JUNE 2014 EDITION

I am at war! I will use all the weapons I can get my hands on. I will take no prisoners. However, the enemy is relentless. They keep on coming, day after day, week after week. They are prolific. You kill one, another shows up. They have a vast underground network. They camouflage themselves very well. You would almost think they are friends. They may retreat for a season, but they always return for the "spring offensive." You cannot relax and think you have them defeated. Don't get cocky and think you have won the battle. This is my home and I will not let them win!

My enemy…weeds! I hate them. They drive me crazy. I have used all manner of weed killers to stop them. Some of the weapons actually work…for a while, but come spring another army of them burst forth from the warming ground to assault my sensibilities. The primary weapon I have used in the past is RoundUp. It was expensive and, it seems to me, not terribly effective. I stepped it up a notch and went Ortho Woody Brush and Weed Killer. This has been a more effective to tool in my arsenal, particularly against poison ivy and English Ivy. As an aside, twenty-five or thirty years ago, I planted some English Ivy to cover some area on the side of my house that would not grow grass, now it covers half my yard and much of my neighbor's yard. I manage only to keep it at bay with the aforementioned Ortho product.

Isn't it interesting that we don't have to do anything to get weeds to grow, but getting beautiful flowers and vegetables in our gardens take tender care and constant attention. Left alone, weeds would take over the yard, our house and the neighborhood. This is not so with things of beauty and usefulness such as flowers and vegetable plants.

Isn't this true of sin in our life. Left to our own devices, we can easily slip into some area of sin. We are at war, a war between our sin nature and the new nature we have taken on as we have surrendered our life to Christ. We have to wage war against the weeds of sin in our lives with all the weapons available to us. Paul talks about the things we need to use in our battle against sin in Ephesians:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

I will continue to "fight the good fight" to keep the yard Peggy has worked so hard to make beautiful and, with God's help I will continue daily to "fight the good fight" against sin in my life.

Net Work News

On June 13th, Net Work Ministries co-hosted with Marietta Country Club the third annual Wounded Warriors Golf Outing. We had 20 Warriors attend this year's event. We also had 30 of our people play alongside the Warriors. Additionally, we had Major Todd Moulder, USMC, as a guest.   Major Moulder along with eight other Marines ran from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. over the Memorial Day weekend to raise money for Warriors at The Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta. It was an honor to entertain the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much to defend our freedoms.

Our Friday Group is discussing the book, "Love Does", by Bob Goss, a Washington D.C. lawyer who writes about conveying Christ's love to others through actions.

I continue to minister to men on an individual basis. Thank you for making all this possible through your prayers, support and encouragement. Blessings to you and yours and God Bless America.