Saturday

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro

throughout the whole earth,

to show Himself strong

on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

~2 Chronicles 16:9a~

 

 

Mrs. Theople Hurst was given a good report and released from the hospital late yesterday afternoon. Thank God for her good report.

 

 

I’ve been missing hearing from Frann Clark. I wrote her and had to wait to hear back. Now I know why . . . .

I fell July 11 & was in the hospital for eight days. Then I was transferred to a rehab hospital for two weeks. I came home this afternoon and will receive outpatient therapy three days a week. Please pray for strength.to do daily activities.

Riley is adjusting very well to the War Veterans Home in Jennings, LA. Kerry and the girls have visited home several times and he hasn’t asked to come home with them. Please pray that he will be happy there.

. . .

God Bless You
Frann

 

 

Dr. Chip Sloan is a former pastor at Roseland Baptist Church. He just returned from another mission trip to Romania.

Greetings! Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We worked in cooperation with the Romania Chapel Project to build a church building in Insureti, about 45 minutes from Braila. Our ladies provided children ministry and women ministry, in addition to helping with the construction. Incredibly, we completed construction and dedicated the building Friday, July 25.

It was an eventful trip. As we loaded the bus to take the team of 17 to the airport, I twisted my knee. It swelled up and hurt like crazy but it didn’t keep me from fulfilling my role. Then the scaffolding collapsed dropping four of our men about ten feet onto the concrete floor. Miraculously, no one was seriously injured, though two of them were badly scrapped and bruised. Then on Friday, Martha suffered a kidney attack (stone or severe infection). She was in excrutiating pain. Bob and Gail Hill came to our assistance and got us to a clinic in Braila provided by Prestonwood Baptist Church. The story is too long to tell by email, but God provided. She is doing well.

While the trip was eventful, it was also insightful. We learned afresh the incredible commitment of our missionaries. They are subjected to inadequate medical care and willing to run the risk only because they love and trust the Lord. We also learned how God places each of us in the body, His Church, as He determines. It was special seeing how some of our team members blossomed in ministry to the Romany.

Thanks for your prayers. We needed them. God provided. We were blessed and I believe were a blessing.

. . .

His and Yours,

Bro. Chip

 

 

 

FBC Nursery Workers for August 3rd

• Fay Shoemaker
• J.C. Miller
• Scott Miller
• Katie Miller

 

 

SET YOUR MIND ON THINGS ABOVE

 

Here are some tips on the subject of aviation:

* Takeoffs are optional. Landings are mandatory.

* If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull thestick back they get smaller. (unless you keep pulling the stick back– then they get bigger again)

* Flying is not dangerous; crashing is dangerous.

* The propeller is just a big fan in the front of the plane to keep the pilot cool. Want proof? Make it stop; then watch the pilot break out into a sweat.

* It’s best to keep the pointed end going forward as much as possible.

* Every one already knows the definition of a “good landing” is one from which you can walk away. But very few know the definition of a “great landing.” It’s one after which you can use the airplane another time.

* The probability of survival is equal to the angle of arrival.

* A helicopter is a collection of rotating parts going round and round and reciprocating parts going up and down — all of them trying to become random in motion. Helicopters can’t really fly — they’re just so ugly that the earth immediately repels them.

* Trust your captain . . . . but keep your seat belt securely fastened.

* There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing:
Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.

* Try to keep the number of your landings equal to the number of your takeoffs.

* Gravity never loses! The best you can hope for is a draw.

* It’s better to be down here wishing you were up there, than up there wishing you were down here.

Several of these tips lend themselves to spiritual application, but the one that jumped out at me was that last one. How much better it is to be on this earth with a mind set on “things above”, than to be anywhere with a mind set on “things below”!

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)

Because we are surrounded by a world which we can see, it is easy to keep our eyes focused solely on that world. We will never grow as Christians, though, until we set our sights higher. Wherever your mind has been this morning, may this serve as a gentle reminder to set it on “things above”.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

 

 

 

Tribute to an Old Breed of Hero

By Paul Chitwood

MOUNT WASHINGTON, Ky. (BP)–“Don’t make us go, Daddy!”

After a week of doing whatever they wanted — whenever they wanted — my 11-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter were less than enthusiastic about the way this second week of our summer travels was beginning.

They spent the first week swimming and fishing on the beaches of South Carolina. They would spend the second week in Richmond, Va., where I would oversee my first meeting as chairman of trustees for the International Mission Board.

We had barely unpacked our suitcases in the hotel room when the battle of wills began.

“We have to go,” I said. “Daddy has to be there and I want you to be there. Tonight we meet our heroes.”

For my son, that statement must have brought to mind some of his favorite movie superheroes. When he found out we weren’t going anywhere near a theater, the faint trace of excitement on his face quickly faded. Further protests were met with: “We’re going, no more complaining!”

They slouched in their chairs for the first half of the service — even when their father was speaking. I had to think: my oratory skills seem least appreciated by those who hear me speak most often.

When IMB President Jerry Rankin failed to get a reaction from my two preacher’s kids, I began to question my effectiveness as a spiritual leader in my own home. By the time Dr. Rankin and I were replaced on the stage by 55 retiring Southern Baptist missionaries, my children hardly seemed to notice and I began to inwardly acknowledge that I had failed as a father.

Then, one by one those emeritus missionaries began to tell their stories. Not the whole story, just tidbits and highlights — victories and sacrifices of those who had lived their lives on the mission fields of the world, some for more than 40 years.

Suddenly the two lifeless bodies beside me resurrected. Eyes once glazed began dancing with wonder. Whispered questions began to fire back and forth.

“Where is her husband now?” one asked. “Why did they kill him?”

“What did they say happened to his wife?”

“Why didn’t they bring their little boy back to America to bury him?”

“Why is he in a wheelchair?”

The questions continued on the van ride back to the hotel. Then I asked two questions of my own: “Who is glad we went to the service?”

“I am, Daddy.”

“Me, too!”

“Who wishes they had stayed at the hotel and watched cartoons?” I said.

“Not me, Daddy!”

“Me either!”

I am grateful my children found some heroes — an old breed of hero. Plenty of flying, but always on a plane. A few stopped bullets, but bullets that did their damage. Thousands upon thousands of perilous rescues — not from blazing buildings — but from the fires of hell.

I am glad their heroes are men and women, boys and girls, who accepted the costs associated with reaching lost people. I am glad their heroes are — in the words of the old Methodist catechism — those who chose to “spend and be spent” saving souls.

Paul Chitwood is pastor of First Baptist Church in Mt. Washington, Ky., and chairman of the board of trustees for the International Mission Board.

Have you got any heroes? Who are they?

Anna Lee