*Volume 92 *No. 05 *Published by Christian Triumph Co. *Permit # 695 *MAY 2007
Contents: Robe-Touchin’ Times Pickle Juice Bless the Mother/ and Pictures A Mother’s Apology/ and More What is Your Life? / More from Anita To All of God’s Grandmas/and Matthew News Letters
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ROBE-TOUCHIN’ TIMES By Rhonda Spreutels Not long ago, I received one of those e-mail forwards that we all get WAY too many of; yet, every now and again, there is some hidden truth or a line or two that catches my heart and makes me think. Recently, one of these lines said, “When
you reach the end of your rope, you’ll find the hem of His garment.” I was immediately in awe of the person who composed that profound statement (and all the while thinking, why can’t I ever come up with anything like that?!). Then in the next second, I was transported back in time to when I was a small child in a local Freewill Baptist Church. I can still see Mrs. Irene Barnett sitting on the front pew singing with her powerful alto voice. She knew all the words and all the alto parts without even looking at her hymnal! Oh, my, how I wanted to be like her. One of our favorite songs went “If I could just touch the hem of His garment.” I can’t for the life of me remember what else came next; I just remember
hearing Irene’s melodic alto leading on the chorus. Oh, what good times those were! 2007 - I’m always way ahead or way behind in my reading of The Upper Room. In a recent one, (yes, I’m currently way behind...) there was a story of a young mother with three small children who was lamenting the fact that she didn’t have time to keep up her devotions the way she used to. She wondered how she could ever grow in her walk with our Lord if she only had a minute here and there. Then she said that God guided her to the Biblical story of the ill woman, who in faith simply touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was completely healed. The young mother said she could hear the Lord and Savior telling her, consoling her, “These are robe-touching times. I understand the demands on your time as a mother of young children. Didn’t I give you these children? Trust Me to meet you fully in your short moments with Me.” And sure enough, this mother came to realize the short times sustained her. Now she has an empty nest and can spend longer periods of uninterrupted time together with the Lord. (Yes, she misses her children.) Thankfully, however, she learned that even when time is limited, our loving Father is able and willing to meet us in whatever moments we can find to afford Him. How wonderful is that? In my own experience, I find myself SO disorganized and harried and yet only have one child to take care of. I try to console myself by remembering I spend a lot of hours at work, way over the 40-hour work week - every week - but then am hit by the realization that there are a lot of moms out there who have more than one child and are a LOT more “with it’ than I. (Continued on Page 2)
(Robe-Touchin’ Times, continued from Pg. 1)
“When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” Just like Paul, I am of the opinion - it is a rock-hard fact that “Negative, dark, destructive energy exists!” Even the Pickle jar proved that today. For – in opening the refrigerator to put back the jug of water, I discovered the large pickle jar turned over - with pickle juice running everywhere – under a bag of new flour, all over the milk jugs dripping, soaking, and filling the room with that unforgettable aroma… so much for getting busy on the Faith Messenger. I was instantly tempted to engage in total despair, but just as quickly, the Precious Holy Spirit sent a practical thought to my brain, “At least, it has vinegar in it – good for cleansing.” Wow! Positive energy is greater! And that is also a rock-hard fact! During those “Robe-Touchin’ Times” described by Rhonda, God’s goodness can replace the frustrations of human life. Jesus reminds us in John 16:33, “…In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Continued on Page 3)
And the stay-at-home moms? Oh my goodness, my hat is off to those of you who take care of your children day in and day out. Just one child is enough to almost make me look forward to going back to work - just to have a little quiet time. And now I realize, that this quiet time, be it in the car with inspirational music or stealing glances at my son sleeping in his car seat as we drive, are my robe-touchin’ times. These are the times when no phones are ringing; no one is waiting both in and outside of my office; no worn-out toddler is wanting more milk or another tractor video; no equally tired husband is wanting a warm supper. No one is demanding my time and pulling me in 10 different directions at once. This is the time when not one deadline is due. This is the time in which I can take a couple of minutes, just praise God and ask Him to make me a better person and Mom, and ask Him to remember all my prayer requests because I sure can’t. These are my robe-touchin’ times, when I can reach out and touch the hem of His garment. And I am so fully blessed that it brings tears to my eyes in gratitude to our wonderful Lord who gave me the gift of this precious child. And his tractors. ☺
Faith Messenger Permit #695 Periodical Paid at Corpus Christi, Texas Published monthly, except July and August. POSTMASTER SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO:
+ PICKLE JUICE by Nancy (editor) Hurrying to sit down and work on the Faith Messenger, I, too, found myself yet surrounded with multiple things to do: washing, cleaning, cooking, and practicing a song for Easter Sunday. I was feeling intense frustration as I reached into the refrigerator to pull out a jug of water. Quickly measuring and pouring it into the rice cooker, I turned to the teapot and finished preparing a cup of green tea as well. Ah! What a comforting thought: finally sitting at the computer, finishing the Faith Messenger, and drinking a nice cup of tea. But that thought was yet to materialize: If you have ever wondered whether there are evil forces at work in our world, grimly trying to discourage and prevent us from accomplishing our goals in life, then read on. Paul states in the book of Romans, chapter 7, (writing of his desire to do good),
Christian Triumph Company P.O. Box 5187 905-909 Bluntzer Corpus Christi, Texas 78405 L.Y. Janes, Founder (deceased); Steve Beletic, President; Israel Hernandez, Vice-President; William Anderson, 2nd Vice-President; Diana Beletic, Secretary/Treasurer; Una Collins, Asst. Sec./Treas. This periodical is issued without charge in the name of the Lord Jesus to help inspire child-like faith and maintain Christ-like simplicity among the people of God. To send donations or for your FREE SUBSCRIPTION, write to the address above or contact Christian Triumph Co. at christiantriumph@yahoo.com. Or see us on the web at christiantriumphcompany.com
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(Pickle Juice – Continued from Page 2)
So with towels in hand, I mopped and mopped until the smelly pickle juice was almost gone! The tea still stood waiting as I made my way to the computer- somewhat inspired and eager to find enlightening scriptures of hope. With interest, I turned my back on the darkness of frustration, looking forward to the Light of God’s Word. And there in (Romans 12) were Paul’s encouraging words: “…cling to what is good…keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer…” Jesus’ reassuring prayer followed - in John 17, “I have told you these things, so that in ME, you may have peace… (And Jesus continued in prayer to His Father)…My prayer is not that You will take them… (them: that’s us!)… out of the world but that You protect them (that’s us!) from the evil one…They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.” We are Citizens of the Kingdom of God! Jesus prayed to our Heavenly Father for our protection and daily care because we belong to Them. However, we are still subject to human annoyances and much more serious, solemn disappointments. Yet, we remain “Overcomers” through Jesus. Let us persevere! Pickle Juice and Robe-Touchin Moments: I hope these two articles help just a little when frustration and despair knock on your door. If and when they do, turn quickly to the Father, touch the hem of His Robe, and begin to experience His positive, loving Energy as it surrounds you. The Lord’s promise remains, “Lo, I am with you always!” And that is a fact! With love and prayers, Nancy +
Bless the Mother – whose hose Little Child Rests Rests in Peace, Peace, loving lovingly - held closecloseIn the Arms of Our Heavenly Father. Bless those – whose beloved Mothers Have gone on to be with the Lord, And now abide in His everlasting Love. +++++++++++++
Evelyn Andersonwith two of her spiritual children, Pastor Israel Hernandez And his wife, Vitalina
A Beloved Mother Who Prays: Evelyn Anderson
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The following scripture is dedicated To all women Who may be absent from their companion Or have simply made a choice to be single.
I picked ‘em because they are pretty like you. I knew you’d like ‘em, especially the blue.” I said, “Son, I’m very sorry for the way I acted today. I should not have yelled at you that way.” He said, “Oh, mom, that’s okay. I love you anyway!” I said, “Son, I love you, too; and I do like the flowers, especially the blue!” (Internet) ++++++
A SCRIPTURE OF LOVE!
“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord, Lord ‘you will call Me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call Me ‘my master’. …I will betroth you to Me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, In love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness…”
Mama’s Store-bought Slip By Maxine Tolbert Trigleth
It was sheer!!! It was a pale pink!!! It was her first store-bought garment!!! The beginning of prosperity made it possible. All our clothing prior to this was made from rough, valuable, feed-sacks. Mama sat at the old Singer machine adjusting knobs, oiling every “nook and cranny,” trying to get that old worn machine in a sewing mood, but there were times when it refused to yield a sound, not even a moan. These were the days before electricity, and everything seemed to have to be done manually. Even our ironing was subject to our ingenuity. Mama filled the kitchen stove with an overload of wood until it was hot enough to heat our three irons. Then the testing came—she spit on her finger and touched it quickly to the iron. If it responded with a “sizzle”, mama knew it was “just right” for ironing. Hurriedly, she swept over the garment because the irons cooled quickly. She then put it back on the stove and retrieved another which was hot. The testing was always a process which required special skill and mama had that down to perfection. One day, my mind was hungry to do something creative, so I decided on my own to iron mama’s soft beautiful pink slip. It didn’t need ironing, but I loved to feel the material and admire the pink color. I thought it would be a pleasant experience. I took an iron which to my naive touch seemed acceptable and started my eager journey over the treasured garment. In a moment, the iron left its bold signature on her slip. It was a photogenic picture!!!
(Hosea 3)
“I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU…” + A Mother’s Apology I ran into a stranger as he passed by, “Oh, excuse me, please,” was my reply. He said, “Please excuse me, too; I was not watching for you.” We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye. But at home, a different story is told…how we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the evening meal, my son stood beside me very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down, “Move out of the way,” I said, with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn’t realize how harshly I had spoken. While I lay awake in bed, God’s still small voice came to me and said, “While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use; but the family you love, you seem to abuse. Go look on the kitchen floor. You will find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow, and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise; you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.” By this time, I felt very small, and now my own tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt by his bed, “Wake up, little one, wake up,” I said. “Are these the flowers you picked for me?” He smiled, “I found ‘em, out by the tree.”
(Continued on Page 5)
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(Continued from Page 4)
The outline of the iron was without blemish- its color a burnt sienna---an image of my nemesis. I stood aghast!!! I started to cry!!! I hurt so deeply, for mama had waited so many years for this lovely garment. I ran in the next room where she was talking with others. I took her to the kitchen and showed her the ugly imagine on her slip. She put her arms around me and said words I shall always remember. She gently and softly said, “That’s alright, I will fix it”!!! With these tender words, she fixed my hurting heart also. Mama had a kindness about her that always seemed to make things better. The incident was never mentioned again, but I kept in my cameo of memories this special time with mama. I don’t know whatever happened to those irons. They may be in some antique dealer’s shop or in someone’s home used as a door stop, but as for me, they hold no treasured significance. The transition from “mama” to “mother” transpired subtly. It probably happened in highschool when my friends referred to their parent as “mother”, but whenever it occurred, the word, “mama” has always been a special word of endearment to me. +
By Anita, Foster Mother of more than 30 children (Editor’s note: At least three of Anita’s (and husband, Gerald) foster children were born with FAE: Fetal Alcohol Effect. Their mother drank excessively (alcohol) while pregnant - during a specific time of growth. The children had significant growth retardation both before and after birth, measurable mental deficits, altered facial characteristics, and other physical abnormalities. Read the book written by Michael Dorris, The Broken Cord, for more heartbreaking realities of drinking while expecting a baby.) Anita - “We live on a farm, and one day as I was leaving for work, I noticed a field in which my husband and his father had been planting grain. There already, to my amazement, grew tiny green sprouts from – baby kernels of grain! Those little particles of life were a miracle! So quickly they had come up, being transformed into little plants – impossible! – except for the power of God. And then I wondered - Who could ever doubt the greatest miracle of all: the resurrection of Jesus. Although He was placed in a grave, it could not hold Him for He arose and is even at the right hand of God. And there, our Risen Savior makes intercession for us. Read Romans 8:34. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, God forgives our sins and transforms us. Just like those small grains, placed in the ground, new life is possible. We are welcome to come to God as we believe that He is a Rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. Through Christ, we are ‘born again.’ God nourishes us as we grow and – if we falter along the way, the scripture states: ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ (John 1:9) Read 1st Peter 5:10.”
? WHAT IS YOUR LIFE? It’s not what your work is that tells who you are, For character is more important by far. Reputation is what others think about you, But they have no way inside your heart to view. When you look in the mirror and see your face, If attractive or ugly, it’s no disgrace. They say that beauty’s only skin-deep, So don’t let your appearance rob you of sleep. Whatever you claim, if your deeds aren’t the same, People will know it, and you’ll come to shame. When you leave this world, whether soon or late, Make sure your friends can your life celebrate.
(Edited)
(Don’t like who you have become??? Change is promised through the power of Jesus. Ask for His help, and seek professional assistance if needed.)
--Byrum C. Lee 10/2006
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How Well Does God Know Us? By Jo Blackerby
A LOOK AT THE BOOK OF MATTHEW SERMON ON THE MOUNT Chapter 5
No one knew about troubled times better than David; they seemed to follow him, and in Psalms 135: 1-7, he tells us that God is also very aware of all that happens to him. “O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and know me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from Thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?” We, too, can know that God is always near and thinking of us. Verses 17 and 18 reveal: “How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.” How comforting it is to know that God cares so much for us – every tear we shed – every prayer we pray is known to Him. In meditating on the scriptures, I am in awe of His greatness. I heard it once said, that when a pilot is flying and a storm is near, his motto is, “If a storm is raging, keep your eyes on the gages.” Our Supreme “Gage” is God and His Word. Experiencing God’s guidance comes from looking straight ahead, believing in Him, and asking for His answers. David’s plea in Psalms 139 can be our own: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me; and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” God is so good to us; how can we not but serve Him? The benefits are tremendous, and the “retirement home” is a mansion in Heaven with Him forever. As stated in Hebrews 12, “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the author and finisher or our faith.” God loves us. (Edited) One of God’s Grandmas.
(Reference for this study comes from the Holy Bible as well as the book, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 By William Barclay)
Scripture: Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Long ago, a man went on a long journey, passing through a place in the sand-scorched desert. Just as he was longing for a drink of water, he suddenly stopped, staring ahead at the dreaded signs of a swirling sand storm that began to blow. His thirst had just begun; how would it end? Quickly, he turned his back to the wind, wrapped his head, and waited. And then the sand took away his breath, blowing into his nostrils, and parching his throat until he fell in a heap as though dead. This is the “thirst” of which Matt. 5:6 portrays - a thirst - that no cup of tea or ice cold drink - could appease; instead it describes a person who will die unless he drinks water. The word “hunger” in verse six is similar; it is not the slight uncomfortable feeling between meals; it is, instead, the compelling, gnawing, that drives a man to beg for food, knowing that unless he eats, he will die of starvation. “Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” How much do we desire God’s goodness in our lives? Most people have an inclination for goodness, but that instinct wavers. But, oh, the joy that comes to the one who longs to be right with God – who longs with whole heart and soul. Possibly, a person may falter and fail, but still cling to his/her earnest desire to love God with all the heart. In contrast, some may live an upstanding moral life and yet lack the merciful (goodness) of God. Neither is enough. Blessed is the one who hungers and thirsts for God’s goodness - totally and completely - for God looks in the heart…and that person will be satisfied. (June Faith Messenger – Matt. 5:7)
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Christian Triumph News!
(What kind of people ought (we) to be? (We) ought to live holy and godly lives as (we) look forward to the day of God.” 2nd Peter 3
Brazil! Peru! Chile! Spain! These and other countries are asking for the Spanish Bible Correspondence Courses. Persons in the USA are emailing and writing for lessons, especially from the Prisons. What a great privilege we have in spreading the Good News through these lessons. Pastor Israel Hernandez oversees this ministry along with his sister, Elena. Two other workers are researching the possibility of making these lessons available by computer. The local Bible Institute in Corpus Christi is also doing well. Churches within the area are using Christian Triumph’s literature (such as Bibles and tracts) to evangelize. The Christian Triumph Mission is a “tithing church” and has sent help to assist Narciso in Chile (S.A.) with establishing churches. (Please pray for Narciso’s wife who has been ill.) (Picture below is of a Christian Triumph Mission service.)
Greetings in Jesus’ Name – I praise Him for every day and everything, especially eternal life through Him…thanks for the good paper. I’m praying for all of you. Ruth (Texas) Christian Triumph Co., God bless you for the wonderful work you are doing for the mission. I keep you in my prayers. Yours, Alice (Oklahoma) I always enjoy the Messenger and hearing from you. God bless you in your work there. Evelyn and the Cypress St. Women of the Church of God. Dear Ones, I am happy to report your prayers have helped...feeling better. God bless you. Glenice (IN.) Dear Christian Family, God bless you all as you labor for Him. Hope you all are well. Idell (Ore.) (Editor’s Note: We love hearing from you.)
The El Mensajero which has a distribution list of approximately 900 persons is far reaching with the Spanish Gospel. Thank you, our partners, for helping to mail God’s Love to South America. (Research is being done to see if we can, perhaps, send the Mensajero by email.)
From West Africa: I am a student…please send me Holy Bible…I hope that my question will be answered. Thank you. From Nigeria: …I want to thank God on your behalf for the Christian materials, which I received safely and intact…The Lord is using the materials mightily for salvation and the edification of believers. I am grateful for your labor of love and request that you send more materials to enable me do the work of the kingdom. From Nigeria: As I write you this letter, I am going through the Holy Spirit, and thanking God for you in granting my request. Your Spirit of love…has drawn me even closer to each other and Christ…I appeal to you to extend your hands towards us and grant the requested materials…Sincerely, in Christ.
Christian Triumph Church Fellowship
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(Editor’s note: Thanks to our missionary partners for helping to send the Gospel.) Faith Messenger A publication of Christian Triumph Company P.O. Box 5187 905 Bluntzer Corpus Christi, TX 78465
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“Charm is deceptive, & Beauty is fleeting,
God bless
But a woman who fears the
Our
Lord
Mothers!
Is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31) 8
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