Mercy

It has been brought to my attention that I do not post as many pictures as before - actually sometimes there are no pictures at all. This is almost due to the Coronavirus - we do not go very many unnecessary places or do any unnecessary things. We are in such a beautiful part of the country right now that I feel blessed to be here, as COVID is running rampart in S Texas right now. So far, we have not heard of any in the colonias where we served which may be affected, but again, many of those folks have no means of communication, or the ability to even see a doctor. We plan on returning to the Valley by the first of September, but again, it all depends on the situation there.

As I said, we are in such a wonderful place right now - whenever we do have to go somewhere, I am still amazed by the beauty that surrounds us. Arkansas is almost a magical place - there other night as we sat on the patio after dark, there were hundreds of fireflies out on the edge of the woods. The area was a constant flickering of light, a wondrous sight to see. The area around here is so natural (I guess that is why it is called the Natural State), in some places it has a wild and free look of a jungle. As you can tell, I do love it here, and look forward to God allowing us to return.

On one of the multiple rainy days we had last week, we decided to have a fire in the outside fireplace on the patio. It was really 80 degrees yet, but the fire felt so cozy and warm. This downtime is really very relaxing, but we need to remember the busyness of the ministry when we return to the Valley.

We have not yet been in church but follow it virtually.  Our youth minister at PGCC presented the continuing sermon following the Book of James. Matt Tibbet is an excellent youth minister as well as a good preacher. When we face issues in life we tend to look outward. If you have conflict, you are probably seeing through the lens of self, and not through God's wisdom. You need to be gentle, fair, submissive, and merciful in the storm of conflict. If you want to do things God's way you need to treat those you are in conflict with mercy. What is mercy? Mercy is the compassion shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm them. God's way of doing things is sincere. There are two was of handling relationships - the earthly way or God's way. What causes fights and quarrels among you? Jealously, misunderstanding, a difference of opinion? God's Son died in order to give us a good relationship with Him.Where in your life are there smoldering bridges or broken relationships? The enemies goal is to create discord. If there is a broken relationship, how was that relationship hurt because of your own agenda? Have you applied God's wisdom to fix it? The solution is to not avoid those persons but face them through the wisdom of God. While we were sinners, Jesus died for us. We are still sinners, but God's grace redeems us. Show that mercy and grace to your enemies.