"Then the king said to me, 'What do you request?' So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, 'If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.' Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), 'How long will your journey be? And when will you return?' So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Furthermore I said to the king, 'If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.' And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me." Nehemiah 2:4-8
Hello All,
As many of you know, the commute into Orange County can be daunting. It is as much as 2 hours and as little as 50 minutes, depending on the time of day. Some places are always a bear to get through, Green River Dr. for example, being ever afflicted with high traffic. I am thankful to the Lord to have some time to meditate on the Word and take in a sermon (or 2!) on the way into work through podcasts.
This week, I have been listening to Chuck Swindoll's series of podcasts on the book of Nehemiah. Normally, Lela and I listen to him as part of our Monday/Tuesday night devotion, so this morning was a repeat, but a worthy one. Chuck was making the point that missions, either those of the stateside local church, or those on the international front, often have great givers to thank, but rarely do. Here is a little excerpt from that podcast.
"I am reminded of Richard Halverson's words in his preface to his book 'Perspective.' He says this: 'I dedicate my book to faithful Christian layman, who with silent heroism, under relentless secular pressure, fight the economic battle as stewards of the living God. Thank God upon every remembrance of these faithful men and women.' The silent heroes of this pulpit are not those that stand behind it, but those that support it. And of this church and of every mission endeavor, the silent hero is the fellow that never gets to the field, but says to the fellow that's gifted, 'I'll stand behind you.'... Christian workers are spread like tentacles, like irrigation canals that God directs and moves because there are the Artaxerxes' that faithfully stand behind them."
Pastor Chuck Swindoll "Preparation For A Tough Job, Pt.2", 1/16/07, from the Hand Me Another Brick series.
I have seen this first hand and wanted to take a moment to thank all those that gave generously to us for the entire breadth of our ministry in Spain, beginning to end. As I have said before, most of our income came directly from families or friends, though corporate church bodies were involved as well. To those who gave: Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
That being said, I pray that I will now be the layman that sets my eyes to continue to invest in the things of the mission field and I pray that you might continue to do the same. These brothers and sisters need our resource. Let us be faithful to partner with the Lord and be the Artaxerxes' for those with the vision to give their lives for the sake of the Kingdom.
Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez
Hello All,
As many of you know, the commute into Orange County can be daunting. It is as much as 2 hours and as little as 50 minutes, depending on the time of day. Some places are always a bear to get through, Green River Dr. for example, being ever afflicted with high traffic. I am thankful to the Lord to have some time to meditate on the Word and take in a sermon (or 2!) on the way into work through podcasts.
This week, I have been listening to Chuck Swindoll's series of podcasts on the book of Nehemiah. Normally, Lela and I listen to him as part of our Monday/Tuesday night devotion, so this morning was a repeat, but a worthy one. Chuck was making the point that missions, either those of the stateside local church, or those on the international front, often have great givers to thank, but rarely do. Here is a little excerpt from that podcast.
"I am reminded of Richard Halverson's words in his preface to his book 'Perspective.' He says this: 'I dedicate my book to faithful Christian layman, who with silent heroism, under relentless secular pressure, fight the economic battle as stewards of the living God. Thank God upon every remembrance of these faithful men and women.' The silent heroes of this pulpit are not those that stand behind it, but those that support it. And of this church and of every mission endeavor, the silent hero is the fellow that never gets to the field, but says to the fellow that's gifted, 'I'll stand behind you.'... Christian workers are spread like tentacles, like irrigation canals that God directs and moves because there are the Artaxerxes' that faithfully stand behind them."
Pastor Chuck Swindoll "Preparation For A Tough Job, Pt.2", 1/16/07, from the Hand Me Another Brick series.
I have seen this first hand and wanted to take a moment to thank all those that gave generously to us for the entire breadth of our ministry in Spain, beginning to end. As I have said before, most of our income came directly from families or friends, though corporate church bodies were involved as well. To those who gave: Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
That being said, I pray that I will now be the layman that sets my eyes to continue to invest in the things of the mission field and I pray that you might continue to do the same. These brothers and sisters need our resource. Let us be faithful to partner with the Lord and be the Artaxerxes' for those with the vision to give their lives for the sake of the Kingdom.
Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez
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