The Scroll

Below is a brief bio on Charles Fitch a mighty man of God. His faithfulness to his Savior to the point of death is to be greatly admired and emulated. I pray that we like those who have gone before will pick up our cross and follow Christ. The following was taken from The Faithful Witness

In 1842, feel­ing the need of an accu­rate chart, Fitch and Apol­los Hale pre­pared the famous chart illus­trat­ing the ful­fill­ment of the last-​​time prophe­cies of Daniel. This was used exten­sively by the Mil­lerites. Fitch him­self used this chart and also other visual aids includ­ing a replica of the Daniel 2 statue that could be sep­a­rated into its var­i­ous parts. Charles Fitch became seri­ously ill, prob­a­bly with pneu­mo­nia, in the month of Octo­ber, 1844. He had chilled while bap­tiz­ing con­verts. He died on Mon­day, Octo­ber 14th, in full faith that he should awake in a few days in the like­ness of his Redeemer.

Another notable con­tri­bu­tion to Mil­lerism came in the sum­mer of 1843. At the time the pub­lic sen­ti­ment had begun to turn against the Mil­lerites, and many preach­ers and believ­ers were faced with expul­sion from their churches. But up to this point, William Miller had advised his fol­low­ers not to sep­a­rate from their churches.

Charles Fitch then preached a pow­er­ful ser­mon based on Rev­e­la­tion 18: “Baby­lon the great has fallen… Come out of her, my peo­ple!” Up to this point, most Protes­tants had iden­ti­fied Baby­lon in the text as the papacy of the Roman Catholic Church. In this ser­mon, Fitch labeled all the Protes­tant churches that had not accepted the mes­sage of Jesus’ Sec­ond Com­ing as Baby­lon. He then invited the Mil­lerites to sep­a­rate from their churches.

This cry was taken up by George Storrs, who cau­tioned the Mil­lerites not to orga­nize a new church, for “no church can be orga­nized by man’s inven­tion but what it becomes Baby­lon the moment it is orga­nized.” Joseph Marsh, edi­tor of the Voice of Truth, also sup­ported this call to sep­a­rate. The Mil­lerite lead­ers them­selves with­held from sup­port­ing this call, but nei­ther did they do any­thing to pre­vent it.

Whew, last week went by like a world wind. It never seems like there’s enough hours in the day. Competing priorities contend for limited time, how is one to decide what wins out? I’ve learned a secret, and that is to let God decide for me. Each morning, I give Him my list and I tell Him, “Father, I know that there is no way that I’m going to get all these things done. I’m not even sure that these are the things you want me to focus on today. What is on your list?” You see, I’ve come to recognize that even if I don’t get to check off all the items on my list, that’s okay as long as God’s list gets checked off. I know that as long as I do God’s list, then I would have accomplished all that I needed to do for that day. What a relief! You can’t even imagine the pressure that takes off of me; it’s a great stress minimizer.
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GODSPLAN!  You may be wondering what that is. I’m glad that you asked.  It is the key to health and happiness on this earth.  We’ve all had the experience of buying a new piece of gadget or equipment.  And as we open up our box eager to play with our latest toy, a piece of paper falls out with instructions on how we should care for it, if we expect it to function properly and last for a long time.  Well, when God created us, He too gave us a manual, containing clear instructions on how we should care for the equipment He has entrusted to us – our bodies.  In 2 Peter 1:3, the Bible says that God has “given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.”  Part of that “all things” is principles on health, that if clearly followed will lead us to experience that “life abundant” that God promised, not simply in the world to come but even in this world. 
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A New Year has opened and with it new possibilities. In a special sense the opening of a new year provides, as no other time, a wonderful opportunity for reflection and for planning. No matter the failures of the past the future lies before us ripe with promise.
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A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, a wonderful Savior to me.  Oh has there ever been a friend like Jesus?  I can think of none.  Though I am a wretched sinner, yet He interposed His precious blood for my pardon.  He who is the Sovereign of this universe, the Holy One of Israel, became a curse so that I might have life and life abundantly.  Have you ever allowed your mind to meditate on this sublime truth, that the Creator would shed His blood for the creation?  Does it not fill your soul with wonder?  Do you not ask yourself, what manner of love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for your soul?
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As we continue our look at the pioneers, those faithful men and women who laid the foundation for this wonderful advent movement, we consider Joseph Bates, affectionately known as “Father Bates.” The below biography was taken from the White Estate. I hope that as you read you will be blessed.
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I have a new song to sing
A song unlike the one’s I’ve sung
This song comes from deep within
An area once untouched
Now bathed in the Savior’s blood
This song is sweet and sublime
This song was written not in one day
No, this song was birthed through trying times
Through crying times
Through I just feel like dying times
Experience gave me this song
Trials were its inspiration
Pain was its motivation
So pardon me if when I sing this song
My voice cracks and the tears begin to fall
Pardon me if I don’t keep the beat
Pardon me if emotions overwhelm me and I find it difficult to speak
You see this song is dear to my heart
For it glued me together when I fell apart
This song was given to me from above
Wrapped up in my Saviors love

Written by: Rochelle

Disclaimer: poems should not be reproduced without permission.

Fallen Down
Struggling under the weight
The pressure builds
Faceless voices surround me
Condemnation flows
Rescue seems impossible
As I drown under a sea of guilt
Darkness become covering
Light an unwelcome guest
Judgement beckons
Desperation embraces me

Out of the dark abyss
Unseen hands reach for me
Propelling me upwards
Offering strength and comfort
Whispering reassuring words
“My blood has paid the price
So your soul won’t be lost”
Relief overwhelms my heart
As I rest in the fullness of God’s forgiveness!

Written by: Rochelle

Disclaimer: poems should not be reproduced without permission.

If you like me are watching the news or reading the paper, you’re aware that we have a crisis upon our hands.  We are daily faced with economic uncertainties – foreclosures and unemployment numbers continue to rise.  As if that was not enough, it seems as if the value of human life has hit an all time low.  Each day lives are lost in senseless acts of violence.  Wars are being fought across the globe, leaving in its wake untold human casualties; hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis and floods batter an already beleaguered planet.  I can go on and on talking about the atrocities and the senseless violence plaguing this world, but there are not enough volumes of books to contain it all.  The question is what shall we say to these things?
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This morning someone emailed me the excerpt below. It was very timely and provided needed encouragement. I couldn’t help but share it with you all. In Jeremiah 18:1-6, we read that God is the potter and we are the clay. He is seeking in these last days to fashion us so that we can rightly reflect His character and similitude. This fashioning process is painful and the natural reaction is to draw back, but if we allow Him to do this work we will come forth as pure gold. Read more…