Sunday's Coming

Good morning, and it truly is.

We had a big storm come through last night, high winds, heavy rain and hail. We came through much better than many. We have a hole in one vent and had water blowing in one window, but throughout the park trees and limbs are down and several awnings are history. Praise the Lord, no one was hurt.

My trip to Iowa was a success. After all the meetings, we have at least one area working to open a clinic and have a few other places talking about it as well. So, to me it was a great week. Dennis Maloney and Bill Sisson are still trying to help put all the pieces together. I came home excited and very tired. It has taken all week for me to gain some sort of energy back.

We also met a young pastor working as a new church plant and his congregation are all people who are down and out. My heart aches for him and his ministry. He needs help in many ways from mission groups to help build and to do ministry, to people to come along side and pray with him and give financially. If you want details and phone numbers call or email me.

Thanks again for your prayers, emails and financial support, you can see by this posting it is bearing fruit. I read the following today and it encouraged me so I hope it does you as well.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Loving Servant
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:39
Recommended Reading
John 13:12-17


Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar of The Learning Channel's 18 Kids and Counting believe that teaching their 18 children to have a servant's heart is one of the most important goals of parenting. They want their children to become a representation of Christ to each other and everyone they meet, and they accomplish this by teaching the children to look for opportunities to serve others.
In the same way, the church should desire to show Christ's love by having a heart for others and being made up of servant-hearted people. So often though, churches begin to exist for themselves; and they lose sight of the very core of who Christ is… a loving servant.
During Christ's earthly ministry, He spent the majority of His time loving and serving brokenhearted, downtrodden, sick, and sinful people. He was setting an example for the churches that would be established after He returned to Heaven. He wanted to ensure that His followers would not merely strive to live holy lives separate from a world in need, but that they would accurately represent Him and His unconditional love by taking every opportunity to reach out and serve others as He did.
The church is a servant community in which those who hunger are to be filled; the ignorant are to be taught; the homeless to receive shelter; the sick cared for; the oppressed set free.
Anonymous

Sunday Is Coming

Good morning,

It's another beautiful week. I pray all is well with you but, if not, share with us so we can pray with you.

I am in Wayland, Iowa this week working with the director of CRM. He is leading churches in the area to start a free medical clinic. Keep us and this project in your prayers.

We are also meeting with people on the Mississippi river about starting a clinic and a preaching point for those who work on the river. God is at work please; pray for the churches that are willing to get envolved.

As always, thanks to each of you who support our ministry by prayer, your emails, phone calls and to that special part of you who support our ministry financially; without you, we could not continue this work.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don


The Lord Can Heal You

"To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners." - Isaiah 61:1

According to Isaiah 61:1, Jesus has His heart set on helping three different groups of people. See them there? The afflicted, the broken-hearted, the prisoners. Who are these people? They're us! If you haven't figured out that you're that person yet, then you're not ready to get what it is He has to offer. But if in your heart you're saying, "You're right - I see myself there," then hang on. Christ has something phenomenal to offer you.

He offers good things to humble people.

The first specific people in this passage that need help are the afflicted. Some translations say poor. A good translation from the original Hebrew would be humble. This humility thing isn't a surprise. In Matthew 5:3 Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," that is, people who aren't always 100% out for themselves. Are you the kind of person who lives your life for others and don't always think about what's best for you? You say, "Well I'd like to be, but then who is going to take care of me?" God is! This verse tells us that God takes care of the humble who will let Him meet their needs. Christ brings the good news - but you must be humble to hear it.

He offers healing to the brokenhearted.

Is your heart broken? This word describes people who have been hammered by some devastating blow. This difficult circumstance may have scarred you emotionally. There might be a profound sadness to your life because of something terrible that happened in your past. Isaiah 61:1 says that Christ came into this world to bind up the brokenhearted. Like a doctor attending a broken limb. Like someone ministering salve over an open sore to bring soothing and comfort to some emotional pain that's part of your life. Even here Jesus is "the great Physician." Now how great is that?

He offers to set the captives free.

If you've had a week of failure and feel trapped in a cycle of sin/confess and sin/confess and sin/confess then you know what it's like to be held captive. You are so tired of that same old sin. "When will that ever be gone from my life?" What you desperately need is some freedom. If you are chained to some sin, Christ wants to break that cycle in your life and bring release from that bondage and give you freedom. I tell you in Jesus' name that is what He came into this world to do - to bring freedom to those held captive to sin.

Sunday's Coming

Good morning,

Each day, as I start my day, I ask God where He is going and may I go along. The journey has been quite rewarding. We have met some of the greatest people. Two of those couples we spent the weekend with and just had the best of times. Another of those couples joined us on Saturday. Thanks to these precious people for a relaxing weekend; one that I needed and will remember the rest of my life.

I read this story long ago but wanted to share with you. Seems to sum up my walk with God, or should I say my ride with Him.

Thanks to all of you who support our ministry, you know who you are and without you we couldn't make this ride. We just can't adequately express what you mean to us.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don


Bike Ride With God

When I first met Christ
It seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride,
But it was a tandem bike,
And I noticed that Christ
Was in the back helping me pedal.

I don't know just when it was that
He suggested we change places,
But life has not been the same since.

When I had control, I knew the way,
It was rather boring, but predictable...
It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts,
Up mountains, and through rocky places,
At breakneck speeds,
It was all I could do to hang on!
Even though it looked like madness,
He said, "Pedal"

I worried and was anxious and asked,
"Where are you taking me?"
He laughed and didn't answer,
And I started to learn to trust.

I forgot my boring life
And entered into the adventure.
And when I'd say, "I'm scared,"
He'd lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed.
Gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy.
He said, "Give the gifts away;
They're extra baggage, too much weight."

So I did, I gave them to the people we met,
And I found that in giving I received,
And still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him, at first, In control of my life.
I thought He'd wreck it;
But He knows bike secrets,
Knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
Knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
Knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.

And I am learning to shut up
and pedal in the strangest places,
And I'm beginning to enjoy the view
And the cool breeze on my face
With my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore,
He just smiles and says... "Pedal."

Sunday's Coming

Good morning,

I pray you have had a great week. We have. It is busy at times but that's the way I like it.

I had the privilage of preaching in a small church last week and I thank God for answered prayers that He allowed me to be there. Yesterday, I had to turn down two pastors that asked me to preach for them the next two weeks, because I am already booked, praise the Lord!

Thank you for your prayers, for your emails and comments, and your financial gifts without these we couldn't go on. You will never know what you mean to us, the encouragement you give us. Thank You.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Two Horses
Author unknown

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.

From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you stop
your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing....
Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner
has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.

This alone is amazing.
If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell.
Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes
from the smaller horse in the field.

Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell.
It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.

As you stand and watch these two friends,
You'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse,
And that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk
To where the other horse is,
Trusting that he will not be led astray.

When the horse with the bell returns
To the shelter of the barn each evening,
It stops occasionally and looks back,
Making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

Like the owners of these two horses,
God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect
Or because we have problems or challenges.
He watches over us and even brings others into our lives
To help us when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse
Being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives.
Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way.
Good friends are like that ... You may not always see them, but you know they
are always there.

Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.
And remember...

Be kinder than necessary-
Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly....and
Leave the rest to God

With thanks to Catherine Alexander

Sunday's Coming

It is that time of the week again, time sure flies when your having fun,huh?

I pray all is well with you today. We continue to receive prayer request, so I continue to ask that you lift our friends and their needs to the Lord.

Last week I did a funeral for the husband of a lady we had met while I was the pastor at a local church. There was tension among the family and after the service one daughter told me she was glad her father was gone. This led to a sermon on forgiveness which God was gracious to allow me a place to preach it. The text is Mathew 18:21-35. If you have someone in your life now that you need to forgive or ask them to forgive you, then pray and call or go see them. Don't let it end like this young lady, bitter even to the end. There is no way to say I'm sorry after they are gone.

I want to say thank you, again, to those of you who have given to our ministry again this month. Without you, we could not continue. You are such a part of our ministry. Your emails, phone calls, support and visits encourage us so that we can go on doing what we know God is leading us to do.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

The mother of four young boys often had difficulty curbing their energy, especially in church. But when her minister preached on "turning the other cheek," the boys gave him their undivided attention.

“No matter what others do to us,” he said, “we should never try to ‘get even.’”

That afternoon the youngest boy came into the house crying. Between sobs he said he’d kicked one of his brothers, who then kicked him in return.

"I’m sorry you’re hurt," his mother said. "But you shouldn’t go around kicking people."

Still choking back tears, he replied, "But the preacher said he isn’t supposed to kick me back."

[Jane Vajnar, Tampa, Kansas. "Lite Fare," Christian Reader.]