The Bible For Today Update Yvonne Sanborn Waite July - August 2002

THESE ARE PERILOUS TIMES!
CHRISTIANS MUST BE VIGILANT

Satan is out to destroy Christians and their families!  
Let us not be too proud to HUMBLE OURSELVES  Under the Mighty Hand of God!  

I Peter 5:6-11

A GRADUATION TO REMEMBER

A LOVELY GIRL IN ROYAL BLUE

It had been a couple of years since we had flown into Jacksonville. It was good to be there again! My husband and I had been saving our "fly miles" for such a day. I can hear you asking, "What was the occasion?" Let me tell you. It was the high school graduation of one of our granddaughters--we have five. This graduate is such a lovely girl in face, form, and manner. I love her! SEEING HER HOLD HER DIPLOMA IN HER HAND MADE HER ALL THE MORE BEAUTIFUL, I thought as I looked at her garbed in that royal blue commencement gown. How proud Grandpa and I were of Megan Yvonne!

A JAPANESE RESTAURANT--A FUN PLACE

After that Saturday afternoon of "pomp and circumstance"--and there was much of that for it was a LARGE graduating class! --Megan wanted to go to a Japanese restaurant where the food was cooked before us as we watched. Have you ever been to one of those places? It is "food entertainment"--that's for sure! The cook dressed in red and white--tall hat and all--chopped, diced, turned, and flipped our food on a steaming flat-grand-grill right before our very eyes. He joked and made us laugh as he threw knives around saying it was his first day on the job. He rolled an egg on a spatula saying, "egg roll"! It was perfect--except he wasn't Japanese. He was a tall Filipino. Oh well, the Japanese are too busy making computers and cars to bother with entertainment-cooking such as that!

ICE CREAM FOR ALL

Even though we were stuffed, we still had to have dessert! After all, it was a special occasion! So off we went to an ice cream store. The graduate would have rather gone to a place where they sell pastries but she didn't insist. Grandpa--Dr. Waite to you--is partial to ice cream; and, he was paying. So guess where we went? I forget the exact name of the place. It had the word "Creamery" in it! There before our eyes was any kind of ice cream one could ever imagine--flavors we never could imagine and flavors we never would want to image. With each order, the customer received one free topping which was combined and mixed before our eyes into one big mass of ice cream and pushed into a dish or cone. Grandpa's eyes were bigger than his stomach (as they say). He ordered two dips which proved more than he could handle at one sitting--especially after the Japanese feasting, so he took his home for a later treat. What fun! What memories! We must make them!

FORT CLINCH STATE PARK

AMELIA ISLAND, FLORIDA

When my husband and I discussed our plans to attend Megan's graduation, we decided to stay an extra day to enjoy the family. Megan & Kristen--the graduate has a college-age sister--were busy on Monday, but our son-in-law was on vacation. We all agreed that this would be a good day to be with him and our daughter by ourselves. And it was. "I want to take you to Amelia Island, Mom," our son-in-law said, "I want you to see the Fort Clinch State Park and the fort there!" I was eager to see Fort Clinch for he had sent me a brochure about it a few years ago. It was located at the northern end of Amelia Island, at the Florida-Georgia border. I'd read about it with interest. I try to be interested in the things that our children enjoy.

A PROTEIN DIET

I've been to forts before but never to one in Florida. It was hot! I took pictures! IT WAS HOT! (We were told later that it was a record 101 degrees.) I have a picture of the store rooms where no matter what the labels said on the cans, they all contained beans. The hard-tack bread that many of us remember our grandparents talking about was hard as cement. A dear older gentleman was our guide. He took a-liking to our daughter. He was dressed like a Northern Civil War private. He said when the hard bread was dunked in coffee or soup, the hot moisture would relax the dough, freeing the captive bugs. They would float in the drink. "That was all right," the private said, "It gave added protein!"

FORT NAMED AFTER GENERAL CLINCH

At first, the fort was a Confederate Fort, named after General Duncan Lamont Clinch. He was an important figure in Florida's Seminole War of the 1830's. I had never heard of him. Later it became a Federal defense fortress.

Construction of the fort started in 1847 by the federal government and continued during the Civil War. Occupied by Confederate forces when the war began in 1861, it was taken by federal troops when a withdrawal was ordered by General Robert E. Lee the following year.

WHEN FLAT TIRES WERE A DAILY EXPERIENCE

I asked questions of a ranger walking about. I could tell he wanted to flee, but I kept asking questions. I'm not sure if it were heat or me that made him want to escape. I finally joined my family up yonder where they had walked. The man told me that there was a railroad that brought passengers, not only to Jacksonville in the early 1900's, but also all the way down to Miami. I was interested in that because my parents, before I was born in 1927, journeyed to Jacksonville in their new invention--a car--camping here and there all the way down from Ohio to Jacksonville, Florida, and back. Flat tires were often experienced. It was the usual thing of the day, it seemed. We have pictures in my parent's old photo books of the camp they set up with "lean-to's" against the car--as well as shack-type shelters under Florida trees. My Grandmother Sanborn made a life-long friend at that time. Her name was Birdie. As a teen-age girl, I recall that Birdie and her son came to visit Grandma after all those years of letter writing. (I have a tiny, child-like blue antique hobble-glass mug that Birdie gave my grandmother at that visit. I cherish it!) While camping way back when, my grandfather made my grandmother a cupboard for her kitchen. My Mother spoke of it, in her early diaries, as a highly-prized possession.

A FLAG POLE AND TUG BOATS

I took pictures at Fort Clinch of the other brick buildings, the glorious stars and stripes flying in the heat, and the guns poised for battle pointing out at the sea. In Civil War days, it was around the flagpole that the soldiers gathered for Sunday worship--rain or shine. MY, IT WAS HOT THAT DAY! Also, I have a picture of tug boats bobbing in the Atlantic Ocean. IT WAS HOT! We saw them when we climbed the ramp to view the beauty of the blue water. DID I MENTION: IT WAS HOT! Later, we were told that when one sees the tug boats, it means the USA submarines have either just gone out or they would soon be doing so, or they could be coming back to their port. Found out that there was a submarine base very near Fort Clinch. One of my granddaughter's friends was stationed there. I would like to have seen the fleet; but because it was so very hot, no one wanted to wait and watch--not even me.

THE BEAUTY OF THE BRICK WORK

One of the surprising things about Fort Clinch was the beauty of the brick work. All the buildings that I remember were made of red brick. Even though it was not someone's home, the workmanship of the craftsmen of another century was more than evident. Dr. Waite and I live in a brick house--so I am interested in brick houses--especially old ones. Our house is built beautifully, if I say so myself. This Florida fort has our own "Fort 900" beat. (My mother always called our house here at 900 Park Avenue by that name.) If she could only see us now and all that goes on between our walls, she would know that she named it precisely!! Another very interesting thing was when we were in the fort's rooms--especially the ones where the soldiers would sleep or boom out their cannons, a cool breeze flowed by our hot faces. Whoever designed that space knew how to use the wind from the sea. I tell you, it was so hot that day, that the perspiration rolled down my back. I was glad that I was not dressed fancy. But, in that tall area, made for defense, the breeze cooled me like the water cooler that I remembered we had in our trailer-home at Dallas Theological Seminary fifty-four years ago.

A 77 YEAR-OLD PRIVATE & THE KING JAMES BIBLE

Before I quit talking about the fort, I must tell you about the seventy-seven year old man who was dressed as a Civil War Federal private. That was his job, you know, to act as if he lived in the Civil War times. I asked him what Bible version they used and was pleased to hear, "THE KING JAMES BIBLE!" I asked him if he knew any Bible verses and he did--such as John 3:16 and others. He quoted from Deuteronomy. This man, in real life, was a World War II veteran who had received two purple hearts and other medals for bravely, having fought in the Battle of the Bulge under General Patton. In real life, he was a born-again Christian and a chaplain in some reserve group. (The name I've forgotten.) He is disabled and has a difficult time with recurring memories of the war. He sleeps with the lights on at night lest the shadows he sees appear to be the enemy coming towards him. Only fifteen of his battalion lived. He was one of the fifteen.

FERNANDINA

The brochure booklet on Amelia Island reads, "Summertime on Amelia Island means enjoying the great outdoors."But I must say, it was difficult to do so the day we were there, for outside in the fresh air, it was 101 degrees & upwards. On that June afternoon, we four strolled the stores of old-fashioned Fernandina, Florida, partly to get out of the heat and partly to shop. Such an enchanting town! In 1973 a 30-block area was named a Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places. Later, in 1987, the District was enlarged to include 50 more blocks to preserve its late Victorian architecture. The whole place reminded me of Cape May right here in South Jersey.

REMEMBERING MY FATHER-IN-LAW

We ate lunch across the street from a quaint railroad depot. It was Florida's first cross-state railroad. I'm sorry, I didn't get the name of that restaurant. Was so glad to get into the air conditioned, enclosed porch-like dining room that I forgot my job to mentally take note of things. But, I did see several old-fashioned mirrors decorating the wall as we walked to our table. "A novel way to decorate a wall," I thought. At our table, while sipping my ice tea, I was comforted by the blue sky and look of the cool water. Sail boats and small boats were docked to my left and shrimp boats were coming home from a day's work. It made me remember Vermilion, Ohio and our early years. I missed my father-in-law. He was a boater.

A RETURN TO THE OLDEN DAYS

Before I cease my AMELIA ISLAND story, I want to tell you of our brief stop at the ELIZABETH POINTE LODGE. Our Florida family had spent a full day there one time last year, I think it was. Our daughter wanted us to see the place. I could see why she enjoyed it so. It was an old fashioned, rambling house reminding me of the days before electricity and modern conveniences, a time of homemade lemonade and sugar cookies on the high-board. I sat briefly on the porch in a white rocking chair and looked at the sea. I wanted to stay longer. It had the "feel" of the "olden days," leisure time, and a great, great grandmother. Guess what? Elizabeth Pointe Lodge was only ten years old! My, those builders did a good job of aging the new for the sake of nostalgia! I liked it!

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO MANITOBA?

I'D NEVER BEEN TO MANITOBA, CANADA BEFORE EITHER! Oh, I've been to the Toronto area in Ontario--several cities there. Of course, many of us have been to NIAGARA FALLS! My husband speaks everywhere--almost. I've been in St Johns in New Brunswick--that area. In fact, a few dozen years ago, a church in that city wanted Dr. Waite to be their pastor. I remember I was sick at the time. I went in my room while my husband wrestled with the will of God for him. I, personally, wanted to go; but, I am glad that my husband had an ear tuned to God's voice. We never would have had the DEFINED KING JAMES BIBLE or scores and scores of other books and tracts that the Bible For Today has produced since then. The defense of the Words of God would have had to find another "champion." Of course, God is able to thrust forth others into such harvesting; but His will was for us to stay here in Collingswood and "endure hardness" as "good soldiers of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3).

I'M GLAD THAT WE REMAINED IN OUR "PLACE"! It has been hard. Are you right now tempted to flee your area of service? You can't stand your church, or the people in it, or the job you have, or the house you live in--or even your spouse and children? Consider staying! It's often easier to run, to move, to see new faces. That's what Jacob did when he stole Esau's birthright! He ran!!

LEARN STABILITY FROM A TREE

WHAT IF THAT BIG TREE IN YOUR YARD HAD NOT STAYED PLANTED RIGHT THERE WHERE IT IS TODAY?--you know the one I mean. What if it had been pulled out as a sapling or dug up and hauled to another person's yard? What if? You wouldn't have the benefit of its shade and beauty right now. There is something good and almost beautiful about staying with the stuff--staying in a marriage, for instance. My husband and I will be married fifty-four years in August. (I can hardly believe it!) That means we stayed. I could fill a book about our hard times!! It might have been easier to have picked up our marbles and gone home to mamma. But now, we have a marriage that people can look at and say, "THAT'S A MARRIAGE!!" PEOPLE CAN SEE SOMETHING OF SUBSTANCE! That's what people want to see! That's what Jesus had in mind when he talked about the house built upon a rock! MY MOTHER, GERTRUDE G. SANBORN WROTE:

REMAIN IN PLACE

If you're discontent and unhappy
And your place and purpose grows dim,
There is always a ship at Joppa,
If you don't want to stay and win.

If you turn from the task of the present
To follow a beckoning star,
There is always a ship at Joppa
To take you from where you are.

But you'll miss the blessing He gives you,
If you wander away from His place,
For there's a fare to be paid at Joppa,
If you do not remain in your place!

WINKLER, MANITOBA

KING JAMES SEMINAR # 8

My husband had THE KING JAMES BIBLE SEMINAR #8 from JUNE 18 through JUNE 21, 2002, in Manitoba!! I wish you had been there to hear and learn at this Seminar. It was a FOUR DAY/SEVEN-HOURS-A-DAY-time of teaching! Whew! How glad Pastor Waite was for the use of a microphone to save his voice! The host church was PEMBINA VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH there in WINKLER, MANITOBA--about a two-hour ride from the airport in Winnipeg. The students that week were twenty men, some who attended the CANADIAN BAPTIST COLLEGE, a part of the church's ministry, and some Pastors. Though I wasn't a part of the teaching, I could hear the men reacting to the teaching from my room near their class room. What a lovely prophet's chamber! Mrs. Sullivant and other women took me to exquisite TEA HOUSES every day! What a treat!

Why not order TODAY the KJB SEMINAR # 8--a defense of the King James Bible and its underlying Greek and Hebrew Texts (BFT #3072VC1-4 @ $45+$5 S&H for video; BFT #3072/1-13 @ $39 + $4 S&H for audio.)? And also, consider having a seminar at YOUR church or Bible school or college soon! In my opinion, IT'S THE THING TO DO!!

A CHURCH PLANTED IN THE HEART OF MENNONITE COUNTRY

I WISH THAT YOU COULD VISIT THAT CHURCH SOMETIME! It is a big building situated at 120 Manitoba Road (Box 425) Winkler, Manitoba R6W 4A6. The phone number is 204-325-5670. Pastor and Mrs. Mike Sullivant are most gracious. I was impressed how they came to this area from Tennessee as missionaries with a burden for the area. They rented a place to live for them and their five children, at the time. They have eight now! Lovely people! They found a meeting place above a stadium and preached, prayed, worked, and wept to plant a place for Jesus Christ! The area is beautiful--flat and green, cool--and full of the folk of the Mennonite persuasion. For fourteen years, Pastor Sullivant, with his wife and family at his side, persevered, taught, and cried with the people who needed spiritual truth. Now on Sunday mornings, the church auditorium is bursting at the seams with four hundred-plus converted Mennonites, for the most part, hearing the Word of God. You would love all the little children and babies! Parents bring their children in Winkler! And to think just fourteen hours North is the TUNDRA and POLAR BEARS!

ANOTHER VERSE BY VERSE PREACHER

I was very interested to discover that Pastor Sullivant preaches verse by verse. He said that he was not trained to preach that way at his college. He had been trained to do topical preaching; I suppose accompanied with yelling and theatrical stunts--I don't know; but he began to realize the Holy Spirit did not bring the Word of God to us in topics! No, the Word of God came to Holy men of old by the Holy Spirit in words and sentences and truths and precepts. So now, for most of his ministry Pastor Sullivant teaches verse by verse. This method of teaching has brought his "new-born"babes spiritual growth, the kind of growth that topical preaching cannot bring. I call it a "balanced meal." We mothers are supposed to feed our children from all the basic food groups, not just one or two. THINK ABOUT IT!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY, TOO

BESIDES THE SEMINAR, PASTOR WAITE PREACHED WEDNESDAY NIGHT TO THE MID-WEEK PEOPLE. SUCH RESPONSE! I wish you could have been there! Well, you can, by ordering the tape. He gave an over-view of what he was teaching in the Seminar. (BFT #3073 @ $4.00 + $2.00 S&H) "Destroying Five Bible Foundations" (Psalm 11:3)

I was pleased to present THE TRIBUTE TO FANNY CROSBY (BFT #608 @ $4.00 +$2.00 S&H for audio/$15.00 + $5.00 S&H for video) to over three hundred people on Thursday night. (I am not sure that we have the exact presentation from Manitoba but I have other good ones for you.) Many visitors from the community were there. I was glad; for I am told that it is the "special" occasion meetings that draw the community. Most Mennonites will not come to church for "church"; but they will come to cantatas and programs like THE TRIBUTE. Mrs. Sullivant leads the choir, and I must say that the music was beautiful! She told me that they have to present their cantatas in the public high school auditorium, for seven hundred people come to enjoy. These "special" times are when the strangers come and the church can contact them personally after that. House to house canvassing and bus ministries do not Ago over@ in that community.

A NEW BABY: BIBLE FOR TODAY VIEWS LETTER

SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED THIS NEW BFT PERIODICAL ALREADY--BIBLE FOR TODAY VIEWS LETTER. If so, you KNOW what I am talking about!! D. A. WAITE, Jr. & DANIEL S. Waite have been editing and writing especially for our BIBLE FOR TODAY people for several months in publication anticipation. The BFT VIEWS LETTER is 24 pages of 82@ by 11" size pages full of reading excitement! It opens and closes like a book not a correspondence. You'll like it! Besides articles by Dr. Waite, (my husband) and me, we have excerpts from C. H. Spurgeon & Dr. Floyd Nolen Jones, a well known current scholar in textual matters, as well as Dr. Edward F. Hills, and a collection of thoughts compiled by Charles Herceg, Jr. He attends our church! I am especially interested in the compilation on Deuteronomy 22:5 about "distinctive dress." D. S. Waite's article sums up the 12 or so "authorities" in a scholarly way. Then D. A. Waite, Jr.'s (the DEFINED KJB's footnote editor) three pages on ROYAL REVISION is worth the price! My husband writes the PASTOR'S PERSPECTIVE as well as the BFT's PURPOSE. He also has TWO large articles--one from his recent book on GALATIANS. If you want a copy of this Vews Letter, send us $2.00 for postage and we'll send it to you.

VACATION LISTENING

PREACHING By PASTOR D. A. WAITE

Maybe you have a longing to understand the Word of God better. Why not avail yourself of this wonderful opportunity to learn the Bible? You can play the audio tapes in your car as you are driving from place to place, and/ or watch the videos in the quietness of your home alone, or with your family. Some order these videos every month to be a part of our "satellite" listeners. Many people are hungry to learn what the Bible says in every verse, and to hear it preached from the King James Bible. They are weary of the modern versions! PASTOR WAITE DOESN'T SKIP OVER DIFFICULT, CONTROVERSIAL PASSAGES LIKE TOPICAL & TEXTUAL PREACHERS OFTEN DO.

LOOK INTO GOD'S WORD WITH US!

Teachings & Recordings

Philemon (BFT #2996VCR @ $15+$4 S&H VIDEO or BFT #2996TP @ $4 + $1 S&H AUDIO)
Romans (BFT VIDEO #2906VC1-8 @ $85+ $7 S&H or BFT AUDIO #2906/1-16 @ $48+$6 S&H),
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Galatians (BFT VIDEO #2955VC1-3 @ $35+$5 S&H or BFT AUDIO #2955/1-6 @ $18 + $6 S&H),
Ephesians (BFT VIDEO #2973VC1-3 @ $35 + $5 S&H or BFT AUDIO #2973/1-6 @ $18+$6 S&H)
Philippians (BFT VIDEO #2977VC1-2 @ $25 + $5 S&H or BFT AUDIO # 2977/1-4 @ $12+$6 S&H)
Colossians (BFT VIDEO #2988VC1-2 @ $25+$5 S&H or BFT AUDIO #2988/1-4 @ $12+$6 S&H)
1 Corinthians(BFT VIDEO #2997VC1-8@$15 ea. or $85+$7 S&H or BFT AUDIO #2997/1-16 @ $48+$6 S&H)
2 Corinthians(BFT VIDEO #3048VC1-7@$15 ea. or $75+$7 S&H or BFT AUDIO #3048/1-13 @ $39+$6 S&H)
Hebrews (BFT VIDEO #3026/1-7 @ $15 each or $75+$7 S&H or BFT AUDIO #3026/1-13 @ $39+$6 S&H)
1 Thessalonians (BFT VIDEO #3071 @$15 each or $35+$7 S&H or BFT AUDIO #3071/1-5 @ $15+ $6 S&H)

Why not ORDER SOME OF THESE BOOKS TODAY?!!
Phone: 856-854-4452; FAX: 856-854-2464
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Internet Orders: www.biblefortoday.org
Attend the Dean Burgon Society Meeting (July 24-25th) at Arden, NC. Call 828-554-0800

I’m in God’s care--are you?
Yvonne S. Waite
1 Peter 5:6-7