KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD

 

COFFEE THOUGHTS Gerald D Hochstetler Jr. Sip….coffee time! There it stood up on the hill dark and tall. Huge trees hung over the farm house. Going by you’d look up the drive and always had this weird sad feeling. They had been deceived and excommunicated. There was a story, a long story, but it didn’t matter. It was already settled, they were deceived. Early in life I left the Amish community and started my journey. Sometimes I drove by the haunted farm house and I often wondered. What did they actually believe? Why were they shunned in such a strict manner? Years and years rolled by. I have been affiliated with Amish, Mennonites, Pentecostals, Baptists, and non-denominational churches. I have studied about every major doctrine there is to study. The battle between arminianism and calvinism has been intense for me. All these years and all this study and I’m still not positive on some of these doctrines. However, in this journey Jesus as Saviour has become precious. That I do know. The other day I noticed the lady from the haunted house had passed. The obituary read she was a pleasant person who loved to share the good news of our wonderful Saviour. She had a lovely kind smile. Again I thought, I wonder what they believed. Why were they so viciously shunned? The other day I happened to meet up with my friend Jerry Eicher. They were neighbors to this farm. The house sat across the road, a little to the left. So I popped the question. Why, what happened, and what was their theological belief that caused this excommunication? Jerry answered the question in Jerry fashion. “Probably the same thing you believe, he said. ”It all started on a Sunday when he was asked for “zuegnis”. The Amish preacher who does the sermon will ask others for “zuegnis”. It’s supposed to be a short speech confirming that they agree with the sermon and all is good. Well my dear brother said the unthinkable in zuegnis. “I had no more to do with my second birth than I did with my first birth,” In other words he came to realize that salvation is of the Lord. And he was willing to express it. That was the end of his Amish career. I had never really thought of it that way, but yes, I agree. I totally agree. I had nothing to do with my first birth other than doing what came naturally. Momma pushed me out, and I breathed. My second birth? God showered me with grace, gifted me faith, and now keeps me as the big book says, “kept by the power of God”. 1 Peter 1:5. I hope when we get to heaven we will recognize people for who they were here on earth. Because when I get there I would sure love to meet the couple who loved to share the good news and lived up on the hill in the haunted house. That little “zuegnis” he shared on that fateful day causes me to feel like I already know them. Like we are family! Gerald D Hochstetler Jr. #coffeethoughts on Facebook Used with Permission