Why Do You Do That?

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and he Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  (Matthew 28:20-21).

Hey Gang, We spent over a month In Bartlesville, Oklahoma, volunteering at The Voice of Martyrs, a ministry to the persecuted believers around the world.  When I tell people , especially those in my age bracket, what we do for those weeks, forty hours a week  on cement floors, their question is always the same, "why and how much".  Why do you put your eighty year old body through that?  How much do you make for the agony and pain you put your body through?

The answer is very simple, because God directed me and my bride to do this!  Jesus said, "Go into all the world and spread the God News that Jesus is Lord”.  Oh, how the world needs to hear that message today.  And how do I go into all the world while working preparing mailings? Those mailings go all over the world and I handle each one and I can bless each receiver of the materials.  Where else can you lay your hands on over 600,000 pieces of mail and bless others as they are prepared to take the message to the world that Jesus is Lord.

But there are other reasons why we trudge to Bartlesville to place our bodies in a pressure cooker.  In my travels I came across the following tid- bit from Chuck Swindoll that rang my bell, and every retired person should take it to take to heart:

"A physician friend of mine in Fullerton was treating a woman in her eighties who was in fairly good health.  She either walked very fast or jogged every day.  He became quite concerned about her, even though her health was good, and he warned her about exerting herself.  She heeded his advice and ceased most of her activity.  Several months later he sat in the funeral parlor, attending her memorial service.  Later he said to me, “You know, Chuck, I could cut my tongue out for ever having told her to be careful, to stop exerting herself.  I doubt that I will ever give that advice again…especially to older people who are enjoying life as much as she was"

My prayer as we approached our departure time for Bartlesville was ‘Lord give me the strength to complete the task that I believe you would have me do.’  Paul did say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13); and "My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19) including the strength to complete whatever tasks He sends my way. 

Preparing mailings is the thing that brought us to Bartlesville but we learned, in our very first trip some six years ago, He had other things in mind for us.  We soon found ourselves reaching out to, encouraging and even doing some teaching to the young staff that is part of the VOM family.  We have been privileged to teach Sunday School classes and host many people in our apartment sharing some the things God has taught us throughout our lifetime.

Soooo, what I am trying to say here?  When serving as Chaplain at the Village, I used to ask the boys what is the most important word in the Bible. Love, peace, and joy were common responses; all good solid words but the one I was looking for was the one word that determines where we will spend eternity, the word "NOT".  One day we will be faced with the statement, “I know you or I know you, NOT”  (Read Matthew 25:31-46).

June 14  Flag day

Blessings,

Gramps