November 2022

G

Here, Play Here

Back Row (L to R): Darrin Douglas, licensed funeral director; Mason Holliday, funeral assistant; Perry Horner, funeral assistant; Marc Rush, licensed funeral director; Jim Hibbard, funeral assistant. Front Row (L to R): Brent Swanson, funeral assistant; Robert Bankston, funeral assistant; Judy Satterfield, administrative assistant; Kathy Partin, family services; Joseph Bathe, funeral assistant; Darla Rush, administrative assistant; Greg Rush, licensed funeral director. Not pictured: Jenna Eve Picou, licensed funeral director; Harold (Joe) Parker, funeral assistant; Susan Harper, after care-family support.

About Us

WRITERS

Dr. Alan Hix

Beth Penny Brent Goodge Charles Finney Detrick Redding Dorothy Teague Granger Hughes Jodi Varnado

Joey Knight Jonathon Wright Judy Hood Katie Loveless Kaye Stein Kenneth E. Ware Matt Jensen Paula Burgner Regina Law Smith Sandra Gilmore Stephanie Daniels Terrie Ruff Zebbie Brewster

SALES

Bud Kinches 423-650-2801

Email: bud.goodnews@gmail.com

DESIGN

Caleb Prytherch

Email: art.goodnews@gmail.com

PHOTOGRAPHER

Paula Knipp 423-310-4207

FACEBOOK

GoodNews CM

DISTRIBUTION

5000 Monthly

EDITOR/ARTICLE COORDINATOR

Jodi Varnado

Email: articles.goodnews@gmail.com

PUBLISHER

Matthew and Bethany Ruckman Cell: 423-503-1410

Email: goodnewstn@gmail.com

OFFICE 423-790-5378

WEBSITE goodnewscm.com issuu.com/goodnewscm

Hello Friends,

We want to take a moment to tell you who we are and what we are about. Our names are Matt and Bethany Ruckman and we have six beautiful children, Brendon, Kailey, Andrew, Leah Jean, Emma, and Cooper. We live in Cleveland, Tennessee, and love what this town has to offer! We have started GoodNews Christian Magazine because we feel that when God, family, and community are combined, lives will be changed.

GoodNews Christian Magazine is a complimentary, Christian lifestyle publication. You can find us throughout the community in retail establishments, churches, restaurants, and more. Our magazine opens the door for Christians to work together to grow and strengthen our community through relevant editorial and effective advertising.

GoodNews Christian Magazine is written by men and women in the community who love and serve the Lord. Our hearts are open and willing to be used by God to reach out to the community to spread the GoodNews!

Disclaimer

All of the content in the GoodNews Christian Magazine is for general information and/or use. Such contents does not constitute advice and should not be relied upon in making (or refraining from making) a decision. Any specific advice or replies to queries in any part of the magazine is the personal opinion of such experts/consultants/persons and is not subscribed to by GoodNews Christian Magazine. The information in GoodNews Christian Magazine is provided on an “AS IS” basis, and all warranties, expressed or implied of any kind, regarding any matter pertaining to any information, advice or replies are disclaimed and excluded. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement or article we deem inappropriate.

GoodNews from the Pastor’s Desk

The Art of My Thanksgiving by Detrick Redding

GoodNews for Kids

Count Your Blessings by Katie Loveless

GoodNews Money Matters

How Long Will My Money Last? by Granger Hughes

GoodNews for Men

12 Did God Really Say...? by Brent Goodge

GoodNews for Women

I Finally Got Over Myself! by Terrie Ruff

GoodNews for Everyone 18 PS138V8 by Regina Law Smith

GoodNews for Ministry

Operation Christmas Child

GoodNews for Everyone

A Thankful Heart, For Real by Kaye Stein

GoodNews for Grandparents

Thank You Lord by Zebbie Brewster

GoodNews for Everyone

Be Still by Paula Burgner

GoodNews for Everyone

While He Was Thinking by Sandra Gilmore

GoodNews Cover Story

Ocoee Riverside Farm

GoodNews for Everyone

Rejoice In Your Harvest by Stephanie Daniels

GoodNews Business Spotlight

36 Direct Primary Care Associates

GoodNews for Everyone

38 Standing Firm in The Last Days by Kenneth E. Ware

GoodNews for Everyone

40 His Story by Dorothy Teague

GoodNews for your Taste Buds

42 Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Casserole Boats by Jodi Varnado

GoodNews Spotlight

44 Ringing in the Season with the Sound of Tennessee Chorus

GoodNews for Everyone

46 Is God One Person? by Matt Jensen

GoodNews Ministry Spotlight

48 Faith Comes By Hearing: Senga Oral Bible Translations by Joey Knight

GoodNews Poetry

Thanksgiving Day by Judy Hood

GoodNews for Everyone

The Seed Bags by Charles Finney

GoodNews for Everyone

54 Forgetting What’s Behind by Jonathon Wright

GoodNews for Everyone

56 Objects In the Mirror Are Smaller Than They Appear by Beth Penny

GoodNews for Everyone

58 Are You Tilting at Windmills? by Dr. Alan Hix

The Art of My Thanksgiving

As we go into a very traditional and festive season of Thanksgiving, we are readily preparing for the family gathering. Many of us are preparing a big meal for our family and friends—from turkey, ham, dressing/stuffing, sweet potato souffle, deviled (or as we called them, angel) eggs, and so much more. It’s a family tradition for us to come together to celebrate the year, to reminisce on accomplishments and even failures. I am personally reminded of a family member that has passed

on, even on the night of Thanksgiving, my mom. However, during this time, we find comfort in the gathering of family and friends.

Let’s look at the Word of God concerning this, 1 Thess. 5:18 tells us, “In everything give thanks…!” Wow, in everything? Yes, we are encouraged to give thanks in everything—good, bad, and even the ugly. That sounds almost impossible, but it is not. Paul continued to tell us that this is the will of God for us. Thanksgiving is a commandment. Now in Eph. 5:20, Paul tells us that thanks should also be “for all things.” I know that can seem challenging to some of us. This act of thanksgiving is the will of God for His children. That means even when things are opposing our desires, thanksgiving is to be done. When

by Detrick Redding About The Author

pressures of life are weighing us down, we are to still mustard up thanksgiving.

Now, what is thanksgiving according to Scripture?

Looking at Luke 17:11-19, we find that there are ten lepers that desired to be healed. When they saw that Jesus was present, they all beckoned for the cleansing of the leprosy. Jesus, a Spirit-filled man full of compassion gave instructions for them to go show themselves to the priest. This was an instruction to activate their faith, and it was also, at the very same time, a testimony of their coming healing. You see, the priests were the only ones that could verify the cleansing away of leprosy. So, as they went, they were all cleansed. Isn’t that exciting! I know that they all were happy, as they could finally be moved back into the population. I’m sure they were excited to be free to live again like a normal citizen. However, one of the lepers turned and went back to give acknowledgment to the one who had performed the miracle. Jesus said, where are the nine…only one has come back to give (me) thanks. That’s the difference, appreciation of the act that was done.

As we enter Thanksgiving season, we need to embrace the art of thanksgiving. It’s time to be deliberate in our knowledge of God. God is the source of our provision, our healing, our deliverance, and so much more. All ten lepers received a miracle. All ten lepers walked free from leprosy. All ten got delivered. All ten—but only one entered the true realm of thanksgiving. Those of us that are believers, let’s stay in this realm. We must always acknowledge that God is the source of our praise. Don’t get caught up in the acts that have transpired because of God and not even recognize God. Psalms 100:4 says, “Enter into His gates with Thanksgiving and enter into His courts with praise, be thankful unto Him and bless His Name!”

Detrick Redding, born and raised in Rome, Georgia, is a husband to Toris and father to 4 children. Called to pastor at an early age, he currently pastors at Rally Up International Ministries in Rome, Georgia. Detrick has a deep passion for not only seeing people born again, but knowing their true identity and what is made available to all in Jesus Christ.

Count Your Blessings

by Katie Loveless

Have you ever heard the expression attitude is everything? Attitude really is important. The Bible says so in Proverbs 23:7, where we gain the phrase adapted from the KJV, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” We can believe the Bible. It tells us what is true about God and ourselves. The Bible tells us that the way we think will shape who we become and what we do. In other words, our thinking steers the direction of our hearts.

My middle son, Sawyer, came into my room with a Scholastic book. The book is written about different types of animal feet and has a very interesting cover of a boy with aardvark feet. Sawyer cannot yet read at four-years-old. He made an assumption about truth based on what he saw on the cover. He pointed at the animal feet, the boy on the cover, and the aardvark. He assumed the boy turned into an aardvark by touching the animal’s feet. That is not at all what the book says.

The book actually presents interesting facts about animal feet and stirs your imagination to think about what it would be like to have animal feet. In the case of the boy with the aardvark feet, he could quickly unearth buried treasure. However, we don’t need animal feet to uncover treasure. We can find it in our hearts by letting Jesus in. We can even find it in our own backyard by taking time to count our blessings.

My prayer for you as you take time to do this is for you to ask God to help you unearth truth. I pray you will dig into the word. I challenge you to learn from the Bible and its teachings so you can read for yourself what is true about God and you. Finding the truth is as simple as 1, 2, 3. If you are ready for adventure, take the 1, 2, 3 challenge below!

Challenge 1 Kids: Explore in your yard, at a park, or help a grown-up tend to a houseplant. As you do, take note of the shapes and edges of the foliage around you. Count your blessings for every point. For a leaf with 3 points, identify 3 things you are grateful for. For a leaf with 5 points, name 5 things you like.

Challenge 2 Jewels: Find a verse in the Bible that mentions counting, thankfulness, or discovery. What treasure did you find? What is the truth you found and want to keep?

Challenge 3 Keepers: Keep it in your heart. Pray about a person or thing you counted as a blessing. Make this month one where you ask God to bless and protect someone or something you discovered is a blessing in your life. Partner with a grown-up to help you pray or to talk about what God has put on your heart in prayer. Consider whether God is prompting you to serve with an act of kindness to keep the blessings coming.

Katie Loveless is a social worker, wife, and mother of five boys. She is a student of grace who enjoys writing, gardening, and empowering others to pursue stability.

About The Author

How Long Will My Money Last?

Money Matters Granger Hugheswith

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This is a tough question many of us will ask at some point in our lives as we face many obstacles when planning for things like long-term care, taxes, potential market downturns, and even longevity risk.

Men at age 65 today can expect to live until age 84 on average, and women on average, until age 87. About one of every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90, and one of ten past 95.1

This poses a problem our parents or grandparents didn’t face—it’s a good problem, but a problem nonetheless. Let’s address strategies to combat these realities and work toward making your retirement income last 20 to 30 years!

Long-term care (LTC)

The average annual cost of LTC is $108,405.2 Someone turning 65 today has a 70% chance of needing some type of LTC.3 This means LTC is worth accounting for in our retirement plans. Let’s look at a few ways to do this.

Indexed universal life policy

This allows you to access the death benefit in the event you need LTC and are unable to perform two of the six activities of daily living (ADLs), like feeding, bathing, toileting, etc., and aren’t tied to certain care facilities. This money can also be used to build a handicap accessible home if you’d rather — it’s your choice.

Traditional LTC policy

This is a “use it or lose it” product with the potential of wasting money on something you may never need. A lot of these policies also restrict which care facilities you can use, which might be problematic for some.

LTC-focused financial vehicles

This would be utilizing an annuity with an LTC rider. This is a good option for someone who doesn’t want the “use it or lose it” strategy.

The key here is you aren’t qualifying from a health standpoint; however, if you tried to purchase an annuity and couldn’t perform two of the six aforementioned ADLs before you purchased it, the LTC rider wouldn’t be an option.

For example, let’s say you invested $300,000 that generated a lifetime income check of $2,000 a month. In the event you couldn’t

in the

those who may otherwise not be aware of

when

perform two of those six ADLs, your check would double to $4,000 a month for up to five years.

Taxes

We’ve been hardwired to reduce taxable income by loading our 401(k)s and other tax-deferred accounts, forgetting about our silent partner: the IRS. We must realize the risk of future tax hikes we may encounter with deferred funds due to outstanding and ever-increasing national debt. Here are some brief solutions.

Roth Conversion

You can convert money in a deferred account to pay the taxes now rather than later. There are no income limits to do this, but remember, you have to pay these taxes eventually!

Roth IRA

This takes a while to build up at $7,000 a year for those over 50 and comes with income limitations, which could be difficult for highincome earners.

Life Insurance Retirement Plan

This can be indexed and there are no contribution or income limits. Also, when you need the money, it can be withdrawn tax-free, if done correctly.

Market downturn

If you’ve been contributing to your retirement income for any amount of time, you know market downturn is always a risk. To better create a retirement income plan, it’s important to assess your risk tolerance by having your portfolio tested to discover your statistical risk versus reward. If you haven’t tested your portfolio, now is the time to do it. Many of us could be positioning ourselves to experience another 2008 and don’t even know it.

These are three key components to help ensure that we don’t run out of money. I urge you to take all into consideration when developing your retirement plan. Working alongside an experienced financial professional can help you explore your options and develop a plan that works for your retirement needs.

Remember: It’s not what we make, it’s what we keep that counts!

Did God Really Say…?

by Brent Goodge

There’s a story at the end of the book of Jeremiah that doesn’t often make it to the Bible bedtime storybooks. The story is touched on in five verses of 2 Kings (2 Kings 25:22-26), and the Chronicles don’t mention it. It’s the story of the “fortunate” Jews who survived the siege of Nebuchadnezzar and were not carried off to Babylon.

By direct order of Nebuchadnezzar himself, Jeremiah was released from prison after the Babylonian army took Jerusalem. Given the choice to travel to Babylon as a guest of Nebuchadnezzar or to stay behind with the other remaining Jews, Jeremiah chose to remain in Judah. He moved to Mizpah to live. There he joined Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed governor of the remaining people.

Read Jeremiah chapters 40-45 to get the entire story. In short, Gedaliah was murdered and the Jews remaining were at a loss for what to do. Some favored staying in Judah. Others favored escaping to Egypt in fear that Babylon would come to destroy them for the murder of Gedaliah.

Thankfully, Jeremiah was yet among them, and he could relate God’s instructions to them. Their request to Jeremiah could hardly have been more respectful. “Please let our petition be acceptable to you, and pray for us to the Lord your God… that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do” (Jeremiah 42:2,3). When

Jeremiah promised to bring them God’s word, they added, “Let the Lord be a true and faithful Witness between us… whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God” (Jeremiah 42:5,6).

Ten days later, Jeremiah brought them the word of the Lord. God instructed that the people stay in the land of Judah. God would move the heart of Nebuchadnezzar to spare them. Conversely, if they chose to go to Egypt, hardly any of them would survive to return. The devastation they were desperate to escape would find them in Egypt.

The leaders of the people, having already made up their minds to go to Egypt, proclaimed, “You speak falsely! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go into Egypt’” (Jeremiah 43:2). Having already promised to accept the word of the Lord through Jeremiah, they denied that God actually inspired the words His prophet was sharing with them.

There is a much older story that reveals where this attitude originated. About 3,500 years before Jeremiah, a snake waited in a tree. The snake was eating fruit that Adam and Eve had been forbidden to partake of. His conversation began with “Did God really say…?” and quickly moved to “You shall not surely die,” in direct contradiction to the word of God. Then he added that, through disobedience, Eve could become like God (Genesis 3:15). Satan inspired the Jews who rejected the word of Jeremiah.

Satan inspires all those today who, by their words and deeds implies the question, “Did God REALLY say…?”

Brent Goodge lives in Whitfield County, and he wants the quote of his life to be like Jesus, “It is written…” rather than “Did God REALLY say…?”

About The Author

I Finally Got Over Myself!

“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

by Terrie Ruff

Iwas so happy to see my friend Trish today! Her bright and cheerful smile is such a refreshing greeting as I pass by her department or as she enters my office. The joy of the Lord is all over her! As we made plans for lunch, I was excited because whenever I spend time with her, I always walk away with food for thought, and today would be no exception. In a timely manner, I completed my morning tasks and hurriedly gathered my lunch bag and headed towards Trish’s office. From there, we made our way to a quiet spot in the cafeteria.

As we sat down, she began sharing how God had been blessing her and her husband. He had been leading and guiding them as they were making life-changing decisions. She talked about wanting to do more for God and how she was more ready now to do whatever He asked of her, to go wherever He asked her to go, and to be bold for Him and not concerned with what others thought. Wow! I look at her enthusiasm with amazement, and before I could ask her the “how” question, she answered my silent questioning. “Terrie, I finally got over myself. Now I can really serve God.” Her laugh was evidence of the new found freedom and joy she had in emptying herself completely for God to fill her to overflow, so that she could be His vessel and used as He pleased.

Wow! Like Trish, I want to follow the example that Jesus left for us. He gave all as He poured out His life to fulfill God’s plan for the salvation of humanity. He got over Himself and His sole purpose was to glorify His Father and edify others. I, too, have determined to get over myself in surrender to God’s purpose for my life. Daily, I give Him all. Daily, I die so that I can live for Him. Trish, I get it, and like you, I finally got over myself too!

Humility! What does it look like in your life? Do you think of others before yourself? Do you serve, pray or worship in a spirit of humility? Reflect on ways that you can develop a humble spirit in practical, everyday ways.

Terrie E. Ruff is a public speaker, soloist and inspirational author. She is an active member of the Orchard Park SDA Church in Chattanooga. Terrie can be contacted at Terrie.Ruff@lpnt.net.

About The Author

Cleveland Church Directory

Apostolic

First Apostolic Church Of Cleveland

4859 Freewill Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (229) 343-6880

Assembly of God Grace Assembly

1976 Westland Dr SW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-7729

The Collectives Church 3925 N. Ocoee Street, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 641-0193

Triune Assembly 301 Sunset Drive Cleveland, TN 37312

Baptist Beacon Baptist Church 505 Corvin Rd NE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 472-7056

Bellefounte Baptist Church 132 Bellfounte Rd NE, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 336-2312

Bethel Baptist Tabernacle 3165 Buchanan Rd SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 479-5820

Berean Baptist Church 2355 Bucks Pocket Rd SE, Old Fort, TN 37362 (423) 478-1697

Big Spring Baptist Church 1415 Hardwick St SE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-1101

Blue Springs Baptist Church 699 Blue Springs Church Rd SW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-0932

Candies Creek Church 294 Old Eureka Rd Charleston, TN 37310 (423) 479-3731

Cedar Springs Baptist Church 723 Cedar Springs Church Rd SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 479-5506

Center Point Baptist Church 1205 Lower River Rd NW Charleston, TN 37310 (423) 336-2133

Cleveland Cowboy Church 3040 Blythe Rd. Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-7936

Cloverleaf Baptist Church 2290 Waterlevel Highway Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 339-3617

Clingan Ridge Baptist Church 2412 Georgetown Road, NW Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 472-3511

Church At Grace Point 2595 Old Freewill Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 728-5050

Covenant Baptist Church 249 Calhoun Rd SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 559-2653

Dalton Pike Baptist Church 3055 Benton Pike NE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 472-7606

East Cleveland Baptist Church 1145 Arnold St NE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-8728

Echos of Mercy Baptist Church 535 Durkee Rd SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 715-9739

Elkmont Baptist Church 4030 Old Freewill Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 479-4600

Emmanuel Baptist Church 1227 Powerline Dr NE, Cleveland, TN 37323

Farmland Community Church 1675 Greendale Dr. SE Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 473-9891

First Baptist Church 1275 Stuart Road Cleveland, Tennessee 37312 (423) 709-9100

Galilee Baptist Church 665 Old Chattanooga Pike SW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 496-2019

Henegar Baptist Church 7423 Mouse Creek Rd. Cleveland, TN 37312

Hopewell Baptist Church 188 Old Georgetown Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 479-3763

Lebanon Baptist Church 1411 Old Parksville Rd NE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 479-6700

Macedonia Baptist Church 3119 Spring Place Rd SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 479-1713

Maple Street Baptist Church 1700 Maple St NE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 478-3622

Maranatha Baptist Church 453 Blue Springs Ln SE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 614-8991

Michigan Avenue Baptist Church 2741 Benton Pike NE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 472-8891

Mt Carmel Baptist Church 7619 Blue Springs Rd, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 479-1620

New Friendship Baptist Church 1344 Chatata Valley Rd NE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 476-6007

New Salem Baptist Church 175 Ladd Springs Rd, Cleveland, TN 37323

North Cleveland Baptist Church 2815 Ocoee St N, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 476-8524

Oak Grove Baptist Church 4452 Bates Pike SE, Cleveland, TN 37323

(423) 479-9125

Old Pathway Baptist Church 224 Rymer Rd NE, Cleveland, TN 37323

Parkway Baptist Church 185 Meadow Ln SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 339-5522

Philadelphia Baptist Church 910 30th St SE, Cleveland, TN 37323

Philippi Baptist Church 2325 Old Harrison Pike NW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 479-5385

Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church 799 Inman Street East Cleveland, Tennessee 37311 (423) 476-4081

Public Church 850 17th St. NW Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 458-4405

Ridgeview Baptist Church 1501 S Ocoee St, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-5119

Samples Memorial Baptist Church 371 Samples Chapel Rd SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 476-2329

Shenandoah Baptist Church 138 Osment Rd SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 339-0103

Shiloh Baptist Church 357 Highway 64 Ocoee, TN 37361 (423) 338-4292

Shiloh Baptist Church 3406 Blair Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 479-5755

Stuart Park Baptist Church 850 17th St NW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-6741

Tasso Baptist Church 164 Old Charleston Rd NE, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 559-2114

Temple Baptist Church 3070 Harrison Pike, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-6813

Thompson Spring Baptist Church 5660 Bates Pike SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 790-1823

Union Baptist Church 797 Hughes Lake Rd SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 559-1720

Valley View Baptist Church 4657 Spring Place Rd SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 472-7707

Washington Avenue Baptist Church 1720 Perry St SE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-0489

Waterville Baptist Church 4555 Dalton Pike SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 472-5582

West Cleveland Baptist Church

1959 Westland Dr SW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-8927

Westwood Baptist Church 4001 Georgetown Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 472-1534

White Oak Baptist Church 2043 White Oak Valley Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 559-2359

Catholic

St Therese Catholic Church 900 Clingan Ridge Dr NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 476-8123

Charismatic

Cleveland Christian Fellowship 695 S Ocoee St, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-2642

Church of God

Community Chapel Church of God 807 Blythe Ave SE Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 479-2143

Cornerstone Church of God 1826 SE Dalton Pike Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 478-0006

Church of God Sanctified, Inc. 746 First Street N.E. Cleveland, TN. 37311 (423) 479-3895

East Cleveland Church of God 900 15th St NE Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 479-3389

Fellowship of Praise Church of God 931 Inman Street East Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 479-3121

Grace Community Church of God 4745 Mouse Creek Road NW, Cleveland, TN 37312. (423) 614-0708

Heritage Fellowship Church of God 4635 South Lee Hwy McDonald, TN 37353 (423) 476-6316

International Worship Center

Centro Internacional de Adoración 533 Central Ave. NE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-1977

Kinser Church of God 141 Kinser Road Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 476-7400

Lakeview Church of God 105 Pound Street SE Cleveland, TN 37323 (423)-790-5805

North Cleveland Church of God 335 11th St NE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-5513

Michigan Avenue Church of God 515 Minnis Road NE (423) 284-7573

Mt Olive Church of God 3522 Harrison Pike, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 479-3381

Mt View Church of God

210 Roadway Dr SE, Cleveland, TN 37323

(706) 455-3528

Pine Hill Church of God 1484 Old Alabama Rd McDonald, TN 37353 (423) 488-0939

South Cleveland Church of God 1846 Volunteer Dr SW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-6382

Westmore Church of God 2440 Legacy Pkwy NW Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 479-3415

Church of God of Prophecy

Cleveland Spanish COGOP 2610 Grove Ave. Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 473-7199

Durkee Road COGOP 201 Durkee Rd. Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 472-4384

Keith Street Ministries COGOP 4000 Keith ST. NW Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 476-2448

Peerless Road COGOP 3301 Peerless Rd. NW Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 303-2680

Spring Place COGOP 2530 Spring Place Rd. Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-6414

Union Grove COGOP 533 Union Grove Rd Charleston, TN 37310 (423) 479-5357

Wildwood COGOP 140 Wildwood Ave Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 479-6584

The Church of God

The Church of God Jerusalem Acres

1826 Dalton Pike SE Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-1597

Community Fellowship in Christ

1025 Beech Circle NW Cleveland TN 37312 (423) 314-2382

Disciples of Christ

First Christian Church 3625 N. Ocoee Street Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 472-6682

Episcopal

Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church 320 Broad St NW, Cleveland, TN 37311

Lutheran

First Lutheran Church 195 McIntire Ave NE, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 472-6811

Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

4200 Pryor Rd N.E. Cleveland, TN 37312

(423) 503-6394 Methodist

Big Spring United Methodist 1196 Hardwick St SE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-5242

Black Fox United Methodist 1820 Old Chattanooga Pike SW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 339-1908

Broad Street United Methodist 155 Central Ave NW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-5586

First United Methodist Church 3425 Ocoee St N, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 476-4504

Mount Zion UMC 7223 Germantown Rd NW Cleveland, TN 37312

Pleasant Grove UMC 3043 Pleasant Grove Church Rd SW Cleveland, TN 37311

Red Hill United Methodist Church 527 Red Hill Valley Road SE Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 728-5413

South Cleveland United Methodist 1165 Church St SE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 507-5760

Tasso United Methodist 1106 Tasso Ln NE, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 479-4457

Trinity United Methodist Church 731 1st St SE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 614-7900

Valley Head Methodist Church 920 Mouse Creek Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 472-0575

Wesley Memorial Methodist 3405 Peerless Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 472-9578

Pentecostal

Faith Memorial Church 910 17th St NW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-6281

First United Pentecostal Church 4095 Peerless Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 476-9436

Revolution Life Church 1525 Jones Ave SW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 310-7287

Full Gospel House of Prayer 1500 Wildwood Ave. Cleveland, TN

Set Free Christian Fellowship 1175 King Edwards Ave. Cleveland, TN

Nazarene

Cleveland First Church Of The Nazarene 2712 Henderson Ave. Cleveland, TN 37312 423-472-7371

New Hope Church of the Nazarene 4514 Waterlevel Highway Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 473-3379

Non-Denominational

Benton Pike House Of Prayer

2615 Peach Orchard Hill Rd, Cleveland, TN 37323

Christian Fellowship Ctr 895 6th St NE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 479-9591

Church Alive Ministries 6315 Mouse Creek Road NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 476-8133

Cleveland Community Chapel 1823 Forest Ridge Dr. Cleveland, TN 37311

Cleveland Cornerstone Church 533 Broad St NW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 479-1775

Community Hall Church 1305 6th Street Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-2178

Crossroads Community Church 1000 South Lee Highway Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 716-2871

Dwelling Place Church International 523 Urbane Road NE Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 790-5200

Evening Light Gospel 200 20th St SE Cleveland, TN 37311

Freedom Fellowship Church 3555 Blue Springs Rd, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 478-0654

God’s Family Fellowship 2823 South Lee Hwy Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 458-4490

Graceway Chapel 221 14th St NW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 728-2226

Eleven22 Church 1701 South Lee Hwy Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 488-4526

The Journey Church 3191 South Lee Hwy, McDonald, TN 37353 (423) 728-4100

Living By Faith Ministries 1175 King Edward Avenue Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 457-9072

Living Stones Church 4165 Peerless Rd NW Cleveland, TN 37312

Living Word Church 930 25th Street NW Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 339-3028

New Life Bible Church 155 S Ocoee St, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-3882

Restoration Fellowship 211 Trewhitt Dr SE, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 479-4249

The Sanctuary 1203 Smith Dr. Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 478-2843

Tasso Christian Church 1135 Tasso Lane, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 479-2705

The TRIBE 1175 King Edward Avenue SE

Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 380-8802

Tri-State Cowboy Church 200 Natures Trail SW, McDonald, TN 37353 (Building 3) (423) 303-8954

United Christian Church 2200 Peerless Rd NW, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 479-4277

Unity Christian Ministries 2419 Georgetown Rd NW Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 473-9338

Walker Valley Community 787 Lauderdale Memorial Hwy Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 336-9696

Presbyterian

Charleston Cumberland Presbyterian Church 8267 N Lee Hwy, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 336-5004

First Cumberland Presbyterian 161 2nd St NE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-6751

First Presbyterian Church 433 N Ocoee St, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-5584

Flint Springs Cumberland Presbyterian Church 515 Flint Springs Rd Cleveland TN. 37323 (423) 284-6397

Prospect United Cumberland Presbyterian Church 310 New Murraytown Rd. NW, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 476-6181

St James Cumberland Presbyterian 151 Short St NE, Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 472-5762

Trinity Presbyterian PCA 1780 Stuart Rd. NE, Cleveland, TN 37312 (423) 559-9595

Seventh Day Adventist

Bowman Hills Adventist 300 Westview Dr NE Cleveland, TN 37312

Cleveland Fellowship Church 211 Trewhitt Drive Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 400-7054

East Cleveland Seventh-Day 801 Howard Circle SE Cleveland, TN 37311 (423) 476-9299

Ladd Springs Seventh-Day 5860 Bates Pike SE Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 476-1889

Zion Assembly

Zion Assembly Church of God 5512 Waterlevel Hwy, Cleveland, TN 37323 (423) 476-3337

List/Update Your Church Listing

790-5378

for Everyone

PS138V8

by Regina Law Smith

Ihave always believed that God provides everything we need. He may not answer our prayers in the ways we want or on the timelines we expect, but He does answer. And every now and then, in the midst of daily living, we are allowed a powerful glimpse of our Father’s hand at work.

I’ve certainly seen His hand in my life. One morning on my way to work, I was troubled and crying so hard I was heaving. Suddenly, a car swerved in front of me. I can’t tell you the make, model, or color of the car, but I’ll never forget the license plate: PS138V8—Psalm 138, Verse 8—which says, “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me” (KJV). Well, what else could I do but dry my eyes, blow my nose, and give a prayer of thanks to God?

He is present in the workplace, too.

NOV

My niece, a single mother of two, arrived at work not long ago with her gas tank on empty. “Okay, God,” she prayed at her desk. “You promised to take care of my needs, and I need gas!” Before my niece could complete her prayer, a coworker asked for a lift home that entire week. In exchange? The co-worker offered to fill up the gas tank.

God has been active in my co-workers’ lives as well. When I was on an out-of-town training assignment, a colleague became disoriented. Two other co-workers took her to the emergency room. One co-worker recognized her symptoms as those of a stroke, and the other knew just where to find the nearest hospital. My ailing colleague made a full recovery, and says we were her “angel family” placed by God in her path that day.

It warmed my heart recently to receive this voice message from my grown son: “God works in mysterious

ways,” he said. “I had been praying for some extra money for my business license and insurance, with no idea where it was going to come from. Today, I went to the mailbox and found a check for $2,000 from online classes I had dropped weeks after the refund date. But somehow, someway, the refund was processed and sent to me. Prayer is an amazing, amazing thing!” The assurance that your children know God is priceless.

I was most aware of God providing for my needs one December long ago. It was one of those months when there was more month than money, and I knew with Christmas just a week away, I wouldn’t have the means to buy presents for my young sons. I spent the night pondering ways to help them understand that the birth of Jesus Christ is the true meaning of Christmas and the only gift we need. The next morning, a friend from church called and said, “Just hear me out. My husband and I want to give you $250 to help with Christmas for your boys.” Through my tears, I whispered, “Thank you” to my friend—and to my Father.

It was I, not my sons, who needed to understand the true meaning of Christmas that year. I was reminded in a powerful way that God knows our needs more than we do.

And, through the birth of Jesus Christ, He has a divine plan to provide for all of them—in ways that are beautifully clear to our humble human hearts.

About The Author

Regina Law Smith is presently married and God blessed her with the opportunity to raise six sons and one daughter. Her life experiences are of immeasurable value to this world and her community. It is no surprise that her favorite quote is, “Believe what you want to believe, but know the Truth.”

G A

Church Activities & Events

Westwood Baptist Church Mac Powell & Friends

Friday, November 4 | 8PM

4001 Georgetown Rd NW, Cleveland, TN

United Christian Academy Glow Run

Friday, November 11 | 12PM

2200 Peerless Rd NW, Cleveland, TN

The Ramp At OCI

“Pursuit” Women’s Conference

Friday, November 11 | 7:00AM - 9:30PM

410 Urbane Rd NE, Cleveland, TN

Unity Dance Troupe Dreamer The Diary of Joseph

Sunday, November 13 | 5PM

2440 Legacy Pkwy NW, Cleveland, TN

for Ministry

Operation Christmas Child

In the summer of 1993, Samaritan’s Purse President

Franklin Graham received a call from a man in England asking if he would be willing to fill shoeboxes with gifts for children in war-torn Bosnia. Franklin agreed, but figured Christmas was months away. He forgot about the promise until he received a call back around Thanksgiving asking about the gifts.

Franklin asked his friend, the late Pastor Ross Rhoads of Calvary Church of Charlotte, to see if he could help with the need. A Sunday shortly afterward, Pastor Rhoads demonstrated for his congregation how to fill a shoebox with simple gifts and encouraged them to include a letter to the child as well. Within weeks, the church had 11,000 shoeboxes lining their hallways.

Due to their generosity and additional gifts from Canada, Samaritan’s Purse sent 28,000 shoebox gifts to children in the Balkans that Christmas. Through these gifts, we communicated to children and their families what the angel said to the shepherds about Jesus’ birth: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10, ESV).

Every year since, Samaritan’s Purse has collected shoebox gifts filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items for children around the world. Since 1993, more than 198 million children in more than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. The project delivers not only the joy of what, for many kids, is their first gift ever but also gives them a tangible expression of God’s love.

Operation Christmas Child gift-filled shoeboxes go to difficult places. From densely populated inner cities to deserts and jungles, local churches use these gifts to share the Gospel—even where the Name of Jesus has never been heard. Working with these ministry partners, Samaritan’s Purse aims to follow the Apostle Paul’s example and preach Christ where He is not yet known. Together, despite

formidable challenges, the Lord is opening doors for us to deliver Good News and Great Joy to children in need around the world!

Tens of thousands of volunteers from local churches around the world partner with us to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ at festive outreach events where children are surprised with these shoebox gifts.

In addition, we have trained over 1.3 million volunteers from these congregations to teach The Greatest Journey, our dynamic follow-up discipleship course for shoebox recipients. Since 2009, 30.9 million children have enrolled in this 12-lesson program to learn how to follow Christ and share Him with others. More than 15 million of these boys and girls have made a decision to accept Jesus as their Savior during the course. Many are now praying for and sharing their faith with family and friends. As a result—new churches are starting, and communities are transforming. This whole process is made possible by caring individuals who pack shoeboxes full of quality gifts for children in need. Many of these shoebox packers also use our Follow Your Box feature to discover the country where their gift will be delivered.

More than 9,000 year-round volunteers also get the word out about the Samaritan’s Purse project across the U.S. In addition, 80,000 short-term volunteers serve in more than 4,000 drop-off locations across the country during National Collection Week. Each shoebox collected then travels to one of eight processing centers to be inspected and prepared for international shipment by 90,000 volunteers. All of this is supported by the 30,000 volunteers in our prayer network.

In 2021 alone, more than 10.5 million Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts were collected. The worldwide goal for 2022 is 11.1 million shoeboxes. Visit Samaritan’s Purse’s website for more information on how you can get involved: www.samaritanspurse.org/occ.

Everyone

A Thankful Heart, For Real

by Kaye Stein

November—the month we are most thankful in! Raise your hand if you’re guilty. Can you see mine? My hand is up. At my age, I’ve celebrated so many Thanksgiving meals in so many different homes, and with so many different people, that I can’t say I have a tradition. But that’s okay. I moved around, living in several different states and I wasn’t always able to get back home. So, I guess my tradition is that I don’t have a tradition. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a meal with family, but it’s been a changing dynamic. I’m sure there are plenty of you who have been in the same place in life. Dynamics change for different reasons, and we could go on and on listing them, but that’s not the point we need to dwell on. The point is, are we thankful and ministering to the ones God gives us during the time we have?

Jesus’s ministry took Him to many places, but His focus stayed the same. Everywhere He went He ministered to people and was focused on His Father’s work. All throughout the New Testament, there are stories of His love for us! Are we following in His steps

and loving on our people? Are we showing a thankful heart towards the people God has put in our lives? It’s okay to start with small steps, maybe even better. Try listing your gratitude. Or when you sit down at the table with others, have everyone say something they are thankful for.

Being thankful is an action and showing thankfulness can be a little difficult or even scary at times. Letting go of bad history can possibly require much more effort, so start small. Say like, learning to be thankful for yourself! Be thankful for the way God made you—all the way down to your nose hairs! I’m sure you have heard the saying, “you must learn to love yourself before you can love someone else!” It is very true. Your nose hairs have a job to do even though it’s not a major part of you. But just the same, they have a purpose. It may not be as significant as the iris in your eye, but every part of you is made to perfection to do your Lord’s work. I know it’s kind of a funny analogy, and not too glamorous to think about nose hairs, yet every part of you is put together by God. Likewise, He put together each one of us to fulfill His purpose and bring Him glory!

Ephesians 3:19, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” So, shout your praises to the God almighty and be thankful for His love for you! Let that joy and peace permeate your being, and that joy will spread to the people in your life!

Kaye Stein lives with her amazing husband, Mike, in Rome, Georgia, and attends Pleasant Valley North. She loves learning about God in Bible Study Groups and Sunday School in the Woman’s Class. She loves her family, especially her grands! She is retired and is starting her bucket list travels.

About The Author

for

Grandparents

Thank You Lord

by Zebbie Brewster

Ihad gone to my husband’s doctor’s appointment with him. As I followed behind him, trying to find his doctor’s office, a sign in another doctor’s office caught my eye. It was a simple sign, but to me, it spoke volumes. It said, “Work Hard, Stay Humble, Be Kind.” I thought to myself, is that the secret to a successful life? I knew in my heart that I had fallen way behind in following those simple directions. The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Seeking God’s way for my life was always the right road to travel on, even though I knew there had been times I had veered off that path. My grandfather set the example for me as a child for how to walk with God and be successful for God.

My grandfather was always working hard at whatever job he was doing. From working in the hay field, to cutting fire wood, he worked hard at it. He was no shirker and got the job done. I loved to listen to him talk to God in prayer. He always said, “Thank You Lord, that everything is as well with us as it is.” As a child, hearing him say that in his prayers, I never fully understood the meaning behind it.

Life was not always easy, yet God was real in my grandfather’s life. He loved God and his family, and stayed faithful to the God who was faithful to him.

I remember how he would often visit my family after I had a family of my own. It seems that he would often forget his hat, which he always wore. That gave him an excuse to come back to get it and visit again. My mom told me that she and her dad were prayer partners. They would meet and have

prayer together. What a blessing that was to hear about! Praying for them was important. It also helped increase our faith as we saw their prayers come to fruition.

I am thankful God blessed me and allowed me to be born into a Christian home. Thank You Lord, that everything is as well with us as it is. For Lord, You truly are worthy of all our love and praise.

About The Author

Zebbie Brewster resides in Summerville, Georgia. She is an active member at Perennial Springs Baptist Church.

for Everyone Be Still

by Paula Burgner

Did you ever think your life would be like this? I mean when you’re young, you dream of the way you want things to be and the way you want things to turn out. Then, one day you stop and look around at yourself thinking, “How did it get like this?” You feel like everything that you dreamed or wished for is nothing like your current situation. Sometimes it’s funny how life works out. Although you can make a plan or have an idea, sometimes things just go in a different direction.

going to fly away. Then, the next second, it’s as still as if it was freshly ironed, just hanging there so stiff with no life to it.

Sometimes as a Christian, this is how we are. One moment we can seem so full of life, moving about and spreading God’s word to everyone, and the next, we just seem so down and out. In this moment we have to remember what God’s word tells us in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

So, we must stay focused on the Lord and His word in order to keep pushing forward. Just as the water keeps pushing through, flowing forcefully over the rocks making its way to the other side where it looks so beautiful, we must keep spreading His word. Although we may only see the stillness of one side of the water and think that there is no work being done to make the water flow as gracefully as it is, just know that sometimes the work that is being done may not always be seen right away. Because in the end, it will pay off, and it will be revealed to those who didn’t believe.

It’s kind of like a small creek. One side is flowing just enough over the rocks to make it look so pretty and smooth, as if the water is being silently pushed by a force behind it. Meanwhile, the other side is as still as a picture, looking like a painting that was dropped there in the water with no movement. It makes you wonder how one side can be still and the other side can be flowing so freely. It’s like on a summer day, sitting with the windows open. One second you see the curtain moving so softly and flowing with the wind, as though they were

The Bible tells us in Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Like the water that continues to flow and fill the creek up, keep the word of God in your heart and His love and light shall grow more and more and others will see. The Bible tells us this in Acts 12:24, “But the word of God grew and multiplied.”

About The Author

Paula Burgner is a very strong willed, outgoing, girl who loves working out, and she believes in her heart that you are capable of doing anything that you put your mind to.

for Everyone

While He Was Thinking

by Sandra Gilmore

Have you been following this series? Check each month as we explore often-overlooked connections to Christmas and wind our way back to this sacred event.

His mind was anywhere but there. What was he going to do? How could he get out of this pickle?

He was a craftsman. Years of working with resistant materials had taught him a few things. He envisioned a use for a material that the material couldn’t even see for itself. He shaped the stone. He carved the wood. He avoided the delicate areas that could crack later, relying on the strength around it to achieve the goal, which was to transition something typically left alone or behind into something that would serve, something that would become a part of daily life. His work would bear his mark. His design and years of training, planning, working, and re-working would all be reflected in the craftsmanship of the final product.

Still, his day was ordinary. To a casual onlooker, his day would have seemed routine, no fuss, nothing unusual, until that evening. During the day, his hands were busy with the wood. He was carving, pounding, shaving, clearing shavings, staining, expertly crafting a resistant material into what he envisioned it to be. After years of honing his trade, his hands could maneuver without his mind engaged. And on that day, his thoughts took the focus while his craftsmanship ebbed out on autopilot.

Joseph had questions, sticky questions directed by society’s mores and religious considerations. He just couldn’t see a way out or a way in, for that matter. He was stuck with an urgent desire to run. He was running with a sincere desire to stay committed. What should he do? Everyone would know the baby wasn’t his. But he didn’t do anything wrong. And this girl genuinely believed God gave her this baby!

That evening The Master Craftsman worked with an immalleable material. The Lord expertly crafted the heart of a man who could have possibly been left behind by history into a role that would enter daily life for centuries to come. According to Matthew Chapter 1, the Lord sent an angel to Joseph in a

dream. This messenger delivered stout answers to Joseph’s sticky questions.

Matthew 1:20 states, “But while he thought on these things, behold an angel appeared unto him in a dream.” The angel assured Joseph about following through with his marriage to Mary, even affirming the child was indeed the Son of God.

The original language gives us insight into Joseph’s ponderings. This verb can be translated ponder, deliberate, and revolve in the mind. Another passage in the book of Acts describes, “While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him…” These two examples highlight the promise in Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you.”

Do you ever ponder with your mind stayed on the Lord? Does your heart yield to The Master Craftsman? Or do you worry with your mind focused on other things with a heart resistant and stiff? With our minds stayed on the Lord, we can invite the Holy Spirit to give us insight, answers, and direction. He brings peace. When we worry, we give the enemy of our souls an invitation to weigh us down, confuse us, or stagnate us. As we enter this season of thanksgiving soon followed by Christmas, the Lord is indeed our Immanuel, God with us. We can ponder, wonder, and even question with renewed hope and peace!

About The Author

Sandra Gilmore serves the Lord as wife, mom, and encourager, mostly through writing and speaking, occasionally through cooking, rarely through anything athletic and only because of the mercy and grace of Jesus. You can reach her by email: tandsgilmore@yahoo.com or her website: www.sandragilmore.org

Ocoee Riverside Farm

Stay Here, Play Here

Ocoee Riverside Farm, owned and operated by John and Donna Warner, is a 30-acre riverfront farm located directly on the Ocoee River in Benton, Tennessee. While there are opportunities offered to the general public, the Warners have created a unique “Stay Here, Play Here” environment that caters almost exclusively to their lodging guests. From their two-story riverside cabin, “The Glampsite” tenting area, one of three different covered wagons, or one of two barn stays located inside the lofts of working barns, guests can return again and again having experienced something new each time. Whether you are an outdoor enthusiast, an animal lover, or just seeking a peaceful riverside

retreat, we are confident that Ocoee Riverside Farm has what you are looking for in your next Tennessee vacation! Lodging

•

The Riverside Cabin: Sleeps Six

• The Glampsite: Accommodates Two

•

•

The Welcome Wagon: Sleeps Four

The Band Wagon: Sleeps Four

• The Chuck Wagon: Sleeps Four

• The Barn Loft: Sleeps Three

•

The Camel Condo: Sleeps Ten

Experiences

From horseback rides to waterfall hikes, and camel experiences to river adventures, Ocoee Riverside Farm’s lodging guests can choose from a host of unique and memorable experiences for all ages. And, because these experiences are available almost exclusively to guests staying on the farm, you will receive the personal attention you cannot find in a public environment. Experiences include Farm Tours, Horseback Riding, Pony Rides and Grooming, Camel Rides, Farm Hand for A Day, Tubing, Kayaking, and a Waterfall Hike with Lunch. Presently, the most popular experience at Ocoee

Riverside Farm is their Farm Tour, which provides guests with close encounters with the vast majority of the animals on the farm. If you live in the area locally and have out-of-town friends or family staying on the farm, that is your ticket to join in on the fun! Local friends and family members of lodging guests are permitted to sign up for any “guest only” experience that their lodging friend or family member has signed up for. Beginning in the spring of 2023, new experiences will include Kangaroo and Sloth Encounters!

Events

“Yes, we do that too!” is the response the Warners give when they are asked if they host birthday parties, field trips, family reunions, retreats, and weddings. Moreover, the farm offers discounts when at least 3 of the accommodations are booked simultaneously for the same event. And if you’re looking for a day trip, Ocoee Riverside Farm swings open the gates year-round every Wednesday for their weekly Hump Day celebration. Local guests who make Hump Day reservations will enjoy camel rides, pony rides, and time inside their petting zoo with feed included for hand feeding. This next spring Ocoee Riverside Farm will be introducing “Homeschool Days,” which will run for an entire week each spring and fall season, offering homeschoolers and their families special programs, discounts, and events similar to the field trips.

Newest Accommodation

Ocoee Riverside Farm’s newest and most unique accommodation by far will soon be making its debut as The Camel Condo! This one-year construction project has produced an incredible 2300+ square foot “barndominium” that will house 10 guests. It includes three master suites, each with its own king-sized bed and full bathroom as well as two additional bunk rooms. It features a fully equipped modern kitchen, living area, and gaming area with a 170-gallon fish tank visible from each of the two levels. The bunk rooms will

have glass floors that allow kids a birds-eye-view into the camel stalls and be connected by a 22-foot black-lit tunnel with glowing fish displayed in each of 5 recessed aquariums within the walls. Their 2-story sloth enclosure comes up from the ground through the living room floor, giving guests the chance to “hang out” with Flash as he hangs out in his tree branches. Other features include hidden doors and passageways, picture windows, private balconies, barn doors, a floating bed, hanging rope beds, a jetted tub that looks out over the swan pond, and more!

A Letter from The Warners

We are John and Donna Warner and we are so excited to have this opportunity to share a little bit of our story, as well as our home that has come to be known as Ocoee Riverside Farm!

While serving as an Officer in the U.S. Navy, John was diagnosed with cancer in 2000. John is a cancer survivor, but his cancer battle forced an early medical retirement after fifteen years of service. Following his retirement, John and I continued to grow the property management business that we had begun in 1995, and earnestly prayed about where the Lord would lead us next. John remarked that the Navy had sent him all over the world, but he had never seen the United States. So, in 2009, with our two adult children out of the house and our oldest daughter at the helm of our business, we set out on a crosscountry trip with our three youngest children.

Living in an RV for thirteen months, we homeschooled and toured the U.S. The memories of that experience only amplified what we already knew: “The most important things in life aren’t things.” The opportunity we had to basically live on vacation with our children for an entire year demonstrated just how much busyness we had allowed to crowd our everyday lives! In addition to experiencing this great country of ours, a primary focus of the trip was to help us determine where we would want to live because, for the first time in our married lives, the military would no longer dictate that decision. It was on this trip that we fell in love with Southeast Tennessee. That’s right! We traveled the entire country and this is where we wanted to call home.

It would take us another ten years to make the dream of moving to Tennessee a reality. During those ten years, we would continue residing in and managing our business in Virginia. We would adopt four children from Ukraine between 2012 and 2015, become full-time caregivers to my disabled father until his passing in 2016, and become caregivers to John’s mother in 2017. Yes, the vacation was over and the busyness had found its way back into our lives! And then it happened. In 2018, we sold Warner Property Management and began a year-long housing search in Southeast Tennessee that would bring us to this little town of Benton.

Benton seemed to check all the boxes—a small town with a hometown feel, beautiful scenery, friendly people, and cleverly situated 15 minutes from everything and nothing at the same time. It is also within a day’s drive to our adult children, and now grandchildren, living in Georgia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. And so, in January of 2019, the Lord blessed us with our little piece of heaven on earth and the one thing that we both knew was that we wanted to share it. We just had NO IDEA what that was going to look like!

Thinking that one of our younger adult children would be interested in residing in the riverside cabin, it was actually this daughter who told us we should “just Airbnb it!” It would be another three months before we got curious enough to investigate what Airbnb even was and, as a result of navigating around their website one night, ended up accidentally publishing our cabin. To our surprise, we woke up the next morning to three bookings! The cabin, initially dubbed, The Riverside, became our very first guest accommodation. We only had three horses, twelve chickens, and one dog at the time.

We remember back in the beginning our guests would ask if they could come up by the house and see the chickens. We would not only let them come and see the chickens but also allow their kids to help feed and collect eggs from the coop. Guests that inquired about borrowing our kayaks were offered the chance to load up in our truck for a quick drive upriver so they could paddle their way back to our boat ramp here at the farm. Then requests came to ride the horses, and

before we knew it, we were doing horseback rides on a regular basis. Our guests' love of horses also inspired us to create our second accommodation here on the farm, The Barn Loft, which allows guests to sleep in the loft of our equestrian barn with the horses. Virtually everything that has caused the farm to grow and transform into what it is today came about as a result of guest requests and it’s for this reason that we remain so committed to those lodging with us.

We were just going about having such a good time with folks that we remarked one day, “Wonder what our guests would think about llamas?” and so we decided to bring llamas onto the farm, which was quickly followed by camels! From the camels to the kinkajous, kangaroos to coatimundi and so, so much more we now have over 100 domestic and exotic animals that all call Ocoee Riverside Farm their home.

If there’s one message that we would want to convey to our guests it would be: This isn’t just a place where we come to work, it’s where we live, and you’re invited! We hope you accept this personal invitation to come and hang out on the family farm with us. Whether you are looking for a peaceful, no-contact vacation, or an all-in farm experience, we trust that the memories of your time spent here at Ocoee Riverside Farm will last a lifetime.

Blessings, John and Donna Warner

If you would like to book your stay at Ocoee Riverside Farm or would like more information about community events, visit their website at www.ocoeeriversidefarm.com. For any questions, you can contact the farm directly at (423)-241-3738.

HEAD ON

FOR SOME

FUN THIS FALL!

OcoeeRiversideFarm.com

for Everyone

Rejoice In Your Harvest

by Stephanie Daniels

Farmers are intentional about the seed they sow and the harvest they reap. They don’t plant apple seeds and expect cabbage. They put a specific seed in the ground and patiently wait for harvest season. They nurture and water the seed, then at the right time, a harvest grows up out of the fertile soil. Many people don’t realize how much our lives are like farming. Seed time and harvest time are a part of life. We sow seeds daily. The harvest we receive is based on what was sown.

As we reflect on our lives over the course of the year, we can anticipate a harvest of all we have done. The greatest harvest of all is a harvest of souls into the kingdom of God. Jesus sowed His life so that anyone who calls on His name shall be saved. We can play a part in that wonderful harvest by simply sharing our faith. Sowing seeds of faith can be one of the most rewarding things a person can do in their lifetime. Matthew 9:37-38 tells us, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Another way to sow seed is

to give monetary gifts to your local churches, charities, or alms, giving wherever you see a need. Everything we do is a seed sown. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). One of the wisest things we can do is sow good seeds. Sowing seeds of faith into the lives of others not only blesses them but it impacts us as well. Psalms 107:37 reminds us, “They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest.” We can ensure a good crop of favor and blessings in our lives by simply being intentional about what we say, do, and think. The word of God says, “As a man thinks so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). When we continuously think negative thoughts, it is just a matter of time before we speak negative things, which can result in negative actions. Negative thoughts, words, and actions can produce bad fruit in your life. Speak life over yourself and others, and meditate on the word of God to help keep your thoughts pure. These are just some of the things that can help produce a good harvest in your life.

So, whether you have sown time, money, shared your faith or planted a garden, expect God to give you a bountiful harvest. The apostle Paul explains that our righteousness comes from God, and He is faithful to provide seed to the sower. “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Corinthians 9:10). It is never too late to sow seed with intention and purpose. In this harvest season, expect God’s goodness and mercy to overtake you.

Direct Primary Care Associates

Direct Primary Care Associates follows a unique model of healthcare, providing its patients with an equally unique healthcare experience. With a low monthly membership fee, patients have access to an expansive range of primary care services, including a personalized relationship with Direct Primary Care Associates’ medical professionals.

“Brian Fretwell, CEO of Direct Primary Care Associates, and Beth Prine, our Chief Operating Officer, are credited for introducing this model of healthcare into the Dalton, Cleveland, and Athens markets. The patient experience is the way medicine is supposed to be,” said Tim Tatum, Vice President of Business Development.

Direct Primary Care Associates focuses on three areas of healthcare: Care, Community, and Cost. The Care Team of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and doctors have your comfort

with the assistance of the Spruce Health app. This app provides patients with direct communication with the nurses and their personal providers, including instant messages and video chats. These notes are then placed directly into the patient’s chart. Patients can electronically make follow-up appointments through the Spruce Health app, taking the hassle out of scheduling.

in mind, offering thirty-minute or one-hour-long office visits, ensuring your concerns are heard and understood. Direct Primary Care Associates provides same or next-day appointments. This standard allows patients to feel unrushed and fosters a confident relationship between patients and Direct Primary Care Associates’ Care Team.

A membership with Direct Primary Care Associates includes unlimited office visits, home visits, telemedicine, direct-to-provider text and email correspondence, and in-office procedures. These services include but are not limited to, Annual Physicals, Annual Lab Work, Preventative and Follow-Up Appointments, Chronic Disease Management, Weight Management, Treatment of Sprains and Lacerations, Rapid Tests, Child Well Checks, and Men’s and Women’s Health. As a part of the membership, Direct Primary Care Associates includes many prescription medications, as well as standard labs that would be performed during an Annual Physical.

To facilitate a personalized healthcare experience, Direct Primary Care Associates prioritizes no wait times, as patients are ushered back into a room as soon as they arrive and receive a minimum of thirty minutes of undivided attention from the healthcare provider. This relationship continues outside the office

“Direct Primary Care Associates is committed to providing value-based clinical care that helps companies promote a healthier workforce by increasing access and decreasing the cost of healthcare. As a direct care organization that provides Primary Care as well as Occupational Health Services, we effectively put our fees at risk based on performance. Our revenue comes from membership fees, instead of traditional fee-for-service billing, therefore we are accountable for the quality and cost of the care we provide,” said Fretwell.

In today’s economy, the rising costs of health insurance and premiums can seem daunting. A membership with Direct Primary Care Associates can minimize that worry. With a low monthly payment, you can experience no contracts, no co-pays, no deductibles, and a reduced cost of labs and medications.

Direct Primary Care Associates has three convenient locations. In April 2019, Direct Primary Care Associates opened its first office in Cleveland, TN. By July 2020, they were able to open a second location in Athens, TN, and in September of last year, Direct Primary Care Associates expanded into Dalton, Georgia—an oftenunderserved healthcare community.

Become a member of Direct Primary Care Associates today and experience a new model of personal, affordable healthcare. Visit Direct Primary Care Associates’ website at www.directpca.com for more information.

for Everyone

Standing Firm in The Last Days

by Kenneth E. Ware

Stand up. Now, sit down. Stand up again. Now, sit down again. Now, stand up and sit down at the same time. Impossible right? Absolutely. You cannot stand and sit simultaneously. You can only do one or the other. Spiritually, Christians have the same choices in life. Faced with many moral challenges, social injustices, demonic attacks, and political issues, believers must not compromise their faith in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul exhorted his fellow saints in Ephesus to stand firm amidst a pagan, Roman influenced society. Clearly, we too, are no different. We are faced with similar challenges in our generation. Laid out for us in the last chapter of Ephesians is the key to How to Stand Firm in the Last Days.

I. Stay Strong in the Lord (Eph. 6:10-11)

a) Be Strong in the Person of Christ (v. 10)

Believers are to keep growing in their strength in Christ. In order to do so, Jesus must not only be your Savior, He must also be your Lord. He must sit upon the throne of your heart to rule and reign as both Lord and King of your life. Many verses in the Bible command the people of God to be strong. For example, at least four times in the book of Joshua do we read, “Be strong and courageous…” (Josh. 1:6-7,9,18). King David exhorts, “Wait for the Lord, be strong…” (Psa. 27:14). Again, the Minor Prophet Zechariah admonished his contemporaries to “Let your hands be strong, you who are listening to the world in these days…” (Zech. 8:9).

b) Be Strong in the Power of Christ (v. 10b-11)

There are multiple ways to accomplish this great task. For starts, we will observe three ways to reach this goal of being strong in the power of the Lord.

1. Prayer—Five times in verses 18-19 is the term “pray,” “prayer” or “petition” referenced. The more you pray, the stronger you will become. The less you pray, the weaker you get. Prayer protects you from yielding to the strategies of Satan. Prayer guards your heart and mind with peace (Phil. 4:6ff). Prayer is essential to spiritual victory in your life.

2. Praise—Prayer, when combined with praise, equals power. King David prayed, “I love you, Lord, my strength” (Psa. 18:1-2). Moses wrote, “The Lord is my strength and my song…” (Ex. 15:2). Ezra encouraged the sons of Israel, saying, “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).

3. Pursue—If the lovers of Jesus Christ desire to grow stronger, then a pursuit of God’s Word must become top priority. Daily Bible reading enhances one’s knowledge of God, spiritual growth, and adds strength. The psalter said, “Strengthen me according to Your Word” (Psa. 119:28). In fact, it was our Lord Himself who cited the words of Moses, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).

II. Stand Still in the Lord (Eph. 6:12-17)

c) The Spiritual Warfare (vv. 12-13)

Adversaries. At the moment of salvation, believers were immediately thrust into spiritual warfare. There are several adversaries that combat the children of God on a daily basis. It is important to understand that, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood” as clearly stated by Paul. So then, what exactly are we struggling against? Answer, the demonic hosts of Satan influenced in human governments of the world (Rulers, Powers, World Forces of Darkness, Spiritual Forces of Wickedness).

d) The Spiritual Wardrobe (vv. 14-17)

Armor. The armor of a Roman soldier was nothing short of intimidating splendor. In God’s economy, like the Roman Empire, believers are enlisted as soldiers of war. The saints of God must both “put on” (v. 11) and “take up” (v.13) the full armor of God. After all, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Armor believers must put on for spiritual victory over the flesh and the adversaries of this world (Rom. 13:14).

About The Author

Kenneth E. Ware, M.M., M.A.B.S., M. Div. is a husband, father, pastor of New Scholar Avenue Baptist Church, and graduate of Temple Baptist Seminary. Pastor Ware is also a Christian writer and an Expository Bible Teacher at Samford University Ministry Training Institute in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

for Everyone

His Story

by Dorothy Teague

It seems like everyone is writing a book these days! Some people are writing about their own life and all of their adventures. I often get envious when I hear about how full their lives have been and all the far off, exotic places they have visited. They do have quite an interesting tale to tell! But my story is wrapped up in “His” story, interwoven into the fabric of His making. All of history is His from beginning to end. Our lives are a thread in the tapestry of time. Our purpose should be to reflect His story and His glory.

My birth, while unremarkable to the world, was my beginning and could only be my beginning, just the way He planned it. It was on purpose for a purpose.

Jeremiah 1:5 says, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you…” Here He is talking about Jeremiah’s purpose of being a prophet. But we have all been born with our own purpose and destiny. None of us are here by accident. It is by God’s design that each of us has been born into this world. In Psalm 139:16, David says, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Ironically, when we are born into this world, we are born as innocent babes, but we instantly become sinners because we are born into a sinful world.

During childhood, I went to church and learned about who Jesus was and that He died on the cross for my sins. I accepted Him at the early age of eight. I discovered my gift

of singing and have sung the entirely of my life thus far. I believe it was in His plan for my life to receive Him and to use these gifts to lead others to Him. “The Lord has made everything for its purpose…” (Proverbs 16:4). Now, while I know I have a purpose from God to be here, I haven’t always kept to His plan. I am a planner and a list-maker, and get very upset when my plans go awry. But I am reminded in Proverbs 19:21 that “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

We are not here to live unto ourselves. Our life is a gift from God! James 1:17 tells us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming from the Father of lights.”

It has been said that our lives are a gift from God and what we do with our lives to honor Him is our gift to God.

I haven’t reached the end of my story yet, so I haven’t completed my purpose from God. But until I reach my end date, my prayer is that I will be like a mirror reflecting His glory and His story. After all, His story is the best one of all!

Dorothy Teague is a Tennessee native, who resides in McMinn County with her husband, Lewis, on their farm. After completing 31.5 years as a teacher in the Bradley County School System, she is active in her church at Eastanallee Baptist Church where she is a member of the choir and praise team.

About The Author

your

Buds

Thanksgiving Sweet Potato Casserole Boats

by Jodi Varnado

Ilove gathering around a table with good food and good company. The Thanksgiving holiday grants us the perfect opportunity to foster this connection and fellowship. This twist on the classic sweet potato casserole only enhances the experience! This recipe is sure to bring comfort to your friends and family this Thanksgiving dinner. With only eight ingredients and one pan, you can present this sweet side dish and leave your guests impressed. (And don’t worry, they won’t know how easy it was it prepare. Your secret’s safe with me. )

Ingredients

• 4 medium-large sweet potatoes or yams

• 1 tablespoon of neutral oil

Toppings

• 2 tablespoons of butter

• ¾ teaspoon of ground cinnamon

• 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar

• 1 cup of raw pecans, roughly chopped

• 2-3 tablespoons of maple syrup

• 1 cup of mini marshmallows

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Slice the sweet potatoes in half, but leave the skin on. Rub both sides with oil and arrange cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

3. Use a fork to poke holes in the back sides of the potatoes, then bake for 25-35 minutes.

4. Once tender, remove potatoes from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Then carefully flip the potatoes over. Use a fork to gently mash the insides of the potatoes until they are slightly pressed down and the surface is flat.

5. Swipe the top of each potato with butter. Then, shake a light dusting of cinnamon on each potato, followed by brown sugar, pecans, and maple syrup. Top with mini marshmallows.

6. Return to the oven for 8-10 minutes or until the toppings are slightly toasty!

7. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Ringing in the Season with the Sound of Tennessee Chorus

The falling leaves and brilliant colors of Southeastern Tennessee can mean only one thing—Christmas is coming! At least that’s what it feels like on Tuesday nights at the Sound of Tennessee Barbershop Chorus rehearsal space in Bradley Square Mall. Shoppers and mall walkers are treated each week to the sounds of laughter, friendship, and stunning acapella renditions of holiday classics like “Welcome Christmas” from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and beautiful Christian hymns like “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” as the chorus prepares for their favorite show of the year.

The fall is an exciting and busy time for the Sound of Tennessee Chorus. After placing 12th in the world at the Barbershop Harmony Society

2022 International Competition in July, the chorus immediately started polishing songs for their next competition. In September, their hard work was rewarded with a 1st place finish in the Dixie District Fall Convention and another invitation to compete at the 2023 Barbershop Harmony International Convention next summer.

Singing with the chorus is not just a hobby, it’s a passion that takes a lot of work. The Barbershop Style is a totally different kind of singing. The men need to work to be pitch perfect because the acapella harmonies are so tight and intricate. Their voices need to be strong and stable with no vibrato, to make the chords really ring.

In Barbershop, each voice adds something unique and special to the mix. The combination of voices from age 11-81 creates an amazing vocal range and beautiful, fresh tonality. Each vocalist works to blend their unique voice with the others to add timbre and depth to the music and

find the sweet spot for each chord. And when you hit the chord just right, where the voices are blending seamlessly with spotless pitch, tone, and dynamics, the chord will create an overtone that makes it “ring.” As one member said, “you know you’ve hit it when you see jaws drop in the audience and you feel the chills up your spine.”

And though the competitions and awards are exciting, what the chorus really loves to do is perform in Cleveland and give back to the community they all love. So, all fall the chorus is practicing and perfecting their parts for “The Grinch: A Holiday Production and Christmas Concert” that will take place at the Lee University Dixon Center for the Performing Arts on December 2nd and 3rd. The entertaining and inspiring two-act show starts with a rousing production of “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” followed by a reverent presentation of the Christmas story featuring much loved carols and hymns of the season.

Cleveland has been home to the Barbershop Chorus for 20 years. It’s grown, changed, and evolved a lot during that time but one thing is constant—the camaraderie and joy that comes from the music. Isaac Simpson, a high school student who has been singing with the chorus since he was 11 years old says, “It’s not only about the great guys in the chorus, but also the excellence we have on a week-to-week basis. It’s very gratifying when you start to see improvement and know that you’re already better than you were last week.”

So, enjoy one of the great local gifts of the season and come see the “The Grinch: A Holiday Production and Christmas Concert.” Tickets can be purchased at https://tngrinch.eventbrite.com and more information about the concert and the chorus can be found at SoundofTN.org.

for Everyone

Is God One Person?

by Matt Jensen

Monotheism–the belief that there is only one God–has always been essential to the Christian faith. The early church steadfastly defended monotheism but ran into a difficulty–Jesus is equated with God in the New Testament. In fact, the deity of Jesus was a major reason that people wanted to kill Him (John 5:18; 8:58-59; 10:30-31). Desiring to hold to monotheism, some denied the full deity of Jesus. However, others desired to hold to monotheism and the full deity of Jesus. One solution proposed by men like Sabellius, Noetus, and Praxeas, was to say that the Father and the Son are actually not distinct persons. Like an actor playing different characters, God plays Father and then Son. This became known as the heresy of Sabellianism. Many strains of this error have surfaced over time, but its distinctive feature is that God is unipersonal. In other words, God is one God existing as one person, sometimes acting as different persons. Against this, orthodoxy confesses one God eternally existing in three persons. Here is what orthodoxy confesses. God is one divine nature.

• The divine nature is not shared by anything in creation.

• The divine nature is not divided among the persons (like three pieces of the same pie).

• The divine nature is not cloned three times (like three copies of the same picture). God eternally exists in three persons.

• The person of the Father:

Is unbegotten – He has His person from none

Is neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit

Therefore, He is truly the Father

• The person of the Son:

Is eternally begotten – He has His person from the Father alone

Is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit

Therefore, He is truly the Son

• The person of the Holy Spirit:

Is eternally proceeding – He has His person from the Father and the Son

◦ Is neither the Father nor the Son ◦ Therefore, He is truly the Holy Spirit

It’s terribly important to confess that God is one God, but it’s vitally important to confess that this one God eternally exists in three persons, too. Here are a few reasons why:

It’s biblical – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Sabellianism and orthodoxy agree that the Word was God (i.e. the one divine nature). However, Sabellianism can’t explain how the Word was with God. They must say something like “The Word appeared to be with God.” Orthodoxy can say that the Word was God (divine nature) and with God (person). Sabellianism also can’t account for passages such as Matthew 3:16-17. Orthodoxy can say that Jesus was baptized, the Spirit descended, and the Father spoke. Sabellianism turns the events of this passage into a charade.

God’s worship – This is the greatest reason. God has revealed Himself as one God eternally existing in three persons. Therefore, we must worship Him as one God eternally existing in three persons. The most serious theological errors we can possibly make concern God. He is not the unipersonal God of Islam, but the blessed Trinity in unity and unity in Trinity.

Our salvation and communion with God – Was it really the Son who came to save us? Was it really the Father who gave a people to His Son? Is it really the Holy Spirit who applies Christ’s redemptive work? Sabellianism must say, “No.” Can we really believe in Jesus (John 6:29)? Can we really pray to our Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9)? Can we really walk by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16)? Sabellianism must again say, “No.” If Sabellianism is true, our salvation and communion with God cannot be Trinitarian. We would be saved and commune with a God who is one person having multiple personalities. Thankfully, that is not the God who reveals Himself to us in the Bible. The one true God eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Author

Matt Jensen is a missionary from Reformation Baptist Church in Dalton, Georgia. He and his wife, Danielle, are preparing to move to Thailand soon with their son, Judah. They are also anticipating the birth of another son, Gabriel.

Faith Comes By Hearing: Senga Oral Bible Translations

by Joey Knight

An estimated 900 oral language groups have waited for thousands of years to receive the Scriptures. Many will never obtain the written Word of God. But they can still hear the saving truth of the Gospel. Oral Bible

Translation (OBT) sidesteps the hurdle of having to read and write to translate the Bible, meaning that individuals living in unreached people groups who may never read can still hear God’s Word and come to Christ. In fact, OBT is vital in achieving our Vision 2033 objectives.

Now, a team of mother-tongue translators can be trained to work among their own people to clearly and accurately render God’s Word in a format they can understand and use. OBT goes through all of the same rigorous checks of a written translation—team checking, community checks, back translation, and consultant checking. And as soon as a recording is approved—whether a few verses or a whole book—it becomes available to the community. The wait is finally over!

An urgent desire to see the last people groups receive the Gospel in their heart languages continues to grow. OBT projects are in great demand, given that the methodology has been accepted by the worldwide translation community. God is graciously preparing the hearts of oral people worldwide to hear His truth and come to Him. They will be counted among those standing before Christ’s throne on the last day, just as He promised.

The Story of the Senga

The Senga people group in Zambia was considered “too small” to start a Bible translation project. Though their pastors preached in Swahili, a few of them possessed the vision and passion to initiate a Senga Scripture translation. But they knew that even with a written Bible, most Sengas would be unable to read and understand. When they participated in a Faith Comes By Hearing listening group leader training and learned that 70% of the world’s population learn orally, they realized God’s Word in audio was a necessity.

Since the Senga OBT project began, they have translated the books of Luke and Acts. Now they are translating Genesis. Once passages are translated and checked by a consultant, they are released for use in the community. These audio files spread

like wildfire, as pastors play them in churches and on phones and broadcast them on the radio.

Everyone understands the Scripture at last. As people are empowered to reach others with the Good News, the number of churches grows. One of the Senga visionaries for this project told us, “This is the most precious gift. God has come down to speak to Sengas directly. We no longer need someone who knows how to read and write. We only need someone who hears. The God that was far away has come close and is staying in our homes. He speaks to our hearts, to our lives, every day!”

Render: A Vital Oral Bible Translation Tool

Render facilitates every OBT project, simplifying the process by allowing translators to listen to the Bible in a language they understand, translate the passage orally, and record it—all within a single workspace. This allows communities to start Bible translation projects more quickly than the traditional written process.

As the number of projects increase, Render must be updated to keep up with the demands of the translation teams. Software development is well underway for Render 3.0, an update that will improve the flow and lifetime of the software. The new version incorporates synchronization for online and offline file sharing in field applications and consultant checks. This feature allows Render to be used on Android devices in addition to Microsoft and facilitate a more flexible workflow for field teams.

Render 3.0 software development is nearing completion. Faith Comes By Hearing has software developers on staff but also works with an external development firm to assist in the intensive testing and debugging process. Our development team values this boost to help finalize and release Render 3.0.

Visit Faith Comes By Hearing’s website faithcomesbyhearing.com for more information!

The Author

Joey has been working with churches for over 3 decades. Joey and his wife, Rebecca, reside in Cleveland, TN. Joey is on staff with FaithComesByHearing.com in Albuquerque, NM.

DR.

Thanksgiving Day

by Judy Hood

On this day of Thanksgiving

I thank you Lord for all you have been giving I thank you for the air I breathe

That gives life in and through me

If you had not given your life for me I would cease to exist, you see

I know my mom gave me birth

But you gave me rebirth

To save my soul

And make me whole

I wish everyone would give their life to you

But some people act like they don’t want any part of you

I’m glad we have a Thanksgiving Day

To thank you for each and every day

As I look up into the sky to praise you for being so good to me I honor you, for without you, I don’t know where I would be I know I have made many mistakes along the way

But I serve a big God that forgives me and brightens my day So, “Happy Thanksgiving,” Lord, thank you, for all you do Remind us before we judge people to try our foot in their shoe

to schedule time

Schedule your surgeries and screenings before deductibles reset in January

for Everyone

The Seed Bags

by Charles Finney

At the back door of my grandparents’ old country farmhouse was a corner filled with bags. There was a lot of empty burlap bags that were once full of potatoes. Two bags of interest were hanging on a wooden peg nailed right to the door.

One belonged to my grandpa, and the other to my grandma. Both were sewn out of old burlap bags. Grandpa’s was just a little more than a pouch, it was gray and held his planting seeds. The bag was held together at the top by some twine rope. It was deep and held a lot of corn seeds. Every time I would see grandpa take his seed bag to the planting field, he would quote Genesis 1:11: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.” Grandpa said, “I go to plant my seeds and wait for the harvest.”

Grandma’s bag was more decorative. It was also held together by twine rope. It was not as deep as grandpa’s and had a dried flower sewn on the front. Grandma also had the words Faith and Believe embroidered on it. Grandma’s bag held her sowing seeds, too. Her main “seeds” were the Bible and her Sunday School booklet. She also carried an old worn paper with two quotes of faith written on it.

Grandma would usually get her seed bag as she went out the door to church or to visit a neighbor.

Grandma often quoted two sayings on faith as she went out the door: “Belief is held in the mind, faith is a fire in the heart,” (Johnathan Swift) and she reminded grandpa that “the smallest seed of faith is better then the largest fruit of happiness” (Henry David Thoreau). Grandma

remarked to grandpa that God loves everyone, but probably prefers “fruit of the spirit” over “a religious nut!” Grandma said, “I go to plant my seeds and wait for the harvest.”

Grandpa was out sowing his corn seeds when a nosy neighbor came by his cornfield. This genus neighbor knew everything about everything. He asked grandpa what he was doing. Grandpa told him that he was in his cornfield planting seeds, and if anyone came by, he would sell some seeds. The neighbor remarked, “Sell seeds?” Grandpa told him he was getting five dollars for one corn seed. Five dollars a pop! The know-it-all neighbor said, “What? Why would anyone want to eat raw corn seed?”

Grandpa said, “Well, they make you smarter!” The neighbor could not stand for anyone to be smarter than him. So, he said, “Okay, give me one.” He swallowed it. Then he said, “Wait a minute! For five dollars, I could have bought a pound of corn seeds and got myself at least 200 seeds!”

Grandpa just remarked, “See! You’re smarter already!” The neighbor, now more delighted in himself, said, “Wow, you’re right…give me two more, quick!”

Grandpa’s selling of seed corn showed us that as in 2 Timothy 3:2-7, “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.” Grandma’s seed bag showed us that as in Ephesians 2, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

After my grandparents had gathered their bags and went out the door, I saw a hand carved piece of wood nailed on the door with the inscription on it of John 11:26: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

I believe!

for Everyone

Forgetting What’s Behind

by Jonathon Wright

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14, NKJV).

In the first part of this chapter, Paul talks about his old way of life, his days when he was a Pharisee and keeper of the law. The days when he persecuted the church. Paul used to think a relationship with God meant keeping all the rules and relying on his strength alone. Now he knew Christ and His power to change a person’s life. Because of this, his former way of life does not begin to compare with his new life in Christ. His former life was rubbish when compared to knowing Christ. And he had a long list of credentials. Paul wanted to encourage the Philippian church and those struggling against Jewish influences. These influences were trying to nullify and put down their Christian faith. He told them to beware of those dogs. Paul knew what he was talking about because he was one before he met Christ.

Paul also expresses his deep desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. In other places, Paul describes this power as being able to do above and beyond anything we ask, think, or imagine. See Ephesians 3:20. Paul wanted to see God’s power in his life and the church. He also wanted to follow God in times of suffering like Christ. Paul wanted to be faithful to the end. He wanted to be perfect but was not. But he did this one thing. The fact that the apostle Paul singles out this one thing makes it very important. He forgot those things in the past and continued to press forward in his goal to be more like Christ. He wanted to put the past behind him.

There was a time in my life when I greatly struggled in a particular area. God’s word in Isaiah 54:4 told me that I should forget the shame of my youth. Something about that passage just gave me peace. It helped me to move forward in my Christian life. And eventually, I was able to overcome it. Paul struggled with similar feelings about his past. He even called himself the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). However, Paul understood that we are powerless to change mistakes in our past. We can try to learn from them and make things better. But at the end of the day, we need God’s forgiveness and mercy, found at the cross. We need to start each day by forgetting the past. When we do this, it helps us make the most of our today. We place our trust in the promise of Christ and keep moving forward to become the people God wants us to be, which helps us move toward spiritual maturity and more success in life.

About The Author

Jonathon Wright currently lives in Cleveland, Tennessee, and has been a member of the Church of God for about twenty years. He is a graduate of Lee University and Beacon University where he earned a BA and MA in Biblical Studies. He loves studying the Bible and has done so for over thirty years, but only now has God given him a desire and the opportunity to be a writer.

Jonathon hopes to encourage people to read the Bible and take notes. You can find more from Jonathon at amazon.com/author/everydaynotes.

Everyone

Objects In the Mirror Are Smaller Than They Appear

by Beth Penny

There are so many pivotal moments in our lives that imprint on our memories. One of those for me will always be the day I turned sixteen and got my driver’s license. For me, as for so many others, being able to drive alone was the first step in young freedom and independence. It signified so much more than that little piece of paper you receive that says you passed a test. But learning to drive, on the other hand, was full of so many more issues. Learning to be totally aware of your surroundings proves difficult until it becomes second nature. One of the first driving lessons my dad gave me was learning to use the mirrors. The side mirrors and rearview mirror have their own purpose, and we have to learn to use them to aid the process of driving. However, they aren’t the most important thing to help us drive.

As we drive, we glance in the mirrors to look for things beside us, right behind us, or even further behind us. We use those to help us know our surroundings or potential dangers. We don’t, however, continuously drive while looking through the rearview mirror. There is a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview. We always have to look forward to where we are going and be aware but not focused on what is behind us.

In life, we have to remember the same lessons. We have to be aware of what is behind us but not let it control what is in front of us. We have to continue to look

forward and move forward as we understand that the past has a presence in our future but does not control it. My advice is to live life as you would drive a car. Look forward and move on from what mistakes or errors you have made in the past. Look forward and remember that God is always above. An old adage says, “If what is ahead scares you and what’s behind hurts you, just look up. He never fails to help you.”

Those words ring true. Just as the words in Psalm 121, “Look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth…The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade” (1-2, 5). Don’t let mistakes of the past guide what you can accomplish in the present. Remember that the windshield is bigger than the rearview.

Beth Penny has taught English at Model High School since 1997. There she is also the Yearbook adviser and the Special Education Department Chair. She and her husband, Chad, have four children.

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Are You Tilting at Windmills?

by Dr. Alan Hix

As we approach Thanksgiving, are the day-to-day challenges of life making it hard for you to get in a thankful mood? Let me tell you a story.

Don Quixote is a novel written by Miguel Cervantes in the early 17th century. In the story Alonso Quixano is a lowranking member of the Spanish nobility. As he approaches middle age, he imagines a life far more exciting than his mundane existence. Alonso dons a suit of armor and takes up a lance. In his new imagined life, he is a knight errant in search of adventure and glory.

In his quest for meaning and purpose, Alonso challenges peasants to duels and views inns as castles. In one of the more well-known parts of his story, he comes upon a group of windmills. However, for Alonso, they are giants that need vanquishing, so he charges them with his lance. You can imagine the outcome was not what he intended. Having been unhorsed, he believes that magicians changed windmills into giants to thwart his noble quest.

While we smile and chuckle at Alonso’s passion for a noble quest that exists only in his imagination, I wonder if sometimes we might find ourselves on an imagined quest of our own. I recently read a blog in which the author proposed that many Christians prefer a “comfortable” Christianity. He went on to argue that this longing for “comfort” can result in believers not being particularly excited about heaven or seeing God face to face.

I found myself saying, “Wait a minute; you can’t be serious?” However, the author argued that many Church members are too busy setting up their own “heaven on earth,” that they don’t have time to think about eternity. They busy themselves trying to check all the boxes on what they want out of life—impressive career, great marriage, good kids, perfect home, and countless other things. They find themselves imagining this is what life is all about.

Heaven and an eternity with God seem so distant that the issues of the moment take center stage in our lives.

As I sat down to write about Thanksgiving, this blog came to mind. When we focus on getting through the

challenges of a stressful work environment, difficult family situations, unrealized expectations, and a host of other things we pursue as we search for meaning and purpose in life, we imagine that this is what brings meaning and purpose to life, and we lose sight of God’s blessings and provisions. And like Alonso, we end up tilting at the windmills of earthly things that have no eternal value. No wonder we feel unfulfilled.

However, a thankful heart has a whole new set of priorities. When the Apostle Paul writes to the Colossian believers, he gives them—and us—a picture of what a life focused on eternal things looks like:

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col. 3:15-17).

Now are you in the mood for Thanksgiving?

About The Author

Dr. Alan Hix is an Associate Professor of Christian Studies at Shorter University. In addition to being and educator, he has served churches as a pastor, been involved in mission trips to Africa, Canada, and Alaska, and participated in archaeological excavations in Israel for several years.

“Legacy is truly an answer to prayer. When we read the mission statement about serving residents in a Biblically based community, we knew we found the right place. The atmosphere is what Mom needed to continue fulfilling her purpose in life.”

Daughter of Resident