Chrittuin Mission

Field Address; Don BridgesKaiserstrasse 66

6790 Landstuhl

West Germany

VOL. 8 MARCH - JULY 1988 NO. 2

"You say (but they are only empty words}, 'Ihave counsel and strength for war.' Now onwhom do you rely, that you have rebelledagainst me?" (2 Kings 18:20 NASB)

Such was the challenge of the blatantAssyrian field-marshal!, Rabshekah, flung at thehelpless King Hezekiah (read 2 Kgs. 18 & 19).Even though his denunciation involved not onlyhelpless Judea, but also that of God, little didhe realize that in just a short period of time185,000 of his proud men would be corpses, cutdown by an invisible scythe of the AlmightyGod. Hezekiah made no reply to Rabshekah.Despite the hopeless looking circumstances, hisheart trusted in God— "he clung to the Lord; hedid not depart from following Him, but kept Hiscommandments..." (2Kgs 18:6) He prayed tothe Lord in his temple asking for deliverance fromhis trouble. Isaiah the prophet sent to Hezekiaha word from the Lord about the deliverance thatwill take place "because you have prayed to Meabout Sennacherib king of Assyria." (2Kgs19:20) Here lies the secret of his victory!

Even so today, the first mark of the Christianis reliance (or trust) on Jesus, the Son of God.We rely on him exclusively as the vicarioussinbearer through whom we have the salvationof our souls. We do not earn salvation, ratherit is a gift given to all who come to him.

We are to rely on him, also, as our victoriouschampion through whom we have victory in ourdaily lives. "Were not the Ethiopians and theLubim an immense army with very manychariots and horseman? Yet, because you reliedon the Lord, He delivered them into your hand.

For the eyes of the Lord move to and frothroughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His."(2Chron 16:8-9)

As long as we rely on Him we have victory.Many times we see failures and sins because thepeople did not rely on God, but rather onthemselves. We see Daniel, who despite the circumstances trusted God—and he lived powerfully (victoriously). Daniel's three friends decided to trust God, whether He saved them fromthe flames of the furnace or not. Rejection, fear,persecution, pride, lust or death, over all thesewe gain victory as we rely on Jesus.

We rely on Him as our vigilant provider who"supplies all our needs" (Ph 4:19, Mt 6:31-33).He may not employ ravens to feed the Elijahs ofthis world, but by one means or another he sustains all those who rely on him. We do not praisepoverty, yet, one of its blessings is that it keepsus looking to and trusting God.

There must, however, be a qualifying word onthe how of our trusting God. First, it must be areal trust; not merely a pretended or imaginedone. Micah 3:11 says, "Her leaders pronouncejudgment for a bride, her priests instruct for aprice, and her prophets divine for money. Yetthey lean on the Lord saying, 'Is not the Lord inour midst? Calamity will not come upon us.' "That kind of trust was superficial, and God didnot honor it. So it is in Jeremiah 42 & 43—"wewill do whatever the Lord our God shall say" —and then they refused because it was not whatthey wanted to hear.

Second, our trust must be constant. Even

good king Hezeklah had relapses (2Chron32:35). We must guard against such vacillations. Psalm 112:7 describes the godly man,"His heart is fixed (steadfast), trusting in (relying on) the Lord."

Finally, our trust must be unmixed, it must bein the Lord alone. A wishy-washy faith dishonorsGod. We must learn to say with David "He onlyis my Rock and my salvation,...My soul, wait...for God only, and (he only is) my stronghold."(Psalm 62:2,5,6) Paul put it well when hesaid"...I count all things to be loss in view of thesurpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus myLord, for whom i have suffered the loss of allthings, and count them but rubbish in order thatI may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, nothaving a righteousness of my own derived fromthe Law, but that which is through faith inChrist, the righteousness which comes from Godon the basis of faith." (Ph 3:8-9)

CAMP

The theme of this year's camp was "Encouragement." Eleven people from the Land-stuhl congregation made the trek to northern Italy for this week of fellowship and teaching. Oneof the people said "This is great! I really neededthis. I can't wait to come back next year—didyou say something about a Mid-Winter rally?"It was a good time. Of the sixty people who attended, more than half were military or militaryrelated people stationed in Italy and WestGermany.

Let me share with you some thoughtspresented by Harold Fowler in his class on "Encouragement in Christ." He dealt with differentthemes (e.g., gentleness, kindness, interruptions, and self-discipline) and looked at variousinstances in Jesus' life which gives us encouragement. Jesus uttered the statement"Blessed are the meek (gentle)..." in the midstof revolutionary thinking. Simon the Zealotwould be more appropriately thought of as

Simon the Revolutionary. Perhaps even JudasIscariot could be placed in company with Simonas the name Iscariot may refer not to his hometown but to the radical Zealots who carry a dagger (sicarius). We see Jesus, however, riseabove the pettiness of his oppents, and weadore him for it. We are shocked and offended,however, when we see people trampling onJesus.

Jesus was going toward Jerusalem theSamaritans did not receive him. James and John

became angry over this and wanted to know ifthey should call fire down out of heaven todestroy them— but Jesus rebuked them. WhenJesus healed the man who was possessed bydemons, the people were gripped with fear andasked him to leave. Even Jesus' own trial, he isdescribed as a sheep which is silent before itssheerer. Matthew states that Pilate was amaz

ed that Jesus would not even answer the

charges made against him. He says nothing except when the High Priest charged him underoath to God to tell them whether he was the

Christ or not.

Gentleness means we surrender our personalrights and goals to God. Did Jesus ever defendhis rights? Yes! Gentleness does not demandthat we surrender all our rights under all circumstances. What advantages would there bein not asserting our rights? Our witness to othersis affected. We might have more energy to channel in one direction (rather than blowing offsteam). Passages like James 4:10 and 1 Peter2:22 would take on new meaning. We cannottrust deeply in someone we don't know well (cf.,Mt 11:25-30). Do we really know Jesus andGod and His plan well enough to accept and actupon it?

BOOKSTORE UPDATE

Since April I have been working on setting upthe bookstore. I have learned a lot concerningpermits, tax payments, and an overall business

setup. Of course, there is more "red tape" herethan one would encounter in the states. Someof this red tape involves knowing what the traderestrictions are going to be. Then there is thewaiting involved for the material to arrive. Ittakes about a week for the letter with the orderto arrive in the states, some time for processing the order, and four to eight weeks for themerchandise to arrive in Germany.

At present, we have about two-thirds of thematerial which I have ordered. Several people inthe congregation have volunteered their time inhelping to set up this store. We have builtshelves, hung signs and made some flyers togive out to people. A special offering was takento lay new carpet in the store area. The peoplehere are enthusiastic about the store. Althoughaccording to the German government, the storeis officially open (and we have been sellingitems), we are planning to have a grand opening in September. This would give us time to putout some publicity about the store. All in all, thestore is progressing well and should be a benefitnot only to the church but also to thecommunity.

INTERN VISITED

Early this year I received a letter from TimSnyder, a youth minister in Kentucky, aboutcoming to visit for a couple of weeks while hewas in Germany. About mid-June Tim came andlearned about the work here among theAmericans in this area. He was a great helparound the building as we worked some on thebookstore. He accompanied us to camp in Italy. He said he really enjoyed this camp becauseusually he was busy teaching or coordinatingyouth camps. After camp, we journeyed throughSwitzerland and visited the Matterhorn. Thosemountains impressed him (me too!) It was niceto have him for those couple of weeks.

PEOPLE LEAVING

It seems hard to believe that time passes soquickly. This past June Leah Belts left and headed for Washington. She has been here for thelast three years supporting and working in thecongregation here. We received a letter from heralready. She says that her congregation therehas a new building, but she would like to be inthe small congregation in Landstuhl. She is going to be missed.

David and Carol Collins left this past Julyheading for Ft. Worth, Texas. Every week

(almost) we would have Bible study in theirhome. They would drive down from Hahn (aboutan hour's drive) to attend. Their love and friendship are going to be missed.

(Darl and Judy Bersagel left this August fortheir new station in San Fransico. They have forthe past three years added a lot to this congregation. Carl has led singing, done meditations,preached, headed the men's meeting and filledin wherever needed. Judy has taught in both thechildren's church and in Sunday school. Theytook some important leadership roles while theywere here. It seems that they attended everycamp and Mid-Winter Rally there was while theywere here. They are going to be missed, but theirnew congregation will gain!

NEW PEOPLE

We know that people are going to leave aftertwo, three or four years. So, even though wewill miss those who leave, it is a joy to welcomenew ones as they begin their work here in aforeign land. Scott and Robin Kendall joined usthis past spring. Robin is switching with anotherRobin in teaching Sunday school and Children'sChurch. Their enthusiasm for the Lord and thework here is great!

Steve and Robin Johnstone also joined us thispast spring. Both are active in teaching roles(Sunday school and Children's Church). Theykeep asking what they can do. They are willingto step in wherever they are needed.

Duane and Jamie Griicky (pronounced Ger-lick-ee) came this spring. Duane looked aroundtheir first Sunday here and said to himself thathere was a congregation in which he could dosomething. He began asking what he should doand hasn't stopped. He spots something whichneeds to be done and begins the task. He is doing meditations and is the teacher for the adultclass, also. Jamie steps in wherever she is needed. Both bring excitement for the work.

Bill and Claudia Britz joined us this summer andhave shared their talents with us. Their first Sunday, we did not have a piano player—Billvolunteered Claudia. She plays excellently!There are rumors now of beginning a small choiror trio or quartet. Bill has offered his carpentryskills and we are going to take him up on this.

Room does not allow me to tell you about allthe new people which have come, so I will savethat until another time. I must still tell you of theFishers, Watts, Shelbys, Vagniers and Richard-sons. They all are excited and ready to sharetheir talents in whatever capacity they are able.

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Wedding Bells are Ringingfor

Don Bridges and Janet A IdrichOctober 31, 1988

'•r atLandstuhl Christian Church

Landstuhl, West Gerifiany

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FINANCIAL REPORT

Balance on Hand 12/31/87 $ 4.194.59

Income S 9,560.19

$ 13,754.78

Salary $ 5,600.00

Miscellaneous $ 2,974.20

Furlough & Retirement $ 1,866.69

$ 10,440.89

Balance on Hand 7/31/88 $ 3,313.89