Author Archives: Royce

Nov 1 2008

Hurricane Ike….The Recovery


In Lake Jackson, Texas youth minister, comedian, and relief worker Hoss Ridgeway and many volunteers have done a wonderful job of helping the hurting. When it was decided that the dead tree in front of the church should be cut Hoss suggested a cross should be left. What a fitting reminder that in the face of storms God prevails!

 

Carol and I met with Hoss and preacher Allen Ritchie and heard about the great work that has been done from the Lake Jackson church of Christ campus. Work continues with the help of volunteers who are removing debris, mucking out houses, and repairing them. Hoss took us on a tour of one community where they have been active. Surfside, a beach community was hurt very badly. The picture below is of what was rows of water front properties that are completely gone except for 4 houses. My hat’s off to the Lake Jackson folks who were first in with ice, food, and smiling faces.

 

Next we visited Clear Lake, Texas where we met preacher Byron Fike and elder Ben Glisan. What a great church! They are hosting the Hilltop Rescue group and other volunteer teams have used their facility for food, rest, and spiritual refreshment. The church has constructed additional shower facilities to accommodate the dozens of happy volunteers there to serve the Clear Lake community. Byron and Ben  were gracious and informative hosts. Clear Lake is a great church.  If you are ever south of Houston don’t miss visiting them.

 

Next we made our way to Galveston and the Broadway church. We enjoyed a great lunch with our sisters in Christ Jane Smith and Judy Peter from El Campo.  We have been closely associated with these great ladies in the work at Bayou La Batre, Alabama.  At the Broadway church location, we met Superman! Mike Baumgarner (Disaster Assistance, Inc.) who has been on site cooking and serving hot meals to folks in Galveston for more than a month now.  He has been averaging over 800 lunches a day.   Mike has done an unbelievable job, First, at Goodwood church, and then in Galveston. He needs funding and will likely be able to stay only one more week.

 

The beautiful historic homes of the famous “Strand” along Broadway in Galveston bear the marks of Ike. Boarded windows, blue tarps on roofs, and debris everywhere are representative of the broken lives of the residents. There is much yet to be done but because of very little press coverage, money and volunteers are in short supply.

 

Our next stop was Orange, Texas and the 9th and Elm church where we met minister Barry Jones,  my new hero. This gentle soul really has his plate full. In addition to the duties of preaching and all the accompanying duties of ministering to a sizable congregation, Barry has assumed the job of relief coordinator for the surrounding area. He has had some help from a dear brother from Mississippi, Fred Walker, elder of the Long Beach church.

 

Twenty families of the 9th and Elm church suffered significant damage to their homes. With the help of volunteers, much of the damaged dry wall has been removed. The next step will be the installation of new drywall, and many volunteers are needed to accomplish this. Barry and his volunteers have worked tirelessly to aid these dear hurting folks. They have a source for the sheetrock but have no one to hang and finish it. In addition to the stress of having two fulltime jobs, Barry has been ministering to two families in the church whose son and brother committed suicide just a few days ago. He lost his business after the hurricane; his home was badly damaged, and in despair took his own life. In the face of so much loss and tragedy, the remarkable believers at the 9th and Elm church are still smiling, still trusting our dear Lord, and doing all they can for others. The church building had several inches of water in it and one lady who stayed in the building had to be rescued by boat. In the nearby community of Bridge City, virtually every home was damaged with water from a few inches to several feet. Please pray for and the work at Bridge City.

 

Remember to keep Barry and the 9th and Elm church in your prayers. Spread the word about the need for workers.

 

Our last stop was in Sulphur, LA at the Maplewood church of Christ. There we met elder Roger Corley.  We spent a few hours with him learning about the work of Maplewood and enjoying his contagious optimism about the work yet to be done. He, too, says the greatest need is for volunteers. It is very difficult to get enough folks to do the work.  Maplewood has built a wonderful building that will be used for youth and other ministry but likely would not have been built but for the need for a staging area for disaster relief work. They have been able to clean and help repair many homes in Cameron Parish but also have given thousands of dollars of appliances and bedding to the people who lost everything. Their goal is to plant a church in Cameron Parish.  I’m sure their unselfish labor of love in the community will be an asset to reaching that goal.  Maplewood is also hosting the Hilltop Rescue group.

 

On Thursday we met our friends Fred and Dee Franke for a late breakfast. They drove over to Baton Rouge from New Orleans for a visit. What a delightful couple.  And what a job Fred and his Project Nehemiah have done in New Orleans, first after Hurricane Katrina and now in wake of the latest hurricanes. Fred’s ministry has helped to plant churches, feed and clothe people, supply appliances, cleaning supplies, and brought hope to so many hundreds of people. He also needs funding to continue. The recovery work in the New Orleans area has only scratched the surface. There is much to be done.  I am very thankful for men like Fred who stepped out by faith and tackled the situation head on. Fred is not only a leader, preacher/teacher, but a brilliant strategist as well. Here is a resource that should be used more. His ideas on the methodology of planting churches is ‘right on’ in my view.

 

I can’t end this post without mentioning Disaster Relief, Inc. of Nashville. You can’t visit any location in America where there has been a natural disaster that Disaster Relief has not already been there when you get there. Their truck loads of food boxes, appliances, and bedding have been invaluable for many, many years. Thank God for Joe Dudney and his helpers. May God continue to bless them.

 

It is my joy to assist my wife Carol with her work for WFR Relief. It has been a wonderful, eye opening experience that is priceless. Don Yelton, White’s Ferry Road Relief director, is another hero of the disaster recovery business and has been for over 30 years.

 

Please remember these people and ministries I have mentioned and the unnamed thousands who still need help and Christ.

 

His peace,
Royce

Oct 19 2008

God is able, is He willing?


The following verses all say that God is “able“. He is “able” to do anything because He is God. Most believers embrace this idea of God’s ability in their personal belief system. Many of us however are not sure He is willing as we live our lives day by day.

Consider these verses and comments.

Romans 14:4
“Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” God can keep His own from falling, will He?

Ephesians 3:20
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” Abundantly more than we ask or think! It’s hard to take in. The context is very personal, “according to the power at work in us“. The Holy Spirit, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is the power we have at the ready to do in us and through us what will glorify God. God is very able but is He willing?

2 Timothy 1:12
“..which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.” What had Paul committed to the Lord? His soul, his future, his hope, his life, all that he was had been given over to the One who is able. He was able to guard what was entrusted to Him until the Day of the Lord. Did He? More than that, will He guard what you have entrusted to Him? He is able, is He willing?

Perhaps the answers are found in these next several verses. God is faithful! Praise His name, I can trust Him completely to do what I am not able to do. He is able, and He is faithful.

Romans 3:3
“What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?”

1 Corinthians 1:9
“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Our calling into the fellowship of Jesus Christ depends upon the faithfulness of God. If it depends on me I’m in a very dangerous position. He is perfectly faithful even though you and I are not perfectly faithful. (Rom 3:3 above)

1 Corinthians 10:13
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Temptations are common to us all. When they come, and they surely will, what assurance do we have that we can avoid falling into sin? The faithfulness of God! He knows each of us so intimately that He will allow temptation just short of our ability to resist. He will always provide a way of escape. Were it not for God’s faithfulness we would be overwhelmed by the temptation to fall into grievous sin often and we would not be able to resist. Let no man claim that he had no choice, no way out, God always provides a way of escape.

1 Thessalonians 5:24
“He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” Do what? This verse is immediately preceded by verse 23 which says “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ“. God will sanctify (set you apart for Himself) you completely (there is no room for failure), and your whole person will be kept blameless until Jesus comes. Not only will you be blameless then, your are now blameless, and will stay blameless because God is faithful and He will surely do it.

2 Timothy 2:13
“if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” At some time every person living in sinful flesh is less than faithful, but while we disappoint even ourselves, God is faithful on our behalf. He cannot be otherwise and be God.

Hebrews 7:25
“Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” I doubt that any of us are capable of grasping the depth and breadth of this promise. One thing is for sure, those who have put their confidence in Jesus and are resting completely upon Him are safe. Saved, being saved, and will be saved in the end is the promise to all who come to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 10:23
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” What a wonderfully powerful challenge and promise! Do you expect the sun to shine tomorrow? It very likely will. There are no rainy days in God’s faithfulness. He is always, eternally, faithful and because of that truth we who are His are at rest.

Galatians 5:22
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness”  God the Holy Spirit is at work in each believer forming us into the likeness of Christ. One of the ways He is doing that is to produce in our lives faithfulness. Faithfulness is one way we are like our Father.

God is not only able, but faithful. Amen.

Standing in grace,
Royce

Oct 14 2008

Obama the Tax Cutter


Who deserves a tax cut?

Who deserves a tax cut?

The top 50% paid 97.1% of all federal income taxes in 2006. (the above illustration is slightly outdated) Which means the lower 50% paid a grand total of only 2.9 %. And, the bottom 5 % of wage earners who pay federal income taxes received over $8.00 in government assistance for each dollar they paid in 2000. (the $’s are more now)
So, I ask you, who deserves a tax break? Mr. Obama and the Democrats decry giving tax breaks to the “rich”, but why not? When the top 5 % of wage earners are already paying far more than their share (53.25 %) I suggest a tax reduction for them is in order. Oh, by the way it is mainly them and the rest of the top 50 % of wage earners who provide almost all the jobs in America.
Obama tells the same lie several times a day; “95% of every one earning under $250,000 per year will get a tax deduction under my plan”. A technical term for that is “hogwash”. Since the bottom several percent (about 45 %) of wage earners already pay no income tax how is it possible to give them a tax break? The numbers just will not work. The real number, according to the usual rules of logic, is about 50 % and they are the ones who need it less.
What a nutty system! Punish the most productive citizens for being successful and reward the dead beats and encourage more irresponsibility and immorality. We must take care of those who are really needy but our government assistance programs are out of control.
Obama should wear a Robin Hood outfit. It is his goal to, in his words, “spread the wealth around”, translated rob the rich and give to the poor.
Each year millions of people come to the United States from socialist countries for education, health care and medical procedures, and financial opportunity. Why does anyone with an IQ above a turnip think Democrats can fashion a better socialist government than those other countries?
It’s too bad that we don’t have some of the best running for President. No matter who wins, we are caught striving for either national failure or mediocrity at best.
Royce
Oct 10 2008

The Fear of Falling


Around the globe financial markets are in sharp decline and the end is not in sight. A bloated housing market in the U.S., stupid policy by the U.S. congress, irresponsible consumers, and greedy Wall Street types have all contributed to the financial tsunami that began in the U.S. and has spread around the world.

Many wonder what the connection is between the U.S. markets and Asian, European, and other international markets? Why have they fallen as the DOW plunges downward? There are some rather meaningless monetary connections but the principal common denominator is simply fear.

Global citizens are not unlike we Americans in most ways. Our cultures and languages are different but we have the susceptibility to run away emotions and fear in common. Even after a bone headed congress ripped U.S. taxpayers off to the tune of $700,000,000,000 (billion) dollars and the problems weren’t fixed over night, people have been gripped by fear of the unknown and the result is stupidity unleashed.

The most elementary rule of investing in the stock market is “Buy low and sell high”. Tens of thousands of Americans, who are making emotional decisions, have started to sell assets and run from the market. And the more people liquidate investment dollars the more fearful people sell off and the market spirals steadily downward. Almost all of the problems we have experienced this week are driven by fear, the “Fear of Falling”.

Americans are fed a steady diet of bad news by news anchors who are almost giddy that things are terrible because they know the Democrats are vested in loosing wars and failing economies. Without one or both, Democrats don’t have a chance of winning the White House. And, on both sides of the political foot ball, campaigns are using tactics to create fear of the other candidate.

I remember as a young boy going to the movie in down town Asheville where i would sit in paralyzing fear watching a scary movie. I remember watching a scene in a movie not many years ago and being so tense my body was sore in anticipation of an impending murder. The fact is, in both instances, is was completely safe. I was in no danger other than the damage that might ensue from eating buttered pop corn. Our emotions will lie to us. The sooner we realize that emotional decisions are often bad ones, the more likely we are to be calm and collected in the face of bad news on the 6 o’clock news.

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn into office the country faced more dire circumstances than we face today. In his inauguration speech Franklin said “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself“. Perhaps those words are more true today than when they were spoken in 1932. The economy will turn around the very day that most Americans have hope that things will get better. Unfortunately we do not have strong leadership in either political party who can effectively convey the message of hope to the nation. In the absence of hope, as a nation we will continue to know “The Fear of Falling”.

The personal, individual solution, is to make important decisions based entirely on facts, not on fears. We should vote, invest, purchase real estate, and decide every other important event of our lives based on factual information if at all possible. To do so requires more than watching the news on TV or reading forwarded emails on your computer monitor. In my view most people are too lazy intellectually to make good decisions about most anything.

Finally, who do you trust with your future? I hope you are finding your security in God and a relation with Him through Jesus Christ. Pity the man who trusts in what he possesses.

Peace,
Royce