Monday, April 23, 2007

The one talent man


You remember the one talent man of the parable in Matt. 25:14ff? He hid his talent the master had entrusted to him because "I was afraid"--I presume he was afraid he might lose it if he invested it.
It seems to me that many American brethren are much like this man--they're afraid to use money (or take the time) to do everything they could for the Lord. After all, they might need it for retirement, or they might have some catastrophic illness, or some emergency might arise (after all, a disaster might strike), or . . .
Brethren, do we really believe the Lord will take care of our needs? If so, then we can stretch ourselves more than many of us do. The promise of 2 Cor. 9:8 is very promising to me: "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work."
I wonder if this is one of the reasons more preachers don't want to go into "foreign work"?
Tol

Saturday, April 14, 2007

"Mule Day" in Columbia, TN


It's Mule Days in Columbia. It started out with the Mule Trail Ride that pulled into town Wed. PM. Then there have been Mule Pull's, prancing mule shows (they call them gaited mules), Mule Show and the mule part ends today with a 2-3 hour parade of every kind of mule pulling every kind of cart you can think of. There are black ones, red ones, grey ones, white ones a mixes of some of the above. They range from just bigger than a malamute to almost perceron horse size. It's pretty amazing the first time to watch the various kinds and sizes.
Of course you have a huge flea market and vendors of all kinds. This is the first year I remember seeing the food trucks, so we must have finally arrived. Many on the main roads into town now have garage sales as well, so if traffic wasn't bad enough with the 150,000 extra people coming in, just add in those stopping, parking, and leaving the edge of the highway. It's a mess!
It's interesting that 150,000 will come from who knows where to watch a bunch of mules walk and buy somebodyelse's junk but you would be hard pressed to have 15 come to a Gospel meeting. Even in a county where there are 8 sound churches, around 500 Christians, that Gospel meetings are poorly attened. Does that tell you where people's priorities are, even Christians?
Tol

Monday, April 09, 2007

"People don't want a friendly church . . . "

As you read the title you were probably questioning it. Is it true people don’t want a friendly church? If they don’t want a friendly church, why are we always talking about being friendly? If they don’t want a friendly church, what DO they want?

I don’t remember where I heard this quote but I believe it is true: “People don’t want a friendly church. They want a friend.” What does this mean? Do people not really want a friendly church? Yes, they do, but that is only the beginning—what they are really looking for is a friend. If you are looking for a friend you usually begin with someone who is friendly, not someone who ignores you or is rude to you. But the fact that someone is friendly doesn’t necessarily mean they will be your friend. Being friendly doesn’t require the sustained effort that being a friend does. It is one thing to be friendly for the 4-5 hours a week that we spend together “at church”. It is quite another to be a friend at not only those times, but at other times during the week. “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Prov. 18:24) Friends spend time together—that’s what builds their friendship. They may work together, they will certainly worship together, and they will also do fun things together. They may go out to eat, have a picnic, put on a fish fry, play games, or just sit and talk.

Being a friend requires much more than the investment of time—it will require you to listen, to share, and even to open yourself up to another. There is an emotional commitment—to share the good times, the bad times, even to correct them when you must. “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” (Prov. 27:17) You will probably have to laugh at some of the same jokes over and over (just like they do at yours), you will have to not only vent to them, but really listen when they vent to you. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” (Prov. 17:17)

The quote is right—what people really want is a friend, or friends. Are you willing to make the commitment to be a friend to a new Christian, or a new member or family in the congregation? They will benefit, but so will you.

Tol

How the Gospel spreads


This photo of Gerardo and his family, including the first (and only) grandchild. He preaches in downtown Caracas, within steps of the Presidential Residence. Several days a week he, along with other brethren, preach in different squares and parks, passing out tracts and invitations to study the Bible. They will be placing ads in the newspaper offering Bible studies this month.
In December a man was baptized after about a month of studies. In February he and Gerardo began studying with 2 people in the neighboring town of Guatire, where his Mother lives. Unfortunately, his Mother was not willing to study, at least now, but two others were and have been studying weekly for about 5 weeks now.
The book of Acts records that while Paul was preaching in Ephesus that the Gospel was spread throughout "all Asia". From this most important city of the province, the commercial center, the Gospel spread to other towns and villages. When "Joe" was converted, he immediately thought of his brother Moe in another town. When Moe heard the truth he obeyed it, as did his wife and her Mother. The Mother-in-law had children in yet another village and so it went. When people are really converted they must share the message.
As we teach people we must keep our eyes open for their contacts as well--those they have some influence with.
Tol

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Our new house



We were in Puerto Rico last week and found a house, which you will see the front of in the photo. The address is: Calle Rio Turabo, AW-15, Urb. Valle Verde I, Bayamon, PR 00961. Our P.O. Box is: Box 50182, Levittown, PR 00950.

If the Lord wills, we will be closing at the end of April. We have 3 bedrooms, so we will be ready to receive visitors in mid-June. There is some work we'll have to do in the kitchen, but much less than we thought we were going to have to do in the first house we found. This whole process went very smoothly and much more quickly than we had expected.

Please continue to pray for us as we make the actual move.

Tol

Monday, April 02, 2007

Yes, we really are moving!


Dana and I have been in Puerto Rico since Wed. looking for a house. Tonight our offer to buy a house was accepted so the next to the last step has been taken for our move. We have both marveled at how the whole process has gone so smoothly--the Lord has made it very obvious that we need to be in Puerto Rico. We continue to thank Him for His care!

We also met with both churches in Caparra Terrace on Sunday and everyone was very happy not only with our presence that day, but especially because of our upcoming move. They have already made some improvements on the building itself—some paint, new blinds on the windows, etc. Members of both churches (English speaking & Spanish speaking) talked to us about contacts they have been thinking about, so we are encouraged with that.

Brethren, please pray for us and the work here. With 4 million people here and only these three sound churches there is a lot of potential. Once the brethren are grounded I believe these churches can be a good base to spread out from.

Tol