Suzy B Software 2/Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso/christin/gosplads/shot_g.txt

Text File | 1995-05-02 | 17KB | 444 lines

                                          [7th file of 7]
     AFTERWORD

     These first 36 articles are based on the references in
the original Navigator's 108 reference Topical Memory
System.  This first volume of articles reflects on and
hopefully applies all three "packs" of the Wheel and the
Gospel.  I added three and left out one.

     A military veteran Navigator friend whom I met at
Georgia State University had started on the Old TMS before
it was discontinued, and shared the outline of references
with me, probably in 1971. (Thanks, Joey!)  I've been
thinking over these references, more or less in this order,
rather frequently since then, along with the rest of my
studies in the Word.

     I have never been formally associated with the
Navigators, nor been to any meeting of Navs, but I
gratefully acknowledge the impact that they have had on my
life and ministry, especially Dawson Trotman's address "The
Need of the Hour".  Father, I ask You to convey my grateful
thanks to my brother "Daws" awaiting the day when I can meet
him and thank him for myself.

     I'm planning on two more similar volumes dealing with
"Promised Blessings" & "Challenge", and then "Resources" &
"Expected Fruit".

     My concept behind sharing in mass media the promises
and commands (and rebukes) addressed to Christians is "Let
him who boasts boast in the Lord!"

     Evangelism is the preaching of Good News.  Certainly we
must rebuke sin and show the need of a Savior.  We also need
to brag about how wonderful our Savior is, how exciting and
fulfilling the Christian life is, and how satisfying it is
to serve our King.

     "O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name
together!"

[Here's some "Baker's Dozen"-type stuff from the notebook.
I hope that you enjoy it, and pray that you may find
it edifying and useful.]




     GIDEON

     I saw on a news broadcast that the Anti-Defamation
League objected to the New Testaments being distributed by
the Gideons, an interdenominational businessmen's
organization, to students near a Gwinett County [GA]
elementary school.

     I'd like to point out, first, that the Gideons were not
in the school, but nearby on the sidewalk, passing out the
little Testaments only to the children who came up to take
them voluntarily.

     Second, there was no denominational or sectarian
comment in the little books, only the text of the King James
(Authorized) Version of the New Testament.

     Third, the presence of the Gideons outside the school
and away from school property does not imply any support or
approval by the school board.

     Fourth, while some would consider the school had some
responsibility to protect children from drug-dealers and
kidnappers on or near campus, I ask, is it necessary to
protect children from businessmen who used to be welcomed
into schools with presentation assemblies?

     Fifth, the English Bible, especially in the King James
Version, is recognized as a literary masterpiece that has
shaped our language and our allusions since its first
publication to the present.  Isn't it historically and
literarily significant to know the source of so much of our
linguistic heritage?

     Sixth, although the Supreme Court may have overlooked
this, the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the
FREEDOM of religion, and that the federal government is
prohibited from interfering with its free exercise.  The
Federal Government, but not the states, was prohibited from
establishing any religion or denomination as the official
one for the country.  The states were free to have
established churches and to require membership in good
standing in order to be an elected official.

     "Separation between Church and State" is a provision of
the Soviet constitution, but that phrase does not occur in
the constitution of the United States of America.  Whose
constitution are we going by, anyway?

     Seventh, why is the Anti-Defamation League upset?  If
Doctor Luke was a Hellenistic Jew, the entire New Testament
was written by Jews who had come to believe that Jesus was
the Messiah of Israel.  Certainly the ADL disagrees with
this, but there is NOTHING in the text of the New Testament
that defames or denigrates or dishonors Jews or in any way
suggests or justifies anti-Semitism.

     I freely confess that I am a believer in Jesus as
Messiah and King, and I accept the entire Bible, a
thoroughly Jewish book, as God's inspired message to
mankind.  I am VERY proud of the fact that my father,
C.Cotton Price, is an active Gideon.

     In an age when sexual perverts are coming out of the
closet and clamoring for preferential treatment under
affirmative action laws, I refuse to go into the closet
because I am a Bible-lover.  The Bible is at least a very
important part of our culture, and should be read by every
person who claims to be educated.

     I don't think that responsible and upstanding Christian
businessmen should be treated like neighborhood drug
pushers.
    Clyde C. Price, Jr.
    Red Oak, Georgia




"STAMP IT"
     I.

     Thunk-thud,
     Thunk-thud,
     Thunk-thud.

     I spend a lot of time stamping things.

     I stamp product information and reprinted health
articles for handouts and bag stuffers so my customers will
know where to come back and buy more good stuff.

     I put my personal stamp, or my signature and phone
number or both, on over a thousand tracts, booklets and
Scripture portions a year so that there will be a channel
from the people who receive them back to a living, listening
human being, if they want it.

     In fifteen years, I have only had two people ever call
me back from literature I had given out.  An old praying
mother needed someone to pick up her middle aged son from
jail, and wanted somebody who had spoken with him about the
Lord.  I did it.  Another time, a woman wanted to talk to
somebody at 3 am one night.  I listened to her, and told her
that God had a way out for her.

     For all the thousands of other people who have received
those gospel leaflets and booklets, they have not simply
taken an anonymous fingerprint-free piece of Madison Avenue
propaganda.  CLYDE PRICE PERSONALLY ENDORSES THIS MESSAGE.
I hope that's worth something.

     II.

     God can use His Word in printed form, or broadcast, or
recorded, or any other less personal method.  Those other
media are NOT bad, and NOT inferior, and should not be
abandoned or avoided;  but the most God-honored medium in
history is tell-a-person.

     When I use tracts, I try to give the printed message
along with a spoken "plug":  "This little booklet is an
outline presentation about how to have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ" or "...about how to receive
the gift of eternal life."  Or, "This is the Gospel of John
from the New Testament in plain English, and [pointing to my
stamp] that's me."

     I have spent many hours copying out sections of
Scripture by hand onto bookmarks for love-gifts to people
going on certain kinds of spiritual retreats.  I feel that
when I HAND-COPY Scripture FOR another person, that I am
personally endorsing and adopting God's Word as MY MESSAGE
TOO to the other person.  The apostle Paul spoke of "MY
gospel".  Well, it's MINE too.

     I HEARD the invitations to "TASTE and see that the Lord
is good" and to DRINK of the living water that really
SATISFIES.  And even though I'm not a celebrity, I'm a
"satisfied customer" and I am eager to give my personal
"testimonial."

     The Gospel is GOOD NEWS.  Jesus is GOOD.  Clyde Price
says so, too.

     [I wrote this when I was working in a health food
store. --cp]




          "DILUTED"

An introduction to homeopathic remedies said that
the father of modern homeopathy
treated an illness by taking certain herbs or minerals
and DILUTING them.
He concluded that the more DILUTED they were,
the more effective they were.

I strongly suspect that there are limits
to this kind of reasoning,
but I started thinking about
treating people with the Word.

Sometimes a hunk of straight,
undiluted Scripture
is hard for an individual to digest,
especially if he lacks
the required adult enzymes
necessary for strong meat.

Maybe "preaching" the Word involves
rephrasing, illustrating, explaining Truth
--"watering down" without changing content--
into a medicinal solution or "milk"
that the patient can digest.

It feels funny to compare a preacher
to a homeopathic doctor
or a nursing momma.
                          Clyde Price




     BANKRUPTCY

     Bankruptcy entails a release of all or certain debts
without the necessary consent of the creditor.  In one
sense, it violates the principle of paying back debts when
a person is able to pay (Proverbs 3:28).  On the other hand,
the nation of Israel had a limitation on debts such that
every seven years all Israelite debts were cancelled.  No
term of payment exceeded seven years, and debts incurred
late in the cycle were still released at the end of the
seven year cycle.  This enabled an Israelite of limited
means and perhaps difficult circumstances to make a fresh
start after a maximum of seven years of debt or of
indentured servitude (Deuteronomy 15:1ff.).

     This was one of God's gracious provisions for His
people under the covenant of grace.  It did not extend
generally to foreigners.  For a society which does not have
such a provision, it is not my opinion that Christians
should legislate one.  The Lord Jesus Christ teaches that
Christians should lend freely without expecting to receive
anything back in return;  this presupposes a readiness to
forgive the debt before the debt is incurred. (Matthew 5:42;
Luke 6:34-36)

     In recent times, bankruptcy has become much more easily
obtained and much more respectable, to the extent that many
people who actually could pay back all or most of their
debts are filing bankruptcy under the liberalized loopholes
which allow the filing party to keep most of his or her
personal property and pay back little or nothing to the
creditors.  This amounts to stealing.

     The assumption of debt directly incurs commitment to
pay it.  For a Christian, this involves fulfilling his word,
a very important aspect of maintaining the credibility of
the gospel before the world. (cf. Psalms 15:4-5, the man who
swears to his own hurt and does not change.)

     It is my opinion and contention that no Christian
should seek bankruptcy at any time, and especially never
personal bankruptcy.  All other possible means of settlement
should be exhausted, and "all things are possible with God."
(Matthew 19:26)
     Clyde C. Price, Jr.

     [This brief paper was written as an assignment for
Christian Principles of Finance, a course at the Atlanta
School of Biblical Studies, an evangelical and Reformed
seminary and Bible college in Atlanta which emphasizes the
practical training of Christian workers in an urban setting.
     Write for a free catalog and schedule to:
ASBS, P.O.Box 150, Avondale Estates, GA 30002 USA.]

     WELFARE

     The nation of Israel was instructed by God to provide
for the needy of the land by the practice of leaving
"gleanings" in the fields for the poor and the needy.  The
fields were not reaped to the very corners, nor meticulously
picked up, and neglected sheaves were deliberately to be
left behind.

     This system had several advantages.  It required no
government bureaucracy to maintain or administrate it.  It
effectively scattered the needy throughout the land instead
of concentrating them in the cities.  It put the able-bodied
needy into contact with landowners who could use
agricultural manual labor.

     God gave special commands to care for the orphans and
the widows, not to mistreat them and to provide for their
needs. (Exodus 22:22, Deuteronomy 14:28-29)

     These concerns are reiterated in the New Covenant as
obligations of charitable action by believers (James 1:27,
I_Timothy 5:3-16), and limited to those who are unable to
work productively  (II Thessalonians 3:10).

     The welfare system in the United States of America
encourages unemployment of able-bodied people who otherwise
would have to seek gainful employment.  It positively
discourages marriage and encourages illegitimate births; and
it encourages concentration of welfare recipients in urban
areas.

     If the Biblical concept of poverty is the lack of
sufficient food, clothing and shelter, then only a very
small number of people in this country are in poverty.  The
responsibilities which God gave to human government do not
include support of an indigent class of people who find the
dole easier than gainful employment.  Welfare in this
country is an unnecessary and unfair burden on the middle-
class tax-paying worker who directly or indirectly pays
almost all the taxes in this country.

     Clyde C. Price, Jr.

     [This brief paper was written some time ago, before the
explosive growth of the problem of homelessness, which is an
issue different from the one addressed here.

     It was an assignment for Christian Principles of
Finance, a course at the Atlanta School of Biblical Studies.]




     "HEALTH FOOD NUT"

I'm not a "health-food nut",
really.
I had problems, and looked around
for things that would help.
I found some.

I've cut out and cut down
on some things
and added in a lot of others.
With every meal I take a handful
of pills and capsules and tablets
and none of them "drugs",
and all of them either food or food-stuff.

I've recently found out about
     a whole area of foods
that I had been eating
that had been clouding my mind
and sapping my energy.
If I cut them out completely,
it will be VERY hard to eat out
     or have dinner with friends,
and I'm sure some people
will call me a "health food fanatic."

Am I a fanatic
because I want a clear mind
and energy to do my work?
Am I a "nut"
because I want to be healthy?

       Clyde Price



     TAG

     Please share this collection widely, and share printouts
or separate ASCII files of either the whole thing or articles
that you particularly like with other people who produce
newsletters, advertisements and tracts.  (The program LIST for
IBM-compatible machines makes printing out portions very easy.)

     I shared several of these articles into the message bases
of BBSs before issuing the collection.

     If my name and address show up too often, please consider
that, especially in the "extra" material beyond the 36 articles
in the main collection, this is a collage of small pieces I wrote
for separate release.

     Although I realize that the compiled and compressed form will
be easier for use by MS-DOS users, I hope that provisions will be
made for "little guys" with smaller-RAM machines, like the ones I
used initially to create these files.

     Other collections include ARROWS and SCRAPS, with SONRISE,
a 31-day devotional "on the way", other collections of my stuff
in the works, and ASCII editions of uncopyrighted Christian
classics being shared primarily through BBSs.

    I'm a writer and speaker, a (so-far) unordained Bible
teacher, presently a member of a Bible-believing Presbyterian church,
and graduate of Georgia State University (BA, Journalism, BA Classics)
and of the Atlanta School of Biblical Studies (M.Div.).  I'm engaging
in "tentmaking" business enterprises based in the Atlanta area related
to nutrition and energy conservation, and I'm available by schedule
to come and preach/teach/sing/visit, etc.

     I'm presently (1990) raising support for a part-time support-staff
position with Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship as a staff writer
helping our workers communicate with each other and their "Adoptive
Families", helping our workers to document their own ministries and to
develop new evangelistic and ministry-training materials.
     I would welcome your participation in my praying and giving
"Adoptive Family" in this editorial-documentary-&-"public relations" work
of serving other servants of the Lord.  Please write to me directly
concerning my writing ministry with PEF and news about what's happening
in that exciting fellowship of ministries.

     I invite you to call or write to find out about other Christian
material available on electronic media, and other news of interest
to Christians who use computers.  The Atlanta Christian Technology
Society would like to send you a free newsletter. Just write:
ACTS,  P.O.Box 922023, Norcross, GA 30092.  Our "home" bulletin board
system is the Christian Broadcasting Network BBS [phone].

     I ask you to PRAY for the continuing anointing of God on my
ministry, the fire my personal walk with Him, and my physical health.
This is not just pious closing talk:  I want and need your prayers.

    May God bless you richly as you seek to know Him deeply
and make Him known widely.  May our Triune God make you abundantly
fruitful in the Gospel!
     His,
     Clyde.
[end of 7th file of 7]