as an angel of light seeking to deceive even the best of us. We must humble ourselves as we never have done before and listen to the Word of God. Not only must we read it for ourselves, but we must listen to the voices of our brothers and sisters, who sometimes can see the dangers to our souls better than we ourselves can.
“I want to close now with one final Scripture from the letter to the Roman church. Paul wrote to tell them they were not to be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of their minds that they might prove what was the good, the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. I believe those words are still true today and can be applied to many situations in our lives.”
Hannah moved on the bench, feeling goose bumps running up her arms. Jake and the other ministers must be very concerned about something. Likely it was the Mennonite revival meetings heralded by the posters on the grocery store door or perhaps it was some news Jake had learned this morning. But surely not. Or had Mr. Brunson ignored Jake’s advice and spoken to Mary Keim about his interest in her? And even worse, had Mary accepted?
Hannah turned her head slightly, finding Mary’s face on the other side of the room. She looked calm and untroubled, so it must be the Mennonite meetings.
“I will now bring what I have to say to a close,” Jake said, sitting down. “Would both of the other ministers give testimony to what has been said—and perhaps Will Riley also?”
Hannah listened while Bishop John spoke. He seemed to like what Jake had said, but she had already known that. This meant Minister Mose Chupp wouldn’t object either unless he broke the tradition. Glancing at him quickly, Mose looked calm enough, so nothing negative must be coming. That left Will Riley, but what could he say against what Jake said? He liked Jake.
The bishop closed his remarks, wishing the blessing of God on His Word, and then he glanced toward Mose. Mose nodded and began speaking. He didn’t have much to say though, only quoting one of the verses Jake had recited and closing with his blessing.
Hannah moved slightly on the bench as a long silence hung over the room. Several of the men cleared their throats, but none of them sounded like Will. He must be really nervous at having been asked for testimony and is having a hard time finding his voice, she thought.
Bishop John raised his head to look in Will’s direction, and Will started speaking with a sudden burst of sound. Hannah couldn’t understand what he was saying, even when he ran out of breath and slowed down.
No one was looking at Will, but Hannah glanced at him. Still unable to understand the rush of words, she listened more closely.
Bishop John shook his head in Will’s direction, but the layman continued talking. Slowly comprehension came over her. Jake’s jaw was even tighter than it had been while he was preaching. Bishop John looked ready to stand and say something.
Faintly Hannah caught some of the words. “I can’t agree with the implications of what was said here today…I do appreciate Minister Jake…his testimony that he has, but today I cannot help but think he is guilty of twisting the Word of God to fit his own purposes. Why don’t we all be honest and admit that we all know what is happening around us?
“If we would open our eyes we would see that the world is changing…We have to move along with it. This is all about the Mennonite revival meetings…We all know they are coming to town this summer. And I don’t think we should be speaking against what other Christians are doing.
“And don’t say that I’m immature…that I don’t know what I’m saying. I’m married and have two young children whom I desire to raise in the fear of the Lord. But this is not the way to do it. We don’t have to make Scripture fit our purposes to try and accomplish the will of God.”
Will paused, taking a deep breath, “So I don’t give my blessing to Minister
“I want to close now with one final Scripture from the letter to the Roman church. Paul wrote to tell them they were not to be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of their minds that they might prove what was the good, the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. I believe those words are still true today and can be applied to many situations in our lives.”
Hannah moved on the bench, feeling goose bumps running up her arms. Jake and the other ministers must be very concerned about something. Likely it was the Mennonite revival meetings heralded by the posters on the grocery store door or perhaps it was some news Jake had learned this morning. But surely not. Or had Mr. Brunson ignored Jake’s advice and spoken to Mary Keim about his interest in her? And even worse, had Mary accepted?
Hannah turned her head slightly, finding Mary’s face on the other side of the room. She looked calm and untroubled, so it must be the Mennonite meetings.
“I will now bring what I have to say to a close,” Jake said, sitting down. “Would both of the other ministers give testimony to what has been said—and perhaps Will Riley also?”
Hannah listened while Bishop John spoke. He seemed to like what Jake had said, but she had already known that. This meant Minister Mose Chupp wouldn’t object either unless he broke the tradition. Glancing at him quickly, Mose looked calm enough, so nothing negative must be coming. That left Will Riley, but what could he say against what Jake said? He liked Jake.
The bishop closed his remarks, wishing the blessing of God on His Word, and then he glanced toward Mose. Mose nodded and began speaking. He didn’t have much to say though, only quoting one of the verses Jake had recited and closing with his blessing.
Hannah moved slightly on the bench as a long silence hung over the room. Several of the men cleared their throats, but none of them sounded like Will. He must be really nervous at having been asked for testimony and is having a hard time finding his voice, she thought.
Bishop John raised his head to look in Will’s direction, and Will started speaking with a sudden burst of sound. Hannah couldn’t understand what he was saying, even when he ran out of breath and slowed down.
No one was looking at Will, but Hannah glanced at him. Still unable to understand the rush of words, she listened more closely.
Bishop John shook his head in Will’s direction, but the layman continued talking. Slowly comprehension came over her. Jake’s jaw was even tighter than it had been while he was preaching. Bishop John looked ready to stand and say something.
Faintly Hannah caught some of the words. “I can’t agree with the implications of what was said here today…I do appreciate Minister Jake…his testimony that he has, but today I cannot help but think he is guilty of twisting the Word of God to fit his own purposes. Why don’t we all be honest and admit that we all know what is happening around us?
“If we would open our eyes we would see that the world is changing…We have to move along with it. This is all about the Mennonite revival meetings…We all know they are coming to town this summer. And I don’t think we should be speaking against what other Christians are doing.
“And don’t say that I’m immature…that I don’t know what I’m saying. I’m married and have two young children whom I desire to raise in the fear of the Lord. But this is not the way to do it. We don’t have to make Scripture fit our purposes to try and accomplish the will of God.”
Will paused, taking a deep breath, “So I don’t give my blessing to Minister
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