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3rd Quarter July - Sept 1999 |
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| I kept asking myself that as I
stood by my father's bedside on April 14th before and after he went home
to be with the Lord. I was asking that question in the midst of the
most difficult time of my life because I was experiencing God's grace and
I wanted to understand what was going on inside me.
I was crying and pacing the floor like I have never done before, yet my heart was at peace, total peace. Grief did not penetrate my heart. I felt there was an invisible shield that was protecting my heart. I kept asking myself whether I was in denial or just numb from the shock. But neither one was the case. It was God's grace I was experiencing, yet the question remained, what is grace? Is it being numbed so we don't feel pain? Is it being indifferent or nonchalant about death? No! Not at all. It is being enabled by the Holy Spirit to accept and live the revealed Word of God. You see, all my life I had dreaded the day
of my parent's death. Many times I had imagined people coming to
tell me the dreaded news. In my imaginings, I would go crazy
with grief.
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I dreaded death so much because to me, the truth about death's
finality and gloom outweighed the truth about death being the bridge to
eternity. We rarely see or want to see the positive side if death.
It is the only way that will usher us to eternal beauty, to life without
pain, sorrow and sickness. It is the only way we can truly be free
from this sinful body and world. In fact Isaiah writes, "...The
righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. ...they find rest
as they lie in death." (Is. 57:1,2) Here is
a shocker in Psalms, "Precious in the
sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." (Ps. 16:15)
As I stood and watched the tent my dad left behind, the scale tipped
in my mind and heart to the other truth about death. Death is not
to be feared by those of us who know the Lord. Paul said,
"For me to live is Christ and to die gain. ...I desire to depart
and be with Christ, which is better by far." (Phil. 1:21,23)
But while pondering this truth, I kept wondering
if this definition of grace was even scriptural. I asked God to show
me in the Bible if my definition and understanding of grace could be supported.
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If it could not, I did not want to start my own doctrine.
Two weeks ago while I was at the EOM office I decided to read the Bible while the copy machine was copying some tracts. I started reading 2 Peter 1:2 and verse 2 grabbed my attention. This is what it says: "Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God in Jesus our Lord." I was overjoyed. According to this scripture, Grace can be ours through our knowledge of God and Jesus. Jesus is the Word so as we get to know him we experience grace. The revelation of his Word is an encounter with him. I encourage you brothers and sisters to accept and live the revealed Word of God. I accepted the truth that the Lord revealed to me and started living it. From that moment on the only picture I have of my dad is him being with Jesus and all the saints that have gone on before him. I miss him like I miss my mom and sisters who don't live around me, except that I can't call him or write to him like I can to them. Now more than ever Heaven has become real to me. I look forward to seeing both of my dads. Sossena
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| A New and Exciting Field of Service | ||
| Ledet, an Ethiopian Christian
sister, wrote to our office in mid-March of this year. Her letter
came from a country we have never heard from before, Beirut, Lebanon.
Ledet wrote the letter primarily to express her gratitude and to share with us how believers at the Ethiopian Christian Unity in Beirut heard one of the tapes EOM produced, "Mirchaw yenante naw (The Choice is Yours)". She also shared how God has been touching the lives of Ethiopians and those around them through the teachings on the tape. Many are still coming to the knowledge of Christ as a result of exposure to this tape. Among them are mercenaries who travel from place killing people for money. The Ethiopian Christian Unity is tapping the power of God to accomplish His purpose through strong and disciplined prayer. The Ethiopian Christina Unity (ECU) was established
two and a half years ago with Ethiopian believers who went to Beirut as
contract workers. They started spreading the gospel to hundreds of
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350 believers in the ECU. They meet in a Baptist church
on Sundays from 10:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. They also meet on Saturday
nights at a different location for worship, Bible study and prayer from
10:30 p.m. until 6:00 a.m.
Ledet expressed her wish that brother Melese visit the Christians in Beirut to teach and train them to be more effective in Kingdom work. We replied to Ledet's request that while it would be an honor to serve the Lord among them, it would be more appropriate if the need for brother Melese to visit the fellowship were to be acknowledged by the leaders of ECU in Beirut and the request presented through them. Shortly thereafter, a letter was faxed to us from the leader of the fellowship. The letter began with the Bible verse we receive from hundreds of others around the world: Hebrews 6:10 - "For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love which you showed for His sake in serving the saints, as you still do." When they expressed their joy at having brother Melese among them , they said "... we received your letter that expresses your willingness to come to our |
fellowship. God bless you for filling our hearts with
joy. ... We give
praise to the almighty God who will visit us and comfort us through you in this desert land where it seems there is no hope or future. We are anxiously waiting for your arrival, praying that God will bring you safely. We are also praying that God will use you mightily here in Beirut, that we may be encouraged, taught, and trained to become more effective in sharing the love of Christ with others." Now you know the "new and exciting field of service." Brother Melese is scheduled to arrive in Beirut on July 27 for one week of preaching and teaching the Word of God. He will also be in Yemen and Djibouti. Your prayers and support are very crucial to this new door of ministry opened for EOM. You have read about the need of believers in Beirut for sound Biblical training and teaching. We invite you to join us in putting our hearts, minds, resources and prayers together to make a great impact in the lives of hundreds of people in a place where it would be difficult to reach each one individually. |
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ur annual Benefit
Dinner that was held May 15, 1999 was a great success. We want to
thank many of you who were able to come as far as from New York and Virginia.
Many friends who were not able to come to the dinner also responded with
their financial support letting us know that they are standing behind us
promoting the Kingdom work. Thank you dear friends for all the encouragement
and support you have given us. God bless you..
ith popular demand,
we have decided to have the Authentic Ethiopian Dinner twice a year and
the next one for 1999 is Saturday, October 9, 1999 from 12:00 noon until
6:00 p.m. We are informing you of this early so you can mark the
day on your calendar. Like in the past, the dinner will include different
dishes with real teff injera. Remember, every one is invited.
The dinner benefits our radio ministry that currently airs from the Middle
East and reaches over twenty million Ethiopians in Ethiopia, most other
African countries, most of Europe and the Middle East. The dinner
will also benefit our recently added video ministry which has enabled us
to take the teaching ministry of brother Melese, videotaped with quality
sound and image, to literally every continent.
esponse from the
Ethiopian Fellowship in Denmark is overwhelming. Brother Melese's
down to earth and Bible anchored teaching has already started to make a
tremendous impact bringing people to salvation and recommitting of their
lives to the Lord. The Holy Spirit is touching and changing lives
for His glory. Let us praise God and continue praying for more harvest
of souls in the Middle East and Africa.
n the last News
& Views issue we shared with you about an aggressive outreach program
that is in the works. This outreach effort is going to take place
in the most Ethiopian-populated cities in the U.S. There are an estimated
thirty thousand-plus Ethiopians who live in the three eastern states of
Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia. The Lord put the
burden on our hearts to share the message of the Gospel with these Ethiopians.
However, WE NEED YOUR HELP to produce the materials that we are
preparing so that they appeal to both content and form to those who receive
them. We estimate about $3900 to reach one third of these 30,000
Ethiopians. Pray with us that the Lord will provide the resources
to prepare the materials. Pray also for the brother who will volunteer
to direct the distribution of the Gospel message from Washington, D.C.
Please contact our office if you feel led by the Holy Spirit to financially
contribute and/or be part of this life saving mission.