ANNUAL UPDATE
Dear Library Patron, 5/24/2022
Sometimes I ponder the words from the Prophet of old…
“Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” (Jeremiah 8:22).
Then, tears come to my eyes as I think of all the people in the world who are hurting. Struggling. Broken. And so often right in our Anabaptist churches. And I wonder, Oh, is there no balm for our wounds? Why are there always people experiencing mental breakdowns, why all the insecurities, why all the fears, why is sexual sin so rampant in our churches…? Why? Why? Why…?
It all comes down to three letters: S.I.N. Sin is the cause of all the fighting, the wars, the violence, the lust, the kidnappings, the depression, the sicknesses, and all the disease. The list could go on, and on, and on…
But what was the origin of sin?
Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
This one man is, of course, Adam. But where did evil really come from? What happened before Adam and Eve sinned? Before they took of the forbidden fruit? Has evil always existed?
No. There was a time when there was no evil. Before the entrance of evil there was peace and joy throughout the universe. Everything was in perfect harmony with the Creator’s will. There was perfect love for God and every other being. Christ, the Word and the Only Begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father, one in nature, in character, and in purpose—the only being in all the universe that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. (Colossians 1:16) “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him”; and to Christ, equally with the Father, all heaven gave allegiance.
Since the law of love was the foundation of the government of God, the happiness of all created beings depended upon their perfect agreement with this principle. God desires from all His creatures the service of love—the worship, reverence, and adoration that comes from an appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in forced allegiance, and to all, He grants freedom of will that they may render Him voluntary service.
But there was one who chose to pervert this freedom. Sin originated with him who, next to Christ and the Holy Spirit, had been the most honored of God and who stood highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of Heaven.
Who was it that brought about this corruption?
Before his fall, Lucifer was first of the covering cherubs, holy and undefiled.
(Ezekiel 28:11-17) 11 “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”
Lucifer could have remained in favor with God, beloved and honored by all the angelic host and exercising his noble powers to bless others and to glorify his Maker. “But,” says the prophet in verse 17, “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Little by little, Lucifer came to indulge a desire for self-exaltation (see Isaiah 14:12-17). Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections and allegiance of His creatures, Lucifer endeavored to win for himself their praise, worship, and service. And coveting the honor which the infinite Father had bestowed upon His Son, this prince of angels desired to have as much power and admiration as God Himself.
Since God couldn’t put up with the pride and sin of Lucifer, he had to be cast out of the presence of God. Lucifer, now known as Satan or the devil, then went out to war against God. Some of the other angels, being deceived, sided with Lucifer. They are now the demons who are working to further Satan’s evil agenda. Lucifer is attempting to set up his own evil kingdom and destroy God’s kingdom.
After Satan’s fall, in Genesis 3:1-15, we see Satan appearing as the serpent tempting Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve took of the forbidden fruit, thus bringing sin on the whole human race! After their sin, God could have told them, “You know what! You’ve messed up big time! I’m going to wipe you off the face of the earth.”
Instead, immediately after man’s sin, we see the love and mercy of God. He promised a “seed” that would bruise the head of the serpent Satan.
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15).
Through this “seed” was born one, Jesus Christ, who should take away the sins of the world. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b). Praise God! This is Good News! Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Jesus took our place, although we all deserve to die and spend an eternity in Hell for the terrible sins which we have committed! But Jesus, the perfect lamb of God, died as the perfect sacrifice for sin, shed His blood, and thus took the weight of the sins of the whole world upon His own innocent shoulders, thus bruising the head of the serpent, Satan! Whosoever will may now come under the shed blood of Jesus and be saved!
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).
YES, THERE IS A BALM IN GILEAD!!!
The Bible says if you commit sin, you are of the devil.
“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
Satan is a ruthless master. Isaiah 14:17 says that he has not opened the house of his prisoners! Today, if you continue in sin, then you are a slave to sin. Jesus says the following in John 8:34-36:
“…Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
What is the price of sin? It is death. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Today, what will you do with Jesus? You can choose to accept Him or reject Him. You can choose to repent and forsake your sin, or you can choose to continue living in the bondage of sin. Jesus didn’t only come to free people from sin so they could be with Him in Heaven, He came to set people free from living in the bondage of sin. Yes, sin brings bondage! You can see evidence of this bondage everywhere!
Why can it be so hard to find victory over sin? Some people struggle for years and years trying to overcome. Often, they struggle alone. A lie of Satan that many Christians believe is, “You are alone in your struggles.” Those who believe this lie struggle to find true freedom in Christ because they miss out on the power that comes through fighting the battle together with others.
James 5:16 instructs us to confess our faults to each other and pray for each other so that we may be healed (Greek: made whole).
We confess our sins to God for His cleansing. (see 1 John 1:9)
We confess our sins to each other to overcome.
Revelation 12:11 solidifies this idea: “they overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
By verbalizing (confessing) our struggles and sin to God and each other, we defeat the devil because we expose his dark deeds to the light. When we expose our weakness to our brother, we receive strength to be overcomers.
We are here for each other—to help each other find Jesus, the Bread of Life, in a deeper way.
Repent. Confess. Forsake. We repent and confess our sins to God, we confess to others for accountability and discipleship, and we must literally forsake our sins.
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).
Someday soon, if we overcome and are faithful to the end, all the struggles, trials, and heartaches of this life will mean absolutely nothing as we stand face to face with King Jesus!
Face to face with Christ, my Savior,
Face to face- what will it be
When with rapture I behold him,
Jesus Christ who died for me?
– Carrie E. Breck, 1855-1934
(Revelation 3:20-21) “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
(John 3:16-21) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
God has promised that there will be a remnant at the end of time! God will build his church upon the rock of Jesus Christ, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against the church! (See Matthew 16:18.)
Kidnapped in Haiti
I never dreamed of being held hostage in Haiti! Last year, I referenced the kidnapping of a Haitian “Casec” with the Open House Invitation, never dreaming that this would be me in only a few short months.
Throughout the two-month ordeal, we saw the hand of God at work in a mighty way. God showed His love, mercy, and grace as he has protected us physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Was it difficult? Of course, it was! During those two months, we experienced almost every possible human emotion.
Thank you for your prayers! God answered your prayers, our prayers, and the prayers of millions of people across the globe as He helped us to escape on that memorable morning of December 16th, 2021.
We’ve included the Story of the Haitian Kidnapping and the Escape with this mailing. Some of you have already read or listened to the story. In the earlier versions there were many details that weren’t covered. I’ve taken the time to update and revise this story and have added many details that were previously missing.
Also, most of the patrons at the time of this mailing will receive a free copy of the book Awake, O Church by Barry Grant.
Barry Grant is the administrator of Christian Aid Ministries in Haiti. This book highlights many of Barry’s experiences and details things that missionaries can face in Haiti or elsewhere. It is a challenge for the church to rise to the task of being the true “salt and light” that God intends us as Christians to be. We hope you find this newly published book interesting and meaningful. It was released last summer, so it doesn’t mention the kidnapping of the 17 hostages. Additional copies are available by donation here at the library.
What does the future hold for Haiti? Will Christian Aid Ministries send missionaries back to Haiti? I don’t know what the future holds, but we trust in the God who is as well-acquainted with the future as He is the past.
I have not been to Haiti since the U.S. Coast Guard evacuated us after the kidnapping. I believe God has work for me to do wherever I am, whether in Haiti or the United States. As Christians, we must be open and willing to follow God in full surrender. If I sense God’s call to go back to Haiti, I want to be resigned to say, “Yes, Lord. Here am I. Send me.”
For now, we have been working hard in the development of the library and sharing the Good News right here with struggling souls around us.
The Library
1,000 New Books
Thank you to each one who has given support and contributed in various ways! During this past year, the library has grown significantly and welcomed nearly 100 new library patrons! Although this large increase in patrons is welcome, it brings with it the challenge of keeping enough books on the library shelves.
At times this past winter I was shocked at how empty the shelves were. Our goal is to keep a sufficiency of quality Christian and educational books on hand to ensure a varied selection for everyone to choose from. For that reason, we are attempting one of the biggest endeavors since the library began. We are planning to purchase and add 1,000 new books this year! We will certainly need help with this, as we estimate an average cost of $10.00 per new book. If you feel led to help us with this expenditure, please see the response coupon. We also have ongoing operational expenses.
New Website
To better assist our patrons, our new website: stoltzfuschristianlibrary.org is now active! Library patrons will be able to renew their books, read previous newsletters, make donations, and access a PDF list of the books available in the library. People can also sign up to receive our newsletter updates via the website.
Book Review Committee
At its beginning, the library started out with approximately 1,433 books. Now, 7 years later, we sort through almost 5,000 books. We stock nearly all the books put out by the major Anabaptist publishers, plus we carry many other Christian and educational titles.
Sorting through these 5,000 books has its challenges! Since we don’t have time to read 5,000 books, how do we know that they are all acceptable in a Christian library? This is where the Book Review Committee comes in. The Book Review Committee has been a huge blessing since our first meeting over two years ago. They helped us find those books that were “slipping through the cracks” as well as regulate the books that come from non-Anabaptist publishing sources.
We still caution parents to be vigilant as to what your children read. Although we try our best, there will sometimes be objectionable material that we were not aware of. If you find something that concerns you, please bring it to our attention! We would be happy to know about it and will try to take care of any problems. We appreciate the patrons who periodically write us a note of caution about a book.
We also recognize that there are times when a good Christian book may not be appropriate for a certain age level. We put forth effort to have books in 3 different categories:
- Books that are appropriate for any age level, including children
- Books that are appropriate for older teenagers or adults are marked “Teenager or Adult”
- Books that are appropriate only for adults are marked “Adult”
New Programs Update
In our last newsletter, we mentioned the new programs that we were launching. I am excited to say that they have been successful, although they need much more development!
- School Book Subscription Program
Out of all the new library programs, the School Book Subscription Program has been the most successful. At various meetings of the Board of Directors, we have discussed beginning a book mobile route, visiting local schools with books. We will consider this possibility for the future. For now, we’ve decided on the School Book Subscription Program. Currently there are 5 local schools on the program.
In this program, we fill up plastic totes with books and deliver them to local Amish schools. Each month, we rotate the totes among the schools in the program.
The School Book Subscription Program excites me greatly because it gives all these eager-to-learn students fresh books and content to anticipate each month! The children can read the books in their spare time or whenever the teachers allow them to.
When I think over my personal life, books have had a huge impact on me! Since my parents only allowed us to read good books, that impact has been very positive.
There is much room for growth in this program. There are schools that are asking to join the program but we are putting them off because we need more books and financing before we can add more.
We estimate there are more than 20 local Amish schools that would be ready to join this program if we had the proper resources.
Would you like to sponsor a school tote? We are giving you the opportunity to sponsor either a partial or a whole tote of books. With our current estimated cost of $10.00 per book, 40 books per tote would come to $400.00 per tote.
- Christian Literature Program
The Christian Literature Program seeks to equip local evangelists with Christian literature and counseling resources to effectively reach people with the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ.
We have Gospel tracts, tract racks, books, and literature available either for free or by donation. Recently, realizing that the library isn’t large enough for the quantity of materials that we have available for distribution, we purchased a 12 x 16 storage shed which we placed across the driveway from the library. This Spring we plan to finish out the interior of the shed with electric, insulation, paneling, flooring, and literature display set-ups. The shed will serve the dual purposes of storage and literature displays. We are hoping to have the shed finished and open for you to pick up free books and literature by summertime.
Do you own a business with customers coming in to purchase products from you? Would you like a free Gospel tract rack to set up in your business area? We have various displays available for you to choose from. We would be happy to help you set one up and keep it stocked with an attractive selection of tracts for your customers to choose from.
- Christian Literature Translation for Foreign Countries Program
Last year we included a free copy of the book: “What Every Person Needs to Know” along with the library update letter. In the newsletter, we mentioned that we would be working on a translation of the book into Haitian Creole for the people of Haiti.
This project has been a real learning curve! I didn’t realize all the work that goes into doing a quality translation job. But finally, through much toil, sweat, and effort, this book has been successfully translated into the Haitian Creole language.
The English Version of the Book The New Haitian Creole Version of the book
We look forward to seeing this book’s impact in the country of Haiti! It has many beautiful photos and illustrations that will help point people to Jesus as they read it.
We are partnering with other missions like Christian Aid Ministries and Life Literature to help cover the cost of printing and oversee the distribution of the book in Haiti. The final touches on this book have been made only a few weeks ago. The initial print run of 10,000 copies has been approved and is scheduled to go to the printing press this month.
Recently, I’ve had the privilege of joining Anabaptist Resources as a board member. They have Christian books from an Anabaptist perspective available in many different languages on public domain. If you’d like, you can check out their website at anabaptistresources.org. I’m planning to oversee the French and Haitian Creole side of the website. Initially, we are planning to make books and literature already translated into French and Creole available on this website.
At some point soon, we would like to help oversee various other translation projects.
7th Library Open House August 4th – 6th 2022
Mark your calendars! You are invited to our 7th annual Library Open House on Saturday, August 6, 2022! Lord willing, this year we will be renting a tent to set up in the field. Since the tent rental lasts for 5 days, we will be able to hold programs on the evenings of August 4th and 5th as well! Both evening services will begin at 6:00 p.m. with special singing, a devotional, and prayer.
On Thursday evening, August 4th, I am planning to share Part #1 of the Haitian Kidnapping and my Personal Testimony.
On Friday evening, August 5th, I am planning to share Part #2: The Escape from the Kidnappers and Lessons Learned from the Kidnapping.
Then on Saturday, August 6th, there will be a full program planned for the day! The day will start at 8:30 a.m. with coffee and doughnuts. The main sessions will start at 9:00 a.m. and last until about 4:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided. We will be mailing out a full schedule of events to you soon.
We look forward to seeing you at the Open House! All are welcome and there is no need to register in advance. Please bring your friends and family and come prepared to participate!
Once again, we want to thank you for your support! It is greatly appreciated! Whether it was volunteering your time to help in the library, wrapping soft-cover books, borrowing books, donating books, giving donations, or praying for us, we thank you very much! May God bless you richly! Without your support, we could not continue to operate a Christian library for the local community.
May God bless you as you continue serving Him!
Sincerely,
Samuel Stoltzfus, Administrator
P. S. We are again enclosing a contribution reply card and envelope for those of you who want to help keep the library in operation. Please check the appropriate box to let us know how you want your donation to be used.
If you would like to make an anonymous donation, you can do so through Anabaptist Foundation (800) 653-9817.
Stoltzfus Christian Library is an official 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and is funded by your donations.