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Dystopians

Matthew, Zach, Jeff, Craig, Ira, Billy, and Trent, brothers in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ with Paul, to the Elders of the church at Dystopia. We remember you with joy, every time we pray to our Lord Jesus Christ and continue to lift your needs up to our Father in Heaven until time permits that we can come to you personally. Keep the Faith!

We have been informed that recently a great earthquake has occurred and you have suffered tremendous losses. Our hearts go out to you in this time of suffering. We know that you have many questions in regards to why God would allow such a tragedy to occur. First and foremost, take comfort in the fact that God is not punishing you for your faith. Do not take heed in the false brethren who would lead you to abandon the faith to return to your former beliefs. Would you abandon your feet only to crawl again? For as seen in the story of Job, a follower of God in ancient times, not all tragedies are judgment from the hand of God. Job was a righteous and upright man in the sight of God who suffered greatly, not because of judgment, but because of his righteousness. Have you not been seeking our Lord faithfully? Hell Yes! We have received reports from the brethren that you have been continually maturing spiritually since our last visit. After Job’s trials, did he abandon his faith? No, he instead was strengthened and in the end, was blessed with more than he had lost. While in the midst of his suffering, he never understood why God would allow him to endure this great hardship, but we know that God is not the author of such things. Nevertheless, He allows us to go through trials to bring us closer to His righteousness. God does not tempt his children, but instead He uses trials to build their faith. When one endures and perseveres through troubled times, it produces Godly character, and character produces faith. Faith produces hope and hope never fails.

As to why this disaster has befallen you, do not be quick to assign blame to yourselves for the faith you have professed in Holy Lord of the heavens, seas, and earth. This disaster has come as no fault of your own. Do you not remember the words of our Savior, when asked about the falling of the Tower of Siloam in Jerusalem, that their own sin did not cause this calamity to befall them? In the beginning when Adam and Eve took it upon themselves to eat of the tree, they caused a departure from the perfect world that God created. Their sin set in motion a fallen world. As a result of this fallen world things like earthquakes and death of the mortal body have become a part of this world. Even as you mourn for your missing, do you not think that our Lord Jesus Christ mourns even more for your suffering? Take great comfort, instead, in knowing that those amongst you who have passed on are now with our Lord. Christ our Lord will now be their refuge.

Just as we are writing to you in sympathy, our Father in heaven has had sympathy on you in sparing your lives. Now you must recognize this and arise and praise our great Lord. Downheartedness cannot be heard from the lips of one who is praising our Lord. Thus focus not on your suffering but instead on the tasks at hand. And so you should do as our brother Paul instructed, “Those who are strong ought to bear with the suffering of the weak.” We mourn with you over the loss of those who are missing from amongst you, including Elder Fosterius, but the strong elders amongst you must arise and fill the void left by our missing brother, while continuously searching for him. It is paramount that you fill this hole left in your leadership with a capable and Godly elder. This leader should be a man above reproach, and full of the Holy Spirit. He should be a husband of one wife, and able to maintain order and discipline within his own household, for how can a man lead the church if he cannot lead his own household. His children must be of the faith. He must not indulge in much wine or be a newly converted Christian. He should not be a man who thirsts after power but instead a man of humility for the sake of the Gospel. May the Holy Spirit guide you in your decision. Our deepest prayer is that you find Brother Fosterius and return him to his position, but should you not, the cause of the Gospel must continue through the work of the other elders. For if you do not continue the work once done by your missing brothers and sisters in Christ their work will have been done in vain. Let us then make Christ the victor in this situation instead of the persecutor of the church. So spend your time now focusing instead on those around you. Show your love to the widows and orphans for this is the test of true religion. Take this opportunity instead to show the love of Christ to those around you through serving those who are suffering. We must then move forward with the Gospel, not only focusing on those who are a part of your fellowship but instead focusing on the community that is suffering spiritually as well as physically. For we know that many amongst your body lost their earthly lives but we do not want those in Dystopia to lose their lives eternally.

If the need arises to appoint a new elder, take these admonitions and apply them to his leadership. First he should have a love for the people around him, especially for those who are in need of the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He should follow the example of our Lord in servanthood. We see from Christ that the only way to be great in the kingdom of God is to serve the church. He should study to show himself approved in the knowledge of the saving power of Jesus Christ. He should thoroughly know and search the scriptures for the truth to proclaim and protect it from false teachings. He should know this teaching well that he might cast down the false teachers and prevent them from leading the flock astray.

Many of those amongst you have begun to worry about your daily food and where you shall worship. Did not our Lord tell us that God takes care of even the smallest sparrow? Why then do you worry about such trivial things? We know that our Lord will provide for us beyond our understanding. Then you should stop focusing only on your own earthly needs and allowing your worry to control you, but instead you should focus on the needs of the others around you and allow God to provide for both your needs and the needs of those around you. You should be seeking the Kingdom of God first and He will bestow all these blessings upon you.

In response to the rumors we have heard about those of you who have spoken about turning back to your former beliefs as a Jew, we wish to reaffirm the knowledge of Jesus as the Messiah through the fulfillment of the prophets and the Law. God gave the Law to Moses to reconcile his chosen people unto Himself, but the people perverted the Law and turned to idols instead of the One True God. God sent judges and kings to lead His people back to him, but they once again rejected God’s provision in the Law. God sent prophets as well, and they also were rejected and killed by God’s people. The prophet Isaiah told of a coming Messiah who now has been fulfilled. As he stated, this Messiah would be led to the slaughter and wounded for our wickedness. He has been revealed to you! He is Christ Jesus, the fulfillment of the prophecy. We tell you this to reaffirm the faith you have professed in Him, to strengthen and encourage you in the faith you once believed. Even Jesus himself proclaimed that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Do not fear that you have abandoned the Law but have followed the fulfillment of this law.

We have heard that some of you are thinking of falling back to the teachings of Zeus. How can you turn back to a god that does not exist? Can Zeus feed himself? Can he cloth himself? Why are you turning from the true God who created the heavens, earth, and seas to a god that was fashioned by your own hands? Almighty Zeus has not punished any of the other churches in Asia. Do not flatter yourselves in thinking that your “sins against Zeus” are greater than those of the rest of Asia. Why has Zeus not struck other churches in Asia? He has not struck them down with his mighty lightning bolts because he does not exist beyond the marble carvings you have made. Even if your insults to his power were counted worthy to his concern what then could this great man of marble do? Nothing.

Brothers and sisters, we would like to most of all remind you to follow the commands of our Lord and Savior. The Law of Christ clearly states that the greatest commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your strength, all your mind, and all your soul. Christ also commands that we love one another as ourselves. Jesus said, “they will know you by the love you show for one another.” We encourage you above all things to Love. As the Apostle Paul suggested to all of us that we can proclaim the Gospel in a great fashion and with eloquent speech, but if we do it without Love it is the equivalent of clanging cymbals. We can help each other through times of hardships, but without Love it is meaningless. We may attain all the riches in the world, but without Love they are worth nothing. Everything you do must be done with Love for the Father and each other. Remember that love is patient, love is kind, love is gentle, love is compassionate, love is caring, love is forgiving, love is not vengeful, love does not envy, and God is love. God gave to each of us faith, hope, and love, but the greatest is love. Therefore, the greatest demonstration of love to God and your neighbor is to continue to share the Gospel. Continue to be in obedience to our Lord and Savior by making disciples of all nations and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Continue to walk in the “Fear of the Lord.” Remember what the ancient Proverb states, true wisdom is fear of the Lord and to truly fear the Lord one must be obedient to His commands.

We send our love to all of those within the church including brother Stephen Baileian, Brother Gorenelius, and sister Provostum. Tell our brothers Magee and Thompson that we send our love and to continue in the praise of our Lord. We have heard about the great teachings of Brother Norvell and the way that he is a man of faith. Greet him in love for us. We encourage you uphold brother Josiah in his weakness, helping him to return to health. Keep greeting each other in love as we are sending brothers Ira, Matthew, and Zach to encourage and help you in your time of rebuilding.

We pray the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you until the day of His return.

Kenneth Friend, Matthew Justice, Zach Pyron, Jeff Childers, Craig Powell, Ira Rountree, Billy Hardesty, and Trent Martin

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This page maintained by Robert Lee Foster, rfoster@wbcoll.edu

Last revised: February 17, 2006