Articles from this month's issue of the Berean News

Viewpoint Are you J2C Ready? This article is being written on Christmas morning: that very special morning when we remember the birth of Jesus our Savior. We remember His lowly birth, His life filled with compassion for mankind, yet in return He received only rejection and sorrow. Christ's mission was to save the world from sin and its consequence of death, but in order to redeem the world, He had to give His perfect life and suffer a horrible death on a cross. This is the true message of Christmas, but in today's world, this message is all but lost. Most people do not know the message of Christ, nor do they care. We are now celebrating the second millennium after Christ's birth. This year the emphasis of the holiday season has been almost completely centered on the coming of the next millennium. The concerns of the world have overshadowed the meaning of the birth of Christ and the Y2K bug has become the most important thing in conversations, media reports and economic forecasting. The new millennium is bringing with it fears of the future, forecasting of the end of the world, speculation and threats of terrorists acts, concerns over the unavailability of material goods, fuel, energy, and food. There is fear of an interruption in communications and even an economic disaster. The forecasters of doom have been having a heyday, and even the Christian community has had a revival of prophecy by some who are predicting a fear-filled end of the age. But in this worry and concern, there is very little talk of Jesus, His birth 2000 years ago and what that meant for mankind. There is very little mention of His second coming, when we will see Him again. What we are witnessing instead is the strength of Satan through his ability to control the hearts and minds of mankind. Satan has been able to take our minds off of Christ, His sacrifice for us, and the hope of His return. It is as if Satan has become more powerful because man has given him permission to do so. For us who are Christian and believe in the saving grace of Christ, it is an opportunity to be ready and eager for Jesus' second coming. Just as the world got ready for Y2K, we should look forward with great anticipation and hope for J2C. Our hopes, dreams, and the way we lead our lives should all be focused on this most important of all events. Our lives should reflect the love that Jesus showed for us. The compassion and joy of being a Christian should shine like a light in darkness. The hope that fills our lives should be our witness to those around us. As God gives us the undeserved blessing of life, we should share what is really important in life with others. Are you J2C ready? --Jim Dalesandro

Perspective Quotes for the year 2000 A window of opportunity won't open itself. -Dave Weinbaum Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. -Charles Schulz It says something about our times that we rarely use the word "sinful," except to describe a really good dessert. -Willard D. Ferrell Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. -Gail Sheehy It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. -Joyce Maynard No man fully understands his own artful dodges to escape from the grim shadow of self-knowledge. -Joseph Conrad Live truth instead of professing it. -Elbert Hubbard Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching. -Jim Storall Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things. -Lawrence D. Bell People who think it is permissible to tell white lies soon become color blind. -Kup Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning. -anonymous Life is full of obstacle illusions. -Grant Frazier They say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. -Andy Warhol We too often love things and use people, when we should be using things and loving people. -anonymous No one has a finer command of language that the person who keeps his mouth shut. -Sam Rayburn Big people monopolize the listening. Small people monopolize the talking. -David Shwartz The man who sings his own praises always gets the wrong pitch. - anonymous If your mind isn't open, keep your mouth shut too. - Sue Grafton It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance. -Thomas Sowell Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people. -Spencer Johnson Status symbols are poor excuses for values. -Merry Browne When you don't know what you want, you often end up where you don't want to be. -Bob Greene These quotes are some of the ones I have read and collected over the last year. I wanted to share them with you. I sincerely hope that they make you smile, think, and reflect. We probably all need to do more smiling, thinking, and reflecting during this new year. May God bless you richly. And thanks for reading. Larry Urbaniak

A Daughter's Heart The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Weekend It all started out innocently enough. It was June, and Jon had left early Friday morning, while the rest of us were still asleep. He was driving up to Wausau, WI, to the work weekend at Camp Blessing, picking up four people before heading north. This gave me the chance to do something special with Amber and Jimmy that day. We decided to do a "shop 'til you drop" day at Gurnee Mills Outlet mall. We weren't out to break the bank, just look for some bargains and find gifts for Father's Day. Well, we had a nice, though tiring, day. We got home at 8:30 that night. There was a note on the kitchen table from Ted, our 22-year-old son. It said the basement was flooded from a broken pipe and he had turned off the water. It also said that the gas had been turned off because of a leak at the neighbor's. Well, I headed back out to Wal-Mart to get supplies to fix the pipe temporarily. When I got there, I discovered that the Wal-Mart was without power, so I went a little farther to the Home Depot. I picked out a small wet/dry vac and some supplies (but not everything I needed) and headed home. Jon had called while I was out and Amber told him what had happened. He felt so bad that he wanted to come right home, but he couldn't. Then we spent some time trying to empty some of the water. We worked until 11:30 and quit for the night. I headed out Saturday morning to get what I needed to try to fix the pipe. After I did the best I could, I turned on the water. It held for about 5 seconds. I realized that there was no way I could fix it. When Jon called and I told him how big the hole in the pipe was, he told me to call a plumber and not feel bad. I shed a few tears and told him I felt like everything was ganging up on me, since I couldn't even dry anything because the gas was off. It made him want to come home even more! By God's grace, a nearby plumber was able to come out pretty quickly and replace the ancient pipe in less than an hour. So, now the water was back on. Unfortunately, now when we used the kitchen sink, water flowed down the wall in the basement below (from the drain pipe)! I called the plumber back, but by this time, all I got was the answering machine saying that they were closed until Monday morning at 7 a.m. Also, the downstairs toilet wouldn't stop running, the refrigerator was making a really loud, annoying noise (I figured it was because there was air in the water pipe that leads to the icemaker), and we still had no gas. That meant that I couldn't dry anything in the dryer, cook anything on the stove (not much of a hardship for me) or have hot water. I turned off the water valve for the toilet, and we emptied the rest of the standing water, though everything was still wet. I kept checking the gas, but it didn't come back on. I finally called the gas company that evening, and they said they'd send someone out within 2 hours. The gas lady came pretty quickly, and said my gas had been turned off at the meter. I told her all I knew was that my son said a fireman had come and turned it off because of a leak at the neighbor's. She went to the neighbor to find out what had happened. She came back and told me that lightning had struck a tree next door and gone into the ground and hit the supply pipes. That's why the fireman had turned off our gas, and that she would get it all turned back on and light all the pilots, etc. When she saw the basement and I told her what happened to our pipe, she suggested that it wasn't just a coincidence, and that the lightning had caused our pipe to explode. That really made sense to me, especially as I thought about it. We never realized that a storm had come through Friday afternoon, since we had been in the mall an hour north. It made me feel a little better to understand that everything had happened because of the lightning, and not because the elements were ganging up on me! I wasn't smiling on Saturday, but by Sunday morning, I was feeling much better, and I even had my sense of humor back. I enjoyed telling friends my tale of woe and laughing about it. Jon didn't get home until Sunday night. He had to get right to bed, since he had to wake up at 12:30 a.m. to get to work by 1:45. I called the plumber back on Monday morning, and he came and replaced some drain pipes and fixed the toilet (he threw that one in for free). It had also finally dawned on me that I could probably get rid of any air in the water pipe in the fridge if I just ran the water dispenser. I did, and turned the icemaker back on. The noises were back to normal. Hooray! So, by the time Jon got home from work on Monday, we were a little poorer, but everything was fixed. The Lord had been with me every step of the way. He had provided me with the strength and presence of mind to carry on and do what needed to be done. As I look ahead to the new year, new century and new millennium, I am reassured by the comforting knowledge that Christ, who dwells in me, will be with me as every new challenge comes along, and that there is nothing too hard for him! Praise the Lord! --Lynnette Larson

Roy's Reflections A Day With Jesus "Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 'Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are&emdash;the Holy One of God!' 'Be quiet!' Jesus said sternly. 'Come out of him!' Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. All the people were amazed and said to each other, 'What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!' And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area. Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them. When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, 'You are the Son of God!' But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ. At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, 'I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.' And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea. " (Luke 4:31-44) In this passage, we spend one day with the Lord Jesus. Wouldn't you have loved to spend one day with Him while He was living on this earth? Jesus moved from his hometown to Capernaum because the people from His own town would not receive Him. Are there still demons hanging around? Unfortunately, we are living in a day when demonism has lifted its ugly head again, and Satan worship is a reality. Demons were working in the days of our Lord and they are working now. Even with people's excessive use of alcohol and illegal drugs, it is difficult to explain some of the actions and horrible crimes committed unless we consider the evil power and control of Satan and his demons. After leaving the synagogue, it seems that the Lord went to Simon Peter's house, probably for the noonday meal. While He was in Peter's house, He healed Simon's wife's mother. Peter's mother-in-law had a great fever. Saying one had a small or a great fever indicated the severity of diseases. This evidently was a serious illness. Our Lord rebuked the fever, using Luke's medical terminology, "be muzzled." Immediately she got up and ministered unto them. This healing did not come gradually, but took place immediately. It was an amazing thing. Was this divine healing? All healing is divine. This is what Luke, the doctor, is telling us. Jesus' day had started in the morning, teaching in the synagogue. Now it is late in the evening. The Lord goes outside to the multitude that had gathered, and moves from one to another touching and healing them. Matthew, in recording this incident, quotes from the prophet Isaiah, "This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah.- 'He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."' (Matthew 8:17) The Lord Jesus healed in a wonderful way. The Lord bore the sicknesses and diseases of the people sympathetically, in spite of the fact that the nation Israel in that day esteemed Him stricken. We are told to have such a heart of sympathy today, "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2) --Roy R. Boswell

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