Return to Newsletter Index Page

Highlights From this Issue
Nature and Scripture
Humor
From Newlyweds to Marriage Veterans (J.R.)
The Hot Water Bottle-A True Story from Africa
Don't Apologize For What You Believe
The Human Brain
Frank and Ernest
The Top 50 Oxymorons
The Girl With the Pen: Thank You
Provision

NATURE AND SCRIPTURE
From 'Essentials', by David L. Edwards and John Stott

Nature and Scripture are both divine revelation ('general and special', 'natural and supernatural', to use the traditional terms), since God has revealed himself both in the world he has made and in Christ and the Biblical witness to Christ. Science is the fallible human interpretation of nature, while theology (or 'tradition', which is theological reflection) is the fallible human interpretation of Scripture. You and I believe (I think) that in nature and Scripture there are certain given things, *data* (although they relate to largely different spheres), which, if they truly come from God, cannot contradict one another. The contradictions have not been between nature and Scripture, but between science and theology, that is, between different human interpretations of God's double revelation. If, therefore, we are to learn lessons from the past, it is neither for conservatives to deny the evidence of nature, nor for liberals to deny the evidence of Scripture, but for all of us to re-examine our interpretations of both. Revealed truths God's Word is designed to make us Christians, not scientists, and to lead us to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. It was not God's intention to reveal in Scripture what human beings could discover by their own investigations and experiments. So the first three chapters of Genesis reveal in particular four spiritual truths which could never be discovered by the scientific method. First, that God made everything. Secondly, that he made it out of nothing. There was no original raw material as eternal as himself on which he could work. Thirdly, that he made man male and female in his own image. Fourthly, that everything which he made was 'very good'. When it left His hand it was perfect. Sin and suffering were foreign invasions into his lovely world, and spoiled it.

HUMOR
Quoted from More Holy Humor - Lloyd Lamar - WCG

Three small boys were bragging about their fathers. The first boasted that his dad owned a farm. The second said his dad owned a factory. The third boy, a pastor's son, said his dad owned hell. One boy said, 'How can a man own hell?' The pastor's son said, 'My mom told my grandma that the elders of our church gave it to him last night.'

A fifteen year old boy who teaches Sunday school class for the third-graders at a church asked his students, 'What is a prophet?' One young boy quickly replied, 'When someone makes a good investment.'

After the birth of their child, an Episcopal priest, wearing his clerical collar, visited his wife in the hospital. He greeted her with a hug and a kiss, and gave her another hug and kiss when he left. Later, the wife's roommate commented: 'Your pastor is sure friendlier than mine.'

Message on an out-door church sign: If you have insomnia, don't count sheep. Talk to the Shepherd.

Reading from Mark 1:9 one recent morning, a pastor transposed a couple of words and it came out: 'At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by Jordan in the John.'

FROM NEWLEYWEDS TO MARRIAGE VETERANS
Pastor Jim Roberts

A theme in these personal profile articles is transition. This move or shift from one thing to another can be a tricky experience. With every sermon I'm concerned with smooth transitions from segment to segment, with varying degrees of success. The last Shepherd's Voice carried an article "From Classroom Theory to Real Life." I'd like to return to that transition before moving on through 25 years as a headquarters member and employee.

Before our August wedding in 1970, life had been quite "artificial" for Hazel and I. College life is hardly normal, especially at highly regimented Ambassador. Classroom theory abounded. We learned all the ideals of how to be perfect husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. As "AC grads", we would now be expected to set a brilliant example of proper living and leading.

Honeymoons are pretty artificial, too. They are times of discovery, but not within the humdrum of everyday life. When we got home to our first little apartment, real discovery ensued! Right away I found out I didn't fold towels right, left the toilet lid up, and knew little of how to execute a family budget. Hazel learned how hard it was to keep enough fresh whole-wheat bread baked, to look pretty 24 hours a day, and to keep dust off the window blinds. And we had begun an odyssey of discovery about who each other really were! Remember the song "Getting to Know You"?

Well, we are still on that journey 32 years later. But it's a more satisfying one now. We still startle each other at times, but not nearly as often. We are not on pedestals anymore. You know about pedestals. They are prerequisites for disillusionment. Hazel and I long ago shed our rose-colored glasses and are learning more and more how to don grace-colored glasses. We look much better to one another that way.

What has helped us the most? Jesus Christ as the senior member of our "triple-braided cord," of course (Ecclesiastes 4:12). In addition, three principles have helped us a lot: commitment, partnering, and communication. Commitment sees us through those times when we are just fed up with each other, and compels us to find solutions. Partnering minimizes those things that are "mine" or "yours." We really try to share everything. Communication helps us to talk through any and all issues until we either agree, or agree to disagree. Add in a healthy dose of respect, and we have a good chance for another 32 years! Of course, a little romance adds some spice!

Transitions. I plan to write about more transitions Hazel and I have been through in our lives. The point today is that these are unavoidable. We all move through times and seasons in our lives where we experience significant or dramatic change. There is an indelible connection between quality relationships and successful movement through transition. Most important is that relationship with Jesus Christ, which fuels better relationships with others. In a Christian marriage, including Jesus daily as that 3rd partner is essential. While we aren't out looking for any more major transitions these days, we are prepared for them if they come!

THE HOT WATER BOTTLE-A TRUE STORY FROM AFRICA
As told by Helen Roseveare, a doctor missionary from England to Zaire, Africa
Lyn Mills, Cambridge, OH

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward with her baby daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator) and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill the hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. 'And it was our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. 'All right,' I said, 'Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.' The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two- year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God,' she prayed, 'send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.' While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, 'And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?' As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, 'Amen'? I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel! I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly coloured, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas-that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the.. could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out- yes! A brand-new, rubber hot water bottle! I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!' Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked, 'Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?' That parcel had been on the way for five whole months! Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child five months before in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it 'that afternoon. 'Before they call, I will answer!' Isaiah 65:24

DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE
Charles R. Scoville

There are many historical facts in the world that were not attended by one-tenth as many witnesses as was the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. As examples, I might speak of the birth of princes, the signing of treaties, the remarks of cabinet officers, and the deeds of assassins. I say these great events that men receive upon testimony and accept as facts, these have not had one-tenth the number of witnesses as had the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore I need not beg anybody's pardon for what I believe. I believe with all my heart that Jesus, the Christ, is risen indeed. I believe that He was seen after His Resurrection, by 641 eye witnesses. During those forty days, Jesus appeared to different men under different circumstances at various places. He ate with them, walked with them, and talked with them. They positively could not have been deceived. Such deception would be without parallel in history and without an analogy in the annals of men. Christ's enemies became the charter members of His church, in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. Account for that fact if you deny the Resurrection.

THE HUMAN BRAIN
LadyHawke

The average brain weighs about 46 oz (1.3 kg).

One human brain generates more electrical impulses in a single day than all of the world's telephones put together.

The brain could store the knowledge found in about ten million books.

The brain has about 4,000 thoughts per day.

Eighty-five percent of the brain is wired for visual processing, and the retina accounts for 40 percent of all nerves connected to the brain. Our eyes register 6,000 visual impressions per hour.

Used with permission of Bob Thaves

THE TOP 50 OXYMORONS
William Stanfield - Ballymoney Church

50. Act naturally
49. Found missing
48. Resident alien
47. Advanced BASIC
46. Genuine imitation
45. Airline Food
44. Good grief
43. Same difference
42. Almost exactly
41. Government organisation
40. Sanitary landfill
39. Alone together
38. Legally drunk
37. Silent scream
36. British fashion
35. Living dead
34. Small crowd
33. Business ethics
32. Soft rock
31. Butt Head
30. Military Intelligence
29. Software documentation
28. New York culture
27. New classic
26. Sweet sorrow
25. Childproof
24. 'Now, then ..'
23. Synthetic natural gas
22. Christian Scientists
21. Passive aggression
20. Taped live
19. Clearly misunderstood
18. Peace force
17. Extinct Life
16. Temporary tax increase
15. Computer jock
14. Plastic glasses
13. Terribly pleased
12. Computer security
11. Political science
10. Tight slacks
9. Definite maybe
8. Pretty ugly
7. Twelve-ounce pound cake
6. Diet ice cream
5. Rap music
4. Working vacation
3. Exact estimate
2. Religious tolerance
1. Microsoft Works
0. Job Security

(PLUS New Covenant legalism and working holiday!...Tony Goudie.)

The Girl With the Pen
Nita Davis

Thank You

"Thank you" has only eight little letters,
and takes but a moment to say.
To spell it takes a very small space,
but a thousand words couldn't convey.

When someone remembers a kindness,
no matter what the cause,
"Thank you" those eight little letters takes a moment,
no reason to pause.

May I never become so big a who's who,
or become so small to forget:
"Thank You"

PROVISION

The lush Hawaiian island of Kauai has supported dense tropical forests for thousands of years. By all rights, the soil on this volcanic island should have been depleted of phosphorous long ago. Yet the forests continue to thrive. A scientist named Oliver Chadwick began investigating this strange phenomenon. By analysing the chemical signature of the phosphorous in Hawaii's soil, he found that the life-giving nutrient actually originated in Asia. Dust, carried aloft by winds, had travelled almost 10,000 miles to fertilise the beautiful vegetation which covers the islands today. This story reminds me of an old saying: 'No man is an island.' That simple proverb challenges us to admit that each of us is nourished, supported, and sometimes carried by other men and women. Many times, without our knowledge, we are carried by God. The same God who oversees the 10,000 mile flight of life-giving dust across the ocean arranges for your needs to be met as well. A word of encouragement when you need it most .. an unexpected check in the mail .. a circumstance that just works out, in spite of the odds .. and on and on, each a gift from a God who knows your needs better than you do and who loves you more than you could even love yourself.

Twenty centuries ago, Paul told the Philippians, 'My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.' Phil. 4:19, NIV

It's still true today.

One In Christ Community Church
890 Fargo Avenue
San Leandro, CA 94579

Pastor Jim Roberts
(510) 487-8126