Tuesday evening South Fork hosted the annual Eastern European Mission for the Triad area. It was a great night filled with wonderful food, great fellowship with area friends, and a terrific presentation from EEM. Our thanks and appreciation especially go to Jo Morris, Lesa Branch and Sue Ann Mills who did so much work coordinating the food, decorations, etc. Also a special thanks to David Keen for all his help to make the night a great success. Thanks so much for your servant hearts!
One of the pictures that EEM has been using in some of their material was taken by our very own Joe Howell at one of the Summer Youth Camps. Our South Fork church has been participating in these camps since 2008, and what a treasure and opportunity these are. Joe’s pictures show a few Ukrainian children sitting under a bust of Lenin, reading their new Bibles that our Team Imagine had given them. You may know that these camps were formerly used by the Soviet Union to indoctrinate their children into communism. And now, children are sitting—literally right under Lenin’s nose—reading about the hope and love of Jesus Christ. Praise God!!
This story reminds me of a quote from the book that our Men’s class is discussing on Wednesday nights. Steve Farrar is the author of God Built: Forged by God…in the Bad and Good of Life, and it is the focus of our studies this fall. The lessons center on the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis, and how “the Lord was with Joseph” though all his ups and downs—from being sold by his own brothers to traveling merchants, then being a slave of Potiphar, being put in jail unjustly, and finally becoming the second highest authority in all of Egypt.
This week our lesson finds Joseph being put in jail because he refused the advances of another man’s wife—Mrs. Potiphar herself! His response shows his faith: “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9) She reacts with selfish arrogance, accusing him of rape and landing Joseph in prison.
It is here that Farrar makes this statement: “God interrupts our plans, hopes and dreams in order to accomplish His plan in our lives.” I don’t know about you, but I would much rather God just go along with my plans thank you very much. But being the pesky, omniscient, all-powerful God that He is…
We see this truth exhibited in the lives of Lenin and these children. God interrupted their lives—and the life of their nation—to accomplish His will and bring His Word to this beautiful people, including these wonderful kids. And He is using you and me and EEM to help make this grand plan of His happen!
But God is also working in your life every day. I think one of the hardest things to experience and accept is when you come to the point where you realize that your plans are not God’s plans, that God has a different take on what should be going on in your life right now. He did that with Joseph. And He does that with you and me.
Will you commit to letting God make the calls in your life, even when He uses interruptions to make it happen?
 
 
 
 

 
 FAMILY MATTERS
By Bill Allen
 
 
 
 
 ual Eastern European Mission for the Triad area. It was a great night filled with wonderful food, great fellowship with area friends, and a terrific presentation from EEM. Our thanks and appreciation especially go to Jo Morris, Lesa Branch and Sue Ann Mills who did so much work coordinating the food, decorations, etc. Also a special thanks to David Keen for all his help to make the night a great success. Thanks so much for your servant hearts!
One of the pictures that EEM has been using in some of their material was taken by our very own Joe Howell at one of the Summer Youth Camps. Our South Fork church has been participating in these camps since 2008, and what a treasure and opportunity these are. Joe’s pictures show a few Ukrainian children sitting under a bust of Lenin, reading their new Bibles that our Team Imagine had given them. You may know that these camps were formerly used by the Soviet Union to indoctrinate their children into communism. And now, children are sitting—literally right under Lenin’s nose—reading about the hope and love of Jesus Christ. Praise God!!
This story reminds me of a quote from the book that our Men’s class is discussing on Wednesday nights. Steve Farrar is the author of God Built: Forged by God…in the Bad and Good of Life, and it is the focus of our studies this fall. The lessons center on the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis, and how “the Lord was with Joseph” through all his ups and downs—from being sold by his own brothers to traveling merchants, then being a slave of
Potiphar, being put in jail unjustly, and finally becoming the second highest authority in all of Egypt.
This week our lesson finds Joseph being put in jail because he refused the advances of another man’s wife—Mrs. Potiphar herself! His response shows his faith: “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9) She reacts with selfish arrogance, accusing him of rape and landing Joseph in prison.
It is here that Farrar makes this statement: “God interrupts our plans, hopes and dreams in order to accomplish His plan in our lives.” I don’t know about you, but I would much rather God just go along with my plans thank you very much. But being the pesky, omniscient, all-powerful God that He is…
We see this truth exhibited in the lives of Lenin and these children. God interrupted their lives—and the life of their nation—to accomplish His will and bring His Word to this beautiful people, including these wonderful kids. And He is using you and me and EEM to help make this grand plan of His happen!
But God is also working in your life every day. I think one of the hardest things to experience and accept is when you come to the point where you realize that your plans are not God’s plans, that God has a different take on what should be going on in your life right now. He did that with Joseph. And He does that with you and me.
Will you commit to letting God make the calls in your life, even when He uses interruptions to make it happen?