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The Ozark Letter – July 2008
By MMCG.ORG | July 1, 2008
JULY GREETINGS: “But be ye doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving your
own selves.”James 1:22
A Publication of the Mid-Missouri Church of God
July, 2008
Volume XII, Issue 7
The Ozark Newsletter
Lake of the Ozarks
Independence Day is always observed on the “4th
of July,” falling on a Friday this year. And – to all of you eve-
rywhere – have a safe and happy holiday! How about taking time to reflect on the true significance of the holiday
sometime during the day. How long has it been since any of us studied the history of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence? Our founding fathers and their families had something that we don’t see too much of these days….
love of God and country!
The Ladies Luncheon which is normally held the first Wednesday of each month, in July will be the second
Wednesday, which is July 9. The ladies will meet at Osage Beach at the Yankee Peddlers Tea Room at Poverty
Flats.
We want to mention again that Mid-Missouri Church of God will be sponsoring a Feast site at their Eldon loca-
tion. Hank and Ruth Weinmeister are the coordinators and can be reached at 573-392-0915. A block of rooms
has been reserved at the Heritage Inn just outside Eldon. Call 573-392-2100 to make reservations and mention
Hank Weinmeister’s name to get the discounted rate of $69 plus tax. Since other groups will be keeping the same
dates, you are encouraged to make your reservations as soon as possible. We will be having some of the same
activities that we have had in the past, but are open to suggestions if you have any new ideas or if you want to
volunteer your services in any way. The theme this year is “The Second Coming of the King of Kings”.
2008 HOLY DAY CALENDAR
• Sept. 30—Feast of Trumpets (Tuesday)
• Oct. 9—Day of Atonement (Thursday)
• Oct. 14-20—Feast of Tabernacles (Tuesday-Monday)
• Oct. 21—Eighth Day Festival (Tuesday)
“Lest we forget”
By Tim Flora (originally printed in the “Eldon Advertiser”, reprinted with permission)
Sixty-plus years ago, U. S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt voiced those now famous words “December 7,
1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by
naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”
The actions of Japan in attacking Pearl Harbor thrust America into World War II, a war which ultimately cost the
lives of some 295,000 American military personnel and more than 5.5 million total persons worldwide, military
and civilian. Anyone who says freedom is free is living in a fantasy world. The freedom we so often take for granted was paid
for with the blood, sweat and tears of the men and women of the armed forces.
The following letter was sent by a soldier in the midst of the fray in Iraq to his grandmother here on the home
front.
With Memorial Day just passed, I feel it only honorable to publish his letter to give us each a glimpse of what our
troops are going through to protect our freedom.
And that’s exactly what they’re doing – protecting us!
I have spoken with several soldiers who have served in the Iraqi conflict and have yet to find one who is not con-
vinced they are making a difference. One told me he was “just doing his job” to put his life on the line for us,
adding that the news accounts paint a very negative image while neglecting to report all the positive changes be-
ing made over there.
I also heard the other day that American troops captured an insurgent and asked him what they would do if the
troops all of a sudden pulled out and headed home. The response by the insurgent: “We’ll follow you to your
house!”
While one dead or disabled soldier is too many, I am firmly convinced that as long as the battle is waged over
there, we are far safer over here. Will there be an end to this conflict some day? The good Lord knows I hope
and pray so. But as long as there are men and women in this world who place no value on human life, there will
always be the need for our military presence. Sad, but true!
“Letter from the Front”
Today was a bad day. I started off at 0600 on a route clearance mission with the engineers. We went to the route we had
to clear and started to do what we do. On the way back down the route, while clearing the opposite side of the road, our
lead vehicle was hit by an IED detonation. The driver was fine, but the vehicle was a mobility kill. We self recovered the
vehicle and continued on the mission.
Due to the vehicle being disabled, my vehicle moved from fifth in the convoy to second, right behind the Buffalo. About
another 1.5 km up the road, the Buffalo was hit by an EFP, a very deadly and effective type of IED. I was in the turret of
my vehicle when the detonation occurred.
We were only about 35-40 meters away from the detonation. It was around 10 pounds of explosives. It was the loudest
thing I’ve ever heard in my life, and it felt like being kicked by a horse. I’m around detonations all the time because of my
job, but none of them had ever been anything like this one.
The Buffalo was hit directly by the EFP, and there was a huge cloud of dust and smoke. We went through the cloud
around to the front of the Buffalo to pull security for them. About 10 seconds later several insurgents opened up on us with
automatic small arms fire from rooftops 150 meters to our 3 o’clock. Myself and the vehicle behind us returned fire with
our machine guns and the little _______ ran off.
Another vehicle then pulled in front of our truck to load the single casualty from the Buffalo inside it for a medevac. He
was covered in blood everywhere on his body and had bandages wrapped around his head. Part of our element left to take
him to back to base.
We recovered the Buffalo with the help of a recovery team escorted by Abrahms tanks and continued with the mis-
sion. Those of us who were left made it safely back to the base where, upon arrival at the motor pool, we were informed
that the soldier that was medevaced had passed away as a result of the wounds he sustained.
I’m not telling you this because I want your sympathy or to sound cool or anything like that. I’m telling you this because I
want you to realize that there are men and women over here that fight for YOU every day. Not for money, or power, or the
government, but for YOU. I know that many of you out there support what we are doing, and I am grateful for that.
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On the other hand, there are many people out there that say bad things about the military and its members. Regardless of
your political views, you must realize that you sleep in your bed safely at night, and have the right to speak your mind about
whatever you wish because of a few brave people that sacrifice much for many. We willingly put our lives at risk for
YOU. There is no greater love than that. There is a bond between the people and their defenders that must never be broken.
So next time you decide to say something negative about the military, or the war we are fighting, remember the brave man
that gave his life today, so that you wouldn’t have to.
Until next time . . . Pray for our nation’s leaders, troops and their families. And God Bless America!*****
Preserving Unity Without Compromising The Truth, by David Hines
Reprinted from CHURCHLIGHT October/December, 2007
There is a story about the carpenter’s tools that were holding a conference. Brother Hammer was the President and sev-
eral suggested he leave the meeting because he was too noisy. Brother Hammer replied, “If I have to leave this shop,
Brother Screwdriver must go also for you have to turn him around again and again to get him to accomplish anything.” “If
you wish, I will leave replied Brother Screwdriver, but Brother Plane must leave too. For all his work is on the surface and
his efforts have no depth.” To this Brother Plane responded, “Brother Rule will also have to withdraw for he is always
measuring folks as though he were the only one who is right.” Brother Rule then complained against Brother Sandpaper
and said, “You ought to leave too, because you are so rough and always rubbing people the wrong way.” In the midst of all
this discussion, in walked the carpenter of Nazareth. He had arrived to start His day’s work. Putting on His apron, He went
to the bench to make a pulpit from which to proclaim the gospel. He employed the hammer, the screwdriver, plane, rule,
sandpaper and all the other tools. After the days’ work when the pulpit was finished, Brother Saw arose and remarked,
“Brethren, I observe that all of us are workers together with the Lord.”
God is a God of variety. What a diversity of animals He created and every snowflake is different: every fingerprint, every
face, likewise. He is a God of variety in His church. Just look at the diversity of gifts He can bestow on a church to equip
them for His service: Some play musical instruments, some have gifts of singing, others have gifts of speaking and teaching.
Some serve behind the scenes, cleaning the church, cooking for church dinners and cleaning up afterwards, too. Does that
mean we will always get along? No, just like Brother Sandpaper, someone has probably rubbed us the wrong way, but we
have probably rubbed some the wrong way, too. Maybe we were not even aware of it. Are there times when we don’t
measure up to Brother Rule’s standards? Oh sure, but, of course neither can he or anyone else.
People will accuse us of being like Brother Plane that all our work is only surface deep and that we have no depth. But
only time will tell if that is true.
In light of God’s Word, we can preserve unity in the church without compromising the truth we know. The verses in 1
Corinthians 1:10-13 indicate the beginning of denominationalism and obviously the early church had division, “…For I
have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this,
that each one of you is saying, ‘I am of Paul’, and “I of Apollos,’ and ‘I of Cephas,’ and ‘I of Christ.’ Has Christ been di-
vided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
Also, it is pretty serious if we practice the deeds of the flesh as stated in Galatians 5:19-21 for we will not inherit the king-
dom of God. From God’s perspective, it shows he hates the following, Proverbs 6:16-19, “There are six things which the
Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil. A false witness who utters lies and one who spreads strife
among brothers.”
Ever wonder why these things happen? I’ve heard well meaning Christians say that man is basically good, but is he?
Jeremiah 17:9 reminds us “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” Page 4 The Ozark Newslet ter Volume XI I , Issue 7
A solution to the problem can be examined in Matthew 7:1-5, “Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way
you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you and why do you look
at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to
your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold , the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite,
first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
We need to examine ourselves not our neighbor – remember Brother Rule.
We are all at different levels spiritually and we must accept people where they are and from that point teach
them the truths we have learned. We also need to allow them to grow at their own pace. We often think new
people should be at the same level we are, when we may have been in the church five, ten, fifteen or more years.
Also, we must learn to be tolerant of others. Certainly we are going to have theological differences from time to
time. A good example of this is when Philip encountered the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:30-35).
We are going to have personality conflicts sometimes. Remember Brother Sandpaper. We have all been
rubbed the wrong way by someone or we have rubbed someone the wrong way ourselves. While we must learn
to tolerate our differences, that doesn’t mean we tolerate sin or that we have to compromise the truth for the sake
of avoiding conflict. There are severe consequences when we start to compromise God’s truths for the sake of
unity.
We are reminded when we do not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved, that God will send upon us a
deluding influence so that we might believe what is false as stated in 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12. Action is required
as the words in James 1:22 remind us, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, not merely hearers who delude
themselves. Be doers of the word.”
We are obligated to live by every word that proceed out of the mouth of God and do the will of the Father in
heaven. (Matthew 4:4; Matthew 7:21).
The following texts seem simple, but they are not always easy to follow: Romans 12:18, “If possible, so far as
it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” Proverbs 15:1, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh
word stirs up anger.”
In one of Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” articles was pictured a plain bar of iron worth about $5.00. The same bar
if made into horseshoes would be worth $50.00. If made into needles, it would be worth $5,000, but if it were
made into balance springs for fine Swiss watcher, it would be worth $500,000. You see the raw material is not as
important as how it is developed. God says we all have spiritual gifts, but their worth to Him will be dependent
on how well we develop them.
We all have different gifts and we each need to develop the gift God gave us to better serve Him to help build
up the body of Christ and if we approach serving God in this manner with a humble heart, the unity of the body
can be preserved without compromising the truths of God’s Word. Page 5 The Ozark Newslet ter Volume XI I , Issue 7
MID-MISSOURI CHURCH OF GOD
PO Box 92, Eldon, MO 65026/mailing address. Street address is: 602 East North Street. Phone: 573-392-1232 or 573-498-3775;
Email: todd@craigcomputers.com 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 service 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 6:00pm. 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 fel-
lowship! Also, the first Wednesday of each month the ladies meet for a “get together” 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.
Exploring Canaan
Moses sent out 12 spies into the Land of Canaan which God had promised to Israel.
Numbers 13 (NIV) tells about their trip into Canaan and their report when they came back.
D Y L J Y L A I O A T J A W P
D O M K S C D E L I G H T S I
Z L L G A T Z T B F D T Y P Y
Z E I N R P N A H F T I U R F
M A A B J A E A F T D A Q N B
O A Q I E U S L I Q Q A U K B
N V D C T R A S V G C U Q B P
W C S N A T M U H S U E T C P
H G Q C A L D B H O E N H D Y
Q A R T N L E Z I S P I T W F
I L V A L N W B O H O P P K O
L O P C P O O Z N A J J E S J
H Z B J A E R N H U K Q T R W
H O N E Y D S D I U S M R I S
T M Q W S R M K U T M N R E S
CALEB GIANTS JOSHUA MILK
CANAAN GRAPES LAND REBEL
DELIGHTS GRASSHOPPERS LORD SPIES
FRUIT HONEY
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