This past week we had the joy of hosting an open house for our neighborhood. It was a true blessing to meet so many of our new neighbors. We are thankful that God has planted us in a new mission field in North Dallas. We rejoice that in our old neighborhood in Plano several families came to know Christ as their Savior and are now serving with us in ministry.
There were two neighbors who came alone without their husbands. One of their husbands had died of cancer and the other recently had a stroke. Immediately I felt a connection to these two wonderful ladies who have been through so much. It caused me to think about my wife if she were alone during the Holidays. We just began to pray over them and with them in the hallway of our home. When we were done praying, there were tears of thanks that God had brought us together to cast our cares upon Him in prayer. We are so thankful for the opportunity to pray for others that they too would know the peace of God that passes understanding. What a peace God gives when we are obedient to His word.
I marvel at the faith of Mary as she said to the angel, “Let it be to me according to your Word.” Oh that we would all respond by faith to the whisper of the Holy Spirit to reclaim the Christmas season to be about Christ and the Gospel. I am prayerful that we will not be like Zechariah, who was busy in the church about a religious act of worship and not receive by faith God’s Word that He has for us in this Christmas season. Of to be busy, but not fruitful is the plan of the enemy.
We rejoice that God has demonstrated His grace to us in our children this Christmas. Michael and Caitlin, who recently got engaged, gave us their gift on Sunday and it brought Laura and I to tears. They committed together to be BridgeBuilder 300’s and give $100 monthly to the ministry in order to further the gospel to the hurt and the least. What a joy to our hearts as their first Christmas and their first financial decision together is to build God’s Kingdom. Many of you may be deciding what to buy the person who has everything this Christmas season. Why not prayerfully invest in your mission offering, or be a BridgeBuilders 300 in honor of them, and give the give that will keep on giving into eternity. There is so much real need around us here, in Dallas, and around the world. May we prioritize the continuation of the work that Jesus began over two thousand years ago, to go and tell the good news that Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
We will be together on Christmas Day in BonTon with our family in the afternoon. Recently, Phillip Figg mentioned how his son had come to BonTon last Christmas and was knocking on doors to distribute food in the neighborhood. To his surprise, one of the residents was a young lady who worked where he worked part time and was in great need. This past thanksgiving, Phillip’s son called and said that he was bringing a family to their home for Thanksgiving day. It was the same family they ministered to last Christmas. What a blessing! For more information on our Christmas Day Event, please go to our website at www.hisbridgebuilders.org. There you can also find additional information on BridgeBuilders 300.
We (Myself, Michael, and Jonathan) will be leaving January 7th to go to Germany and Romania. We will have the opportunity to minister and preach in Romania with our ministry there among some of the poorest people in Europe, where only 2-3% of the population are evangelical Christians, but those that are, are rich in faith. We thank God for every remembrance of you and are expecting great things from a great God!
