Are missionaries the smartest people of all? WBC Missionary Mike Cloud.

Here are Mike’s survey results.
Which Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt?
Moses
What was Mother Teresa's religion?
Catholic
Which of the following is NOT one of the Ten Commandments?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
When does the Jewish Sabbath begin?
Friday
Is Ramadan…?
The Islamic holy month
Which of the following best describes the Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion?
The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Which Bible figure is most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering?
Job
What was Joseph Smith's religion?
Mormon
According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to lead a class in prayer, or not?
No, not permitted
According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to read from the Bible as an example of literature, or not?
Yes, permitted
What religion do most people in Pakistan consider themselves?
Muslim
What was the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation?
Martin Luther
Which one of these preachers participated in the period of religious activity known as the First Great Awakening?
Charles Finney
What do you call a person who does not believe in God?

Atheist
What was the name of the town where Jesus was born?
Bethlehem
Yes or no? Does the US Constitution state that government shall neither establish nor interfere with religion?

No
What is the name of the Islamic Holy Book?

Koran
What are the names of the books of the Bible known as the gospels?

Matthew Mark Luke and John
What religion do most of the people in Indonesia practice?

Islam

True or False? Only Protestants (not Catholics) traditionally teach salvation comes through faith alone?

True
What religion was Maimonides a part of?

Hindu

Mike got 18 of 21 questions correct. Way to go Mike. He missed 3 of the questions. Jonathan Edwards was one of the preachers that took part in the first Great Awakening. The US Constitution does say that that government shall neither establish nor interfere with religion. And Finally Maimonides was Jewish and not Hindu. As it turns out, missionaries are not the smartest people of all, worship leaders are. Way to go Amy Beth!

Are Women’s Ministry Directors smarter than Worship Leaders? WBC Women’s Director Brenda Eaton

Here are Brenda’s Survey results.
Which Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt?
Moses
What was Mother Teresa's religion?
Hindu
Which of the following is NOT one of the Ten Commandments?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
When does the Jewish Sabbath begin?
Friday
Is Ramadan…?
The Islamic holy month
Which of the following best describes the Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion?
The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Which Bible figure is most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering?
Job
What was Joseph Smith's religion?
Mormon
According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to lead a class in prayer, or not?
No, not permitted
According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to read from the Bible as an example of literature, or not?
Yes, permitted
What religion do most people in Pakistan consider themselves?
Muslim
What was the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation?
Martin Luther
Which one of these preachers participated in the period of religious activity known as the First Great Awakening?
Charles Finney
What do you call a person who does not believe in God? (Short Answer not Multiple choice)Non-believer
What was the name of the town where Jesus was born?Bethlehem
Yes or no? Does the US Constitution state that government shall neither establish nor interfere with religion?no
What is the name of the Islamic Holy Book?Koran
What are the names of the books of the Bible known as the gospels? Matthew, mark, luke, john
What religion do most of the people in Indonesia practice? Guess….buddhism…
True or False? Only Protestants (not Catholics) traditionally teach salvation comes through faith alone?True
What religion was Maimonides a part of? no idea

Brenda got 15 our 21 question correct. Mother Teresa was Catholic no Hindu. Jonathon Edwards was the preacher of the first great awakening not Finney. A person who does not believe in God is called an atheist. Believe it or no the US constitution does say that government shall neither establish nor interfere with religion. Most people in Indonesia practice Islam not Buddhism, and Maimonides was Jewish. As it turns out, in this case, Women’s Ministry directors are not smarter that worship leaders. Way to go Amy Beth!

How Smart Are You? WBC Worship Leader Amy Beth Prescott Survey Results

Here are Amy Beth’s Survey Results.
Which Bible figure is most closely associated with leading the exodus from Egypt ?
Moses
What was Mother Teresa's religion?
Catholic
Which of the following is NOT one of the Ten Commandments?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
When does the Jewish Sabbath begin?
Friday
Is Ramadan…?
The Islamic holy month
Which of the following best describes the Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion?
The bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Which Bible figure is most closely associated with remaining obedient to God despite suffering?
Job
What was Joseph Smith's religion?
Mormon
According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to lead a class in prayer, or not?
No, not permitted
According to rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, is a public school teacher permitted to read from the Bible as an example of literature, or not?
No, not permitted
What religion do most people in Pakistan consider themselves?
Muslim
What was the name of the person whose writings and actions inspired the Protestant Reformation?
Martin Luther
Which one of these preachers participated in the period of religious activity known as the First Great Awakening?
Jonathan Edwards
What do you call a person who does not believe in God? (Short Answer not Multiple choice) Atheist
What was the name of the town where Jesus was born? Bethlehem
Yes or no? Does the US Constitution state that government shall neither establish nor interfere with religion? Yes.
What is the name of the Islamic Holy Book? Koran
What are the names of the books of the Bible known as the gospels? Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
What religion do most of the people in Indonesia practice? Islam
True or False? Only Protestants (not Catholics) traditionally teach salvation comes through faith alone? True
What religion was Maimonides a part of? I don’t know…

Amy Beth got 19 of 21 questions correct. Way to go Amy Beth! As it turns out the US Supreme court does allow teachers to read the Bible in class as an example of literature. Amy Beth also did not know that Maimonides was Jewish.

Christmas Stories

At the first sight of holiday decorations and Christmas music, I resolve each year to make this one different by pulling away from the materialistic frenzy and the usual holiday frantic madness. Each year I make up my mind to form relationships more important than gifts and focus on the true reason for the season, Christ’s birth. This year, I am determined to thank Christ for His gift to me – the gift of eternal life wrapped with loving care by the Father and waiting for me to share it with someone who really needs Him.
A perfect opportunity to do this is the Women’s Ministry Christmas Dinner at Waxahachie Bible Church. As in years past, we will enjoy beautifully decorated tables, delicious food, great fellowship and a delightful speaker. Will you join me by asking someone; a friend, a neighbor or maybe a coworker who has not received the gift of all gifts to come to the Women’s Christmas Dinner this year?
Christmas Stories from Our Heart . . . that is the name we have given to this year’s Christmas dinner event. We all have a story - a story of our life, our childhood, a story of the week or the day, but do you have a story about your life with Christ? What would it have been like to go through the storms of life without Him walking beside you? Or what was life like for you without Him, before you knew Jesus as your personal Savior? These are some stories you will hear on December 10 if you choose to join us. True, authentic stories: a story dramatized from the life of the Apostle Peter and stories from women in our church family. These are stories that have touched our hearts and we hope will touch yours and those you invite to join you. The story of Jesus Christ has impacted and changed lives for over two thousand years. It continues to touch my heart; to inspire and encourage me to press on to live for Him.

Who do you know who needs to hear some true stories this Christmas? Perhaps it is someone who still lives life without Him. Perhaps it is someone who is hoping someone will notice them and invite them somewhere, anywhere this Christmas season. Perhaps it is someone who is lonely or new in town or new to Waxahachie Bible Church. Perhaps it is someone who God lays on your heart and you are not exactly sure why you are to invite them, and yet, you sense that tug of God’s Spirit urging you to do just that. Don’t miss the opportunity to invite someone to come with you. Whether they accept the invitation is up to them. Your part is to invite . . . to carry Christ’s love to those people in your own sphere of influence.

Maturity Test

How can you know if you are centering Christmas on Christ? One way is by growing closer to Him. Are you growing closer to God? How can you tell? Well we have a test for you to take. OK this is probably not a true litmus like test, since maturity in Christ is more intangible and cannot really be measured by a test. But this review based on scripture can lead us on the right path to determining if we are growing more mature in Christ.

Go to the connect online section of waxahachiebible.org and click on ignite to view the maturity test chart online.

Draw Near

How can we make Christmas about Jesus? The book of James proclaims that if we draw near to God that God will draw near to us. So, one simple way that we can make Christmas about Jesus is to draw near to Him during this time of the year. How can we draw near to God? Well, there are several ways but one way that you can draw near to God this Christmas is by utilizing the “Draw Near” publication that WBC has produced for you and your family to worship with during Advent and the 12 days of Christmas. What is in the publication? “Draw Near” is made up of scripture, songs, prayers, devotional thought and fun activities for you to participate in. Where is this awesome publication? “Draw Near” will be handed out in the November 21 worship service here at WBC. It is also available online. Where online? Go to waxahachiebible.org and click on connect online and then click Draw Near.

Shining the Light of God's Love: Operation Christmas Child

WBC has a very practical way that we can carry Christ’s love to the world during the upcoming holiday season. It has become a tradition at WBC partner with Samaritan Purse ministry by sending Christmas gifts to children all over the world who do not know Jesus. We hope that you will be a part of sending these gifts this year. Listen to this story of how God has used people from WBC in recent years to carry Christ’s love to the world through the Operation Christmas Child Project.

Samaritan's Purse distributed thousands of shoe box gifts to refugees from the South Ossetia War, which erupted in August 2008. The last memory Nana has of her village is of flames shooting through rooftops and screams echoing through the streets as she joined her neighbors in a desperate flight for safety.

Nana was seven months pregnant at the time. She and her husband, Bagrate, owned a modest two-story house and a store in the Georgian town of Xeiti. They were caught by surprise on the afternoon of August 6 when Russian forces assaulted their quiet community, dropping bombs and setting fire to many buildings.

With no time to gather their belongings, the couple sped away in their car, veering around burning vehicles. They kept driving until they ran out of gas, then continued their escape on foot—an arduous undertaking for Nana.

Xeiti was among 36 villages burned or bombed by Russia in a territorial dispute with Georgia over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The city of Gori also sustained damage from bombing raids. The conflict left hundreds of civilians dead or injured, and displaced tens of thousands. Many of the survivors remained holed up in dilapidated school and abandoned buildings, afraid to return to their villages and rebuild.

In December, heartache gave way to hope for thousands of Georgia’s suffering families as Operation Christmas Child teams began blanketing the war-torn region, bearing gift-filled shoe boxes and the Good News of God’s love.

We came across Nana and Bograte living among the refugees crowded into old military barracks in the town of Koda. Among the 350 boys and girls who received shoe box gifts was the couple’s daughter, Lizzie, born two months after their harrowing escape.

“Thank you for the gift,” said Bograte. “We are trying to make our lives as normal as possible, but it is difficult. We have only the hope of God to get us through this.”

At another refugee center in an old school building outside of the capital of Tbilisi, 50 children heard a presentation of the Gospel and received words of comfort from a member of the Operation Christmas Child National Leadership Team in Georgia.

“We are bringing gifts that were specially prepared for you by children in America,” explained Pastor Gela. “They want to encourage you during your time of crisis.”

One at a time, the children walked to the front of the classroom to receive their boxes and Greatest Gift of All Gospel booklets written in the Georgian language. They returned to their seats and patiently waited until every child received a box before they opened them.

One girl lifted a cuddly brown teddy bear from her box and cradled it in her arms. A teenage boy got a green baseball cap and slapped it on his head, grinning.
For the past decade, Pastor Gela’s Pentecostal church in Tbilisi has worked with Operation Christmas Child to help deliver shoe boxes to youngsters in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country.

“We are always trying to expand our ministry to children,” he said. “The boxes give us an opportunity to reach out to them in a way that would not be possible otherwise. They are a good tool for explaining to them who Jesus is and to share the Gospel with them.”

His church began offering the 10-lesson Bible course through the Operation Christmas Child follow-up discipleship program. Over 100 children enrolled in the program at first, and the pastor requested lessons for 500 children afterward.

“I remember one boy whose parents wouldn’t let him come to church. That was before he received the Bible lessons,” Gela said. “Now they have given him their blessing to go to Sunday school.”

Pastor Gela notes that the hardships and uncertainty have prompted many Georgians to turn to Christ like never before. People seem more open to hearing God’s Word, and there has been an increase in the number of families who attend his small church. Along with that revival has come a heightened desire to minister to those in need in their community, particularly those affected by the war.

“We distribute food and clothing to the refugees. But we want to give them something deeper than physical help,” he said. “These people are hurting. We talk to them about Jesus Christ, and it’s a great blessing to see the powerful change in their hearts.”

Please consider allowing God to use you through the Samaritan Purse ministry this year. Operation Christmas Child is one way to express thanksgiving to God, by donating our time, energy, and resources to share the gospel with kids around the world. Please bring gift-filled, labeled shoeboxes to church by November 14. Shoebox packing guides will be available soon, or you can check out the Samaritan’s Purse website.
Even if you don’t have time to pack a box, you can still help! WBC’s Mommy&Me group is having a shoebox packing party and needs gifts that will fit in a shoebox, clean empty shoeboxes, and money for the box delivery fees. Check the posters for gift guidelines. Collection boxes will be in the Rotunda and by the office from October 31-November 11.

Festival of Worship to God

Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the indians that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local indians did participate, this "first Thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday. Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.
However, since most school children are taught that the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 with the pilgrims and indians, let us take a closer look at just what took place leading up to that event, and then what happened in the centuries afterward that finally gave us our modern Thanksgiving.
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists. The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.
Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.
Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.
This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. Many years passed before the event was repeated. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of thanksgiving was proclaimed. On June 20 of that year the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include the Indians, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives,"

A hundred years later, in October of 1777 all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.
George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson opposed the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.
It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.
As we conclude this look at the history of Thanksgiving in America we would be wise to consider the place of festivals in the Bible. For the followers of God in the Old and New Testaments it was commonplace to have yearly festivals that mark off special acts of worship to God. One such festival and meal was the celebration of Passover where the Jews remembered God’s faithfulness to save them from death. This is a symbolic representation of the ultimate form of salvation that was freely given to the world at the Cross of Jesus Christ. So, as we celebrate thanksgiving it is a meaningful act for us to remember the Cross of Christ at Thanksgiving. Here at WBC we will be celebrating Thanksgiving with a festival on Sunday November 21. We will take communion during worship and then have a traditional Thanksgiving meal together following our Sunday morning worship. Followed by a special community worship service that evening.

Loving Others is Africa

Lately, besides teaching our SIM missionary candidates, I've been diving deep into writing and re-writing training material for helping congregations engage cross-culturally. It is so encouraging when its intent is realized, like on Wed. when a young, local pastor took me to lunch (always fun!) with a hundred questions about intercultural ministry. He shared that two Ethiopian immigrant couples had started coming to his church...and it was changing the dynamic. The regular members were wary and uncertain at first, but now they are proud of these new friends and intrigued to have this diversity and wanting more! Now the leadership of the church desires to pursue diverse outreach opportunities, not merely for evangelism, but for inclusion into their congregation… This is a huge paradigm shift for them and they heard about our ministry of coaching churches in intercultural relationships, so he contacted me. This is our driving passion, to help open up a whole new world of cross-cultural vision and ministry!
As I thought about this church I was reminded of a lesson that God taught me on loving others. Some time ago we prayed that we would be freed from the oppression of a bar and prostitution joint which was just 20 feet behind our house...the loud music, the carousing, the clientele. We had sought to reach out to these folks, Gwen treated the prostitutes’ children for malaria, and helped in other ways...all to no avail. For weeks we were under all that oppression, then, one night, someone stole their big boom box and ran off into the darkness. There was a bunch of yelling... then silence. Without the music, the operation was sunk. Within three days, the lady who ran the business moved away during the night. (in Africa, it is a shame to move at night...) Wow! A huge answer to prayer! Then, I took over. I didn’t want that building (actually a mud block house) to rented out to someone else who would do the same type of business, so I tracked down the property owner and rented it ourselves... (I justified it by saying that we could use it for the church ministry somehow...but it was really to keep others away.) That very night, there was huge rain storm and we heard a loud ‘crunch n’thump’. We looked out back...and the mud house had fallen down into a heap! I immediately felt the sting of guilt for my lack of faith. God had a sense of humor to wait until I had paid the money to rent the property before crashing it down! A good story of how we should be focused on loving others and trusting God more, instead of thinking that God needed my wily cleverness to help Him out...

God Sais it Best by Rhonda Miller

As we think about becoming mature disciples and our theme of this issue of ignite it is clear that if we want to become mature we need to know how to love others well, and if we want to know how to love others we must first consider God word. It easy to find all kinds of advice and input on how to love others but all of this knowledge falls short if it is not based on the Bible. Listen to these words from Rhonda Miller as she shares her story of being directed to the Bible through the Love and Respect Marriage Conference for guidance on how to love her husband Terry.

Throughout much of my adult life, I thought that men and women were really very much alike, so when John Gray’s book, “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus” arrived on the scene, I was excited to read it. I knew from the title that I must have a lot to learn. According to the book, the “Mars man” is non-compassionate, whereas the “Venus woman” likes to demonstrate feelings and gain sympathy. While it was very entertaining, I had one huge problem with it: I was from Mars and my husband was from Venus!!
This book was the New York Times number 1 best-seller of the last decade and it didn’t work for us at all. While I love gaining wisdom about marriage relationships, I gave up any further reading on the subject because it was really man’s interpretation of how a husband and wife should relate and it didn’t apply to us at all.
Immediately after viewing the “Love and Respect” video tapes for the second time, I had an “aha” moment! God’s Word tells us that men have the need for respect and women have the need for love as their deepest need. I now realize that even though my husband has the compassionate loving heart of a “Venus”, he needs respect because that is the way God designed him and that won’t ever change.
It’s no surprise that even Dr. Dobson is impressed by Dr. Eggerich’s book. Many “relationship experts” have totally missed the real heart of a man and a woman. God told us what we need as husbands and wives, we just have to be obedient to His Word and put Him first in our marriage relationship. He made us this way with a purpose and He said it best!

Loving Others and Worshipping God

Do you consider others when you are worshipping God in public worship? Ephesians 5:19-20 says “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When we think about the theme of this issue of Ignite which is how we love others reveals how we worship God this is an interesting passage to consider. In this passage Paul reminds us that we are not only to sing to God but to one another. One way litmus test of how well we love God can be seen in how we relate to one another in public worship. Check out these thoughts on this topic from one of the newest members of WBC, Mike Burchfield.

1. How long have you been worshipping here at WBC?

Sharon and I have been attending WBC for 6 weeks now.

2. What do you think about the balance of music at WBC?

I enjoy the music at WBC for many reasons ,the chief ones are; good sound mix all instruments can be heard but none overpowers the other, not loud!, I prefer a 3/2 mix of contemporary music to hymns and WBC is close most of the time, the musicians seem to be focused on worship and not a "performance".

3. How would you describe your overall experience of the WBC worship services?

Our overall worship experience has been awesome! I needed to find a church with an expository approach to preaching and Pastor Z. is a perfect match. I like the way that the mood for worship, prayer and meditation is accented by changes in lighting. I truly feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in worship time .

4. Do you think that the way we love others reflects how we worship God?
From the moment we walked into the church ,we felt as if the whole group had been waiting for us. We really felt welcomed and loved for the first time in a long time. When we came for our appointment with Pastor Z , I noticed that he never said what we were expected to do ,but ask for us to tell him about our experience with Jesus. Then he explained what we could expect as members of WBC, and actually seemed happy that we were joining! We have been amazed at every juncture of our "getting to know you" time at WBC. From you and Pastor Z through each member, even the youth! We feel the joy and welcoming love of Jesus

5. Sometimes worship can be a divisive thing. How do we come together in love for one another and worship God at the same time?

I believe division come from man trying to "improve" on Gods plan. If we set Jesus as our standard and example, and follow the Word, and above all love each other I believe most disagreements came be solved. Using the Bible to point out the errors we make and its solution for life’s problems will always meet with success. " My words will not return to me empty." Also we must always be mindful to forgive and remember how the Savior approached confrontation and people who were hurting. And God will be worshipped through our following His word and His Son’s example.

Love and Respect

What did you think of the conference?

Science vs. God

Carrying Christ’s love into the classroom this school year can be a challenge the following story offers some insight for us.

'Let me explain the problem science has with religion.' The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.
'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'
'Yes sir,' the student says.
'So you believe in God?'
'Absolutely.'
'Is God good?'
'Sure! God's good.'
'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?’
'Yes'
'Are you good or evil?'
'The Bible says I'm evil.'
The professor grins knowingly.
'Aha! The Bible! He considers for a moment. 'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'
'Yes sir, I would.'
'So you're good...!'
'I wouldn't say that.'
'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Can you answer that one?'
The student remains silent. 'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. 'Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?'
'Er..yes,' the student says.
'Is Satan good?'
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'
'Then where does Satan come from?'
The student falters. 'From God'
'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?'
‘Yes, sir.'
'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?'
'Yes'
'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'
Again, the student has no answer. 'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'
The student squirms on his feet. 'Yes.'
'So who created them?'
The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. 'Who created them?' There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. 'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?'
The student's voice betrays him and cracks. 'Yes, professor, I do.'
The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'
'No sir. I've never seen Him.'
'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'
'No, sir, I have not..'
'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'
'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'
'Yet you still believe in him?'
'Yes'
'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist... What do you say to that, son?'
'Nothing,' the student replies.. 'I only have my faith.'
'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats 'And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'
The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat? '
'Yes.’ 'And is there such a thing as cold?'
'Yes, son, there's cold too.'
'No sir, there isn't.'
The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. 'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit down to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'
Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.
'What about darkness, professor.. Is there such a thing as darkness?'
'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation.. 'What is night if it isn't darkness?'
'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'
The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?'
'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'
The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed? Can you explain how?'
'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains.. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.' 'It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.' 'Now tell me, professor.. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?'
'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.'
'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.
'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?'
The class is in uproar.. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. 'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.' The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter. 'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.' 'So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?'
Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I Guess you'll have to take them on faith.'
'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?' Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see it Everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in The multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'
To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.'
The professor sat down.

Q and A With Associate Pastor Jerry Goff

What do you do here at WBC? (What are you responsible for)?
Initially my responsibility was to carry the responsibility for the Youth Ministry. As time progressed the ministry took off and I began to recruit paid interns to assist in the demanding needs of our student ministries. This allowed me to take on the ministry of providing biblical counseling and life coaching. Over a year ago I sought a replacement for my position as a youth pastor and transitioned to Pastor of Small Groups and Family Coaching/counseling. The responsibilities continue to grow as our needs continue to expand!

How long have you been here?
I began serving WBC 4 years ago this past June.

Becoming mature is the second element of the mission of WBC. As the associate pastor how do you see the becoming mature part of the mission in action? Becoming mature is an on going process. To grow we must find a way to begin the discipline of growing in our understanding of His Word. Some can do this independent of a program. But many need a support. This would move one to the next step of getting involved in a small group/home group.

What steps should people take this school year to help them accomplish the Becoming Mature Disciples part of our mission?
The steps that everyone in our church should take needs to begin with finding a way to be in the word! I am personally challenging myself to be in the word more; prayer more and sharing the Gospel always!

Q and A with Worship Arts Pastor Jay Trull

What do you do at WBC?
I am responsible for developing and implementing the vision Worship Arts ministry of this church. That includes the planning of biblical based worship services and the training and leading of our arts ministry teams. It also includes the production of art presentations for the church, which over the last several months has worked itself out into me leading the development of waxahachiebible.org and becoming the general editor of the Ignite publication. I also oversee some the audio and video equipment here at WBC. More importantly than all of that what I seek “to do here at WBC” is to worship God with all of me as well as love my beautiful wife Ami and our joyful son Jackson with the peace, love and joy of Jesus Christ.

How long have you been here?

I became a member of WBC in 1995. I came on staff as a youth and music intern in November of 1997. My position evolved into worship pastor sometime after that. I have been apart of WBC for 15 years.

What brought you to WBC?

That is a long story. After I graduated college in 1995 I was searching for God and was led to WBC. The worship pastor of WBC during that time (Scott Cunningham) called me at my house and asked me if I would be interested in playing drums for the worship music here at the church. Apparently my mom, who had just started to visit WBC had informed the church that I was a drummer and to call me to see if I would be interested in playing for them. After Scott called me I brought my drums to church for worship practice and my drums and I have been here ever since. God has used the ministry of this church to change my life in many ways from that moment on. One of the ways God bought change to me was in my view of worship. Before WBC my view of worship was at best something that you did on Sunday morning with different attitudes and even different musical instruments than you used on the rest of the week. Worship for me before WBC involved piano and organ on Sunday and my drums and I were living a different life in the bars of the secular music world. God used WBC to blow open the fallacy of the secular and sacred compartments of my life. Shortly after I started playing drums at WBC God began to fuse my whole life together in worship of Him. For me playing drums in the church meant I could for the first time worship God with drums and since drums and music where a big part of my life it began making since to worship God with my whole life. Looking back on it now I think my knew that I needed to be in a church fellowship and the only way that I would go into a church during that time in my life was if my drums were there.

Some if not most worship pastors lead worship in the worship services on Sunday morning. Why do you not lead worship on Sunday?

I think I would say that I do lead worship on Sunday morning. I lead the planning and direction of all of worship services each week as well as play drums on most weeks. Sometimes I think it is easy to limit worship to the activity of singing. So it is easy to say that a worship leader is the lead singer, but I think that paints an inaccurate view of what worship is. When you think about the worship leadership presenting and accurate view of worship on a Sunday morning it has to be more than just a lead singer singing. Here at WBC we have a team based worship leading approach. You will see several different song leaders and instrumentalists who lead the congregation in worship. This not only helps broaden our view of what worship is it also provides a way for the body of Christ to be actively involved in the leading process. When I look at the current team of people that lead the music aspect of our services I see that all have different talents and gifts that God has given them. All of us seek to rely on each other in our efforts of worshipping God rather than focusing our leadership strategy through one main worship leader. Ultimately, God Himself exists in three persons, likewise leading people to Him is more than a one person thing it involves the body coming together under the authority, and intercession of Jesus Christ our exalted head.

Worshipping God is the first element of the mission of WBC. As the pastor of worship how do see the worshipping God part of the mission in action?

Worshipping God is really the foundation of the whole mission of the church. Becoming mature and Carrying Christ love must flow out of the worship of God and are both ultimately defined as worship. Having said that, there is still an aspect of the Worshipping God part of our mission that stands alone. In order for us to see that aspect in action we all need to begin to pursue the reality that worship is a lifestyle and our public worship services need to be seen as an open expression of a body of people whose lives practice the worship of God through out the days of all of our lives. Certainly I am referring to hypocrisy as I say this but not just that. To borrow an analogy from sports when the Dallas Cowboys play a game on Sunday they have spent all week practicing for that Game. Without practice the team does not play well. The Christian life also has practices. These practices are the spiritual disciplines of our faith (Things like personal prayer and bible study). I believe that our worship on Sunday is a direct reflection of how well we have allowed God to use these practices in our daily lives. To take the sports analogy a little further when the Dallas Cowboys play on Sunday to have success they have to play as a team. Likewise, when we worship on Sunday we have to worship as a team. It is easy to see that the worship leaders are a team, but equally important is the fact that the congregation must also see that they are a part of the team as well. Not just a spectator but an active participant. Many times I am involved in discussions about worship. These discussions range from the debates over music styles and even critiquing the quality of the music or the clothing of the worship leaders. I believe that those discussions can quickly become weapons of mass distraction from the awesome truth that we are all a part of the same team and that we all have a role to play in worshipping God with our lives and our worship services.

What steps should people take this school year to help them accomplish the Worship God part of our mission?

I would encourage all of us to have several times of personal worship throughout our days and weeks. These times of personal worship would include times of praying, reading God’s word, confessing sins, and letting God change us on a one on one basis. If we can be that kind of worshipper during the week, then I think that our Sunday services would explode in great worship of God from the all consuming fire that God has fueled us with during the week. Doing that would be my suggestion for a first step. Also, since the whole congregation has a role to play in our public worship services I think it would be good for us to offer worship training to our congregation as to what all of our roles are. If you are interested in that kind of training or help in developing you own life of personal worship please contact me in the church office.

Q & A with Missionaries Allen and Betty Pierce

Allen and Betty are WBC supported missionaries who have been associated with WBC for many years. Here are there thoughts on marriage.
What is the best thing about marriage?- There is no "one", "quick", nor "simple" answer to this question. Since it is God's plan that His creation have helpers, one for another, and since we seem to crave this companionship, we feel truly "complete" with one another, and those times that we have been separated for more than a couple days dramatically point out this truth!
What is the hardest thing about marriage?- Two are now one, so one must think for two at all times. Self must be put on the chopping block for every single decision, and sometimes this is very hard and can cause temporary difficulties (which must be resolved).
What do you think is God’s intention for marriage?- Companionship, pro-creation!
How has marriage affected the way you do evangelism?- Singles, couples, and/or families, through their inherent social status, will have (or not have) access to different sectors of society through which the Gospel may be communicated. In our case, as a family in ministry in Africa, the social structure allowed us to communicate at a much broader range than for someone that is single.
What are some of the biggest things that God has taught you about Himself through your marriage?- The entire Bible is interwoven with analogies of: marriage, family, bride, bridegroom, father, children- which all indicates to us that the Creator is a God of family (i.e. relational), and that within that structure personal sacrifice is absolutely necessary in order to maintain love, care, mutual respect, and anything else of which you might think. Therefore this teaches us how to understand that HE Himself, the Creator, is willing to forgive, love, provide for, and everything else that a good family encompasses. We would not understand this on either level (who He is, or, how family should be) had we never been married, or had we never chosen to seek and to follow Him.

Q & A with Senior Pastor Bruce Zimmerman

We have a special treat for the Becoming Mature section this month. WBC Senior Pastor Bruce Zimmerman and his wife Sheila offer their thoughts on marriage.

What is the best thing about marriage?
Sheila: The best thing about marriage is that there is somebody you can be yourself with. It is as comfortable as a pair of well-worn jeans. There is not a show to put on or pretenses to maintain. I can be exactly who I am with Bruce and he loves me.

Bruce: First thing that comes to mind is SEX! (just kidding) The best part of marriage for me is to have someone who loves me with whom to share the joys and the hurts of my life.

It has been an incredible source of strength to have each other as partners and comforters as we have faced the loss of family members especially in recent months. I also need Sheila to be a good sounding board for the way I see things and understand them. My perspective is often skewed by my own male perspective or my experiences. Sheila helps me understand things and events from a feminine and unique perspective that never would have crossed my mind.

What is the hardest thing about marriage?

Sheila: The hardest part of marriage is when Bruce is not listening or responding to me.

Bruce: The hardest part of marriage is taking the time we need to strengthen and build our marriage. Time constraints have always seemed to cramp our marriage. Whether it is the demands of pastoral ministry, hosting two small groups each week at our home, having regular dinner guests at least three times a week, the demands of being involved in the community, the demands of trying fixing up our old house and old cars, the demands of raising our teenage sons, the demands of concern for aging parents, the demands of paying for college etc., the time left for us can become hard to find if we are not disciplined and protective of the moments that we have.

But at the core of my difficulties in marriage is sin in my own heart. Selfishness and an unwillingness to be giving robs me of the very things that I want in my marriage. I think I am gaining by demanding my own ways, but in reality I am losing. It is part of the paradox of life taught by Jesus--- by giving we receive, by dying to our selves we live, by serving we are gaining, etc.

What do you think is God’s intention for marriage?

Sheila and Bruce: God's intention for marriage is to expererience oneness, that we act and function as one. Marriage is to be a reflection of who God is. I believe God intended for our marriage to reflect the character of oneness of God to our family and to others. When we are in sync with the Lord and with each other the divine reflection is clear. When we get crossways with each other the reflection of God through us is murky and clouded. I believe in this area of life, as well as in the other areas of our lives, we are to bring glory to who God is.

Has being married helped bring spiritual maturity to your life?

Bruce: Being married has helped me see myself far more accurately than ever before. Before marriage I thought of myself as an easygoing, easy to get along with kind of person. I thought being married was going to be a breeze But once I got married, I saw how selfish and self-centered I really was. I saw how much I wanted to have things done my own way. I saw how selfish I was when I would get frustrated with people I loved when they would interfere with my plans and needs. Being married has been an eye-opener to see my own sin and selfishness and to recognize the need for God to change me into the man that God intended for me to be.

What are some of the biggest things that God has taught you about Himself through your marriage?

Sheila: I thought it would be easy to be married to a sweet person, but I have had to learn to depend upon God to love my spouse who I thought I would never have problems with. God helps me love like I need to, because sometimes I just want to be naughty!

Bruce: In being married I have been shown God's grace again and again through Sheila. When I do not deserve love and care, she loves me anyway! It is humbling to recognize that I do not desrve to be loved at all because I have been a real stinker, but I am loved because Sheila chooses to love me because of her love for me. God has shown me the way that He loves me through my marriage. god's love like Sheila's is an expression of grace upon grace. I do not deserve the love of God but He loves me even when I am a "stinker" too. He loves me, not because I deserve it, but because He is a loving God. Just as Sheila is committed to loving me, I reminded that nothing I do can ever can separate me from the love of Christ. Sheila has shown me awesome godly grace in the way that she loves me. She is an incredible love.

Do you recommend for people to attend the Love and Respect Marriage Conference here at WBC?

Bruce: I believe that the Love and Respect Conference will be of a great benefit to our marriage. We are privileged to have these kinds of resources at our disposal to build and strengthen our marriages and homes. I have known several people who have greatly benefitted from attending this conference in other locations. We want to keep growing and learning how to have a more meaningful and healthy relationship as a married couple.

Q & A with Worship Leader Corey Thedford

Corey Thedford serves WBC by helping lead worship in the Sunday services. He and His wife Heidi offer their thoughts on marriage in the following interview. They decided to work together to answer the questions together with one collective answer.

What is the best thing about marriage? The best thing about marriage is having your best friend with you always!

What is the hardest thing about marriage? The hardest thing about marriage is having that same friend hurt you and lose your trust in them.

What do you think is God’s intention for marriage? He wants us to become one flesh and have a relationship with each other centered on Him.

How has marriage affected your worship (music) of God? Through the bumps in our marriage we have learned to fully rely on God.

What are some of the biggest things that God has taught you about Himself through your marriage? That He is there for you always, especially when you are broken and need Him the most. He has taught us that we are not perfect and that we are to truly forgive each other for our mistakes. (Isaiah 43:25) “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and remembers your sins no more.” If He can forgive us of our transgressions and not remember our sins, then how can we not forgive our loved ones of their transgressions against us.

Do you recommend for people to attend the Love and Respect Marriage Conference here at WBC? Don’t know if we can refer people to this conference as we have not attended it ourselves. That being said all classes at WBC that we have been to are great. If this course centers marriage on God then I would fully recommend it to anyone. The only way to have successful marriage is through Him.

Love is the Same in Any Language

One of the ways that WBC seeks to Carry Christ’s love to the world is by supporting missionaries from all over the world. Here is a story from Jamie Newport, a WBC missionary in France, who writes of her experience of being a chaperone for 10 days on school trip with her daughter. She reminds us that loving others is the same in any language as she

I was helping the teacher get a roomful of very rowdy, disobedient, disrespectful fourth grade girls to go to bed. As I was telling them (in French of course) to go to bed, etc. they started making fun of my French, right in front of my face. Not only that, but they were talking about me as if I didn't understand any French either. Each time I spoke to them, they would mock my very words back to me and laugh... well, you can only imagine what kind of emotions were going on inside of me. I am not used to having anyone make fun of me "for real" right to my face, especially not children, and as an adult, I was hurt and my self-confidence felt pretty shaken. In short, they were just being mean. At that point the teacher came in and finished my job (another humiliation) and I left feeling hurt and angry, after-all, I am 44years old and they are about 9 years old. I can make their life pretty miserable if I want to, and at that moment I wanted to! But as I went back to my room to nurse my wounds, Jesus spoke very clearly to me that this very situation was an opportunity for me to forgive and show His love rather than withdraw (in fear and anger) and look for revenge. I prayed He would give me wisdom to know what that would look like.”

The next morning the answer awaited me in Proverbs 25:21-22. Give, love, serve your enemies and in SO DOING you heap burning coals on their head... (paraphrase mine). Yes, that was it, I was going to LOVE those girls to death and in so doing, I KNEW they would be uncomfortable and wonder "why?” At breakfast I went out of my way to say "Good morning", smile, give some loving pats and tousling of hair... you could see in their eyes how surprised they were and the thoughts "Why is she being nice to us??"

Each chance I had to be gentle and kind, to move toward them with interest and to talk to them, I took it. This went on for several days. Then one day one of the girls made fun of my French again to my face, but instead of backing away, I stopped her and had her repeat the word so I could say it correctly and then I asked her what the same word was in English (which she didn't know) and had her repeat it (which she couldn't do)... ahhh, now her eyes registered the fact that, maybe learning another language wasn't all that easy..... God's way is always so sweet!

This continued the whole trip as day after day it became a game between us for me to improve my pronunciation and for them to learn some English words. By the end of the week, I had even taught them to say "yes ma'am" and one little girl in particular I taught to say "I am stubborn." But the final victory came the last night of the trip as I was going to each bedroom to say good-night. As God would have it, it was the very same bedroom where they had scoffed at my French the first day--it was here the little girl I had taught to say "I am stubborn" reached up to me and asked "Will you give me a bisous?" (A bisou is a kiss good-night). I was shocked! & then each girl in turn asked for their bisou and as I walked out of that bedroom I KNEW that the LOVE of Christ had won the victory that week!!! The power of the gospel. I was so excited!!! Now when I see those girls at school they all run up and want to talk and "fair le bis" (give the French cheek kissing greeting) and such... if I had stayed angry and hurt and withdrawn (my normal reaction) I never would have had the privilege to see God work in this way. . . . May the Lord use these new relationships with these girls & boys to open more doors to more families here in Albertville.

Levi's Story

God seeks to bring maturity to us in all sorts of ways. It is difficult to understand how God uses hard times of suffering to grow us up. Listen to Levi’s story and see how God used a tragedy to bring total strangers together so that he could develop maturity in everyone that was involved in life of little 3 day old Levi Gritsavage.

Levi Anthony Gritsavage was three days old. He was Ed and Angela Gritsavage’s third child, and their third son.

Levi’s tiny body was formed with three abnormalities that had threatened his life even within the womb: a double cleft palate, a too-small aorta, and a small sac of internal organs that protruded from his abdominal wall. It’s a condition clinically termed trisomy 13, meaning there’s an extra chromosome in each cell. It was amazing that Levi had lived this long. Ed and Angela focused on their newest son, knowing that every minute they could spend with him was a precious gift.

It was 1:00 on a windy afternoon in North Carolina when Levi died. Ed’s mother, Ellen, was on her patio, her thoughts and prayers continually on her critically fragile grandbaby miles away in Texas. Ed’s parents are godly people who continually seek to hear God's voice or see His hand in the events of life. When Ellen noticed a small white feather float to the ground, she thought, “I bet Levi just passed away”, and she checked the time. After returning from a walk, she and her husband John found that in spite of the strong wind, the white feather had lodged in a quiet corner of the patio. Ellen retrieved it as a memorial to their grandson, whose given names mean promise and praiseworthy. It was soon confirmed that Levi had indeed passed away at the very same time the feather fell to the ground.

So where are the promises and praises in this sad story? In just a short little time, Levi Gritsavage’s life did plenty to illustrate God’s promises and praiseworthiness.

When Ed and Angela learned that her pregnancy wasn’t “normal”, they had recently moved to Waxahachie and joined the fellowship of Waxahachie Bible Church. They both had strong family foundations of a practical, living faith in the sovereignty and power of a loving and wise God. They didn’t doubt, get angry, or stress about how to “cope”. They felt they just needed to live it out; that they had no choice but to go through this, so their attitude was, “let’s just do it in a way that honors God and preserves our testimony. God has chosen us for this for a purpose, and we don’t want to mess it up.” Bible passages they had learned growing up were a great support, as were the lyrics to good Christian music. Angela found her morning “alone time” especially precious. Before her two older boys, Elijah and Josiah, were awake, she enjoyed time with just herself, God, and little Levi as he grew each day within her. The doctors had said that she could lose him at any time, so every morning that she could feel him moving was cause for thanksgiving.

That’s not to say that there weren’t difficult times. Angela explained, “Easter was a hard Sunday for me. We had just found out about Levi’s condition and I wanted to focus on the Lord but all I could think about was God’s power to heal and restore life. My comfort was in the hope I could have. I struggled with how to pray; what to ask for. Jesus knew what He had to go through and still asked for the cup to pass, so I felt that I, not knowing all we would have to go through, could also ask the same. Bruce preached that day on not putting God in a box. I realized that I was expecting God to let my baby live because my sister had lost a baby five years earlier, and surely He wouldn’t allow this to happen twice in the same family; I realized that was a box I was putting God into.”

Even before Levi was conceived, God was at work creating a network of believers to encourage and sustain Angela and Ed. Looking back, they could see how God had chosen and provided believers at church, doctor’s offices, and even the funeral home – strong testimony of His promises to provide all their needs.

A huge part of that network for Angela is Becky Jones, who serves with WBC’s Baby Blessings ministry. Most of her calls to expectant mothers are short, sweet, and cheery. She knew this one would be different, and prayed for extra wisdom and compassion before she picked up the phone and punched in Angela’s number. It turned out that she had no idea how very different this would turn out to be, but God certainly did.

Over the months before Levi’s birth, Becky and Angela went from total strangers to close friends and sisters in Christ. At the time this was written Becky ministered with her main resource, which was time. She was available to babysit or listen or pray throughout Angela’s pregnancy and continued to do so in Angela’s time of grieving. It would take another whole article to describe how God used these two women to bless, teach, inspire, encourage and help each other. Angela says, “My entire family has gained a close friend, godly example, and a prayer supporter through Becky - even my boys love her.” Becky insists that in seeking to bless Angela, she was the one who received the greater blessing, as she observed Ed and Angela’s steadfast faith, and mature marriage and parenting relationships.

Many of Angela’s prayers were answered as Levi came into the world. She treasured the nine months she carried him. She and Ed were so grateful to get to hold and love him even for three short days. They don’t know yet how God will ultimately use Levi’s life, but they know that promises and praises will continue to descend, just like that soft little white feather, every time his story is told.

Personal Worship Leads to Relational Love

What is worship? That is a huge question and this article will not seek to adequately answer it here, but may be it will leads us to think more clearly about what worship is. Worship is more than a song. Worship is more than a part of a worship service. Worship is more than a worship service. Worship is living a life that brings God glory. Certainly we can give God glory in a worship service on Sunday morning, but that is only part of worship. Another important part of worshipping God takes place when we are at home and walking through our daily lives. Listen to these words from Amanda Yates as she learns some lessons of how to relate to other people through the process of worshipping God at home through her personal bible reading a prayer.

I wanted to share with you some hard lessons I have learned over the past couple of weeks. I have been trying to find a teaching job since I graduated last year and I have been unable to find one. Recently, God brought to my attention a scripture. Psalm 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. I have been trying to do that. I have been reading my bible and meditating over his word and spending alot of time praying. One thing that God showed me was that everyone else has been praying fervently for a job for me and I have been praying lazily. Which is why I have been praying and reading more. Next, God showed me that I should be pleasing him and not looking for acceptance and accolades from others. I have had to pray and work through that alot. Then, he showed me that no matter what happens at work or what I may face I need to work unto him and work hard everyday doing what is right for him. Finally, the last one today was one of the hardest. I have felt conviction for gossiping and sharing too much information with others. I have heard his rebuke and continued to tell things about myself that should not have been shared with others. A friend prayed for me a few weeks ago that God would heal my past hurts and that the meditations of my heart and the words from my mouth would be pleasing to him. Today as I was doing my Bible study I received a text. A friend, who had told me things about her sons ex-girlfriend who also happens to have a mother who works at our school, was mad because the mother found out. The mother of the young lady was very upset and told my friend that I told someone else she said these things. I talked to my husband and I prayed. My husband told me to go to the person/persons I offended and make it right and take whatever they dished out to me. I prayed and I did that. I do not remember what all I said because it was awhile ago that I said things or rather asked about things I had heard. I spoke with the young girls mother and apologized for speaking and asking about things about her daughter without knowing her. I apologized perfusely. The saddest part is that I know this young lady and she is kind, beautiful and a joy to be around. She has encouraged me and my daughter. My heart is broken that something I repeated could ever have harmed her. The mother accepted my apology but she is mad at the person who told me these things because I guess I was not the only one she told nor was this the first incident. I have apologized to all parties involved that I could speak to. I have asked forgiveness, but yet again this was a hard lesson. So these are my lessons over the past few weeks.

1. NEVER GOSSIP

2. DON'T PREJUDGE PEOPLE

3. USE YOUR WORDS FOR BUILDING UP AND EDIFICATION

4. BE JOYFUL, KIND, LOVING, COMPASSIONATE AND BE A JOY TO BE AROUND

5. GIVE TO OTHERS WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART

6. DON'T TELL PEOPLE EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT YOURSELF OR OTHERS

7. WORK UNTO THE LORD

8. PRAISE GOD WHEN HE TEACHES YOU AND LISTEN WHEN HE REBUKES YOU

9. TRUST YOUR HUSBAND, GOD GAVE HIM TO ME FOR A REASON LISTEN TO HIS WISE COUNSEL

10. DELIGHT IN THE LORD YOUR GOD AND HE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART. LET THE MEDITATIONS OF YOUR HEART AND MOUTH PLEASE THE LORD. DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO TO YOU. DO NOT LET YOUR RIGHT HAND KNOW WHAT YOUR LEFT IS DOING. SEEK GODLY COUNSEL AND WORK UNTO THE LORD!!