No one starts out to be a false prophet for

everyone wants to go to heaven. Even false proph-ets usually begin with the truth of scriptures only to exchange it given the right circumstances. Balaam was a prophet of God filled with God’s truth. Yet, when offered riches and fame, he made the switch that set his life on a dead end trajec-tory.

Pick a historical time and we’ll find a false prophet. Peter writes, “But

there were also false proph-ets among the people, just as there will be false teach-ers among you” (2 Peter 2:1a)

Peter wrote with both the authority of God and also from experience when he penned that false proph-ets will “... even deny[ing] the sovereign Lord who bought them ... (2 Peter 2:1b).

Remember the evening our Lord was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane? All

the disciples ran for their lives. Running for your life doesn’t qualify one as a false prophet for they were acting out of self-preserva-tion. However, one of them took the self-preservation route to the threshold of false prophet when, “... another girl saw him and said to the people there, ‘This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ [Peter] denied it again, with an oath: ‘I don’t know the man’” (Matthew 26:71-72)!

The message on March continued on page 1

Resisting Weeds by Pastor Mitch

In God’s Hands

We are not the masters of our own destinies. We are called to plan and strategize, to work and live active lives, to attempt things that are beyond us and tackle chal-lenges that stretch us to the limit. Yet the outcome of our efforts, even our ability to exert our-selves, is always in God’s hands. —Carolyn Custis James, The Gospel of Ruth

INSIDELetting God Find the Weeds on page 3

Love or Law? is on page 4

Ginny’s Kitchen on page 5

What’s happening? see pages 6 & 9

Marriage Makeover on page 7

Our Church Family page 10

Kid’s Page on page 11

For the members, family and friends of the Downey Adventist Church

Small Groups - Growing in Jesus

Please join us on March 17 for Celebration Sabbath. We will be cel-

ebrating the successful completion of our 6 Weeks of Growing in Jesus.

It’s important to cel-ebrate the good things in our lives. So this is a celebration of how God has been leading in during these six weeks. Our small groups will be sharing some of their experiences during the worship hour.

After the worship service, make plans to stay for a special luncheon. Each of the small groups will be making some of their favorite dishes and bringing them to share.

If you’re not in a small group, you are still welcome to stay for the luncheon.

Invite some friends and join us for Celebration Sabbath. =

THE LATEST WORD

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3 is Resisting Weeds. “Notice the characteristics of false teachers. They teach heresy, deny the Lord, bring swift destruc-tion on themselves, lead others into shameful ways, bring truth into disrepute, and in their greed, they exploit people. ‘Be careful of these false teachers,’ Peter warns. ‘They can destroy you.’” (Caught Between Two Worlds) The truth about false prophets will set you free from end time fear.

As Peter concludes his book of the Bible, he warns us to watch out for those who might ridicule our faith in the Lord’s Second Coming. He

writes, “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and follow-ing their own evil desires.

They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:3-5). The message on March 10 is Harvest Time. What a harvest of believers will fill the sky at the Lord’s Second Coming. Everyone

who has made the choice to follow the Lord will be part of the redeemed of the earth. In place of quiet-ing our faith, the message

encourages us to tell the world what we believe—the Lord is coming soon.

On March 17 is Celebration Sabbath. On that day we conclude the small groups’ study, 6 Weeks of

Growing in Jesus. The service is a celebration of God’s goodness and how He is actively working in our lives. Each small group will invite one or two of their members to share their experienced. They will share what they experiences over the past 6 weeks. What was new? What was learned? What prayers were answered? What life changes have been made? Those sharing should plan to speak for around two minutes each. A luncheon is planned that day for everyone.

Have you ever com-plained? Of course you have, we all have. And usually we don’t think too much about it. We think it’s no big deal. But God thinks it is a big deal. On March 24, Bill Aumack will share the message Shockingly Negative. Join us and see what God thinks of our negativity. Prepare to be shocked.

Hebrews 13:8 clearly reminds us: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Our Lord never changes. He is consistent. His love and forgiveness is forever. On the other hand, the disciples’ faith seemed to unravel by the hour. Resurrection day was completely misunderstood. Why? The disciples’ pet-rified ways of thinking about faith and God led them down the disap-pointment pathway. Their understanding of God was too narrow to believe the news that Christ was raised from the tomb. The women bearing the good

WE

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ID

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The Latest Word V 24 N 03

BILL AUMACKresponsible for this

LINDA AUMACKcopy editor

HATZUKO AISPUROpaper distribution

MITCH WILLIAMSpastor

address mail to: Downey Seventh-day Adventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd.Downey, CA 90240office: 562.869.6013fax: 562.622.1691 downeychurch@gmail.comwww.downeychurch.com

distributed monthlyissue date: Mar. 2012 copyright 1992-2012

God’s message is crystal clear, healthy Christians are contin-

ually growing

“

”

Resisting Weeds (cont. from page 1)

continued on page 5

March 2012

3

Webster says “insight” means “the power

or act of seeing into a situation... the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively...” (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary).

God says, “You’ve been given insight

into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readi-ness, any trace of receptiv-ity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight” (Matthew 11, The Message).

Last spring someone gave me a shamrock plant for my birthday. It was small, perhaps in a six-inch pot and very cute. As much as I liked the gift, I assumed that like all other plants in my past this one would not stay alive for very long. So I was surprised when this plant required little care and kept growing. In fact, it grew so much that I needed to put it in a bigger pot within 3 months. And now, almost a year later, it is still growing. No one is more surprised than me! However, at this point, the plaint is beginning to show signs of deterioration. It definitely needs some attention. This morning I was trying to pluck out the dead leaves and found it was not as easy a task as one would think. I could

see that, if I were not care-ful, I would take the good leaves along with the bad.

That reminded me of one of Jesus’ stories. It’s found in Chapter 13 of Matthew and goes like this: “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men

were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too. The farm-hands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn’t it? Where did these thistles come from?’ He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.’ The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?’ He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you’ll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I’ll instruct

the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.’” (The Message.)

I’m really glad that God is the Author and Overseer of this thing called salvation. I’m afraid that if I were in charge of

figuring out who belongs in the Kingdom of Heaven, I might make some pretty big mistakes. I might give up on people long before God does. I know we are all anxious for the Second Coming yet God is wait-ing as Peter tells us: “God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, hold-ing back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change” (2 Peter 3). =

March 3 Mitch WilliamsResisting Weeds

March 10 Mitch Williams

Harvest Time

March 17Mitch Williams

Celebration Sabbath

March 24Bill Aumack

Shockingly Negative

March 31Mitch Williams

Unanticipated Anticipation

Worship Schedule

God, Webster & You

by Linda Bewley Letting God Find the Weeds

THE LATEST WORD

4

Before the Father

by Linda FernandezLove or Law?

So here we are again, faced with legalism or

lawlessness. Adventists certainly, but Christians as a whole are often accused of legalism in the way we choose to obey God’s Law. But what does that term really mean? It isn’t in the Bible, and if the dictionary says a legalist is someone who adheres strictly to a law or prin-ciple; doesn’t it stand to reason that one who is not a legalist must then be lawless? Lawlessness is found in the Bible and in 1 John 3:4 is called sin. Yet both fail if they hope to provide salva-tion.

We know the road we are to follow lead-ing to the narrow gate (Matt.7) is not an easy one, but I wonder if in our zeal to ‘adhere’, we make it into more of a tightrope than a path. If you think about it, acrobats usually walk alone along their tightrope, but they can carry some-one on their shoulders. They would not, however, be able to walk side by side, as Jesus asks us to do as we take up His yoke. On either side of our tight-rope are the extremes of legalism (wanting to prove to God that we can do it ourselves) or lawlessness (telling God we don’t need His help.)

You will hear the non-Christian say, “I am a good person; that should be enough to get me into heaven.” But if they do not know Jesus, why would they even want to go there? On the other hand, you have a believer say-ing, “I hope I will make it.” In neither statement is the assur-ance

of salvation provided by Jesus’ death and resurrec-tion a consideration.

Adam and Eve had the law of love written on their hearts, but they chose to be lawless. Even in the early church, we see the dichotomy: the Galatians were legal-ists; the Corinthians definitely lawless. How

do we keep from falling prey to either one? Here are some helpful remind-ers I found:

Law = aspiration, per-spiration, determination. Love = inspiration. Law = sense of accom-plishment, anticipating reward. Love = wanting to please Him by serving others. Law = display. Love = discipline Law = looking at others, comparing. Love = looking up. Law = see what I can do.

Love = what can I do for you? Let’s pray,

Father, Help us to focus on Jesus and to learn from Him

as we take up His yoke so as not to make our road a tightrope nor one so wide we lose our way. =

“If you love Me, keep My com-mandments.” John 14:15

“Take My yoke, and learn from me….” Matt. 11:29

Set your clocks AHEAD 1 hour on March 11 as Daylight Savings

Time begins.

March 2012

5

Ginny’s Apples, Cheese and Bacon Strips Omeletby Ginny

From Ginny’s Kitchen

Non-stick skillet pan (one skillet does it all)

2 strips of Morning Star Farms Bacon

½ apple

2 T. butter

2 eggs

1 T. milk or plain soy milk

1 ounce X-sharp cheddar cheese

1. In the non-stick skillet heat up two Morning Star

bacon strips. I like them cooked to medium, not floppy. Set bacon strips aside.

2. Core apple, cut into apples slices. Add 1 T. butter and apples slices and cook at medium heat for 5 minutes. Watch carefully and turn to soften and brown. Remove and set aside.

3. Medium heat, melt 1 T. of butter and add whipped egg with 2T milk and when skillet is hot add

the egg mixture. Continue cook-ing egg mixture and swirl around by turning skillet from side to side, and pushing down edges.

4. Now add the cheese down cen-ter of egg mixture, add apples down center and then place 1 bacon strip down and fold over to create an omelet. Turn to brown on other side.

5. Serve with 1 piece of bacon strip on top.

Optional: Serve with O’Brien potatoes =

news were labeled hyster-ics.

The message of March 31 is The Unanticipated Anticipation. While the sermon title may be a slight tongue twister, God’s message is crystal clear — healthy Christians are continually grow-ing. Our understanding and experience of God must never stop grow-ing and changing. Those who think they’ve read the Bible enough, qualify

themselves to join the unhappy disciples who refused to believe the women who returned from the tomb to report it was empty. God can reveal himself to us anyway he chooses—if we’ll allow and accept his teaching.

See you when the church gathers. =

Resisting Weeds from page 2

Be sure to keep up with the latest news by signing up for the Wednesday email. You can sign up here www.downey-church.org/Signups.html or send us an email at DowneyChurch at gmail dot com and we’ll add you.

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5:56 pm sunset

7:01pm sunset

7:07 pm sunset

9:30 am S.S.

9:30 am S.S.

9:30 am S.S.10:50 am Worship Celebration Sabbath12:30 pm Luncheon

9:30 am S.S.10:50 am Worship Bill Aumack

Visit www.downeychurch.orgS.S. – Sabbath School

C.S. – Community Service

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10:50 am Worship Mitch Williams

10:50 am Worship Mitch Williams

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7 pm Band Practice

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Downey Adventist Church

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

7 pm Band Practice

5:50 pm sunset

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

9 am Pathfinder/ Adventurer Meeting

9 am Pathfinder/ Adventurer Meeting

3 pm Pathfinder/ Adventurer Meeting

3 pm Pathfinder/ Adventurer Meeting

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

10 am C.S.

9:30 am S.S.10:50 am Worship Mitch Williams

7:12 pm sunset

7 pm Band Practice

7 pm Women’s Prayer Group

7 pm Band Practice

Pathfinder Camporee

Daylight Savings Begins, move clocks ahead 1 hour

March 2012

7

A young couple fill-ing out their mar-

riage license noticed that one of the questions on the license simply read, “Marriage.” Without hesitation, the prospec-tive groom wrote the word “first”. The perceptive bride wrote in the same space, “last”. Yet, most couples want both answers to describe their marriage. So how can we make mar-riage last in a world of 50% marital breakups?

Vital Guidelines For Lasting Relationships

DEVELOP a Love Bank:

Every person is born with a “Love Bank,” according to marriage counselor Dr. Willard Harley, Jr. Each person we meet is auto-matically and immediately assigned their own account in our bank, so consequently, every interac-tion or experience with that person affects the love units in their account. The number one account in the “Love Bank” has your

spouse’s name on it. While delightful interactions lead to more deposits, upsetting and disappointing exchanges instigate withdrawals. The goal is to invest in your spouse’s love account by satisfying his or her deepest emotional needs. Accordingly, if you make too many withdrawals you could be overdrawn, in debt and that’s never a good way to live — with money or with love.

GIVE Value:The feeling of belong-

ing or being needed is a fundamental human neces-sity. Someone said, “If

no one needs you, what good are you?” Others — employers, students, read-ers — may say they need you. But in these relation-

ships you’re replaceable, at a cost. To your partner you are not replaceable at any price. That gives you a sense of worth that’s needed to meet the world every

day.” 2

SHOW Appreciation

In marriage, both par-ties need respect and appreciation. One husband put it this way: “My wife always makes me feel ten feet tall, especially when she thanks me for the fine job I’ve done on a house-hold project or applauds me for completing the items on her ‘honey-do-list’. But I feel twenty feet tall when she com-pliments me in front of my mother–in-law or the kids.” Showing apprecia-tion for the routine, often unnoticed tasks, like clean-ing her car or vacuuming the house or making his favorite meal honors that person. 3

AVOID the Blame Game

Before marriage, we take the lumps of life

Marriage MakeoverStewpot

by Gordon Botting, DrPH, CHES.

continued on page 8

Acts of love don’t cost money, but they do require time, creativ-ity and often sacrifice.

—Carole Mayhall

When mar-riage works, nothing on earth can take it place.

—Helen Gahagan Douglas

THE LATEST WORD

8

in stride; disapproval, criticism and censure. If things go well at work, we believe it’s because

we did a great job or we made the right decision. When things fall apart, we learn from our mistakes and move on. But, in mar-riage we often hold our spouse responsible for the problems that arise because they are a con-venient scapegoat. I like the way Rudy MacDonald puts it, “Being critical of your spouse chips away at the mortar in the bricks of your marriage’s founda-tion. When all the mortar deteriorates, so does the marriage.” 4 Never fall into the blame game because it’s not only unjust but self-defeating. The best way to deal with conflict and criticism is to stay free of blame and anger. Focus on being loving and under-standing. Gary Smalley, well-known relationship

expert, sums it up this way, “Every enduring mar-riage involves an uncon-ditional commitment to an

imperfect person — your spouse.” 5

MAKE the Commitment

Today, marriage researchers estimate that 40–50% of cur-rent marriages will end in divorce. One of the best methods to remove the “easy out” when things get rough is to simply remove the divorce option. Some years ago, I met a couple who struggled con-

stantly in their marriage relationship, yet they told me they remained together because they had one rule, “Divorce is not an option!” All couples go through times when they feel distant or detached. During those times it is important to remind each other why you got married in the first place. Marriage is a covenant before our heavenly Father, a promise “for better or worse” not a contract based on nostalgia or emotions.

CELEBRATE the God Factor

In general, couples who make it a priority to wor-ship and participate in a faith community have a more durable and a hap-

pier marriage. Having the God of the universe as the knot that ties you together makes for a mar-riage made in heaven, but living on earth. The film star Ricardo Montalbán, known to older generations as the white-suited host, Mr. Roarke in the Aaron Spelling series Fantasy Island (1977), had this to say about the deep faith that kept him married to the same woman, Georgiana Young, Loretta Young’s sister, for 60 years. “Marriage needs many different kinds of glue: love, humor, respect, and belief in God. That’s the strongest of all. It kept us together.” 5

You can invest in a FOREVER MARRIAGE by loving your special someone uncondition-ally and dedicating them every day to our heavenly Father.

Is Money Pulling You Apart?

Troubling Signs: In an analysis of 4,500 mar-riages, Jeffery Dew of Utah State University

discovered that those who clashed over finances at least once a week were twice as likely to end up in divorce court as compared to those who disagreed less than once a month. He also found that married couples who had no savings and were $10,000 in debt were

again twice as likely to divorce as couples in the opposite situation, having no debt and $10,000 in savings. Another red flag is the continuation of quar-rels about how to manage household finances. Often, these disagreements reveal underlying issues like money signifies status, security or even control. 6

Financial Fidelity: Do you know which spouse is

Marriage Makeover (cont. from page 7)

continued on page 10

March 2012

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March Birthdays

Tomas Aispuro – 6 Hatzuko Aispuro – 6 Angela Navarro – 10 Erlinda Garcia – 13 Doris Ramirez - 15Linda Bewley – 20 Natalia Ramirez - 20Darrell Stephens – 25 Humberto Michel – 25 Joel Huinquez, Jr – 26

If your birthday is left out in the monthly newsletter, please contact the church office so we can put it in.

Upcoming EventsThursdays - 7 p.m. Women’s Prayer GroupFridays - 7:00 p.m. Band Practice

Mar. 3 - Pathfinder/Adventurer Meeting - 3pm Mar. 4 - Pathfinder/Adventurer Meeting - 9amMar. 11 - Set Clocks ahead 1 hourMar. 17 - Celebration Sabbath & LuncheonMar. 17 - Pathfinder/Adventurer Meeting - 3pm Mar. 18 - Pathfinder/Adventurer Meeting - 9am

The Latest Word deadline is the 5th of the month.

Coming Soon

Apr. 7 - Easter Sabbath & LuncheonMay 12 - Mother’s Day Sabbath & LuncheonJuly 16-20 - Vacation Bible School

THIS MONTH

Check out the audio and video sermon podcasts at www.downeychurch.org/sermons.html

THE LATEST WORD

10

The Latest About

Our Church FamilyA big thank you to

the Adventurer Club and their leaders for a great Valentine’s Brunch. If you missed it, you can see pics on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/

DowneyChurch.

If you know of a stu-dent in our church fam-ily who is on honor roll or has received some other award, please let us know so we can celebrate with them.

If you have any Church Family news, please con-tact the church office so we can get it into the newsletter. =

Thank you to everyone who has been saving Box Tops for Education. That is greatly appreciated.

For the Box Tops for Education, please save the Box Tops coupon.

Please give your labels to Linda Aumack. Thank you for your sup-port! =

more likely to hide pur-chases; the husband? According to Consumer Education Services, Inc. (CESI) Debt Solutions, 58% of husbands admit to keep-ing some expen-ditures secret compared to 48% of their wives. Concealing your spend-ing only obscures the problem. One solution is to include spousal allow-ances within the household budget, agreeing up front, that the spending of this predetermined amount will not grow larger from

month-to-month. In addi-tion, agree on an amount that cannot be spent within a month without spousal-

consultation. It could be $50, $100 or $150, but spending that amount would require a spousal-meeting, no exceptions! 7

Swap Roles: The male of the species is often born deficient in investment acumen. Several stud-ies indicate a women’s

patience and attention to detail often yield better investment earn-ings over the long haul. Interestingly, investment clubs managed by women very often out-perform those clubs directed by men. I have learned over the years that the female sixth sense is worth lis-tening to, even if I don’t always know why she is saying “buy”, “hold” or “fold”. Why not let her guide the retirement plan or the children’s educa-tional investments while he takes over bills and household resources? This reversal of roles could benefit financial plans and give each of you a fresh perspective. 8 =

References: 1. Harley, Jr., Dr. Willard F. The Love Bank Investment Strategy, www.marriagebuilders.com/.pdf. Vol. 20, #2, Feb. 2011

2. Stein, Herbert, Why a Man Needs a Woman, 1998, p. 150

3. MacDonald, Ruby, 10 Ways to Make a Good Marriage Better, Today’s Christian Woman, Jan/Feb, 1987

4. Smalley, Gary, Thou Shalt Honor, MinistryToday, November/December 2011, p. 54

5. Parachin, Victor, Ten Important Words, Adventist Review, December 19, 2002, p. 27

6. Lewis, Katherine Reynolds, Is Money Pulling You Apart, Money, September 2011, p. 40

7. CESI Debt Solutions. http://www.cesidebtsolutions.org. Accessed December 28, 2011

8. Ibid.

Marriage Makeover from page 8

March 2012

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March 2012

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Downey-Florence Seventh-day Adventist Church9820 Lakewood Blvd., Downey CA 90240

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Ponder This...

= “It is not faith in Christ that saves you (though faith is the instrument); it is Christ’s blood and merits.” —Charles H. Spurgeon

= “Christ distributes courage through community; he dis-sipates doubts through fellowship.” —Max Lucado

= “I’ve long since stopped feeling guilty about taking ‘being’ time; it’s something we all need for our spiritual health, and often we don’t take enough of it.” —Madeleine L’Engle