessings. If I get stuck driving behind some slow
poke that delays my progress down the road and then the police and ambulance speed around me on the way to an accident,
I can speculate that perhaps I was delayed so as to avoid that accident. But how would I know for sure? In any case, I
should not be annoyed, but thankful to God. And I should certainly also pray for the folks in the accident.
Twice I have changed a flat tire in my garage. In one case, the tire went down overnight and I discovered it when it was
time to take my son to high school the next morning. Another time my wife pulled into the garage in the middle of a snow
storm and we heard a hissing sound. It is far more pleasant to change a tire in the garage than to change it along the high-
way. And it is better to have a flat tire standing still than at high speed. So were these flat tires in the garage something that
went wrong, or were they blessings? I haven’t always gotten off easy with flat tires, if that makes you feel any better. Driv-
ing alone on a long trip years ago, I managed to have two flat tires in the middle of the night. It was a long night because I
had no second spare tire, there were no businesses open, and cell phones had not yet been invented.
When has intervention taken place in our lives? I suspect we are ministered to in many small ways and in some big ways,
yet in such a subtle manner that we often don’t even know it. And I believe we often receive what we have not asked for,
since God already knows what we need and loves us enough to simply provide it (Matt. 6:8). Other times, we are pretty
sure that we had special help. On occasion, we know our prayers were answered directly. In any case, we should thank
God for caring for us (Psa. 100). We should also let God know we appreciate the work that the faithful angels do in carry-
ing out their instructions to minister to us (Heb. 1:14). Maybe angels have some prime directive to follow for their work
like, “Stay invisible and keep the humans guessing, unless instructed otherwise.”
Of course we don’t always get off as easy as a simple flat tire. In 1998, driving home after dark, my wife and I noticed
flashing lights and a two vehicle accident on the other side of the divided highway. A helicopter was lifting off, taking a
victim to the hospital. I said a short one line prayer, asking God to help whoever was in that helicopter. I found out a cou-
ple hours later that it was one of my own sons that I had prayed for. It was a difficult time for me. I am so thankful that he
didn’t die that night, but instead finally recovered from his injuries. When trying things happen, we know that it is foolish to
think of facing life without God’s help (Psa. 23, Psa. 46).
We or our loved ones may endure a health crisis from time to time. We lose jobs. We get yelled at or threatened. We face
some of our own internal character flaws, not too mention the flaws of others. Life goes on. Babies are born. There are
weddings, but also funerals to attend. We suffer loss, or we are anxious for our friends and family in their adversities. And
it seems that we are allotted only a few days of respite from some type of trying circumstance (Job 14:1). Yet we are not
tried more than we can stand, presuming we have a meaningful relationship with God (I Cor. 10:13).
No doubt we should count most every thing that seems to go wrong as a blessing, because that is how many of them appear
when one looks back (Rom. 8:28). Getting through a trial makes one stronger and wiser. Oh sure – sometimes we don’t feel
like building any more character and would just like a break. But the narrow path is a bit rocky, and that serves a purpose.
God can see just how determined we are to get down that path (Matt. 7:14). We fall sometimes and get back up. Hopefully,
we’ll all finish our journey down that path to the Kingdom of God, even if it is with bloody knees, scraped arms and legs,
and gravel imbedded in our hands. And in the end, what seemed to go wrong won’t matter when that big something – salva-
tion – goes very right (Rom. 8:18-19). Then we’ll go about ministering to others. And we will not have any trouble empa-
thizing with them, will we? Now are you sure something is wrong?
************************************************************ The following article is taken from the American Decency Association, January, 2009
Is Decency outmoded in 2009?
Submit to pressure from peers and you move down to their level
By Bill Johnston
With the onslaught of pornography, obscenity and indecency engulfing our every day worlds, it is easy to think that decency
is outmoded. On occasion I have had people say upon hearing the name of our organization “American Decency Associa-
tion.” Are you kidding?
Satan and his minions would have you and I believe that decency is old fashioned, corny, prudish.
Decency is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as conformity to standards of taste, propriety, or quality. The Free
Dictionary Online defines decency as “conformity to prevailing standards of propriety or modesty.”
I submit that the final authority is God and God’s Word! It is to His standard that we need to continually look. Christ is the
standard bearer. God’s Word is the standard for all of life. God desires that His people honor, obey, love, walk in His
Word and proclaim His Word to those around them. In doing so the body of Christ is being the salt and light of the world
and is setting the pace in establishing and/or reestablishing standards of propriety or modesty. As the body of Christ falters
or fails at being salt and light, the standard of propriety or modesty declines and/or is swept away.
Christ tells us in Matthew 5:13-15: “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be
salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the
world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candle-
stick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”
When I was a teacher, for years I placed on my bulletin board a poster and would make effort to install it in the children that
I taught. The words of the poster say this:
Will the Real You Please Stand up?
Submit to pressure from peers and you move down to their level. Speak up for your own beliefs and you invite them up to
your level. If you move with the crowd, you’ll get no further than the crowd. When 40 million people believe in a dumb
idea, it’s still a dumb idea. Simply swimming with the tide leaves you nowhere. So if you believe in something that’s good,
honest and bright – stand up for it. Maybe your peers will get smart and drift your way.”
It’s a compelling statement but far more compelling are the words of our God in Romans 12:2 – “And be not conformed to
this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and per-
fect, will of God.”***********************************************
Page 3 The Ozark Newslet ter Volume XI I I , I ssue 2
The following is taken from AFA Journal, December, 1985
By Bill Johnson
When I became a Christian in my early twenties, I began to see there were many words communicated via sermons, bulletin
inserts, newsletters, radio broadcasts, but not too much call for a response to the Word of activism. I also began to see that
one of the red flags within Christian circles was that if a church became too concerned about activism then the preaching of
the Gospel was taking a back seat and being minimized.
In the 1980’s, Focus on the Family initiated an attempt to encourage churches to have social action committees to deal with
social concerns within the local community, state and/or nation. This social action could be in the form of a letter writing
campaign to advertisers sponsoring filth, working with crisis pregnancy centers, or encouraging the county prosecutor to
prosecute pornography, etc. I learned about spiritual warfare. I learned that Christians are to be influencers and change
agents of Christ. We are His workmanship. One key portion of my leading/calling stands out clearly. I will give you the
very abbreviated version.
As many of you know, God used AFA’s founder Donald E. Wildon significantly in my calling. One of his writings in his
AFA Journal impacted me year ago. It was entitled “And 300,000 pulpits were silent.” The premise of it was that though Page 4 The Ozark Newslet ter Volume XI I I , I ssue 2
MID-MISSOURI CHURCH OF GOD
PO Box 92, Eldon, MO 65026/mailing address. Actual physical address is: 602 East North Street. Phone: 573-392-1232 or
573-498-3775; Email: info@mmcg.org Website: www.mmcg.org The Mid-Missouri Church of God (MMCG) holds
Christian Sabbath services each Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at 602 East North Street, Eldon, MO… A Bible Study and song ser-
vice is scheduled at 10:30am before Sabbath services. Potluck meals after services are planned for the fourth Sabbath of
each month. A weekly Bible study is held each Thursday at 6:30pm. It is best to call ahead and confirm times if you are
traveling any distance to visit us (see the phone numbers above). Occasionally we will cancel local services to attend en
masse elsewhere. Come and enjoy the fellowship! Also, the first Wednesday of each month the ladies meet for a “get to-
gether” and you can contact Martha Roberts at 573-496-3203 or Charleen Gitthens at 573-392-5965 for location and time if
you plan to attend. You can also check the events calendar on the website.
Bible Cryptogram
The sentence below is encrypted using a secret code. Your job is to break the code by substituting letters for the symbols.
Here are a few clues: R=A E=E N=I I=O C=U V=T G=P K=L
M E V D R Z E N H E V A M B N W S C T I W A M
D I K M D N K K I X F N I W. G H R F A 2:16
Satan is attacking individuals, the home, community, state and nation, may pastors and churches don’t preach about being
salt and light, leaving Christians oblivious to what is pleasing to God and what is not pleasing to Him, many were vulner-
able to attacks of the evil one in regard to matters such as porn, homosexuality, gambling, abortion.
A portion of Dr Wildmon’s challenge: “Today 4,000 innocent precious lives of unborn babies were snuffed out. Their arms
and legs were torn from their bodies, their skulls crushed. One and one half million times each year our ‘civilized’ society
will take an innocent life.
And 300,000 pulpits are silent….
Six hundred thousand children, between the ages of 3 and 18, are involved in child pornography. Twenty thousand of them
will disappear each year, never to be seen again.
And 300,000 pulpits are silent,,,,
What important matters are being dealt with in our churches? The church bulletin says there will be a meeting to plan the
church-wide supper. We are raising money to put a new floor cover in the kitchen. (The old one doesn’t match the new
stove and refrigerator.) The sermon subject lat Sunday was ‘How to Have a Positive Attitude.’ We are organizing a soft-
ball team,,,
Sometimes blasphemy comes unnoticed.”
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