CHARACTER PRESS (Books and Last-Day Church Issues)
March 10, 2011
Local Church Preparation for Final Days
The earthquake, after shocks, and tsunami of the Pacific Ocean just reminded us that we are in the final days of this sin-cursed planet as we know it. The enemy is angry with the church and has declared war on the remnant people of God. The problems are internal and external and affecting individuals, families, churches, and the world. It is hereby urged that the church, at all levels, increase its efforts, by His grace. We can defeat the enemy and finish our mission and commission in cooperation with heavenly agencies in a shortened time so we can go home.
This proposal is submitted in response to the above and in response to the prayer of Jesus Christ, as recorded in chapter 17 of the book of John and particularly in verses 21 through 23.
John 17:21-23
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (KJV)
URGENTLY NEEDED STEPS: A casual examination of a hurting or sleeping church clearly suggests that we have not achieved the goal of our Savior. Meetings of the pastoral staffs, church boards, boards of elders, boards of deacons, and others will lead most to conclude that Heaven-directed steps in accordance with God’s Word, the Spirit of Prophecy, as He has given His people, and the guiding policies appropriately adopted, should be taken to:
1) remove the sin-based barriers which separate His children from each other and, most importantly, from the power and presence of the Holy Spirit,
2) bring us all to the foot of the cross as equals and as ministers called to serve others within the church and within our broader communities, and reaching others appropriately around the world,
3) promote faithfulness as stewards, honoring Christ and giving our all to Him for His service and for saving our children, ourselves, others for whom He has died, and
4) promote Jesus Christ as our example, as our Lord and Savior, and as TRUTH, honoring truth and integrity in all its meaning.
STRATEGIC APPLICATIONS: Each and every one of the aforementioned steps are to be pursued individually and collectively with each member, each person of interest, each ministry, each unit within the church, and specifically with each of the leadership groups within each church.
Each ministry group or board of leaders and each individual within said groups must understand the relationship of each group to each individual member and how each is to serve and be served
physically, mentally, socially, economically, and, most of all, spiritually.
Where provisions are not made for unmet needs in a given church or community, new ministries must be developed under the direction of the church board with oversight of the board of elders and pastoral staff.
THE BLUEPRINT: The Church is a training center which prepares and provides for each to reach and serve. The name Christian suggests that the people called such are engaged in training and serving, giving and living and ministering as Christ lived, taught, and ministered. The absence of such will produce divisiveness and the sowing of tares.
THE SOURCES: Prayer will be the source of success. All leaders must live, walk, and talk that principle. Everything starts with prayer and continues as prayer is continued. There is no place for self-praise and credit unless failure is desired. The Bible and Spirit of Prophecy are the sources of instruction and training. Humility is an essential source of leadership. Individual sacrifice of time, talents, and resources is the source for Heaven-blessed corporate resources.
BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST: That comes first. That produces the love which removes our differences, our selfishness, our indifference, our hatred, our judging, our talebearing, our gossip, our defective opinions, our desire to control or be in charge, our self-inflation, our dishonesty, our greed, our combative attitudes, our bullying, our satanic DNA. When the enemy shows his traits, we must pray and act immediately to overcome such. That is when we die daily and Christ lives within. It is all His grace. He is ready when we are.
THE HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE: We start right now with prayer and we never
stop. God’s church is the House of Prayer for all People. We can pray through every sign of the enemy's presence. We shall pray for God’s will to be done in every activity, every contact, and every relationship.
We will have moment by moment prayer, hourly prayer, daily prayer, weeks of prayer, months of prayer, years of prayer, and we will enter the Kingdom of God because the Kingdom of God
will have entered us. We will encourage, organize, and provide for continuous effective prayer and ministry, including and involving every soul to the extent desired and willing to be made willing by His grace. The Holy Spirit directs and developes the details in response to prayer with coordinators and officers providing oversight and leadership.
“If pride and selfishness were laid aside, five minutes would remove most difficulties. Angels have been grieved and God displeased by the hours spent in justifying self.” EW p. 119
“When one begins to get lifted up in his own eyes and thinks he can do something, the Spirit of God is withdrawn, and he goes on in his own strength until he is overthrown. I saw that one saint, if he were right, could move the arm of God; but a multitude together, if they were wrong, would be weak and could effect nothing.” EW p. 120
“The religion of Jesus softens whatever is hard and rough in the temper and smooths off whatever is rugged and sharp in the manners. It is this religion that makes the words gentle and the demeanor winning.” Our Father Cares, pp. 156, 157, This Far By Faith, p. 60
DO WE REALLY WANT OUR WORDS TO BE GENTLE AND OUR DEMEANOR TO BE WINNING? If so, there is the solution.
I am deeply concerned about those affected by this latest disaster. I have visited, evangelized, and baptized in that region of the world and have been blessed by God’s people in many of those countries. My older son has lived in that region for the past 13 years and is enjoying the blessings of our Lord in South Korea now. Please pray much for all those who are suffering from losses and grieving the loss of family and friends. We should not wait until our troubles double before we get to work.
Prayerfully submitted,
Clarence E. Hodges
Servant
TWO GREAT BOOKS FOR YOU AT YOUR CONFERENCE ABC
NEW BOOK - 2010
GOOD FOR SHARING
GOOD FOR ANYONE READING EVERY DAY
GOOD FOR STRENGTHENING FAITH
GOOD FOR GROWING SPIRITUALLY
GOD BLESSED AND HEAVEN INSPIRED
The Blood Stained Cross
and Our Savior
By
Clarence E. Hodges
Introduction
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16, KJV)
This book is about love, true love, the love of God. There is evidence of that great love; the greatest evidence for the greatest love the world has known. God the Father gave His only Son and God the Son gave up His universe throne, His universe power, His heavenly home, and far more than all our combined little minds can imagine. He gave that up for a life of poverty on earth, becoming what appears to be the equivalent of a human sperm (which is as close to nothing as one can get as the average man produces nearly 300 million sperms cells per day, mostly for nothing. (The World in One Day, Russell Ash, D.K. Publishing, p. 16)
The members of the Godhead had been accustomed to being in constant communication prior to Jesus leaving Heaven for His life and ministry on Planet Earth. This communication would now no longer include God the Son, perhaps until He returned to Heaven with His mission accomplished on earth. As a child, He was a child in every way except He was sinless. He learned to walk and talk as we did. He studied the Scriptures and nature and asked questions of His parents and of the religious leaders as He was growing in wisdom and stature. What a sacrifice for the Creator God of the universe! He was twelve years old before He knew who He was and where He was from.
The Blood Stained Cross and Our Savior is really the story of Christ’s love written in blood. This story is basically written on the cross, however, it focuses not just on crucifixion day but the several days leading up to the crucifixion and the events following. It is drawn mostly from the last three chapters of each of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) along with part of Luke chapter 7, and the last four chapters of John. John differs more from each of the other three gospels. Chapters 12 and 13 provide some introductory light. Chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17 provide encouragement from Jesus for this time period and for the last day events during our time up to the return of Christ. It may amaze some that though Jesus spent over thirty years on earth, and three and one half years in ministry, the last half (10 chapters) of the book of John was dedicated to the His last few days. The importance of these few days (and chapters) of His life, therefore, deserve our constant study, meditation, and reflection. It is the author’s prayer that this book will assist you in this most important task.
This story of love, the love of the Godhead for mankind, is told differently in each of the four Gospels and it is generally necessary for one to read all four to get the whole story. It is told here as though it was one book, not four, with sections inserted or pasted, giving the whole story and commentary with what is close to chronological relevancy and accuracy without unnecessary duplicative reading. It was prayerfully intended to provide a near seamless flow as if told by one person and that One Person is really the Holy Spirit who inspired the recording of all Scripture. But the more we read, the more we see that even the seams we see from book to book are inspired. God is outstanding and so is His Word.
As we consider the life and teachings of Jesus, we should keep in mind His messages during His last days here. Matthew gives us some special words in the last verses of chapter 25. Some Christians today have the same kind of ambition the disciples had before they understood Christ’s crucifixion. (Luke 22:23-26) Jesus called them to service and so He calls us to serve. Service leads to greatness. Pray for the right motivation, love. Youth, especially but not exclusively, can gain skills and blessings of gratitude by serving others with social, physical, and economic needs. Those pursuing education and careers would do well to consider paths that lead to human services. If we are led by the Holy Spirit and not by the spirit of wealth, God will provide all for this life and the life to come. Everyone of every age will be blessed by serving in God’s causes which include His church and His less fortunate children. Many have become leaders of nations, chiefs of corporations, and children of God through lessons learned from the humility, leadership, and opportunities presented through service to others. Love to serve and serve with love.
Matt 25:44-46
(44) Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? (45) Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. (46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Jesus put forth every effort to prepare His followers for His substitutionary death for us, His resurrection, and His Second Coming for us to live with Him forever. The above verses let us know our duty to Him through our service and ministry to His less fortunate children. It is clear that as we think about others, He is thinking about us and as we minister to others, He through the Holy Spirit, ministers to us. Some would rather judge than serve but as we judge and recall the weaknesses of others, He recalls and judges our weaknesses. And as we forgive and give, He forgives and gives. The wise will practice the compassionate religion Christ preached at the end of Matthew 25.
It is all about love, His love. And His love is evinced by, confirmed by, verified by, corroborated by, assured by, and guaranteed by His blood. Some do not like the idea of dwelling on the cross and Jesus’ blood. They are only interested in His love but it takes His blood to help us fully understand His love. Therefore, we cannot forget about it. We cannot “get over it.” In Luke 22:19 Jesus tells us to remember it and He gave us the communion service to make sure we and our children remember it. His blood and His cross will help us get over our sins and temptations. Yes, the cross is ugly but it saves us from the ugliness of this world’s attractions and gives us the beauty of the world to come. We need to read about it, talk about it, pray about it, and think about it more. Not with hatred for sinful people but in love for God, love for people, and hatred for sin.
Contact your ABC or Contact:
C.E. Hodges
Post Office Box 3695
Huntsville, AL 35810
clarencehodges@bellsout.net
$9.95 U.S - $12.00 Canada - $2.00 Shipping
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A GREAT BOOK ON RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
AND LAST DAY EVENTS
Blessings Through the Time of Trouble
Into the Kingdom of God
Published June 2007 - Only $14.99 U.S.
by
Clarence E. Hodges
Information about the Book: (THIS BOOK INCLUDES)
Challenges and blessings of success for this life and the life to come are combined with “The Little Time of Trouble”, “The Great Time of Trouble”, and the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble”. Who, what, when, where, how, how long, and how to thrive are addressed in this book and will, by God’s grace, help you through these last days with faith, hope, peace, victory, and love.
God blesses love, faith, humility, persistence, and obedience at all times and He comforts through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Miracles of blessings are included with the work of holy angels. Also Middle East, Islam, Christian Right, New World Order, weather, and other natural disasters & more.
According to the World Health Organization, at least 1 billion people on planet Earth suffer from one or more neglected diseases. Some diseases affect individuals throughout their lives, causing a high degree of morbidity and physical disability and, in too many cases, gross disfigurement and death.
“The conflict that we are passing through is the last we shall have in this world. In this conflict we cannot be neutral.” (SD, p. 370)
Satan will soon come and claim to be Christ, healing and preaching truth mixed with lies. Don’t be deceived with the world. He will initiate genocide against the followers of Christ. Just before our execution, Jesus intervenes and rescues His people. It is Christ-centered, Bible-based, and Spirit of Prophecy-
filled.
$14.99 U.S.
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OTHER BOOKS BY CLARENCE E. HODGES: ($10.00 EACH)
POLITICS AND RELIGION: Take The High Road
This book is spiritually inspiring and politically informative. It includes history from the Bible, the Dark Ages, and our time. Your eyes will be opened about political preachers. It also tells the Christian how he or she may get involved without taking politics into the church or the church into politics, including the top positions which may require Senate confirmation.
THIS FAR BY FAITH
This is a unique Christ-centered devotional based on high achievement by persons thought least likely to succeed. This book is a source of encouragement for victims of religious persecution. It, therefore, is of value for last-day events. It is a book of African American History.
THE ONE BOOK
This informative and inspirational book covers 52 subjects important to those living in the last days. It is designed for carrying and for quick and easy reading while on the run or waiting. Some subjects: America in Prophecy, Religion and the Bible, How to Save Your Children. Love and much more.
MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY
You can have more friends and have happy relationships with co-workers, your children, your parents, other relatives and enjoy life without being a "push-over or door mat." Where does happiness start? What does Jesus say about your happiness? What about America’s happiness?. A great book for witnessing to the non-Christian.
JESUS: LORD OF THE LAST DAYS
Everyone would benefit from a better understanding of what Jesus has done from creation to today to save us and our families. His plan is here now and out of this world. This book makes clear present truth and Bible prophecies applicable to our times.
SUNDAY LIES, SUNDAY LAWS, and a Time of Trouble
Bible students from around the world have inquired about these prophecies and last-day events. Every state except Alaska has some type of Sunday law. What are Catholics and Protestants doing? What is Congress doing? What is the meaning of all this? Be informed.
THE GREAT CONTROVERSY AND THE END
We are in the last days and all signs indicate that the end is near. This covers briefly the history of the controversy between Christ and Satan, tells when it will end, and how it will end.RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND LAST DAY EVENTS
This is a devotional book which addresses religious liberty issues and experiences from the Bible, the Dark Ages, the Constitution, the United Nations, and current days.
AS YOU THINK, YOU CAN
This is a book of faith, miracles, and experiences of C.E. Hodges, around the world even on presidential aircraft. Think BIG. Think!
VISIT YOUR ABC, OR ORDER BY MAIL FROM:
C.E. Hodges, Post Office Box 3695, Huntsville, AL 35810 - Make checks payable to: C.E. Hodges. All books are $10.00 each except Blessings Through the Time of Trouble which is $14.99. E-mail <clarencehodges@bellsouth.net>, Phone: 256-852-9694 - Web - www.cehodges.com
Purchase by mail, check or money order, payable to C.E. Hodges, add $2.00 with each order for postage and handling
MOST HAVE BEEN SEEN ON 3ABN AND HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED FOR LAY PERSONS AND CLERGY. SPECIAL ENDORSEMENTS HAVE BEEN GIVEN BY DR. C.D. BROOKS OF BREATH OF LIFE AND THE GENERAL CONFERENCE; CLIFFORD GOLDSTEIN , EDITOR OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE BIBLE STUDY GUIDE; WILLIAM SCALES, RETIRED GENERAL CONFERENCE EVANGELIST AND MINISTERIAL DIRECTOR; EILEEN NELSON, ELDER AND RETIRED EDUCATOR; VICTOR STEPHENS, ADMINISTRATOR AND EDUCATOR; AND MANY OTHERS.
Mail order to C.E. Hodges, Character Press, International, Post Office Box 3695, Huntsville, AL 35810.
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Information about the Author:
Clarence E. Hodges has served in many leadership positions in the Church, the civic community, corporate America, and the United States Government which has helped him to see and understand first-hand prophecies and their applications to these last days and those days just ahead.
God’s hand has blessed and led him from the White House (with White House Personnel in efforts to locate and recruit diverse senior executives), the U.S. Department of State, the United States Senate as a senior staff member, and the Dept. of Health & Human Services, and capitols around the world, including the Vatican, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other places of prophetic interest to YOU. He was twice confirmed by the U.S. Senate for senior Presidential appointments. He has managed multi-billion dollar budgets and hundreds of thousands of employees and workers.
Clarence Hodges has been praised for creating and protecting programs for the economically disadvantaged and for contributing to freedom in South Africa and other troubled regions of the world. He led initiatives to maximize science and technology to prevent the execution of innocent prisoners as Jesus Christ was so persecuted and crucified. He has preached and evangelized in West Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, India, Indonesia, Poland, Philippines, and the United States.
He was director of religious liberty for NAD, served on the General Conference Committee, General Conference Legal Affairs Committee, and chaired the NAD Litigation Committee. And much more.
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