Now in our 9th Year!
March
Arrogance, personified. Now Piers Morgan Wants to Amend Moses by MICHAEL BROWN
Patsy Cline Remembered Patsy Cline Remembered is a show that not only features the greatest hits of one of the most influential female vocalists, but invites you to explore the reality of who Patsy was beyond her music. Come celebrate her achievements and grieve her troubles as you discover how she paved the way for women to become an integral part of Country Music.
Fresh off his attack on America’s gun control laws, Piers Morgan set his sights on another set of laws that trouble him, the laws of Moses and the Bible. But before he called for an amendment to the Bible to recognize Patsy Cline Remembered stars C.J. Newsom, who performed in “gay rights,” Morgan actually askedhis guest, the award winning John Denver Tribute show for over six years, Pastor Rick Warren, a very fair question, and Warren stumbled in his answer. Of course, Morgan’s timing could not have been worse. After all, this was a Christmas Eve interview with a Christian leader, and Morgan is not exactly riding a wave of popul a r i t y. And to compare the Bible to the Constitution shows a real lack of understanding, let alone sensitivity. (According to Morgan, “Both the Bible and the Constitution were well intentioned but they are basically, inherently flawed.”) Even those who do not believe the Bible to be God’s Word generally have the prudence not to call for an amendment to the Scriptures. The idea is patently absurd. (To quote Morgan again, “My point to you about gay rights, for example, it’s time for an amendment to the Bible.”) Who will be responsible for making the amendments? Shall we amend the Bible on an annual basis? Shall we do it by regional vote? By age? By gender? Perhaps we can each amend the Bible as we please, whenever we like? (Come to think of it, in practical terms, that’s what a See page 17 lot of people do on a daily basis!)
“Both the Bible and the Constitution were well intentioned but they are basically, inherently flawed.”
and now is eager to share how Patsy influenced her life and the career of many female country singers. The show takes you on a journey of not only Patsy’s experiences, but of those that influenced her like Judy Garland, her friends such as Loretta Lynn, and those most influenced by her like Reba McEntire. Patsy Cline Remembered is an engaging and entertaining show. As the last notes fade away, you will feel like you have become a close friend of a musical giant, Patsy Cline. Starting March 5th, 9 am Come see CJ Newsom... and the 5 piece live band! Monday through Saturday at the Elite Theatre inside the IMAX Complex. For more information, call:
(417) 335-4832
Page 2
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
Ozarks Experts ADOPTION MBCH Children & Family Min. Adoption & Foster Care Services 1837 E. Cherry Springfield, MO 65802 (417) 831-2342 ARTS & GIFTS P. Graham Dunn Inspirational Decor and Amish Furniture • 417-334-9801 3500 N. Gretna Rd. Branson www.branson.pgrahamdunn.com Thomas Kinkade Signature Art Gallery • 2800 West Highway 76 in The Grand Village Shops • Branson, 417-334-7930 www.thomaskinkade.com ATTORNEYS Dee Wampler & Joseph Passanise Criminal Trial Attorneys 2974 East Battlefield in Springfield (417) 882-9300 Gregg E. Stade - Real estate, Business Law and Estate Planning at 600 W. Republic Rd. Ste. A 100 in Springfield (417) 889-5572 AUTO BODY Branson Collision Center 548 Gretna Rd, Branson, When it must be right! (417) 335-3775 www.bransoncollision.com AUTO SERVICE B.A.T. Boys Brake, Auto & Tire Boys Full Service Shop 548 Gretna Rd. Branson 417-339-2697 Branson Pennzoil 10 Minute Lube 249 Shepherd of the Hills Expry. 417-335-5182 • Chuck Ness Owner DETAILING BY CURT Protect your investment! (417) 559-9424 sevageJC@yahoo.com BANKING Branson Bank Falls Parkway, Hwy 248 & Forsyth (417) 334-9696 BEAUTY Arbonne International Pure Swiss Skin Care, Weight Management, Natural Balancing, Aromatherapy and Nutrition 417-263-0425 • Haven Howard www.haven.myarbonne.com
BOOK STORES
CPO 4145 South National Springfield (417) 891-2200 www.CPOBooks.com _______________________________
YOUR INFO HERE $15.00 per month! _______________________________ Redeemed Music & Books 4140 S. National Springfield • 417- 877-9294 Mardel Christian & Educational Supply 1533 E. Battlefield, Springfield. (417) 881-6338 CHIROPRACTIC CARE Victory Chiropractic Dr. Bo Bandy 800 St Hwy 248, Ste.2-B Branson, MO 65616 417-337-7077 CLOTHING John’s Suit Shop We Make The Look Affordable 1315 S. Glenstone in Springfield (417) 863-6919 Heavenly Wear & Gifts 112 W. Main St., Branson, MO Downtown Branson • (417) 544-9071 www.HeavenlyWear.net COFFEE SHOPS The Awakening Branson Prayer Room, Coffee Shop & Cafe 3044 Shepherd of the Hills Expwy. Suite 101, Branson, MO (417) 544-1909 www.AwakeningBranson.com Heroes Coffee • Branson Wake Up. Do Good. Repeat. 1835 W. Hwy 76, Branson, MO Inside Music City Centre (417) 239-1313
March 2013
Need a Qualified Professional Service?
COMPUTERS Computer Renaissance 308 E. Republic, Springfield (417) 882-7788 - Steve Yates www.computerren.com DENTISTRY Kay E. Knipschild, D.D.S. Quality, Caring, General Dentistry 3841 S. Jefferson Springfield - (417) 887-2929 ELECTRICAL SERVICE Cornerstone Electric 24 Hour Emergency Service. 417-582-0621
Choose an Ozarks Expert!
Honeysuckle Inn When Price & Quality Matter 3598 Shepherd of the Hills Expwy Branson, MO (800) 735-1467 www.honeysuckleinn.com
FURNITURE Ozark Outdoor Furniture Quality Outdoor Furniture 350 Lake Ranch Road Kissee Mills, MO. (417) 230-5234 www.OzarkOutdoorFurniture.com HAIR STYLING
Tim’s Headquarters Salon 1835 W. Hwy 76 • Inside Music City Center Next to Starbucks Branson • (417) 348-1958 HEALTH SERVICES
Health Care for the Working Uninsured www.FaithCommunity Health.org
(417) 336-WELL (417-336-9355)
3405-C South Campbell Springfield, MO 65807 On Walnut Lawn
Award Winning Designer
417-887-2330 • “Where you’re treated like family” HEARING Sound Advice Stay Young. Stay Connected. Hollister, Branson West & Springfield 417-339-0007 • 800-826-4447 www.SoundAdviceHearing.com HOSPICE AND HOMECARE Access Home Care 1440 Highway 248 Suite D Branson, MO 65616-9257 Phone: 417.332.3510 Hospice Compassus Serving with Heartfelt Compassion 3044 Shepherd of the Hills Expy, Ste. 200 Branson, MO • 417-335-2004 www.hospicecompassus.com/ loc-MOBRA.html INTEGRITY HOME CARE Home Care... From The Heart! 2960 N. Eastgate Springfield 417-889-9773 • 888-793-1795 www.IntegrityHC.com Omega Health Care of SW Missouri Springfield and Joplin Phone: (417) 886-6995
spmo.omega-healthcare.com www.facebook.com/OmegaSPMO Oxford Health Care Serving Springfield and Joplin (800) 749-6555 (417) 883-7500 www.OxfordHealthCare.net Phoenix Health Care A New Beginning For Your Home Health Care • 3033 S. Kansas Expy 417-881-7442 www.PhoenixHomeHC.com
HOT TUBS & POOLS Branson Hot Tubs & Pools 800 Hwy 248 Suite 1-F North P8537 State Hwy 76ark Plaza Branson - (417) 337-9782
bransonhotubsandpools.com Spa Place Hwy 160 • 1011 N. Kenneth Nixa, MO 417-725-1008
www.spaplaceinc.com
March 2013 HVAC Goff Heating & Air Serving Taney, Stone, Christian & Boone Counties • 24 Hour Emergency Service • No Overtime Fees 417-334-3681 INSURANCE American Family Insurance Teresa Zucchini- Mcclish 3050 E. Battlefield Springfield • (417) 883-3039 LODGING- Christian Owned Classic Motor Inn 2384 Shepherd of the Hills Expressway Branson, MO 65616 (417) 334-6991
www.OzarksChristianNews.com PROSTHETICS J.P. & O Prosthetic & Orthotic Laboratory 526 Branson Landing Blvd. Ste. 1 417-213-3128 www.jpo-online.com RADIO STATIONS KADI AM 1340 Bott Radio- Springfield 90.1 Bott Radio- Branson 103.9 KLFC 88.1 KWFC 89.1 KWND 88.3 REALTORS
MINIATURE GOLF Greatest Adventures 4800 Gretna Rd. in Branson 417- 332-0888 minigolfinbranson.com NUTRITION Tri-Vita • Experience Wellness 207-669-2551 www.HealthNetworkIntl.com
RV PARKS Taneycomo Resort & RV Park 365 Valencia Road in Branson 417-334-7375 • 800-949-9975 www.TaneycomoResort.com
PHYSICAL FITNESS Anytime Fitness 554 Gretna • Branson (417) 239-0078 Wholly Transformed Fitness for Mind, Soul & Body Personal Fitness Training, Christ Centered Yoga • (417) 598-0144 www.WhollyTransformed.com
www.EatMyDrift.com
Wommack Monument Company
(800) 346-9875
SCHOOLS Ozarks Christian Academy Call: (417) 353-7598 • K - 12
PHARMACY FAMILY PHARMACY www.thefamilyrx.com Ozarks Christian News Available at all locations! PLUMBING Affordable & R & H Plumbing SMALL BUSINESS BIG SERVICE • Call: 417-336-6781 OR 417-334-4224 • TOLL FREE, 1-888-788-2740 • Serving the Tri-Lakes for 16 years.
Drift King Adult & Youth DriftTrike Sales & Events (231) 8553378
Express your love with a quality monument of faith
Stonewall West Motor Inn 1040 Hwy 76 West Branson, MO (417) 334-5173 MARKETING Sound Marketing, Inc. 205 Spring Lane Branson, MO 65616 1-800-451-8273 Fax: (417) 239-1541 www.SoundMarketing.com
YOUTH SPECIALTIES
Are you an
New Covenant Academy 3304 S Cox Road in Springfield Call: 417-887-9848 www.NewCovenant.net
SCREEN PRINTING Ozarks Screen Printing 426 U.S. Highway 60W Republic, MO (417) 732-4449 ozarksscreenprinting.com SENIOR SERVICES Seniors Helping Seniors ...a way to give and to receive 417-779-2747 • 877-466-1747 www.SeniorsHelpingSeniors.com
Ozarks Expert
in your field? Ultimately, by incorporating your brand into people’s everyday lives, you are given an amazing opportunity to drive home the message that your company is not just routine, but exceptional.
Add your listing today! 417-336-3636
Page 3
The Ozarks Christian News 2574 US Hwy 176 • Rockaway Beach, MO 65740 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 336 Rockaway Beach, MO 65740 Office: 417-336-3636 • John’s cell: 417-353-7598
editor@ozarkschristiannews.com www.OzarksChristianNews.com Free online subscriptions OCN Mission Statement The Ozarks Christian News’ primary purpose is to edify the body of Christ through inspirational articles of Christian faith and courage, educate the body of Christ through informative articles promoting the cultivation of a Christian world view and encourage the body of Christ to support one another. Our focus is on, and to, the invisible church which Jesus Christ said, “The gates of hell would not prevail against.” We announce the current events of the visible church, and we believe the Body of Christ is made up of people who have found salvation by faith in Jesus Christ evidenced by the good works they are doing and have done. We encourage our readers to be open minded to differing opinions on nonessential matters. We report the good as well as the bad within our church family as a testament for the necessity of a Savior. Our observations are made from a fairly moderate to conservative viewpoint.
We strive not to be the fire alarm, but the fire extinguisher
For Reading and Supporting the Ozarks Christian News
OCN Contributors Veeda Smith - Branson Frontline Jocelyn Case - Staff Writer Jeremy Storch - Ask the Rabbi... Dave Ramsey - Act Your Wage Dee Wampler - A Minute with a Man George Kurland - Staff Photographer Max Lucado - Crosswalk Column John Sacoulas - Steward & Managing Editor Lorraine Sacoulas - Steward & Publisher Virgil Peck - Circulation Assistance Marvin & Regina Reynolds- Archivists
FRAMES FOR SALE Most
8 X 10- $2.00 11 X 14- $3.00 16 X 20- $5.00 Custom Framing Available
Antique Alley in the Apple Tree Mall (417) 538-4488
Page 4
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
More Dinghy than Cruise Ship? Are you more dinghy. . .than cruise ship? Or in my case, more blue jeans than blue blood? Well congratulations, God changes the world with folks like you! The next time you say, “I don’t think God could use me!”—stop right there! Satan’s going to try to tell you that God has an IQ requirement. That he employs only experts and high-powered personalities. When you hear Satan whispering that lie—hit him with this: God stampeded the first-century society with
swaybacks, not thoroughbreds. Before Jesus came along, the disciples were loading trucks, coaching soccer, and selling Slurpee drinks at the convenience store! But what they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, “Follow me.” So what do you think? More plumber than executive? More stand-in than movie star? Yeah— congratulations! God uses people like you…and me. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24? From Max on Life. Listen to UpWords with Max Lucado at:
OnePlace.com
P i e rc e A rrow’s Jim my Fu lbr igh t Jimmy was born in Columbus, GA, but "grew up everywhere" because his father was in the Air Force. He's been intersted in music since early childhood and credits his grandfather as his musical mentor. He is proficient on piano and loves to sing. He also plays guitar and drums. With a diverse professional music background, he has played keyboard and/or bass for Gospel acts, such as the Dixie Echoes, as well as Country acts, Donna Fargo, Earl Thomas Conley, Lee Greenwood and T. Graham Brown. Jimmy also has 12 years of experience at production theaters in Branson,MO, and Pigeon Forge, TN. He originally joined The Oaks Band in the summer of 2001 which led Jimmy to being the newest addition to Pierce Arrow in 2013.
40,000 Meals How much is a life worth? Is it worth $1.25 a week? That is the actual costs for each of the "Happy Meals" that we deliver every Thursday to individuals and families living in area motels. We are currently delivering 800 "Happy Meals" per week, and that only reaches 20 of the 35 weekly and extendedstay motels. Of those meals, 200-300 go to families with children. Some claim that the meal itself, the contact with caring people, and/or the resource information sheet have saved their lives. Earlier this year, a woman came up to us with tears in her eyes and told us how thankful she was for the meals and our volunteers each week. She said that she doesn't usually eat the applesauce cups that we include with our meals, but instead places them next to her bed to give away later. As a diabetic, she had let her blood sugar get so low that she was dangerously close to slipping into a coma. Living alone in a motel room and too weak to get out of bed to give herself an insulin shot, the only thing she had within reach that could help her were those applesauce cups. After eating the applesauce her blood sugar level came up enough for her to get out of bed and take her insulin. She said that the applesauce, and the meal it came in, saved her life. We will have delivered or served over 40,000 meals in 2012 with the help of hundreds of volunteers representing over 30 churches and organizations. With that level of compassion-in-action, I wonder how many other lives were saved? We started this year with a night of prayer at Jesus Was Homeless' new home, the "Living Room." Our volunteers and those we serve prayed over the hundreds of names and prayer requests written on the floor, then prayed that this location would be a place that people in all their brokenness could feel safe to gather, develop relationships and begin to explore God.
www.JesusWasHomless.org
“Remember when we said that grief was the strongest thing a person could feel? Well, it isn’t. It’s forgiveness, because a single act of forgiveness can change everything.”
March 2013
-The Tale of Despereaux
IMPORTANT MESSAGE Be advised that the contents of this publication often do not represent the positions held by many of the sponsors of the Ozarks Christian News (or for that matter, the publishers) Please remember to favor the advertisers here in the OCN. It would not exist without them!
March 2013
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
Kay E. Knipschild, D.D.S.
“Exceptional Dental Care for a Lifetime” The power of EXCELLENCE to create beautiful smiles!
We Offer Quality, Caring General Dentistry
Relaxed Comfortable Environment New Patients Always Welcome Emergencies Seen Promptly Nitrous Oxide Sedation Stereo Headphones
(417) 887-2929 3841 S. Jefferson Springfield, MO
James Robison’s Daughter Loses Cancer Battle by JENNIFER LECLAIRE James Robison’s daughter has lost a long battle with cancer. Robin, who was 40 years old with three children, passed away in January. Robison wrote about his loss on his personal blog “Betty and I, along with Robin's lovefilled husband Kenny, their three children, and all of our family thank you for your concern and prayers. What a daughter, wife, mother, sister, and faithful witness she was during her 40-year journey on this earth. She was truly a bright light in a dark world. “Mom and I sure love you, miss you, and will see you someday when you shout, ‘Mom and Dad come see The King of Kings in person, isn't He awesome!’ Indeed He is and we saw Him in you every time we were together. We want everyone to someday join us forever in His presence.”
________________________ addition from editor; I saw this interview from CBN’s Scott Ross and thought it was a poignant reminder that abortion would have been the popular culture’s answer to this delimma but Robison’s mother made the right choice and her son has been used by God to bring countless individuals to
Page 5 the Kingdom for eternity! JAMES ROBISON: A product of rape. My mother was a practical nurse and was raped by the alcoholic son of the elderly man she cared for. It was a forced--I don't think we would call it violent--but he forced his affections on her, and at age 40 she conceived me. SCOTT ROSS: What age were you when you found that out? JAMES ROBISON: She told me when I was a teenager, but she had also told this to a pastor and his wife who tried to adopt me when I was a baby. They kept me for five years. I thought they were my parents, but I understood that I also had a mother who came to see me occasionally, so it was confusing to a child, but I didn’t need to understand. She took me from them when I was five. The next 10 years I lived in absolute poverty. We really had a rough life, and when I was 15, the alcoholic father came back in our home and nearly killed my mother. In self-defense I nearly killed him, which certainly would have jeopardized my future. But he was arrested. I left that home, went back to the pastor and his wife, met Betty at VBS while I was visiting them. By the way, they led me to Christ. I could have a father who was pleased with me in my commitment to His son Jesus. It was the first time I ever felt like a man was pleased with me, and it was God.
Page 6
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
Springfield Church of God (7th Day) A Happy Church! Pastor: Andy Hassen
Fifteen Christians Have Throats Slit by Boko Haram Extremists in Northern Nigeria by ELIZABETH SANCHEZ At least 15 Christians were killed by suspected Boko Haram militants in northern Nigeria. The militants snuck into Musari, a neighborhood located on the outskirts of Maiduguri, early on Friday morning and slit the throats of fifteen Christians in their own homes, according to International Christian Concern (ICC).
1521 E. 24th Street N. Springfield, MO 65803
According to Nigerian military officials, the death toll only stands at five. Residents of Musari and other relief organizations put the number at fifteen. The Nigerian authorities often under-report the casualties in Boko Haram attacks. A relief official told AFP "the victims were selected because they were all Christians,
A week without a Sabbath is perpetual bondage.
Sabbath School: 9:45 am Worship: 11:00 am Wednesday night: 6:30 pm
(417) 831-6721 some of whom had moved into the neighborhood from other parts of [Maiduguri] hit by Boko Haram attacks." According to residents, many Christians have moved into the Musari neighborhood because of the many bombings and shootings perpetrated by Boko Haram in other parts of Maiduguri.
Boko Haram has been responsible for a series of church bombings, and drive by shootings of Christians
The militants specifically targeted Christians because they broke into only Christian homes located in an area of Musari that is predominantly Christian. "The attackers came in and silently went into homes whose residents were all Christians and slit the throats of their victims. They killed fifteen people," a resident told the press.
March 2013
of two very similar attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram on Christmas Eve. In the Christmas Eve attacks, twelve Christians in separate cities were killed by gunmen suspected to be connected with Boko Haram and two churches were burned down. Although this Christmas season has been less violent that 2011, the Christians of northern Nigeria continue to live in a constant state of fear. "Christians living in Nigeria's northern regions continue to be targeted by Boko Haram. These attacks are meant to terrorize the Christian community that continues to live in northern Nigeria. Earlier this year, Boko Haram demanded all Christians leave Nigeria's North. Since then, the
group has continued to wage a campaign of terror against those Christians who decided to stay," ICC's Regional Manager for Africa, William Stark. "The United States is still deciding whether to designate Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organization, which if given, would allow the US to seize Boko Haram's assets under US jurisdiction. This would help stem the flow of arms and funds the group receives from sources outside Nigeria's borders. The consistency of these attacks shows Nigeria's government is struggling to deal with the violence that has dominated its northern states since 2009.The international community must take decisive action."
Boko Haram is an Islamic extremist group that is currently fighting the Nigerian government for control of northern Nigeria. Boko Haram desires to establish a separate Islamic state in Nigeria's northern states where it can enact an ultra conservative interpretation of shariah law. Since beginning its armed insurgency in 2009, Boko Haram has killed over 3,000 people in Nigeria. Christian have often been the victims of violence perpetrated by Boko Haram. In early 2012, Boko Haram leaders demanded all Christians to leave northern Nigeria so that the group could begin establishing its purely Islamic society. Since then, Boko Haram has been responsible for a series of church bombings, drive-by shootings and Christian pogroms across northern Nigeria. This most recent attack comes on the heels
 1315 West Hwy 76 in Branson • (417) 334-8838
Mon - Thu 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM Fri & Sat - 11:00 AM to 10:30 PM Sun & Holidays - 11 AM to 9 PM
Open 7 Days a Week!
10% OFF
10% off Super Buffet with this Coupon (Cannot be combined with other offers)
March 2013
www.OzarksChristianNews.com who have been told they can have no official ministry roles in their church until they are married.)
6 Gender Myths in the Church by J. LEE GRADY
What part of Galatians 3:28 don’t we understand?
Women are more suited for children’s ministry. Just because women often give primary care to babies and children at home does not mean they all want to spend their Sunday mornings in the church nursery, week after week with no break. All of us are called to serve. Jesus rebuked His disciples for minimizing the importance of children—and He took kids into his
1
This past weekend I had the honor of sharing the pulpit with my oldest daughter, Margaret, who serves as an associate pastor at a Christian college in Georgia. No buttons burst off of my shirt while she was preaching, but I can’t begin to tell how proud I was of her. This was the same girl who used to insist on taking the lead role when she played Wilderness Family or Star Wars with her homeschooled sisters. My wife and I have known Margaret was a leader since she was a preschooler. Now she is a pastor. Yet I still see puzzled looks when I tell people about Margaret’s vocation. That’s because in many sectors of the American church, people are locked into old, religious mindsets about gender. They have the idea that God wants men to lead and women to follow—even though Scripture gives us numerous examples of women leaders. I run into what I call “gender myths” in the church all the time, even in progressive churches that claim to be trendy and “cutting edge.” Many women are still sidelined by these antiquated myths, even when the pastor is young and the music is hip.
arms. We need both men and women in children’s ministry today! Women are best equipped to be intercessors. Many churches promote the idea that “women pray better” because they do not allow women to do anything else. Yet the Bible does not segregate the prayer meeting by gender. Yes, there are powerful examples of women prayer warriors in the Bible (Hannah and Anna, for example) but we also need Daniels and Jeremiahs to storm heaven.
2
A woman’s most valuable ministry is motherhood. No one should ever minimize the importance of a mother’s love. But when churches tell women that their “primary role” is to be home with the kids, we are not only devaluing these women’s other spiritual gifts but also demeaning women who don’t have kids. (I know single women
3
Page 7 a woman should preach to a mixed crowd. Hello? Would they have prayed this way if Deborah, Esther, Mary Magdalene or Priscilla had been preaching?
Women were made to be followers, not leade r s . Traditional No one should ever minimize the churches hire importance of a mother’s love. But when women to be secretaries, churches tell women that their “primary receptionists role” is to be home with the kids, we are and administrative assisnot only devaluing these women’s other tants, but spiritual gifts but also demeaning women females need who don’t have kids. not apply for ministerial positions. Yet the New Testament tells us that the Holy Spirit does not distribute spiritual gifts What part of Galatians 3:28 don’t we according to gender (see 1 Cor. 12:7-31). understand? Paul wrote: “There is neiMany conservative Christians claim that ther Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave the apostle Paul limited women in their nor free man, there is neither male nor service (because they take some of his female, for you are all one in Christ comments out of context) yet they ignore Jesus.” the fact that Paul had numerous women on his apostolic team including Priscilla, I taught all four of my daughters that Phoebe, Junia, Euodia, Syntyche, Persis, God created them uniquely, and that their Chloe and Nympha. spiritual gifts had nothing to do with gender but everything to do with His soverWomen cannot lead worship. eign plan. Let’s teach the same in our Australian worship leader Darlene churches. Let’s create opportunities for Zschech (who now pastors along- women instead of putting roadblocks in side her husband) has composed dozens their way. of praise choruses that are sung in churches around the world, yet many J. Lee Grady is the former editor of conservative churches that use these Charisma and the director of The songs would not allow Darlene to lead Mordecai Project them from the podium. I know a talented www.themordecaiproject.org young woman who was told she had to lead worship from the floor of the church You can follow him on Twitter at leeinstead of the pulpit because she would grady. His latest book is Fearless be “in authority” over the men if she Daughters of the Bible. sang from the stage. Please don’t forget that one of the first worship leaders mentioned in the Bible is Miriam! (see Ex. 15:20-21.)
4
5
Women can’t teach the Bible if men are in the room. Once when I was attending a conference in Colorado, a popular female speaker took the platform and began to teach. At that moment two pastors in front of me leaned toward one another and began to “bind the spirit of Jezebel” because they did not believe
6
Page 8
How Your Relationship with Your In-Laws Impacts Your Marriage by Jim Daly
Do you get along with your in-laws? According to a newly released study, men who are on good terms with their wives’ parents are more likely to enjoy a long-lasting marriage than those who struggle to get along with their inlaws. Yet, researchers found that a wife’s relationship with her husband’s parents is a bit more complicated and less indicative of overall marital happiness. Why the disparity? Terri Orbuch, the study’s author, explained to a columnist with Salt Lake City’s Deseret News: Orbuch says that when a man bonds with his in-laws, his wife gets the message that "your family is important to me because you're important to me. I want to feel closer to them because I want to be closer to you." Wives love that and marriages get a longevity bump. But when the wife feels close to her inlaws, Orbuch sees two possible reasons things go the other way. First, inlaw ties are more stressful to women, because it "interferes with and takes time away from bonding with the husband and her own family. Women like to analyze, work on and improve relationships. They think of in-law ties the same way," Orbuch said. That time takes away from other things that strengthen bonds with the husband. Because both of my parents died when I was young, I can only speak to how my relationship with Jean’s parents has positively impacted our marriage.
www.OzarksChristianNews.com Jean’s mom and dad, Jerry and Pat, were married for over 58 years before Jerry’s passing just two years ago. Jerry was the first person to manufacture the concrete saw and was just a man’s man. We experienced many good times together, especially during our annual family retreats to Estes Park here in Colorado. Pat is now widowed and we continue to enjoy her company during trips to California. Neither Jerry nor Pat ever interfered in our marriage or with the raising of our boys. There was always a spirit of deference and mutual respect.
March 2013
Branson Church aquires new facilities. Grace Community Assembly recently held a very blessed revival in thier new building. (Hwy 65 & Shepherd of the Hills)
Movies and television regularly highlight in-law dysfunction and in some cases, justifiably so. We’ve all heard the stories of a meddling mother-inlaw or a cranky or grumpy father-inlaw. But is that the exception rather than the norm? I hope you might take a moment to let me know about your relationship – past or present – with your in-laws. How have you navigated the challenges? What are some of your memories of attempting to bridge and blend the generations?
High School Reunion
"Yes. Yes, I did. I'm a Mustang," he gleamed with pride.
Have you ever been guilty of looking at others your own age and thinking, "Surely I can't look that old"?
"When did you graduate?" I asked.
Follow me on Twitter @Dalyfocus Keep up with Focus on the Family on Facebook
My name is Alice, and I was sitting in the waiting room for my first appointment with a new dentist. I noticed his DDS diploma on the wall, which bore his full name. Suddenly, I remembered a tall, handsome dark-haired boy with the same name had been in my high school class some 30-odd years ago. Could he be the same guy that I had a secret crush on, way back then? Upon seeing him, however, I quickly discarded any such thought. This balding, gray-haired man with the deeply lined face was way too old to have been my classmate. After he examined my teeth, I asked him if he had attended Morgan Park High School.
He answered, "In 1975. Why do you ask?" "You were in my class!" I exclaimed. He looked at me closely. Then that ugly, old, bald, wrinkle-faced, over-weight, gray-haired, decrepit son of a gun asked me: "What did you teach?"
March 2013
Missouri Playground Scrap Tire Program Turns Down Christian Preschool by JACOB STEVENS Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys have filed a federal lawsuit to challenge the exclusion of a Christian pre-school and daycare center from a Missouri program that provides recycled tires for children’s playgrounds. Although the state highly ranked the center as qualified for the program, it denied its application solely because it is run by a church. “The safety of children on Christian preschool playgrounds is not less important than the safety of children on other playgrounds,” said Senior Counsel Joel Oster. “Providing grants for recycled tires to create a safe environment for children is not a government promotion of any religious doctrine. In fact, both the state constitution and the U.S. Constitution prohibit this type of hostility to religion.” Trinity Lutheran Church Child Learning Center in Columbia sought a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Solid Waste Management Program to participate in the 2012 Playground Scrap Tire Surface Material Grant Program. The center wished to remove and replace a large portion of the pea gravel surfacing on its playgrounds with a safer, recycled, pour-in-place rubberized product. Because the program has a limited amount of money to distribute, the department ranks the applications to determine which applicants will receive grants. Trinity Lutheran scored fifth out of 44 applicants, and the department provided grants to 14 projects in 2012. Nonetheless, the department disqualified Trinity Lutheran solely because it is operated by Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia. The church is heavily involved in numerous efforts benefiting the community. The department cited a section of the state constitution that prohibits govern-
www.OzarksChristianNews.com ment funding of religion; however, the complaint filed Jan. 25 in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri (Central Division), explains that providing grant monies for the purpose of purchasing recycled tires for a playground is clearly not furthering religious purposes. The complaint notes that another portion of the same section of the state constitution states that “no preference shall be given to nor any discrimination made against any church, sect or creed of religion, or any form of religious faith or worship.” The lawsuit additionally claims that the department’s actions violate the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Michael K. Whitehead of Kansas City and one of nearly 2,200 allied attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom is serving as local counsel in the case.
‘WE WERE HEARTBROKEN’: WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT REPORTEDLY REFUSED TO TAKE CHURCH’S ‘RELIGIOUS IN NATURE’ DONATION Jason Howerton/ theblaze.com (Source: Fox News) Wounded Warrior Project is refusing to accept a Florida Christian church’s money because it is “religious in nature,” Fox News’ Todd Starnes reports. Liberty Baptist Church and Academy, located in Fort Pierce, Fla., is also a K-12 school. “We were heartbroken,” Pastor Wallace Cooley told Fox News. It wasn’t until after Liberty Baptist Church and Academy had already paid a $100 registration fee to raise funds for Wounded Warrior Project that the they received an email from the non-profit organization. “We must decline the opportunity to be the beneficiary of your event due to our fundraising event criteria, which doesn’t allow community events to be religious
in nature,” WWP’s community events team wrote in an email. “Please note your registration fee will be refunded within the next 7-10 business days.” Because Wounded Warrior Project considers itself to be a nonpartisan organization, the group says it can’t accept fundraising from companies “in which the product or message is religious in nature.” The church was reportedly planning to accept a special offering on the last Sunday in February and students were collecting money from family and friends to give to WWP. “We had to tell our children and parents we can’t give to the Wounded Warrior Project…We are second-class citizens now because we are people of faith,” Cooley told Fox News. The pastor said the church anticipated bringing in roughly $50,000 for military veterans. The email the church received from Wounded Warrior (Source: Fox News) Fox News has more details: A Wounded Warrior told Fox News they would look into the matter. The organization did not respond to subsequent telephone calls. The fundraising project was a joint effort by the 400-member church and the 460 students who attend the academy. The pastor said he first learned about WWP by watching Fox News Channel. “We appreciate the freedoms we enjoy in this country and the fact that our soldiers have fought for freedom of religion,” he said. “We teach patriotism in our school.” Kindergarten teacher Tanya Sue Albritton posted a message on the Wounded Warrior Project Facebook page, explaining that her students were devastated. “They were very sad,” she wrote. “One little girl wanted to know, ‘Why can’t we share with the soldiers?’” “I was at a loss as to what I should tell her because I don’t understand it
Page 9 myself…Well, WWP, why can’t we share with the soldiers,” she added. In delivering the news to his congregation, Pastor Cooley penned what he described as “one of the saddest letters I have ever had to write”: “We are very disappointed that we, as a religious organization, are being discriminated against. But they are a private organization and have and should have the freedom to make their own rules.” Cooley said the donations that were made have been returned and the church is currently looking for another veterans group to help — one that will accept their generous donation.
"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy, and if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity."
Agape Life Fellowship A Word of Faith Church (non-denominational) 6185 W. St. Hwy 266 Springfield, MO
(417) 831-2333 Sun. Services 10 am & 6 pm Wed. Bible Study 6:30 pm
Pastor Twila N. Bridges
Page 10 P i e rc e A r ro w ’s J a r re tt Doughe r ty Jarrett’s always loved to laugh and to make people laugh. Of course, he was the class clown in school. At the age of 23, he was the drummer for one of the best southern gospel groups in the country, Jeff and Sheri Easter, and then later he joined the McGruders. In 1995 Jarrett moved to Branson, which is only an hour from his hometown, Ava, Missouri. For six years, he played the drums and did comedy for Barbara Fairchild. Just before joining the Pierce Arrow Theater, he was with Sons of the Pioneers. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Dan Britton, Pierce Arrow’s owner and producer, asked if I would like to join the family as the new comedian. It was an amazing opportunity to be welcomed into Branson’s hottest show. “ To me, there is no greater city than Branson to live in and raise children in. I love life and enjoy livin’ every day here with my boy Dillon. Branson stands for patriotism and wholesomeness, the American way. What a great country we live in. I thank my lucky stars everyday that I get to come to work and entertain such wonderful fans. I believe laughter is the best medicine a person can have. So even if you are sick, come to Branson and see the Pierce Arrow Show, and me. I promise, you’ll either get well or ‘Die Laughin’”!
Can’t we talk about something other than religion for a change?
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
If I were President by John Sacoulas, editor-OCN Here is my monthly griping and yes, it would help balance the deficit and turn the country around.
Amnesty for Aliens? Why is it that the government cannot see the wisdom in having criminals (illegal aliens) pay for their crimes by helping those who are here legally? I confess I am torn about Jesus’ admonition for taking in the sojourner and culturally what that implied but let us meet both sides equally. I have been given grace so I will extend grace. We will go ahead and grant amnesty to all those who were successful in beating the system. Since they will live in a prosperity far beyond their chances from which they fled why not have them give back? Let’s say they give 10% of all their future earnings to those who genuinely need entitlements (I realize that sentence is oxymoronic). Better yet, those funds can start to replace the social security funds the government stole from the Americans that legally were here to contribute to the fund. Send me your ideas and I will consider you for my cabinet.
March 2013
The Boy Scouts Troop 2001 will be having their 8th Annual Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, March the 24th, from 7am - 2pm at the Faith Lutheran Church, 221 Malone St, Branson. Just take Parnell off of the roundabout in front of Cox Hospital. The proceeds will help pay for sending the boys to Summer and High Adventure Camps this year.
Please join us for some "Palm Sunday Pancakes" and come hungry! Tickets are $6 and may be purchased in advance from any Member of the Troop or just show up with your family and your appetite for this all you can eat breakfast. For more information on tickets or to donate please contact Brand Kopp at 417.699.9500 or Email- bransontroop2001bsa@gmail.com
March 2013
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
Page 11
Page 12
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
How the Apostles Died Matthew Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.
Mark Died in Alexandria, Egypt , after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.
Luke Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.
John John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution In Rome . However, he was miraculously delivered From death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos .. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos . The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey . He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.
Peter He was crucified upside down on an xshaped cross. According to church tradi-
tion it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die In the same way that Jesus Christ had died
conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.
James
Bartholomew
The leader of the church in Jerusalem , was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in C h r i s t . When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club. This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.
Also known as Nathaniel was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in
James the Great Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus Called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by
I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -- Winston Churchill
March 2013 hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.' He continued to preach to his tormentors For two days until he expired.
Thomas Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent.
Jude Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.
Matthias The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.
Paul
present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.
Andrew Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and expected this happy
Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament. Perhaps this is a reminder to us That our sufferings here Are indeed minor compared To the intense persecution And cold cruelty faced by the apostles And disciples during their times For the sake of the Faith. And ye shall be hated Of all men for my name's sake: But he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
The Ozarks Christian News is available at all
Family Pharmacies, Christian Bookstores, Price Cutters, Harter House, Country Marts, many theaters, businesses and most post offices! Education Hour - 9:15 a.m.
PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH (ELCA)
WORSHIP SERVICES: Praise & Worship Sun. @ 8:30 a.m.
Liturgy &Traditional Service - 10:30 a.m.
(417) 334-1499
HIGHWAY #165 AND STATE DRIVE
Pastor Emil Bartos
350 State Dr. Hollister VISITORS WELCOME
www.lutheransonline.com
March 2013
www.OzarksChristianNews.com Spirit-filled Davidic style Praise and Worship Annoited Bible-based teaching Fellowship after each service Nursery & Children’s Shabbat School
Ask the Rabbi Today many Christians are seeking the biblical Jewish roots of their faith in Yeshua (Jesus). One of the primary ways in which Yeshua is revealed in the Old Covenant (Hebrew “Tenach”) scriptures is through the biblical feasts of the Lord. According to Exodus 12, God instructed the Israelites to take the “blood of a lamb” and put it on the doorposts of their
houses – and that when He saw the blood, He would “pass over” their houses, and spare them the plague that was coming upon Egypt – God was also now preparing to deliver the children of Israel from 400 years of slavery and bondage to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. This has great application for believers in Yeshua today, whether Jew or Gentile, because Yeshua (Jesus) is our Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Also in Exodus 12:17 & 18 and Numbers 9:14 God commanded for future generations that any Gentiles living amongst the Israelites should celebrate the Feast of Passover with the Jewish people, a picture of unity in the Messiah between Jew and Gentile.
(417) 581-9192
Meeting at Branson Hills Ministry Center 256 Church Road, Branson, MO 65616 417.334.7373, www.TheTabernacleinBranson.com
Page 13 Join us for weekly services: Erev Shabbat (Friday) 7:30 pm Shabbat (Saturday) 11 am • 417-334-7373
Discover the Hebrew roots of your Christian faith!
This year enjoy a traditional Passover Seder conducted accordingly to traditions followed since the redemption of
our Jewish people from Egypt in the time of Moses. The Seder will be led by Rabbi Jeremy Storch of The Tabernacle and held at Sanctuary of Hope on Monday, March 25th at 6:30 PM. Worship and rejoice as we celebrate our spiritual redemption through the
Messiah, our Passover Lamb with 2 hours of Biblical rituals and teaching, singing, dancing, blessings and with a 1 hour, full course, delicious chicken and beef dinner. Reservations only - no walk ins. For more information contact The Tabernacle at (417) 334-7373 or find us on the web at www.TheTabernacleInBranson.com. Don’t miss this special night of celebration-different from all other nights. Rabbi Jeremy Storch is the Rabbi, Cantor and Worship leader of The Tabernacle, Branson, Missouri’s Messianic Jewish congregation. For more information on the Biblical Hebrew roots of Christianity, visit:
TheTabernacleInBranson.com
Grandma’s Parlor: by Steve Jenkins Performing February 28 through March 30, 2013 In the late 1940s, 9-year-old Bennie saw the world as a simple place where right and wrong, good and bad, were clearly divided. Later in life he discovered that the divisions were not always as easy to see. And the paths he took didn’t always lead where he wanted. No matter how difficult Bennie’s life became, however, things were always better and clearer when seen from the safety of Grandma’s Parlor..
www.sgtheatre.com BRANSON FRONTLINE by Veeda Smith ranson, Missouri, nestled in the beautiful Ozark Mountains, is often referred to as God’s County. The love of God resonates throughout the Ozarks. Author, Harold Bell Wright, was a storyteller. In his popular book, The Shepherd of the Hills, written in 1907, about the Ozarks, Wright conveyed to his readers the values of God and Country which are still a tradition in Branson today. Our forefathers founded this country in a love of God and Country. Thomas Jefferson said, “God who gave us life also gave us liberty.” Our liberty is a gift from God, a freedom to worship God
B
and a choice to serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Dr. Cecil Todd, a humble servant of God, exemplifies that love of God and Country in his ministry by providing over 160,000 Bibles for America’s soldiers serving our country in Irag and Afghanistan. “At the beginning of the Iraq war, I received a call from the Chief Chaplains of the Pentagon, asking me and the Revival Fires Ministry to provide the funds to print the Bibles for our soldiers,” said Dr. Todd. “I have been on assignment from the Pentagon providing these Bibles since July of 2003! The rate of suicide among U. S. Army soldiers has increased since the beginning of the War. “We want to try to bring
hope to our nation and especially to our men and women in uniform,” said Dr. Todd. “At the heart of our fund raising efforts to provide Bibles has been our “Yellow-Ribbon” rallies in churches and auditoriums across America.” Dr. Todd continued, “Tony Orlando’s popular song, Tie a Yellow Ribbon to an Old Oak Tree inspired this effort.” Celebrating over sixty years in ministry, Dr. Todd has preached the Gospel around the world including Red Square in Moscow, Russia, where he preached to a crowd of over one million. For more than twenty years, Dr. Todd had a nationwide radio and television ministry. Currently, Dr. Todd and his wife Linda, of Revival Fires Ministry in Branson,
West, Missouri, are on a mission to provide more Bibles for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Bibles include the Old and New Testament in camouflaged military colors, with pictures and special helps for the servicemen and women. This Bible is the only one designed and authorized by the Pentagon Chaplains and air-lifted by military transport straight to our soldiers, serving our country.
For more information on Revival Fires Ministry or to contact Dr. Todd for a special service to provide Bibles for our soldiers, call 417 272-3660 or
www.revivalfires.us
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
March 2013 Crossword Answers Pg. 26
Page 14
The important things are children, honesty, integrity and faith. -Andy Williams
Relationship Health: Can Numbers Lie? by Kim Martinez The numbers are in. Pastor Ted can see the report on the top of his desk. His stomach clinches as he walks across the room, picking up the report. There are times when the numbers haunt us. It might be the budget, or attendance numbers. Every week there is a part of us that lives and dies by the numbers. Then there are the times when we just give up. We might be so underwater that we can’t see light, or our numbers are so depressing that we let go. We decide to acknowledge that God is in control and just trust. Why is it that we have to be at the end of our rope before we really learn to trust? In those times when things are going sort of well, we pick back up the stress and forget to leave the numbers on God’s lap. There is a scripture that baffled me for years: “Then David prayed, I have sinned badly in what I have just done, substituting statistics for trust; forgive my sin—I’ve been really stupid.” 1 Chronicles 21:8. This is the Message version, and it helps a lot. You see, David took a census of Israel’s fighting men. He focused on the numbers.
Pierc e A r row ’s Sc ott Fr ake r Why is this a problem? Emotions, one of which is trust, are centered on one side of our brain, and statistics are centered on the other. When we look to statistics first, we have trouble getting to trust. How is your relationship with God? Do you find your view of self, others and the Church are rocked by temporal numbers? When the budget falls short, are you tempted to work harder and smarter, pushing to bring the numbers out of the red? II Chronicles 20 tells us of another numbers situation. Jehoshaphat was back into a corner with no where to turn. We find in verse 3 that "alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord". What if you didn’t wait until the numbers force you to your knees? What if you took the report to God this week, and before you even read it, ask Him to show you what He is doing. Numbers can be an indication that God is at work. Like Jehoshaphat, you might discover that an amazing victory is right around the corner. Kim Martinez is an ordained Assemblies of God pastor with a Masters of Theology from Fuller Seminary. She is a ministry and life development coach, and can be found online at www.deepimprints.com. She writes a weekly column for
ministrytodaymag.com
Scott, a southwest Missouri native, grew up in Niangua, MO. In college, he performed with the Missouri State University Touring Choir and later toured with the accapella group The Wing Tips, which made numerous national television appearances including: The Today Show, Good Morning America, and the CBS Morning program. Scott also performed with Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Frankie Avalon, and even got to sing for former President George Bush. Scott would later leave the Wingtips to join Chosen Few, a gospel quartet at Silver Dollar City, where they remained until 2001. Scott is a licensed minister out of Park Crest Baptist Church in Springfield, MO and continues to preach and speak across the US. Scott is a father of four and is married to his high school sweetheart Marcy. Scott officially joined Pierce Arrow in 2010.
Branson Healing Rooms Free Drop in Prayer Clinic
Need Prayer? Need Healing? Try God! Tuesdays 2 - 4pm & 6:30 - 8:30pm 1621 Bee Creek Rd Branson, MO Serving Branson Residents & Visitors Mk 16:18 "They will place their hands on the sick and they will get well." HealingBranson@aol.com • www.BransonHealingRooms.wix.com/ BransonHealingRooms
March 2013
Why the Worst Thing That Happens to You Could Wind Up Being the Best Thing- by Jim Daly
I
s it possible that the worst thing that happens to you this coming year could turn out to be the best thing that happens to you this year?
www.OzarksChristianNews.com snapped back. The Resurrection was the greatest “eucatastrophe” possible in the greatest Fairy Story—and produces that essential emotion: Christian joy which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow, because it comes from those places where Joy and Sorrow are at one, reconciled, as selfishness and altruism are lost in Love. In his inimitable way, Tolkien assures us that in the end, despite every appearance to the contrary, all is well. Why else would we call even the worst day in all of time and space, the day Jesus of
In 1939, J.R.R. Tolkien prepared an essay to be delivered as a lecture at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. It was titled “On Fairy-Stories,” and in the piece he explained and defended the use of fantasy as a literary form. The entire work is worth reading, but one part in particular speaks to our current state of affairs—and in a most hopeful way. According to Tolkien, we’re naturally drawn to stories, of course, but we’re especially drawn to drama and tales with a sudden, happy ending. In the reflection, though, Tolkien coined an interesting term: I find his insights fascinating and share in his own words the deeply theological motivation behind eucatastrophe: I coined the word “eucatastrophe”: the sudden happy turn in a story which pierces you with a joy that brings tears (which I argued it is the highest function of fairy-stories to produce). And I was there led to the view that it produces its peculiar effect because it is a sudden glimpse of Truth, your whole nature chained in material cause and effect, the chain of death, feels a sudden relief as if a major limb out of joint had suddenly
eucatastrophe— the joyful (eu) catastrophe.
Page 15
fear about this coming age. Yes, we must prepare and brace ourselves for any host of troubles that infiltrate a broken world—but preparation is not the same thing as worry. Dr. D. Martin-Lloyd Jones, a former physician familiar with the ways in which anxiety can ravage a person’s health, offered a practical fix for this bad habit: Why do you allow yourself to be worried thus about the future? … Worry about the future is so utterly futile and useless; it achieves nothing at all. We are very slow to see that; yet how true it is. Indeed we can go further and say that worry is never of any value at all. This is seen with particular clarity as you come to face the future. Apart from anything else, it is a pure waste of energy because however much you worry you cannot do anything about it. In any case its threatened catastrophes are imaginary; they are not certain, they may never happen at all …
Your Outside and Inside...
Body and Soul EXPO Vendors wanted:
Saturday-August 3, 2013 in Beautiful Rockaway Beach • • • • •
Paddle Boarding Great Concessions Non Stop Gospel Music Father & Son Tri-athalon Door Prizes Every 15 Minutes
Vendors must be Health or Ministry related Call (417) 353-7598 0r (417) 336-3636 editor@OzarksChristianNews.com Partnered to Sponsor by:
We must not go forward and tack tomorrow’s quota on to today’s, otherwise it may be too much for us. We have to take it day by day …
Nazareth died, “Good Friday”? Because in the end, the God of the universe has promised to make all things new. “Write this down,” John wrote in Revelation, “for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:5).
If you want to go through life without crippling yourself and burdening yourself and perhaps losing your health and the control of your nerves, these are the cardinal rules. Do not carry yesterday or tomorrow with you; live for today and for the twelve hours you are in.
Affordable Garage starting at $2,195
Contact: Virgil Peck
RV Covers, Storage at $1,595 & More
Call Now: (417)230-2665 no obligation
Do you find this as reassuring as I do? In a generation in which hype has become habit and there is no shortage of bad news, the message of the gospel is “good news” indeed. For those who believe and place their trust in the Lord, they need not grow anxious or cower in
The ABC’s of Salvation ADMIT - you are a sinner - Roman 3:10, 23, 5:3 & 6:23 BELIEVE - in Jesus - John 3:16 CONFESS - Jesus is your Lord - Romans 10:9 & 10
Indeed, wise words to heed at the start of a New Year, don’t you think? Follow me on Twitter @Dalyfocus Follow me on Facebook Keep up with Focus on the Family on Facebook
Start telling others about your decision to be born again and follow God. To hear my experience, and get other helpful information FREE, email:
UltimateExperience@aceweb.com
Page 16
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
Anything Goes: Safety in Pairs by Lorraine Sacoulas, Publisher OCN Every person has a unique history, perspective, and purpose.You can relate because they are a human being. My mom was talking about my dad when they were first together (divorced). He complained about his mother, that she was always drinking socially, and his dad was never there (traveling sales man)... My mom thought he was just whining; she said he had no real reason to complain. If you know her rough, tragic past, abuse and all, you would get how she could never take such a trite description, and give it merit. I don't know my dad, but I do know human beings. All have circumstances, perspectives, experiences that shape them. I'm sure that if I was in his place, with his eyes that I wouldn't see the same thing (I have my mom's eyes, both physically and essentially speaking). Keep in mind that your spouse has a history that has molded their desires for your relationship. In the same breath, that person has a history that has molded his fears. That is the wall that makes the difference for a great relationship and a lonely marriage. Everyone has fears. Those fears spark reactions which in turn spark reactions from the other person involved. This ends up to spiral off into an uncomfortable,
heated moment. The fights fueled in this cycle never result in healthy solutions. They usually result in the death wall for marriage: closed-ness. The Fear Cycle can only be beat after the fear and before the reaction. Know where your fears are. Be able to identify and describe what's going on inside (outside of the heated moment, with as much kindness as one can muster). We all have innate fears that are normal within the flesh. Safety is one important goal for each spousal unit. If you really want successful fights/talks, create an "anything goes" atmosphere with no judgment. Again, this is possible because all human beings are relatable. You will be surprised just how much more intimate you can get with your spouse by this simple act. Men: could you imagine being able to tell your wife aloud your sensitivities, your failures, your inner core with no fear of rejection? If you have ever thought "I wish my wife only knew …" , try giving her the book "For Women Only" by Shaunti Feldman. As an author doing research for a novel, Shaunti did numerous surveys and heard that statement repeatedly. She describes what you guys wish to communicate in a manner that is easy for a woman
Two Thousand Times More Effective by Max Lucado Two-thousand years ago the disciples of Jesus started a movement that changed the world. Are we still changing the world? We can. We can be two-thousand times more effective—if we only try! Here’s an example. There are 145 million orphans worldwide. Nearly 236 million of us living in the U.S. call ourselves Christian. From a purely statistical standpoint, by ourselves, we have the wherewithal to house every orphan in the world. There’s enough food on the planet to feed the hungry! But the storehouse is locked. God has given our generation everything we need to alter the course of human suffering. Change must start with us! With our transformation! Ours is the wealthiest generation of Christians ever! We can be more effective—if only we try! Listen to UpWords with Max Lucado at OnePlace.com Listen to UpWords with Max Lucado at OnePlace.com
March 2013
to understand and swallow. Get this book. real topics to pursue.Occasionaly guest Read it together. Reading this book writers will write the column. encouraged me to think about my husband more. We just had a baby, and it's so easy to be tired P i e rc e A r ro w ’s and overwhelmed that the Dan Britton relationship gets away from you. I want to make sure Born on January 12, 1958 in Bloomfield, Indiana, he was his needs are met (so he'll raised on a farm, the give me another baby). I same one his parents believe she tackles all the still call home, along topics, the hard ones that with two sisters and women literally could three brothers. It was a never understand just by musical family, frebeing with you. We need it quently singing at local explained to us. events and at church. This is a heart book, and After high school, Dan will build up any relation- and his brothers began ship. touring up north where Sacoulas’ bio includes a they became the top new husband herself. She draw in many casinos has a bachelor's degree in and show rooms.
Philosophy/Religion, and sat in numerous marital classes/seminars. She observes that the moralistically broken society is from a lack of stabitly within the framework of the home. It's tragic that this framework is difficult to maintain. Please write in with personal stories, comments, or disagreements so that this is a community column with
2520 State Hwy. 165 Branson (1 Block South of Welk Resort) (417) 334-4931
1949 West Boat Street Ozark (Behind Lamberts) (417) 581-2343
2 Great Locations To Serve You! www.FallCreekTireandAuto.com
Going on a Mission at Home MBCH Children and Family Ministries (an affiliate of Missouri Baptist Children’s Home) is seeking Christians willing to serve God by supplying foster care for teens. The Therapeutic Foster Care ministry provides a daily rate of pay that allows one foster parent to remain at home and care for the child. Training and licensing is provided for the foster parents at no cost. You can make a difference in the life of a hurting child by “Going on Mission at Home”.For more information about becoming a licensed foster parent, call
(417) 831-2342 or visit:
www.mbch.org
March 2013 continued from front page Morgan actually called for a “new Bible,” thereby making a mockery of his very position. (Note to Piers Morgan: If “the Bible” is merely a book containing the latest human opinion, it is not “the Bible.” This would be like calling for the manufacture of a “new car,” only to produce a horse.) But putting this drivel aside, Morgan’s first question to Warren was actually valid. And while Warren, to his credit, unashamedly spoke of his faith in the Bible as God’s Word, noting that what “is flawed is human opinion”--not the Bible--“because [human opinion] constantly changes,” he failed to respond properly to Morgan’s question. This set up Morgan to make his ridiculous call for an amendment to the Bible. (To Morgan’s credit, at least he recognized that the Bible does prohibit homosexual practice, in contrast with the editors of the new Queen James Bible, who simply rewrote the troubling passages.) To buttress his argument that the Bible was inherently flawed and in need of updating, Morgan cited the law of Moses that adulterers should be stoned to death. This dialog then ensued: WARREN: That’s . . . a civil law for the nation of Israel. MORGAN: But it’s still an element of the Bible that is flawed. WARREN: Well, evidently, for that generation, that’s their – that’s their commandment. MORGAN: Exactly my point. . . . WARREN: But it’s not one of the moral laws. MORGAN: No, but it’s still in the Bible, and it’s flawed. This is where Warren’s response fell short. First, the law against adultery was a moral law, not a civil law. The specific penalty for adultery, namely, stoning, was part of Israel’s civil law, but even at that, Torah law does not distinguish between moral law and civil law. It would have been better to say, “We both agree that adultery is still wrong; it’s just the penalty for adultery that has changed. It’s the same with homosexual practice.” Second, Warren offered a weak defense for the validity
www.OzarksChristianNews.com of this law, saying, “evidently, for that generation, that’s their--that’s their commandment.” Actually, it would have been better to say that Israel was a theocracy, and as a nation, the people of Israel heard God speak his laws from Mount Sinai. America is not a theocracy and we are not trying to make America into a theocracy. Also, in the ancient Near East, the laws of Moses were actually more compassionate in many ways than the laws of the surrounding nations. But either way, laws like these were common at that time. More importantly, Jesus, in the New Testament--which is part of the Bible!--spoke against the stoning of an adulteress, without downplaying the sin of adultery. So, Warren could have simply said, “We don’t need to amend the Bible. The Bible already dealt with the very question you raise.”
Page 17 Did ya hear about the gal who complained about her husband keeping pigs in their home? She told her friend that the smell was something awful. Her friend suggested that she opened the windows and she indignantly exclaimed, “What? and let my chickens and geese out?”
Of course, if Warren had the time, he could have asked Morgan what right our contemporary Western culture has to throw stones at ancient Israelite morality (no pun intended). For every person stoned to death in ancient Israel for sexual sins, countless thousands of people in Europe and America suffer and even die because of sexually transmitted diseases. I wonder how a line like that would have gone over on the show? Ironically, after Rick Warren commended Piers Morgan for bringing up these issues, calling for more civil discussion, Moran agreed, saying, “The debate should always be respectful. It's the moment--it applies to politics, too. . . . The moment it becomes disrespectful and discourteous and then rude and then poisonous, you never achieve anything.” Perhaps Morgan forgot this principle when he vilified gun lobbyist Larry Pratt as an “incredibly stupid person”? But I digress. Calling for an amendment to the Bible is more than enough for now, and I have no desire to compare today’s gun laws with the Law of Moses.
Look who we caught reading the Ozarks Christian News! Gary McSpadden is pastor to Faith & Wisdom Church. More to come on their new building in April 2013 issue. Sunday Church Services are held at 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM and Wednesday Bible Study at 7PM For more info, call: 417-335-9991
www.fwcbranson.com
Michael Brown is the author of The Real Kosher Jesus and the host of the nationally syndicated talk Michael Brown radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience.
www.CornerstoneElectric.com
Page 18
March 2013
www.Twitter.com/OCNEditor
•
www.OzarksChr
Pondering Evil, Suffering & Death
T
he technological revolutions of today stagger our imaginations. We try to peer into the future, and if we could actually see what the world will be like 10 or 20 years from now, I'm sure that we would be overwhelmed. This is not the first time, however, that the human race has undergone a technological revolution. Three thousand years ago when a young man by the name of David became king of Israel, Israel was divided and backward, and was oppressed by its neighbors. Israel was little more than a cluster of primitive tribes living in tents, and people were barely scratching a living from the land. But 40 years later when King David died, all that had changed. In only one generation Israel had become one of the strongest, most prosperous nations in the Near East. In fact, in those few decades, Israel experienced one of the greatest periods of social and eco-
nomic progress in its history. What happened? Certainly David was a man with exceptional leadership ability, and he had the favor of God. But there was another reason: King David introduced into Israel a new technology. About two centuries earlier the Hittites had discovered the secret of smelting and processing iron. Slowly the skill spread, but for many decades Israel's enemies deliberately kept the knowledge away from Israel. "We find ourselves in the paralyzing grip of selfdestructive habits that we can't break. ... Even the most sophisticated among us seems powerless to break the cycle." But David changed all that, and he introduced the Iron Age to Israel. Now, instead of using crude tools made of sticks and stones, Israel had plows, sickles, hoes, axes and other implements made of iron. And in the course of that one generation, Israel was completely changed. The introduction of iron, in some ways, had an impact on David's day much as the microchip is having today.
King David reflected on what was happening. David not only was a great ruler, he also was a great poet and a philosopher and a musician. A technological revolution had changed the lives of his people. But as David looked at life, he realized that there were several problems that technology had not solved. In the Psalms, David speaks to a number of these problems. And these problems are still with us, for they are moral and spiritual problems, and only moral and spiritual answers can solve those problems. I want to address three of these problems.
Human Evil The first problem that King David knew he could not solve is the problem of human evil. Something is wrong. We can't get along with other people, even in our own families. We find ourselves in the paralyzing grip of selfdestructive habits that we can't break. Racism, injustice and violence sweep our world, bringing a tragic harvest of heartache and death. Even the most sophisticated among us seems powerless to break the cycle. The Bible says that the problem is within us—within our hearts and our souls. We are separated from God, and we need to have our souls restored—something that only God can do. Jesus said, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testi-
mony, slander." The British philosopher Bertrand Russell was not a religious man, but on one point he agreed with Jesus when he said, "It is in our hearts that the evil lies, and it is from our hearts that it must be plucked out."
Albert E once pessim declared, " to denature than to den evil spirit
Albert Einstein once pessimistically declared, "It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man."(4) Many people have puzzled over this. People take beneficial technological advances and twist them into something corrupting. Brilliant people devise computer viruses that bring down entire information systems. But the problem is not the technology; the problem is the person using the technology. King David himself knew the depths of evil in his own soul. He couldn't free himself from personal sins, which included adultery and murder.(5) Yet King David, seeking God's forgiveness, said, "You restore my soul." The Bible teaches that we do not simply have bodies and minds, we also have souls. Our souls are
ristianNews.com
•
March 2013
www.Twitter.com/OCNEditor
Page 19
apart by war.
Written by Billy Graham that part of us that yearns for meaning in life and that seeks something beyond this life. Our souls are that part of us that yearns for God. Even people who have no religious beliefs wonder at times if there is something more.
Einstein mistically It is easier plutonium nature the Thomas Edison of man." "When yousaid,see
everything that happens in the world of science and in the working of the universe, you cannot deny that there is a 'Captain on the bridge.'"
Human Suffering The second problem that King David realized he could not solve is the problem of human suffering. The Bible says, "Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward." Yes, to be sure, science has done much to push back certain types of human suffering, but think of the suffering that we still face in the world today: Innercity children trapped in cycles of despair. Children of divorce described increasingly by researchers as carrying deep and lasting wounds. Orphans and desperate children, around the world, torn
And among those of us who are the most protected against poverty and violence, families self-destruct, friends betray us, psychological pressures bear down on us. Why do we suffer? That is an age-old question that none of us can fully answer. King David too suffered heartbreak. His own deceit caused the death of his infant son. His children were involved with rape, revenge and murder. His son Absalom led a revolt against him. Yet David, again and again, in the most agonizing circumstances, could turn to God and say, "The Lord is my shepherd."
Death The third problem that King David knew he could not solve is the problem of death.(10) Some people find it difficult even to comprehend death, and most people live as if they were never going to die. But death is inevitable. The writer of Ecclesiastes declared, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die." Several years ago a university student asked me what was the greatest surprise of my life, and I replied, "Its brevity." This, then, is humanity's threefold dilemma: evil, suffering and death. Technology cannot solve these problems. They ultimately are spiritual problems, and they demand spiritual solutions. And today in our world we need a moral dimension more than ever.
Without it, the 21st century could become the bloodiest century in the history of the human race. It could be the last century. But it does not need to be this way. Wernher von Braun said, "It has frequently been stated that scientific enlightenment and religious belief are incompatible. [But] technology and ethics are sisters." Blaise Pascal has been called one of the architects of modern civilization. He was a brilliant scientist at the frontiers of mathematics, even when he was a teenager. He is viewed by many as the founder of the probability theory and as the creator of the first digital calculator. Pascal explored in depth our dilemmas of human evil, human suffering and death. People can achieve extraordinary heights in science, the arts and human enterprise. Yet people also are full of anger, hypocrisy and self-hatred. Pascal saw this as a remarkable mixture of genius and self-delusion.
Pascal came to believe that only the love and the grace of God could bring us back into harmony with God. Pascal experienced it in a way that went beyond scientific observation and reason. It was he who wrote the words that are now well-known: "The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing." For Pascal, scientific knowledge paled beside knowledge of God. When Pascal died at age 39, he was ready to face God. King David lived to be 70 years old; yet he too had to face death: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." This was David's answer to the three dilemmas of human evil, human suffering and death. It can be your answer as well as you seek the living God and allow Him to fill your life and give you hope for the future. Log on to read the original article at
On November 23, 1654, Pascal had a profound religious experience. He wrote these words: "May I never be separated from Him. ... Total and sweet renunciation. Total submission to Jesus Christ. Eternally in joy."
BillyGraham.org
Page 20
www.OzarksChristianNews.com non-profit organization to learn about the services provided and the opportunities to volunteer or support the organization.
n the last issue, I thanked the community for the wonderful support provided to our CAM Food Pantries ministry. This month I’d like to address the unique nature of our community in instilling a sense of charity within our young.
I
In December I was given the opportunity, along with other non-profit organizations, to attend a meeting of the Legacy Youth Institute. What a truly significant organization for our youth. Local high schools identify student leaders to participate in this movement and the December meeting consisted of about 40 students from the various high schools in Taney and Stone counties. After opening comments, the students proceeded to visit the displays of each
As I talked with the attendees, I was impressed by their concern for their community and their enthusiastic willingness to be of service. These are our future leaders and they are being mentored in a positive, caring, and giving manner to integrate community service with their future careers. This is truly living the vision statement of the Legacy movement: “The Legacy of the Ozark Mountain Spirit Lives – Pass It On!”
March 2013
Congratulations to the Ozark Administrator Jory Rolf. You Mountain Legacy Board of are definitely providing the founDirectors for their vision and dation to continue the wonderful foresight in creating and nurturspirit of service that is so unique ing this organization: John to our area. Baltes, SDC Foundation; If you would like to learn more about Howard Boyd, Pastor: Larry Our Ozark Mountain Legacy, visit their Cline, former website at: Rockaway Beach Mayor; Sue www.ozarkmountainlegacy.org. Head, College of the Ozarks; All of us at CAM know that our Jack future is in secure hands as we Herschend, see the bright SDC; Dean faces of our Kruithof, future leaders. Branson City Thank you for Administrator; your continued Mike Mason, support. Reeds Spring Superintendent; Gail Myer, Myer Hotels; CAM Board ChairmanDon Phillips, State Rep; Dennis Jack Burke Wood, Stone County ChristianActionMinistries.org Commissioner, and Legacy Pie rc e Ar row’s Luke M e na r d
Visit us on the web! www.thefamilyrx.com
The Ozarks Christian News is available FREE at all Family Pharmacy locations!
Open Daily 887-9553
Have your next lunch meeting in our Private Room
2501 S. Campbell Springfield
The Best Steaks in Town!
•
Luke Menard was born and raised in Crawfordsville, IN. He started playing the violin at age 5 and that is when Luke’s love of music began. He graduated from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois where he was heavily involved in music. Upon graduation, he formed and toured with the nationally acclaimed acapella group Chapter 6 for 10 years. In 2008, Luke was seen on the Fox hit televison show American Idol as one of the top 8 guys. Upon elimination, he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. After several rounds of chemo and radiation Luke is now cancer free. His story was featured on E! Entertainment and Extra. In July of 2011 Luke became a singer in Branson’s long successful running show Pierce Arrow where he currently sings tenor in the quartet. Luke and his wife, Lara, have a daughter named Hope and reside in Branson, MO.
“I believe Satan to exist for two reasons: first, the Bible says so; and second, I’ve done business with him.” -D.L. Moody
March 2013 BIBLE CLUBS ALLOW RELIGIOUS MEETINGS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS By Dee Wampler ost in the ACLU’s war against Christianity is the famous U.S. Supreme Court case of Westside Community vs. Mergens, (1990) in which the Court affirmed the Federal Equal Access Law, which provides a “limited open forum” allowing for the establishment of Bible clubs in middle and high schools throughout the nation. Once a non-curriculum related student group is allowed an opportunity to meet on school premises such as: the Atheism Club, or the Gay and Lesbian Club, it is lawful for students to form a “Bible Club” and engage in worship or discussion in exercising their private rights to freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. This landmark case decision is often overlooked. In Mergen the U.S. Supreme Court decided that since the high school had a scuba diving club, and other service clubs, it triggered the school’s obligation under the federal law to allow the formation of Bible clubs and rule that this does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. If schools allow any one group to meet then they must allow other groups. This includes notices in the school newspaper, announcements on the school bulletin boards or public address system. The Equal Access Act did not create any new preferred or extra privileges for student religious groups, but merely ensures the rights and privileges accorded to other clubs must also be given to religious clubs without discrimination. If other clubs are allowed to have outside speakers, then religious clubs must be allowed the same right. In this situation which allows students to pray, study and worship on school property. “Good News Clubs are the most positive thing to happen to public schools in decades.” Mat Staver [President of Liberty Counsel] said, “They provide the opportunity for elementary students to learn character, morals and respect, and
L
www.OzarksChristianNews.com to learn about the bible and salvation.” And he makes an interesting observation. When the courts took prayer out of schools in the 1060s, those prayers were only about 60 seconds long and often vague. But Good News Clubs provide 60 to 90 minutes of the Gospel at a time.
“I am convinced of the strategic importance of them,” he said, “They are the unvarnished presentation of the Gospel and Bible truths.” If you know of students who are willing organize a school Bible Club, please contact our office and we will assist. Rachel A. Veatch, Assistant to Dee Wampler. Law Offices of Dee Wampler and Joseph Passanise • 2974 E. Battlefield, Springfield, MO 65804 rachel@deewampler.com ph: 417.882.9300 • fax: 417.882.9311
AMERICANS ARE SHOCKED By: Dee Wampler Americans are repeatedly shocked by unimaginable random acts of violence. Mass shootings in schools, cafeterias, movie theaters, churches; - serve as reminders of the unhappy fact that far too many of us no longer possess the time honored qualities of civility and decency. All the while, religious faith in America not only produces the most important civil virtues, but it was primary reason for the founding of America. As John Adams’ acknowledged: “The general principles on which the
father’s achieved independence were – the general principles of Christianity.” President Harry Truman avowed: “In this great country of ours has been demonstrated the fundamental unity of Christianity and democracy.” Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court has construed the First Amendment to prohibit, in many public gatherings, any mention of God, the Bible or Jesus Christ. Bibles, for instance, were the original school book in all of our public schools. It was the principal source of sound morals in America and never should have been separated from the classroom. Noah Webster summarized the Founding Fathers view on this subject, he stated: “All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.” George Washington warned that we can never “indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education…reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles.” Historically speaking, “the separation of Church and State” is a myth and never intended to become a tool to secularize the public square. The Founding Fathers intended that biblical principles be part of public society. The inclusion of biblical principles and values in our society produces positive measurable results. Our nation would be morally and culturally stronger to the degree that biblical, religious and moral principles are incorporated throughout our society. As people of faith, we need the courage and stand up for what has been proven to be successful.
Page 21
WHAT OUR FOUNDING FATHERS REALLY SAID In March of 1797 “And as it our duty to extend our wishes to the happiness of the great family of man, I concede that we cannot better express ourselves than by humbly supplicating the supreme ruler of the world, that the rod of tyrants may be broken into pieces, and the oppressed made free; that wars may cease in all the earth, and that the confusions that are and have been among the nations may be overruled by promoting and speedily bringing on that holy and happy period when the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be everywhere established, and all people everywhere willingly bow the scepter of Him who is the Prince of Peace.” ~Samuel Adams, Father of the American Revolution
Now you know what our founding fathers really said...
Springfield, MO Attorney Dee Wampler has 50 years trial experience as a Greene County prosecutor and defense attorney.
He is the author of “The Myth of Separation of Church and State.” and “The Trial of Christ: A 21st Century Lawyer Defends Jesus.”
Page 22
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
March 2013
your hands and hug your necks. But mostly I want to see one of you get healed of what threatens your future and I really want to see someone you love come to Christ. Now lets get back to business, we have to work while it's day for soon the night comes,” he concluded.
Christian Music Legend Carman Diagnosed With Cancer
Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
BY GINA MEEKS
C
hristian music artist Carman Licciardello has been diagnosed with cancer.
The musician and evangelist wrote on his Facebook page Thursday morning: “I have delayed writing this but those of you I call friends and supporters, who have prayed for me and this ministry need to know about this new battle that lies ahead. One week ago I was diagnosed with myeloma cancer. It is incurable and I've been given a 3- to 4-year window of time.” Often described as part evangelist, part Vegas showman, the 57-year-old's concerts “are more like a rock-and-roll Billy Graham crusade than a Christian music event,” his website says.
rumors. Second, I ask for your prayers. And 3rd, I want you all to know that I will continue to minister and win souls until I can't do it any longer. “My life has always been about ministry,” he explained. “I have a call of God to touch lives with the gospel of Jesus Christ and that's what I will do until the Lord calls me home.” He asked his Facebook followers not to fill his page with cancer treatment remedies, but encouraged them to come see him the next time he's in their area.
“I used to go to movies in the afternoon, now I go see doctors,” he said.
“Bring someone who doesn't know the Lord or who needs to be healed,” he wrote. “I will always pray for the sick and I'm also going to step up the intensity of my message at these events. I will not leave this world quietly and I want the devil to know that he put cancer on absolutely the wrong Italian.
The singer listed three reasons for his post: “First, I want to put an end to all the
“I have a few good years and before it's too late I want to see your faces, shake
Carman wrote that he will go in for his first bone biopsy and begin the process this week.
Dear Father, Forgive me when I lose sight of what is really important in life. Help me to keep my eyes focused on your truth. Enable me to show others that you are the real treasure in life.
Carman, who was born Carmelo Domenic Licciardello, released his first LP, God's Not Finished With Me, in 1980. Bill Gaither invited him to tour with The Bill Gaither Trio the following year. His song “Sunday's on the Way,” from the 1983 live album of the same name, began a string of successes on theCCM chart. Carman was named Charisma magazine's Readers' Choice for the first “Favorite Male Vocalist of the Year” 1987-1989. Billboard magazine also recognized his influence in Christian music by naming him the first “Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year” in 1980. He has received 15 gold and platinum albums and videos, and has sold more than 10 million records. Carman holds attendances records for the largest solo Christian concerts in history with 80,000 outdoors in Charlotte, N.C., and 50,000 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Carman is currently on tour, and has dates on carmanlive.com through July. His newest album,Anthems of a Champion, released last month.
-- Ronald Reagan (1986)
Democrats view of people could be summed up the same way: If they are working, tax them. If they work really hard, regulate them. And if they stop working, entitle them. --John G. Sacoulas (2013)
Thousands of dollars below Blue Book minor repairs needed: $7,500.00 obo 2005 Jayco 5th Wheel with bunkhouse Included: 14K Reese 5th Wheel hitch. (417) 357-0342
y ed! l w el e N od m e R
Barbara Fairchild appearing in the Golden Corral Showroom
3551 Shepherd of the Hills • Branson
March 2013
Dr. Carson's Refreshing Jolt of Good Societal Medicine by David Limbaugh
President Obama must have been stunned at the "audacity" of Dr. Benjamin Carson in challenging his core assumptions right to his face in front of thousands of people at the National Prayer Breakfast. Obama is not used to being challenged, especially in public, even if indirectly and without being specifically named. From the look on his face, it was obvious Obama was none too pleased with Carson's message or with his "presumptuousness" in presenting it in that forum, while he had to sit still and -remain silent. I think we can best understand Carson's message in light of his opening statements, which laid the foundation for the thematic body of this speech. He began citing scriptural passages that he said would put his upcoming remarks into context. Three of the passages were wisdom sayings from the book of Proverbs, admonishing that the godless destroy their neighbor with their mouths, that a man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor and that a generous man will prosper. The final passage was God's promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that if his people will humble themselves and pray and seek his face and turn from their wicked ways, he will hear them, forgive their sins and heal their land. Carson also decried the chilling effect of political correctness that makes people afraid to express certain opinions on important issues, lest they incur the
www.OzarksChristianNews.com wrath of society's thought and speech police -- those who presume to be the guardians of all moral and acceptable opinions. He then proceeded to boldly articulate a number of ideas that clearly fall in this category of disfavored speech.
prerogative of a caretaker government. He denounced the practice -- refined to an art form by President Obama -- of politicians employing class warfare to deride the wealthy with accusations that they don't contribute enough while treating the less fortunate as helpless
Page 23 assault on religious liberty. He said, "If the president would exercise anywhere near the sensitivity about religious freedom in this country as he does about Islam and offending them, we wouldn't even have these kinds of problems."
There is also no question in my mind that in citing the passage from 2 Chronicles, Carson was expressIn his speech, Carson did not criticize ing his view that America has strayed from its godly roots and President Obama by name, but he replaced God's absolute moral roundly condemned his philosophy of standards with those that seem and approach to governance. He did so right to a man but are wholly of our moral fabric. with abundant forcefulness but equally destructive We must turn back to God, reject strong respectfulness. this man-made ethic grounded in He took aim on our evercovetousness, envy and greed, expanding welfare state, not only by and expecting no contribution from and recommit ourselves to godly values championing hard work, self-reliance them at all. This, I think, is where he and right living. and personal responsibility but also in was dovetailing the scriptural texts invoking his own personal experience as warning against deriding one's neighbor. In his speech, Carson did not criticize an example. He was saying, in effect, that political President Obama by name, but he demagogues who pit people against one roundly condemned his philosophy of He related how his mother worked mul- another on the basis of income and and approach to governance. He did so tiple jobs to provide for him and his wealth harm society, including the very with abundant forcefulness but equally brother and imparted critically imporpeople they pretend to help. strong respectfulness. tant values to them. She made them read and improve themselves and In a television interview, Carson It was an admirable display of forthabsolutely refused to let them make expanded on some of these thoughts, rightness and courage and a virtual semexcuses and claim vicexplaining that the Founding Fathers inar in how President Obama's political timhood for their were afraid of an out-of-control govopponents should boldly, directly and plight. ernment that would "get to the publicly dispute his wrongheaded mespoint where it couldn't subsist sage and block his destructive agenda. Carson, I believe, without taking everything from was illustrating the people." Next, he linked, David Limbaugh, brother of radio talkthat we have a though not expressly, the scripshow host Rush Limbaugh, is an expert moral problem tural passage on generosity in in law and politics and author of new in this nation challenging today's conventional book Crimes Against Liberty, the definiand that the wisdom that the wealthy are nective chronicle of Barack Obama's devasinstilling of essarily greedy. He pointed to the tating term in office so far. good values remarkable generosity of some of begins in the America's historically wealthiest Editor’s Note: You will be blessed if home and is neiindividuals. America, he said, "has you look up the speech Dr. Carson ther the always been a very generous nation. gave at the National Prayer Breakfast responsibiliLook at all the foundations that have ty nor been created for the purpose of on You Tube. And if you have not read the book or seen the the film the taking care of people." with Cuban Gooding, Jr. called He also expound- “Gifted Hands� you are in for a real treat. Dr. Carson is a brilliant sured on his comments on politi- geon and great man of God. I have decided to appoint him my Surgeon cal correctness, apparently criti- General in my presidential cabinet. cizing the president's selective Specifically, Carson offered a ringing endorsement of America's founding principles and its unique constitutional liberties. He decried the moral decay in our society and our government's grotesque fiscal irresponsibility.
Page 24
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
YAK BAK Y
We would like to thank Ozarks Christian News for such a great newsFeed Back from paper. We have been reading the OCN our readers for almost 8 years. We bought our first issue in July 2005 and still have every issue since. It is a great paper to look Love your newspaper, so here’s $30 for back through previous years and see a year of them. Thank you so much, how the world has changed according to keep up the good work! God bless the the Holy Bible. We may not always good old USA! Pray for the USA. God agree with everything we read in the is still in control. OCN, but then again, who does agree Sharon J., Bland, MO with everything ______________ they read. We I really enjoy your totally support paper. It is wonderand encourage ful! I don’t know everyone to read why I didn’t subthe OCN. It is a scribe sooner. I must for all Bible lived in St. Louis b e l i e v i n g all of my life until 4 Christians to years ago. My siskeep up with ter and I visit Marvin & Regina Reynolds facts and events Branson twice a of things happenyear. ing and things to come according to the Thank you. Holy Word of God. You WILL NOT be Joan G., Tuscon, AZ disappointed. ______________ Your brother & sister in Christ, Hello, I just read your December issue. Marvin Reynolds - President I love it. I have a cousin living in Regina Reynolds - Vice President Branson. She gave it to me.I live in cenGod's Warriors Motorcycle Ministry tral Illinois. Please send me November. ______________ Lois M., Casey, IL Send your letters to the editor to: ______________ editor@ozarkschristiannews.com We attended the Dixie Stampede show with 5 grandchildren and were thrilled or mailing address: P.O. Box 336 with the professional entertainers and Rockaway Beach, MO 65740 Christian message presented. It was our Letters may be edited for space consideration. first time to attend and we will definite- Please indicate if your whole name may be used. ly go back. The children loved the show so much and continue to talk about the Nativity scene and all the animals. The food was outstanding and the staff was warm and made every effort to accommodate our large group. A wonderful experience – we highly recommend the Dixie Stampede show! Lynn & Janet Morris, Family Pharmacy, Ozark, MO ______________
Those in the International Community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don’t have a moral right to place a red line before Israel. If the Arabs layed down their arms today, there would be peace in the Middle East. If Israel layed down their arms today, there would be no more Israel.
-Benjamin Netanyahu
BLACK AND WHITE by Patrick Buchanan Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America. Fair enough. But this time, it needs to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to. The Silent Majority needs to have its... grievances and demands heard. And among them are these: America has been the best country on earth for black folks....(They)....reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known. No people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Trillions have been spent since the '60s on welfare....(and on) poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream. Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action.... (Institutions and) individuals all over America have donated their time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.
March 2013
A Rebuttal by Tom Kando Ugly and racist, indeed. Is a refutation even necessary? Notice the disgusting, patronizing attitude: America, which Buchanan considers to be a white country, deigns to lift up the blacks, who then must show gratitude and humility! Yes, half of the 2.5 million US prison population is black. And yes, this is a racist scandal. Of course, the lower classes always commit a disproportionate number of street crimes. This has nothing to do with skin color. If you hold income constant, the difference between the black and white crime rates evaporates. It is well known that per capita black income hovers at 50% of average white income, and sadly, this is not improving. The figure was actually closer to 60% in the 1960s. Bad enough.
But here is a much more mind-boggling statistic: Average black net worth is about 10% of white per capita net worth! Pause for a moment to digest this unbelievable fact! The average white American is ten times richer than the average black American! I have never understood why Is white America really responsible for this grotesque disparity doesn’t create more the fact that the crime and incarceration revolutionary consciousness among blacks. rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America? Is it And it’s all black folks’ fault, says really white America's fault that illegiti- Buchanan (“a failure of the black communimacy in the African-American commu- ty itself”). nity has hit 70 percent and the black This is pure and simple Social Darwinism, dropout rate from high schools in some or the term - coined by sociologists cities has reached 50 percent? “blaming the victim.” Is that the fault of white America or, But why do we even continue to categorize first and foremost, a failure of the black by race? Well, we have to, as long as community itself? America remains largely a caste society. As long as 90% of marriages and relationships Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it remain intra-racial. all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.... Racists like Buchanan will never understand that dysfunctionality has everything editor’s note: to do with social class and nothing to do It is a daunting commission for an edi- with race. tor to be fair and balanced when reporting grave issues that face our Are African-Americans still 2nd class citicommunity and nation. I can only offer zens in the US? That is as clear as black both sides of a coin in order to be fair and white. and balanced. Pray for wisdom for me.
March 2013
The Actual Cost of Possession by Mark Ford
In this months essay – originally published in The Palm Beach Letter – Mark explores an aspect of ownership few people consider: the actual cost of possession. There are hidden costs to buying, renting, or leasing anything. But once you understand the concept – and how to control it – you will be able to make smarter decisions and have fewer regrets… In the mid-1980s, a few years after I "decided to be rich," I bought my dream house. It was a 4,000-square-foot chateau-styled, custom-built, five-bedroom home in a very nice gated neighborhood called Les Jardins in Boca Raton, Florida. The cost of the house was about $600,000 – more than I ever imagined I could afford. But thanks to the success of a business I had started, I had socked away about $125,000, and that was enough to cover the down payment and closing costs. Telling the real estate agent "I'll take it" gave me a great, memorable feeling of the power of wealth. I knew, even then, that this purchase would be a milestone in my life. What I didn't know was how many different lessons I would learn from it. Deciding to buy my dream was euphoric. But signing the loan documents evoked a very different emotion: an ominous weight. The title to this magnificent house was in my name. But I owned only one-fifth of it. The real owner was the bank. I didn't like the idea that if things went awry, I could lose "my" house to this cor-
www.OzarksChristianNews.com poration. So I decided to devote every extra dollar I made toward paying down the mortgage. I put no money away for my children's education or my retirement. I didn't even have an emergency fund. It all went toward my goal of really and truly owning my house. What a great feeling it was when, only three years later, I handed that last payment to the bank. I would finally be rid of that burden, I thought. I would finally be master of my own domain.
one doesn't mean you own it. And owning it doesn't mean your car will be costfree. The same is true for boats and planes and beds and exercise equipment and machinery and so on. This rule applies to about everything you buy that cannot, like food or medicine, be consumed.
Thus, my happy delusion about ownership was shattered. But it wasn't a bad thing. Not at all. It gave me a very useful insight But life had the Once you get the knack for the into more lescost of arithmetic, it's easy to do. You sons for p o s me. Just a will make smarter decisions and sessing week or things – have fewer regrets. And the two after a n salespeople you deal with will paying off insight begrudgingly admire you! the mortthat has gage, I helped received my property tax assessment for me make countless buying decisions the year. It was something like $22,000. since. "Holy cow," I thought. "That's more than K and I ever paid for rent. And I've got to A New Way to Think About pay this every year, without fail, as long Ownership as I own this house." Nowadays, when considering the purThe next week, I received a notice about chase of a car or boat or a set of golf the homeowner's association fees: They clubs, I don't pretend that I will have would be going up to $4,000 per year. them forever. I take a deep breath, calm And then, the following week, I wrote down my greedy little heart, and make a checks to cover our monthly bills. These realistic estimate about how many years I included about a half-dozen expenses will actually use this desired object. I that related directly to the house: elec- then calculate its total cost of ownership tricity, gas, lawn maintenance, etc. on a yearly basis. I realized that even after paying off a mortgage of $600,000, I was not in any way financially free. To possess and occupy that house was going to cost me more than $30,000 per year – for as long as I "owned" it. I learned two important lessons from this experience:
In other words, rather than telling myself that this truck is going to cost me $25,000 (because that's the sticker price), I do a full calculation of everything I'll likely pay to own it for, say, 10 years, and arrive at what it will cost me, on an annual basis, to possess it.
Having paid for something doesn't mean it no longer costs you anything to use it.
I'm sure there are plenty of smart people who do the same thing. But I've never heard anyone say so. Nor have I read about it among the books on finance that I've read. So lacking a dictionary term for this idea, let's create one. Let's call it the cost of possession.
Later, I realized that the same rules applied to buying a car. Getting title to
And to reiterate: The cost of possession is the full cost of using any non-consum-
Holding title to something doesn't mean you have absolute control over it.
Page 25 able good, from a house to a car to a fountain pen, over a given period of time. I said that understanding this idea has helped me become a better buyer of things. Next time we will visit the age old debate: Own or Rent?
Mark Ford Many people believe that owning a house is always better than renting one. Is it really? What I want you to take away from this essay is this: When making decisions about buying, renting, or leasing anything, always remember to include all of the costs involved. Then divide them by the number of years you expect to use the thing you are buying. This will give you the real cost – the cost of possession. Once you get the knack for the arithmetic, it's easy to do. You will make smarter decisions and have fewer regrets. And the salespeople you deal with will begrudgingly admire you! Regards, Mark Ford To subscribe to the Palm Beach Letter log on to:
www.PalmBeachLetter.com Sudoku Answers to Pg. 26
Page 26
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
March 2013
Hwy 13 & 76 in Branson West
Pre-oowned cars and trucks
(417) 272-8960
www.imagesatthecross.org
$50.00 off any vehicle purchased with ad! Pierce Arrow’s Ti m St o r m s Answers to Crossword Puzzle on Page 14
Across 1. Hobble 5. Assist in wrongdoing 9. Saltwater fish 13. Musical instrument 14. Exists 16. Song 17. Animal hide 18. Decorating material 19. A small room 20. Make a great effort 22. Wild plum 23. In vigorous good health 24. Epoch 26. Fury 28. Dusk 33. Style of glazed
earthenware 36. Unit of electrical resistance 37. Kind of fruits with hard rinds 39. Tooth 41. Harvest 43. Outstanding 45. Gown 46. Showing keen interest 48. Claw 50. Beer 51. Religious doctrine 53. Crazy 55. Parts of the Roman calendar 57. Insect 58. Dart 61. Stalk 64. Formerly a European gold coin
68. Parasitic insects 69. Path or track 71. A strong line 72. At a later time 73. Evergreen plant 74. Overt 75. Changed location 76. Melt 77. Following Down 1. Smooth gait 2. Wild goat 3. Small burrowing mammal 4. Oceanic bird 5. Any high mountain 6. Prejudice 7. Malevolence 8. Singing voice 9. Unmarried man 10. Region 11. Part of a window
12. Brief occasion for buying at reduced prices 15. Lieu 21. Neat and smart in appearance 25. Highly excited 27. Jewel 28. Ripped 29. Cereal grass 30. Visual representation 31. Pain 32. Trample 34. Drift 35. Furniture item 38. Open river valley 40. Tall woody perennial grass 42. Feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds
Answers to Sudoku Puzzle on Page 25
44. Burial chamber 47. Color 49. Requirement 52. Fractious 54. Nerve cell 56. Swagger 58. Defect 59. A telephone connection 60. Graphic symbol in computing 62. Apiece 63. Mineral 65. Manage 66. Peak 67. Collapsible shelter 70. Jurisprudence
Born August 28, 1972 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and raised in Waterloo, Indiana, Tim developed an ear for vocal music at a young age. His musical influences include many a cappella music groups. Four days after graduating high school, he moved to Oklahoma to begin a career in Christian music. Over the next several years, Tim would sing with the groups Timothy, Freedom, Vocal Union, AVB, Acappella, 50’s at the Hop and Rescue. During his career in Christian music, Tim has been blessed to be able to sing in Brazil, France, Switzerland, Jamaica, Fiji, Russia and England, as well as all over the United States. Tim set a Guinness World Record for the lowest note produced by a human by vibrating his vocal chords down to .189 Hz, which is just over seven octaves below the piano. He also set a Guinness World Record for the widest vocal range for a male. The new record was announced via CNN and Reuters at Ripley's Believe It Or Not, London, England. Tim joined Pierce Arrow at the beginning of the 2006 season and currently lives in the Branson area with his wife, Angie, daughter Emma, and son Evan.
Socialism: A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. -- George Bernard Shaw
March 2013
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
Page 27 • Locally-Owned • Bruce and Kim Erdel
Serving the Ozarks since 1990 Store Hours Monday – Saturday from 9AM to 7PM. • Physical Address – 4145 South National Ave, Springfield • 417-891-2200 or Toll Free 1-888-835-0034 •
www.cpobooks.com
Take No Offense by Glen Berteau eal Christians don’t get offended. Sometimes God will offend our minds to see what’s in our hearts because offenses serve as windows into the heart. If our hearts don’t line up with God’s, we’ll complain, gripe, lash out and run away.
R
We don’t need to get our feelings hurt so easily. Let’s remember that we are all equally loved, forgiven and accepted by Christ. Grace triumphs over petty offenses.
Also, we can’t fall into the enemy’s trap of nursing offenses. Instead, we need to release forgiveness. As we grow as Christians, the grace we’ve experienced in God’s forgiveness of our sins deepens and matures us so we have the power to forgive those who hurt us. Don’t wait until the person asks for forgiveness or promises to never hurt us again. We need to forgive the way Jesus forgave us. Jesus said, “You need to think like Me, experience what I experienced, and do what most won’t do. The world gets offended, but you are not of this world anymore.”
It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and it’s my job to love. -Billy Graham
Get D e book e Wampl er’s n h e re Also Bill S . (See pag ew e mith’ s new 21) book .
www.omcloveinc.com 417-336-7056
If you can't be thankful for what you receive, be thankful for what you escape.
Page 28
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
March 2013
March 2013
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
Page 29
you need!
You're a sick senior citizen and the government says they are going to sell your house to pay for your nursing care. So what do you do? Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets. You are allowed to shoot four Politicians.
o n E xpertt Life E xtt ensio
Of course, this means you will be sent to prison..... where you will get three meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating, air conditioning and all the health care
Need new teeth? No problem. Need glasses? That’s great. Need a new hip, knees, kidney, lungs or heart? They’re all covered.
A.ll T.he O.zarks N.ews & C.hristian E.vents
As an added bonus, your kids can come and visit you as often as they do now.
Please feel free to post your next event here for FREE! Tell your friends, family and business associates about this new resource for Christian Happenings in the Ozarks.
And who will be paying for all of this? It’s the same government that just told you that they cannot afford to pay for your nursing care.
www.AtOnce.webs.com
And you can get rid of 4 useless politicians while you are at it. Plus, because you are a prisoner you don't have to pay income tax. Is this a great country or what?
Here is a RealLife Testimony... 800 State Highway 248 Suite 2-B B Branson, MO 65616
HEALTH IS NOT JUST AN ABSENCE OF SYMPTOMS -Optimal health is achieved through a proper functioning Nervous System. Dr. Bo is a Nervous System Specialist -- He is a Life Extension Expert :)
So Call Today
Find out how we can help YOU achieve VICTORY in YOUR life! “I praise you because I am fearfullyand wonderfully made…” ~Psalm 139:14
“Thanks be to God, who gives us VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:57
efore moving to Branson at the beginning of the year, I was seeing a chiropractor, but not on a regular basis. I was only going when my lower back would go out or felt that it was headed in that direction. Although I was suffering from recurrent migraines and jaw clicking, I didn’t give chiropractic treatments much thought because I didn’t realize how much my body would benefit from it. Terenia, Dr. Bo Both my migraines and jaw clicking continued to worsen. My migraines would leave me nauseous, non-functionable, trouble with my speech, blurred vision, and no recollection of conversations with people when I had one. Upon arriving in Branson, my moth-
B
er was anxious for me to meet her chiropractor, as she knew the health issues that I was dealing with, and she believed that Dr. Bo could help. So, I set up a time with Dr. Bo and Tami for my initial visit for an evaluation. After going over my test results, it was confirmed that I had some issues and tat I would greatly benefit from a chiropractic health plan. Once my treatments got started, I could see that I was well on my road to recovery. I felt great!! I didn’t realize all the health benefits that came with having an aligned spine. Not only did Dr. Bo get my spine back in alignment for me, but my migraines are... well, gone! I don’t remember the last time I had one. My jaw click& Frances ing has improved immensely, and my lower back pain has diminished... only to present itself on occasion. Thank You! Dr. Bo and Tami for jump starting my body again! I feel new and improved! Thank You Victory Chiropractic! ~Terenia Smith
Page 30
Rebuilding Confidence in 2013 Contributing Editor: Tiffany L. Mathews
s a Green Bay Packer fan, I watched Green Bay field goal kicker Mason Crosby go through his recent slump. During a few game stretch he was more likely to miss field goals, rather than make them. After each of Mason's 19 missed field goals he would hang down his head in utter shock and unbelief. What used to come natural for Mason was no longer working. He was in a major slump as his new found ability to miss each field goal was unexplainable.
A
We can assume that there were many voices racing through Mason Mason's mind Crosby after every time the another coach called upon him, only missed field to miss yet goal another field goal. More than likely these thoughts included lack of self-confidence, selfworth, echoing comments by fans, and even wonderment if he would ever make another field goal again. These thoughts or fears that crept into his mind probably caused him to miss even more field goals than usual. After a fourth poor performance by Mason Crosby, Coach Mike McCarthy was asked if they would change kickers and his response was... "We're not changing our kicker, so you can write that down right now," McCarthy said. "He's our guy." What Mason Crosby experienced for quite a few games is similar to what many people experience in life. Many of us have had similar experiences where what once worked flawlessly suddenly
www.OzarksChristianNews.com stops working; and after one mishap the mishaps get compounded and never seem to stop. When these mishaps happen in relationships, finances, health, school, work, and our spiritual life we start second-guessing our confidence or ability to have things go our way again. Often times the self-doubt sets in and creates a fear that makes us never try something again. During 2013, I believe that God desires people to be reminded that we can overcome periods of mishaps, mistakes, or repeated failures that are unexplainable. However, we need to have confidence in God as well as ourselves. No matter what may have happened in your circumstances in the past, we can and should prayerfully get back in the game. Mike
become gun-shy by the sound of failure needs to be silenced and forgotten through God's words in the following passages.
During the last regular season game, Mason Crosby looked like he came through his slump after making a 51yard field goal to regain his confidence.
• "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident." Psalms 27:3 • "Yet I am confident I will see the LORD's goodness while I am here in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13
Breaking the Slump
• "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 • "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." (Romans 4:20-21)
• "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything McCarthy may have said "We're not changing our kicker, so you can write according to his will, he hears that down right now;" but God writes us." (1 John 5:14) down stronger words for each believer to stay in the Christian life. In fact, God states in Philippians 1:6 that we are to be confident that the God who started a good work in us will perform until the day of Jesus Christ. This is a promise that carries the signature of God through His Word. God's desire is to not let our feelings of failure, lack of confidence, or self-doubt get in the way of us trying to be who He created us to be. 2013 may be your year to get back in the game in a few areas of life and score some more points for the Kingdom. Whatever has caused you to
March 2013
During the past two decades there have been many slumps, bubbles, bursts, failures, and crisis' in housing, banking, credit, sports, and the spiritual life. 2013 looks like a perfect opportunity for anyone who is confident in God's promises to stand up and kick a few field goals through the spiritual goal posts of life! Heaven is counting on our successes to show forth the Glory of God! The reason God promises to fulfill His promises through us is to bring Glory to His Son's name. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 2 Corinthians 1:20 (KJV) In 1996 Steve Rose sold 50,000 copies of his book called "God Must be a Packer Fan." He leveraged the then Minister of Defense Reggie White's favor with God to illustrate some Kingdom principles. I would like to add that God is a fan of any person, team, business, or church that shows Glory to His Name and Kingdom. I believe God is much more confident in us than we are in ourselves. What if we could all enter 2013 and know that God is our personal fan who desires us to be confident in the things He has gifted us with. God loves the fatherless, the underdog, the brokenhearted, and all who show faith in Him. It's time to accept His heavenly gift of confidence for and in us.
• "I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no Blessings as you gain confidence in bounds." (2 Cor. 7:4) 2013! Michael and Pamela Mathews
• "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead." (Philippians 3:13)
Michael.Mathews@focusonheaven.com
715.379.9530
March 2013 KLFC Newsdesk -On December 5th, the stand-by generator was delivered to our tower site and installed. We were off the air for about 2 hours while the work was completed. When we have a power outage for more than 15 seconds, the 14KW generator should automatically turn on and provide electricity for the transmitter and other equipment in the building. We are thankful for the Lord’s provision through KLFC donors and business underwriters which made this improvement possible. Thank you!
DAVE $AY$ Financial Straight-Talk
Dear Dave, My mother-in-law has a serious credit card problem. She can’t afford stuff, but she shops anyway, acquires more and more credit and thinks she’ll pay for it all later somehow. Her husband has bailed her out a few times, but he’s unwilling to do it anymore. My wife and I, and her sister, want to address this issue, but where do we start? Jonathan Dear Jonathan, First of all, you need to stay out of the discussion. This is something for her daughters to handle, and her husband needs to be part of it, too. He’s closer to this and feels the effects more than anyone else in the family. They need to sit down with her in a closed setting, where there are no interruptions, no television and no one else. Start with the fact that they love her and care about her deeply. This part is really important. But they also have to walk through what’s going on, and let her know they’re tired of watching her destroy herself and her marriage with this immature and irresponsible behavior. Everyone involved should understand going in that they’re likely to receive a
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
KLFC New stand-by generator
volatile, angry reaction from this lady. Sometimes people get ticked off when they hear the truth, especially when it’s connected to their own misbehavior. It may even be a good idea for y o u r wife, her sister and your father-inlaw to get some advice from a family counselor beforehand. What we’re really talking about here is an intervention. If she were a drunk, you’d want to try and make her see how alcohol was hurting her and the relationships she has with her family. Basically, she has a credit card addiction, and it’s wreaking havoc on her marriage and their financial well-being. Show as much love and understanding as possible, but someone has to say something and draw a line in the sand. Otherwise, this behavior will eat everyone alive! —Dave For more financial help, please visit:
www.daveramsey.com This advice is appropriate for all interventions that are crippling habitual acts. I have come across the same need. It’s never easy, but necessary. Also needed before approaching is prayer that God will lighten the heart to heed the advice given in love -publisher.
The generator engine uses propane fuel. Here is the propane tank being lowered over the fence at our tower site
Page 31
Ron Milburn and JT Smith wiring the control panel that switches between the generator and the electric utility
Contemporary Christian Music
Branson News and Weather 417-334-5532
Listen online anywhere in the world at: www.klfcradio.com
32 Page 30
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
OurLady Cares Turns Three As birthdays go, there’s nothing especially noteworthy about a third birthday. However, in the case of Our Lady Cares, a volunteer service ministry at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Branson, there is much to celebrate after just three short years. This community outreach ministry has touched the lives of many in its young lifetime. Since its inception in 2010, Our Lady Cares has collected and distributed more than $40,000 to area service agencies. Parish members have collected and distributed hundreds of coats, cold weather items, socks, underwear and toiletry items, and spearheaded a community assistance program following the 2012 tornado that devastated portions of the Branson area. Our Lady Cares evolved from an idea expressed by David Wright and a group of faithful parishioners wanting to make a difference within the community as a whole, not just the Catholic community. With a good number of service agencies already in place, it soon became apparent that rather than creating one more, the best approach would be to help fund those already established and struggling to meet all the needs presented to them. The founding funds for Our Lady Cares came from the collections taken up on Ash Wednesday in 2010 and shortly thereafter, a monthly fundraiser known as “ChuckA-Buck” became the primary source of income for the group’s efforts. “Chuck-A-Buck”, a special collection earmarked for the work of Our Lady Cares, is taken up at Masses on the third Sunday of each month. Those attending Mass that Sunday are
asked to chuck a buck – donate just one dollar – to assist those in need in the Branson area. God has smiled on the work of Our Lady Cares and the generosity of church-goers over the past three years has allowed Our Lady Cares to extend the work of the Gospels into many areas of the community. To date, Our Lady Cares has worked extensively with the Gift of Hope organization, providing funds for their BackPack Program, which ensures that children in need have food on the week-ends when school meals are not available. Financial aid has also been provided to the Gift of Hope scholarship program and the Gift of Hope Back to School Shoe Program. Additional funding has been provided to CAM, an area food pantry; Church Army, a drug and alcohol treatment program with a Christian ministry base; Jesus was Homeless, an organization assisting with meals and housing for those in need; Loaves and Fishes, a program to provide hot meals through the winter months; Options Pregnancy Clinic and the Point-In-Time Homeless Count. From the very young to the not so young, Our Lady Cares has touched a multitude of lives in a very positive manner. Thanks to the efforts of a group of volunteers living the Gospels, with the support of Father Rick Jones, the parish family and visitors at Our Lady of the Lake and above all else, the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God, Our Lady Cares - and shares - dollar by dollar. Peace, Joyce Arnold Our Lady of the Lake Communication Ministry
Forgiveness. The Bottom Line of Christian Living. Experience the Soul-Quenching Relief that comes with Forgiveness!
Ozarks Christian A c a d e m y Does your student need a different environment? Now in our 3rd year we are continuing to make a difference in your child’s academic experience!
Call John:
(417) 353-7598
March 2013 July 2012 P i erc e A r ro w ’s M i c h e l l e Wa i t Michelle was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. She fell in love with performing after watching her brother sing in his high school musical production of '42nd Street' when she was eight years old. With some encouragement from her Mom, she went on to perform in show choirs and numerous school and community musicals while growing up. Michelle moved to Branson in 2004 and has been employed by several theater's in Branson. She has also been a featured vocalists for Celebrity Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Line. Michelle is a certified personal trainer, but most of all, Michelle loves being a mother and spending time with her two little boys, Bo and Abe. Michelle is thrilled to be a member of the Pierce Arrow family!
Think you cannot afford advertising? Think again! Sign up for the Ozarks Christian News Auction and if you are the high bidder you just might get a good size ad for peanuts! email: editor@OzarksChristianNews.com and put in the subject line: “I want an ad for peanuts”
SIGN YOUR CHURCH, MINISTRY OR BUSINESS UP FOR THE AUCTION NOTICES
Worry gives small problems big shadows. Corrie ten Boom said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.”
Do you like this newspaper? If you tell your friends and try out our sponsors we can keep ‘em coming!
March 2013
Could Bonnke’s Prophetic Declaration Spark a Great Awakening? by JENNIFER LECLAIRE ou’ve surely heard the growing body of prophecies declaring the impending judgment of God on America. Indeed, The Harbinger—a book that many believe holds the secret to America’s not so pleasant future—has remained on the New York Times’ best-seller list for more than a year. Rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s prophetic message is resonating with believers and unbelievers alike—and for good reason.
Y
So when Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke stood on the grounds of the Vero Beach Airport proclaiming “All America Shall Be Saved” in early February 2013, the declaration demanded my attention. After all, this is the same German evangelist who declared “All Africa Shall Be Saved” and witnessed more than 55 million African souls make a decision to renounce Islam, witchcraft and other strange gods—and commit to follow Jesus Christ—in just a nine-year period. 55 million souls. Despite the judgment prophecies, despite the rising gay agenda, despite the increasing persecution against Christianity in the United States, Bonnke made a bold declaration for the devils in Vero Beach and beyond to hear that night: “All America Shall Be Saved.” As I sat listening with my spiritual ears to Bonnke announcing that the Vero Beach Gospel Fest is the beginning of something greater, tears filled my eyes and hope filled my heart. And when Bonnke said the Holy Spirit spoke to him about going to other cities around the United States and filling stadiums, I began to see prophetically the magnitude of what was unfolding in that very moment.
www.OzarksChristianNews.com It’s been prophesied that Florida is a “forerunner state.” John the Baptist was a forerunner—a voice crying in the wilderness who was called to prepare the way of the Lord and make His paths straight (Mark 1:3). And just a few feet in front of me stood one of the most effective soulwinners in church history— in the so-called “forerunner state”—talking about how the Holy Spirit was going to launch him out from here to the nation. Again, declaring “All America Shall Be Saved!”
Page 33
between Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when the church doors close and the next Sunday morning at 10 a.m. when the
ening. The Lord has spoken to me—and many others—about another Great Awakening. Nearly six years ago, He told me it would grow darker before the light shines brightly in this nation again. It has indeed grown darker. I believe it will grow darker still, but the darkness will not overpower the light.
...too many have never heard the pure gospel of Christ. Could that be because the American church culture largely prizes headcounts over heart change and therefore pushes programs instead of clear gospel presentations?
We know that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:13). But it was clear by the masses that flooded the altar that night— some of them weeping and others falling to their knees in repentance—that many Americans have never heard the simple gospel of Christ. They have seen the picture of the Last Supper hanging up in grandma’s house. They have channel-surfed past TV preachers pontificating on prosperity. They have visited a local church on Christmas and Easter. Yet too many have never heard the pure gospel of Christ. Could that be because the American church culture largely p r i z e s head-
counts over heart change and therefore pushes programs instead of clear gospel presentations? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that we craft every Sunday morning message with a purely evangelistic thrust. Believers need the meat of the Word to grow. But what are these meat-eating believers doing
church doors open again? In other words, what are our local churches doing to present the simple gospel of Christ in the neighborhoods in which God has established our congregation? Many are doing great works. But many of us need to break out of the four walls of our air-conditioned building and reach out to the lost and unchurched in the name of Jesus. Too many of us are cozied up in the comfort of our Christian social club in the name of religion. And that’s w h y Bonnke’s anointed words so penetrated my heart and revived hope in my soul.
Reinhard Bonnke
For every prophecy about judgment on America, there seems to be another prophecy about a revival, renewal or awak-
Evangelism brings the light of the gospel to darkened souls who don’t understand what’s truly at stake—their eternal position. Could it be possible that Bonnke’s declarations from a small airport field in Vero Beach could be the spark that sets off a fire of evangelism in this nation? Could it be possible that even as we see signs of God’s discipline upon our nation that the Holy Spirit could begin sweeping from coast to coast in response to years of prayer for revival? Could it be possible that what occurred at the Gospel Fest was a prophetic declaration of God’s will in this hour? I believe so. I’ve attended a lot of meetings. I’ve listened to a lot of sermons. I’ve witnessed a lot of prayer rallies. But nothing moved me like Bonnke’s declaration of God’s will: “All America Shall Be Saved.” Imagine how the culture would shift if 55 million Americans made a decision for Christ in the next nine years? Lord, show mercy on this nation, stretch out your hand of protection over this land, fill stadiums with lost souls who need to hear the simple gospel, and save souls, in the name of Jesus! Amen. Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including Did the Spirit of God Say That? You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here.
You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.
Page 34
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
Mizzou accommodating pagan holidays Posted by Russ Jones (American Family News) The University of Missouri, the oldest university west of the Mississippi River, has opted to recognize Wiccan holidays, allowing students to miss class to celebrate a number of pagan holidays without being counted absent. The school's recently-released "Guide to Religions: Major Holidays and Suggested Accommodations" lists eight pagan and Wiccan holidays -- one more than the number of Christian holidays honored. Dr. Jim Denison, president and founder of the Denison Forum on Truth and Culture (DFTC), wonders why the university is just now making such a decision. "Wicca's been around for a long time. It's a new religion; it was only created in the last century, but certainly not a new thing," he notes. "Does the inclusion to Wicca and pagan practices at the University of Missouri say something about the growth of Wicca in our culture?" Dr.
Denison wonders. "Wicca claims to be the fastest-growing religion in America. Is there a growth here that should tell us something about our culture? Is there an attraction to a kind of religion that makes no demands on you -doesn't ask you to confess sin, doesn't ask you to change your life, but offers you the ability to b e
united with nature in a way that will empower you?" The DFTC founder sees it as the wave of a postmodern culture looking for no accountability. "The holidays and accommodations section of this guide is provided to faculty, staff and student leaders as an educational resource for the myriad of religious holy days celebrated at Mizzou," the guide reads. "Are we at a place now where there is no such thing as truth? There's just your truth and my truth," Dr. Denison continues. "So I have no filter by which to evaluate the significance, the value of one religion versus another. Does this say something about the relativism of our culture, where all roads lead up the same mountain? -- Doesn't matter what you believe, so long
We buy Gold in any Condition • We buy Vintage Musical Instruments Family Owned & Operated for over 23 years
(417) 335-5017
• 202 S. Comm ercial, downtown Branson ÿ
March 2013 as you're sincere and tolerant?" The guide lists 42 holidays across the academic year, beginning with Hindu's Krishna Janmashtami -- a two-day festival that celebrates the birth of the Hindu god, Krishna, August 28, 2013. Hindus are likely to forgo sleep in order to sing traditional songs, among other things. So, instructors are advised to "avoid scheduling major academic deadlines" during that time. Though many have chastised the university's decision, others are cheering "Lets fight for Old Mizzou," which follows Vanderbilt University's lead. The latter added Wiccan and pagan holidays to its interfaith calendar in 2011. According to the school's statement to FoxNews.com, no complaints have been received in connection to the guide, which many have reportedly found "useful and informational."
From OCN editor: Sorry to offend but in all fairness most of the Christian’s hiolidays are thinly veiled, (albeit sanitized) pagan celebrations
March 2013
from the editor...
Hey, buddy, can you spare five bucks? ou may have noticed that The Ozarks Christian News is available for free in various locations such as theatres, restaurants, waiting rooms, trash cans, etc. If you have not noticed these free copies... fantastic! Hopefully it was purchased from one of our vending machines or you are a faithful subscriber and get it in your mailbox each month. For the more than 13,000 people that have chosen to get it free each month online, do not feel guilty. We know how you are. (Just kidding, we love you.)
Y
We make it available for free so new readers can find the OCN and discover they cannot live without it. Hopefully, they will want to purchase it in the future. Some of the vending machines are honor racks, and we encourage you to be generous with loose change from your pockets, purses and car ashtrays. We are now in our 9th year of printing the only Christian newspaper in
Meet Branson's Newest Show... The Fair Family! The Hamner Barber Theater is proud to announce that The Fair Family of Rogers, Arkansas will perform afternoons throughout the 2013 season beginning March 19th. This talented group of four brothers and one sister have generated quite of bit of excitement around Branson the past few years as First Place winners of the 2012 Branson Gospel Sing-Off as well as the 2011 Branson Gong Show competition. They also were recent prize winners in Silver
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
Page 35
the Ozarks. We have served the Christian community to the best of our ability trying to be fair and balanced to more than one position on the non-essential matters. Of course, it is the human religious nature to make twigs into trunks. You can imagine the difficult task we have to try to educate and spiritually mature the believer without creating a great offense in the process. If this paper took a left-wing, flaming liberal position or a stinking right-wing, conservative p o s i t i o n (extreme opinions either way), folks on both sides of that spectrum would get pretty generous to support their own ignorant bias. Having a Christian publication be moderate usually generates moderate financial support because it doesn’t get us all fired up. However, we believe a moderate approach to the majority of hot topics is the most prudent and,
dare I say, Christian approach?
Dollar City's Southern Gospel Festival. Since they first appeared in Branson, the Fair Family has been invited to sing with several well-know artists such as Tony Orlando, Toni Wine, and the L e n n o n Sisters. In 2007 they received rave reviews after opening for Jars of Clay at the national Sam's Club Christmas party. “We first met the Fair Family when they performed on our stage as part of the American Kids National Finals
Competition,” said entertainer Jim Barber “Since then, Dave Hamner and I have followed their progress, and we are very excited that they will now have the opportunity to shine as Branson headliners in their very own show, right here at the Hamner Barber Theater. We urge everyone to be sure and see them this year, and experience the impressive music of these talented young performers!” Jacob, Jonathan, Sarah, Daniel, and Nathaniel present a wide-range of talent. Their show includes everything from country, gospel, patriotic, a cappella, pop, top 40 and oldies. Not only do they sing with great family harmony, but they also dance, clog, and are very gifted
shame for this newspaper to disappear only to have people saying that had they known our needs, they would have helped out in some way.
The Body of Christ is extremely diverse because it mysteriously serves God’s If we were all ads, we would need no purpose to be that way. support from the reader, but we hope The OCN is a Kingdom paper. We know $30.00 in this economy is a huge amount.
the contents are a blessing to you and to others and is worthy of your financial assistance.
Of course, if you feel led by God to If that is not possible, could you just make a donation of any size we please try to get the newspaper would be most grateful. through vending machines It’s only $30.00 a year... for 50 cents (10 NEVER MISS AN ISSUE! issues per year) Or Gift it to a Loved One! located at groCredit Cards accepted cery stores and thru PayPal post offices, as order by email: well as many editor@ozarkschristiannews.com high traffic areas. That’s It’s a win, win... only $5.00 a when you help year. ...or you us grow,
could just send us $5.00 and pick it up at all our free locations for an entire year as a way to help us...
It would be a
we help you grow!
...or send a check with your address to:
Ozarks Christian News P.O. Box 336 Rockaway Beach, MO 65740
musicians playing a variety of instruments. Under the direction and encouragement of their parents Michael and Melissa Fair, the young entertainers practice their craft every chance they get. They have performed for many festivals and talent competitions, community service performances, and they had the privilege of being titled "National Runner-Up Vocal Group" four years in a row for Serious vocal, Country Vocal, and Gospel vocal in the American Kids National Competition. For tickets and schedule information call the Hamner Barber Theater Box Office at 417-334-4363 or visit
HamnerBarber.com.
Page 36
www.OzarksChristianNews.com
March 2013 for the CVT increases efficiency slightly to 27/31 mpg.
HighGear NISSAN CUBE Cars don't get more quirky or whimsical than the Nissan cube, a small hatchback that resembles the box it was shipped to the United States in. Along with eccentric touches like an asymmetrical rear window and a refrigerator-style rear door, the Cube offers a versatile interior, a comfortable ride and a long list of standard equipment. First introduced in Japan in 1998, the cube finally made its way to the U.S. in 2009. It features a love-it or hate-it look highlighted by ovoidstyle side windows and plenty of blocky cues. Despite the little vehicle's emphasis on style, it makes no sacrifices in terms of interior functionality. The large windows provide excellent sightlines and an airy feel, there's plenty of space up front and the rear seat features a three-position sliding and reclining theater-style configuration. Unique cabin features include asymmetrical Fine Vision gauges, "Water Drop" interior accents and detachable multi-hooks. The cube falls a bit short on interior space with the rear seats in position, offering just 11 cubic feet. Fold the rear perch down, however, and stowage space increases to a sizable 58 cubic feet. Motivation comes from a 1.8-liter fourcylinder engine with 122 horsepower and 127 lb-ft. A six-speed manual comes standard, while a CVT (continuously variable transmission) can also be had. Fuel economy is a middling 25 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway with the stick, while opting
The suspension is tuned for a comfortable ride, which it delivers, while handling is safe rather than sporty. Its compact dimensions make parking the cube in the city an easy task, and a 33.4-foot turning radius means fewer three-point turns are needed. Trim Level Breakdown For the latest model year, Nissan has trimmed the Cube lineup down to just the S and SL trim levels. The Cargo Version Package was also taken off the options list. The Cube S comes standard with air conditioning, power windows and locks, an AM/FM/CD/aux stereo system with an iPod interface and Bluetooth connectivity, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, cruise control, and 15-inch steel wheels with hubcaps. The Cube SL adds the CVT as standard fare in addition to a navigation system, a smart key with push-button ignition, 16inch alloy wheels, automatic climate control and automatic headlights. All models get a 'PUREDRIVE' badge on the cargo door. As for the available body colors, Sapphire Slate replaces Golden Ginger. Occupant Safety All Cube models come standard with dual front, front side and full-length side curtain airbags in addition to traction and stability control systems. Key Competitors An asymmetrical alternative to the rest of the subcompact segment, Nissan's cube faces stiff competition from traditional offerings like the Honda Fit, Chevrolet Sonic Hatchback, the Ford Fiesta hatchback, the Kia Soul and even Nissan's Juke, albeit to a lesser extent.