the Chapel blog

A testimony from one of our Nehemiah Project interns this fall, Brandon Beck.

Every believer has a testimony – a story to tell of how God changed their life and brought Himself into their story. Some stories leave us weeping, some laughing, and some inspired. The same can be said about testimonies. Each one is unique in that there is no one like you and only you can tell your story. Testimonies although each unique, each share some things in common – the Gospel, which is God, our sin, His holiness, His Son, His grace, the Cross, the resurrection, His love, and His salvation. Notice the only thing that is our own and that we bring to the table is our sin. This is grace. That we have nothing to offer and nothing that is our own except our sin. All testimonies of Disciples of Christ share this. My testimony is no different. It consists of my sin and His grace.

            I am Brandon Beck, born in the depths of Butler County, and when I was 13 my family moved to Jackson. Up to this point in life my family hadn’t really attended church except for maybe a time or two a year. My mom grew up in the Church of Christ but had since abandoned her faith and my step dad, well he beat to his own drum. Moving to Jackson we lived right up the road from a small Baptist church and it wasn’t long before my mother, who was hungering for something more in life, started taking us to church. This was fine for me. Church was kind of boring, but there were guys my age that liked sports as much as I did. So we went, I heard the messages being preached and what I got from it was that God is good, Jesus died and rose again, and I can go to heaven if I believe in him. Seemed like a great deal for me. I go to heaven if  I repeated a prayer or said I believed in Jesus., where everything I loved was; including football, baseball, friends, and being surrounded by clouds.. I’m in! So I was baptized when I was 14, along with my mother. She knew and understood the concept of “her sin and His grace”. This was still foreign to me, though I believed myself to be a follower.

            Not knowing about my sin and His grace had its impact on my life growing up. I cared for few things, girls and trying to hook up with them, friends and drinking with them, and football. I sought pleasure in sin and things I desired most. I had dreams and aspirations of playing college ball and hopefully the NFL. I prayed every night for it. After high school I had a few small offers and decided to sign with a small school out of St. Charles. It wasn’t the Michigan’s or Mizzou’s that I had dreamed of, but I told myself it was a start. Then around July 4^th of 2006, I was watching Fox news and they were talking to a group of young people and asking how many of them were going to enlist in the military. When only one or two raised their hands, something inside me said, Why not me? So two weeks later there I was being shipped off to infantry basic training. Basic changed me, both physically and mentally. It has those effects on people, and for me I learned a little about being a man. I learned about respect for authority, about pushing myself when I had nothing left, and about my responsibilities not only for myself but to others. These things I had never learned growing up. My stepfather was not much of a father and my biological father lived an hour away and had his own struggles in life to deal with. After that it was on to Germany to be in a mechanized infantry unit there. Going to Germany was great for a 19 year old who loved drinking, especially when the requirements of drinking in Germany were as simple as being able to see over the bar. So I spent the next year in Germany training and drinking with my new brothers before our unit was set to ship out to Iraq. I was excited to be doing something and finally to be using my training.  But God had other things in mind, and Iraq marked the beginning of a turn of events that God would use to bring me to Himself.

            I spent 14 months in Iraq and saw things that changed my outlook on life, and forced me to grow as a man. The city we were in was Sadr City, and at one time was labeled the most dangerous place on Earth. I saw death up close and personal for the first time, I was separated from the ones I cared for most, and I was in the middle of a war were people wanted me dead. And yet I never questioned my faith, always believed I was saved, but never really knew God. I could have easily died there in that city, without God’s grace ever coming to my life, and eternity would have been spent separated from him.

            After 14 months in Iraq, I was ready to go home, ready to leave that hot, dry and miserable place. With one month left on my tour, a fellow soldier mentioned some “muscles” I had in my neck. After having a doctor check it out, I found out that these were, in fact, not muscles.  They were lymph nodes. The doctor sent me immediately to fly out to Baghdad and from there I was sent back to Germany. There at the hospital after undergoing a biopsy I found out that I had Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Cancer. I didn’t know what to think, I was then sent to Walter Reed Medical Center in D.C. for a month of preliminary treatment and then shipped home to begin my chemotherapy treatment. At first I was a little worried but the doctors assured me this was very treatable. They told me I would be spending the next 6 months or so at home, so I was happy – happy to be back home and catch up on all the time with family and friends that I had missed.  

After the chemotherapy started to get worse and I lost my hair and some weight, I started dating a girl. I found my identity in this girl because she made me feel good about myself. I felt ashamed of the way I looked and being sick and I had always prided myself in being in great shape and trying to look “good”. This relationship was unhealthy and sinful because I set this girl to be the God of my life from whom I derived my hope, my joy, and my sorrow when things weren’t going well. This was the sin that God would use to shower His grace on me. After finishing chemotherapy and getting orders to go to Fort Bliss, TX, I wanted her to go with me. So I asked her to marry me. I had to hold onto her and the identity I found in our relationship. We married and moved to Texas. After being there a short time, she realized that this wasn’t the life she wanted. Heading back to Missouri for a check-up she told me she was not returning to Texas with me. I was broken, but I tried as much as I could to hold on to our relationship. I said whatever it took for us to stay together, we agreed that I would finish out my last year in the Army and she would stay in Missouri. After a month of being apart, she told me she wanted a divorce.

            Being in Texas when she told me this, I was broken. Here was the person that I had made the God of my life and she no longer wanted to be in it. I was depressed, I hit the lowest point in my life and was alone, I thought. Through this God placed a couple people in my path who told me about the grace of God and how he had changed their stories. I started reading my bible, beginning in Matthew I began to get a picture of this Jesus that I had claimed all my life to be a follower of. It was in Matthew chapter 7 verse 21 that I finally realized that I didn’t know this Jesus who I claimed to follow. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” This was the first time that I realized my sin, how my whole life was controlled by this sin, and how there was nothing I could do to rid myself of it. My whole life I tried be a better person or do the right thing, but sin continued to rule my life. Furthering my reading in Matthew, I came across the grace of God for the first time. I saw this God who gave up his one and only son to die on the cross for my sin, to make it his own and bear the punishment that I was due. But he didn’t stop there, He rose him from death to give us hope for a future with Him. From this point on God worked in me, and I repented of my sin, and my life was changed forever. Jesus was now a part of my story. God changed my desires and my will. I was no longer unaware of his grace-I was now baptized in it.

            I soon found out that I was entering a new battle, not one with bullets and bombs, but a spiritual one. I would love to tell you that since my conversion everything in my life has been great, but as fellow Christians you know it doesn’t work like that. I still sin and God has rebuked me and restored me time and again. God has blessed me abundantly since then, I was fortunate enough for the last two years to play college football at SEMO, I will attending UMSL in the spring for the accelerated nursing school program, and I am a part of a committed body of believers at CBC where I am now a part of the Nehemiah project.

In the amazing events that took place in my life, I think it shows the depths that God had to go to get me to stop trusting in myself and trust in him. Iraq, cancer, chemo, and a failed marriage is what it took. My testimony looks different than a lot of peoples, but I believe in a lot of ways it’s the same as everyone else’s. I faced death in Iraq, but don’t we all face death in this life? I had cancer, but don’t we all have struggles and hardships in life that we can’t control? I had a failed marriage, but don’t we all sin and fall short of the glory of God? But by God’s grace he has defeated death and we have an eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. We can cast all our cares on him for he cares for us, and he will throw our sin as far as the east is from the west. God’s grace has an answer and is the answer for every person’s story. So I would encourage you as a believer in Christ and a fellow partaker of this same grace that was extended to me, to use your story to shine God’s grace on those who have never heard of it. No matter how small or insignificant you believe your testimony to be, God’s grace is the part that matters.    

From the Nehemiah Project

For those of you who do not know, on November 2^nd, the Nehemiah guys and Cape Bible Chapel teamed up with the Salvation Army to throw the G5 Event!  The G5 Event was birthed out of anguish for the great needs of the South Cape community.  As a church we wanted to contribute to helping fulfill those needs and begin to build a greater relationship with the people that live there.  Through this event, we were able to serve a big Dexter BBQ lunch, have games and inflatables for kids, and live music performances for the community to listen to.  The event could not have gone better!  There were somewhere between 300-400 people that attended that day, which we believe is a huge win.  The community had fun, felt loved, and even got to hear the Gospel.  Our church body got to have a lot of intentional talks with folks and was able to start building good relationships with the community.  There were many people from South Cape that were very appreciative for the event and said that they felt loved by our service.  The Nehemiah guys would like to just give a huge thanks to all that helped out at the G5 Event.  Whether you donated your money, time, or prayers, we would like to say that we are very appreciative!  It was encouraging to see our church body gather and serve God’s children together.  The G5 Event was only the beginning of the impact our church wants to make on the Cape Girardeau community.  Thank you church for all of your support.  We are definitely planning on doing the G5 Event again in the future and would love for you to be a part of that as well. 

As a church we have to remember that this is just one event.  There were so many great things that God did at the G5 Event, but we believe He is calling us to do so much more.  We want to challenge us as a church to not forget about the South Cape community.  We must continue to pray, to love, and serve our city.  Why?  Because God loves them more than we good ever fathom.  God loves South Cape and wants His bride, the church, to help demonstrate His perfect love to them.  Cape Bible Chapel, let us be a church that stands up for the broken and the poor.  Let us not be a church that just throws an occasional event, but one that has giant heart for the community and loves them like Christ does. 

Thanks and much love,

The Nehemiah Guys (Joey, Jimmie, Pete, Austin, Brandon, and Corey)

Austin’s Testimony

By Austin Evans, a Nehemiah Project Intern

I came to college at Southeast in 2009 not knowing the Lord. I’d been enrolled at the University of Missouri S&T for months, and the week before Southeast closed enrollment for the year I transferred because I liked the focus of the environmental science program here more than S&T. The decision impacted the rest of my life, and I wonder if I’d be saved had I stayed at S&T. But it’s easy to see now that God never intended for me to go there, and good thing because I’d have never met the people God put in my life here in Cape to be His messengers.

I was a normal person before knowing the Lord. You wouldn’t have been surprised in any way. Morals guided my life. Dreams drove it, and I was a slave to them. I had dreams of a good science career, good money, and a good family and I figured that was enough. I didn’t know there was anything different. Most of us know that life as the American Dream, and that’s a boring life. Accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior is where things got interesting because since then He’s guided me to places I’d have never gone, for reasons I’d have never imagined, to meet people I wouldn’t want to live without. God’s fruit in my life in the past two years looks like one summer in Tampa, Florida with Campus Outreach and the next in Khon Kaen, Thailand with people I met in Tampa of course. His fruit includes a lot of dawn breaking and night owl discipleship groups, and raising $6,000 of support through His church to send me to Thailand. He’s blessed me with friendships in the Church that are priceless, such as the Senior Adult Sunday school class, and also with those my own age who are more than I deserve.

It’s also been a few years of experiencing God’s fatherhood, and that means a lot too because it’s not a full life without some spiritual spankings, pain, heartbreak, and frustration. In my last year of college I still wanted to go right to graduate school and get a nice job out west after that, and in my heart I was unwilling to be too far from my family in Ava, Missouri. (Near Branson, and no I don’t act, dance or sing.) He lovingly, slowly, and painfully, changed my heart about those things, and others. I blew my chance at graduate school for that year because of late applications and poor studying for the standardized test (I’m glad now). Through His words of “Follow Me” when calling Levi to Himself, I realized that following Jesus was worth even abandoning my family. And I never wanted to be an overseas missionary, even for a short term, but that’s what He wanted, and my desires soon followed. He put people in my life who I never thought I could love, and showed me how to love them. He put a person in my life who I thought I could love for the rest of my life and He closed the door. He’s let me taste some of the bitter consequences of my sin, and through it showed me my foolishness and renewed an urgency to abide in His greatness.

My relationship with Him has given me greater joy, sadness, peace, uncertainty, and surprises than the American Dream would ever have, and that’s in only a few years. That’s living fully. His works through things like the Nehemiah Project only continue to amaze me how He could bless me with such a wonderful opportunity to know Him and His people, and I can’t do anything but praise His goodness for that. But my life looks nothing like what I thought it would’ve if you had asked me a few years ago, and I like that. I know many of you can say the same, and it reminds me of Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 7:14 – “In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider – God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be after him.” God promises a full and adventurous life. He hasn’t let me down so far.

In love,

Austin

By: Judith Hargett

I opened the front door just as the perpetrator was leaving the scene of the crime.  Or, more likely the feline perp was leaving because I opened the door.  She wore a mangy brindle coat and sported an attitude that reeked of irritation at the interruption of her plan.  My guess is that a tasty breakfast was the intended outcome of the chase that had led to the destruction that was now spread out before me.   A large wooden birdhouse, built to look like a church, lay atop a plant that had not fared well from this escapade.  Pieces of broken coleus were scattered about the crime scene confirming my suspicion that plants find a way to perish under my care with our without my assistance.

I suspect the birdhouse, which sits by our front door, is a sanctuary for the occasional mouse that happens by with a desire for respite from the elements.  In fact, it would be a great spot for an entire mouse family to spend the winter; though eviction would be fast and possibly fatal should such presence be detected.   I’m not afraid of mice, but the front door is a little too close for comfort; so if not for the broken plant, I would have praised the predacious cat.

Just a few days later yet another feline was making a racket outside our front door.  It was snarling and hissing and generally making a terrible fuss.  I cautiously opened the door expecting to find a couple of grown tomcats about to engage in mortal combat.  Instead, I found one tiny calico kitten sitting on the step as if waiting to come in the house.  Apparently she (calicos are usually female) was hungry and very upset that mom wasn’t around to provide breakfast.  I went in search of a pan for milk, wondering how husband would react to my provision of organic milk for a stray cat.  He thinks cats are put on earth for the primary purpose of keeping the rodent population in check, not for being pets.  I knew, however, that he had a soft spot for calico cats and this one had a feisty spirit.

But when I returned with the pan of milk, the kitten was gone.  I could hear her in the neighbor’s yard howling for her mother.  I threw a sweater over my pajamas and tiptoed out into the morning darkness, a row of curlers scattered across my head like a rooster’s comb, and hoped all our neighbors were in their home sound asleep.  I couldn’t find the kitten then, but she came back that night and the next morning again crying loudly.  Husband followed the cries to her temporary hiding place under the grill cover on the patio, but she flew past him when discovered…obviously not weak from hunger.   Husband had agreed that if we could catch calico kitten, he would be willing to take her to the vet for all the necessary care.  I began imagining how comforting it would be to stroke the little creature as she purred contentedly in my lap on a cold, rainy day; but the kitten has not returned.  If she survives, she will be wild…never realizing what a pleasant life she might have had under our care.

Husband points out that people who have never been told about Christ and the plan of salvation are much like this cat.  They go through life in survival mode never realizing the blessings they are missing.  They don’t realize the opportunity they have for eternal salvation and the comfort of knowing they are under God’s protection as is written in Proverbs 1:33: “But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” And in 1Peter 3:13, “And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?”

I am convicted, having shown more concern for the welfare of this kitten than for some of the unsaved around me.  Would I be willing to face the possible embarrassment of chasing a lost soul through the neighborhood so I could offer that person the only food that truly satisfies…the living Word of God?  So, it would be good for me to remember: cats can’t be discipled but humans can.  Oh, and please don’t drop off stray kittens at our house.  Husband claims this was a one-time offer, applying only to this little calico kitty.

If you have ever had the privilege of being in a Bible study with Norma Greene, you have probably also had the opportunity to hear some of her stories about the early days of Cape Bible Chapel and the years that led up to its planting.  People have pestered Norma over the years to write down some of those stories.  She has been steadfast in her refusals.  Norma says husband Hal was the writer in the family and it had been his intention to write up the Chapel’s history after he retired.  Hal passed away in 2005 at the age of 79 having never quite gotten around to retiring.  But in a moment of weakness….well, maybe not weakness because Norma prays about everything…so, maybe in an effort to quiet the persistent naggers, she wrote down the condensed version of the Chapel’s beginning.

CapeBible Chapel History, the Beginning –

By: Norma Greene

In January 1965 the Greene family arrived in Cape Girardeau.  Our family of five consisted of my Hal, me and our three sons: Jack, Dan and Little Hal. Little Hal’s name was later changed to Norm by his older brothers. God had brought us here to plant a New Testament local church.  We had been informed it would be difficult for an Irishman in a German/Dutch area.  (Hal was born in County Westmeath, Southern Ireland.)  But God…He does the impossible.  That is proven by the fact He could use this family.

            We had been in Nashville for fourteen years, and God had used us to help plant a local church there.  When you follow His leadings, watch out for His blessings.  They are amazing.  Church planting is not easy and one could become discouraged easily.  Hal and I stood on the verses given us in guidance and God brought the increase. 

            There were several families who prayed and assisted greatly in the start of Cape Bible Chapel.  God will reward them for their faithfulness to be a witness for Him.  Hal was close friends with George Nelson, an elder at Emmaus Bible Chapel in St.   Louis.  The St. Clairs (Steve and Dottie, Chapel supported missionaries with Christian Missions in Many Lands-Philippines) and Carolyn Helderman came from that church.  Steve and Carolyn were with us when they were students at SEMO. 

            Emmaus Bible Chapel let us use their building plans when we built at the corner of CapeRock and Lombardo.  (Bennett Family Dentistry now occupies that building.  A pew still sits in the waiting room.)  We changed some things in the Emmaus plans but were pleased we did not have the expense of getting plans drawn up.  We moved into that location in 1969.  That was a happy day.

            That’s all from Norma…for the time being.  Perhaps she will share a few more memories on another day and tell how she saw God at work as the Chapel family grew and moved to its current location on Kage   Road.

By: James Green

We have choices to make everyday; some weighty and significant, others of the “fries or onion rings” variety (which, of course, can turn out to be pretty weighty…). Christ followers have the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us towards obedience and God’s best plan for each of us, still, sometimes the best choices just aren’t crystal clear.  Sometimes, people make decision based on emotions, finances, desires and preferences or some other external factor and then need hindsight to see where we got off track in following God’s plan; but what about situations where we make a decision and God says “No” – even though we totally thought we were following Him?

This is what happened to the Apostle Paul during his 2nd missionary journey.  In Acts 16:6-7, Paul (who was faithfully following the Lord and bearing fruit on the way!) was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to go to the place where he really wanted to go: Asia.  This passage serves as a great reminder for each of us that sometimes “No” from God is a “No” of guidance.  The way we are wired, most of us only seem to like affirmative guidance – but clearly, Scripture points us to three important things to remember when God tells us “No”:

1) God knows the future – we don’t!  Paul had no idea that he was going to receive a call to Macedonia, where he would pick up a pretty important traveling companion (Dr. Luke – the man that God used to record the inspired writings in Luke and Acts that make up, by volume, almost one half of the New Testament!).  When God tells us “No”, we need to remember that He is sovereign over all things and we often can’t remember what we had for breakfast, let alone know what tomorrow will bring (if we receive another day as a gift from God!).

2) God has plans to use other people too!  Take a look at 1 Peter 1:1 and we see that Peter’s letter is addressed to many, including believers in both Asia and Bithynia (the two places Paul was forbidden to go).  Clearly, God hadn’t ignored the people in these regions, He just desired to use Peter and his disciples to reach them.  I remember when God called me to leave my position with Young Life and come on staff at the Chapel.  I had prideful thoughts that the ministry of Young Life would probably really struggle without all of my incredible skills!  Well, Southeast Missouri Young Life is doing just fine and had an outreach club with 102 kids in attendance just a couple weeks ago – all without any help from me (other than praying!).

3) The God who tells us “No” is the same God who has called us into a relationship with Him!  Paul was certainly willing to follow Jesus when He appeared to him on the Damascus Road in Acts 9.  However, in Acts 16, Paul appears distraught when the Spirit of Jesus guides him away from something.  God, who fearfully and wonderfully made each one of us, has a plan to prosper each one of us.  He doesn’t mind the fact that we prepare for things (as a matter of fact, He discourages idleness – He doesn’t want us to sit around twiddling our thumbs and waiting on Him; just read 2 Thessalonians as a reminder!), He simply wants us to remember that when we make plans, He is the one who guides our steps (Proverbs 16:9).

How are we doing with allowing God to guide our steps as we engage in the disciplemaking process?  Is God saying “no” to our pursuits and leading us towards following Him; dying to ourselves and investing in others to make disciples who make disciples?  I can guarantee that’s one area God won’t say “no”!

by: Jimmie Miller

“So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple servants, and some of the common people settled near Jerusalem.….” (-Nehemiah 7:73)

“We have cast sacred lots to determine when—at regular times each year—the families of the priests, Levites, and the common people should bring wood to God’s Temple to be burned on the altar of the Lord our God, as is written in the Law. “(- Nehemiah 10:34)

The town’s people of Judah, in Nehemiah, were referred to as common people here in the New Living Translation of the bible. But just how “common” were they? If you’re familiar with the book of Nehemiah, you know the so called “common people” built a massive, three mile long wall around their city as well as exiled everyone else who was not of Jewish decent, all within 52 days. Not to mention, they were surrounded by opposition and possible militant attacks. Was this accomplished by mere coincidence? Or maybe it was accomplished by one great leader, like Nehemiah? No. This was all in the hands of God for His divine glory, but I would like to take a moment to study the “common” people of Judah and God’s strategy for them.

Although they had been defeated for many decades and their wall lay in rubble for over 100 years, they never completely lost their faith in God. A piece of their culture still remained after being defeated by three major world powers at the time; Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia. Judah was defeated but not broken and when Nehemiah was added to the equation, it filled them with great joy to know that God had come back to rebuild the city; ultimately restoring them back to Him. It was prayer and strategic leadership that allowed them to accomplish this great work. But what exactly was the “strategic plan” that God ordained to rebuild His wall and restore His chosen people?

“Above the Horse Gate, the priests repaired the wall. Each one repaired the section immediately across from his own house.” (- Nehemiah 3:28)

This is our answer to God’s strategy for restoring His children and the wall. Each common person does the work placed right in front of them across from his own house. Ensuring a strong wall and creating a Godly community. Although common, the people were rare. The people of Judah stood up for their culture, acted on God’s plan, and executed it with little hesitation.

Additionally, I believe this is also God’s strategy for discipleship. The entire body of Christ is not called to mission trips across seas. Rather, the majority of us are called to disciple the people in our own neighborhoods. God’s master plan in this situation wasn’t to send people across the land and build a wall in Samaria first, but to establish the wall in front of every common man’s door step. This strategy also assured that the wall would be strong enough to withstand an attack.

What if we took this approach with discipleship? Build the walls of the kingdom right in front of your home and strengthen the believers on your neighborhoods. I believe this would create an awesome community of believers, strong for the body of Christ; which might also look a lot like the church we see in Acts. So to every “common” person reading this blog, I challenge you to step outside your door and rebuild the portion of the wall set before you.

By: Judith Hargett

 It sounded like a giant bumble bee as it zoomed past my ear.  This flying torpedo barely avoided hitting me and was only able to miss the collision due to its excellent maneuvering skills.  Hummingbirds are the top-gun pilots of the bird world.  This one was focused on the lone, hot pink, zinnia that had sprouted up in the cannas’ bed.  The zinnia looked out of place.  A seed had somehow gotten to that spot and germinated, and I wasn’t about to pull up something with a pretty bloom just because it wasn’t in the perfect spot.  A good reminder to us when God plants us somewhere we don’t want to be.  We can flourish right where we are when we take in His rich food.

      There is something else in our yard that is not in a perfect spot, and that is Stray Cat.  He has worn out his welcome by making the area around the bird feeders his favorite place to sit…twitching his tail and licking his lips in anticipation of a light-as-a-feather treat.  The final straw remaining in his welcome mat was recently yanked out when blue feathers were found beneath the feeder…no longer attached to their owner…a strong indication of foul, fowl play.  Once accustomed to roaming the hills in search of daily provisions, Stray Cat quickly discovered what too many humans have learned.  It is easier to take advantage of the largesse of well-meaning individuals than to get out and hustle up one’s own provisions.  While it is always good to help those who have suffered misfortune, the help should normally be temporary, allowing an opportunity for the person to regain physical or financial strength…not crippling dependence. 

      The cat, while appearing to be the hunter, had also fallen prey to his own weakness.  He was so attracted by the colorful birds—seemingly organized as a bird smorgasbord for his dining convenience—that he became increasingly unwilling to give up his position even though we gave him repeated warnings.  My arm waving and yelling, “Scat cat,” were clearly no longer having the desired effect. A relocation program must be considered.

      Again, I am reminded of human behavior patterns.  When we allow ourselves to be around people and places that are detrimental to our spiritual health, we are giving the enemy an opportunity to pounce.  Continued exposure dulls our judgment until we are totally blind to what is happening. Those of us who see this happening to fellow followers of Christ have an obligation to point out their failing vision to them in a loving manner.    New Christians in particular need mature believers to come alongside them for they are prime targets of satan.  Though he has lost the battle for their soul, He will be working diligently to stunt their spiritual growth and any positive influence they might have on an unbelieving friend or family member. (Pointing out sinful behavior to unbelievers may be good advice, but they don’t have the Holy Spirit to reveal sin and convict their heart.  Our duty to them is to share the Gospel.)

      So to summarize: 1) Grow where you’re planted; 2) Remove yourself from places and things that are detrimental to your spiritual health; and 3) Never get caught with feathers in your mouth.

      Now some advice from Paul: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.  For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”  Galatians 5:16-17

by Stan Crader

April 30, 1789. Newly inaugurated President George Washington gave a prophetic warning at Federal Hall in New York City. He declared that America’s prosperity and protection were dependent upon its adherence to God. Later, the political leaders of the young nation gathered at St. Paul’s Chapel to commit the nation’s future to God’s purposes. That chapel is located at Ground Zero and miraculously survived 9/11 virtually unscathed.

The following are three sentences taken from Washington’s first inaugural address. In these three sentences Washington clearly testifies to his belief in God and God’s providence over America. What Washington describes as a providential agency would later be called America’s hedge of protection. Clearly that invisible protective hand was present during America’s struggle for independence and later, at least for St. Paul’s Chapel, on that fateful day known now as 9/11.

“Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency; and in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their united government the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities from which the event has resulted cannot be compared with the means by which most governments have been established without some return of pious gratitude, along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage.”