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Missionaries…I just love them! Have you ever had the opportunity to spend time with a missionary? While bowing to a Middle Eastern king may not be a temptation for me (I am a professed news junkie), I have the tendency, at the very least, to bow my heart in the presence of a missionary. These are individuals who leave the comforts of home, the fellowship of family and friends and the conveniences that no other country in the world seems to offer in order to reach a people group with a message of good news—there is Someone who loves them enough to die for them and who longs to guide them along life’s path. They are talented people who could live the American dream to the fullest, yet they are compelled to go …and they only know peace when they do.
I am privileged to spend considerable time with these heroes. Some who live where, if I told you their names and locations, their lives would be in jeopardy; some who live in desolate areas of the world without modern conveniences; and some who live in the mishmash of crowded cities, yet feel terribly alone. Pray for their protection today, won’t you, and for God’s provision for their lives. It’s the very least we can do.
One such missionary, my dear friend Margaret Register, has written a compelling book, where she shares the victories, the rigors and the humor of missionary life in “No Place for Plastic Saints.” Maggie is a tremendous communicator—and I promise her stories will entertain you—but they also will challenge you to live out your life following God’s plan for you. Please visit Maggie at: www.margaretregister.com
HONORING MOM
SALUTE TO MOM!
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.” (Proverbs 11:30) On January 1 of this year, my precious 91 year old mom slipped into eternity to meet face to face the One she loved the most. Oh, I know she loved me and my brothers and sisters with all her heart, but we all know Who she loved the most. When she invited Jesus to be a part of her life and accepted Him as her Savior at the age of 30, she began a life-long love affair with Him. Not only her Savior, He became her best friend that she talked with every day and the One she talked about with everyone she met. This humble homemaker with seven children somehow managed to find the time to introduce hundreds and hundreds of people, one by one, to their Lord and Savior as she lived out her life on this earth. I would imagine a great number of them who have gone on before her greeted her as she stepped through those gates of Heaven—sales clerks, grocery carry-out guys, door-to-door salesmen, waitresses, neighbors…
The joy she felt day after day as she introduced others to her Best Friend carried her through many difficult times. When the challenges of life were overwhelming, she would overwhelm the challenges with the thrill that came from introducing yet another searching soul to the One who brought her so much joy and fulfillment.
In May, we spent a day honoring our mothers, and I honored my mom as I spoke in the Sunday morning service at Holly Hill New Heights Community Church. Unashamedly biased, I shared that not only was my mom the best mom anyone could ever have, but she was also the wisest person I have ever known. “She who wins souls is wise,” and she was really wise! The story of her life makes me want to do better and makes me want to be wiser—and I know just how to do that!
