… I was in prison and you came to me.

Pastor Joe Nance, an EVM board member, recently made a connection with a beautiful ministry called Christian Library International. Christian Library International provides books, Bibles and other Christian resources to prisons and jails. The mission of CLI is to bring Christ to the imprisoned through gently used and new Christian books, Bibles, CDs and DVDs. Through these resources, men and women find the good news of Christ and learn how to follow him. Those behind bars have plenty of time to read, reflect and rebuild their lives based on the solid foundation of Christ. Only God can change a life and give it meaning. We are pleased to bring this important message free of charge to our men, women and youth in over 1,100 prisons, jails, detention centers and prison hospitals.

The EVM board had a desire to donate a considerable amount of books to prisoners across the country. What was initially thought to be a lengthy process became a quick endeavor when the ministry of Christian Library International was discovered. 

After reviewing the book, CLI agreed to distribute 1600 copies of A Voice in the Wilderness at no cost! EVM paid to have the books brought from Parker City, Indiana to Raleigh, North Carolina. People volunteered and paid their own expenses to make this happen. This was by no means an inexpensive or light labor process, but the Holy Spirit helped, guided, lifted and led the whole way.

The process has already begun. We will be distributing books to 1300 prisons across this country. Many of these books will be read by multiple people, and to date 600 books have been given out to men and women.

Hungry hearts will be fed and we are looking forward to life changing stories. 
During his ministry, Rev. Helm encouraged those listening to him to visit those in jail or prison, and now through the distribution of A Voice in the Wilderness, the message will reach these prisoners. These people will be able to hear from a man who lived the message itself- one of self-denial and obedience. 

Your support of EVM has made this possible. Your continued support will make many more of these missions possible in the future. Please pray about and consider supporting Evangel Voice Missions on a monthly basis. Your seed will be a good investment in the Kingdom of God.

The Secret to Following Christ

Does a tree make a sound, if it falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it?  A popular insurance commercial on TV gets a lot of mileage out of that question. The commercial led me to think about the fruit trees in my father’s orchard, when I was a child. I used to play hours in that orchard, pretending I was a prince in a long-forgotten kingdom. I was intrigued with the process by which the trees produced fruit. Unlike the falling tree in the TV commercial that pleadingly cried for help as it fell, the trees in Dad’s orchard never said a word. At least, I never heard them. And I really listened. So, how does a tree produce fruit, and does that method have any correlation as to how a Christian bears fruit in his life?

Since the Bible is the Word of God, it stands to reason that contained within its pages there might be a secret to following God that could literally change the culture of present day Christianity. Jesus had a marvelous way of relating nature and everyday events to practical living. In fact, John’s gospel is full of little life-nuggets that shed light upon the path of every hungry heart. Perhaps the most well known is found in John Chapter fifteen as our Lord relates his secret to fruit-bearing. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do NOTHING” (John 15:5). Oh, dear reader, do not lightly skim those words. Therein lies the key to Christian maturity, sanctification and growth. Furthermore, Jesus stated that he only did what he saw his Father doing (John 5:19, ESV), and only spoke what he head his Father saying (John 12:49, ESV). These are only a few of the instances in God’s word, which grant insight into a special training tool used by Christ. That tool is fellowship. In order to do His will or hear his voice, we must grow in grace gradually and continually. We must learn what it means to take up the cross and follow Jesus. We must repudiate our love for the world. Let us revisit the meanings of such words as surrender, sanctification, and holiness. BEWARE!  As we revisit these concepts, we must not think that by simply making lists or adhering to a set of rules that we can become his disciples. The religious people of Jesus’ day did all of that.  It is so easy for the most ardent follower to fall into the trap of doing rather than being.  Jesus had a Life connection with the Father, often overlooked by today’s ‘get spiritual quick’ culture. His relationship with the Father was such that his followers remarked, “Lord, teach us to pray (like you do) . . .” (Luke 11: 1-4).  Apparently, when Jesus referred to God in prayer as ‘Abba’ He awakened a desire within them for more. No rabbi ever referred to God as ‘Abba’. Jesus spoke as ‘one having authority, not as the scribes’ (Mark 1:22, ESV). He spoke not just as one who relayed information, but also as the One who dispensed it. Questions asked by the disciples such as, ‘What manner of man is this?’ betrayed their suspicions about this carpenter/relative from Nazareth. Eventually, their suspicions evolved into a revelation of who he was, ‘ . . . thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God’ (Matt. 16:16, KJV).  There was within Him a divine ability to know the will of God, and to do it. Certainly, reading the Word and attending synagogue and temple regularly gave illumination to him.  However, Jesus had a unique ability to connect with the Father. This is the ingredient in the discipleship recipe often overlooked today.  Peter boldly announced,

“His divine power has granted to us ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness”
2 Peter 1:3a.

Okay! Do we really believe this or not? I’m not asking if we believe Peter believed it. To believe Peter accepted, wrote and practiced such a radical idea without our embracing it is nothing more than chronological snobbery. You see, to believe such a radical statement is to accept that without Him we can do nothing.

The key to actually living the Christian life is found in how well we are connected with God.  You see the Christian life is not hard. It is impossible! You can do nothing. Remember? The only way to be connected with Him is through intimate fellowship. John said, “Our fellowship is with the Father and with his son, Jesus Christ” (I John 1:3c, ESV).  Sometime ago I came across a quote by a dear brother in Christ that changed everything for me.  He said, “Fruit is the result of a tree that is drowning in life.” Each act of obedience flows from the life of the Father. My deepest longing is that the roots of my fellowship will claim the riches of the Springs of Eternal Life. 

Pastor Dave Anderson

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Dr. Dave Anderson serves as pastor of Ecclesia Fellowship in Louisville, KY and is President and Founder of Supreme Ambition Ministries.  His ministry is dedicated to helping followers of Christ deepen their fellowship with Christ and one another. 

Dr. Dave Anderson spent the better part of 25 years sharing ministry with Reverend Loran Helm. He met him at a time when he was very disillusioned with pastoral ministry. It was through the ministry of Reverend Helm that Dave received encouragement to press on to fulfill the purpose of God in his life.

Dr. Anderson traveled on numerous occasions with Reverend Helm on missions both at home and abroad. On these journeys of faith, He observed Reverend Helm praising God in some of the most difficult of circumstances, and always seeking to spread the joy of Jesus through song, testimony and the proclamation of the Word. He was definitely a man who strove to live his faith in the most practical of ways.

Praise in the Pit

This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me.  —2 Timothy 1:15

Paul was well aware of the life of suffering. “...five times received I forty stripes...Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck...in perils of waters, in perils of robbers,...In weariness and painfulness, ...in hunger and thirst...” (2 Corinthians 11:24–27). Yet, all these physical afflictions were nothing to Paul compared to the “all in Asia have forsaken me.”

Yes, Paul’s pulpit seemed to have been in a pit, yet never pitiful. While in this pit, Paul wrote his “prison epistles” which we know as “praise epistles,” proving to us that Christianity works victoriously even in the most miserable of circumstances. Friend, are you letting your prison epistles become praise epistles?

Paul’s theology of praise in the pit helped him to lay the foundation for the arena of faith. Truly, this pit religion meant that Paul’s faith was first tested before it was published as a faith that sings when it could have wept. The church of Asia is no more, but the product of Paul’s faith lives on, not pitifully but triumphantly! Yes, Paul’s writings help all of us in our pits of life.

Are you in a pit? If so, rejoice! Has trouble upon trouble come into your life? Do as Paul did: rejoice! Remember that man’s most desperate hour is God’s greatest opportunity to show forth His power and glory in earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7).

As much as our flesh dreads suffering and death, let us remember that Jesus came to suffer and to die. If we suffer and die as He did, our fruit shall be as sweet as His. People may turn away from us, trials may abound unendingly, but none of these things will prevent the abiding fruit that comes out of a surrendered life.

Pastor Reimar A. C. Schultze

Reimar Schultze was born in Nazi Germany in 1936. Because of the their Jewish heritage, the family suffered much hardship from the anti-Semitic laws and attitudes as the Holocaust unfolded. They miraculously escaped the heavy bombing in Hamburg, Germany that killed most of their neighbors. After fleeing Nazi persecution into eastern Germany, Reimar's father died and a fifth child was born. These events qualified the family to escape their city on the last refugee train before the Red Army invaded. Additional miracles delivered the Schultzes from torpedo boats and mines during their evacuation to Denmark, where they were interned for two years with 36,000 other refugees.

Pastor Schultze first heard the call of God in his heart at the age of thirteen. Several years later he was saved under the ministry of English evangelist Major Ian Thomas and came to the U.S. at age nineteen. After he graduated from college, he worked as an administrator for the U.S. Public Health Service. When he answered the call to the ministry, he received a M. Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary and has now pastored for over 45 years. He and his wife, Marcia, have four children and six grandchildren.

Because of a Kingdom connection with Rev. Loran Helm, Pastor Schultze was led to Kokomo, IN in 1977. For the next 30 years, he pastored the congregation of Kokomo Christian Fellowship. Pastor Schultze remains active in the church as a teacher and trainer. He also continues the Call to Obedience ministry to this day. Go to www.schultze.org to follow Rev. Schultze's ministry more closely and to order more of his resources.

Keeping Faith

Faith is among those spiritual rivers which flow until they reach an ocean whose horizon is the very universe. Comprehending and articulating the essence of faith is like trying to do so with grace, love, holiness, peace, or truth. It certainly is not a waste of time, and yet there will never be enough time in the realm in which we live now. I am eternally grateful that we can simply embrace these eternal gifts through the life of our Savior and Redeemer without having to define them in any comprehensive manner. 

At the end of his journey, the Apostle Paul told us that he “kept the faith.” This is the same faith that he told us “comes by hearing” the Word of God. Our faith journey begins when God speaks to us by His Holy Spirit through His Word. We know this hearing is more than just cognitive reception. Faith begins when the Light arrives and we choose to receive Him. Educators speak of a teachable moment, but this is more. Faith comes in a moment of hearing the Word that we must keep and that will keep us for all eternity. The Psalmist tells us: “Your word continues forever, Adonai, firmly fixed in heaven” (Ps 119:89). 

Paul first heard from the Light on the way to Damascus. That is where his faith resume began. Keeping the faith would include battles and beatings. He was chased out of some cities and drug out of at least one and left for dead. He had sharp disagreements with at least two apostles and was forsaken by most all of his friends, yet he would not forsake the assignment and the message that he had been sent with as an apostle. He kept the faith. God spoke to him about his life and his mission. He held that word firm in faith. He pressed on. Faith requires perseverance. In fact, God rewards such faith. 

To the woman with no strength left who pressed through the uncaring crowd to reach the very strands of thread hanging from his garment, Jesus said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." To the gentile woman who would not be offended by a dog comparison, Jesus said, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." Blind Bartimaeus would not be shut up by those who perceived him as a nuisance, but Jesus called him and said, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." A woman invited herself to a gathering and got so low at the feet of Jesus that her tears mixed with her kisses, just to be gently wiped away with her own hair. Her behavior vexed the guests, but He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." 

God’s Word includes the deep theological realities upon which we stand. We must keep our faith regarding Jesus and His saving life. We are saved by faith when the Holy Spirit helps us to know there is One who has paid the price for our sins. We are saved to the uttermost as we receive and hold to the life of Christ. His Word is also logistical. The Holy Spirit tells us when, where, and how if we wait upon Him. Faith involves hearing, believing, trusting, and obeying that which He speaks. Our faith must extend from laying hold of the finished work of Christ to holding fast to every revelation He has given concerning His will for our lives. His Word is not disposable. It is “…firmly fixed in Heaven” and it will be that by which we are judged. 

Those who knew Rev. Helm know that he was serious about the spiritual discipline of reviewing. When we fail to review, we forget what God has said to us about who we are, where He placed us according to His pleasure, and what our calling is. We forget what He has done and what it meant when we fail to review. Review helps us to see the larger picture with continuity. Complaining will move us away from where we need to be, but joyful review holds us on the narrow way. I am convinced that reviewing is a significant part of keeping the faith. 

Faith begins when we hear His Word. It continues as we persevere by grace. Paul gave a strong prophetic word when he told us, “…the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith…” We are in those days. By God’s grace, we can keep the faith. 

Pastor Jerry D. Keller