“And I will live in the house of the Lord forever.”
Psalms 23:1-6 NLT
*Adrianna Cavanagh’s CaringBridge page:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/adriannacavanagh/journal
*I know that many people know Elaine Stewart. She is at North Oaks Rehab Hospital. Elaine had a fractured hip and had three rods and two screws put in her hip. It will be a long process, so please pray for her recovery.
Esther Rodriguez
*Chance O’Hern had his heart cauterization yesterday. All went well. Thank God for a good report.
*Mason Carter’s surgery is today, not yesterday. Extra prayers are not a problem!
*Jimmy Schwartz will be having knee surgery in less than two weeks. Please be in prayer for him.
*Pray for Wayne and Cora Morris. Wayne is not doing well.
*Pray for the people where Holly K. is in western Africa. There’s much flooding there.
Georgia Barnette Offering for Louisiana missions
Day 6 – Directors of Missions
“…for we are laborers together with God.” 1 Corinthians 3:9
Laborers, with a job to do, work at it until it is done. Paul taught that the labor is as important as the goal; “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord not for men.” (Colossians 3:22). The labor is not for us; it is for God.
For ten years, as Director of Missions in Northwest Baptist Association, Eddie DeHondt (recently retired) encouraged churches and pastors to be involved in missions. Everything about this labor excites him – seeing individuals’ lives change as they come to know the Lord as Savior and then mature, taking their places as disciples and leaders. Churches sponsoring mission work share this excitement as they experience blessings and renewed vision.
Bro. Eddie is representative of twenty-one other Directors of Missions in Louisiana whose role in missions may be much like that of Timothy when he was sent to Athens, “…to strengthen and encourage you in your faith.” (1Thessalonians 3:2).
Bro. Eddie says a mission may often “feel like orphans, children with hopes, dreams and goals, but no one to guide them. The Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering helps mission churches, church plants and ministries to have hopes, dreams and goals.”
- Pray Mark 9:35-39 for workers to be called out.
- Pray for the mission pastors serving in your association by name.
- Pray for ministry and evangelism projects and mission building projects in the associations.
The rules at a particular university were such that if the professor were not present in the classroom by 15 minutes past the hour, the class was considered a “walk” and the students were free to leave — with no penalties for missing a class. The rooms were equipped with the type wall clocks which “jumped” ahead each minute, in a very noticeable fashion. These clocks were also not of the most sophisticated construction. Some enterprising student discovered that if one were to hit the clock with chalkboard erasers, it would cause the clock to “jump” ahead one minute.
So, it became almost daily routine for these students to take target practice at the clock (as it would have it, this particular professor was not the most punctual). A few well-aimed erasers, and lo, 15 minutes were passed, and class dismissed itself.
When the day for the next exam rolled around, the professor strolled into the room, passed out the exams, and told them “You have one hour to complete it.”
The professor then proceeded to collect the erasers from around the room and gleefully took aim at the clock. When he had successfully “jumped” the clock forward one hour, he closed the class and collected the exam papers.
We’ll all been in situations where we would like for time to jump ahead and move faster than it does. But, as we get older, we become aware than time is moving quite fast enough on its own, without any help!
“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle…” (Job 2:6)
“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away….They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey.” (Job 9:25-26)
“For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14b)
The Bible speaks often about how quickly life passes, not to depress us, but to bring us to the realization that we had better be preparing now for the eternity that lies beyond this life.
If you find yourself watching the clock at work today, wishing the time would pass faster, be careful! It will be gone before you know it.
Have a great day!
Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina
The Prayer Link 