FEATURES
- "Adversity 101," by Peggy
Lewis. No one would choose to enroll in Adversity 101. But would we
give up the lessons learned? It is the "training for reigning" with
Christ forever.
- "Make Up His Jewels," as
told to Edna Hawkins. When faith, healing, and suffering became personal
matters, David's parents were forced to reexamine their convictions.
Though the war with disease was lost, a great battle was won against
fear, self-pity, and ignorance.
- "To Weep and to Pray,"
by David Frisbie. When there are no answers for the questions of suffering,
sometimes we are called simply to weep and to pray.
- "Needed: A Theology of Suffering,"
by Terry Read. Where material resources are abundant, the church
is growing little if at all, while in areas where resources are few,
where there is conflict and persecution, and where trained pastors
are in short supply, the church is growing rapidly. Is there a relationship
between affluence and spiritual vitality?
- "It Takes the Church to Lift a
Burden," by Victor M. Parachin. In a world of suffering, the
solution may be as close as our own hands and feet. It takes the Church–the
people of God–to lift a burden.
COLUMNS
- Essay: "In the Zone," by
Gary Sivewright. When our changing emotions, vulnerabilities, passions,
weaknesses, joys, doubts, trust, fears, and insecurities intersect
with God's unchanging love, grace, and mercy, we enter "the zone."
- Family Tree: "Going Nuts,"
by Jerry and Lynda Cohagan. We realize with a great deal of thanksgiving
that God is continually making and remaking our children and us.
- Gen X: "Passing the Comfort
Along," by Frank Moore. Suffering is no respecter of persons or of
age. Some of my students have already experienced a lifetime of difficulty.
- Metro: "Lament over the
City," by Fletcher L. Tink. Naive and curious, the professor seeks
something redemptive and glorious about this city, unaware of the
convulsing experiences that await him.
- The Deeper Way: "One Common
Cry: Christ and Human Suffering," by Daniel and Carol Ketchum. Suffering
levels the ground for Christians everywhere. So "do not be surprised
at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange
were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings
of Christ."
- Touching: "Transforming
Darkness into Light," by Hermann L. Gschwandtner. In some places,
suffering has become a way of life. People accept it as "kismet,"
fate, or even as something that moves them one step higher on the
"ladder of purification." Against this gloomy horizon, the Church
of the Nazarene shines a beacon of hope.
- Interconnected: "The Flesh
Is Weak" by Grace H. Ketterman. Here we were, Barry and I, working
on the imbalance of spirit, mind, and body that had distorted the
life of this godly man and wreaked havoc among those he loved most.
- Holiness: "Whose Version
of Holiness Is It Anyway?" by Gordon J. Thomas. "We know that the
Church is called to be holy, and that the individual members of the
Church also ought to be holy. But the moment we attempt to put content
into these familiar phrases we begin to run into difficulties."
- Editor's Forum: What is
our purpose in attending church, giving or being fed? This month's
forum addresses this question.
- Commission: "Saints Suffer
Too," by Jerry D. Porter. Is there a one-a-day God-tablet that can
protect us from suffering?
NEXT MONTH: Face to Face: Gracing
Relationships
- "Gracing Relationships,"
by Jerry W. McCant. God's grace to us is not only a part of His redemptive
plan. It is also a part of His image in each of us to be extended
to others. God's grace to us and expressed through us
makes peaceful and joyous human relationships possible.
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