| Good morning, everyone, Our theme for this month: “Be gracious, even when others aren’t” Our Bible verse for today: “At the same time pray also for us that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ …” Colossians 4:3 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Please pray for us” Today Aimee and I will be leaving on a mission trip with a group from our church. We will be going first to the Amazon Jungle in Peru to spend some time at the El Arca Children’s Home in Puerto Maldenado. Then we will go to the city of Cusco, high up in the Andes Mountains, and we will visit the ancient Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. El Arca is a ministry directed by my friend Bud Lenz. He and his wife, Laura, and their nine biological children began El Arca more than twenty-five years ago. Over those years they have provided a Christian home for hundreds of orphaned and abandoned Peruvian children (at times having as many as thirty or forty children in their care.) In the early years, El Arca was in a remote location in the Andes Mountains. For the last decade the home has been on 110 acres at the edge of the southern Amazon Rainforest. I have been taking teams to El Arca to minister alongside of them for more than twenty years (these days a young couple in our church are the team leaders and I just get to go along for the ride.) Things are a little different at El Arca now compared to years ago. Bud is seventy-one. Laura is in heaven. The nine biological children are all grown and live in different locations in the USA and around the world. So, with the assistance of a few of the Peruvian children who grew up in El Arca and who are now young adults, Bud runs the ministry himself. By necessity, there are fewer children than in years past, perhaps a dozen, but the work of caring for them, tending to the animals and crops, and being a strong Christian witness in the community goes on. On this mission trip we will bring supplies to Bud, help with some tasks with the land and buildings, but mostly, our goal is to provide fellowship and encouragement for my old friend. The next daily devotional message you will receive from me will be on Monday August 3rd. At that time, we will continue our thinking about being gracious even when others aren’t. Until then, I would like to ask you to do two things. One: pray for Bud and for our team every day when you would normally be reading the devotional message. And two: each day go back and review some of the devotional messages from this month. Without question, our society needs to experience increased measures of graciousness. You can be one of those who are gracious even when others aren’t. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
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