Our seventeen Youth and six chaperones chose to work the Mission Track.  We were assigned to Oasis Church in Amherst County.  Brad Mullinax, Outreach Pastor, of Oasis kept us busy filling pot holes with eight and a half tons of gravel at Woodland trailer park on Tuesday, spreading four dump trailer loads of mulch at Amherst Middle School on Wednesday and washing police cars at the Amherst Sherriff’s Department on Thursday.

The Worship music was phenomenal with the band “Bluetree” a Northern Irish contemporary Christian band leading with songs; “God of this City”, “God’s Plan” and others.  Humble TIP rapped up the house [pun intended] with catch phrases such as “SPF – Salvation Prevents Fire” and others.

Ken Freeman challenged the Youth and adults there with Scripture pinpointing where we as a people need to be right here and right now.  Monday night set the intensity of the week with Ken coming out and asking how many were saved and then asking how many were baptized.  He then asked why the number of those baptized weren’t as many as those saved asking if the ones who had not been baptized were really serious about their walk.  About 70 youth went forward that night including 2 of our own.

Sunday service when we got back was dedicated to our Youth and their testimony.  What a great service as they each went up and shared with Lake Drummond what impact was made upon their hearts and minds over the previous week of sharing, mission work and worship. Praise His holy name!

Typical Fourth of July celebrations include cookouts, firework shows, days at amusement parks, or any other number of frivolous activities. However, when the Founders reflected on what they felt upcoming Fourth of July celebrations might – and should – look like, John Adams said it should also be a day when we remembered God’s hand in deliverance and a day of religious activities when we committed ourselves to Him in “solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”

The importance of remembering God’s Hand in American independence was passed from generation to generation – illustrated by John Quincy Adams’ famous 1837 oration in which he reminded Americans:

The birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. It forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation. The Declaration of Independence . . . laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.

May we all see the importance of sharing the Gospel message of our Saviour with a lost and dying world with the resolution our Founding Fathers had 234 years ago when they pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor birthing this one nation under God.

“I read this online hanging on to every word and glued to the screen.”

A Kingston teen died and another man was rescued by the Coast Guard off the Plymouth coast after the pair’s 15-foot fishing boat sank.

“I’d heard this story earlier today while sitting at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center while a sister-in-Christ was having surgery.  Her husband and I were sitting in the waiting room just talking.  I had had the privilege of praying with her when she confessed Jesus as her Lord a couple of years ago and was blessed beyond measure when I got to pray with her husband, who I was now sitting with, a few days later as he confessed Jesus as his Lord.  We were just talking about stuff in general”

David Hanson, 19, of Kingston, was found floating in the water unconscious. He was pronounced dead at Jordan Hospital in Plymouth.

“My Son, Bobby, called my cell phone and I answered.  He said through sobs, ‘Dad, have you got time to talk?’  I said, ‘Of course Son.’  And he proceeded to tell me the story of the rescue that he and a couple other Coastys were involved in last night into this morning.”

The other man, Wayne Carlson, 20, also of Kingston, was clinging to a buoy just outside of Plymouth Harbor, the Coast Guard said. Carlson was treated and released from the hospital Wednesday.

“Bobby told me how they had rescued one man from a buoy, assessed him and turned him over to the Harbor Master boat so that they could search for his missing friend.  He told me of how they found the man with the helicopter and rushed to him, of how he and another Coast Guard buddy reached over the gunnels and pulled the large man out of the water with seemingly ease, of how the man was unconscious and how he and the other Coasty performed CPR on the man until paramedics took over at the dock.”

Carlson and Hanson graduated from Silver Lake Regional High School in Kingston in 2008.

“He told me how the man in the water was around a mile and a half down tide from where they picked up his friend on the buoy and how his head was under water when they found him an hour and a half after they rescued his friend.”

The men were spotted at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday by the crew of a Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod.

Both men were wearing life jackets. The water temperature at the time was 46 degrees.

Copyright 2010 The Enterprise. Some rights reserved

“Bobby told me about guys that have been up there for 5 years and haven’t had to deal with this and how he wasn’t sure how he was going to deal with this loss after being up there less than a year.  He was upset that he couldn’t save this man.  He was emotional that this happened and the loss of life.  He was looking for answers from his Dad and I just cried on the phone with him.  The two of us just wept on the phone.  Everything in me wanted to reach through that phone and take my full-grown 26 year-old MK2 in the Coast Guard and cradle him up in my arms the way I did when he was a baby and just take all of the hurt and pain he was dealing with and put it on me.  I wanted his aggravation, his tears, his pain, his emotional and physical loss to just be taken from him and put on me.  Then I remembered.  I can’t do that.  Jesus already has.  We cried some more.  Now was the time to edify and morn together . . . we’ll laugh another day.”

“I told him how thankful I was to our Lord that He had placed Bobby there to save the man that they did save alive and how thankful I get just realizing my Son chose to save lives for a living.  I told him how thankful I am that he has a heart for people and cares enough to morn for those he’s never met.  I told him how thankful I am that he confessed Jesus as his Saviour so many years ago and because of that he isn’t facing this alone but is sheltered in the arms of our Saviour even now while he’s dealing with this loss.  We prayed together and I hung up.  I walked the halls of the hospital for a few minutes to wipe my eyes and gathered myself together and went back into the waiting room and sat with my brother-in-Christ as we waited to hear from the doctor on how his wife’s surgery would come out.”

“I thought of the family that would get the news this morning that their son wasn’t coming home today.  I morned for them and I prayed for them and asked God’s immeasurable grace be placed upon them and all who come in contact with them.  I prayed for my boy and what he’s dealing with as death has reared its ugly head in his career choice now and statistically will do so again.  I prayed that his heart never grow dull to the leading of the Holy Spirit, that he be ever cognizant to the dangers of what he does for a living and that he may heal during this process knowing that he will never get over this loss but that he’ll slowly learn to live with it.  I thanked my Lord that my children have confessed His Name and that they are in His care now.  And yes, I thanked my Lord for my boy, my Son, my Coasty who is on watch and always prepared for that next mayday call.”

As I wrote this for my face book page I couldn’t get past the gut-wrenching, overwhelming urge to cry out, “Why?”

Why?  You may be saying to yourself.  If you’re a pastor; a preacher of Christ and Him crucified, why are you saying WHY?

Because my feelings get in the way.  I can’t imagine sacrificing my son for those who love me; those whom I have the utmost respect and honor.  Yet my LORD sacrificed His Son for those who hated Him and despised Him.  I can’t imagine allowing any pain to be inflicted on my boy for the sins of those I hold in the highest regard yet God gave His Son to a lost and dying world that spat in His face and beat Him into a bloody mass of humanity.

I think on these things and I ask why.  Then I turn to His Word.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” [John 3:16]

I am a part of that world He so loved.  And He loved me before I loved Him.  He loved me when I was one of those who spat upon Him and beat Him.  He loved me.

“We love him, because he first loved us.” [1 John 4:19]

Because of the Father’s love for lost humanity I can love Him.  This love is not a creation of my own, something to be conjured up or initiated by me.  My love for the Father is in response to His love for me.  He loves me.  He really loves me!

What can I do to keep this love?  Nothing

What can I do to make this love better?  Nothing

What can I do to hold on to this love?  Nothing

The question rather should be . . . what do I do in response to His love?  Love Him.

Love Him?  You may say, “I do love Him.”  Great, then you’re talking to Him daily in prayer.  And you’re reading His Word daily to learn more about this Saviour and Creator and King that loves you so much.  You are living a life that is unquestionably for Him and Him alone and you’re telling everyone you come in contact with the great things about what God’s Word says and how He has impacted your life and how He can and will save them from their sins if they will believe . . .

“. . . how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:” [1 Corinthians 15:3b-4]

Oh . . . now you see why I ask why.

There have been days that I’ve not been the follower of Christ that I should be and I’ve left out those things that I should have done for my Saviour yet He loves me anyway.  He loves me anyway.

The Holy Bible, the Word, His Scriptures tell me that my feelings are not what matters here.  What matters are His promises.  What do His promises say to you? Are they worth sharing with others or do your feelings say, “Forget it, it’s not worth it, it won’t work.”  The choices we make are our own but their impact can affect the world.  Who’s eternity can you have an impact on today?

I use to work with a fella in the eighties that would hear that word and before another could be said he would say, “That’s a deep subject for such a shallow mind.”  The shallowness of the mind will always be in question in the case of an accident.  This was my case yesterday while cutting the grass.  The yard was finally dry enough to catch up on the mowing without plowing up the yard with the tires . . . or so I thought.  I cut near the base of a tree by the ditch and . . . well . . . I got stuck.  Walked out to the tractor so I could pull the lawnmower out of the mire.  Hooked up the chain and out it came.  Took the muddy mower to higher ground and spun it around to get the mud off it.  Reared it up and slammed it down to knock the mud off and . . . well . . . that’s when it happened.  My foot got jammed between the mower adjustment pedal and the deck of the mower and I found myself looking down at my right foot and seeing my toes pointing right back up at me.  My Achilles tendon hyper extended and pulled a piece of bone right off the top of my heel instead of snapping in half.  Boy oh boy did that smart!  Praise His Holy Name, I got off the mower and walked back to the tractor to drive it back to the barn.  Geri, my wife, noticed I was limping pretty bad and was concerned.  McKenzie, my oldest grand-daughter, asked me if I hurt myself.  Decided to work past the pain and do some gardening.  Unhooked the box scraper from the tractor and hooked up my tiller.  Tilled up my garden and drove up the lane and tilled up both of my neighbor’s gardens.  Went inside and got a shower feeling pretty good about the foot feeling better.

Woke up this morning . . . well . . . couldn’t walk.  Hopped to the bathroom and took a shower and my wife and grand-daughter took me to Patient First.  Blood pressure was good.  X-ray showed the cause of us spending the first day of Spring Break at the doctor’s office.  After being referred to an Orthopedic Specialist we sat in that office for a few hours [I’m told this is a regular occurrence in most sports medicine practices].  Doctor immobilized my ankle for 6 to 8 weeks, put me on crutches and told me I’d need corrective surgery for this soon to scrape my heel bone and reattach the tendon.

Well, I could start feeling sorry for myself right now.  I have a right to don’t I?  My plans this week were not to be laid up with a bum foot.  With Spring Break going on, my wife and I could get a lot done at the house this week.  The grass is starting to get tall.  I really don’t have time for this right now.  I’m supposed to baptize my oldest two grandsons next Sunday.  Should I blame God for this?  Must I curse the devil?  James 1:2-3 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”  This concept never makes any sense to anyone until after the process is over.

God can and will use this whether I give it to Him or not.  Why not be a willing participant and get the blessing from this?  Well . . . maybe I just want to get mad at what happened.  I have a right too.  I’m mad and I’m not going to take it anymore!

Or . . . I can praise God that this wasn’t worse.  I can pray for those who are much worse off.  Thank my heavenly Father for His grace and His mercy.  He’s already blessed me.  I have a wife He blessed me with that is ever by my side.  My children are stepping up to help with stuff we had planned on doing.  My church family has stepped up to help with some needs.  My deacon chairman drove me to Monday Night Man Time at church tonight and my Pastor has volunteered to preach both services for me this Sunday so I can take my time baptizing my grandsons.  My deacons have volunteered to do some things around the church too.

Well . . . the world would say, curse God and die.  I choose to praise God and live.

What is your choice today?  The answer really isn’t all that deep.  Well?

Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 tell me in words, letters and syllables the Greatness of GOD in a form that should take the strength from my legs and drive me to the ground in praise to my Saviour yet He gives me strength to walk through this world and make my own choices.  My Saviour, who created all, took upon Himself the condemnation of my sin.  My sin.  MY SIN!  I don’t want all the junk I can remember brought out in public yet He suffered and died on a cross for that junk, the mess ups of my life and garbage I can’t even remember.  How does any of this make sense? Why would the Way, the Truth and the Life make the Way for me, show me through His Word the Truth and supply for me His Life through His sacrifice and His Spirit who leads me?

God’s Word has the answers man is looking for yet we walk our own way, we make up our own lies and call them truth and attempt to make a existence in a lost and dying world and fool ourselves into calling it a life.  What is there to this life?  Well, history has shown me in fifty years life is full of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, job loss, foreclosures, under-handedness, cheating, lying and death to name a few.

Is this what we are called to live for?  Depends on who your authority is?  If my authority is secular and worldly directed the earth could be my footstool yet my life would be empty.  Sure, there are secular pleasures in life yet they leave us so empty.  However, if my authority is God’s Word, and I believe that Christ died for my sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, I am assured Life through Him and my assurance doesn’t depend upon my feelings or my worries or anything else this world has to offer.  My life now depends upon God’s promises!  God’s promises?  There is nothing more dependable.  There is nothing more lasting.  There is nothing without God’s promises.

Great is the Lord?  I have barely scratched the surface on this life I live in Christ yet I stand in awe of the greatness of my God.  “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.”

■ Our current mission project is raising funds for the Crisis Pregnancy Center. You can help by stopping in Room #1 to sign out an empty baby bottle, take it home and fill it with your loose change, and return it by 9/12. Please contact Debbie Barnes at 353-2864 for further details.

■ Chat ‘N Chew Youth: Wednesday 8/25, 9:00 am, come learn how to make home-made rolls, noodles and pies; bring a can of pie filling, all other items will be provided. Then, that night, come hungry to Chat ‘n Chew as we will be eating what we made that morning.

■ Sunday 9/5, 6:00 pm we will have a church-wide “End of Summer Social” in the Fellowship Hall. This is for all ages and will include hot dogs and “Connie’s famous home-made ice cream.” Square Dance caller, Bob Worley, will teach basic Circle/Square dance until 8:00 pm.

■ Awana Kick-Off & Snack Supper is Sunday 9/12. Contact Craig (651-8452), Marla (818-4453) or Geri (439-7952) to find out how you can take part in this exciting ministry to our kids!

Metta Carawan Rich, March 28, 1933 – March 8, 2010.