LETTER FROM THE MOORE’S

CAROLINA LEGACY Known By Our Fruit... MATTHEW 7:16-18

Living in these extraordinary times during the year of celebration has been quite challenging to say the least. Our world, our nation, has seen so much sadness, anxiety, and confusion amid a pandemic and certainly social unrest. I have been thinking about our 13 founders who sacrificed to establish this Branch of Zion and wondered what they would say to us in these troubled days that we find ourselves celebrating 80 years of being in existence. As I pondered this question, I was reminded of a story. There once was a farmer who hired a worker to dig a well on his farm. They agreed that the cost of the well would be determined by its depth. Nine feet down, he hit water. The well-digger told the farmer that the well would last for a good many years. The farmer then asked, “Will this well be deep enough to make it through the difficult dry seasons?” The well-digger replied, “No, this is just for normal rain. When the dry seasons come, it won’t be deep enough to bring you water. Keep on digging,” the farmer said. “I don’t care how much it cost; it needs to be deeper.” So, he kept digging until at thirty feet, he hit a well-spring. “Good” the farmer said. “You’ve gone farther in and deeper down. I’ll pay the price for a well that can handle dry seasons.”

I believe the founders wanted to make sure that we had a well deep enough that could handle dry seasons like the year we are currently facing, and they were willing to pay the price. They admonished us through legacy, not to stay on the surface, or else we will be shallow our whole lives, and when the winds of adversity blow, we’ll be swept away. But if we kept digging like they demonstrated for us – digging into the Word of God – digging into our prayer lives – digging into blessing and impacting others – when the dry seasons come, we’ll have a wellspring of life and joy coming from a very deep well. “…we drink from wells we did not dig and vineyards and olive groves we did not plant…” Deuteronomy 6:11 (NIV)

I pray that God, our ancestors and the founders are pleased and amazed at the quality of Fruit we’ve been able to produce given what they placed in our hands to work with and the times in which we have been called to minister in. Given the climate we’ve had to endure, the rain that has fallen in our lives collectively and individually, and the soil of our hearts receiving the word of God it is no surprise that our Faith has grown and we’ve become known by the fruit we bear. Whenever God did spectacular things, He always required the people He was working through to do something first. He told Moses to hold out his rod. He told Joshua to have the priest to step into the water. Jesus told those at the tomb of Lazarus to move the stone. He told the Disciples to bring what they had to feed the 5,000. Throughout scripture, God would tell a person or a group of people, to do something that would then activate the power of His Word.

We celebrate you, the members and organizers of this Branch of Zion, for living by actions that demonstrated your Faith in God. There is a Latin term used to help us put our celebration in perspective. “Soli Deo Gloria” which means, “Glory to God Alone.” We give God all the Glory for His Hand of Favor for these past 80 years. Pastor Anthony&Lady Cynthia Moore