Steve Wiley passed away Friday morning. Steve and Sarah were very active members of Calvary Chapel and New Hope before they moved to South Carolina. Steve worked as a leader in the Cub Scout group and played drums on our worship team. Their kids grew up in church and they were a blessing to us.
I remember Steve was active in everything we did at the church. His diabetes later took a toll on his health, eventually taking both his legs. But, I’ll always remember the helpers that Steve and Sarah both were. What will you remember about Steve Wiley?
Anita and I had a great visit with the female inmate at Rockville Correctional Facility yesterday. She is involved in their PLUS program, which is a mentoring/discipleship program, where she is involved leading Bible studies. We could tell there was some maturity development going on within her. At one point Anita suggested a story in the Bible, and that gal recognized that as a story in Joel. So we can tell she’s in the Word.
We talked about her health, her family, her life incarcerated, and her future. She is much more emotionally adjusted than a year ago when we last visited with her.
That kind of obvious growth should be the case with each of us. Those around us should be seeing a clear progress forward in our walk with God. What can you do to ensure there is forward progress in your walk with God?
Today Anita and I are driving to the Rockville Correctional Facility in Central Indiana. We’re going there to visit an inmate at the women’s medium security facility there. She accepted Christ in our church a couple of years ago and then got messed up with the wrong people and got in trouble with the law.
When parents give birth to children, they should be there to support them into adulthood. When we lead someone into God’s grace, they also need our support, even when they stumble and fall down. We’ll do our best to give her encouragement and pray for her ongoing maturity, even in prison.
Who do you know who is living in their own prison of bondage? If you give them hope, don’t forget to follow through with them. Our motto is to Make Disciples Who Will Make Disciples.
Wednesday night we had a great report from our 6 short term missionaries that just returned from Indonesia. Each of them did a good job sharing their observations and experiences. We connected via Skype with Chet and Phyllis Swearingin for most of the report, but just as Chris Clear, the team leader, was beginning, they lost power in Indonesia and the connection was lost. We tried to reconnect, but without power on the other end it was impossible.
My plan was to have Chet & Phyllis speak after everyone else and have them give us their take on the trip, as well. Plus, I wanted to ask them about the June 15 kick-off of the Revival Principles series of meetings. Many in our church fasted and prayed for that event and we wanted to hear the impact of our prayers. But we’ll have to ask that later.
My prayer is simply that revival will begin to move in Jambi and souls would grow. Thats my earnest Expectation,
One of my favorite things to do as a pastor is to listen to testimonies of short term missionaries returning from a mission trip. Tonight we’ll hear reports from Chris & Sue Clear, Diane Everitt, Kelly Getts, Nate Vance, and Jasper Bassett. They went to visit the work of Chet and Phyllis Swearingen in Indonesia. They visited with a meeting of church planters and saw first hand the schools that New Hope has been instrumental in building.
They also had some adventurous trips to remote areas to see our mission field for themselves. Each of them will be sharing their personal stories and experiences with the church tonight (Wednesday, June 25) at 7PM. Be sure not to miss exciting night.
Sunday afternoon I attended the Calvary Chapel of Butler Reunion held at New Hope. Pastor Dennis Kutzner stepped into that small church in the 1970s and led it in an amazing revival that impacted the life of many that attend New Hope today. Although I never made that church my home, I worked with many of those converts and worked behind the scenes to add people to it. It was good to see many of those faces again Sunday.
That reunion reminded me that one day soon there will be a great reunion held in heaven. I have some great mentors that have gone on before me. There are many saints waiting for me that helped to build New Hope in its early days and have now entered their reward. I look forward to seeing them again. And, most importantly, I’ll get to see Jesus without looking through the glass dimly. What a day that will be!
“First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this ‘coming’ He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation’” (2 Peter 3:3-4).
“First of all” means this is a top priority of understanding. The second coming is recognized by faith, not by signs. We become acclimated to signs until we don’t recognize them anymore. The first indication is that there will be scoffers mocking and poking fun regarding believers’ faith. We are seeing that even church leaders are now leading their churches in mocking the second coming. Few are the Christians that still expect a literal return of Jesus Christ. The more dysfunctional and anti-christian this world becomes, the more sure I am of His soon return.
With radical Islam (ISIS and Taliban) developing into the monstrous False Religion (The Great Harlot) revealed in Revelation, its only a matter of time until peace-loving people are forced into decisions they’d rather not make. I see the handwriting on the wall. The next prophecy to be fulfilled will be the pseudo peace in Jerusalem arranged by the Antichrist, which will allow for the reconstruction of the Jewish Temple. That sounds like a stretch today, but watch and see, and don’t be scoffers.