Newsletter 78 December 2004
Bible Topical Index | Consequences of Denial | Must Men Wear Beards? | New Publishing Schedule | More on Three Days | Special Items — 2004 | If We Could Have Been There | Twelve Kinds of Proverbs | Bible Names | Did Moses Marry a “Cushite” Woman? | Keeping the Sabbath | Why Abortion is Wrong
Mark Mickelson, Pastor of the Spokane, Washington, United Church of God, has compiled a 100-page Bible Topical Index. It lists basic scriptures by subject, and is a good tool to assist in Bible study and in answering questions. There is extra space between topics for you to include additional scriptures and personal notes. This handy-sized, spiral bound, book is available free to USA requestors from: UCG-Spokane, 4929 W. Shawnee Avenue, Spokane WA 99208, mmickelson@msn.com.
At the peak of Enron’s grandeur, who could have guessed it was perched for a fall? Anyone with a bit of knowledge of the company who was willing to see. There were early clues of the denial in the culture that eventually led to its demise. Tom Peters saw it, spoke the truth about what he saw, and was promptly ignored.
At the 2000 Enron Management conference, the leaders projected the next year’s stock prices by saying, “Our future has never looked rosier.” The tone changed when keynote speaker Tom Peters strode to the stage, abandoned his prepared speech, and said, “That’s the scariest thing I’ve ever heard...What, exactly, has Enron done that was so novel? What accounted for such self-congratulation? ... Where were the company’s new ideas? An excess of self-confidence kills companies,” Peters warned.
Peter noted signs of a company in trouble: (1) denial of problems, (2) nostalgia, and (3) arrogance. The leaders sat frozen in their seats, smiles locked on their faces. It was clear to many that Enron displayed all three signs. But as soon as Peters finished, Enron leaders reminded the group, “Remember, Enron had found the one successful business model that could be applied to any market.”
Some potential employees kept their eyes open, by declining offers to work at Enron because they chose not to get involved in questionable business practices. If you are part of a business (or a Church) that is in denial, it is your problem. Truth catches up with everyone. The longer you ignore it, the harder it will hit you when it does.
— based upon “A PowerPhrase A Week,” from SpeakStrong, Inc., Issue 132, September 22, 2004, by Meryl Runion, author of Power Phrases, the Perfect Words to Say it Right and Get the Results You Want. Subscribe to her free newsletter by E-mailing powerphrases@att.net. Order her books from www.powerpotentials.com.
Question: Don’t Leviticus 19:26-28 and 21:1-6 show that men must wear beards?
Answer: These verses do not command men to wear beards; they limit what kinds of beards men may have. God’s statutes forbid the pagan custom of shaving off part of the hair of the head and beard. Leviticus 19:27-28, “Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you; I am the Lord.” Leviticus 21:5, “They [Levitical priests] shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.”
If these scriptures indicate it is a command for men to keep their beards, they would say “don’t cut off your beard.” But, they do not say this; instead, they say do not cut off the corner of your beard. If you are going to have a beard, it must be a full beard. God’s Word assumes that men will have beards. After all, He made men, not women, to have beards. There is no scripture forbidding men to keep their full beards.
Beginning in 2005, we plan to publish the Giving & Sharing Newsletter four times a year: March, June, September, and December. Our second publication, Church of God News, will be published on the Internet six times a year: January, and every other month. Please submit Bible Studies and Book Reviews for publication in the G&S Newsletter, and news articles about your Church’s activities for publication in Church of God News to: info@giveshare.org.
The following is from an article by Blaine Neumann in the Spring 1997 edition of the Ministerial Forum.
Didascalia Apostolorum, ca. A.D. 200, “when we had eaten the Passover on the third day of the week at even . . . .” By the end of the third century a fast was celebrated on Wednesday (until 3:00 PM) to commemorate Christ’s arrest.
The Narrative of Joseph, “The Wednesday fast is still very much alive in Eastern Orthodox Church” today.
Church historian Socrates (ca. A.D. 440), “Differences in usage in regard to Easter . . . others in the East kept that feast on the Sabbath instead.”
Gregory of Tours (A.D. 538-594), “Many in France believed that Jesus rose from the dead on the seventh day of the week.”
Alexander Ross (A.D. 1590-1654), “The Armenii believed in a Saturday resurrection.”
For more information, contact: John Lemley, 312 West 36th Street, Vancouver, WA 98660 USA, phone: 360-699-1638.
Avoiding Pork
A name for pork derivatives used in medicines is “SUIS.” Pork is as vile as it gets when it comes to disease. The Bible forbids everyone from using it in any form. — submitted by Barbara Boss
During this year, Giving & Sharing has recommended a number of books. Perhaps the best book I have read in many years is A Thousand Shall Fall, by Susi Hasel Mundy. This gripping true story of a Sabbath-keeper who kept the Sabbath in the Nazi army is truly an inspiring lesson of faith in action. We urge you to read this book! $13.00 + $2 postage from Giving & Sharing, 3316 Alberta Drive, Gillette, WY 82718.
Annals of the World, by James Ussher is the classic chronology of world history that has been a companion to Bible students for hundreds of years. 960 pp. $65 USA, or $75 International.
The Franklin Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible fits in the back of your Bible, and allows you to quickly look up scriptures when you know one or more words of that scripture. $49.95 plus postage ($5 USA, $12 International).
“Should Artistic Creativity Have Restraints?” 15 pp. by Wilbur Berg, $3.00, should be read by every music and art student.
Write for free audio cassette sermons by Richard C. Nickels: C113, “Dealing With Sodomy,” and C120, “The Importance of Marriage.”
The New Testament: the Life of Jesus Christ, by Keith Hunt, 345 page reprint, is a continuation of the series, The Bible Story, by Basil Wolverton. $25 postpaid.
The Humor of Christ, by Elton Trueblood, 127 pp. photocopy, $6, exposes the lie that our Savior was a sour, sad person.
The Papacy is the Antichrist, by J.A. Wylie, 36 pp. reprint of 1888 classic, contrasts the teachings of Jesus Christ with the Papacy. $5 postpaid.
Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War against Christianity, by David Limbaugh, 416 pp. $25.
Under the Influence, How Christianity Transformed Civilization, by Alvin J. Schmidt, 423 pp., $23.
Christian Education, by Alonzo T. Jones, 28-page reprint, $3.
— by Richard C. Nickels