Harvest Time!

I love this time of year. Just yesterday I made the trek to Perquimans County; my homeland. I saw the combines in the fields harvesting corn. My mind went back to the days of my youth. I was one of ten boys hired to chop peanuts; ridding them of Morning Glory, Nut Grass, Broadleaf Signal Grass, and the like. Some rows were bad and some were not so bad. We made our way across that field and the next taking away the hindrances to growth and development of a hopeful 5000 pound per acre yield in those days. At the conclusion of a couple of weeks, Ed Nixon told our ten-man troop that the job was coming to a close. Everyone’s last day would be Friday; that is everyone’s except mine. He slipped over to me and asked if I would be willing to stay on. I excitedly told him I would and he kept me from that day when I was 12 years old until I finished college at N.C. State. He was my influence that took me to the home of the Wolfpack! I moved a long way from pulling weeks from the goober patch. I broke land, made rows, planted, cultivated, sprayed, and finally …..harvested. That was the fun. I can still remember peeping through the tiny window to see the grain fall into the hopper. It was much fun to see the rewards of our labor as we filled the bins with corn. We were harvesting the reward of our labor.

The harvest time reminds me of those days on the Nixon farm. Ed and the gang taught me how to farm. There were standards and procedures to follow, yet we still had to have the blessing of God. The same is true of harvest in the Kingdom of God. You have the standards and procedures in the Word of God. You still need the blessing of the Lord and the anointing of the Holy Spirit to bring the harvest in that He desires. It’s harvest time and the fields are ripe according to the Lord. The need is for the reapers. Are you one?

Jesus said in Luke 10:2….."The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Friends Are Friends Forever!

Michael W. Smith wrote a song several years ago with an awesome title line -  "Friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them...".  Wow!  It's so exciting being a part of the Kingdom of God because...you get to meet some of your new brothers and sisters in the great big family of God.

I don't think we really give enough attention to the value of relationships in the Kingdom of God.  They are everything.  In fact,  God's whole kingdom foundation IS relationship; starting with our relationship with Jesus.  He links us to the Father!  Once that relationship is established.....WOW!.....you begin building relationships that do indeed have that "forever" quality.

I had the honor almost a year ago of establishing a relationship with the family above -- Jerry, Angi, Lauren, and Shane Martin.  Jerry came from the Captial City of Raleigh, N.C. and met me in Ahoskie. He spent about an hour talking to me about the call of God upon the family to transition from living the American dream to spilling out their lives for the cause of Christ in Sudan. From there.....the Martins came to Ahoskie and ministered at Carpenter's Shop Church; articulating that call in a powerful presentation  validating a missions heart and faithfulness.  Fro there....we invited the Martin family to our home for a fellowship meal and a boat ride on the beautiful Chowan.  Relationships do need to be nurtured.  We made a commitment that night to support this family on an ongoing basis. Now, the reality of all their hard work for the past three years of travel and itenaration comes to fulfillment.   Off to language school in Egypt to prepare for Sudan!

Sudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, Kenya and Uganda to the southeast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest. The world's longest river, the Nile, bisects the country from south to north. It is one of the most ancient continuous civilizations and ....is steeped in Islam. 

The Martins have committed their lives to sharing the love of Jesus Christ to this nation.  Our ministry supports this family in this incredible call upon their lives. We are among a large family of those who stand with the Martins prayerfully and financially.  As they prepare to leave America on November 10th, Jerry writes to share information about that departure.  Included?....prayer requests.  These are specific and I would like to pass them along to you today.

(From Jerry's letter)
Prayer Requests:

As you think of us over the course of the next couple of months, please pray for our transition. We’ve been speaking of God’s calling on our lives for almost three years at this point. Today, however, we’ve begun to look to the horizon with eyes of wonder, contemplation, and some uncertainty. This is where faith must become courage and where love for the lost must become an outward expression. This is new territory. This is a frontier for the Martin family. As we walk into a land of ancient history, will you pray that we will properly represent the author of history?



-Pray for closure of all stateside issues (banking, taxes, insurances, sale of possessions)

-Pray for emotional, spiritual, and physical strength

-Pray for proper and healthy good-byes to happen

-Pray for our packing and uneventful transfer of our household to Cairo (28 suitcases)

-Pray for family unity amidst all of these stressful things

-Pray that we will rest in the Lord’s arms, remembering to put Him first in all things.



Ephesians 3:20-21


Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory…

Thanks Jerry!  And may the Lord do just that in your lives. We love you and are your friends...forever!

NOTE: If you would like to consider financial support to this missionary family, I will be honored to share that opportunity with you.

Character, Class, & Christianity!

I love what the New Living Translation says of Hebrews 12:27 -- He will sift out everything without solid foundations, so that only unshakeable things will be left. Hebrews 12:27 (TLB)



I also love to write, but ….guess what? I love to read others’ writings as well…every day. So I cannot take credit for this one; it’s written by Bob Gass and was passed along to me in an email from a friend in our church.


The Lord often uses trials to realign us, and storms to attack everything in us that can be shaken. Everybody God uses goes through experiences that cause them to let go of the temporal and take hold of the eternal. Some wake up in hospital rooms with beeping monitors to discover the things they thought were important, mean nothing at all. Others discover it when the person they thought was everything, walks away and leaves them. Job went through it. One day he had everything, and the next day—nothing. His health was in shambles, his children dead, and his marriage a joke. At times like that you discover what's meant by "things which cannot be shaken," that are worth living for.


Things like character, class, and Christianity.


Character is not what you know, it's what you are.


Class doesn't show in what you have, it shows in the way you act, and even more in the way you react.


Christianity is not a culture, it's a way of life. It's seeking to be Christ-like—not just to observe rules and impress people, but to please Him. That's why Paul calls it "the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."


Remember, when the sun rises tomorrow you’ll have one day less, Give your life to things that cannot be shaken! Have an awesome day and serve the Lord with gladness!