Thursday

“I thank my God

upon every remembrance of you,

…being confident of this very thing,

that He who has begun a good work in you

will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

~Philippians 1:3-6~

 

Please continue to pray for Mrs. Marie Sims. She will be in ICU at North Oaks for a few more days.

Pray for the many people in our area who are undergoing cancer treatment.

Pray for the senior adults as they battle the heat. Especially pray for those without air conditioning.

Pray for those who are struggling with inflation and limited incomes.

Pray for the church youth as they make plans to attend student life camp next week.

Pray for Marvelous Mondays in July. Former staff members will lead in worship.

Pray for Jamie Schwartz and his family as he will return to Iraq on the 10th.

LAST FRONTIER. The time of year that marks an increase in the terrible “mosquito diseases” is coming in the next few months. Mosquito repellant will be given away to those who live in the neighborhood that has the most mosquito disease-related deaths per year in all the world. Please pray that children will be protected from disease. Pray that those who become sick this season will turn to the Great Physician for healing and salvation.

MISSIONARY PERSONAL NEEDS. The R family has had to change their stateside assignment dates. Mission housing is usually booked years in advance and can be difficult to find. Pray that the Lord will provide them a place to live from July to December.

MUSLIMS: PRAYING BEYOND THE WALL. After hearing the testimony of a South Asian Muslim-background believer, a Muslim man with whom he was meeting said, “You’re lying!” The believer replied, “I am not. Why would I lie? This is a good thing that God has done. If I were lying, I couldn’t talk to you anymore.” Pray that this Muslim man, and others like him who doubt the power of Jesus to save from sin, will realize that a man’s testimony is his word of honor before Almighty God. Pray that upon hearing how Jesus has changed a former Muslim’s life, the doubters will be convicted of the truth and will turn to follow Him. http://btw.imb.org/

 

 

 

KneEmail
“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” (Philippians 2:10).
Mike Benson, Editor
IN THEIR BOOK, “WHY ME?”, Pesach Krauss and Morrie Goldfisher tell a story about two men who cut down an aged hardwood…

The woodcutter’s observations about the inner rings within the old tree are compelling:

“…I sometimes tell patients the parable about the two wood choppers who had taken down a tree that was over one hundred years old. Looking at the growth rings to determine the tree’s age, the younger man noticed that there were five very narrow rings. He concluded that there had been a five-year-drought, during which the tree had shown very little growth. However, the other lumberman, a wise, old man with a philosophical bent, had a different viewpoint. He contended that the dry years actually were the most significant in the tree’s history. His reason: Because of the drought, the tree had to force its roots down further to get the water and the minerals it needed. With a strengthened root system, it was able to grow faster and taller when conditions improved”/1

Observations:

1. All of us inevitably experience “dry years” at some juncture in our lives. “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:8; cf. 2 Corinthians 11:23-28). Like the apostle Paul, we can identify with those occasional periods of trouble and burden; they are an inescapable part of the human condition (cf. Job 14:1; 2 Corinthians 12:7).

2. “Dry years” tend to be intense, but limited in duration. “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7). “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17; cf. Romans 8:18). In a manner of speaking, a part of what I hear Peter and Paul saying is that while a five-year drought is harsh and difficult to tolerate, it eventually comes to an end. (Mike Benson at: http://www.forthright.net/)

1/ Pesach Krauss and Morrie Goldfisher, “A Time of Trouble Is a Time To Grow,” WHY ME? — Coping with Grief, Loss, and Change, 71.

“Are they ministers of Christ?-I speak as a fool-I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness- besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:23-28).

Lord, help us to all grow some “roots” so we can withstand the trails in our lives.

Anna Lee