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Alan Buterworth Family Update
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Newsletters - click "Get Resource" to see complete PDF version with photos and more
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Entries from
April 2005
April 2005 Newsletter
Promises
Praise the LORD who has granted a haven to His people Israel, just as He promised; not a single word has failed of all the promises that He made... 1 Kings 8:56
God, from ages past, has made and kept his promises. He called Israel to be a light to the Gentiles. He sent Y’shua to be the Savior of all mankind. He promises eternal life for all who believe. His promises are sure and we can rely on them!
As missionaries, we in turn make promises – to God, to each other, and to you our mission support family.
We promise to God that we will faithfully and diligently perform our appointed duties. We promise to serve responsibly, being good stewards of the resources granted us.
We promise to each other in The Apple of His Eye to serve according to an agreed set of core values (see Apple Core Values – www.aohems.org). We promise to uphold one another in prayer and to listen and learn from each other. We promise to be transparent before each other, bearing each other’s burdens and sharing each other’s joys. We promise to help each worker in developing his/her mission support so that they can be fully funded in the mission field.
To our mission support family, we promise that we will communicate openly and regularly both the joys and struggles of our mission work. We promise to actively pray for and with you. We promise to honor your contributions by reporting quickly and responding personally. We invite your participation with time, talents and resources over and above your regular church giving. These will then be strategically applied to the mission endeavor. We promise that we will help in your personal witness. Finally, we promise that we will make ourselves and our materials easily available to you and those seeking the truth of Messiah.
THROUGH YOUR PROMISES of prayer and regular mission support, we can reach the lost and equip those who are already in God’s Kingdom to do the same.
DEATH & LIFE
by Steve Cohen
Do you recall the old humorist who was read the obituary page first thing every morning. This happened for months on end. Finally his wife asked why he did this. “I check to see if my name is listed here. If it isn’t, then I figure I am having a pretty good day.”
I know I am getting older – so when I hear of someone’s death, one of the first things I do is compare my age to the age of the decedent. How am I doing at 55? Each day lived brings each of us one day closer to the end of life here.
In February, Jan and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary. For half of that time, she has been battling Huntington’s Disease – a genetic defect that causes the brain to die and abilities lost along the way. Her bravery in day to day living is amazing to me, and a clear demonstration of the Grace of God which is, as promised, more than sufficient for us and the circumstances we encounter.
Word came to me that Ted Martin’s mother-in-law, passed away in England, and his aunt, not a believer, passed away in San Francisco almost at the same time. I can hardly remember a time when I was a t a church and during the announcements someone that week had not passed away. Death is all around us but most of us prefer to not face it until we have to!
Four years ago, I received a phone call from a friend of mine. She called to ask for some insight as a potential care taker. The doctors had informed her husband, Mark, had ALS – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). It is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
In some ways there are similarities between what Jan is battling and what her husband was to go through. One of the differences, though was that ALS has a more compressed timeframe from onset to death.
I received a series of e-mails concerning Mark’s battle and recently one concerning his promotion. The funeral was one of celebration of a life fully lived, humor and all. The pastor leading the funeral even played the introduction of the Star Trek theme with those often quoted lines, boldly going where no one has gone before. While most did not join in the humor, I found it brought a big smile to me. We are all destined to die, how shall we best go?
For those of us who are believers in Jesus, we know that we have the promises of God which are faithful and true: For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16
Do you know of someone who has died recently? Did they know Jesus? Was there a celebration of hope and faith?
Sometimes those closest to us are the most difficult to reach. Many of you have been praying for my Mother, Barbara Cohen. She has not spoken with me for over 16 years now. Recently, Micha, our oldest, was in Portland, Oregon for a few weeks of ministry. He had a day of unscheduled activity and so he decided he would take Leah, his wife of two years, and their newborn, Selah Joy and pay an unexpected visit to the grandmother he has never met.
I can only imagine the thoughts running through his head during the four hour drive down the Columbia river gorge. He hade his way to her house and told me later that she refused to grant them entry or spend any time with them. He left a letter and told her that he loved her, and then drove the four hours back.
Micha, like me and many others, wanted mom to not only be reconciled as family, but also be reconciled to God before it is too late. We still do not know the final chapter of this story yet, so we covet your prayers!
If you are interested in having one of our missionaries come to YOUR church, we are planning for the next 18 months. Please call Glenda Smith toll free at 1-888-51-APPLE to discuss presentations and available dates.
How Can We Help Israel?
By Alan Butterworth
In November, I went to Israel for the first time. As I shared with my unbelieving brother, Tom, he said, “Israel is the most important place on earth.” Today, it is easy to get into an argument about Israel. Emotions run high as people share their views about politics or the end times. Israel welcomes the help of Christian groups as long as the ‘help’ is limited to moving Jewish people to the Land or supporting political or social causes. But is this really helpful?
We care deeply about Israel and we want to help. But our interest has nothing to do with moving people or politics or end times scenarios. Israel’s greatest need is eternal! 5 million Jewish people live in Israel. Some die every day without faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. Each is facing eternal separation from God.
You may wonder, “What can we do?” Many have heard that mission work in Israel is not legal. This is false.
It is against the law to share the Gospel with a minor, but sharing with adults is legal.
Last November, I wore my Apple shirt every day. On the back, are the words, “What Do You Think of Jesus?” I prayed at the Wailing Wall for a long time before someone politely said, “Could you please cover your shirt? It is very offensive to some here.” That same day, an orthodox man asked me if he could ask me a question. I said I would be happy to answer his question if he would answer the question on my shirt. So we started a conversation about Jesus!
I found Israeli’s to be very open. To some extent, this reflects a desire to be good hosts to tourists. Tourism is very important to the economy. And many in Israel are genuinely grateful that America stands with them politically. But it goes deeper. Many of the 1 million Russian Jews in Israel are open to the Gospel.
Soon I will return to Israel to explore in much greater detail the opportunities (for Apple and the LCMS), to seek counsel from many as we begin to develop a plan for mission work there, and to identify missionary candidates.
We have opportunities in Israel with Lutheran organizations. Our partner ministry, the Caspari Center, is Lutheran. They provide training and resources for 90 messianic Congregations in Israel. Two of these congregations, in Haifa and Jaffa, were started by the Norwegian Church Ministry to Israel, which is also Lutheran. All of these organizations are anxious for us to come and help.
I will also explore two long-term goals. First, we would like to see Pastors take a module in Israel during their Seminary education. It could cover Hebrew, Biblical history and archeology, and outreach to Jewish and Palestinian people. Second, we want to recreate the Institutum Judaicum, as it existed in Germany in the 19th Century under Franz Delitzsch. It’s Biblical and Rabbinic scholarship in the area of Messianic prophesy and research about the theological roots of the holocaust achieved great respect from the Jewish community. If we achieve the same, we will gain new tools and opportunities to share the Gospel with Jewish people. Our partner, the Caspari Center, located in Jerusalem, is interested in these ideas.
From the E-mail Bag...
Dear Steve,
I was at Holy Cross today [February 27th] to hear your presentation in church and at class. My husband and I enjoyed it very much. You are a very interesting speaker. I wanted to write you and let you and your wife know that we will keep her in our prayers (your whole family). When the offering plate was passed, my husband and I sit near the front and we did not have time to put a message to your wife in the spot on the envelope. We will keep you all in our prayers. Also, you gave us much food for thought during Bible class.
Your mission support is
relied on each month to help meet our target of $45,000.
We covet your prayers:
For Alan’s trip to Israel to be fruitful
For Alexey’s growing ministry in Russia and his trip to the US in April
For Jill, a friend who is going through some personal stress
For Jan Cohen’s battle with Huntington’s Disease
Thanksgiving for Josh Butterworth’s safe return from Army service in Iraq
or Kevin as he seeks direction from the Lord
For Jay in Houston as he seeks direction for ministry
Thanksgiving for our volunteers who assist in great ways
For Gary as he will be working with Alan in our Outreach this summer
For those who are near death that they might be sure of life in Y’shua
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