PENNIES, NICKELS, DIMES, QUARTERS, were dumped by the handful into our offering buckets during our week of Vacation Bible School. The purpose of their abundant giving was so that we could help purchase Bibles for the people of the Congo, in Africa. This giving was all part of our search for God’s Supernatural Treasure, the search for truth, and of course that truth was found in God’s Word.
Each morning Cordy Dixon, our Bible Story Lady, would tell the children great stories from God’s Word, and it was there that they discovered that God’s Word is to be not only listened to, but obeyed. We also learned that this Super Natural Treasure was something not to be hidden, but to be shared with the whole world, and thus our missions project to raise funds for Bibles.
While I was researching the Bible distribution project I came across some interesting information. Each Bible that we help supply costs about $9.00 to get into the hands of someone longing for the written Word of God. That $9.00 represents about 3.5% of their annual earnings. Now here’s the part that really grabbed me; using the percentage for our annual per capita income here in the USA, that same Bible would cost us about $735.00!!! You see why this project is so important? Even if the Bible was there for them to purchase it would be out of the reach of most.
The money which the children graciously gave this past week will help put God’s Supernatural Treasure into the hands, and hearts, of many who are desperately searching for it. Please join me in praying that their investment will yield a hundred-fold return. Amen!

BACK IN MY JESUS PEOPLE DAYS, we used to sing a little chorus that went something like,

Life was filled guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wished we’d all been ready…
There’s no time to change your mind
The Son has come
And you’ve been left behind

What it lacked in musicality, it made up for in relatively good mid-trib, premillennial theology. Hey, it even lead to a good title for a series of eschatological novels, if not at least a bunch of “you’d-better-get-your-life-together” sermons.
But this little ditty, and the sermons and books related to it’s theme, often left us so caught in the fear of being “left behind” that we would often walk right by those who were. To put it another way, we were so concerned about Jesus’ future return that we forgot His present reign. It’s subtle, but it makes a difference in how we live our lives, today.
This subtle difference can lead to our focus of ministry as a local church. It defines the relationship between prayer and practice, between doctrine and doing. When faced with fires racing over ridges, destroying homes and displacing families, our doctrine calls us to pray, but it must also call us to act. As those who hope in His promised return, we are therefore those who must pray with our eyes wide open. Not just so we will see His return, but so we can respond to His reign.
Come to think of it, we have been left behind, and left behind on purpose. I invite you to join us as we pursue fulfilling the purpose for which we have been left behind.

THE LABEL ON THE BAG OF STARBUCKS© coffee read:

Kopelani Blend
A blend of African, Latin American,
And 10% Kona Coffees
Juicy and Refined

As I contemplated what the aroma and taste of this new coffee blend might be my thoughts were drawn to an exciting reality taking place in Christendom. The reality involves the moving of Christianity’s “center of gravity,” from the northern hemisphere to the south. Christianity’s center has always been on the move.
It started in what we now know as the Middle East and progressed to the north and to the west, settling for centuries in Europe and then, at least the Protestant brand, migrated across The Pond, and found a welcoming home on the shores of the New World. But now we are discovering that the mission and theological middle is moving to the south and east, settling places like the Orient, Africa and Latin America. In fact, if you think that most evangelicals are white and know Rick Warrren of Saddleback Church, you’d be wrong. Maybe the new Starbucks© blend is prophetic. 
I am excited about this new movement. (Though not everyone joins me in that excitement). I believe this movement will add new depth and flavor to the church. The church in the southern hemisphere, as Richard Starcher (previous Free Church missionary) pointed out in a recent article in the Biola Magazine, the African church brings a strong mixture of reformed theological understanding and a charismatic worship-life. It is a church that is flourishing in the midst of great trial and tragedy, and out of that crucible a vibrant church is growing. And we have much to learn from these brothers and sisters.
Care to sample a new cup?

I AM NOT SURE WHAT THE COMMERCIAL is actually selling, but I detest it nonetheless. All I know is that there are six people, each yelling, “It’s my money and I want it now!!!” The commercial strikes me wrong at so many levels, but mostly it is the yelling and the demand for that which they are entitled. According to the principle in the commercial it is their money and they are entitled to it, but adults screaming out the window is nothing less than childish.
The mannerism of a young child is often that of impatient entitlement. They see something they desire, and they want that toy or cookie or attention right now! We can maybe understand this action in a very young toddler, but as a child reaches the pre-school age we cringe when we encounter a child in the midst of a temperamental tantrum regarding their “rights” to a certain item. Attach this action to a full-grown adult and it borders on tragic.
We live in a culture that promotes this instant entitlement. We are told that we can have whatever we want, whenever we want it, whether or not we can even afford it. Don’t believe me, then just ask any number of the thousands of people who are finding their homes in foreclosure, their cars repossessed, or their financial lives in the throes of bankruptcy.
Sadly, the results of this impatient entitlement is not more but less. This manner of life is spiritually impoverishing. Rather than full, we find ourselves empty. It is not what God desires for us. He desires to give us so much more, but this giving comes with a caveat, we must wait.
We must wait upon Him who is our hope. We are called to patient peace that comes to us as we remember that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. (James 1:17) To wait upon Him is to experience His gracious care, for He who did not spare His own Son, will surely give us all good things. (Romans 8:32) Not because we are entitled, but because God is good.