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Articles from this month's issue of the Berean News |
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Viewpoints "You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions." Proverbs 6:6-8 (The Message) Of all God's creatures, one that we can really admire and leam from is the lowly ant. The ant works today for tomorrow. Another way of putting it is that the ant knows what time it is in life! A lot of people are not that smart. Some live almost exclusively in the past. You have seen these people - they are the people who, when they travel, are so concemed about taking photos to show when they get home, that they forget to enjoy the sights in front of them. And when they do get home, they coerce their friends into evenings of bouncy home videos. They drive through life looking in a rearview mirror. Others live only in the present. Their favorite Bible verse is "Now is the accepted time". Or worse, it might be "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." They live for today as though there were no tomorrow. Then there are those who live in the future. Their favorite song is from the play, Annie: "Tomorrow, tomorrow....is only a day away." Or maybe it is the song that Dorothy sings in the Wizard of Oz - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." They constantly talk about "after I get married or graduate or get promoted or retire then I'll finally get my pot of gold." Unfortunately, for most of us, that tomorrow never comes. The ant, in contrast, knows what time it is. He has developed an instinct to prepare himself in the present. He works in the summer to prepare for the winter. One of the ways that we can emulate the ant is to study the Word of God. Throughout the book of Proverbs, wise teachers urge us to know the Word - to study it - memorize it - meditate upon it. Why? Because it will guide, guard, and protect us in the days to come. For some, that winter may be a disease that becomes part of your life or part of the life of someone you love. Or maybe your lifelong goal or desire suddenly tums sour, dashing all your dreams. Perhaps it has to do with the children you brought into the world with hope and joy and expectation, only to see them tum their backs on the things you value most. For all of us, sometime, winter will come. Though the ant has little strength, it uses what it has to prepare for the future. Ants attend picnics but they don't relax. While you are sitting back munching on your hamburger, the ants are carrying off the crumbs that you drop, one grain at a time. If you don't watch for them, they will be back for your potato chips as well! They are always at it, working, straining carrying the load. Instinctively, they know they must use the summer to prepare for the winter that is lying ahead. That means we must be people of the Word. We must not only read our Bibles but study them as well. Bible study is not easy. It takes a great deal of effort to understand the text, and even more to understand how it applies to our lives. We like to think that when we study the Bible, it is like getting a shot of spiritual adrenaline. But studying the Bible is more like taking vitamins. You take a couple in the morning, but no sudden wave of energy flows through your body. No, you take vitamins because they fortify you against disease. In the long run, they make you strong. Studying the Bible, knowing God's truths, likewise, can help us be ready for winter's worst. Follow the example of the ant! --Dennis Thorfeldt |
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Perspective Do you know what VeggieTales are? Have you ever watched a VeggieTale? I was first introduced to VeggieTales by my niece Hannah. VeggieTales are stories and lessons told by singing and dancing vegetables. Bob and Larry are the lead veggies. They tell Biblical stories and teach Christian values and lessons. So why am I writing about VeggieTales? Because I live in Lombard, Illinois, which is about to become the VeggieTale capital of the world. In fact, just before Christmas, there was a VeggieTale Spectacular on PAX TV, "straight from Lombard, Illinois." A man named Phil Vischer is the founder and president of Big Idea Productions, which makes VeggieTales. Phil started out small in his home a few years ago making animated videos. He says he did vegetables because he had trouble drawing arms and legs. He took his idea and sample videos to several stores and discount chains. They liked the videos, but wanted him to drop the Christian and Biblical messages. He refused and was able to sell only about 500 of his videos the first year. As VeggieTales caught on (mostly through Christian book stores and word of mouth), requests for the videos and for shirts, puppets, books, etc. started pouring in. The company founded by Phil grew at an unbelievable rate in a very short time. Discount chains came to him and asked to sell his Christian videos in their stores. Phil built a new house (Steve Knapp worked on it) for his family and started looking for a new site for the ever-expanding Big Idea Productions. The DuPage Theater has stood idle in downtown Lombard for the last few years. It is a 70-year-old theater housed in a large building that takes up almost an entire block. Both the theater and building had become a controversial issue in Lombard. The building was decaying badly, was not up to building code standards, and sometimes lost power for its other tenants (which included a small, popular restaurant, several small stores, and apartment renters on the second floor). It was quickly becoming an eyesore for the area. The owner was uncooperative with inspectors and with the town and seemed to use a local committee (which wanted to restore the theater) for his own purposes. The restoration group was attempting to raise money to purchase the building. Phil Vischer and his veggies came to town. He has so far been a Christian witness for the town of Lombard. He bought the building (for over a million dollars), immediately allowed all inspectors in, met with the Village Board, met with the restoration group and listened to their ideas and plans, and informed all present renters and tenants that they could continue rent free (for several months) until they could find other places to move to. The company plans to return the theater to its original 1928 condition. The entire building will be renovated and after a 35,000 square-foot, two-story addition is constructed, it will be the headquarters for VeggieTales and house the largest animation studio in the Midwest. The theater will host the premieres of Big Idea's new productions, hold public events in cooperation with side organizations, and provide children the opportunity to learn about the animation process. Over 100 employees will eventually work there. Future plans include the possibility of a VeggieTales restaurant, souvenir store, video store, etc. Work has already begun. Big Idea also just purchased an additional 0.86 acre plot of land just south of the theater. We hope it all works out. We hope that the veggies will continue to tell the Christian story and be popular with all age groups. And we hope that Big Idea will continue to be a positive force and Christian witness in and to our cornmunity. --Larry Urbaniak |
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Other Happenings On January 17, the church approved the purchase of a land tract on Rt. 53 in Lombard, based on contingencies that Lombard zoning and other requirements would permit us to build the type and size of building we need and can afford. Since then the Building Comrnittee has been meeting with Lombard and various other agencies and companies. There definitely is more involved in this than one would have imagined, but the pieces are slowly coming together. Updates will be provided as more certain information is known. This is the church that is meeting in our building on Saturdays and Wednesday evenings. Roy Boswell and I went to their all day Saturday meeting on January 16. We were very warmly received and graciously hosted. Their first meeting is a study of four different groups based on age and language. They have a happy praise and worship service, and then a talk. At their request, I gave a short talk on faith and love in the morning. All had lunch together and very good fellowship. We discussed the upcoming seminar with Laurie Iannaccone, the Memorial, and the May Convention at which both groups will be at the activities at the same time. The afternoon was a scripture reading and discussion, a praise and worship service, and then another talk by their minister. We look forward to attending more of their services in the future, and them joining some of ours. There is a very strong common bond of love (Agape). After a long struggle with cancer from a brain tumor, Mark DeWys of Grand Rapids died January 20. He was the husband of Denise and the father of Paul (12), Ben (10), and Lauren (8). His mother and father are Gene and Mary, his brothers are Matt and Jon, and his sister is Leah Carpenter, all of Grand Rapids. Visitation for Mark was Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 23 and 24, with the funeral service on Monday, January 25. Throughout his bout with cancer he was an outstanding example of a Christian on fire for the Lord, witnessing to all whom he met, and to everyone at the manufacturing plant he owned. His life deeply touched many as witnessed at his funeral. There were almost uncountable flowers and over 950 people in attendance on Monday at the church service. In addition to a local minister, Mike Knapp gave a stirring eulogy at the service addressing the strong example of a Christian hero that Mark was and urging all in the audience to follow his example. He especially spoke of Mark as a hero to his children. He pointed out the value and blessed effect of being a Christian like Mark who not only knows the truth, but who lives it to the fullest. May the light that Mark lit continue in the legacy he left behind to all who knew him and were blessed by him. We should continue to remember them all in prayer. --Joe Knapp |
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Contributions "Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples ... As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'" (Acts 9:1,3-4, NIV) Many achievements in life have come from a setback, an accident, or some kind of crisis or even suffering. For instance, the first cars had to be started by cranking the motor by hand. At times, the engine would "kick" back the crank handle. This happened to Charles Kettering and it broke his arm. "There must be a safer way to start cars than this," Kettering reasoned, and he went on to invent self-starters for cars. Jacob Schick was prospecting for gold where the temperature fell to 40 degrees below zero. He couldn't shave with a blade-so he invented the first electric shaver. Eugene O'Neill had no specific goal or aim in life until he became ill and had to go to the hospital. While lying flat on his back, he began to write his plays. A number of years ago, I had my second heart surgery which put me in the hospital for a few weeks, and after the surgery I was told by my doctor that I would be unable to return to my job. For many years, I had been battling a sense of God's call to become an active Christian again, but never acted on it until I was flat on my back with time to reflect on my life and where I had misplaced my priorities. It was there in the hospital that I said °Okay, God, you win. I know what you want me to do." That was the day I made the decision to go back to church and later to attend the preachers training classes. After learning how to give sermons and lead Bible studies, I then accepted the position of Church Deacon. Now I know what the Lord wanted me to be doing all along. So, when things go wrong in your life and you experience a major setback, like losing your job or having an accident, perhaps God has something for you to learn, or something else he wants you to do. The important thing is to be open to what God is saying. Often a disaster is "God's wake up call" to teach us an important lesson, to help us grow, or to lead us in a different direction. Most of us are not going to be struck down like Saul [Paul] was and hear a voice from heaven and be left blind for three days when God calls. Some of us, though, who are hard-headed have to be hit over the head as it were with a "two-by-four" for God to get our attention [like me]. But for most of us, God leads through his Word, our circumstances, and through a "still small voice" within that gives us a sense of what God wants us to do. If we are "listening" and daily commit and trust our life to Christ and are willing to do what God wants us to do, even though it can be frustrating waiting, he will in his time and/or when we are ready, lead us in the direction he wants us to go. --Roy R. Boswell The walk along the lake was heavenly for a while A blanket of white now covered the trail My heart sank in fear and began to pound Surely, I admired the snow's beauty so grand But blasts of cold wind and fast falling snow My fingers and toes grew numb from the cold Would the fuzzy snowflakes blind my sight? As my footsteps sank beneath the snow Would I slip on this ice and fall through a crack? While the chilly north wind blew and blew A glimmer of hope began to glow My heat grew calm from fearing the Master's call Faith and courage were now at my side Trusting God to guide the way And now as my story ends and folds Now when I walk along a snowy shore Through the Master's voice came a triumphant flow --Alice Gmiterek Ryden |
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