\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
 \_                         THE FISHERMEN'S NET                          \_
 \_                  "Come, follow me, Jesus said, and                   \_
 \_                   I will make you fishers of men."        -Mark 1:17 \_
 \_    -A Seventh Day Baptist Mid-Continent Association Publication-     \_
 \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

• I Knew You'd Come, Dad! by George Prins
  
• Christianity is not Irrational by C. Brian Smith
  
• Outreach to Russia by Quentin Osborn
  
• The Great and Final Sabbath by Dr. Dennis J. Prutow
  
• Conference 2000 in West Virginia by the Conference Host Committee
  

It was late Sunday afternoon, August 9, 1998. We were sitting in sand chairs at Black Point Beach in Niantic, Ct.. Best friends just soaking up the rays. Chris, 25 years old, did a shallow dive into the water and was intent on tipping Brad over who was asleep on an inflatable. Chris, that practical joker, was now doing a dead man's float near Brad. We laughed.

Brad continued to sleep, rocking back and forth in the boat. We watched Chris float until we grew alarmed. Steve, his father, dove over to Chris and tapped him on the shoulder but received no response. As a veterinarian who had worked with spinal cord injuries before, he carefully flipped his son over. Immediately, Chris spewed water out of his mouth, saying, "I knew you'd come Dad. I just kept saying to myself, 'Get up Chris.' But I couldn't move my arms and legs... but I knew you'd come, Dad!"

At the hospital it was discovered that Chris had a badly bruised spinal cord injury, a broken neck, and water in his lungs. He was placed in the ICU of Hartford Hospital until the next morning when they would need to do emergency surgery to remove the shattered pieces of bone and wire his neck. A HALO was screwed into his skull to keep his head and neck from moving while everything healed. As friends, we prayed.

The night of Chris's surgery, a big storm left a huge rainbow across the hospital. Someone called to tell us that the rainbow followed them all the way to Chris' hometown. We felt that this was a sign that God sent to us saying that He was there. Later, Chris was transferred to Gaylord Hospital for rehabilitation. There he would stay until the end of October where he would undergo physical and occupational therapy.

I was honored to hear from Chris about his story. They remind me of Scripture verses, Jeremiah 29:11-13 and Romans 8:28. They share the joy of knowing that God has a plan for us and He will work things out to good for them that are called according to His purpose. Yet, it is difficult to understand tragedy or sorrow that pierces our lives.

Franklin Graham, while talking to 70,000 people about the tragedy in Littleton, Colorado said, "From a human standpoint we see no sense in this tragedy of these young people gunned down. So we ask, 'Why? How can we understand something like this? How can something like this happen? Why does God allow it?' I do not have the answers but I do know this: There is a God. He loves you. He cares for you. And one day He will judge all men. One day He'll bring justice. And one day, my friends, He will make all things right. Do not let bitterness poison you. Turn in faith, and trust God. He will provide strength for you."

Today, Chris knows that his Father has come as he has given his life to Jesus Christ. In his wheelchair he asks, "I do not need to walk but HOW am I able to serve Him here?" Chris now has confidence that God has a plan for him and will indeed, work things out for his betterment. Chris told me that if his story would be able to help one person, he would be very happy to have it written up. You may not be stuck in a wheelchair as Chris, my friend, but if God can give new meaning and purpose for Chris, He will do it for you as well. Our bodies were created to crave for inner healing and forgiveness. Consider Jesus Christ and turn to Him. He desires to heal and to forgive you, now. Will you finally acknowledge the Father who wants to come into your life?

A song, based on Jeremiah 29:13 and Romans 8:28 is dedicated to Chris.

I Know the Plans

For I know the plans I have for you,
Plans to give you future and a hope.
For I know the plans I have for you,
Plans to prosper not to harm you.

Call upon me, come and pray,
Seek Me, I will listen.
Call upon Me come and say,
"Yes, Lord Jesus--here's my whole heart."

"And ye shall seek me, and find me,
when ye shall search for me with all your heart."
-Jeremiah 29:13

"And we know that all things work together for good
to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose."
-Romans 8:28

Have you ever wondered about heaven? What is it like? Here is a hint. Hebrews 4:9 declares, "There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God." We thank God this is the case. Heaven is the great and final Sabbath rest. Calling forward a man with a withered hand, Jesus asked the Pharisees, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" (Mark 3:4).

It's obviously unlawful, immoral, to do harm or to do evil on any day. But what about doing good? What about saving a life? The Pharisees were silent. Jesus' response was direct. "After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored" (Mark 3:5). The Pharisees were incensed. They thoroughly misunderstood the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is the preeminent day to do what is good and to heal. The Sabbath foreshadows heaven. "There will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain" (Revelation 20:14).

In this life we may experience healing of soul. In heaven we experience the total healing of our bodies. Imagine, Jesus encourages "waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23).

Conference 2000 in West Virginia

From the Conference Host Committee

We are preparing for your arrival in West Virginia! Conference this year is August 6-12, and we are ready to welcome you.

If you came to Conference in 1998, you already know that the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon is an ideal location for the week-long sessions of the Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, USA & Canada. Imagine yourself in Sabbath worship with over 900 SDBs, your voices mingling with the magnificent pipe organ to fill the cathedral-like chapel with praise to God.

Wesley Chapel will again be the meeting place for major business and worship services. All other facilities are easily accessible around the level central rectangle. Yes, level-a rarity in these hills of Appalachia where summers are warm but nights can be cool.

All eating and meeting rooms are air-conditioned and some of the dorms. Yet no one can predict whether you'll need a blanket or a fan.

Register early

Official registration forms and detailed information will come in your May Sabbath Recorder. July 1 is the deadline for preregistration. After that, it will cost an extra $10.00.

If you come in an RV, parking spaces will be available on campus, with electrical hookups and access to bathroom facilities in an adjacent building. Request them on your registration form. Full hookups are available in nearby parks (listing in May's Sabbath Recorder).

Off-campus housing is also available in nearby motels, and in bed and breakfasts. Some will be listed in the May SR.

Travel

If you plan to fly to West Virginia, make reservations through Benedum Airport in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The Host Committee will arrange ground transportation (at pre-established times) from the airport to the Conference site (a 35-mile drive south of Clarksburg).

Young people arriving by plane for Pre-Conference retreats should also come to Benedum Airport. The Young Adult Pre-Conference Retreat will be held at the Conference site in Buckhannon, but Youth Pre-Con will be held at Appalachian Association's Camp Joy in Berea. The Host Committee is arranging transportation for Pre-Con youth from Camp Joy to Conference on Sunday, August 6.

In the hills

West Virginia is wild and wonderful, a green vacation land. Call toll-free (1-800-CALL-WVA) for the state's 2000 Official Travel Guide, Camping Directory, Lodging Directory, State Map, or information on specific attractions.-From the Conference Host Committee

-reprinted from The March Lead On

Some of the articles are reprinted from Daily Wisdom online devotional, a service of Gospel Communications Network (GCN) A Ministry of Gospel Films, Inc.

The current issues of FN are no longer posted on the Denver Seventh Day Baptist Church forMinistry.com web site.
All issues are archived on the Fisherman's Net Newsletter Archive

Or Visit Other Seventh Day Baptist Sites On The Link Page

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SEND AN E-Mail TO sdbgen@seventhdaybaptist.org

Read the ALL NEW Malawi Journal.

Copyright © 2000 New Covenant Ministries. All rights reserved.
Last update: 2005.

| To the Archive Index | To the Previous Issue |

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page