Tid Bits of Wisdom

From the Wonderful Word Publishers

MARCH & APRIL 2012 VOL. 6 NO. 4

We read in Numbers 22 through 24 about a very interesting man. All we remember about him was that he caused the children of Israel to depart from the Lord. But really, who was this man? The story opens with the King of Moab sending for a man named Balaam. He desired to have Balaam curse the children of Israel because he had heard that those whom Balaam cursed were cursed. If he said you were blessed, then you were blessed. Israel was camping in his land and he was very fearful of them because they were mighty in number. He clearly knew that they were greater than him and he would not be able to beat them unless they had a curse upon them from God. Everyone hopes God will be on their side of the issues. Balak, the King of Moab, was a direct descendent of Lot through his incestuous relationship with his daughter. The Bible says that Moab was the first nation to be established. Balak sent for Balaam because Balaam was known as a man that spoke for God. Those Balaam blessed were blessed, and those Balaam cursed were cursed. So Balak, collected great riches and sent them to Balaam, while promising him a promotion of great honor if he would curse this people Israel. Now I have read this story for years, but I had never stopped to look at Balaams good qualities. Because of the damage that came to Israel due to his counsel, we forget that Balaam had some good qualities. What were those qualities? Balaam believed in the sovereignty of God. Balaam said, As the Lord shall speak unto me that will I say. Balaam knew he could not go beyond the words of God. Oh that men of God today would realize they cannot go beyond the words of God. Balaam said, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. Sometimes I think the men of God today have convinced themselves that their words are Gods words. Many times when God uses a man to reveal his word, that man begins to think he can speak for God. Balaam had a good understanding that if God says it, that is the way its going to be.

A Man Who Handled Gods Word, But Missed His Heart!

Life is short, Death is sure. Sin the cause; Christ the cure.
IN MEMORY OF THE HOME GOING OF: Bro. Bob Hall & Mrs. Joann
Friends of Tid Bits supporters, Don &Pat Archer

1. L

Humphreys

Randy Ridinger Sr. (son) Raymond Ridinger (Nephew) Quincy Ridinger (Nephew) Supporter Gracie Ridinger
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Ps. 116:15

(Continued on page 2)

A Man Who Handled Gods Word, But Missed Heart!

(Continued from page 1)

His

Another thing we find about Balaam, was that when he sought God, God came. How are we at getting our prayers answered? Every time Balaam sought God, God spoke to Balaam. Balaam had a strong belief in God. He respected the character of God. He believed God would answer when he called. What went wrong with Balaam? Balaam did not seek the heart of God. Many a person has believed in God, and yet never sought the heart of God. What was it God said about David? God said, David is a man after my own heart. What are we looking for when we go to prayer? Are we only seeking answers, or do we seek to know the heart of God? Balaam knew how God felt about Israel, but he never stopped trying to convince God to change his mind. Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness more than he loved God. Balak, the king, sent his most honorable princes to convince Balaam to come and take a look at the children of Israel. The king wanted God to look at this people. He felt sure when God looked at Israel He would see sin and become angry and curse His people. God told Balaam not to go with the princes, but Balaam still wanted to go. Balaam told the princes, The Lord refuses to let me go. Knowing God did not want him to go, he still was asking for permission. Later, when the princes returned with more rewards and again asking him to return with them to see the King, God said to Balaam, Go, if you want to. So Balaam saddled his donkey and started a journey to see the king. This is a good example of Gods permissive will. What is a permissive will? A permissive will is when God turns you loose to have your own way but sends leanness to your soul (Ps. 106:15). Do you recall when the angel told Lot to go to the mountain and Lot said, Not so, my Lord. He requested to go to one of the little cities because he didnt think that he would be alright in the mountains (He didnt think God knew what He was doing). The angel granted him his request, but Lot ended up going straight to the mountain for fear of the people in the little city. When Balaam went with the princes, it was obvious that Gods will (heart) did not matter to him. This angered the Lord and He set out to kill Balaam. Hopefully every man of God will have a good donkey. Had it not been for his donkey he would have died. Yet Balaam was so blind that he stroke his donkey and thought his donkey was his problem. I wonder what our donkeys would say to us should God open their mouth, and let them speak. We might be surprised. After the donkey had rebuked Balaam He understood that God was angry and that he was in danger. What was his comment? If it displease thee, I will get me back again. Oh really! What does he mean, If it would displease you? He knew God did not want him to go. Now that God has his attention He allowed Balaam to go on with the princes to see the king, but He had told him, Only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. Balaam reminded the king that he didnt have any power to say anything except what God spoke to him. Balak built 21 altars in an attempt to convince God to curse Israel. Balaam and Balak went to great lengths to change Gods mind, but God would not curse His people. The Bible said, He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He

seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of the king is among them. (Num 23:21) Could you believe that God could not see iniquity when he looked at the children of Israel? These are the same people that murmured and complained all the way through the wilderness, yet God sees no sin in this people. This is amazing. This is the way God sees the church when he looks at us through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isnt it wonderful to be able to stand justified in the sight of God? Balaam said to Balak, God is not a man, that He should lie: neither the Son of Man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good? Balaam had a good understanding of who God was and what He could do. Balaam was known as a man of God. When Balaam saw he could not change Gods mind he counseled the king and his people as to how they could overcome Israel. Why would a man of God go against God? Because Balaam did not seek the heart of God and was not concerned about the heart of God. He was more interested in the wages of unrighteousness (II Pet. 2:15). God gave Balaam an understanding of Israels last days. He also gave Balaam understanding concerning Jesus, the King of Israel. Balaam understood the resurrection and he knew that he would see Jesus in the last days. Balaam said, I shall see Him but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Seth.. Balaam is mentioned eight times in the scriptures, outside of this story. Balaam was a man of God who did great injury to Gods people. What kind of a men of God are we? Do we seek to know the heart of God? God help us to be a blessing and not a curse to his people.

-----Editor

One of our most noted religious song writers, Frances Jane Crosby, was born in Southeast, Putnam County, NY., March 24, 1820. She became blind at the age of six weeks from maltreatment of her eyes during illness. At the age of 15 she entered the New York Institution for the Blind, where she received her education. She became a teacher in the institution in 1847 and continued there about 10 years. During her vacations in 1852 and 1853, she wrote the words to many songs for Dr. George F. Root, at that time a teacher of music at the institution. She was privileged to meet several presidents and other distinguished men during her teaching career and had the honor of being the first woman whose voice was heard publicly in the Senate Chamber in Washington as she read a poem there. She is one of our most prolific writers, having written about 8,000 poems and is known worldwide as a writer of Sunday School songs and gospel hymns. She began to write in 1864 for Dr. Bradberry and after that time, supported herself by writing hymns. Her hymns were in demand by many of the most outstanding composers of that day. She never needed any special inspiration for her compositions and many were written on the spur of the moment. She received technical music education at the institution and composed music for some of her poems. Safe in the arms of Jesus was her favorite. Miss Crosby was married on March 5, 1858 to Alex Van Alstyne, also a scholar in the same institution in which she was educated. She resided in New York City most of her life where she was a member of old John St. Methodist Church. Most of her hymns were written under Fannie J. Crosby or Mrs. Van Alstyne, but quite a large number were under the nom de plumes Grace J. Francis, Mrs. C.M. Wilson, and nearly 200 different names in all. Some of the favorites she wrote and which continue to touch many lives are: Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior, Blessed Assurance, Jesus Keep Me Near The Cross, and Saved By Grace. Fanny Crosby died in 1915 at the age of 95. (This was taken from a book titled Biographies of Gospel Song Writers, A Stamps-Baxter Publication) God is the head of the missionary movement -- the devil heads the opposition. Would you believe in the necessity of missions if you traded places with the heathen? If you fail to support missions, you are voting to bring missionaries home and to cease missionary work. A missionary is Gods man, in Gods place, doing Gods work, in Gods time, in Gods way.

FANNY J. CROSBY 1820 - 1915

Not meaning to soft - soap but, DUZ you DREFT along with the TIDE of unconcern? VEL, now is the time to CHEER up, if you want real JOY. The TREND, is to BREEZE right into church on Sunday with ZEST. Hear our S.O.S. and please dont let us have to DIAL you. DASH right on to church and WHISK down the aisle. Lets all pull together like a TWENTY MULE TEAM. Church is a real LIFE BUOY. Wishing you the best of LUX. serves a threefold purpose: to enrich the lives of the man and woman, to create a family, and to further the kingdom of God. ----Jack Roeda

(You will notice this was written a long time ago when these soaps were famous.)

Lessons From Soap

A CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE....

Marriage is a testing - ground for ones integrity, courage and character. ----J. Allen Petersen
When true love comes, that which is counterfeit will be recognized. For someday, it will rain on the picnic, ants will sting, mosquitoes will bite, and you will get indigestion from the potato salad. There will be no stars in your eyes, no sunsets on your horizon. Love will be in black and white with no piped-in music. But you will say forever, because love is a choice you have made. ----Ruth Senter We have a picture of the perfect partner, but we marry an imperfect person. Then we have two options. Tear up the picture and accept the person, or tear up the person and accept the picture. ----J. Grant Howard, Jr.

Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave. ----Martin Luther

F E M A L E INSPIRATIONS

By Gloria Brewster

I CANNOT DO IT
Have you ever just said, I cannot do that? A better question might be, how many times have you said that in your lifetime? I hear those words all the time. I even speak those words when I forget to think first. Philippians 4:13 says,
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

break my word, but I have not. I would even dream that I was drinking Dr. Pepper and would wake up crying, thinking I had broken my word to God. I believe I can keep my word to God for the rest of my life, because I believe I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me! What is it in your life that you have said, I cannot do that? Did God ask you to do it? Man may ask you to do something that you are not capable of doing, but anything God tells us to do, He gives us the ability to do. If its from God, you can do it. Not only can you do it, but you must do it. If you desire to be an obedient child of God, you must obey his commands. Arent we supposed to walk by faith? Where is our faith? Do we have a lack of faith because we are looking at ourselves and not at our God? God is all-powerful and has promised us, He will meet our needs. I am counseling some women at this time who are going through some great difficulties. Often they will say, I cant go any further. I will say, Has God told you to go further? The truth is, if God requires it, we can do it. When you think youve taken your last step, stick your foot out and try again. You will be amazed at how much farther you can go. We must allow God to take us past where we can go. Thats when everyone sees that it is God working in us and not we ourselves. The question is, will we allow God to work through us. The question is not, can we do it, but the question is, will we allow God to do it through us!

Do we believe this verse? It is easy to quote this verse, but it takes great strength to practice it. Fifty-one years ago Jerry came to pick me up for our first date in a blue 1953 Chevy pickup truck. Jerry was a real gentleman. As he opened the door to let me into the truck he said, Now youll have to wait until I come and open the door to let you out, because you cant open the door from the inside. The door had a broken handle, and he said it wasnt possible to open it from the inside, but I thought it was possible. I remember looking at that door and thinking, I bet I can open it from inside. When we arrived at our destination, Jerry came around to open the door and let me out. When he walked around the truck, I had the door open and said, You can open this door from the inside. Jerry says he should have taken me home right then. I dont mind someone telling me that something should not be done, but dont tell me it cant be done. When someone tells me,You cant do that, that is my challenge to see that it can be done. I remember years ago when Bro. Roloff came to visit us and I confessed to him that I was having a difficult time putting down Dr Pepper. Now, theres nothing wrong with a Dr Pepper, but there is something wrong with drinking 16 a day. I was addicted to Dr Pepper. Bro. Roloff looked right at me and said, Mrs. Gloria, you probably never will stop drinking Dr Pepper. But just remember, if you can control what goes in your mouth you will have control of every part of your life. Oh, how true that is. Well, when he said I probably wouldnt accomplish it, then I had to find a way to accomplish it. It took making a vow to God to never put a Dr Pepper in my mouth again in order to free me from my addiction to Dr Pepper. I would never encourage people to make vows to God unless they have thought it through, because God will hold you to your word. My family drinks Dr Peppers from time to time and I do not teach that is a sin to drink Dr Pepper, but I do not participate in anything called Dr Pepper or anything like a Dr Pepper. The week I made my vow to God, Mr Pibb was introduced to the public. A friend said, Gloria, you could drink Mr Pibb, it tastes like a Dr Pepper, but its not a Dr Pepper. I told my friend, If I drank a Mr Pibb, God would kill me. For almost two years every time I would order a cold drink they would bring me a Dr Pepper. It became a joke with my children. They would tell their friends, Watch, theyre going to bring my mother a Dr Pepper. Satan tried everything in the books to get me to

----Gloria Brewster

by the MINUTE MEN MINISTRIES

If you have never experienced The War, then you have really missed a blessing. Many years ago we were in Greenville, Texas, at the Mineral Heights Baptist Church where I was associate pastor, we invited the War team to come for the week. We saw many unchurched teenagers come to Christ that week and it was a tremendous blessing to our church. We were blessed to have the war at Galilean Baptist Church a few weeks ago and we saw 80 unchurched teenagers attend three days of games and services. We had 40 decisions for Christ and we have begun to see a good work started with their parents. Brother Matt Wilkerson is teaching a discipleship class for the new Christians. Last Wednesday we had 17 teenagers in attendance. The Minuteman came to the church on Wednesday evening and canvassed the neighborhood all the way through Saturday morning. They told the teenagers we were having a competition between the Army and the Navy. Each teenager signed up for one side or the other. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday evenings, they began by playing games. The first game was with the monstrous ball. The second game was with humongous inner tubes and the third was a rope pull over a mud pit. The kids loved it. After the games the teenagers came in the Fellowship Hall and were served supper and were then given a salvation message. Brother Boswell was very straightforward with the gospel and I have never heard the gospel presented any clearer. They are a King James Version ministry. The adults of the church were there to deal with each teenager individually. I enjoyed watching the faces of our adults after they had led a teenager to Christ. If you would like to excite your people for Christ, this would be a wonderful way to do it. The team is made up of Brother Boswell, his wife and three-month-old baby boy, plus two college age young men. They are marvelous workers. It is very easy for us to get wrapped up in the ministry of our own people and neglect the lost and dying around us. If unchurched souls are a burden to you, consider bringing The War to your church. They can be reached at, Minutemen Ministries, P.O. Box 240615, Milwaukee, WI 53224. You can go to their website and read about their meetings at www.minutemenministries.org.

THE WAR

Dear Supporters, Family and Friends of Wonderful Word Publishers.

Mrs. Connie Cimino

WE ARE GROWING. This growth has come as a result of God placing before us an opportunity to open a new distribution point along the border of El Paso, Texas. A missionary friend of ours, Bro. Ernie Harman, called me a couple of weeks ago and said they had moved to El Paso and would be privileged to distribute our tracts. He said there were a lot of missionaries going back and forth from the border and lots of national pastors coming up to get supplies for their churches. I told him we would talk about it among the board members. In the meantime, Bro. Gibson let me know that they were running low in tracts. He has been doing a wonderful job in getting the tracts into the hands of new people resulting in a wider outreach. We are excited at the prospect of getting Gods Word out. The time is short and the most important thing we can do as a Christian is to reach more lost souls with the plan of salvation before the Lord returns. We did not go looking for this opportunity -- God sent it to us. So a decision had to be made as to what we should do. Everything comes at a cost and our main cost is the money for paper. To buy paper for one printing the cost comes to a little under $2,000.00, resulting in approximately 170,000 tracts. To double the printing, you buy more paper resulting in a break in price. To print almost 350,000 tracts it will cost $3,259.44. Our paper is good paper, not the best or most costly but good paper that is honoring to the Lord. Many missionaries tell me they have boxes upon boxes of tracts that have been given to them but they will not use them or give them out because the paper is too thin, or the ink is smeared and the words unreadable or the ink rubs off in your hand. They also tell us there are too many words and not enough of The Word. I say all of this to let you know when you give to Wonderful Word your gift goes to produce quality tracts at an economical price which contain 95% scripture. We feel they are honoring to the Lord. So we are going to step out in faith and print tracts for Bro. Harman to distribute in the El Paso area and also for Bro. Gibson to distribute in the border area of the Rio Grande Valley. We have asked the Lord to increase our ministry, even though some churches and individuals have decreased or stopped their support. It blessed our hearts to notice two churches have recently increased our support. One raised it by $2 more a month and another by $4 dollars a month. That was an encouragement. Another church wrote this week and said they were having hard times and were going to have to decrease support from $40 a month to $20 a month. I was pleased to know they wrote to inform me for one thing and also because they didnt drop altogether as some have done just recently.

Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. I Chronicles 4:10. Would you consider letting God use you to be a help in answering this prayer and be a blessing to Wonderful Word in getting the paper needed for this endeavor to spread Gods Word to a lost and dying world. Perhaps God will lead some of you to help WWP on a regular basis to take up the slack that has been created recently. Please pray about it and pray for me as I distribute, the Connors as they print and the Brewsters as they produce the Tid Bits of Wisdom for the Wonderful Word. All donations for the paper for tracts please address to Wonderful Word Publishers, P.O. Box 23825, Knoxville, TN 37933. Thank you and may God bless you as you seek to serve Him. Sincerely in Christ.

St. Patrick's Day was originally a Roman Catholic holiday celebrating Ireland's patron saint and observed only in Ireland; it was not until the 1700's when Irish immigrants in the U.S. started the first St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City. The March 17th tradition of wearing green is explained in differing ways. It's said that blue was originally the color associated with the holiday but over time, green took over in popularity due to Ireland's nickname as "The Emerald Isle", the green in the Irish flag and the clover that St. Patrick used in his teachings about Catholicism. In Ireland, some still follow the tradition where Catholics wear green and Protestants wear orange. These colors are associated with the religious sects and are represented on the Irish flag; the white on the flag is symbolic of the peace between the two. On the holiday, people in Ireland do not wear as much green or celebrate quite as wildly as revelers do elsewhere, although there is a legend that wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns that will pinch you if they can see you.

HOW MUCH DO WE KNOW ABOUT WHAT WE CELEBRATE?

We are marching through the month of March. Gloria is still trying to catch up from last year when she had surgery. Gloria has continued to be behind since her surgery, so this paper will be for two months and hopefuly we can get back on schedule. We are excited at the Galilean Baptist Church about the work the Lord has been doing among us. The Wilkerson family has been a real blessing to our church and are meeting a great need. We are thankful the Lord put us together to do His work. As we look at our country, we are aware that we may only have a few more days to work for the Lord. America needs a miracle. America needs to return to God. God has his people speaking loud and furious but the question is, Is America listening? We do not tell people who to vote for, but we do encourage all people to vote. Our votes will determine just what the heart of America is today. Stir all of those around you to go vote and let their voices be heard. If you have been listening to the news, remember what my mother used to tell me, Dont believe anything you hear and only believe half of what you see. Make sure that your voting is based on truth and not lies put out by our media. The truth will set us free. Again, we say thank you to our faithful supporters who make it possible for us to mail our monthly Tid Bits of Wisdom. If you would like to be a part of this ministry we would love to hear from you. You may reach us at the address below. Tid Bits of Wisdom is a monthly free paper. If you have a friend or loved one you would like to received this paper, simply send us their name, address and zip code. Again, we say thank you for your gracious response. Remember, if you would like to honor someone who has passed away, with a love gift to the paper, we will print their names in the next months paper. All gifts can be sent to Tid Bits of Wisdom, 1801 Old Hickory Trail, DeSoto, Texas, 75115. Our web address is on the back page. All gifts are tax deductible. This paper is paid for by faith through Gods people. We are Jerry and Gloria Brewster, born again servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, making ourselves available to Gods service.

TID BITS OF WISDOM MONTHLY REPORT

We lived in a frame house with wood floors that were very very cold in the wintertime. I had two little boys that loved to play in the floor and I felt I needed carpet in order to keep them warm. One day we went to Sears Outlet, downtown Dallas. In the Outlet was a beautiful piece of carpet that was just about the size I needed. They had it on sale for $65 and that was a very good price. I wanted that carpet so bad I could taste it, but we would have to charge it in order to get it and we had promised we would not do that anymore. My husband is a very loving husband and it was very hard for him to know how much I wanted the carpet and him not get it for me. Had I insisted upon getting the carpet he more than likely would have given in. But we had made a promise to God and therefore we had to choose God or the carpet. We walked out of Sears with me thinking I would probably never get carpet. It was a very hard decision, but a very important decision which God used to show me how much He cares about our needs. Two days later, Jerry was on the job working when a customer asked if he could repair a piece of equipment he had in the garage. He said he would pay him to do it. Taking pay would have been a conflict of interest with his job and so he told him he would fix it for nothing. The man felt bad about not paying Jerry for his work, but Jerry insisted that he could not take his money. As Jerry was leaving the man said, You couldnt use any carpet, could you? He had a piece of carpet left over from carpeting his house. It was a perfect fit for my living room. It did not even have to be cut. It was twice as nice as what I wanted to buy and we did not have to go into debt. Isnt God good? We were able to go to work with Bro. Roloff in just 3 months after that. ----Gloria Brewster

Letter from supporter: What a wonderful surprise as I opened your paper and saw the picture of our friends the Wilkersons. They are a precious, godly family. Jeri Lynn is a wonderful talented musician. They will be a great addition to your church staff. God Bless your ministry. Norma D. Garland, Texas.

In the late 60s Bro. Roloff came to Dallas for a two week tent revival. If you know anything about his ministry, more than likely you have heard about the tent falling on 1800 people. Well, we were in that tent that night and that two week revival did a great stirring in our lives as a young couple who had much to learn. After Bro. Roloff left town, Jerry said, I think the Lord is calling us to work with Bro. Roloff, but we cannot contact him until we have our bills paid off. We figured it would take about two years to get out of debt. We didnt want to be a burden to the work and coming with bills just didnt seem right. We began watching every penny and putting everything we could on the bills so we could go work for the enterprise. It doesnt take long before you get tried of living on a thread, but we felt it was worth it.

SHARING A LITTLE OF OUR WALK OF FAITH

TID BITS of WISDOM from the WONDERFUL WORD Publishers, Inc. 1801 Old Hickory Trail DeSoto, Texas 75115

Non-Profit Organ. U.S. Postage Permit 697 DeSoto, Texas 75115

Blessed Assurance
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. RefrainThis is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior, all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior, all the day long. Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; Angels descending bring from above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love. Refrain Perfect submission, all is at rest I in my Savior am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

1 John 5:20
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

--Psalms 68:11-Founded December, 1966 WONDERFUL WORD Magazine, now Tid Bits of Wisdom, is the official voice of WONDERFUL WORD PUBLISHERS, a non-profit, religious organization, endeavoring to publish Gospel Literature in the Spanish Language for world-wide distribution, through Bible believing Missionaries at no cost to them. It is published as the Lord enables. It is dedicated to Missionary activity on the fields already white unto harvest, and contending for the verbally inspired Word, exalting the LIVING WORD.

THE WONDERFUL WORD & Tid Bits of Wisdom

SPANISH TRACTS
Connie Cimino P,O, Box 23825 Knoxville, TN 37933

CMCimino@yahoo.com TID BITS OF WISDOM

Bro. Jerry & Gloria Brewster 1801 Old Hickory Trail DeSoto, Texas 75115

E-mail TidBitsWWW@aol. com Website: tidbitswww.com