Our Mission’s Conference has been very good. Just the recharge we needed. Moving presentations from the missionaries that have presented – going to Mozambique, Iceland, and Panama, respectively. Dr Fielder, who is director of Worldview Ministries, a group that focuses on unreached people groups by translating the Bible into the heart language of those people groups, has preached some very convicting sermons. Sermons on prayer, the practice of our faith, on our participation in the Gospel outreach and on exercising our potential in the Lord for that outreach effort worldwide. It has been very challenging. Mama and I have been reviewing each message together and asking ourselves, what more does God have available for us to do in the work of missions?
Neither of us are physically capable at this point in our
lives of taking on the work of fulltime missionary service, but there is still
plenty to do here that we are able to do. Witnessing, handing out tracts,
praying for the lost, encouraging fellow believers, remaining faithful to the
local body of believers where God has placed us to serve. Sharing from what we
have of our lives, our time, and our resources. At times it does not seem like
enough, but it is what the Lord is asking of us for now and we are committed to
be faithful. My life may not gain many crowns in Heaves, but I would like to at
least gain the Crown of Faithfulness.
I read a brief article in the news this morning that spoke
to the abject oppressiveness of the “woke” philosophies pervading the thinking
across the news media as well as within our national government. How that
message of “tolerance” and “diversity” and “equity” is sucking the joy out of
our daily lives. We cannot watch a movie or TV show or enjoy a sporting event without
being bombarded by the woke politically correct crowd kneeling for our anthem,
badmouthing our country by telling us what a horrible country we are – a country
that has made many of those participants very wealthy – intentionally oppressing
those of us who feel and believe differently. In the article, the author
proposed and idea. Let’s get our joy back. Take our masks off and smile at each
other. Find things to celebrate with each other. Laugh and play like we are a free
people.
Such expressions of joy, which are fully warranted because
we live in the United States of America, will drive the doom spreading woke crowd
nuts. As believers, we understand that the real source of joy is the Holy
Spirit living within us. That has not changed and cannot be changed by external
circumstances. When someone tries to dampen your spontaneous outburst of joy,
laugh in their face and remind then they are free to express such hateful and
demeaning speech, but we do not have to avoid offending their overly sensitive nature
because we both live in the greatest country on Earth. We are as free to
express our true joy as they are to express their ginned up, unreal oppressive gloom.
One emotion (our joy) is true. The other (their manufactured guilt and gloom) is
not. Over time, we will see which wins the hearts of men.
Yesterday I met the CEO of our company at the house he refers
to as HQ. In our recent renovation of the office there has also been a
renovation of the house. We met at the house so he could show me the setup they
are considering for the online classes I am teaching at the pace of two per
week. I will no longer have a space at the office for presenting those classes,
hence the setup at the house. It will work out very well as envisioned. I spent
a few hours setting up a desk with monitors which I will use as an office
space. Friday I will get the cart I have been using for presenting the classes
and transport it to the house. Next Tuesday I will begin using that as the primary
venue for presenting the classes. For now, I will be the only one at the house
even though there will eventually be fifteen desks set up there.
The house itself is a beautiful two-story house with two
huge barns set on 41 acres. There is a pool which has a waterfall built into the
pool setup, a gourmet kitchen and lots of decorative additions to the house.
The dining room is now set up as a meeting area with a breakfast nook with a large
bay window set up as an eating area. There is a pillared front entry and a
large living room just off the front room which has been set aside for the training
room I will be using. They have carefully maintained the beauty of the house
while setting it up for office space. The only issue I have with the room I will
be occupying is the echo within the room. It has a high vaulted ceiling and is
virtually empty for now. We will need to muffle the echo a bit, but I believe
some plans are in the works to address that. It will be a very good setup for
the classes I need to present and I got the impression that it will be my
primary office space. That even when I am not teaching a class, I am free to
report there for work versus finding a space in the main office on the days I am
required to work from the office.
I can live with that.
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