April 2001

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Heart to Heart
by Pastor Richard Wright
Romans 8:28 says "We know that in everything, God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose". (RSV) It is hard for us at times to understand this text. We don’t always feel that God is working for our good, nor can we always see that His is. We suffer from discouragement. We lose a job and we ask why? Why when I love God and try my best to serve Him? I wish I had all the answers to life’s perplexing problems. I do know, and I’m sure you know, that God is the only answer and someday we will understand why.

One of my favorite quotes is from the book Desire of Ages (Pg. 225) "God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him."

When we put our faith, our hope, our trust in God we know that He has our best interest at heart. He who created us, who made us in His image knows just what we need when we need it. He knows just what is necessary to refine and prepare us for His kingdom.

We know that God will make everything that happens to us in this life come out for the good, as long as we trust Him and remain true to the purpose for which He called. We are special to Him and we can rejoice that He has called us.

Who Am I???
1.  I weigh 2240 ounces.
2.  My family name is the same as the inventor of the first radio tube.
3.  My mother was my school teacher.

Answer to March’s Newsletter WHO AM I?
    Winnie Hodson

Assignment for this month!!!
What Bible character are you most like and why?
Which Bible character most inspires you and for what reason?
Submit your thoughts to fchodson@hodsonhome.com or PO Box 469, Oxford, ME 04270, or you can hand it to me personally at church.

Woodstock Whitetail Happenings
By Barb Glover
The month of March put the Woodstock Whitetails Pathfinder Club another step closer to completing their requirements for the Friend AY Class. They are currently learning about the Church's Heritage and how the Adventist Church was founded. Through several worship periods, the pathfinders have been viewing the historical prologue to the book Early Writings. The club has written a brief summary of each section of this prologue so the pathfinder can keep it on file for future use. One interesting fact that caught the pathfinders attention was that our church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the Advent Christian Church share some of its beginning roots.

The club also completed the Drilling and Marching honor. I must say, coming from a club with 3-4 members to a club with 14 members makes the Drilling and Marching honor much more interesting, full, and fun. Even the pathfinders got a chuckle out of each other. The Bucks thought it was quite a sight watching the Does learn a new command, but the Does got to smirk at the Bucks as well when they tried to execute the same, left and right columns.

Bowling was our Field Trip for the month. On Thursday, March 15, we all met at the Oxford Hills Bowling Lanes and enjoyed two games of candlepin bowling. We occupied three lanes and the pathfinders really got a kick out of the hip-hop music and the disco colored lights. Trying to keep score with spinning lights and loud music was a challenge. Communicating how many pins went down over the noise of the bowling alleys, the music, and pathfinders singing along probably gave the Pathfinders an advantage. I was glad when the lights (the real lights) went back on and we got back to regular bowling alley noises. The Pathfinders themselves were somewhat glad too, because now they could once again "see" the lanes they were throwing the balls down (smile).

Pathfinder Sabbath is fast approaching and we hope you will all join us May 5 as the kids do the service and as we Invest the Pathfinders into the Friend AY Class through an Investiture Service. Until next month...

Woodstock 8^th Grade Happenings
By Barb Glover
The 8^th Grade Class of Forestdale school is anxiously awaiting April 15 to arrive. This will be the start of their Class Trip to Washington D.C. Plans have been finalized and funds have been raised. Some of their itinerary includes the Washington Mall, the National Geographic Building, the Zoological Park, Mt. Vernon, The Smithsonian, and the Federal Triangle.

The month of March brought about an Ice Cream Sundae Fundraiser accompanied by a Game Night. Due to the extra supplies, the 8^th Graders also sold ice cream sundaes at school. Everyone enjoyed the chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream topped with hot fudge, chocolate syrup, butterscotch, caramel, colored sprinkles, whipped cream, and a cherry! Ask any of the teachers if we can do that again ... ?!

Once again, a big "thank you" goes out to you! You have supported our fund raising efforts and have given the students enough funds for their trip as well as graduation. We appreciate your support of the returnable cans and bottles through the white barrels and we want you to know that without you, trips such as this, would not be possible.

THANK YOU!!

Poem
Written by Pamela Mason
Spring Will Come Again

Why do I feel so far away
When most of my family is here?
How can I feel so discouraged
With my Heavenly Father so near?

I know the warmth of Spring is coming
Tho’ my heart feels the dead of Winter;
It beats, but is cold as my babies heads
When last they were touched and kissed.

Time will heal to some degree
The great wounds that I bear.
Christ carries my heavy burdens,
My grief and all my care.

Spring will come again to my heart,
I have to cling to this.
God whispers to me, "You will be alright",
These words I will never dismiss.

Note
YOUR CHANCE TO CONTRIBUTE ONCE AGAIN!!!!
At Woodstock SDA’s church website located at www.hodsonhome.com/woodstocksda 
You will find a section entitled "Richard Fleming’s favorite links"  I appreciate his input and I know you’ll find many of those links very fascinating. Pleas feel free to submit your favorite "Christian links" as well!!

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Logic Problem
Paul asked Philemon to keep a guest room ready for him. So what happened when he finally did show up? Was the runaway slave Onesimus with him? This logic problem supposes that 5 people did stay in Philemon’s house one night-Philemon and his wife, Apphia, their son Archippus, Paul & Onesimus. (Scholars really do think that Apphia was Philemons’s wife and that Archippus may have been their son). You should also note that Paul called Onesimus "my son" spiritually speaking, in verse 10. (For the purposes of this puzzle, assume that Onesimus is the only person that Paul would call "son.") Anyway, this problem suggests that the five people stayed in five different rooms, each of a different color. And each did something different before retiring for the night. Match the person to the activity and the color of the room.

1. The purple room went to someone whose name began with P.
2. One person read the letters of Paul before retiring for the night, but it wasn’t Paul.
3. The person in the brown room was male.
4. The person who prayed before retiring and the person who sang a song of praise, had names that began with the same letter.
5. The person in the white room did some reading.
6. One person read from the Old Testament, but it wasn’t Apphia or her husband.
7. The person who read from the Gospels was not in the scarlet room.
8. Archippus did not read.
9. The person in the gray room was not Onesimus.
10. The scarlet room housed the person who read Paul’s epistles
11. Paul did not read from the gospels that night.
12. "Goodnight, my son" said the person in the white room to the person who prayed before bed.

Answer to last month’s Biblical Riddle was:
        A Whale

Do You Like Junk?
By Laurie Wilson
Do you like junk? I have tons of junk inside my house but do I want to throw it out? Yes, some, and I do get rid of a lot but the 32 cupboards (Yes 32) in my kitchen always seem to accumulate more than expected, especially during yard sale season! It’s strange to think of this, but I really wouldn’t be happy if there was nothing but furniture and of course food and clothing in our home. What about all the electric appliances that take up half the space and spoil us terribly? Back to the question. Do you like junk? Most of us do keep it for many reasons. What good is the black sweater that I won’t wear until I find the perfect skirt to match it and only if it is at a bargain price? Or maybe that book that I fell in love with years ago and now sits on the shelf collecting dust. I guess I should pass it on to a friend so it will get used again. I sometimes consider the TV as a piece of junk also and not furniture. When the time comes we will have to part with all that we have and it will not be easy, but for now I believe the good Lord and our provider looks down and laughs at the junk we have and says, "have fun with what you have and enjoy life!!!"

A story was once told of a man’s wife who had a wardrobe of real nice clothes that she was saving for that "special occasion". One day she unexpectedly passed away and that special occasion never came.

Acts 20:34—Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me.

Love,
Laurie Wilson

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In My Humble Opinion
Thoughts Shared by Lamplighter Editor—Christie Hodson
Out of the mouth of our 4 year old son this past month came something that reminded me of a very important fact. Having woken up in the middle of the night to the sounds of his screams from a bad dream, I walked into our son’s room to console him back to sleep. While trying to do so I suggested we ask Jesus to take away his fears and bad dreams so he could go back to sleep. Catching me off guard he informed me that "that would not work". "What do you mean that won’t work?" I asked. He said with great conviction. "It won’t work because Jesus is dead." He had seen several pictures of Jesus on the cross and wrapped up in the tomb and had at 2:30 in the morning left me speechless with what he saw as the truth. "Jesus is dead & could not help him in his time of need." After a quick lesson on the reality that Jesus is alive & at home with his Dad in heaven building houses for us all, that seemed to be enough for our sleepy eyed preschooler to accept. He quickly fell asleep.

A cute story at first but as time has passed it kept my mind contemplating the object lesson it contained for me. Jesus lives!!

After losing my father over 2 1/2 years ago I never realized how much pain the human heart could endure. The reality of your loved one being gone forever leaves you in a state of shock frequently. When you’re able to look at things with a clearer perspective you remember that your loved one is but asleep waiting to be awakened upon Christ’s return. But they’re gone presently. Not there to share your joys, your sorrows, your kids, your accomplishments and your love. That reality is enough to make the heart ache and the tears to fall. We finally go on, knowing that our loved one is not coming back. They are dead (asleep). But God, as He will awaken our loved ones, awoke Jesus from the grave & called Him home. He’s alive! He was alive then, He is alive now! He IS available for us to share our joys, our fears, our questions, our love. He is available to help take away the fears of a bad dream. He’s alive. We must not forget that fact. He lives! Even as we live now, we know that at one point we will die. But by our choice to invite Jesus into our hearts we WILL HAVE LIFE! Romans 6:23 states that "When someone sins he earns what sin pays, death, But God gives us a free gift, life forever in Christ, Jesus our Lord" We must not lose that faith that Jesus lives. Upon invitation He will live in our hearts forever. I can’t help but be excited about that! The lyrics below this editorial couldn’t have said it any better. "For all that I believe may never change the way it is. Unless I believe Jesus lives!"

Where There Is Faith
by 4 Him

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A Defining Moment
"The Gospel "

Since the fall of Adam, the father of the human race, God has promised through the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament to redeem sinful humanity. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that promise. Therefore, in the New Testament the word "gospel" is used to announce the unconditional good news of salvation for all mankind realized in the holy history of our Lord Jesus Christ (Mk. 16:15,16; Rom. 1:1-4; 10:13-15). In a nutshell, the gospel may be described as the truth as it is in Christ.

The apostle Paul defines this gospel as "the righteousness of God" (Rom. 1:16, 17; 3:21). By this he meant that the gospel is a righteousness initiated and planned by God before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4; Rev. 13:8), promised by God since the fall (Gen. 3:15), and fulfilled by God in Christ’s holy history (Jn. 3:16, 17; Gal. 4:4, 5). In other words, it is a righteousness entirely of God’s doing and without any human contribution whatsoever (Rom. 3:28; Gal. 2:16). In this gospel, God has obtained salvation full and complete for all humanity, so that in Christ mankind stands perfect and complete before God and His holy law (Col. 2:10; Rom. 10:4). This salvation delivers from three predicaments that sinful humanity faces. They are:

The first salvation is the means of our justification; the second is the means of our sanctification; and the third is the means of our glorification. It is important that every believer realize that while Christians can claim justification as an already established fact (Rom. 5:1), sanctification is an ongoing, present continuous, experience (1 Thes. 4:2-7; 5:23); and glorification is a future hope to be realized at the second coming of Christ (Rom. 8:24, 25; Phil.3:20,21).

All three aspects of salvation have already been accomplished or fulfilled in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence all three aspects of salvation are offered to mankind in Christ and they cannot be separated. Whom God has justified He will glorify, provided we do not turn our backs on Him through unbelief (Rom. 8:30; Heb. 10:38, 39). In view of this, all three aspects of salvation constitute the Good News of salvation, and since they all come to us in one parcel, Jesus Christ, they are inseparable and we cannot choose to receive one without the other.

Further, everything we experience in terms of our salvation in this world and the world to come is based on the finished work of our Lord. This means that the ground of all Christian experience is the holy history of Christ. For this reason, it becomes vital that we should be grounded in the truth as it is in Him. If our knowledge concerning Christ’s earthly mission is wrong then naturally our experience will be wrong. Likewise, if our knowledge of the truth in Christ is partial or incomplete, so will be our experience. It is for this reason Jesus taught, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" (Jn. 8:32, 36).

(By E.H. (Jack) Sequiera, taken from a bible study he wrote entitled, "The Gospel Defined.)
http://www.capitalmemorial.org/dyunit3a.htm  

Note
Some people so treasure the truth that they use it with great ecomony

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www.gospeltruth.org
Within Adventism today some five different kinds of gospels can be heard:

The conservatives in our midst are preaching the Armenian gospel, which is anything but good news: that I must first meet God’s requirements of faith, repentance, and confession before He will put me into Christ and save me. Thus, instead of being good news, the gospel has become good advice. Unfortunately, the great majority of our people have failed to meet all of God’s requirements and, therefore, have been robbed of the joy and assurance of salvation. As a result, many are leaving the church in discouragement.

Then you have the traditionalists who claim to be upholding Historic Adventism. They are preaching a Galatian type of Gospel: salvation is not by faith alone or grace alone but by faith plus works or grace plus keeping the law. This is a subtle form of legalism that has produced a Pharisaical people who are always criticizing those who do not see as they do or whose behavior is not conforming to the do’s and don’ts of the church.

At the other extreme we have the liberals who are preaching the social gospel. That is: the gospel is practicing the life of Christ, going about doing good. This is a sophisticated form of legalism. Yes, the true gospel will produce a people who will go about doing good, but that is the fruits of the gospel and not the gospel itself. Any form of works that we do that is equated with the gospel is legalism. The gospel is the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, period. Nothing must be added to that or we are perverting the gospel.

Since the sixties another gospel has been introduced into Adventism: the evangelical gospel. While there is much truth in this gospel, it is an incomplete gospel. Its emphasis is on salvation from the guilt and punishment of sin only, our ego-centric concerns. But the gospel did not only save us from the guilt and punishment of sin but also from sin itself and our slavery to it. This brings us to the fifth gospel, which I believe is the true and full gospel God raised the Advent Movement to restore and proclaim.

This is the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14.
The gospel is the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, period. The birth of Christ plays an important part in our salvation since it qualified Him to be our Substitute and Representative. The life of Christ is important since He lived a perfect life on our behalf and thus met the positive demands of the law. The death of Christ is important because it redeemed fallen humanity from the curse of the law. The resurrection of Christ plays a vital part in our salvation because it is in the resurrection that God gave us the eternal life of His Son, in exchange for our condemned life which came to an end at the cross. This made it possible for Christ’s humanity to rise from the dead. This new life is what makes it possible for all who believe in Christ to pass from death to life. This is the good news of the gospel. (Jn. 5:24,2 Cor. 5:14,17;1 Pet. 1:3)

Favorite Scriptures and Why
Deuteronomy 29:29
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of the law.”

This has always been my favorite text because it tells me that the Lord does not expect me to know everything, but to understand what He has revealed to me. God has kept some things secret because He knows me better than I know myself. When the time is right those things will be made clear. I have experienced this in my walk with the Lord. It is as a little child, I learn the wonders of His love. I learn as I grow in His love. Thank God for His patience with me.
Gen Soloninka

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
“ho are living at that time will be with the Lord but not before those who have already died. The Lord Himself will come down from heaven. There will be a loud command with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God. And those who have died and were in Christ will rise first. After that, those who are still alive at that time will be gathered up with thWe believe that Jesus died and that He rose again. So, because of Jesus, God will bring together with Jesus those who have died. What we tell you now is the Lord’s own message. We who are living now may still be living when the Lord comes again. We wem. We will be taken up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. So comfort each other with these words.”

This is my favorite text because of the promise God gives to us and the home that we have as surely as Christ died & rose again. He will return to this earth and take us home to be with Him forever and also that those who have gone before believing in Him will also live again. How can I not love a God who loves me so much!!!

Winnie Mulkern

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