What in the world is going on?

It is 100 degrees today in Louisville, KY, and the heat index is 114 degrees.

Last summer, we only had 3 days above 90 degrees. It’s hot!

A group in our church recently began their own business of putting the truth of God’s Word on walls of homes and buildings.

This idea comes from Deuteronomy 6

“6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

This picture was taken from my phone and is this very passage – Deut. 6:6-7.  If you would like for them to put a verse in your home, they would be glad to work with you.

I just finished reading this great book. It is short, fast, and enjoyable to read. I am working on getting a copy for every household in our church.

It is called Marks of the Messenger and it is written by J. Mack Stiles.

On the last chapter, I wept big wet tears, and I prayed fervently that God would use me, my family, and our church to bring people to Jesus.

Here are some quotes:

“This provides with a check to our evangelism: if many are responding to Jesus, but few are changed, we can be sure there is something wrong with our evangelism.” (page 77)

“We forget that for those who suffer, our answers are better than any the world has ever offered.” (page 65)

“To be a healthy evangelist you must stand against me-centered love by demonstrating self-sacrificing love.” (page 98)

“Move from a love that is self-indulgent to a cross-centered, self-sacrificing love– a love that is in line with the message we share. Demonstrate love with the sacrifice of your life.” (page 99)

Annette Darnell’s father passed away yesterday afternoon.

The services are as planned:

Visitation:                          Sunday 1:30 – 4:30 at Mt. Holly Methodist

Memorial Service:          Sunday 4:30 – 5:30 at Mt. Holly Methodist

There is a meal to follow.

Milton Shaw was 86 years old. He died as a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years – Ms. Pat Shaw.

Everytime I hear of someone doing mission work, I always have 2 questions.

It doesn’t matter whether it is short term trips, career work, or even missions studies.
The 2 questions are:

1) Are there believing people there?

-By that I mean is the church there? are there redeemed folks there? Is the Gospel being trusted in? Are their true born-again followers of Jesus there? Are there people who love Jesus there?

and 2) Is there Biblical Gospel Ministry being done there?

-By that I mean is there a witness there? Are there people working there? Are there people preaching there? Is someone telling the Good News of Jesus there?

These 2 things are the two most primary issues concerning mission work and the spread of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

As you hear more and more of people doing mission work, be sure to ask these 2 questions.

Over the past week, I have enjoyed reading the quotes from various people in regards to the passing on Tuesday of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. I am always curious to see what people will say about someone after they die.

My dad (like most growing up in the 50s and 60s) was a huge Yankees fan with the likes of Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, and Yogi Berra. So, while I am not a Yankees fan, I was interested.

There has been a range of statements made about Mr. Steinbrenner, but my favorite quote was
“he had such a sense of urgency about him in all of life.”

Growing up, I often recognized that my dad was a fast walker. One day I asked him why he walks so fast. He told me that at work he is walking and it is important to walk fast in order to be good at what he does. As a young boy, that didn’t mean much to me.

However, last year while working at UPS, my boss asked me to walk out with him one day. It was a 25 minute walk from our office to the parking lot. I said sure and walked with him. I quickly noticed that he was walking a lot faster than I was. I had a hard time keeping up. But in my desire to be like my dad and be manly, I made myself walk fast enough so as to not let him think that he is a faster walker or more manly than I am. During this walk, I was reminded of the UPS management training manual that says that all UPS employees should operate with a “sense of urgency”.
I was then reminded that my dad also walks fast. My dad works with a sense of urgency, and he is effective. My UPS bosses work with a sense of urgency, and they were effective. And they say that George Steinbrenner had a sense of urgency, and he was effective. I want to be effective, and therefore I need a sense of urgency.

Jesus certainly had a sense of urgency. In John 9, he says “night is coming when no man can work”. Which means we need to take care of business now because the time is coming when we will not be able to.

For the sake of the Gospel, I want to live with a sense of urgency. The time is now to give my life for the cause of Christ and His Church.
Thank you Dad, UPS, and even Mr. George Steinbrenner for impressing this upon me.

More so, thank you Jesus for teaching me this and impacting me with this.

Its urgent!