• HOOK'S POINTS

TO OUR PARTNERS in this ministry -- Thank you! That includes you who help financially, you who buy books to distribute, you who distribute free copies of Free In Christ, you who tell others about the materials in print and posted at our website, Vic Phares who operates the website, and all who encourage and pray for us.

This is intended as a ministry rather than a book business. We do have to sell some books for personal income but our primary aim is to emphasize the liberating grace of God. I wish we could give all books without charge. Distribution was slow in May, but already in June we have given 113 free copies of FREE IN CHRIST plus a lesser number of various titles, and many of you have bought books. We are confident that each of those books is read by more than one person.

You are our advertisers. There are many disciples struggling to stay alive entrapped in a negative and oppressive system of legalism. Reach out to them and point them to the freedom God's grace offers. Do not hesitate to request free copies of FREE IN CHRIST to pass along, with discretion, of course.

"DALAI LAMA TELLS YOUTH, have faith in yourself." Thus read the headline reporting on his speech to 8,000 Portland high school students. He is a "spiritual" leader who does not believe in God! So, have faith in yourself! He told them that they did not have to be religious to lead purposeful lives. The public schools exempted students from classes and provided buses to enable them to attend. Would they enable students to hear any program promoting belief in God, Christ, or the religion our nation was built upon? Though the media reported enthusiastic crowds, their quotes from this "holy man" of Buddhism were rather platitudinous.

THE FAMILY CIRCUS: This little segment of the comic page brings smiles as we see the world from the viewpoint little children. So often they gain strange meanings from words or express misunderstanding that are humorous to us grownups. But the father and mother never demand mature correction, laugh at them, or reject them for their limited understanding. Neither do the kids fight each other to enforce their concepts.

Do you see a lesson there? In God's eyes, you and I are like those little children with many, limited, warped, and skewed ideas. As long as we are of innocent intent, we can think that God looks upon our limited concepts with endearment. He is not a monitor to scold, reject, and punish us for sincere misunderstanding. But how do we interact with one another? Are you one of the "big kids" who bully, incriminate, and demonize the "little kids" who do not line up with your concepts? Sad to say, there are plenty of speakers, lectureships, and publications teaching you to bash and disfellowship the "little kids" who disagree with you. Must all come to you for truth? I suspect that you, too, are a part of "The Family Circus" of God's little kids.

STUDY OF WOMEN'S ROLE: The elders of our Westside congregation here announced and initiated a timely program. Together they have re-studied the role given women in our congregations. Now there will be a series of lessons from the pulpit. The midweek home groups will discuss those lessons together. Special meetings open to all are being conducted inviting input and questions. No changes are to be initiated until after the completion of about three months of this intense review and acceptance of Scriptural teaching. Appeal is being made for unity of mind and cooperation in this long-overdue thorough re-study. Area congregations will be informed so as to avoid misinformed rumors. Westside congregation has been a leader in re-studying traditions which we have made into laws. The elders are to be commended highly for this review of the role of our devoted women.

"HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED or realized that the tendency of the Churches of Christ is to be reactionary rather than affirmative and constructive? We are suspicious of any change, generally inflexible, and seldom in the lead in service to others or resolving/solving societal problems. We react to what others do and are known more for what we are against or opposed to than our service to man. We emphasize a doctrine of opposition to alleged errors in external manifestations of worship. We spend our energy, money, and time debating and dividing over "disputable issues" rather than preaching the gospel to the unsaved and manifesting abundant, spiritual living whereby the curiosity of unbelievers would be aroused to investigate our motivations.

"No doubt this tendency to be reactionary is instrumental in our decline in faith, influence, numbers, and spirituality. I confess to being a part of this tendency. Hallelujah more and more are seeing the error of this posture based upon our myopia relative to truth which resulted in our claim to be its sole repository, and they are transcending our sectarian isolation." -Dr. Jim Albert, an email note. jjea@lightspeed.net

MY EVIL INTENT REVEALED!! The freedom that I promote is a "cloak of maliciousness" (1 Peter 2:16), according to a 146-page critique of "Free In Christ." "A Cloak of Malice" is the title of the book. Malice is "intent to commit an unlawful act or cause harm without legal justification or excuse (Webster), or "badness in character, the vicious character generally" (Vine). A cloak is symbolic of deceit. This book is written by a brother whom I do not know, Dan Kessinger, of St. Marys, WV, a preacher who also works with West Virginia School of Preaching. This is not the first book "inspired" by my book. Don Ruhl, of Klamath Falls, OR edited and published a refutation of my teachings in 1987. Fifty years ago, I could have had some appreciation for such writings. Now, I can only hope that God will be as patient with them as he has been with me.

EMAIL MARKETING & FORWARDED E-MAIL. All of us receive a supply exceeding our gratitude. Some of it has long trailers that take much space. For instance, some will reply to an issue of e-mailed "Freedom's Ring," thus sending the entire lesson back to me. Instead of re-sending material when forwarding or replying, you can highlight and delete all but your message before sending it. That does not remove it from your stored message but it does avoid re-sending it. OK! Now I am a computer instructor! But maybe you can tell me how to get off the mailing list of all the email marketers. I write them to remove my address, but the messages always bounce back. Is there a solution? No, I don't want to buy more software!

WHO IS THE CENTER? You or Christ? Unity is not centered in me or you. Our fellowship is in Christ. A person withdraws himself from Christ by denial of such basics as the divinity of Jesus or his resurrection, by hardened impenitence in immoral conduct, or by drawing disciples away from Christ by a sectarian attitude. Since you, as a sincere disciple, are in Christ, in order for me to avoid your fellowship, I would have to separate from Christ, the Center! Those so eager to disfellowship others, beware of the self-centered arrogance that usually motivates such actions.

COMMUNICATING AN UNCHANGING CHRIST in a changing culture: Fred Peatross, encourages responsible change in his timely book, "A Pixel in A Greater Picture: The Emerging Church of Christ version 2.0." Edward Fudge wrote the foreword. To order: http://www.gcmagazine.net/emerging2.html.

FAIR WARNING! This urgent message came to me recently in a mailout: "Please, for Christ's sake, consider this letter. Several ministers helped edit this information pointing to this spring for "the day of the Lord" when "judgment must begin at the house of God." "May 5, 2000. The date that Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will line up with the sun and moon-- the first time in 6,000 years." The warning continued that 6,000 years after creation, the Lord would come. Sorry about that, but Jesus told his disciples that he would come in their generation -- and he did!

"DAY STARTER": Lyle and Betty Ensminger, of Oxnard, CA, have endeared themselves to Lea and me, and many others. He sends out a "Day Starter" thought each day, usually a one-liner by writers both ancient and modern. And some are original, authenticated by his gray hair. You may receive them by writing to: m.mrlyle@verizon.net. Here is today's quotation as an example: "We cannot confront solitude without moral resources." -Howard DeBalzak.

SWIFT AND SURE PUNISHMENT. Most of us break the speed limit at some time or another. We know it may cost us a fine, but we are willing to take the chance for we are seldom stopped. However, if you knew that each time you went over the speed limit you would be arrested and fined, you would be sure not to exceed the limit. Swift and sure punishment would eliminate most speeding. Only those willing to pay the fine as a sort of toll would break the law.

That applies to all infractions of law. The morality of capital punishment is a big issue these days. If infractions that demand a capital sentence brought sure and swift death, that would be an effective deterrent. The person would be choosing his own sentence when he committed the crime. Those who enforced the law would not be the immoral ones, but the criminal would bear all the blame for his deliberate choice.

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