Dear Friend
Warmest Christian greetings as summer days recede and autumn beckons. It has been a real privilege and delight to have welcomed so many who took me up on my invitation to come and see us. Those visits provided our church family with an insight into the reach of the program as well as an opportunity to show hospitality to our visitors. It is safe to say that our guests were not surprised by what took place. They found it reassuring that “seeing the monkey in his natural habitat” was as expected. The main things were plain, and the Word of God was doing the work of God by the Spirit of God, thanks be to God!
The Bible is a book about Jesus, and it is vital that our eyes are upon Him, because otherwise we lose our way around its pages. In keeping with this emphasis, one of our book recommendations this month teaches young children how Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises, and the other explores the values of the kingdom of God that Jesus teaches in Luke 6. Both books feature the work of my friend Carl Laferton.
God’s Big Promises: Stories of Jesus provides wonderful material for parents and grandparents to share with the “wee ones.” We can never begin too soon to teach the Gospel to our children, who are growing up in a world that offers material which runs counter to the truth and beauty found in Christ.
The Christian Manifesto also bears Carl’s thumbprint as my editor. I just reread this book to prepare for an interview, and I found myself facing a real challenge being searched by the Sermon on the Plain. I likened the experience to standing on a rake and being hit on the nose by the handle. There is a particular timeliness to the content.
I have in mind the presidential election, which, although it is more than a year away, calls for our attention. As Christians, we take seriously the privileges of our democracy and seek to be wise and judicious in our judgments. I find it helpful and very important to remind myself that I am a citizen first of heaven and then of the USA. I am living for another world while living in this one. My political inclinations and associations are secondary to my allegiance to Jesus, our King.
It is when the Church is different from the world that it makes an impact. Please think and pray with me about how we can manifest the principles and patterns laid down by Jesus for His followers. No doubt there will be more to say as autumn yields its leaves to winter and we huddle up to stay warm. (Remember, I am writing from Cleveland!) “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience …. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col. 3:12, 14).
On behalf of the entire team at Truth For Life and with my love in the Lord Jesus,
Truth For Life Blog