Well I just read this and thought it was interesting enough to give it to you. Let me know what you think by commenting on this post:
On June 2, 1980 a little girl was born. She cost money from the moment she was born. As she grew from babyhood to girlhood, she cost even more. Her dresses and shoes were more expensive as well as the doctors for all those childhood diseases. She was even more expensive during her school and teen years. She needed long dresses to go to parties. When she went to college, it was discovered that all college expenses are not listed in the catalog. Then after graduation she fell in love and married. She had a church wedding, and that too, cost a lot of money. Then, five months after her marriage she suddenly sickened and within a week she was dead. She has not cost a penny since the day the parents walked away from her grave.
As long as the church is alive she will cost money, and the more alive a church is, the more money she will cost. Only a dead church is no longer expensive!
Think about this next time you criticize a church who you think is spending too much on, fill in the blank.
Well I just got through reading Mark Tolson’s blog where he was excited about church and I just thought about how much I too love Sundays and will really miss being with you all tomorrow. It appears that we will be taking a bus tomorrow from Belfast to Londonderry and then to the church or the bed and breakfast. I will sure miss worshipping with you. I love the God of Heaven and I love the church He lets us have at Vision. I love you all and will be praying for you. I will await anxiously to hear the good news of what God does tomorrow!
The following just came in from one of our missionaries in China. J is a brand new missionary just learning the language and already trying to get people the gospel. I think that you will enjoy reading this:
We just had our second Bible study tonight. Pretty exciting, except that it was in English. A lot of our best contacts are out on a 10-day internship on a mountain collecting rock samples and catching snakes (they’re biology majors, like that somehow explains it), but I think we had like 25 or 26 people here tonight again. Probably an hour or so of conversations after we got done. Three students made professions of faith, two girls and a guy. Please pray for them - T***, L****, and B*** - as they begin their
life in Christ.
I talked for a long time to a guy named A***. One of the most amazing conversations I’ve ever had, even though it was in A****’s second language. He’s leaving for Miami for his master’s degree in a couple months. He really wanted to understand everything about salvation - the how, the when, the why, the what, etc. He repeated back to me everything to double check that he knew how to become a Christian. He said that he’s wondered about eternity for a long time and he’s wanted to study the Bible, but didn’t know how he could. He asked me if I believed in destiny and whether or not God had appointed him to be here tonight. We’re supposed to start studying the Bible together Sunday, so pray for his salvation!
On a darker note, I met this “missionary” at an English corner that teaches at a university here. Hardcore “incarnational” dude. Been here three years. Scared to death. Wouldn’t look me in the eyes, didn’t want to talk about why he was here, wouldn’t say any words like Bible, Christian, church, God, Jesus, etc. I’m supposed to meet with his “leader” on Saturday. They supposedly have 15 teachers here in the city. They work with the Three Self Churches. Whatever. None of his students know he’s a Christian after 3 years. Good plan, Stan.
Well here we sit stranded at the Gatwick airport. I do not know how this will affect Travis Snode and their anniversary service that I was supposed to preach. I am afraid that it will be almost impossible for me to make it there. We are supposed to leave London at 7 and arrive in Belfast at 8:30 am. That would mean that about the best we could ever hope to do is to be at the church by 10 without a bath or change of clothes.
I have written an email to Travis but I have still not heard anything from him. This trip as really turned interesting in the last few hours. It is now nearly 1 in the morning. They have given us about $70 in vouchers to spend but nothing is open. They have not given us a hotel and so this is going to be one of those good ones. All you can do is trust the Lord that nothing surprises Him and that He is working in our lives even in these inconveniences.
I hardly ever miss a service and will do all in my power to arrive tomorrow but I don’t know if it is going to work out or not. I will keep you posted especially since I will not be sleeping it seems.
Tyler Masters is now writing his blog again about reaching Muslims around the world with the gospel message. It is going to be really interesting and so I challenge you to go to his blog and sign up. Here is a quote that you will enjoy
”The Church must awake to her duty toward Islam. Who will waker her and keep her awake unless it be those who have heard the challenge of Islam, and who, going out against her, have found her armor decayed, her weapons antiquated and her children, though proud and reticent, still unhappy?”
Be sure not to visit his blog and sign up to get it via email.
Well Betty and I are in the Gatwick Airport in London waiting on our flight to Belfast to meet our friend and missionary Travis Snode. We were scheduled to be there at 9:30 but we are waiting to see if the plane gets here by 10:30. They say that we will definitely be going but who knows when we will leave and who knows when we will get there.
I am excited to have this opportunity to be with the Snodes and hope that you will pray for me as well as for them. You can keep up with their church by subscribing to their blog by clicking here
I was very blessed to be with Aaron and J. I will write more in a little bit but the truth is that God is greatly using them. Those who know Aaron know that he is very talented and it was amazing to see how well he is learning Arabic. I am so very proud of them and the way God is using them.
I will be with Travis Snode tomorrow for church Lord willing and then be arriving back in Georgia and be at our church this Thursday night. I was so grateful to God to hear about the great attendance this past Wednesday night and the good work that all of you are doing.
I am praying for the services tomorrow and know that God is going to bless
I will be writing more and getting you up to date on what happened while I was in Morocco.
Well I have not had access to email or the internet since the last little note that I left you. We are sitting in Tanger, Morocco right now at 6 am getting ready to leave for the FAST Ferry over to Spain and then on to London and then Belfast. I was able to visit Ceuta, Spain yesterday with Tyler Masters and it looks like an ideal place for them to do the ministry that God has placed on their hearts.
It is a city of at least 4 major cultures; Hebrew, Hindu, Muslim, and Spanish and the Chinese are beginning to arrive. Thousands of Moroccans cross the border every day into Ceuta and yet there is total freedom. I thank God for all that He is going to do with the Masters. I have to get with the program. Aaron has just arrived. I should be able to write more tomorrow from Ireland but will be traveling literally all day.
Well I got in here and got settled and then they called us for lunch so I will be leaving you with this short line. All is well. We are in a new city having a conference together with the students that are traveling as well as our friends that live here.
I am very proud of what I see them doing. We are discussing how to reach this area with the gospel. The doctrine of persecution will become a very important doctrine because if you truly take a Biblical stand for the Lord Jesus Christ you will probably be persecuted. There are lots of verses in the Bible that teach that true Christians do not deny nor hide their faith. Though we are not to look for trouble we are to be who we are and open about our faith.
I want you all to know that we love you and are praying for you from here in Morocco
These trips are never by any means slow and easy trips. We were so glad to see our friends, Aaron, Jillian, Cesar, and Mariet last night. We were very tired from the long trip but we ended up staying up until after 2 their time getting settled in and talking to everyone. I am used to this hard schedule on trips but Betty isn’t so pray for her that she can keep up and get enough rest.
She is my best friend. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have her with me. It is not the same. Anyone that knows me well knows that I had to travel. I do not like the unfamiliar. I do not like being locked up in an uncomfortable seat for hours but most of all I always hate leaving home. When Betty comes with me then home is with me and so it is much more bearable.
The sun was up by before 5 or at least it was good and light outside. Right now I am stealing every minute that I can to get caught up on the computer which I will not be able to do.
I have emails to answer. I have devotions that I typed up for 2 days and I think that I have lost them. I will be teaching 4 hours later on today and so I want to get ready for that. So needless to say this is going to be an exciting but very full day.
I hope that you will visit and pray like never before and see to it that we have visitors for this Thursday night and Sunday. I hope that you will start now inviting people for our VBS that is coming up in just a few days.
“The old gospel was about an offended God; the new gospel is about a wounded us. The old gospel was about sin; the new gospel is about needs. The old gospel was about our need for righteousness; the new gospel is about our need for fulfillment. The old gospel is offensive to those who are perishing; the new gospel is attractive.”
