'I don't want to agonise to find Your will; I want to obey what I already know!'
Joseph Bayley
HELP REQUESTED
----- Original Message -----
From: Cliff Rogers
To: info@brethren.org.nz
Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2003 10:10 AM
Subject: Roland Rogers
Dear brethren in Christ:
I have just discovered your web site and find it very interesting.
It has just occurred to me that some of you may have met my brother (biological as well as spiritual) Roland Rogers, who emigrated from the UK to NZ in 1949 and went to be with the Lord in (I think) 1977.
My cousins in NZ, with the permission of his wife, are trying to put together a biography of his life and ministry in the same way that I have written my own auto-biography. And I have promised to help them as much as I possibly can.
Would any of your readers or contacts know anything at all about Roland and his activities. And would they be willing to send it to me - absolutely anything at all, no matter how small it is - and I will put it all together for my cousins and send it on to them.
I have some recollections relating to Roland's life just before and during WW II and I believe that his story, if known, would bring the Lord great honour and glory.
At the same time, if any of you have any interesting tidbits relating to my father, E. W. Rogers, I would be interested to hear them, for I have devoted a whole chapter on him in my own auto-biography, the 2nd edition of which is nearing completion. I am willing to hold up its completion if necessary.
Cliff Rogers
cmrogers@cyberus.ca
It Happened at Christmas
Louis Cassells writes, "Once upon a time there was a man
who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug. He was a
kind, decent person, generous to his family, upright in all
his dealings with other men. But he didn't believe all the
stuff about the virgin birth. 'I am sorry to distress
you,' he told his wife, who was a faithful Christ
follower. 'But I simply can't understand this claim
that God became man. It doesn't make any sense to
me.' On Christmas Eve, his wife and children went to
church for the midnight service. He declined to accompany
them. ‘I'd feel like a hypocrite. I'd much rather stay at
home. But I'll wait up for you.'
"Shortly after his family left, snow began to fall. He
went to the window and watched flurries getting heavier and
heavier. A few minutes later he was startled by a thudding
sound. It was quickly followed by another, then another.
He thought that someone must be throwing snowballs at his
living room window.
"When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a
flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had
been caught in the storm, and in a desperate search for
shelter had tried to fly through his window. He couldn't
let them freeze, so he went to the barn and opened the
doors wide and turned on a light. The birds didn't
come. ‘Food will bring them,' he thought. So he hurried
back to the house for bread crumbs, which he sprinkled on
the snow to make a trail for them into the barn.
"To his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and
continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried
shooing them in the barn by walking around and waving his
arms. They scattered in every direction – except into the
warm, lighted barn. ‘They find me a strange and terrifying
creature. And I can't seem to think of any way to let them
know they can trust me. If only I could be a bird
myself for a few minutes I could lead them to
safety…'
"Just at that moment, the church bells began to ring. He
stood silently for a while, listening to the bells peal the
glad tidings of Christmas. Then he sank to his knees in
the snow. ‘Now I do understand. Now I do know why You had
to do it.'"
John 1:14 (New Living Translation) "So the Word (Jesus)
became human and lived here on earth among us."
Christmas is understanding what it means to have God with
us, and why He chose to be with us. He wants to lead us to
eternal safety.
* * * *
“V” is for “Church”
Second, the church is a body of people made alive by the Holy Spirit. The people are vibrant because they are filled with the vital principle of life from God. They are born again.
Third, this church is varied. It is made up of people with varied gifts and varied talents. Some can sing; others can play. One has a gift of teaching; another has a gift of leading. The Holy Spirit gives varied gifts. He distributes these gifts to each and every member as He wills.
Fourth, the church is also visionary. The church has a vision given to it by God. On one hand the church has a biblical view of Christ. She knows who He is and what He has done. This view of Christ makes the church Christian. On the other hand, the church has a vision of what Christ desires her to do. She must propagate her view and understanding of the Saviour.
Fifth, this means the church must be vocal. She must broadcast the biblical vision of Christ.
Are you part of the visible, vital, varied, visionary, vocal church?