The Present Truth Magazine (Email)
September 2007

FROM THE EDITOR’S HEART

Three high school sophomore girls looked at me intently as they sat in my living room listening to me explain how they could effectively share their faith. “When you are posting wall-to-wall messages to your friends on your Facebook website pages, share what God has done and is doing in you.” (For those of you who don’t have teenagers who use the Facebook website, this is a site where kids leave messages for their friends on their individual web pages. Only the friends who gain permission from the writer can get on the individual’s site.)  

I wonder what Philemon thought when Apostle Paul wrote to him concerning effective faith-sharing. 

…that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgement of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus (Philem. 1:6). 

In one of his letters to the Corinthians, Paul explained that believers don’t need to be “walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully” to declare the gospel, for it is the “manifestation of the truth” in the believer’s life that proclaims the glory of God. He goes on to say: 

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us (2 Cor. 4:6-7)  

In the pages of Present Truth, we desire to effectively share the good things that God has done in, to, and through us. May our words put faith in your heart and glorify God.

Sincerely in Christ,
Christa Clark
Editor

THE LAST DISCIPLE is a well-written novel that is a good alternative to the left-behind series.  It is written from what we consider a partial-preterist viewpoint; i.e. that the great-tribulation and most of the book of revelation was written about and fulfilled in the first century.  Reading it is an excellent way to both enjoy a novel and gain a scriptural understanding of how Jesus' and His apostles prophecies were fulfilled in the first century.
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5 Powerful Booklets

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or view them individually:

Spiritual Israel: Then and Now

Armageddon

Holy Spirit and Humanity

Divorce, Remarriage, and Apostolic Doctrine

The Perpetual Lie About Lucifer

Announcements:

You can now listen to our Sunday Sermons online!  Click on our Sermons page.

We are also making some of our sermon series available for purchase on the web.  These are messages that have been brought by the pastors of our church that we believe would be beneficial to the body of Christ at large.  Subjects include:

*Who is This Babylon: Teaching through the book of Revelation from a past-fulfillment covenantal perspective.

*The Power of Positive Thinking: How to be Holy Spirit led, Bible inspired, positive thinkers in Christ.

*Wealth, Riches & Money: Teachings on finances & stewardship.

*God, Man, & Miracles: How miracles can be experienced today with many practical examples.

*Hebrews: Covenants in Contrast: An in-depth study of the book of Hebrews from the past-fulfillment covenantal perspective.

By way of encouragement, we continue to receive regular additions to our magazine, as well as e-mail newsletter, Present Truth Newsletter.  We have also been receiving e-mails from all over our nation and the world from people whom God has in the process of reform.  God is continuing to reform His church and He is faithful to remind us through the testimonies of His people!

For Further Study

SPIRITUAL ISRAEL: THEN & NOW
There exists a great debate today as to who the true Israel of God is.  Is it a small nation of people in the middle east, or is it a spiritual people? Spiritual Israel: Then & Now is a reader friendly, yet thorough, study of Israel from the covenantal perspective.  Today, all who are in Christ make up the Israel of God....
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Dear Present Truth Magazine Subscriber:

We are glad to have you as a subscriber to our Present Truth Magazine.  Below you will find articles from individual authors who have written for our magazine.   Our prayer for all who receive read these articles is that the Lord "...may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Ephesians 1:17-18).

UNION WITH GOD
By A. Wilson Phillips 

Our spiritual union with our Creator is a priceless picture He paints to hang in the corridors of our minds. He says,  

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His (Christ’s) death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom. 6:5). 

Speaking to His disciples, Jesus prophesied of this union just a few hours before going to the cross.  

…the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father… He dwells with you and will be in you… you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him (John 15:26, 14:17, 20, 23).  

This spiritual union gives us access to the wisdom, knowledge, and discernment of God Himself. 

Jesus reinforces this spiritual union with our Creator (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) with the metaphor of the vine and branches.  

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away (Judas, pseudo followers); and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:1-8). 

Many today are being misled and confused about our Lord’s and His apostles’ teaching concerning the believer’s union with the Creator. Perhaps it’s because the spiritual leaders themselves lack in their own lives a personal manifestation of our Lord. 

In any case, loving God’s Word is essential to become a true disciple.  

He who has My commandments (words) and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him (John 14:21).  

Jesus is very clear if we love Him, we will love His Father’s Word also. 

Jesus completely aligned His life and will with the Father’s, which speaks of His total allegiance to the Father’s Word and commandments (John 8:29). Obedience from the heart to all of God’s Word is essential to have our Lord manifest or disclose Himself to us by the illumination of His Spirit.  

Paul, a true disciple of Jesus, gives us the legacy of our joint heirship with the resurrected Lord (Rom. 8:16-17). Peter further adds that we have God’s divine life and nature (2 Pet. 1:3-4). 

God’s Word and Spirit are working harmoniously together to strengthen God’s covenant people in His kingdom truths or realities. Let us maximize our potential in Christ in our postmodern world. 

The best is yet to come!

A. Wilson Phillips is the co-founding and senior pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church.

MIRACLES
By Richard K. Clark 

In 1985, my family and I were living in Rapid City, South Dakota, as pastors of a small church. The Lord had convincingly shown us that we were going to be moving back to our roots in Springfield, but He had not given a timeframe for the move. Surprisingly, He also impressed me to seek a full-time job there in South Dakota to supplement the financial needs of our family. That God would have me work a job outside the church was not a problem for me—it was the knowing that we were leaving Rapid City that was my concern. How could I with good conscience go to work for someone without giving that person some assurance of longevity? I had worked enough jobs in my life to know that employee turnover is the most expensive and difficult problem in the marketplace. 

I also had another problem. My college degree was in Bible and theology… There aren’t many jobs out there that call for a degree in Bible and theology. And even though I had worked several jobs while in school, they weren’t career-type jobs. So what kind of job should I pursue? My first step was to go to the South Dakota job services office located in Rapid City. Along a large wall were pasted hundreds of available job titles; my assignment, write three of these potential jobs on the application and wait for the counselor to call my name. None of the jobs gave the specific company or location, just the generic type of job. As I scanned the choices, one seemed to grab my attention—furniture sales. Though I had never worked in the furniture business, or sales in general, I still listed furniture sales as one of my three options. 

When my turn came, the lady looked at my resume and said she would pass my information along to the three employers, and if they had interest, they would contact me.  

That afternoon I got a call from a gentleman identified as the manager of a large furniture store in Rapid City. He said, “I am looking at your resume and find it fascinating … I actually have no openings at this time because we have already hired someone for the sales position, but I would still like to meet you sometime.” 

My reply was, “What about right now?” He said he would be there for a while, so I put on my suit and drove through the bitter January cold and snow of Rapid City to his store.   

I had driven by this store on many occasions but would never have dared go in. It had been the old Sears building and was converted into 45,000 square feet of show space for very high-dollar furniture. We sat and talked for quite some time, and then he took me on a guided tour of the facility. At the end of our tour he said, “As I told you, I have already filled the sales position, but I would like to talk with the owner and see if he would allow me to create a new position for you. Are you interested?” My affirmative response was easy because through our whole conversation my heart felt as though it was on fire. God was doing something. 

The next day he called me and said, “When can you start work?” I said, “Right now if you like,” so he told me to start the next morning. The next few days were invested in teaching me about furniture in general, specifically well-made furniture, and the way that their company wanted to work with their customers. I learned a lot and learned fast, for God was with me. The next few months went quickly, and then one evening I had a dream. I was talking with Pastor Phillips from Springfield, and I said to him, “When we come back, what will I do?” His response was, “You will sell furniture.” When I awoke, I knew that God was giving me further direction so we sent resumes to the furniture stores in Springfield that handled similar furniture that I was selling in Rapid City.   

One day I got a call. The man said that he was the manager of a furniture store in Springfield. He said, “I am looking at your resume and find it fascinating … I actually have no opening at this time for a sales person, but I would like to meet you if you’re ever in Springfield.” I knew this was the Lord, so in a few weeks I came to Springfield. This furniture store was the oldest in Springfield, specializing in very high quality furniture. The manager and I talked for some time, and then he gave me a tour of their store and brought all the other employees over to meet me. He then reminded me that he had no sales positions available, but there was an opening for a deliveryman. My spirit said, “I’ll take it,” and he assured me that I would be moved into sales at the first opportunity.   

Within about six months, I had been promoted to manager of this store. Again, I knew that it was God at work. I functioned in this capacity for some time, and the Lord began to show me that He was going to do something different again, but what?  

One day my father called and said a friend told him about a sales position at one of the local radio stations. He wanted to know if I had interest, and my heart said yes. I contacted the sales manager of the radio station to ask for an appointment, and we talked for some time. He began by saying, “I do not have a sales opening at this time for we have already filled that position, but I would like to meet you sometime.” I set the appointment, and this led to several follow-up interviews including a very expensive psychological evaluation test.

At the conclusion of each interview, I felt the Lord nudge me to continue moving forward with them, even though I had been informed that they had no openings. Ultimately, I sat before all the management team of this radio station and the general manager informed me that they had created a new job for me if I was interested. I knew it was the Lord so I took the job. This was the third time within a few years that the Lord had created a job for me that did not exist. Of course, I knew that it had nothing to do with my inherent greatness and everything to do with His mercy and His will being done on this earth. 

As I have reflected often on these past events in my life, I have concluded again and again that God is a great God, and He does great things in and through His people. Miracles are the way of life for God’s children. We will still go through suffering and development. We will still get up each day and fulfill our calling with His grace supplied. We will have times when things don’t fit together and we wonder where God has gone. But through it all, God will never change, never leave us, and never forsake us, and He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we can ask or think according to His power at work in us. And all is for the sake of His glory (Eph 3:20-21).
 

Richard K. Clark is an associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church.

Military Geniuses of the Bible
By Benjamin Davis 

I recently watched a history channel special called “Bible Battles.” In this docudrama, unbelieving experts examined the historical battles of the Bible from a military standpoint. They came to the conclusion that the early military leaders of the Bible such as Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Deborah, and Gideon were military geniuses. Because their tactics were so amazing, military leaders repeated their methods in later wars down through history.   

As the docudrama’s experts examined the battles, a common theme began to develop. Israel always seemed to have a smaller, inferior army than their foes. Nevertheless, when they had a strong leader, they had story after story of military victory. Another common theme—ignored by the television special—was a statement that appeared in the experts’ Scripture readings: “and the Lord was with them.” 

The unbelieving experts of this docudrama were not far from the truth in their examination. Israel’s early leaders were military geniuses, especially as they allowed the Lord to lead them and be with them in their battles. I propose that what they experienced was the genius of God at work in them. 

The docudrama spent a lot of time on Joshua and his amazing victories while taking the Promised Land. I also find the story of Joshua to be amazing but for different reasons.   

When Joshua entered the Promised Land, he did so on assignment from the Lord. Israel had earlier attempted to enter the Promised Land in presumption and failed (Num. 14). Now, however, they were on assignment from the Lord, who spoke to them:  

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Josh. 1:9). 

As Joshua approached the first city, Jericho, his military genius came alive with an encounter that he had. 

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”

 So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”

Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so (Josh. 5:13-15). 

The “Bible Battles” experts explained that the normal way for an army like Joshua’s to take a city like Jericho would have been to storm it with ladders and ropes. Though this would have been a very strong and courageous way to take the city, it would have been presumptuous on Joshua’s part and would have led to significant casualties.   

As Joshua yielded to his encounter with the Lord’s messenger, he discovered God’s plan to take the city without Israelite casualties. Israel marched around the city for seven days, blowing their trumpets, and on the seventh day, the Lord struck down the walls, enabling Israel to go in and crush the city’s army. 

Joshua’s yielding to God’s way became an example that was repeated throughout biblical history by God’s chosen leaders. Gideon whittled his army down to the faithful and loyal before he fought (Judg. 7), David slew Goliath with a sling (1 Sam. 17), and Jehoshaphat placed the worship band in front of his army as it marched out for war (2 Chr. 20). In the New Testament, by the Father God’s direction, Jesus chose twelve unlikely apostles to carry the gospel and establish the early church. He went around the powerful Sanhedrin and the common Jewish establishment to build His army and advance His gospel.   

To spread the gospel today, I personally have come to identify with Paul’s military genius: 

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:5-6).

Benjamin Davis is an associate pastor of Abundant Life Covenant Church

PRIVILEGE, RESPONSIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
By Jonathan Clark 

I recently read an article in the newspaper about hard work. The writer believes that our youth need to learn the value of hard work (I agree). As I thought about teaching my kids the value of hard work and that work is a privilege, I was reminded that privilege, responsibility, and accountability are inseparable. 

Privileges are blessings, and a life surrendered to the God of the Bible is a life of blessing. The first 14 verses of Deuteronomy 28 are a description of all the many blessings that will overtake the person who diligently obeys the voice of the Lord God: “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you…” (v. 2). Privileges are to be received, enjoyed, and properly stewarded in the service of God Himself, for the privileges of the Lord will always come with responsibility and accountability: “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). Privileges without responsibility and accountability will lead to spoiled and ungrateful souls. 

A parable of Jesus in Luke 16 also demonstrates accountability for privileges:  

…There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship…” (Luke 16:1-2). 

Responsibility and accountability are often referred to as faithfulness. The steward in the above parable was a manager of his master’s goods. His privilege was to have a job and enjoy the fruits and benefits thereof. If he was unfaithful (as he was in the parable), he runs the risk of losing his privileges. 

In First Kings 11, we see the consequences of King Solomon losing his privileges (his kingdom). His father, King David, had built the kingdom, and Solomon lost it due to his unfaithful stewardship—he was disloyal to the Lord in his heart and began to follow after his wives in serving other gods. He was experiencing the curses described in the second half of Deuteronomy 28—the curses to those who are unfaithful stewards of the Lord. 

We have been teaching our children that all of the privileges they enjoy—and they are many—come with responsibility and accountability. For instance, my daughter is now sixteen and driving, which is a tremendous privilege. However, to enjoy this privilege, she will have to be responsible for the car she is driving (gas, maintenance, insurance) and accountable to us (her parents), to the State of Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles (proper licensing), to the law enforcement agencies (to obey the rules of the road), to her fellow drivers, etc. 

…Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things… (Matt. 25:21). 

As we are faithful in our responsibilities and accountabilities, the Lord will be able to increase the spiritual and material privileges that we enjoy. Ultimately, our motivation is not for our own blessing and advancement, but for the privileges to be used to advance the kingdom of God and to bless others. Truly, diligence is man’s prized possession.

Jonathan Clark is an elder of Abundant Life Covenant Church and a physician in Springfield, Missouri.

SOCIAL WELFARE
By Liz Frater 

Several years ago, my son studied our state government in school. He learned about his rights according to the Constitution. In his thinking, he tried to apply his rights in the state to our home and approached me about the topic. 

My response was, “In your dad and my home, Aaron, you do not have rights; you have great privileges. Dad and I provide for your healthcare, clothing, housing, food, education, transportation, and any other miscellaneous needs. These are Daddy and my responsibilities, and we are accountable to various people how we provide these for you. It is our privilege to require you to be a good steward of these privileges. It is our privilege to require you to be accountable to us with that stewardship. All three of us, then, have privileges, responsibilities, and accountabilities in this relationship.” 

Aaron stopped to think about this new viewpoint. I pointed out the principle spelled out in Galatians 4:1-2; we read it together.  

Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.  

I explained to Aaron that our ultimate goal is for him to become a person who would be a good steward of his own family, home, and job.  

Now that he is eighteen and getting ready to go out on his own, Aaron has great appreciation for his privileges, responsibilities, and accountabilities. 

I graduated from college cum laude in social work and received the honors of “Most Likely to Succeed” and “Most Valuable Social Work Student.” At that time, I believed people in our society had rights, and the government should provide jobs, training, and education. I felt the government should make sure people had all they needed—food, clothing, and shelter. I believed the people, however, could not be told what to do by the state; they had free will to decide their destiny. I felt it was the state’s fault that people were stuck on welfare. The government had written the rules in such a way that people were penalized if they tried to get off welfare and rewarded to stay on assistance. 

Over the years, my view has changed. Having children and raising them by biblical principles has made me reconsider my previous beliefs.  

I have come to believe that the family is a microcosm for society and the economy. In our country—the macro example—people present themselves to the federal, state, and local welfare services and claim they cannot provide for their families and themselves. They ask for help with transportation, housing, food, employment, healthcare, education, etc. Because they are “victims,” they receive these privileges with minimal responsibility and accountability. The government, on the other hand, has great responsibility and accountability but little privilege. This lack of balance puts great strain on the welfare system. 

Now we have laws that limit the amount of aid a person can receive. Many forms of “welfare-to-work” programs have been created. However, the lack of balance between provider and recipient has not been addressed. A welfare recipient still has the right to set his/her own course for life while the government funds the person’s poor choices. 

Quite often, our welfare system produces people who are ungrateful, irresponsible, and poor stewards. Therefore, no matter what programs we institute, they will rarely produce people who can be good stewards of their families, homes, and jobs.

My proposal is this: First, we have to teach people to forgive and forget whatever abuses they have had; they are not victims anymore. Secondly we need to take lessons from the microcosm example of the family and apply it to the local, state, and federal administration of the temporary assistance programs. These programs need to set clear guidelines and administer discipline when they are not met. They need to be able to tell people what to do while they are engaged in these programs. 

Ultimately, the only way my proposal will work is if it is administered by the local church and people are discipled/mentored by local believers who have proven godly character. 

The church of Jesus Christ is the answer to the government’s social welfare problems. 

Liz Frater a social service worker for the state of Missouri.

GENUINE FORGIVENESS
By Lisa Krueger 

Recently during my morning devotions, I began to pray for my husband Raymond and his new job. Specifically, I prayed for a greater trust between Raymond and his new counterpart in the finance department. Without a trust relationship between salespeople, there is often strife and an anxiousness that makes them believe they need to be at work from bell-to-bell six days a week to avoid missing out on a sale. This wreaks havoc on any family life one might want to have, causing stress both at work and at home.  

I prayed for two of the other managers as well. Raymond previously worked with them at another dealership. During that time, there was an offense among the three that has since been forgiven. The Lord showed me that there is a tremendous amount of trust between these men. He spoke to my spirit saying, “Nothing solidifies a relationship like forgiveness.” I sat quietly for a moment thinking on those words… 

When forgiveness is not extended, there is no restoration and no room for relationship. There isn’t really any reason to have a relationship if a person chooses not to forgive. When a heart lacks forgiveness, it is full of everything but what is necessary to maintain a healthy relationship. When forgiveness is extended, the giver and the recipient are reconciled to one another—this restores the opportunity for relationship. 

Before God called me unto Himself, I did not know that I needed to be reconciled, or that I was offensive to Him. Christ restored me to a right relationship with my Father. In Christ, I am forgiven and accepted. I have been made whole. As my understanding about what Christ has done for me increases, my ability to trust also increases. God chose to forgive me because He wanted a relationship with me, and He knows that I need to trust Him and to feel accepted. He loves me so much that He gave His only Son to die for my sins—so I would be forgiven, and we could be in relationship with one another!  

Nothing solidifies a relationship like forgiveness. 

Lisa Krueger works part-time as a substitute aide in the early childhood and special education departments of Springfield public schools.

I CONFESS...
By Steve Burnich 

And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak (2 Cor. 4:13). 

As believers, we must speak the truth regardless of how we feel. This last month the Lord has dealt with my emotions. Like many people, I often listen to my feelings for guidance. In the past, my feelings dictated my relationship towards the Lord. If I felt good, then my relationship with the Lord was good. If I felt bad, then my relationship with the Lord was bad. In believing this, I only felt worthy to praise God, talk about Him, or teach His Word to others when I felt good. He has shown me that we live by faith not by sight. My faith is this—that my relationship with Him is great regardless of how I feel. He is worthy of my praise whether I feel like it or not. What He has taught me is that He wants me to praise Him and tell Him I love Him no matter how I feel, and so I speak it.  

What do I speak? I speak what I believe.  

David expressed his emotions when he felt the Lord had left him:  

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?

How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

Having sorrow in my heart daily? (Ps.13:1-2). 

However, he concludes his psalm by stating:  

But I have trusted in Your mercy;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me (Ps. 13:5-6). 

The writer of Hebrews states:  

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name (Heb. 13:15). 

The Lord has taught me that my sacrifice to Him is to confess His wonderful name regardless of how I feel. When I feel like I’m having a bad day, I say,  

"Lord, You are good. To you I lift up my soul. In You I trust, oh my God. My hope is in You all day long, for You are the God of my salvation. You are the Lord God Almighty. You are my Father. And You are amazing!"

When I feel like I’m having a good day, I confess the same. When I confess His truth and my praise to Him, sometimes my feelings change and sometimes they don’t. It doesn’t matter. I am no longer my point of reference. He is my point of reference because He is the great “I AM,” and He never changes.  

Steve Burnich is a communications major and religious studies minor at Missouri State University and a member of Power House.

DOES GOD PROVIDE?
By Nell Lawrence 

It seems to me that our God has gone to great lengths to teach all of us not to worry about being loved or provided for. He certainly has had some work to do in my case, due to what I experienced as a child. 

I was the first daughter, the third of eight children. We lived in a small rural community of northern Arkansas. Sometimes I read accounts from people who say, “We were poor, but we did not know it.” We were poor, and I knew it. We lived on homemade bread, beans, and potatoes. We had no indoor plumbing. Our house was hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I never slept warm on cold winter nights as a child—not once. I would spread my coat as extra cover, but it was never enough. 

Parents have their own issues to deal with, so I don’t want to be too hard on mine. They did the best they could. My father always seemed distant and cold to me. My mother had been raised in an atmosphere of relative prosperity for the time. Her father owned a sawmill and a canning factory. In her heart, my mother never really left her childhood home.  

My mother loved all her babies—it was just children that she didn’t seem to like. She weaned my younger siblings and promptly turned them over to me. Frankly, for the most part, we were on our own to raise ourselves. From about age twelve, I cannot recall a time when I didn’t have a child to care for, dishes to wash, a meal to cook, or laundry to do. 

For most of my school days, I had just one good pair of socks and homemade underpants. I would wash them out every night, making sewing repairs as needed for the next day. My best day was when someone would throw off a bag of old clothes at our house. Maybe I would have something new to wear. I was desperately skinny, timid, unclean, and unkempt. I believed that I was ugly, barely tolerated—unwanted. 

I married three days after my eighteenth birthday. My parents seemed relieved by my leaving home. Within six years, we had three daughters. Ten years later, their father and I were divorced. I was the one who left, and I didn’t go back to my parents. 

Rejection begets rejection, and only God has a complete understanding of the complex dynamics in any failed relationship. I was both the victim of and a contributor to our circumstances, but God is rich in mercy. I had three girls, no job, and no place to stay. I had little outside-the-home work experience and little confidence that anyone would want to employ me.  

Now, I know it was God’s grace that provided me a job, then a better job. There was soon a house to rent, then a low-interest loan for the beautiful new house that the girls and I moved into. I received raises and promotions at work. Once, when I was recovering from surgery and had used all my vacation and sick leave, I was advanced sick leave until I could return to work. I never asked for any of those things.  

For eight years, I was in and out of bad marriages, bad relationships, until I was all but “done in.” Then God’s grace led me to the right match. 

My husband and I have known some relatively lean times but none like we faced when he was seriously ill for more than a year. My husband’s healing was miraculous, but God did much more than that. He has bound us together and with others as never before. I know that it was God who moved on our church family, our natural family, friends, and many others to save us from financial disaster.  

God has overwhelmed my upbringing and my doubts. Now I declare with the psalmist, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” 

Nell Lawrence is a member of Abundant Life Covenant Church.

Death, Burial, and Resurrection of My Calling
By Leesa Hamilton

Today, anyone can visit the college/career ministry near MSU at the corner of Grand and National upstairs in the Bears Mall, Suite H, and the name on the door is “POWER HOUSE.” 

Leesa Hamilton and her husband Byron own Med-Soft National Training Institute in Springfield, Missouri.

THE COST OF FREEDOM
By Kyle Clark 

In Christ, I am free from the power of sin, self, the devil, and the grave. I have been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3). In exchange, God wants to be Lord over my life. Just because I have the right to free speech in America, doesn’t mean that I have the right to free speech in God’s kingdom; my “citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20a). God the Father sent His Son as a sacrifice, so that we might have freedom. The cost was great. The cost of true freedom always will be.  

For freedom Christ has set us free (Gal. 5:1, RSV).

Kyle Clark is a senior at Missouri State University studying religion.

POWER HOUSE
Bears Mall
National & Grand, Suite H 

A new ministry that targets 18 to 25-year-olds is gearing up for the upcoming school year. Students, graduates, and those on career paths that may not currently include college are welcome.