Off to India

At the moment of this writing our son is in New York waiting for the plane that will take him to Delhi, India so that he can become familiar with the work that his new mission is doing in that significant country.
India is a land that has been what we might call “Gospel-resistant” for many years. It was under the control of the British empire for a long time. It had been touched by people who would know much about the Word of God, but once the land became independent it has been virtually closed to the outside influence of missions.
That is not to say that there have been no Indian Christians. Some of the finest believers that I have met over the years have been Indian Christians. At least two Indian students have touched my life in a most unusual way. They have been young men who have shown startling commitment and significant passion about their service for Jesus Christ. In both cases they have had a wife that shared that vision and were really a beautiful Christian lady.
To add to these contacts I met George and Pat Moodly in South Africa. They were both South African Indians who had sacrificed greatly to serve their Lord and their people.
Even thought the danger to foreign Christian workers was always great, it seems as if there is a movement that makes it very dangerous for Indian believers to live in this large country. Persecution has taken on gigantic proportions and believers have had their lives threatened, their homes burned, and their jobs taken away.
Persecution in the name of religion is an unthinkable thing. What kind of a god would inspire, murder, rape, and beatings? It is never right to persecute a person because of what he or she is. I don’t say this because in thise case the ones persecuted are Christians. It is true in any circumstance for any people.
Our son is going to minister to people who have faced this kind of persecution where they are laboring for Christ. Many of them will have paid a price that none of us has been asked to pay. Ministering there will not be easy for him and will be challenging to say the least. Those Indian workers to whom he will speak will be hurting, discouraged, and disheartened by what has been taking place. Evan (our son) will need wisdom and a special touch by the heavenly father to be sensitive, caring, and challenging to these believers.
He can well face dangers he has never had to face before. I am proud that he is willing to go. I am concerned that he could be in danger. I am convinced that God has a purpose in his going that will revealed in the days to come.

Nature and Disney

In early 1965 our family spent a week in the Denver area. I had meetings, but fortunately the days were pretty open and we were able to do some very pleasant sightseeing.
There was a missionary by the name of John Schlener who was in the conference with me. He took a shine to our kids as he did to all kids. He tried to convince our children that they should pressure me to take them to California after we finished in Denver. His biggest incentive was that he lived within a few miles of Disneyland and they would be able to go there if we came to his house. We left it up to the children to decide if they would rather go to Disneyland or Grand Canyon, etc. They decided on the natural wonders much to our pleasure.
We were pulling a trailer and we parked that in Flagstaff and did some things from there without the trailer. Needless to say, Grand Canyon was no disappointment. We marveled as we travelled around the south rim of the canyon. My children say that I took over a thousand pictures, but that is an exaggeration. I did take a lot thought because it all was breathtaking. My foolishness was thinking that I could capture any of the beauty of the canyon with the camera I was using.
After going to Oak Creek Canyon, Walnut Creek Canyon, and a wild trip up Schnebley Hill we picked up the trailer and headed for Lake Powell. All of these experiences were amazing. We parked right near the edge of Lake Powell and spent a restfull day there enjoying swimming in Arizona and Utah at the same time. Everything about Lake Powell was a veritable “fairyland,” and we were amazed at its beauty.
We left the trailer parked at Lake Powell and rode over to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. That meant another “thousand?” pictures and whatever breath we had left was taken away all over again. Attempts to describe the beauty and awe of all of that area are futile. It was the experience of a lifetime for all of our family. Catherine and I have returned to Grand Canyon on several occasions and each time it is a fantastic experience, but the first time is always the best.
I don’t think that our children were at all disappointed at the choice they had made. I have never been to Disneyland, (I have been to Disneyworld) but the things that are natural inspire me beyond any manmade attraction.
We don’t really know how it is that there is a Grand Canyon. I have heard some very well qualified people indicate their feeling that the canyon was formed during the time of the great flood of Noah’s day. As one looks at the way that the layers of rock and sand are so inconsistent it seems that a catastrophe better explains that. The fossils and shells certainly seem to indicate the presence of the affects of a great amount of water. I am happy to go along with these men and women who recognize the hand of God in Creation and the presence of God in the daily events of life.
We are very thankful that we as a family were able to experience this trip in 1965. We went to some of the area again in 1970 as we assumed that it might be the last time that we would get to do something like this with our whole family. Now that our children are grown, it is great to have these fantastic memories. I still love to look at some of the “thousand?” pictures of Grand Canyon and other places. They may not qualify for any photo contests, but they do inspire this old man, and provide a reminder of the good things that we can have in this life. As good as they are, think what it will be like to spend eternity in that glorious place being prepared by our Lord.

It’s cold this morning.

After three years in Florida, 1+ in the Philippines, and 1+ in South Africa, cold feels cold. We started at 36 degrees this morning, and when I just went out to mail a couple of letters it had moved to 35 degrees. Why should it be colder at nine AM than it was at six AM?
We have family members who never seem to be cold. That is hard to understand. I like the changing seasons, but I don’t like some of the things that come with that change. I feel like I like all the changes that come in the spring, some of the ones in the fall, less of the ones that come in the summer, and very few of the ones that come in the winter. Paul, the great apostle, tells us that we should be content in whatever state we find ourselves. Does that mean whether hot or cold, poor or rich, old or young, or hot and cold?
I think the passage has some specifics in it. Paul is saying that we should learn to do with what we have. Paul talks to Timothy about Godly contentment. I guess that means I should be satisfied with the cold weather and not complain. Complaining about the weather is such a fruitless occupation. Becoming satisfied with the weather should remind us that God does care for all of our needs.
It is a little hard to figure out why it is that He seems to withhold rain for our crops. It may be even harder to figure why He sends too much rain at times. I guess we like to feel that in a perfect world there would be a perfect amount of rain. It is a good thing to know that He knows what is best and what is a perfect amount of rain. Only God really knows the meaning of the word, “perfect.”
Can it be that “perfect” describes what God knows to be best for us? We had a wonderful service in that church in South Africa when we returned and the first Sunday saw the temperature rise to over 100 degrees F. It did not seem perfect, but we were satisfied that we were where He wanted us to be and in that we were satisfied.
We may think that we do not have just the right temperature or all the money we would want to have. We might wish for a better job or a nicer house. Our car may not be as nice as our neighbor’s car. We need to remember that He is still in control and He is the one who is caring for all of our needs. He knows just what is good for us and we should be satisfied to know that.
I still felt cold this morning, but when I came back into the house, I had a nice warm place. Our 1000 square feet seems just right for the two of us. Our money makes it through the month in covering our needs. Our family loves us and does great things for us. We live in this great land and know that whatever the outcome of the soon coming election, we trust God for what is best for us. So—have a great day. If you don’t know the Lord, drop me a line at drdkd50@hotmail.com or go to the blog, Scriptureteach.blogspot.com and look at the “good news” blog. This would be a great day to know that you are on your way to heaven and have the prospect of a “perfect” life down here.

THE BIRD HOUSE IS BURNING

I remember the day well. There were four of us who lived a carefree life in a little building in the garden of the Lexington Home where the King’s College had moved from its original home on the New Jersey coast. We had been fortunate to receive a new pot belly stove for our little home and we thought that was wonderful.
We had established a pattern in the days before of stoking the stove with coal and opening the draft and heading out to breakfast and our classes. I had settled in to a very boring psychology class and was somewhat drifting off into another land beyond the classroom when a person broke into the building and loudly announced, “The Bird House is burning.” This was our home that was going up in flames.
We all rushed out of class just to get to the burning building in time to grab one desk from the doorway and then watch the rest of the building disappear in flames. As a sophomore in college, I did not have a great amount of worldly goods, but it was all that I had. I had cleaned out my room at home and brought it all with me to college.
I had not dressed well for the morning. I was wearing a pair of pants that had a hole in the back. My feet were clad with a poor excuse for a pair of sandals. My shirt left a great deal to be desired. One of my roommates was having his picture taken that morning so he had on his best suit, a great shirt and tie and his finest pair of shoes. I guess I should not complain. I could have cut class and slept in that morning and then what would have happened?
That new stove was the culprit. Perhaps I should say that the way we stoked it was the culprit because it was different from the old stove we had and made such a great flame that as it traveled up the flue, the heat ignited a fire in the ceiling and that was it for the Bird House. We called it the Bird House, but we really should have called it the Byrd House because it was named for the gardener, Mr. Byrd, who had kept that lovely garden at Lexington.
It was Friday when the fire took place. I headed back to my home in New Jersey for the weekend, and even wondered whether I should finish out the school year. I was not home very long when my pastor called and asked me to come and see him. Pastor Leach was a man who just impressed you as being godly. He was the pastor of our church for 35 years. Not many people can weather a 25 year tenure as pastor of a thriving church.
When I arrived at the church we sat down together and almost his first words were, “Don, I suppose you are wondering why this happened to you.” As I reflect on those words, I should say that they were a pretty obvious observation, but his next statement was not. I remember his words to this day. He said, “Don, you are expecting to serve the Lord in the days to come and you are training for that service. How are you going to show people how to trust the Lord in bad circumstances if you have never had to trust him in a difficult time.” Wow! I had not thought of the fire and the loss of all of my goods in any other way than a persecution. I had not thought of it as a time of testing and training.
It is a good thing to learn that when someone comes into our lives and shouts, “The Bird House is burning,” there is a lesson to be learned. We need to ask God, “What should I learn from this experience and how can I better serve you because of it.”

Some info about us

We moved to North Carolina in 1967 which means that our lives have been almost evenly split between 40 years in the north and 40 years in the south. Catherine and I both had some schooling in the south so we really have a couple of more years as southerners than as northerners. The picture at the top was our home, and now belongs to our oldest daughter and son-in-law. We live in an apartment on the end of the house.
I am afraid that our accent still betrays our northern heritage, but that is much less of a distinction than it was in 1967. We have enjoyed our southern years and it looks like we will complete our lives here and be buried not far from our main home for most of the last forty-one years.
Our children are mostly here in the area. Three daughters live very close to us. One is in the same house. One is a mile away. Our single daughter Martha lives about six or seven miles from us. Six of our ten grandchildren are here in town. Add to these two sons-in-law, two granddaughters-in-law, and one great granddaughter, you find that our clan totals about sixteen in this community. Our son and his family have been the odd ones who have not seen the light and moved to Winston. They have resided here for a very short while, lived in Indiana, France, and now Richmond, VA. Their next move will be this coming summer when they change their residence to Florida.
I was a part of what is now Piedmont Baptist College for twenty-two years. Since heading for retirement, I have been at Tennessee Temple University 1 ½ years, Bible Basics International 18 years, the Philippines over 1 year, two seven month tours in South Africa, and now back in North Carolina.
It has been a great life. We have been able to visit, mostly in ministry, over twenty different countries, teach the Word, work in administration, do radio broadcasts, earlier run a hotel, and a variety of odd works during these years. This is one of ten blogs we are maintaining currently. There are also two book stores on line.
That is a quick summary introducing us a little more. How about letting us know who you are? You can leave a comment on the blog or you can write me at: drdkd50@hotmail.com. Have a great day.

Fantastic Arches

Those people in Washington who decide what sights and areas will be designated as national parks or national monuments really must know what they are doing. We have learned that when we are traveling, we will stop when we see the sign indicating that it is a national site of some sort.
The Arches National Monument is no exception to that. As you ride through the park and view one fantastic sight after another, you have to marvel at the various places we have to see in our own country.
The arches in the picture are amazing. They are small in comparison to Rainbow Bridge at Lake Powell, but I have not been to Rainbow Bridge. I really wanted to go there when we were at Lake Powell, but the price for the six members of our family was too high for us to pay at that time. I listened to the guide tell about this solid bridge that the Indians called a rainbow because they thought that a rainbow had come to earth and become solid there. It is big enough to have the capital of the United States underneath. It would have fit side to side as well.
I had to settle for the beautiful arches in the picture,

A Special Family Stop

Most of the places we have gone we were with one or more of our children. We stopped at the Tetons with all four as seen in the picture. Although we enjoyed the foreign travel very much, many of the wonderful sights we saw were in our own country.

It is wonderful to live in a country like the United States. We have so much as a people. In addition to all the beautiful places in our land, we have freedom and opportunity. We have the freedom of speech, the freedom to worship, the freedom to train, and we have the opportunity to work and improve our circumstances.

Something that we often fail to appreciate is the freedom to travel around our land. We don't have to have special identity papers or permission to move around. We can just enjoy the beautiful sights that are all over our land.

It was amazing to travel around Yellowstone and see how large it is. Not long ago I watched a program about the Appalachian National Park and they said on the program that it was larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Glacier Park combined. Just about the time that sank in I thought about Alaska and its size. I once heard about an Alaskan who threatened a Texan that he would have Alaska cut in half and make Texas the third largest state. This is a big and awesom land.

The freedom to travel is both educational and a blessing. Add that to all the other benefits of being an American and you really have something.