COM Newsletter - June 2020
SUMMER IS COMING!
I would venture to say that this spring has seemed like the longest one on record for most of us. With all that COVID-19 has brought into our experience, changing the very fabric of our existence, this season that is generally so full of life and hope has instead been one of fear, isolation and even loss for most around the world. Not only have many lives been lost, but our freedoms, which have come at such a cost, have vanished as well. As people begin to discuss the “new normal,” and social distancing is our ever present reality, much that was taken for granted is now lamented.
As I think on this situation the parallel between the ancient Israelites and modern Christians becomes apparent. Their experience in Egypt became increasingly more uncomfortable and difficult the closer they came to the time of their deliverance. Eventually, all of their freedoms were removed and they were at the mercy of their oppressors. As children of God we know there are difficult days before us. YET, our Savior is coming for us!!! With renewed vigor may we walk in the light of God’s love looking with excitement to our soon deliverance.
Summer is just around the corner. I, for one, can’t wait! I have always appreciated the outdoors, and I plan to enjoy all of the simple blessings that each day holds like never before. Family outings, adventures, yard and garden work and the chance to creatively share the good news as opportunities present themselves are some of the things I am very much looking forward to. Mostly, I am looking forward to that summer that will never end.
According to the book “Heaven" by Ellen G. White, she says on page 60, paragraph 1, “This earth is the place of preparation for heaven. The time spent here is the Christian’s winter. Here the chilly winds of affliction blow upon us, and the waves of trouble roll against us. But in the near future, when Christ comes, sorrow and sighing will be forever ended. Then will be the Christian’s SUMMER. All trials will be over, and there will be no more sickness or death. “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying ...: for the former things are passed away.”Praise God!!! May we each be found faithful in Him.
APPEAL
Q&A
Question: Can my homosexual tendencies actually be made to pass away?
Reply: Yes, they can be made to pass away, for the apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." However, we must realize that this is a process that requires time and cooperative effort on the part of the one struggling against the bondage and addiction of homosexuality as with other sinful orientations.
It is important that you make a daily commitment to follow Jesus, that you daily submit to His lordship, that you daily resist the devil's temptations to homosexual thoughts and behavior. This daily conversion process brings you into a new relation with God. Old things, your natural passions and hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, to homosexuality, pass away, and you are renewed, redirected, and reconditioned. But this work must be continual, for as long as Satan exists, he will make an effort to carry on his work.
“He who strives to serve God will encounter a strong undercurrent of wrong. His heart needs to be barricaded by constant watchfulness and prayer, or else the embankment will give way; and like a millstream, the undercurrent of wrong will sweep away the safeguard. No renewed heart can be kept in a condition of sweetness without the daily application of the salt of the Word. Divine grace must be received daily, or no man will stay converted...
Test and trial will come to every soul that loves God. The Lord does not work a miracle to prevent this ordeal of trial, to shield His people from the temptations of the enemy... Characters are to be developed that will decide the fitness of the human family for the heavenly home—characters that will stand through the pressure of unfavorable circumstances in private and public life, and that will, under the severest temptations, through the grace of God grow brave and true, be firm as a rock to principle, and come forth from the fiery ordeal, of more value than [precious gold]. God will [claim as His own, as His elect and chosen], those who possess such characters...
The Lord accepts no halfhearted service. He demands the whole man. Religion is to be brought into every phase of life, carried into labor of every kind. The whole being is to be under God's control. We must not think that we can take supervision of our own thoughts. They must be brought into captivity to Christ. Self cannot manage self; it is not sufficient for the work... God alone can make and keep us loyal.
‘For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.’ 2 Corinthians 4:16.” (Our High Calling, 215, emphasis added)
Q&A text taken from:
TESTIMONY
Sharing the gospel has taken on a different look these days. Like you, I have been praying for opportunities to share the love and truth as it is in Jesus. Each time I go to the store or run errands, I make it a point to ask God to help me to give away at least one book of encouragement to someone.
On my way home recently, I had come up empty and hadn’t been able to give a single book away. I was disappointed about that, was running late and had to reschedule my Wednesday afternoon Bible study to later that day. You know, it was one of those days when nothing seems to go right. As I approached a stoplight, I was praying for God to give me another opportunity when I noticed a pedestrian that walked just like a friend of mine who had moved away years before.
As I got a bit closer, I realized that it was indeed my friend! I was ecstatic! After tracking her down, I learned that she was back in the area to help her daughter. She had drug and relationship problems, had recently lost her job and was about to be evicted from her home. During our time together, my friend explained that she had finally discovered the reason for her daughter’s ongoing brokenness. Her daughter had shared with her that her dad (my friend’s ex husband) had sexually molested her over a period of years. My heart broke for them. Then the Lord opened the door for me to give both her and her daughter several books and to offer prayer for them.
I was amazed at the timing of this divine appointment! God is SO good! During her 3 block jaunt which took at the most 5 or 6 minutes, I “happened” to be driving by and see her. I now understood why everything in town had taken me longer than usual- running literally hours behind schedule. I never cease to be amazed at the goodness of our God and of His providence. Broken people are all around us. God desires to heal not some, but all of us! Please keep them in prayer! I am certain that God intends to do a mighty work!
By Lisa Terrillion
APPEAL
Please consider making a donation to our ministry to help spread the message of God’s love and redemption! Kindly visit our website www.comingoutministries.org and select the Donate button, or you may send a check or money order directly to
‘Coming Out’ Ministries at PO Box 107, Tilly, AR 72679.
May God bless you for your support!