Saturday

I had a great 40th birthday yesterday. Thanks to all of the friends and family who sent birthday blessings. My wife took me out to dinner.

We are rapidly approaching our trip to SE Asia. Please pray as we need to raise about $8,000 more. There are some additional ministry expenses and transportation costs. We are also hoping to bring gifts to the 5 orphanages, the churches and Bible colleges. Please also pray that we would be discerning about the greatest needs. We want to apply the resources in the right places.

I am studying Romans 2 in anticipation of the Lord's Day.

Today, may you know the peace that surpasses all understanding in Christ.

Thursday December 22, 2011

We received word about another donation to our trip. The Lord is so kind to us.

I am asking for your prayers. I need to prepare about 40 messages for our trip. The will be about half the length of my normal Sunday sermons due to translation. The challenge I have is the different formats and settings. I will be preaching evangelistic messages and discipleship/edification of the saints messages. I will also be teaching seminary/Bible college students and possibly children and staff at orphanages. Please pray that the Lord would give me the texts and topics that will be most helpful to the brethren there.

I spent a fair amount of time in Romans 2 in anticipation of Sunday's morning sermon. I have always loved Romans but through the course of sermon study appreciate it even more.

Elisabeth is feeling better today. Thanks for praying.

Wednesday

We have a sick little baby doll tonight. Please pray for Elisabeth Caroline. She has a fever and other symptoms.

We have been praying about our proposed trip. Please join us in prayer. I am amazed at how our Lord orchestrated the events. There is another potential blessing that I will share with you if it comes to pass. I would say it is a 50-50 proposition from a human perspective. Of course, God's purposes will be fulfilled.

I am under conviction (again) about prayer. R. M'Cheyne said something like,"You are only the man you are when you are on your knees. Nothing else..." In other words, as a man/woman/child prays, so they are. It strips away all of the ornaments and reveals the essence.

I am so glad MD had a good outcome to outpatient surgery. Praise the Lord for his kindness...

Friday

We enjoyed having my brother in-law's family over this evening to celebrate his birthday.

Tomorrow is a big ministry service day for Covenant. We will be joining the Risler's weekly ministry at the abortion clinic, reading the entire Gospel of John at Crane's Roost Park in Altamonte Springs and then going to minister to the nursing home in east Orlando. Come join us!

Tonight, I am working on my message in Romans 2. What a privilege to study God's Word in this way.

Please continue to pray for our proposed ministry to SE Asia in Jan/Feb. Time is short to raise support and work out logistics. We need prayer...

Wednesday

We will be having prayer meeting tonight. Come join us if you can.

We are enjoying the faith building process of the proposed trip to Asia. My friend is eager for us to come but we can't quite see how it will come to pass. Faith is the substance of things hoped for...

I just read my research dissertation for the first time in years. I could make some improvements if I were to rewrite it today.

Sanctification is a process that will be completed in our glorification. We must be faithfully long-suffering.

Theology Tuesday

Today, I begin the cycle which yields Sunday sermons. I am beginning to think about Romans 2 from a technical vantage point. Hermeneutics requires a deep grammatical analysis of the words used in the texts and in the larger context. This is the part I wish people could see more of. Often much thought has to go into a phrase that will be uttered in a sermon.

I began reading Dennis Johnson's, Him We Proclaim-Preaching Christ From All The Scriptures today. It is my favorite subject. I love reading books in this genre. It inspires me to continue preaching Christ from the whole Bible and not be discouraged. I will try to synthesize elements from my daily readings and share them with you.

I received word from my friend yesterday about my proposed trip to Asia. The schedule is filling up. We need to raise a ton of money. I will need to prepare some seminary type lectures, sermons and Bible studies and evangelistic messages. I am delighted that some of you are praying for the work. They are hopeful my wife will come to minister to the women...

Monday

Today, my mind is consumed with thoughts of Malaysia and Burma. After doing more research on the Chin people I am increasingly hoping the Lord will make it possible to go on our trip.

The discipleship race is long and hard. Steady endurance is required. Take a small step forward everyday and you will see growth. I fear we are unwilling to make incremental gains.

After talking with pastor friends over the last couple of weeks I am convinced the church is in a state of long-term apathy. Let's pray that the Lord would cause us to treasure him above all else.

Saturday

The day of preparation is here. Saturdays are always a work day for me. My studying is always in process and I am praying about tomorrow's corporate gathering. In our house, we take pains to have our clothes ready and everything in place so that Sunday morning goes smoothly. I hope you delight in gathering with the saints (lit. "holy ones"). This evening, take some time reading the Scriptures together and spiritually prepare for the Lord's Day.

Please continue to pray about my possible trip to SE Asia.

Thursday

I led a Bible study this morning followed by a meeting with a local pastor. It was a great time of fellowship. I was encouraged by his labors in the harvest.

The work of the ministry is very hard and rewarding at the same time. The Lord is so good to us.

Please pray that we will continue to seek opportunities to call our neighbors and friends to worship Christ. Behold today is the day of salvation!

International Missions/Preaching Opportunity

Please be in prayer for a ministry opportunity. I have been invited to SE Asia for a series of preaching meetings. Please pray for the Lord to provide resources and to direct the textual messages He wants preached. The first location has me preaching numerous messages day and night for 3-4 days. I don't know exactly what that will be like. I am usually tired after 2 on Sundays!

At the first location I would have the opportunity to minister to a congregation made up of refugees displaced and persecuted from the second location. After about 4-5 days in country A, I would then travel to country B (the homeland of the refugee population) to minister to and encorage a wide group of people ranging from seminary professors and students, to new converts and unbelievers. This has been a matter of prayer for me for about 3 years. This is all subject to the Lord's willingness to bring it about. Let me know if you would like to participate through prayer or other means.
reformedbaptistpastor@yahoo.com

There is a great opportunity to have an ongoing ministry there. This people group is very much in the middle of international news. Our US secretary of state recently traveled to the country in question. The people are the hated ethnic minority...

Theology Thursday

Word of the day:
Propitiation in its barest sense means appeasement. For the Christian however, it goes beyond that. Christ is the propitiation for our sins. Christ as our Mediator endures the just wrath of God in our stead. God's justice is vindicated and our guilt is atoned for.

One of the attributes of God that I appreciate today is His immutability (unchangeable). He is perfectly holy and just. He doesn't compromise that in his dealings with us. Our sin must be punished or He would fail to be just. Thanks be to God we have Christ to bear our guilty shame and our sentence of death. The Mediator dies in place of His people satisfying God's holy demand for justice and in so doing procures our salvation.

Praise His Holy Name!