Truth Magazine

By Nell Kercheville

Have you ever learned a foreign language just for the express purpose of preaching the gospel to those in another country? Have you ever left your home and the surroundings you are so accustomed to and comfortable with to go to another land and preach to a humble and sincere people? Have you ever been blessed to stay in the home of one of these people and sleep on the floor with the rest of the family, all in their one-room house? In the middle of the night you awaken so sick that you have to get up and tread your way through the sleeping bodies to get outside since there is no indoor plumbing.

Have you ever repeatedly chosen without hesitation to travel into a country where you know that at some point you have a good chance of being sick? Have you ever been in a hotel room alone in that country and been so sick you think you might not live until morning? Because of your sickness you purposely do not lock the door for fear some-one will not be able to get to you to help. The next day the local preacher finally becomes worried and comes to see about you. You pray, “0 Lord, thank you for this good man.” He goes home and has his wife make “atole” (a rice drink) for you. How soothing it is! By the time evening services come you are so weak you can’t imagine being able to preach. But you must and you do. Too weak to stand, you have to sit while you preach. The thought occurs time and again in your mind, “Can I make it?” But then you look at all those eager faces. They have come to hear the gospel, but not as an American would hear, they have come to hear that which they have never heard before. As you preach you hear them exclaiming, “Que precioso!” (“How precious!”). Suddenly all your weariness is forgotten and you could preach all night to these who so desire to hear the Good News.

Have you ever traveled to another country to preach and found that the brethren have secured a huge tent for a meeting place? “Wonderful!” you think. But then you find out that the tent has to be moved, not once, but three more times. The tent has to be taken down and moved to another town and put up again, ready just in time for the next services. Your job? You are to crawl under this dusty dirty tent and put the poles in place while the men on the outside have several “business meetings” on how it should be done. (Ever attended a business meeting?) By the end of the day you are tired, dirty, and hungry. You have just enough time to get cleaned up and start preaching. The thought runs through your mind repeatedly, “Is this worth it?” But all those thoughts are soon erased when you see over 500 souls from the community who have gathered hungry to hear the pure gospel of our Lord. “Que precioso!” they say. “Que precioso!”

Have you ever had your ribs broken just before leaving on one of these trips? You travel over rugged bumpy dirt roads to reach a community where you arrive with your ribs in worse condition than when you left. The bed you sleep on is hard and when you roll over on one of those ribs  wow, the pain! But on this trip you have a real treat. They have built a room for the visiting preacher. How nice, but then it strikes again, the “revenge.” This time you don’t have to climb over bodies because the men of the community have built the “little house” on the hill. You think, “What a relief, better than last time when there was nothing and the outhouse was just “out.” But then comes the negative side. Walking up that hill hour after hour in a weakened condition is no picnic. And then there is the little house. The men dug the hole too big for the house. Dig another hole? Naw, throw a couple of logs across the hole and set the little house on the logs. Have you ever tried to sit in a privy with a canvas for a door and the west wind blowing? You have to hold the canvas with one hand and steady yourself with the other so that you do not get thrown over by the rocking of the little house on the logs. But still you must preach as you hear the voices of hungry souls, “Que precioso!”

Have you ever been invited to the humble home of one of these Christians to eat? You tremble as you realize you may be taking food from their children. But you cannot refuse because they would be so hurt. How glad you are that you have come! The graciousness with which they serve you is so heartwarming that it often brings tears to your eyes. No matter what the obstacle, no matter the hardship, they serve you and give to you what they have. These people are so grateful for the precious words of life you have brought them. How precious the word of God! And now it is you who say, “Que precioso!” You go away knowing you have received much more than you have given.

After over fifty years of this work, you come to the evening of your life. Your steps are slower and your health fails. But you press on. The love of Christ constrains you. You work as long as there is breath and one more soul to save. As you reflect on your life you know that materially you have little and the hardships have been many. But oh what riches you do have. Would you change your life if you could do it over? No! “Que precioso!”

Guardian of Truth XL: 7 p. 9
April 4, 1996

By Thomas Bunting

In 1918 the Jehovah Witnesses preached and published a book, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” Ever since then they have, on several occasions, predicted the coming of Christ and the establishment of an earthly kingdom. The date from which their calculations were made was 1914.

I remember well that in conversation with Jehovah Witnesses, they told me that something big was to happen in 1967. That would have been fifty-three years since 1914, those millions living then were beginning to get old. If Jesus was to come in their life time, then time was getting short. Nothing happened in 1967!

The next prophecy I recall was 1975. That was sixty-one years after 1914. Infants in 1914 were then more than sixty years old in 1975, not to mention the age of the those who were adults in 1914. If Jesus was to come while those millions lived then it had to be very soon! Nothing happened in 1975 either!

Time was running out on those millions who were alive in 1914. There were fewer and fewer of them as time passed.

But it didn’t seem to discourage the Jehovah Witnesses, they continued to preach their false doctrine.

We have now come to the year 1996, eighty-two years since 1914! Everyone knows, including the Jehovah Witnesses, that there can’t be very many of those millions from 1914 left. Even those born that year are now over eighty if they are still alive. As we approach the year 2000 the millions then living are now dead, and the prophecies for the Jehovah Witnesses is proven false both by the Bible and by history!

Time has necessitated that they change their doctrine. There was an article, “Apocalypse Later,” in Newsweek magazine, December 1995 telling how they have now changed their teaching.

What Bible students knew all along, and Jehovah Witnesses denied, they have now been forced to admit  “no one knows when Christ will come.” They have been forced to abandon their doctrine about the coming of Christ be-cause time simply ran out on them. The millions living then are now dead!

Guardian of Truth XL: 7 p. 23
April 4, 1996

By Tant Williams, Jr.

After forty-one years in the Union (Republic) of South Africa, preacher W. Ray Votaw and his helpmate, Thena, have retired to the Gist community, deep in the heart of East Texas Pines, about thirty miles east of Beaumont. This is his native turf. His health is day-to-day, inasmuch as he has carotid and cardiovascular blockage plus asbestosis of the lungs. Physicians are working with him.

Following a hitch in the Navy during World War II, Ray completed two years of study at Freed Hardeman College. He preached a couple of years and then enrolled at Harding College. After being invited to preach in South Houston, Texas in 1952, he transferred to the University of Houston. In 1954 he made a decision to preach the Gospel in the Union of South Africa. Heartbroken brethren of the South Houston Church agreed to support him in East London, coastal city on the Indian Ocean. Ray and Thena, with two little girls, departed from the Hobby Airport, flew to New York, caught the Queen Mary, arrived in Southampton, caught “The Mail Boat” Pretoria Castle, arriving in Cape town August 2, 1954. (Ray has received wages from the South Houston Church for nearly forty-five years.)

The Votaws succeeded an anxiously departing evangelist. Ray coped with working among English-Indians, Coloreds and the Black Tribal-people. After a few years, the Votaws moved inland a thousand miles to Springs, Transvaal, near Johannesburg, where he would be more centrally located. Here he be-came more and more active among the indigenous blacks. Although Ray had studied both the Afrikaans and Xhosa languages for awhile at the East London Technical College, he had to depend on trusted translators from twelve different tribal language groups as he went far and near to teach them, living with them, learning their habits, likes and dislikes, developing a trust that would endear him in their hearts. He warned them of false teachers; they protected his physical presence from disenchanted tribesmen.

His home in Springs was always open to the blacks (and others) for teaching, exhortation, and fellowship. The months became years, and the years became decades. There were problems, he sought to guide them from the Americanization of the whites. So, “as shades of the African night descended upon their kraals, and the younger ones crowded about the aged as they sat before the campfires, the old ones would say, `He came only with the Bible, nothing else. He taught us from the Word of God, to tell of a Savior who could help us in our sinful condition. We learned to depend upon him for the truth because he spoke only words of truth. Now, the weight of the world has fallen upon him, his hair has whitened with the ages of his service. He must return to his homeland for his remaining years. We will miss him and his family.

As soon as he announced that he would be returning to the states because of ill health, there began a steady stream of visitors to his home to say their tearful goodbyes, and to wish him better health and a long life. It was a moving experience that the Votaws will long remember.

Ray Votaw has no doubts that the blacks will be all right in their various churches. He had taught them to he independent and do their own work, even when he was with them. He never sent “home” glowing reports of numbers, because there were none. They learned not to depend upon him, but conducted their own service. Sometimes these services might last all day into the night. Baptisms could occur without an invitation song; men might take a candidate to the river for immersion, even while Ray was speaking to them. They learned to do by doing in their own surroundings.

Ray and Thena had their sad moments of twisting anguish. Their youngest daughter died of cancer in a Beaumont hospital; two grandchildren were awarded to the divorced South African husband by the courts of that country. In another year Celeste, the oldest daughter died of a heart attack. His mother, one brother, three sisters, Thena’s mother and father died during this period of time. Now 8,000 miles separate them from the middle daughter, Sharon, the wife of preacher, Eric Reed, and mother of three, of Bellville, Cape, RSA.

How was his rapport or relationship with other preachers and teachers? He tangled often with those of the “institutional persuasion,” finally convinced two prominent figures of the errors of their stand, in addition to one state side preacher, who is now in RSA. With those who stood with him on the above question but had peculiar beliefs on indifferent matters, the full use of Romans 14 was needed to maintain good working relationships. He was considered a leader by all parties.

Amongst the blacks some physical problems sometimes developed, but as a usual rule the blacks took care of such to stave off a fighting confrontation. Outside of religious circles, more than once, brother Votaw had to defend himself against criminal elements, receiving a broken jaw and losing several teeth in one encounter. A strange set of circumstances singled him out by an international crime syndicate. Fearful for the lives of his family and having to be constantly on guard against all kinds of “entrapment,” he worked behind the scenes with just a couple of law officials who were themselves frightened for their lives. The suspected “hit man” was imprisoned in another country; this relieved some pressure. He ultimately fortified his domicile, electronically as well as with physical measures, using a faithful black brother as night watchman and at times as bodyguard for Thena.

Such was the experience of Evangelist W. Ray Votaw and his family in preaching and teaching the gospel of the New Testament in the country of South Africa. His plans are to continue to assist the brethren in any way possible to express his love for them. “Night fires are burning, and aged men are relating the history to young ones inside the kraal.”

Guardian of Truth XL: 7 p. 20-21
April 4, 1996

By Max Tice

I remember the first business meeting I ever attended as a young Christian. Some of the brethren had a disagreement over how certain deacons had been chosen. The climate in the room quickly grew significantly warmer as heated accusations and sarcastic comments were being exchanged. I came away feeling somewhat disillusioned and wondering how these could be the same people with whom I had worshiped so often. Little did I realize that this was only a foretaste of bitter experiences yet to come.

Having been a Christian now for over thirty years, I have both witnessed and heard about many scenes in which brethren have displayed less than exemplary and often out-right disgraceful behavior toward one another. These episodes have been especially common in Bible classes and business meetings. Imagine the effect of such conduct upon young Christians and visitors. Imagine also the demoralizing impact upon a local church. Although it is inevitable that brethren will sometimes disagree, it is far from necessary that they wrangle and misbehave. In James 4:1, James asks, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?” In other words, such things are the product of allowing fleshly lusts to have free reign. Whenever a little thoughtlessness and twisted reasoning are added to these evil desires, then shameful conduct is an absolute certainty. Habits are formed which lead to misbehavior under the slightest provocation.

It is in the hope of promoting peace, that I would like to discuss some of these habits and the means by which they can be broken. I humbly ask you as a reader to own responsibility for your actions. Please do not say, “I’ll be sure to give this article to brother. He’s the one who needs it.” What about you? Do you have any of the habits which are described below?

Failure to Listen to Others

I have sometimes witnessed two brethren arguing with one another who were in complete agreement on the topic under discussion. Why were they arguing? Because they did not know they agreed? Why didn’t they know? Because somebody wasn’t listening. Some brethren are terrible listeners (with a capital terrible)! When they recite what they think someone else has said, it is often the very opposite of what was actually said. Although an entire room full of people may try to tell a brother he has misunderstood another party, he will continue wasting everyone’s time while blasting away at his supposed opponent.

Brethren there is a very simple solution to this problem, assuming that one does not just wish to fight. It is called paying attention. If someone tells you that you have misunderstood what was said, maybe you have. Ask for clarification.

Failure to Listen to Self

I have a strong feeling that if some brethren could watch themselves on video, they would be surprised at how they “come across” to other people. If only they could hear their ill-natured tone and inflammatory language, perhaps they would make some changes. Proverbs 12:18 states that “there is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Insistence on One’s Point of View

In both Bible classes and business meetings, there are sometimes brethren who have not outgrown the immature self concept of egocentrism. Everything must revolve around them. They seek to dominate discussions, and their point of view has to be right. The controversies which they generate are not really about the meaning of a Bible verse or some decision by the elders or the men of the congregation. They are about ego! These brethren feel a need to control others. Their behavior may be driven by insecurity, jealousy, or pride. The cure for this personality defect can be found in heavy doses of brotherly love and a biblical (rather than a twisted) concept of self.

Exaggeration of Questions Importance

With some brethren, nearly every question is a “matter of life and death.” Those who take the “wrong position” must be fiercely debated in the interest of sound doctrine. For example, consider all of the heated exchanges that have arisen over whether or not people baptized in John’s baptism be-fore Pentecost need to be rebaptized (not that they know too many to whom this would apply). This does not mean that such questions are unworthy of Bible class time. There are many subjects which do not affect basic issues of faith and God’s requirements for our salvation that are interesting to study. Yet, we must not exaggerate their importance. They are worth a limited amount of discussion. However, they are not worth embarrassing arguments with exhibitions of hot temper and rude remarks.

The Tendency to Judge Others

One reason some brethren get so angry during business meetings and Bible classes is their habit of judging others. They assume there are hidden agendas behind proposals. They imagine that the reason for a disagreement over a Bible passage is that the other party has no respect for God’s Word.

In short, they believe that any number of evil motives most likely drive other people’s words and actions. While these assumptions may sometimes be correct, they may also amount to jumping to completely erroneous conclusions. Both Jesus and James warned against unjust judging of others (Matt. 7:1,2; Jas. 4:11, 12). James asked the question: “Who are you who judge your neighbor?” Indeed, who are we to play God and pretend to know with certainty the innermost thoughts of another man’s heart?

Conclusion

Whenever we behave in such a way as to unnecessarily alienate our brethren and cause visitors to our classes to wish they had never come, we should be ashamed. We are allowing worldly lusts, thoughtlessness, and twisted reasoning to take control. Although we cannot avoid having disagreements, we can certainly avoid shameful conduct. If Christ lives in us, it will be so!

Guardian of Truth XL: 7 p. 22-23
April 4, 1996