===================================================================== Vol. 4 Issue #9 The Edifier Online ISSN: 1521-9178 October, 1999 ===================================================================== Contents: Rocky Point Outreach Missions Trip - by Janae Ivie COMING TOGETHER - by eljay THANKSGIVING DAY - by Janae Ivie THANK YOU, JESUS - by Janae Ivie Eternal Ink Ezine Websites to check out! Can't Let the Boss Down - by David Staley FEELINGS - by Janae Ivie YOU ARE THE TREASURE - by Janae Ivie STRENGTH AND HOPE - by Janae Ivie Interview with God - submitted by Thomas E. Mackey Final Words ===================================================================== Rocky Point Outreach Missions Trip by Janae L Ivie poetjanae@juno.com http://members.tripod.com/~Christianpoetry/ I just wanted to write and let you know or actually share a little summary of a weekend missions trip I went on. I went on the missions trip, called Rocky Point Outreach, with the college group from Living Streams. I am a part of that college group even though I don't regularly attend that church. There were three areas that we focused in on and whoever wanted to be a part of that area could be. The first team was the construction team. Second was the orphanage team, and the third team was the evangelism team. I got to the orphanage where everyone was staying for the trip. There were maybe 20-30 orphans at the most at the orphanage. I actually didn't get involved to heavily in that ministry area or the construction. Because I arrived later due to having to work on Friday, I was hanging loose doing whatever needed to be done. When I got to the orphanage the evangelism ministry team was preparing for the evening music ministry in the neighborhood where the church was constructed. The orphanage team and evangelism team worked together like one and the construction as another. I really enjoyed being involved in the evangelism ministry area. At the end of the service that night, we had a time of ministry where we prayed for the needs of the Mexicans at the service. I had started to join with people who were praying for others, when I glanced over and wondered if this kid needed prayer for anything. So (while trying to remember the spanish I had taken 4 years ago) I asked this boy, probably like ten years old or so, named Tomas (Thomas in English) if he wanted or needed to have Jesus in his heart. He said yes. So immediately I grabbed a couple members from our team and we started to pray for him. Then we let him pray for himself and we got another person from the team to direct the boy in what to do since he received Christ. We gave him a Spanish New Testament. After like 5 minutes I went over and told Tomas to tell his friends about Jesus (at least I attempted to say that in Spanish) I have always had a dream to someday lead someone to the Lord, and God blessed me by fulfilling my dream of it on this missions trip. I don't know how many Mexicans received Christ, I just know I was instrumental in the process. Anyways, June 19th, is a day I'll definitely never forget after being on this missions trip. What God did, and is continuing to do through me is amazing... I was somewhat worried about leaving the home front, even though I was going on the trip to Rocky Point, but I knew God had a bigger and better plan for me going on this trip then staying home. Plus, I had committed to going on it. I have been on mission trips before and have always come back blessed. God can do mighty things in your life if you just let His Spirit guide you every step of the way! God has a wonderful plan for your life even though it may appear foggy at times. When it seems as if you are having a bad day, God can change it for the better. God cares about you and God wants you to be ready in season and out of season to share the Good News with the hurting and lost. 2 Timothy 4:22 preach the word; be ready in season {and} out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. (NAS) Lord, I pray that You prepare my heart to be open and willing to share with the hurting and lost not just on special occasions such as missions trips, but to those who I work with and come in contact with everyday. Lord, all I desire is to know You more in every area of my life. Thank you Lord for everything that you are doing in my life! I pray that You be glorified in everything I do. In Your name I pray, Amen. ===================================================================== COMING TOGETHER by eljay eljay@mcn.org The faith I have, was brought in over time. Nothing happens overnight, except to Eboneezer Scrooge. Nor should it. I still can't figure out, where Christ is exactly. I know he is God, and God is him. It is such a simple truth. This causes me at times to think it can't possibly be true. But it is it's simplicity which recommends it. I'm out of touch and out of time. Looking for Jesus, and a rhyme. Looking for time to tell these tales of mine. Looking for my saviour in the details of my life. He's beside me and inside me and outside me. Can you see him? Can you feel him? Do you believe in him? I'm out of touch and out of time. But I am not blind... As time unwinds, I may find, the answers that I look for. ===================================================================== THANKSGIVING DAY by Janae L Ivie poetjanae@juno.com http://members.tripod.com/~Christianpoetry/ A day we give thanks to all who have blessed us A day we relax and watch the football games on television A day we fill our stomachs to the brim with delicious turkey A day we spend time with our friends and families Let this day bring you joy and fill your heart with gratitude! ======================================================================= THANK YOU, JESUS by Janae L Ivie poetjanae@juno.com http://members.tripod.com/~Christianpoetry/ Thank you Jesus for sacrificing Your life Thank you Jesus for giving me food to eat Thank you Jesus for giving me a family Thank you Jesus for giving me many friends Thank you Jesus for giving me life in You! =================================================================== Eternal Ink Ezine I wanted to point the readers of The Edifier Online to a nice email publication called Eternal Ink. Below is the information concerning Eternal Ink for your information. Enjoy! ~ David Staley To Subscribe, send an email to: eternal_ink-subscribe@associate.com You can also view past issues on the web at this URL: http://associate.com/Web_news/Eternal_ink "Eternal Ink is an extension of the prayers_r_us prayerchain ministry. Prayers_R_Us is a means of utilizing the Internet to bond together fellow believers, in Jesus Christ and the power of prayer, worldwide." David Davis Editor: Eternal Ink davidh@usit.net ===================================================================== Websites to check out! Prince of Egypt - http://www.prince-of-egypt.com - This is the official site for the Dreamworks movie, Prince of Egypt. I personally find this movie very inspiring. God really used it with our neighborhood youth group back when it was in the theaters. We printed out the Study Guide, and used some of it, as well as reading through the account of the exodus in Scripture with the kids after going to see the movie. Most of the kids were non-believers, and it was great to be able to discuss the truth of this story with them, and use the symbolisms from it to explain what Jesus came and did for those of us who once were slaves to sin! Hope2Help.com - http://www.hope2help.com - A great site for unique Christian resources. You will find many items to assist in helping you in small groups, creative youth materials, and other Church related aides and ideas that you will not find anywhere else! PAF Inc./America's Young Inventors - http://www.pafinc.com - This site is a great site for those who are interested in seeing the youth of America have a chance at putting their inventions to the test. Pass this site along to any young inventor you know! Also as a piece of trivia, the Assistant Executive Director of PAF Inc., Grant Luton, wrote an article for The Edifier in Issue #1. ChurchToYou.com - http://www.churchtoyou.com - The Homepage of the Vineyard City Church in Akron, Ohio. This is the Church that I attend. Feel free to stop by and see what's going on in our part of the Body! ** Email in your Church's webpage URL, and I'll be sure to include ** ** it in future issues of The Edifier Online ** ** Send your email to: the_edifier@hotmail.com ** ================================================================ Can't Let the Boss Down by David Staley dragonraid@yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5236 It was dark and yet the whispers of gossip were all around. Those supposing no one could hear except the ones whose stomach was savoring the tasty morsels continued their vain pursuits as I stood behind the curtain obscured from their sight. Although there was light where I was at it was dim and the shadows that were about me only cast fear and hesitation in the path of the situation I was about to confront. All of a sudden as though all my preconcieved plannings had no bearing I was gently nudged to the center of the hard wood stage. And the squeek of pulleys accompanied by the movement of heavy fabric left me gazing out from dim light to darkness. The moment had come and the audience hushed as they awaited the presentation with anticipation. Then the bright blinding light and even the darkness before me could not be seen through the engulfing light. The mask and suit I was wearing seemed to vanish as I heard roars of laughter in response to the events I was chosen to preform. It seemed as if I were naked and my heart and mind laid bare for all to see. All the more the laughter continued and I began to feel like more of a clown than I was dressed up as. But I continued to perform and not to the plans of the audience but to the plans of the playwright who gave me my script. It was him I truly wanted to please because I was the one he chose! The audience could accept or reject my performance but it really wasn't my work that was being critisized it was the one who wrote it all for me to do. And if they didn't accept it, it was their loss. At this I did not mind being transparent before the crowd. Becoming less of myself and more of who the playwrite intended me to be. Then as the play was ended some praised the playwrite for his work others left disappointed but I left knowing I had only done what I had been chosen to do. And after all, I can't let the Boss down. ====================================================================== FEELINGS by Janae L Ivie poetjanae@juno.com http://members.tripod.com/~Christianpoetry/ Most feelings are a mirror of what is in the heart Most bad feelings have ways of bringing you down to depression Most good feelings are able to keep you at a positive level for a while Most feelings are a way of expressing to others what is going on inside Just give all your bad feelings to Jesus and He will heal them all! ====================================================================== YOU ARE THE TREASURE by Janae L Ivie poetjanae@juno.com http://members.tripod.com/~Christianpoetry/ You are the treasure worth more than anything I could ever own You are the treasure I will seek after all the days of my life You are the treasure that people need to seek after all the time! ===================================================================== STRENGTH AND HOPE by Janae L Ivie poetjanae@juno.com http://members.tripod.com/~Christianpoetry/ V.1 Jesus I ask Jesus I need Please give me hope for today (chorus) V.2 Jesus I need Your strength today Please fill me with it today (chorus- replace hope with strength) CHORUS: Jesus I know You are my hope (strength) Thank you for letting me know I can put my hope (strength) in You ! ====================================================================== Interview with God Submitted by Thomas E. Mackey temackey.jn17.21@juno.com "Come in," God said to me, "So, you would like to interview Me?" "If you have the time," I said. God smiled and said: "My time is called eternity and is enough to do everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?" "None that are new to you. What's the one thing that surprises you most about mankind?" God answered: "That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived..." God's hands took mine and we were silent. After a long period, I said, "May I ask you another question? As a Parent, what would you ask your children to do?" God replied with a smile: "To learn that they cannot make anyone love them what is important is who they love. To learn that it takes years to build trust, and a few seconds to destroy it. To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. There will be others better or worse than they are. To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least. To learn that they should control their attitudes, otherwise their attitudes will control them. To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them. To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness. To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to show their feelings. To learn that money can buy everything but happiness. To learn that while at times they may be entitled to be upset, that does not give them the right to upset those around them. To learn that great dreams do not require great wings, but a landing gear to achieve. To learn that true friends are scarce, he/she who has found one has found a true treasure. To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they forgive themselves. To learn that they are masters of what they keep to themselves and slaves of what they say. To learn that they shall reap what they plant; if they plant gossip they will harvest intrigues, if they plant love they will harvest happiness. To learn that true happiness is not to achieve their goals but to learn who they are through striving towards them. To learn that happiness is a decision. They decide to be happy with what they are and have, or die from envy and jealousy of what they lack. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different. To learn that those who are honest with themselves without considering the consequences go far in life. To learn that even though they may think they have nothing to give, when a friend cries with them, they find the strength to appease the pain. To learn that by trying to hold on to loved ones, they very quickly push them away; and by letting go of those they love, they will be side by side forever. To learn that even though the word "love" has many different meanings, it loses value when it is overstated. To learn that they can never do something extraordinary for Me to love them; I simply do. To learn that the shortest distance they could be from Me is the distance of a prayer. ====================================================================== Final Words Thank you for reading this issue of The Edifier Online. I am releasing this issue on the 2nd anniversary of the 'Stand in the Gap' Sacred Assembly in Washington D.C. You can read my testimony of the trip and also a 1 year follow-up testimony in past issues of The Edifier. I would also like to inform you of a decision to confirm what I believe (faithwise) for the sake of current and future readers of The Edifier here in this issue. For the sake of simplicity I am going to use an established Statement of Faith from the National Association of Evangelicals (which I've personalized for the purpose of this issue). Here it is: 1. I believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God. 2. I believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 3. I believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. 4. I believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. 5. I believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. 6. I believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation. 7. I believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. This Statement of Faith can also be found at: http://www.nae.net/about-mission.html Finally, as I mentioned in the last issue, my wife, Beth is pregnant with our first child; a total answer to prayer. The due date is on 11/26/99, so by the next issue of The Edifier Online there will be a new resident (outside the package) in the Staley Household. If you are interested, you may visit our Family Homepage to see ultrasound pics and hear some wavs of our baby's heartbeat. The URL for the Staley Family Homepage is: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5236 Until next issue, until the Lord returns, may God bless you and keep you! In Christ, David Staley The Edifier Online: http://www.geocities.com/the_edifier Email: the_edifier@hotmail.com Also you may use the URL: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/6749 ====================================================================