Material Things

Mornings I have been reading the book of Luke, and was struck by the amount of emphasis Jesus put on material things during those few days between his triumphant entry into Jerusalem and his crucifixion…actually less than a week. 

Jesus called Zacchaeus the chief tax collector down from his perch in the tree and was a guest in his home where there was repentance from cheating. (Luke 19:5-10)  Jesus then told the story of the nobleman who entrusted funds to his servants when he was called away.  (Luke 19:11-27)  Upon finding the moneychangers in the temple, Jesus drove them out.  (Luke 19:45-48)  Jesus used collecting income from tenant farmers as a teaching moment.  (Luke 20:9-18)  Jesus dealt with paying taxes to Caesar.  (Luke 20:20-26)  Jesus also commented on the widow’s offering.  (Luke 21:1-4)  I found it to be quite amazing how much focus Jesus placed on materialism/money during those final few days before his crucifixion.  It seems that it is likely something we may fail to put enough focus upon in our daily lives.

Our office has been busy preparing for a class of around thirty new appointees that will be arriving this Saturday.  It is always an exciting time to interact with them, learning more about their experiences and their plans to serve the Lord in various areas of the world.  We have also been working as rapidly as possible with a major renovation project in our Welcome and Training Center to cause a minimum of interruption during the upcoming appointee meetings over the next three weeks.  All in all it has been a mighty busy time here.

I trust that you are all doing well and always love to get your emails, calls and notes.

Love,

Chuck

Thanks for praying

Thanks for praying!  Our trip to Florida went well and I am taking a closer look at possibly making a transition there.  The biggest drawback is being further from the family, but they assure me that they will be visiting if I am not up to travel in their direction.  If this transpires, it will be a while down the road but I am working with builders and a draftsman attempting to reconfigure one of the properties so that it will work for me and pass codes and restrictions.  Your continued prayers will be appreciated.  Likely the most difficult part will be leaving the fond reminders of my final years with Carol here, but the memories I will cherish and take with me!

Recently I was reading a prayer of David and was challenged by the way he prayed.  It is evident that he was “a man after God’s own heart.”

1 Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help.

2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you.  Save me, for I serve you and trust you.  You are my God.

3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly.

4 Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you.

5 Oh Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.

6 Listen closely to my prayer, O LORD; hear my urgent cry.

7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble, and you will answer me. (Psalm 86:1-7 NLT)

Far too often I’m sure that I tend to pray like the non italicized portion of the prayer without expressing and exercising my trust, devotion and commitment to the Lord as David does in the portion that is in italics.  It is certainly easy to be self-focused and self-centered in prayer…A good reminder for me!

Have a blessed week!

Chuck

God's Help

These have been some rather busy weekends. Two weekends ago I was in Raleigh/Durham, a week ago in Indiana and presently I am in Florida. My good friend Brian came on this trip to keep me company and we have had lots of fun sharing many experiences. This evening we took one of our co-workers out to dinner, and we were hosted by friends the previous evening. We are visiting our SIM retirement facility and catching up with many folks that we previously have worked with. Each time I visit, I am newly impressed with the facility and the people here. Possibly one of these days I can see myself making a transition down here. That is currently a matter for prayer!


As I was thinking about the future recently, I read something in Max Lucado’s book Fearless that encouraged me; “You will never face the future without God’s help. You have a travel companion.”

“When you place your faith in Christ, Christ places his Spirit before, behind, and within you. Not a strange spirit, but the same Spirit: the parakletos. As Jesus sends you into new seasons, he sends his counselor to go with you.”

“God never sends you out alone. Are you on the eve of change? Is the foliage of your world showing signs of a new season? Heaven’s message for you is clear: when everything else changes, God’s presence never does. You journey in the company of the Holy Spirit.”

I found those brief paragraphs to be a great encouragement to me. I trust that you will also find them helpful in your “season” of life.



Love to you all,



Chuck

Wonderful Weekend

I am enjoying a wonderful weekend at the lake house in Indiana.  The drive up here was beautiful with the tree colors just about at their prime in many locations.  The West Virginia mountains were outstanding and many of the trees here at the lake are fantastic.  As I look across the lake the red, yellow and orange colors are all around.  Also our little family of swans are doing well with the two young ones now as large as their parents.  They now bob for food with their tails in the air just like the parents.  Without a close look, it is impossible to distinguish the different ages.  Karin, Keith and Calli came out to spend the weekend with me and on Saturday I enjoyed a visit by two friends from Moody Bible Institute. After church on Sunday, we drove down to Bethel College to spend time with grandson Gavin, going out for dinner together at an interesting restaurant that he selected.  We assembled our meal from a huge variety of raw items on the buffet table, adding various sauces and selecting our favorite meats that were then all cooked to perfection for us by the crew.  It was a fun event and great to spend time with Gavin and get updated about all the things that he is involved in at the school.  Tomorrow he has a couple of major exams and will also be wrapping up the tennis season this week.  With the rapidly falling temperatures, it will not be very comfortable to be watching matches outside much longer.  Tonight the prediction is for the temperature to drop to 29.

Today Pastor Denny focused on Acts 15 with Paul and Barnabas dealing with restrictive church membership.  He especially focused on the church today and how easy it is to confuse tradition with truth. I appreciate his desire to keep the main thing central in their church and do their best to avoid being diverted to secondary issues.  I like the message that they have boldly displayed in their auditorium; "People equipped and lead by the Holy Spirit reaching the world for Christ."  Well said!

I expect to be on the road early tomorrow to cover the nearly twelve hour trip back home so I suspect it is time to pack my things up again.  Thanks so much for your prayers and keeping in touch.

Love,  Chuck

Fun Weekend

I trust that each of you had an enjoyable weekend.  I had a special time this past weekend with friend Keith and his girlfriend Julie in the Raleigh/Durham area.  We spent a bit of time with his mother and brother in Wake Forest and checked out the progress on the new fish pond that Keith has been constructing up there.  Quite an undertaking in both engineering and construction, but it is progressing well in his limited spare time.  I was also able to give him a bit of a hand in repainting the living room and dining room in the apartment.  The new puppy, Buster, was a lot of fun.  He is a real cutie but is in that chewing, biting and jumping stage.  Fortunately he seems to be a quick learner as they are working hard on training him, but in child-like fashion, he reverts to his old antics on frequent occasions.  But by all appearances, Buster should turn into a good pal.

Keith had a very special cook-out while I was there with several neighbors joining us for some fantastic food.  One of his neighbors shared with me the difficult time he was having at his office, and his desire to transfer to another location.  We talked quite a while about his years with the corporation and his transfer to this current office which is so unlike his previous experiences.  It reminded me of some the struggles that I faced in my corporate days.  I remember Matthew 7:7-8 being a challenge for me at that time; “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for, Keep on seeking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds.  And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”  As much as we would like things to happen right away, Isaiah 60:22 also reminds us as it reminded the people of Jerusalem; “At the right time, I, the LORD, will make it happen.”  That has been a constant reminder for me not to run ahead of the Lord as I project and plan for the future.

Thanks so much for your notes, emails and calls.  I always love to hear from you!

Love,

Chuck