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January - February 2002 The Sabbath Sentinel
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Letters to the Editor
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Dear Editor,
I received the Jan-Feb & March-April Sabbath
Sentinel for the first time in approximately 20 years.
It was very refreshing to read of the people who are
Sabbath keepers.
The letters to the Editor particularly caught my
attention.
Would it be possible to get a copy of the article
concerning women? I gather from the responses that it was in the
Sept./Oct. issue.
My husband and I have been Sabbath-keepers for over
30 years.
During that time we have come to a different understanding on
many biblical issues. Some issues have taken years for us to
totally understand and to take a position on them. As the
Scripture indicates,one person plants the seed, another waters
but Yahweh causes the growth.
Through the years I have also realized that I can love people
who don't have the exact same understanding of Scripture as I
do.
It seems like people who get angry because someone has a
different opinion are taking it much too personally.
Sharon Stubles
Thank you for your comments and your contribution. You
should have received the information you requested by now. One
easy way to consult past issues of The
Sabbath Sentinel is to go to our Web site at
http://www.biblesabbath.org/. Many of our previous issues are
there available for download, and you can browse for other
material that might be of interest to you.
Ed.
Dear Friends,
I haven't written in quite a while, but after reading (and
rereading some articles) in the July-August "Sentinel," I
thought it necessary. (And by the way, the "Sentinel" just keeps
on getting better !!) As a former member on the B.S.A. board of
directors, and a lifetime member of B.S.A., I wanted to share a
recent experience with you,...
Now the experience. We have not attended any Church Of God
service for many years, nor have we been invited,... Well, I had
developed a friendship with an accountant whom I had just met a
year ago, who was an elder in the Christadelphian Church Of God.
Recently, Phil, the elder, invited Merrily & me to their
services on Sunday. I told him politely about my view of the
Sabbath, and he said they had a booklet (naturally!!) explaining
why no day was special to God etc., etc., blah, blah. We agreed
to disagree and are still friends. Just last week, not having
had any fellowship and worship with fellow believers publicly
for many years, I relented, and called him for directions to his
church for Sunday. Only his wife, Pam, was home, and after
getting details about the type of service, found that they
partake of the symbols at a Lord's table every week, but we
could sit and watch but not participate. Only baptized members
could! Suddenly I realized God was telling me: the Sabbath, son,
is the identifying sign of his people, not membership in an
organization. I knew this for years, but it took my embarrassing
weakness and compromise with that beautiful truth, the seventh
day cycle as Ken Westby would call it, the Sabbath, and another
correction to put me in my place -- not welcome in a church
service again, but always welcome on the blessed seventh day to
celebrate an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ and our
Heavenly Father. The Sabbath is a gift, and what one does with a
gift is what they think of the giver of that gift. It's as
simple as that. And for a moment, I almost forgot the value of
that gift.
So, today we're enjoying another Virtual Church service by phone
with Ken Westby of A.C.D. (and vice president of the
B.S.A.). Ken has worked tirelessly for years, speaking the truth
with love as the apostle would say in Ephesians 4:15. If it
wasn't for Ken's Virtual Church, we would feel unwanted and
lost. He gives us a feeling of belonging and being spiritual
members in the body of the Messiah once again, and we can't
thank him enough for his efforts as a minister of God (our
minister).
Perhaps we should say thanks to all of you at B.S.A for giving
to a couple in a far corner of Canada the good news of our
Messiah, a day of celebration of rest in this hectic world and
encouragement to love our neighbor and our families. As Dr.
Bacchiocchi has said, it is a celebration of creation,
redemption, and sanctification.
Until you almost throw it away, you don't appreciate one of the
simple gifts--we don't keep the Sabbath; the Sabbath keeps us in
relationship with God Almighty.
And you (we) have had the privilege to promote this truth. I've
learned a valuable lesson this week. Perhaps you can learn from
it too.
In Christian love and appreciation, your friends,
John & Merrily Bennet.
TSS
January - February 2002 The Sabbath Sentinel
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