The Bugle Magazine

Editor's Desk

Dear readers,

We finally have another issue of the Bugle put together for you . We do not know when we will get another issue out but if you write us some good articles on Christ and what He has to teach us, we may come out with another issue sooner. We also want articles on farming and practical living.

Mom and I have been working as the editors on this issue, with help from the others. We hope you all are stirred up by this publication to trust in Jesus Christ, to follow Him in loving those around us. We hope the farming articles are helpful to you farmers and gardeners that you can do a better job at it and be successful in providing food for people. We believe growing food is a good profession. It can be followed honestly while we are employed in the most important profession, which is following Christ.

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath built the house, hath more honor than the house. For every house is built by some man; but he that built all things is God. (Hebrews 3:1-4)

Yours Truly,

Nathaniel Martin

The Foundation of Perfect Unity

The foundation of the Christian life is Jesus Christ Himself. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11) He is everything to those that trust in him. Colossians 3:11

Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross to redeem us unto Himself and unify us into one body, the church. John 11:51-52

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:8 -10) The Lord gave his life to show us love. That is, to show us himself, seeing that God is love. When we have love dwelling in us we have God in us and we will be perfectly joined in one. John 17:23

Jesus gave Christians different gifts, that is, different jobs so we can build each other up to be perfect people. Ephesians 4:7-16 We must bear with one another while the process goes on. Colossians 3:13

We must humble ourselves to receive the grace given by Jesus. But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6)

Jesus by his grace takes away our boasting. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. (Romans 3:27) Pride trusts in one’s own abilities, Jesus says, trust in me. Pride is the cause of contentions. Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. (Proverbs 13:10) We have need of humility to live in the church that Jesus has bought us into. If we all recognize our insufficiency and turn to Christ we are on the same page.

He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:31b)

That’s Not What I Meant

Have you ever felt unloved—even by Christian people who are commanded to love? It is very likely that you have, probably more than once. Why would someone following the God of love, make anyone feel unloved?

I believe most people do love. At least they would if anger, greed, alcohol, etc. etc. would not have them bound. However, Christ has set the Christian free.

Nevertheless, sometimes in our weakness we forget and fail, sometimes we do not know how to show love, and sometimes our love is misunderstood.

It can be rather frustrating when our love is misunderstood.

You may have the best of intentions. You may be trying hard to show your love, your respect, your concern, your support to someone—only to have them think you are being rude, or nosey, or manipulative, or condescending, or unreasonable or oversensitive. What did you do wrong? Maybe nothing. People got offended at Jesus and He did no wrong. Mat. 13:57, Mark 6:3 With us though, it is possible we did do something wrong.

One cause of misunderstanding is different ways of communicating. Some feel that at times hinting may be kinder. Others are used to speaking more direct. People differ in how loud and how fast they talk, how much to pause between speakers (resulting in one thinking, he doesn't give me a chance to say anything, and the other thinking, he doesn't keep up his end of the conversation), and how much emotion or enthusiasm to show. Some people ask questions to show they care. Others think that's being nosey.

God made us with a need to be involved with other people. We are dependent but we also need independence. We are responsible to be who God made us to be and not be controlled by others where it conflicts with what God wants us to be. These two needs may conflict. The things people do to show their involvement, that they care, may be taken as an encroachment on the others independence—minding their business. The things people do in respect of another's space may be taken as rude or not caring.

Though misunderstandings can occur between anybody, even those raised in the same family, the danger is greater between those with different languages and cultures. One example is, in some cultures it is expected that in conversation speakers will overlap. It shows you are interested and enthusiastic about the conversation. Many others consider it impolite to talk while someone else is talking. Some even expect a pause between speakers. Another example is: some look others in the eye, and some consider that disrespectful. Also, there is a difference in how close we stand while we converse. What some consider normal, others feel is too much “in my face.”

Much of our communication is in metamessages—the things we communicate by nonverbal expressions, tone of voice, emphasis—how we say what we say and the things we do, with almost no conscious thought on our part, that reveal our thoughts, feelings, and motives. What we say indirectly and even what we don't say may say a lot. Metamessages are an important and pleasant part of conversation, but also can be a source of misunderstandings. People may clearly "hear" you say something you never intended, or fail to catch something you tried to say.

Often we don’t say exactly what we mean in so many words. This indirect way of talking may bring satisfaction and feelings of rapport but it can also cause misunderstanding.

Vague hints and indirectness is unkind if it leaves the hearer confused and not knowing what you meant. Be careful that your indirectness is not simply dishonesty.

Often we can't speak directly. When we relate something, we cannot say every detail and aspect of the truth. There are always unstated assumptions—both the speakers and the hearers—that may not match. Rather than blurting out our ideas, we may try to get a sense of others ideas and potential reactions.

Different styles of indirectness may cause misunderstanding. Say two people are trying to decide a simple thing like what shall we do or where shall we go. She asks him what he wants. He names something and they do that. It turns out to be not quite satisfactory. She is unhappy because he always does what he wants. He is frustrated because she never says what she wants, then gets upset. Actually, both wanted to be considerate of the others wishes. Her way of negotiating an agreement is to ask questions and give vague suggestions until each has an idea of the others preference. It doesn't occur to her that when he named something it was a suggestion—his way of starting a negotiation. She saw it as a demand.

There is a need in our lives for people to have power, or authority, over others (parents to children, employers to employees, teachers to students, etc.). We also need solidarity, a feeling of unity, togetherness. In striving to show solidarity, we may be perceived as not showing proper respect for authority. In exercising proper authority, we may be perceived to be unfriendly by some. When you call someone by their first name, will they perceive you as friendly or forward?

Indirectness makes it possible to guide others without being domineering. Authorities can direct and nurture their subjects without giving direct commands. If a father tells a daughter, “The floor is dirty,” she is free to fit that job into her other responsibilities and priorities. When she cleans the floor, he knows they are a team. With his authority, he is helping her to grow. Thus, power and solidarity can come together to show love.

In some situations, power and solidarity can appear as the other. Knowing this, we can mistake sincere expressions of solidarity for power plays and put-downs. In shaking my hand, do you give an extra squeeze to let me know you like me—or to let me know you're stronger? I may get either message, regardless of which you intend.

Men and women have different ways of thinking and talking. When a wife tells her husband about a problem, all she may want is to be reassured. He may sidetrack her story, crack jokes about it, question her interpretation of the problem, and give her advice about it. Though natural to men, such a response is unexpected to women. She feels he is uninterested, not really listening, and criticizing her. Then he may wonder why she doesn't appreciate his help and why she asked for his advice. (This kind of thing can happen between any individuals or gender.)

Many of us are at times guilty of not listening until someone is finished sharing what is on his or her heart and mind. Depending on the situation the results can range from irritation to much confusion, misunderstanding, and hurt.

Our different personalities and experiences can make it harder to understand one another.

Other causes of misunderstanding are pride, jealousy, and fear. Unless they are humble, people feel inadequate when others try to help. Turmoil and feelings of inferiority in a person can elicit some of the most surprising surmisings about someone's efforts to love and help. So if, instead of appreciation, your love or help results in an attack on you—pray for wisdom, and more love and grace—and learn what you can.

These few examples and brief explanations give us an idea of the many ways that misunderstandings can arise. Sometimes people are unkind and have evil motives. (At times like this, we must remember we too have sinned). It's no fun to be ill-treated, but neither is it fun to be falsely accused of having ill motives. If we falsely accuse, we are being unkind. So let us be slow to judge another's motives.

When a problem arises, the first thing we should do is search our own heart and life. Step back, look at the situation, and try to understand. Maybe you are misunderstanding another person's expression of love and maybe they are misunderstanding yours.

A good habit that helps to prevent misunderstandings is to repeat back to the speaker what you think he meant. Then if you got it wrong, he can immediately correct you. Don’t insist he meant something he says he did not. He is the authority of what he meant.

On the other hand, actions speak louder than words. If our actions do not match our words, we can hardly blame them for not believing us. However, be careful in judging another ones actions and motives. Judge righteous judgment. Judge slowly after getting information.

An attempt to correct a misunderstanding may result in worsening it, if our reactions to each other cause more of the offending behavior.

When giving correction or reproof, point to what they did, not what you think they are. Don’t say, “You are lazy,” if what you really mean is, “You didn’t do your chores.”

Be careful of exaggeration when you are frustrated. When we say things like, “You always are late.” or “You never show love,” it will hurt as if you meant it.

Some say mean things in a joking way and expect others not to be hurt by it.

In conversing, the speaker should do his best to speak in a way that is easy to be understood. But the hearer also has a responsibility: he should listen carefully and try to understand. Sometimes it is hard to find the right words to convey our thoughts.

Many conflicts could be avoided if we really want to understand. Hearts that are turned toward each other will want to understand. If we turn our hearts to God, he will help us turn the focus of our heart off of our Self. Hopefully then, in our interactions, you will feel loved. At least, may you know that that is what we meant.

Changing our Communication

To Blessing and Life

Scripture quotations are from the Webster Bible.

There is a saying: Where there are people, there are problems. The good news is, problems are solved when we apply God’s principles through Christ’s mercy and His Holy Spirit.

Mankind’s communication/relationship problems started simultaneously with the first sin. In Genesis 3 we see that when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command, they were afraid and hid from their Creator. The good relationship was severed.

But God has communicated His love to us by sending His Son to take our punishment for sin and restore us back to fellowship with the Father.

The Power of Feelings

Feelings go in the heart and out the mouth. Sin produces intense feelings of fear, guilt, shame, pain, and worthlessness along with all sorts of other problems. The memories of our feelings are stored in our hearts. These hidden feelings then manifest themselves …for from the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (Luke 6:45, also see Mark 7:21-23)

But… if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. (Rom 10:9-10)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. Pro 18:21 Left to our own devices, we eat the fruit of unruly, deadly tongues—a world of iniquity… James 3

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23)

Imaginations of deceitful hearts

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jer 17:9)

…for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth… (Gen 8:21)

… both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. (Psa 64:6)

Only God knows what all is in our hearts.

What are some things our hearts imagine and thereby deceive us? And how does it affect our communication and relationships?

A huge and persistent trap of the enemy is to get us to downplay the destructiveness of sin. When we sin, we find excuses, reasons to blame someone else. We do damage to ourselves that leaves us less able to love and serve. We don’t see how much damage we did to others and to ourselves. What seems to us a little thing, in reality, may cause emotional wounds and bondage that could cling to the victim the rest of his days and be carried to following generations. We imagine we can get away with a little sin. But it grows and we get weaker.

Coming from the other side, when someone sins against us, we also tend to downplay the damage from sin. We don’t think of ourselves as damaged. The hurts get buried and inside we believe the lie that we are worthless; we may be carrying the shame and guilt that belongs to the ones who sinned against us. Outside we put up a front, desperate for approval.

Inside pressure from deep feelings can cause havoc in our communication and a downward spiral in our relationships. It can make us over-sensitive and we may imagine insults from most anything, even from the actions and words of those who are trying to show us love. If someone is offended by our love, we feel hurt. We can end up falsely accusing others, causing much hurt to them.

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whoever thou art, that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest, doest the same things. (Rom 2:1)

As long as we are ignorant of or refuse to admit the damage of sin in us, we will continue to struggle against the fear, anger and bitterness coming out.

Maybe not all of our damage from sin is from our own sin but the damage is ours and we and only we ourselves can give it to Christ for healing. If we hang onto it for an excuse or pity or revenge, we are sinning and multiplying the damage to ourselves. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses. (Mark 11:26)

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Pro 4:23)

Christ is our only hope of getting rid of the bad feelings deposited in our hearts by sin, replacing them with life giving love, joy, peace…

Fear and feelings of worthlessness

We need God to reveal to us what is in the depth of our heart. For what is there will bear fruit and be seen by others. If people sense anger in us, they will want to flee from us. Fear causes us to grovel instead of standing and exercising the authority and power we have as children under the authority of the Father.

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love: and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. In this is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth, is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:16-18) We cannot perfectly communicate our love with fear in our heart.

Consider James 3.

My brethren, be not many teachers, (KJV says masters) knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. (James 3:1)

This chapter is written to the brethren, those who have given their hearts to God for cleansing and renewal. It is written for those who communicate, who teach, instruct, correct, rebuke. He warns us that when we teach we will receive the stricter judgment.

Verses 2-8: For in many things we all offend. If any man offendeth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the mouths of horses, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they are so great, and are driven by fierce winds, yet they are turned about with a very small helm, withersoever the governor willeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire from hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of animals in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (Jas 3:2-8)

Verses 9-12: James continues: With this we bless God, even the Father; and with this we curse men, who are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig-tree, my brethren, bear olive-berries? or a vine, figs? so no fountain can yield both salt water and fresh. (Jas 3:9-12)

You may be thinking, I don’t curse people. We usually don’t see the damage in another one’s heart that we may have caused.

If there is injustice and bad feelings coming from our heart, we can be sure there is still some bad in there.

Verses 13-16: Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show by a good deportment his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, demoniacal. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. (James 3:13-16)

Wisdom and knowledge of what we truly are will make us meek.

Some translations say “selfishness” or “self-centered ambition in your hearts” instead of “strife in your hearts.” The meekness of wisdom will allow us to admit our pride and selfishness. It will help us accept the fact of any damage that sin caused to us. Knowledge will reveal what our problem is and wisdom will tell us what to do about it.

The last two verses in James 3 give answers to this “world of iniquity.” We need this wisdom to be an effective teacher, to communicate blessing and life. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them that make peace. (James 3:17-18

Be pure; have no agenda but to love and try to understand. Pray for wisdom to understand when to be quiet and listen. Be willing to yield. Be merciful toward those who have fears and failures. Stand for truth, not for persons. Have no self-image to protect. Make peace by apologizing and making restitution when necessary.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. (Psalms 51:6)

There will be some in our life that seem impossible to communicate with peaceably. We must pray for them, love them, and let God deal with them.

Often when there is conflict, we think we are showing love and they are mean. And they think they are being loving and we are being mean. We must realize how finite and limited our minds and perception are. We cannot change them. We can change ourselves. We can gain more wisdom. We can suffer for their sake.

They are in God’s hand. And we are in the same hand. And God is the judge. He knows.

Sometimes the hardest one to accept with his failures is our own self. If we have no respect for ourselves, we will not respect others. We must accept and forgive ourselves so we can grow and properly use what authority God has given to each of us. …Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Mat 22:39) We won’t love our neighbor if we hate ourselves.

When we, in honesty and selflessness, turn our hearts toward one another, we will go a long way to try to understand one another. Then as trust increases, we will feel safe to share our thoughts and feelings.

Jesus said, It is impossible but that causes of sin will come: but woe to him by whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to fall into sin. (Luke 17:1-2)

We can expect that offenses will continue. Life with people will bring hurts. Our full security will never be found in people. God wants us, first of all, to seek a relationship with Him by repenting of our sins and turning our heart to Him. Then, as His Spirit works in our hearts, it gets easier to put up with one another.

Have faith. Where God is, there is hope and love.

Down On the Farm

Why Tie the Cow?

At milking time I used to chase the milk cow to the barn or a pen in the pasture and put her in a stanchion or tie her up with strap and rope. I would give her a little grain to make her cooperate.

We had friends that milked their cows without tying them or graining them. I got tired of chasing the cow to the barn or a pen. Why not try just grabbing the milk bucket and going out and milking her right in the pasture? Do cows eat when they nurse their calves? Not normally. Cows do like to be milked.

I tried it, and did it, but not without patience and persistence. Cows are creatures of habit. The old cow did not take to the new way. But I was able to teach my young cow to let me milk out in the open.

It is fun to milk a cow out in the open. Some day’s things did not always go smooth. If the cow got into the thorns and scratched her teats... Ah that will try your patience and test your temper. And if the herd is on the move when you want to milk you may have to move mid milking. I greased the cow’s teats to keep them feeling good, so we did not have as many issues. Sometimes I would use a strap around the neck and a short rope that I would put my foot on as I milked to keep her from wandering.

I think it was a good experience for me. Can we learn something from these things to apply to how we relate to people? Should we chase people into “pens” and ‘barns”, tie them with “ropes” and lock them in “stanchions” or give them “feed” so we can “milk” them? Now do not get me wrong I do not think that it is wrong to do these things to cows. But are we gentle, kind, patient and caring? Do we consider the life of our beasts? A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. (Proverbs 12:10 KJV) Are we just thinking about ourselves?

Another interesting thing was that when I went on a trip, the cow did not let my brother milk her. We should not let strange teachers “milk” us. We should be loyal to the good shepherd.

Fire on My Feet

One summer day I went out to the spot where we had a fire the day before.  I was barefoot. I did not think the ground was hot anymore. I walked through some warm dirt. Suddenly, my foot sank down into some very hot dirt. When I turned around my other foot sank in too.  It felt like millions of pins were pricking my feet.  “Ow!” I cried as I ran to the hose. I sprayed water on my feet.

Then Mama came running and got a bucket full of water. She made me put my feet into the water to cool the burns.

I sat with my feet in the water all morning. My feet hurt badly whenever I took them out of the water. I had big blisters on the tops of my feet and between my toes. Mama got burdock leaves, which she steeped. She got B&W salve and lots of bandages.  She put B&W salve on the burns. It hurt until she put the burdock leaves on the salve. Then she wrapped my feet in layers of bandages. The outer layer was blue. I looked like a blue-footed booby (a blue-footed booby is a sea bird with big blue feet).  Every morning and evening Mama changed my bandages.

I had to sit around pretty much all the time. It was boring. I could not go outside to play or ride bike. I could not go to the barn to do chores or help in the garden. Mama would not let me swim until my feet where totally healed.  When I went to church I had to wear bags on my feet to keep them dry and clean.

Slowly the burns got better.  After several weeks my bandages were small enough that I could wear shoes. Then I could go outside more. It was about a month until my feet were healed. It was hard to have to wear shoes in the summer. I learned to stay away from fire.