Thoughts from the Editor
Jane S. Hancock
Be careful for
nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace
of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6-7).
This column is about
prayer. It’s also about the time of the silence of God.
Prayer is personal. It’s
our way of communicating with God. For me it’s also private. I
can’t pray out loud. I am overcome with emotion, my voice
begins to sob. This moment is mine and mine alone.
Prayer sustains me. Often
people ask how I manage to get through some of the rough times I have
had in my life. “Don’t you worry?” they ask. And I
have to admit I don’t worry because my father, Otis Q. Sellers,
a very wise man, always said to me, “If worrying would help,
I’d worry.” But it doesn’t help. What does help?
Telling God about it and leaving it with him. He may be silent, but
He hears and He understands and with Him, I am able to get through my
own troubles. God invites us to get rid of fear, worry, and anxiety,
to let our burdens rest with him.
I heard a song on the
radio the other day, a country-western song, called “God Must
Be Busy.” Even if you don’t know the lyrics, I’m
sure you can recognize from the title what it is about. It’s
about praying for world peace, praying for good health, praying for
safety.
And I know in the big
picture
I’m just a
speck of sand
And God’s got
better things to do
Than look out for one
man.
I know he’s
heard my prayers
‘cause he hears
everything
He just ain’t
answered back . . .
God must be busy.
What the writer doesn’t
recognize is that this is the time of the silence of God, that at one
time God did communicate with people on earth, but all that stopped
at the end of the Acts Period. During the Acts Period men
commissioned by God spoke God-inspired messages, these messages
confirmed by signs that followed. That is not the way God deals with
men today.
So when I talk to God, I
don’t expect an answer. I don’t think that He is too busy
to bother with me. I know better. And I know what He expects of me.
He expects me to study His words, the Bible, and to show my faith by
taking His words and acting upon them.
We pray but we should not
use prayer as a way of “getting” things from God, but as
a way of talking to God. Yes, I believe He hears my prayers but I
cannot expect an answer because this is the time of the silence of
God.
One of my favorite
passages in the Bible is Ecclesiastes 3:
To every thing there
is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to
be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up
that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to
break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to
laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away
stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and
a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time
to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak (Eccl. 3:1-7).
A time to keep silence.
This is the time of the silence of God.
Although I personally
cannot pray out loud, we here at The Word of Truth Ministry
definitely pray together. Each week we thank God for the opportunity
to continue this little ministry, to spread the truth of the Kingdom
of God. We ask God to bless those who read our publications, who find
our messages on the Web site, who meet in small groups across the
country. We ask God to bless our work. And we pray always for God’s
Kingdom to come because when the Kingdom comes, wars will cease, food
will be plentiful, the weather will not be destructive, evil people
will not be a part of the Kingdom on earth.
No, God is not too busy
to listen to us. Has He answered our prayers? We like to think so. We
know He listens. Our prayers are prayers of thankfulness. And if we
have some requests, and we do, we may get answers in unexpected ways,
at unexpected times. We have no proof. We don’t know. We just
happen to be living in the Dispensation of Grace, that time between
the end of the Acts Period and the Kingdom of God, the time of the
silence of God.
He
is never too busy.
From the Director
David R. Hettema
Over the past several
years The Word of Truth Ministry has lost valuable names from our
mailing list, not by people requesting removal but by the fact that
they have not notified us of their changes of address. On every
mailing, we print on our envelopes a request that if the envelope
cannot be delivered by the Post Office, it will be returned to us.
When there is a
forwarding address, we send it there, but if not, that mail becomes a
dead letter and we have lost someone from our list. They may not
realize this fact for many months, but we have no way to reach them.
Please keep this in mind: if you do move or are contemplating a move,
let us know the new address. We value our contacts with all of our
readers.
We are now in the final
months of year 2007. The Executive Board of the Word of Truth
Ministry is looking ahead and planning for the upcoming years. We
must renew the lease agreement for the use of our present building.
The members of the Board of Directors who sign the 3-year Lease are
somewhat like our early United States government fathers in the
Revolutionary War who signed the Declaration of Independence pledging
that whatever was necessary to accomplish their goals, it would be
done. We are committed to an even greater cause— the continuing
proclamation of God’s coming government into this earth; God’s
salvation for the world. We, like the early patriots manifest that
same heartfelt attitude. Paul by inspiration told Timothy: Preach
the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke
and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For
the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine (2
Tim 4:2).
At this point in our
fiscal year our financial position is down from normal so we are
cutting our overall plans to fit our situation. We have no paid
workers here, just volunteers. We are grateful to all of you who have
a continuing financial part in this ministry; you make it possible.
We as workers together
have this joyful privilege of telling others about the coming Kingdom
of God, which is truly God’s salvation, a world where there is
no more death and sin, just the joy of eonian (everlasting) life, the
abundant life from God.
Giving Thanks
By Joanne L.H. Johnson
In November, we
celebrated Thanksgiving Day, a time for giving thanks for God’s
many bountiful blessings throughout the year. Thanksgiving was
originally a time to give thanks for a bountiful crop harvest like
our forefathers, the Pilgrims, did back in the 1600s.
The Word of God uses that
word “thanksgiving,” which is the Greek word
eucharistia, derived from charist, which is “grace.”
Philippians 4:6-7 (NASB) says it so beautifully, that I cannot
elaborate nor improve on God’s Word except to update it from
the Old English: “Be anxious (careful) for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses
all comprehension (understanding), will guard (keep) your hearts and
your minds in (through) Christ Jesus.”
God is very gracious to
us and the one way we can give “grace” back to God is
through abundant thankfulness. Remember, we are witnesses of God’s
wonderful work in creation.
Keep giving “thanks”
and “grace” to God for all those things we so take for
granted in everyday life: a good life (various degrees of it), a
beautiful sky or flowers, something special that worked out for you
today, or remembering something special you found in God’s
Word.
Wishing you a very Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our readers from The Word of
Truth Ministry . . . from our place to yours!
BIBLE STUDY AUDIO MINISTRY
By Otis Q. Sellers, Bible Teacher
The entire Tape Library
(TL) series, consisting of numbers TL-1 to TL-570, is still available
on MP3 compact disks. A complete list of subjects may be obtained
from our Web site, www.seedandbread.org, or the home office in Pasadena, California, or writing/e-mailing:
The Word of Truth
Ministry
Mrs. Gwen Staiger, Recorder
121 Wood Oak Dr., Joshua, TX 76058
We Get Letters
“One prominent
Bible teacher admitted on radio that the Christian effort to reach
and ‘save the world’ through evangelical means (saving
souls) has been an utter failure. This proves what we have been
saying all along: ‘You can’t put your faith in someone
you do not know.’”
“Enjoyed reading
the Bulletin and the three Seed and Breads.”
“Thanks for sending
me all of the Word of Truth printed material.”
“I so enjoyed
reading the new booklets by Mr. Ribbens that was sent in July. I’ve
read them all and starting to reread them. It is so well written and
understandable. I’ve been praying when I start to read [like
the familiar hymn refrain]: ‘Open mine eyes that I may
see—Glimpses of Truth Thou hast for me.’”
“I am now rereading
Mr. Ribbens ‘Rapture’ pamphlet [‘The Imminency of
the Rapture: Fact or Fiction?’]. And also looking for more
Scripture to refute the prevalent notion of dying and ‘going to
Heaven.’ I have stopped a few by asking, ‘did Christ go
immediately from the cross to Heaven—or the grave?’ And,
‘How long was He there?’ Till resurrection! Same as we
will be.”
“The writing and
Bible studies, which I’ve received for many years from The Word
of Truth Ministry, have all been so good. I’ve so much
appreciated all of them. The two ‘More Seed & Bread,’
sent to me with the last Bulletin, are so good—‘God’s
Attributes,’ by M.B. Hammond, and ‘A Returned Creation,’
by David R. Hettema. Thank you.”
The Dutch Lachai-Roi Web Site
Read Seed & Bread and One-A-Day in Dutch on the European Web site: www.lachairoi.org. Johan Hansen and his son, Arnoud, translated these particular Otis Q.
Sellers’ publications because they appreciated his independent
studies, finding answers to unsolved problems.
New Book Out on Death Beliefs or “Pillars”
by Louis J. Tonetti
What
do you know about popular Biblical theology and seven very popular
positions on “death” (like “the idea that good
people go to heaven when they die”)? Otis Q. Sellers had many
opinions about “death” based on his own sound Scriptural
searches and studies, and these principles are still very sound. An
old member of the Pasadena Bible Fellowship, Louis J. Tonetti
outlines these poplar positions or belief “pillars” and
has written a paperback book titled, “The Seven Pillars of
Death: Is Your Belief Foundation Sure?”
He compares what he has
found in popular theology and other religions to what Sellers found
true in the Word of God. The content is placed in modern-day settings
like a nine-act Shakespearean play based on “a journey . . .
with six college students as their teacher assigns them the task of
objectively evaluating the ‘mainstream’ position against
a revolutionary alternate viewpoint [including popular Biblical
theology]” (as quoted from Tonetti’s book back cover).
This nine-act play also involves an interesting time-warped type of
“time travel and interviews with dead people (like the Apostle
Paul and Abraham).”
The book is simply
compelling reading at its best. To order a copy of your book, three
Web sites offer it for sale: www.authorhouse.com, $11.95; www.amazon.com, $13.50; www.barnesandnoble.com, $13.50.
Tonetti is generously
donating half of his profit from the sales to The Word of Truth
Ministry. Please be sure to pick up your copy today!
“For unto us a
Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be
upon His shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The Mighty God,
The Everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no
end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order it and
to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even
for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.”
Isaiah 9:6-7
News Briefs
New Additions To Our Web Site (www.seedandbread.org)
Since the last Bulletin
(September 2007), we have added six more “Sunday Morning Bible
Studies” topics to our Web site. We now have a total of 100
studies (10 disks with 10 messages per compact disk). These are
derived primarily from the LA Tapes Bible studies of David R. Hettema
and Milton B. Hammond. These studies are available “free”
for your listening pleasure on the Web site and are available for
sale for your study enjoyment at $7 per compact disk. These will be
further reduced to $3.50 per disk during our year-end “Christmas
Sale.” (See announcement below.)
The latest news: We are
also adding to our Web site the first three Seed & Bread issues
translated into the Spanish language. This has required much work in
finding appropriate Spanish words for certain English words. We’ve
certainly been trained along these lines when going from the Greek
language to English. Our deepest thanks go out to our Brother in
Christ, Ruben Garcia, for all of his efforts in this regard! We are
also issuing these Spanish Seed & Bread in leaflet format so they
may be handed out.
Half-Price “Christmas Sale” Repeated
Yes, this sale was so
successful last year that we have decided to do it again! Throughout
the month of December, our Web site, www.seedandbread.org, offers our readers some handy Christmas specials on its “Christmas
Season Special Page,” which will be deleted after January
31, 2008.
This year we have to
add a $3 (minimum of $20) or 15 percent (over $20) shipping and
handling fee to all orders (which includes the extra care and
materials required to package the materials shipped and increased
postal rate increases).
The first of these
specials includes discounted copies of David Hettema’s booklet, The 8 Signs of John’s Gospel, written with younger
people in mind! A single copy was $4.50 and is now offered for $2;
10 copies were $40 and are now offered for $15.
The second part of these
specials shows discounted prices concerning the Otis Q. Sellers’
“TL-Series” Audio MP3-CD Ministry. Each compact disk (CD)
contains 10 studies or “TL” Bible studies, which are in
numerical order from TL-001 through TL-570. A single disk, formerly
$15, is now offered at $10, which averages $1 per ever
45-minute message. A complete set of 10 disks was $125 and is now
offered for only $75. (Sorry, we cannot discount these further
for larger quantities.)
The third part of our
specials is a real space-saving and paper-saving bonus! The
publications come in “handily-stored-on-shelves” and
“easily-carried” smaller sizes, anywhere from 5-1/2”
x 8-1/2” (individual Seed & Bread leaflet sizes) to
6” x 9” (Otis Q. Sellers’ Bible study subjects
booklets). All WOTM written materials and publications (including the Seed & Bread, Bound Volumes One & Two) are now
offered at 50 percent off or below the present prices shown on
our Web site.
To order any of the above
items, check our product listings (also found on the Web site) and
please list what you desire (complete names/titles of the item[s] you
desire, quantities of each item, and the costs of each item, and the
total amount per order) and send us your order with shipping
instructions (such as destination delivery addresses if different
from yours). Shipping and handling costs are $3 for total orders of
$20 and under, and 15 percent for total orders over $20. Please
include check or money order in U.S. dollars, made out to The Word of
Truth Ministry, for the total amount due and mail to:
The Word of Truth
Ministry
228 El Molino
Avenue
Pasadena, CA
91101-1675
Please allow four to
eight weeks for delivery. For the status on any order, you may
contact us by “snail mail” at the above address or by
e-mailing at wordoftruth@earthlink.net.
Also on the “Christmas
Season Special Page, we offer you Grace publications’
transcribed version of the real story of Christmas, “Reflections
on the First Christmas,” and Mark Hammond’s informative
PowerPoint slide show.
Ask for a price list, or
check out the Web site (www.seedandbread.org) and if you see an item
you like, it will be half-priced until January 31, 2008! Orders are now being accepted.
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