Praise Report:

Our men’s retreat in Clinton was excellent. Lot’s of men, lots of preaching and lot’s of fellowship. It was great to see the diverse group God brought together for the meetings. Gene Purtle and Roger Heath delivered poignant messages that God used to break us down and build us at the same time. It was encouraging and refreshing.

 

Sunday was also exceptional. During the morning service we saw three receive Christ as Savior and several others casting all their care upon the Lord. To top it off we heard a wonderful testimony at our Sunday night prayer meeting from a young man our church has discipled the past couple of years. It was tremendous to see what he said as much as hear what he said. It was his first time to speak in public and he did a tremendous job. Way to go Caleb Larcom! The most powerful testimony is a transformed life.

 

A group from HBF will be in London tomorrow to sit at the feet of Brian Clark and discover how London is a key city in reaching the peoples of the world. I look forward to the trip and look forward to seeing Brian, Mindy and their kids again. There is so much to give thanks for. Praise the Lord!

 

Psalms 150:1-6

  Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.  2  Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.  3  Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.  4  Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.  5  Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.  6  Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Victory in Jesus!

Psalms 90:12

  So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

 

Today I received two emails updating me on the status of people we care about who have recently been treated for cancer. In both cases the prognosis is very good but the shadow of cancer seems to loom on the horizon. Those emails made me stop to think about what it would be like to “beat” cancer yet know that there could be a chance that it could return to take my life.

 

It made me really ponder the reality and brevity of life. Realistically everyone faces the threat of death daily yet we typically don’t live like that. In a sinful world there is no day or moment that passes that is not grace given by a merciful God. Our days are fleeting even if we live a full healthy life. Just realizing the fragile nature of life makes me want to maximize my time in my flesh even more. What a testimony we Christians should have. I want to face eternity knowing that I lived my life in the flesh as though I was alive from the dead!

 

The blessing of knowing life is brief is resting in the reality that my relationship with Christ is eternal along with my purpose on this planet. Praise God for the unspeakable gift of eternal life in Christ! Cancer like sin is just waiting to ravish this body. Praise be to God that for the believer physical death and sin are conquered in Christ! Jesus beat sin and it will rise no more!

 

1 Corinthians 15:55, 57

  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.