Jan
07
2008

MONDAY, 1/7/08

The Lord blessed and we had a wonderful day yesterday in our three services.  It was a joy to baptize Joey Switzer as a part of our second morning service.  The ordination service for Wes Bates was a special time.  What a blessing to be joined by Pastors, Dr. Robbie Howard and Dr. Henry Cox along with twenty-five other men for the ordination council and then to have a nice crowd in attendance for the actual ordination service.  Seeing Miss Kittie Camp present Pastor L.G. Camp, Jr.’s Bible to Wes was a highlight of the service to me.  The fellowship time after the service was great and, once again, our folks came through in a great way as we had a bounty of food.  

A group from the Foothills Fellowship Bible Church of Quitman, Arkansas arrived at the L.G. Camp, Jr. mission house this past Saturday and will remain there until next Sunday.  This team is being led by Don Tibbett.  The folks from FFBC have been partnering with us in doing missions for several years now and they take two trips each year.  Pray for them as they do ministry in Guatemala this week. 

On the Mr. Mom front – we are now only twelve hours or so away from “mama” being home.  The bulldozer, front end loader and dump truck should be in and out before she returns so it will all be good! 

Ted Ezell and Winston Etheredge are both having surgery tomorrow so please keep these guys in your prayers. 

I was encouraged by the folks who shared with me yesterday that they reading through the Bible this year.  Today’s reading is Genesis 19 – 21.    

Bret Hart, I will contact you via the phone tomorrow! 

I hope you will have a great Monday with Jesus. 

Written by Teddie in: Daily |

6 Comments

  • Clint says:

    Bro. Teddie,

    Dave Denault sends his regards from West Virginia, where we had good snow and good skiing! I’m a little late on the conversation re:debt from Romans 13:8, but I believe that the focus of the verse concerns debt in our personal relationships. I think the concern is more for the person who borrows money from a friend, family member, or brother in Christ and the potential damage the debt will cause to that relationship rather than to the system of money-lending in place today, whether it be student loans, mortgages, car notes, or credit cards. That having been said, I’m worried about my generation and the fast pace of personal debt that’s being taken on. While I’m probably not the poster boy for Dave Ramsay’s financial system, Suzanne and I are working hard to be debt-free, because of the strain that small debt can place on the finances. The more I hear and see about the way the average young adult spends his/her money, the more I shudder!

  • T. Garrett Wright says:

    Dave,
    I think you have something there. As a second year law student I don’t think life would be possible without some form of student aid… Thanks for the addition to the conversation.

    Also, congratulations to Wes Bates on his ordination!

  • Mark Mast says:

    Teddie,

    On the subject of debt, I’ll stake my position with you.

    Though I believe as Clint states, “that the focus of the verse concerns debt in our personal relationships” I am convinced that “owe no man anything” principle applies directly to finances as well.

    Along with the list of those you mentioned (Hudson Taylor and Charles Spurgeon) is also Dwight L. Moody, who said something along the line of: “It’s just as easy for God to provide before you dig the hole as it is after…” He required that no building campaigns be initiated without complete funding in hand. He also required that all students attending Moody Bible Institute not incur debt, so that they would be free to go to the mission field immediately upon graduation. The principle was: “Where God guides, He provides.”

    I can testify from personal experience how blessed my wife and I have been to live by this… be it implied or mandated in Scripture. How absolutely liberating it is to live debt free!! Living by this principle has required a great deal of discipline, frugalness and “sacrifice” (living within our means), but God has honored our decision (commitment) and the dividends have been richly rewarding.

    I must confess that I am reluctant to share my views on this subject though… In the past, as carefully as I have tried not to offend others by living debt free or by expressing my personal views on this sensititve subject, most people just don’t get it. They typically become very incensed, aghast (jealous?) and even accusatory that we would dare not consider debt for buying the things we need (want…). If they have been financial supporters of us as missionaries, the giving usually ends quickly… I guess many Christians would rather support the “interest payments” of missionaries living in debt than they would to keep missionaries out of debt… I find that sad, especially since God has been so faithful to keep His Word when we honor Him. We are merely trying to live in obedience to what we believe the Bible clearly teaches.

    “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

    Trusting in,

    Jehovah Jirah, my Provider,

    Mark Mast

  • Clint says:

    Thanks for the insight, Mark. I definitely agree with you that a debt-free lifestyle is in accord with biblical principles, and my family is working hard to get there!

  • T. Garrett says:

    Clint and Dave,
    Clint, I thought you were writing on behalf of Dave … I was very confused and hope that you were not offended that I took liberty with your words.

    Is this mentioned in any other place in the Bible?

    I stuggle with understanding this in the terms of our current society. We have a national bank, the Fed. Any large purchase we make; home, education as assetts and car as liability we normally purchase it though a bank that provides liquidity based on credit.

    There is also no prohibition in the old testement on lending or borrowing. This seems to be incongruous as it is not mentioned in the laws of Moses.

    This may be a good book topic for one of you guys. I would be interested to read it.

    I may be coming at this from another perspective, I study acquisition finance… all about lending. What about institutional lending or the lending of one nation state to another as our state lends to many including Israel heavily.

    I really appreciate the dialogue and tend not to ever get jealous so you are safe here Mark.

  • T. Garrett says:

    Another question –
    If borrowing money is not biblical is lending with the expectation of interest payments also not biblical (be sure to make no other stumble). If it is true that this is a prohibition then a person seeking to live Biblically with this understanding of Romans could not invest in any debt securities, bonds, notes, bills, commercial paper or debentures. Money in savings accounts is used to make loans to create the interest payment on the deposit. Investment in a savings, pension, 401k, 401-3b would also be prohibited.
    Any thoughts?

RSS feed for comments on this post.


Powered by WordPress | Aeros Theme | TheBuckmaker.com