Fred & Paula Boley

We have just received a letter from Fred & Paula Boley. Fred and Paula are missionaries that some of our members support, so I wanted to give an update...



What a joy there is in serving our great and awesome master and savior Jesus Christ. We see the power in your prayers as you faithfully go to the Lord on our behalf and the ministry among the Deni. We will be flying August 6th and arrive in Porto Velho the following day at 1:15 AM. Here are the PRAYER AREAS and we thank the Lord in advance for the answers to your prayers for us.

PERSONAL PRAYER NEEDS
our family as we separate
strength and health
Language and climate adjustment
a car
trip to our church in Curitiba

DENI PRAYER NEEDS
a great spiritual breakthrough
a flight in to the village to see the Deni
wisdom in working with them
facility in the language
Indians will be able to come out to the ranch

RANCH PRAYER NEEDS
Work teams to build the base
Land keeper will leave satisfied with his pay
equipment for the ranch

PARTNER PRAYER NEEDS
full time coworkers called of God to the Deni
financial support partners
prayer partners that will pray daily for the work and for us

We feel so privileged to have you as friends, for your love, interest and desire to share in the work of reaching the lost Deni for Jesus. If the Lord speaks to you about partnering with us you can send tax deductible gifts to the address below. Make checks out to "Missionary Companion Ministries", with a note saying it is for Fred and Paula Boley and the Deni work. If any of you are interested in coming down on a work team please let us know. Write us by e-mail at: fcboley@sbcglobal.net. We will let you know our mailing address as soon as we get a PO Box. We are so grateful for all of the many things you do for us. thank you for your part in reaching the Deni with the Gospel. The Lord's blessings be on you all,

Fred and Paula
Missionary Companion Ministries
PO Box 26237
Fayetteville, NC 28314

Indescretion, Forgiveness, Reconciliation...

Sundays sermon message looks at things we don't understand. Specifically things that cause hurt in our lives. We see how can prevent doing them, but perhaps even more importantly, how we can be forgiven and reconciled to God, despite them.

If you would like to read the entire message, click here...

Thanks.

Pastor Steve

Carrying our own load...

Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.
- Galatians 6:4,5

This passage comes out of a directive to help reach out to others who are caught in sin. We should gently reach out to them and help restore them to a right relationship with Christ.

But these two verses speak to us a little differently. They speak of the importance of maintaining our walk with Jesus. They speak of our own responsibility for this walk. It's not up to anyone else. If my walk with Jesus isn't what it should be, it's my fault. I can't blame anyone else.

More and more we are becoming victims of society. We hurt and we struggle and we blame others. If only he did this, then I could do that. If only so and so didn't do this to me, I wouldn't be where I am.

Truth is, people do things we wish they wouldn't do, and we are affected by those actions. But how we respond to what they do is far more important than what they do. Paul's direction in this verse is for us to test ourselves. Don't compare ourselves to others, and don't blame others for our struggles. We need to carry our own load.

That load, at times, can be a heavy load. We will need Jesus to come by and support us, to help us. Praise God He promises to do just that.

Finding happiness

...his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning...

This passage is from Lamentations 3:22b-23a. As the title suggests, Lamentations is a book of laments, the Israelites are crying out to God following the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians (approx 587 B.C.). The chapters in Lamentations are like the Psalms, and in their original language, Hebrew, they are very poetic.

They were recited publicly on the special fast days and days of mourning. While much of the Lamentations speaks of the abandonment by God of the Hebrew people, and are therefore filled with grief and mourning, yet in this passage we get a glimpse of the hope that they cling to.

While they were in their deepest despair, they knew that God’s compassions never fail, they are new every morning. It is that understanding of God that makes their exile in Babylon bearable. No matter how bad it gets, God will one day hear their pleas, and in compassion, restore their great nation.

People today often feel abandoned by God. We live in a time where there is great wealth, whether compared to other nations or to previous generations. Yet at the same time, there is great despair and a sense of hopelessness.

The old saying, money can’t buy happiness, is apparently very true. Never before have we had so much, yet felt so bad about it.

What does buy happiness? If money doesn’t, what does? We all have an inner longing to be happy, to be fulfilled, and many spend their lives trying to find it. What is it that would bring us true happiness and fulfillment?

Solomon, the son of King David, King of Israel himself for some 40 years, searched extensively for the answer to this question. We read his findings in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone.” The book finds that everything else is “meaningless.”

How do we live a life of happiness and fulfillment? We live it in relationship to God, our creator, redeemer, and friend. In Christ, we find fulfillment, peace , comfort, joy—all the things we need to be truly happy.

Being worthy of God's Calling...

Here is a link to the sermon I preached on Sunday, August 2. Here you find the message in it's manuscript form, along with a link to listen to the audio recording.

Worthy of God's Calling

Thanks for reading.

Pastor Steve