FOURTH QUARTER 2020 NEWSLETTER

 

This month I turned seventy-five. Wow! I do not feel seventy-five! Someone once asked a pertinent question, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” It seems like an odd question but I understand that the question goes to your state of mind. I certainly do not feel my true age. Circumstances would say otherwise, such as becoming a great-grandfather and having had two hip replacements and other assorted aches and pains. An elderly friend of mine once asked his physician friend, “John, is there ever a time at our age that we do not hurt?” His friend replied , “If ever you experience that…you’re probably dead!”

 

By in large, I would say I feel like I am in my thirties. With Peggy’s help and encouragement, I am in as good a shape as I have been in a long time. Scripture speaks of old age and its accoutrements:

 

Proverbs 16:31 (NIV)

“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.”

 

Proverbs 20:29 (NIV)

“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.”

 

At the end of this challenging year, I have been closely examining my life at this point.  I realize that I am closer to the end of the story than the beginning. I am in the fourth quarter! I am studying for finals! That can be either a point of dismay and anxiety or a point of anticipation and hope depending on your worldview.

 

As a Christian, I think of each second, each minute, each hour and each day as a day nearer to the time I will be face-to-face with Jesus Christ and dwell with Him forever along with loved ones who have gone on before me.

Please hear me clearly on this; I am not in a hurry. I feel I have still have much to do here, much to contribute. I still have a calling to ministry.

 

Bottom Line: No matter what age you are at present, each day is a gift, celebrate it. Yes, it has been a tough year with disease, social upheaval, and dissension in many areas of life, but one truth remains:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

 

 No other worldview offers “the peace that passes all human understanding in Christ Jesus.” No other worldview offers this eternal hope both now and forever.

 

MINISTRY NEWS AND NEEDS:

Please do not forget!

When you purchase something from Amazon, please go to:

www.smile.amazon.com/ch/58-2009795. Amazon contributes a portion of each sale to our ministry.

 

The next quarterly newsletter will be published in late March. Donors who give on a monthly basis will be furnished three return envelopes with the appropriate month listed on the front. All other donors will be furnished with one envelope per quarter. This move is being done to be good stewards of the resources God has provided us. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call me at 678-986-4814.

I am grateful to all who have blessed us with your prayers, your encouragement, and your support!

THIRD QUARTER 2020 NEWSLETTER

 

I saw an article posted online that I liked and so I copied and pasted it and sent it as an email to several of my friends. A few days later I received this reply from one of my friends, “I like it, but . . .  Appears that *** didn't write it. You might want to check this out. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check.”

 

Oops! I had forgotten to check the veracity of the article. Enamored by the content, I forgot to “fact check” it with one of several online resources that investigate whether an article or statement is truthful or is from the source the story states that it is.

 

Fact checking has come to the fore lately because of the political divide. Each party wants to know whether what the opposition says is true, partially true, or false.  It is smart for us also to be fact checkers also.

 

There are many sources of fact checking. As noted above, there is Snopes.com, although some have said that sight has a liberal bias (who is going to fact check that? LOL!). There is the website “Fact vs. Fiction”.  Some local television stations have their own fact checkers, as do many networks.

 

Where can we find the truth?  In day-to-day instances, we can investigate sources like those mentioned above. We can also investigate facts on our own by researching the facts of who was being quoted. How does the statement in question match up with the person’s character and prior statements? Is there a repeated bias of those reporting the quote? Is it taken out of context?

 

On larger issues of faith, where someone uses the Bible to make their case for some issue, it is incumbent on us to search for the truth. 

 

Pontius Pilate asked the question at Jesus’ trial, “What is truth?” So where do we look for the answer? Jesus said, “I am The Way, The Truth and The Life.”(John 14:6) We must look to Jesus, His Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to check to see if what a person is saying in spiritual matters is truth. In John 16:12, 13, Jesus promises the following,  "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.  But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.”

 

Scripture calls us to be “wise as serpents, gentle as doves.”(Matthew 10:16)  We must carefully examine what people are saying and how they use the Bible. Are the manipulating verses, taking them out of context to prove the point they are trying to make? In order to do this, we must be wise in our knowledge of the Bible, be diligent in our study of The Word.

 

MINISTRY NEWS AND NEEDS:

Eugene Peterson wrote a book entitled “A Long Obedience In The Same Direction” For 28 years I have tried to be faithful to the call I was given in 1992. I have tried to live up to that title. It is often not been flashy. It is often marked by times of “unproductivity” as the world measures it. There have been times of great rejoicing as we see someone come to know Jesus. We have seen a difference made in the lives of men and their families. There have been more times of quiet hope that God is using Net Work Ministries to bring glory to Himself. We have seen times of plenty and times of want, but God had always been faithful in the end to bless and provide. I am grateful to all who have blessed us with your prayers, your encouragement, and your support!