Friday Update

Greetings,

We have returned from the TBM building job at Yorktown, TX. The job went well and much was accomplished. Much of the heavy work was done by many local men that placed the large ceiling joists in place, thank goodness. My work was with the electrical section. We placed over 900 feet of 1/2 inch conduit in the walls and ceiling and then ran the wire--almost finished that part of the work.

The following is from a Blog by Adrian Warnock. It is an excellent article that not only applies to the preacher and teacher but also to every Christian.

John Piper Friday - Prayer and the Word of God
This Piper Friday, I would like to share an extract with you from an old sermon by John Piper. It rightly entwines three themes that were flowing through my head (and hence this blog!) earlier this year: The study of God’s Word, prayer, and the activity of the Holy Spirit. I am increasingly convinced that we need these three things more than anything else! Oh, God . . . make us preachers to be men like this!

“The minister of the Word must not choose between study and prayer. Study without prayer is the work of pride. Prayer without study is presumption. This is what the Proverbs teach: "If you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding (that's prayer), and if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures (that's study), then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God" (Proverbs 2:3–5).Prayer humbles the heart and gives it the tone of Christ and makes it ready and open and sensitive to the truth of Scripture. But it is study that brings in the truth and fills the heart with joy and power.Meeting the Almighty GodThe ministry of the Word is a ministry of prayer because in prayer the minister meets God and has real living dealings with the Almighty so that his preaching and teaching have the aroma of God about them. The ministry of the Word must be a ministry of earnestness and intensity, and where are these to be found if not in our private meetings with God where you learn to know if you are real or just playing games?

"One great Baptist pastor, Hezekiah Harvey, put it like this in 1879: "Moral earnestness can never be assumed; it is the attribute only of a soul profoundly feeling the power and reality of divine truth. The man, therefore, who would speak God's Word with the pungency and fervor of a Bunyan, a Baxter, a Flavel, or a Payson must, like them, be constant and fervent in prayer. The springs of spiritual life opened in the closet will pour forth never-failing streams of life in the pulpit."Without much prayer all the study in the world will leave us shallow and lean. Without prayer there creeps in what Richard Cecil called the "low, managing, contriving, maneuvering temper of mind among us."

"E.M. Bounds is right when he says, "What the Church needs today is not more machinery or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use — men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men — men of prayer."

The Million Dollar Question

A contestant on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" had reached
the final plateau. If she answered the next question
correctly, she would win $1,000,000. If she answered
incorrectly, she would pocket only the $32,000 milestone
money.
As she suspected it would be, the million-dollar question
was no pushover: Which of the following species of birds
does not build its own nest, but instead lays its eggs in
the nests of other birds?
Is it:
A) the condor;
B) the buzzard;
C) the cuckoo; or
D) the vulture?
The woman was on the spot. She did not know the answer. And
she was doubly on the spot because she had used up her 50/50
Lifeline and her Audience Poll Lifeline. All that remained
was her Phone-a-Friend Lifeline, and the woman had hoped
against hope that she would not have to use it because the
only friend that she knew would be home happened to be a
blonde. But the contestant had no alternative.
She called her friend and gave her the question and the four
choices.
The blonde responded unhesitatingly: "That's easy. The
answer is C: The cuckoo."
The contestant had to make a decision and make it fast. She
considered employing a reverse strategy and giving Regis any
answer except the one that her friend had given her. And
considering that her friend was a blonde, it would seem to
be the logical thing to do. On the other hand, the blonde
had responded with such confidence, such certitude, that the
contestant could not help but be persuaded. "I need an
answer," said Regis.
"C: The cuckoo."
"Is that your final answer?" asked Regis.
"Yes, that is my final answer."
Two seconds later, Regis said, "I regret to inform you that
the answer is ... absolutely correct. You are now a
millionaire!"
A few days later, the contestant hosted a party for her
family and friends, including the blonde who had helped her
win the million dollars. "Jenny, I just do not know how to
thank you," said the contestant. "Because of your knowing
the answer to that final question, I am now a millionaire.
And do you want to know something? It was the assuredness
with which you answered the question that convinced me to go
with your choice. By the way, how did you happen to know the
right answer?"
"Oh, come on!" said the blonde. "Everybody knows that
cuckoos don't build nests. They live in clocks."
Received from Gene.
--
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Recent Activities

We have been quite busy the last several weeks.

I spent a week helping out at Camp Tejas getting a new 5 bedroom residence ready for occupancy before we went up to Troy Texas to finish a church we started in January. This time we didn’t get frozen out! It was a good job and we were able to get the building well along to completion.

The last two weeks have been involved helping build the first Habitat For Humanity House here in La Grange. The building is completely "dried in" with black paper on the roof and the building wrap all around the outside plus the windows are installed.

Friday and Saturday I helped some men from the church on our Pastor’s new home.

We had planned to leave for the next TBM job on Tuesday the 10th but a neighbor of ours died suddenly and I have been asked to be a pall bearer on Wednesday morning. We plan to leave that afternoon.

Today and tomorrow we will use getting the truck and RV ready to leave.

Good Advice

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal
cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out
what to do.
Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to
be covered up anyway, so it just wasn't worth it to retrieve
the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They
each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the
well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried
horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A
few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the
well and was astonished at what he saw.
With every shovel full of dirt that hit his back, the donkey
was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take
a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel
dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a
step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey
stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.
The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and
take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.
We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never
giving up! Shake the dirt off and take a step up! Remember
the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Received from Bob Seegmiller.
--
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Easter Message

STILL HE WALKED

He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices, these were his chosen people.
He loved them, And they were going to crucify him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened... his heart was broken, But still He walked.
He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, laugh, and shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger...his heart broke, But still He walked.
Was he scared?
You and I would have been
So his humanness would have mandated that he was. He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face and he saw very few.
Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered and he knew that he would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd, at the people who were spitting at him, throwing rocks at him and mocking him and he knew that because of him, they would ever be alone.
So for them, He walked.
The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through the crowd.
The sound of his cries echoed even louder. The cheers of the crowd, as his hands and feet were nailed to the cross, intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice inside his Heart that whispered
"I am with you, my son". And God's heart broke.
He had let his son walk.
Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering, But instead he asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.
As he hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death, He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd, but also, the face of every person yet to be. And his heart filled with love.
As his body was dying, his heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love he feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.
When I forget how much My God loves me,
I remember his walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
I remember his walk.
When I need to be reminded of how to live like Christ,
I think of his walk.
And to show him how much I love him,
I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him, And I walk.

Thank you Arnold for this one.