Ministry Opportunities are Everywhere
September 16th, 2008These have been unusual days. Ike tore through Texas leaving destruction in its path. The train wreck in California was all but lost in the news. However, it was a deadly crash. Then on Monday a tornado touched down in Louisville, Kentucky. I heard from one of our ministry students there that 250,000 were without power and classes at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary had been canceled for the week.
These tragedies remind us that ministry opportunities abound. Helping people in Jesus’ name works. I received an e-mail today from a gentleman in Baton Rouge where our team had been on mission last week. He wrote to say that what happened at his house was real Christianity. Men showed up and helped him when he had not asked and they asked for no pay. They were there just to serve.
Remember what IVAN taught us. You do not have to leave Pensacola to do ministry. Just look around and find someone to serve today. They are there. We will continue to go and help when ministry is presented in disasters. However, we must not wait on a storm to call us to action. The fields in the Panhandle are ripe.
Pastor Ted Traylor
September 16th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Today is the fourth anniversary of Ivan. I pray that I never forget the lessons learned that day and in the weeks that follow.
Prayers to those recovering from Gustav and Ike.
September 25th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I don’t think that we realize how ripe the fields in the Panhandle and even in Pensacola really are. In the last two and a half years, I have contacted every church in this area at least twice and requested that they have someone call me on the telephone or send someone to visit me. I have never received one telephone call or one visitor.
I have been unable to attend church for over two years due to my arthritis. I can get around okay, however I am unable to sit on the pews and I can’t sit on the folding chairs in Sunday School. Dr. Ling ordered a wheelchair for me but I was unable to sit on that either because of the pain. So I returned the wheelchair.
It is not right to continue using Medicare money for the wheelchair when I am unable to use the wheelchair. There are times that I have to get up from my office chair in my office at home and go sit in my recliner because of the pain.
I am not the only one who has had this experience. Over the last three and a half years, I have received several emails from people who also requested someone from the churches in their area to either call them or come visit them, but nobody called or visited.
I have to admit, Pastor Traylor, that I allowed satan to put bitterness and resentment in my heart over the situation. However, one day God spoke to my heart and told me that I needed to forgive instead of harboring bitterness and resentment in my heart because nobody called me or came to visit me. I asked God to forgive me and He was very compassionate and understanding. He forgave me. I ask you, Pastor Traylor, to please forgive me for the negative thoughts I had about Olive Baptist Church.
My heart is very sad right now as I read on your blog about Jean Rea going home to be with Jesus. While I am so glad that she is with our precious Saviour, I will miss her so very much. She is the only person on earth who really understood me. She made this remark to me several years ago. At the time, I really didn’t understand what she meant. She said “Joanne, you can work but you can’t work.”
I finally realized what she meant and she was so right! What she was telling me is that I could work physically but I couldn’t work emotionally. Up to that day, I had constantly allowed satan to discourage me and make me feel guilty because I was unable to work most of my life. Thank God that I can work for Him now and that He trusts me enough to give me the ministries of encouraging pastors and writing daily devotions.
Thank God that one day the Saviour of the world came to me when I couldn’t go to Him. My precious Saviour put His arms of compassion and understanding around me. He drew me close to His heart of unconditional love and whispered softly and tenderly in my ear “I love you, Joanne. I will never leave you.” I count it a great joy and honor to have the privilege of writing daily devotions for Him. What a friend! What a Saviour, this Jesus of Nazareth! There is no friend like Jesus. No one loves us like our Heavenly Father and our precious Saviour loves us. All hail, King Jesus! Worthy is the Lamb of God!!
In His Service,
Joanne