Let every dawn of morning be to you as the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close. Then let every one of these short lives leave its sure record of some kindly thing done for others, some goodly strength or knowledge gained for yourself.
—John Ruskin
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“Wait for the Lord”
(Psalm 27:14)
,
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”
(Psalm 37:7)
, “Be still” (Psalm 46:10),
“…wait for your God always.”
(Hosea 12:6)
. The words “wait” and “be still” do not seem to be very popular words today. Often when I am waiting for a traffic light to turn green, no sooner has the light turned green when I hear horns begin to honk, wanting me to hurry up and move. We all live in a society that seems to hate having to wait. Most want it now and they want it the way they asked for it. True? Sort of? At times life appears to be moving forward faster and faster. Yet for the Christian, we are to march to the beat of a different drummer. Slow down! Be still! Wait!
It was back in the early 90’s when I needed income and ended up working at a secular job. I did not like the job I had, but I had to make a living to pay my many bills. I prayed, went to work, waited, prayed, went to work and on and on. After about 10 months, I received a letter inviting me to consider working for a ministry in a different city. I interviewed and was hired. Looking back during the 10 months that I had to “wait”, the position was not open to me until about 3 months earlier. Had I rushed into getting another job, I might have missed the 12 years of working with the River Ministry.
For the believer, waiting on the Lord and being still before Him is a vital part of the Christian life. God designed life and He knows how it is best lived out, and so He has a purpose for everything He does. He may have a reason for us needing to wait, or He may have another plan: He knows best. Our part as His children is to follow Him and wait on His timing and His purpose for our life. That does not come easy for us, but it is the best thing we can do. Waiting on the Lord can give us clearer direction, can teach us to live on His timing, will test our faith as well as grow and strengthen it, will give us time to rethink our motives and will bring us around to seeing God’s point of view. It does not hurt to wait, or at times to just be still.
Isaiah 55:9
says
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
So, what should we do while we wait? Keep doing what God has led you to do. Keep serving Him and walking with Him. Stay in the Word and keep standing on it
(Psalm 130:5)
. When necessary, be still and quiet
(Psalm 37:7)
. …pray without ceasing…
(I Thessalonians 5:17)
. In God’s timing and in God’s way
“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”
(Romans 8:28)
. Happy waiting!
Your Fellow Servant,
Bro. Loren
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March 2019
5th - OCL Meeting - 6:30pm
6th - South Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meeting
7th - North & East Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meetings
10th - TIME CHANGE - Don’t forget to “Spring
Forward”!!
11th-15th - SPRING BREAK!! (local schools)
26th - FRBA Executive Board Meeting
6:30pm – Dinner & Fellowship
7:00pm – Business Meeting
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April 2019
2nd - OCL Meeting - 6:30pm
3rd - South Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meeting
4th - North & East Zone Pastor’s Prayer Meetings
14th - Palm Sunday
8th-10th - Texas
Baptists
Educators Retreat
(T Bar M - New Braunfels, TX)
18th-20th - Pre-Easter Retreat
(Alto Frio)
18th - FRBA OFFICE CLOSED
19th - Good Friday
21st - Easter Sunday
22nd-25th - Renew Spring Adult Conference
(Alto Frio)
(details below)
27th - VBS Clinic - 9am to 12pm at FBC Charlotte
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SAVE THESE DATES!
July 7-12, 2019
-
"REMAIN" Area Youth Camp at Alto Frio
May 3rd-6th
- FRBA Ladies' Retreat at HEB Foundation Camp
(details below)
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Spring Revival at FBC Carrizo Springs
March 3rd-6th
with Mike Satterfield and Wes James
Sunday Morning at 11 am - Sunday night at 7 pm
Monday-Wednesday at 12 noon and 7 pm
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PASS THE WORD!!
Registration is OPEN!
CALLING ALL LADIES!!
Come join us the first weekend in May for some spiritual refreshment,
a break from the everyday, and some fantastic fellowship with other Christian women...
including our retreat facilitator
Dawsie Meek
.
This ecumenical retreat for ladies is just what YOU have been looking for!
We'd love to fill the campsite this year and possible move to a larger site next year.
Wouldn't you love to unplug for a weekend with your BFF?
Can your church fill a cabin with 20 ladies or half a cabin with 10 ladies?
Sign up today!
Registration is open, so please pass the word, and invite your friends!
REGISTRATION FEES:
(Early Bird Registration for individuals has already ended,
but there's still time to sign up at our regular rate!)
--Early Bird Group Registration
(before April 1st - for groups of 10 or more)
$40.00 per person
--Regular Registration
(on or after March 1st)
$55.00 per person
--Group Registration
(on or after April 1st - for groups of 10 or more)
$50.00 per person
Registration is all-inclusive for the entire weekend
!
(All food, lodging and retreat materials are included.)
We've got a total of 80 spots available, and they're filling up fast,
so be sure to save your place TODAY!
FINAL REGISTRATION DEADLINE: April 22, 2019
CLICK HERE
to register online or contact Laurie Beth in the FRBA office for more information.
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Our South Zone pastors recently gathered at
Primera Iglesia Bautista
in Laredo
for their monthly prayer meeting.
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The recent Sustain ladies retreat was a great success, with 250 women gathering at Alto Frio for a wonderful weekend of refreshment, learning, sharing and girl-time.
To see more pictures from the weekend, click
HERE
!
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Our recent
CPR/First Aid/AED training
brought 8 students together to get their certification. Special thanks to
John Mark Harvey
of
FBC Charlotte
for leading this for us!
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On January 26th,
Belen Baptist Church
celebrated the life of
Eva Moreno
as they entrusted her into her loving Savior's arms.
Eva Moreno was a pioneer of Belen and has been an inspiration to many people for decades - since the late 1950's. Testimony after testimony was given of how she reflected the love, mercy, and grace of God in her life.
From hosting VBS in her house to leading WMU meetings, witnessing, praying and, faithfully contributing in VBS (even in her 90s) she demonstrated what it meant to be a faithful servant of God.
Her last words to us all were,
"I'm ready to go be with Jesus. He said, 'I will go and prepare a place for you so that where I am you will be there also.'"
Eva, we will miss you but, not forever for we will join with you as The Lord has promised us who belong to Him.
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First Baptist Church of Cotulla
recently hosted a couples
Valentine Banquet
. The evening's activities included The Marriage Game which was won by
John & Judy Northcut
, who have been married 55 years. We congratulate them on the win, and especially on their marriage!
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FBC Cotulla
is happy to announce their new
Lawn Mowing Ministry
for the elderly and disabled.
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Operation Christian Love
by Beth Ann Brundrett
As a child, after reading the Bible together, with lights off or low, my mother knelt with me by the side of my bed to pray. When my daddy returned from WWII, he also knelt with me to pray. These were special times with tender & special memories. At church, we also could kneel to pray. Learning to pray, just to talk to God, has helped me through the joys & sorrows of life. When visiting worship service one Sunday morning in a Baptist church in West Virginia, the message touched my soul as in simple, easy to understand words, the lay speaker told us, as Christians, it was up to us to save Christianity. He spoke of our responsibilities to Jesus in telling others about Him & encouraging them. The words the speaker left us with were,
“What we need is more kneeology & less theology.”
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Our life has been blessed by an interdenominational group of dedicated Christians in Eagle Pass that meet weekly to share and then to seek their corner and kneel to pray. On February 9th, this group came to our home near Dilley to make their own portable prayer kneelers. With joy & excitement they learned basic furniture building techniques.
Nine kneelers were constructed. These volunteers headed home with them to finish them & add the pillows. What a blessing to see and feel their joy in talking to their Savior. The kneelers are not necessary for praying, however, humbling ourselves before God our heavenly Father is.
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Construction on
La Mano de Dios
new Soup Kitchen has the roof poured. The final touches to the building, windows, doors, bathrooms & kitchen fixtures, etc., will cost another $10,000.00. The Sepulvedas pray it can be completed by the end of April in order to house the Day of the Child celebration. On a recent trip to La Mano de Dios, the Sepulveda’s served us a meal along with the children & elderly. They cook 40 pounds of chicken a day, along with beans, rice or pasta, & fresh vegetables when available.
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Banda Ministry
continues to serve how they can with the availability of donated resources. They cook for the prisoners that attend worship services twice a week. .
With the recent influx of people into Piedras Negras from several other countries trying to get into the US, the Banda Ministry has opened their downtown church/shelter for the homeless to families stranded on the streets.
The King Ministry building project.
A group from Charlotte and Jourdanton worked on the plumbing on the 2
nd
of February. A week later, Cecil Rankin came & spent several days helping Alford with the building.
Irma Juarez, founder and director of
Vision de Amor orphanage
in Ciudad Acuna, notified us that the government has now placed 49 children in the home. Need for food, additional staff, utilities, medical expenses, transportation, etc., is overwhelming. Please pray that these needs will be met.
(To see more pictures of what OCL has been up to lately, click
HERE
!)
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FRBA RESOURCE LIBRARY
This Bible study and many more are available
through our resource library!
Listen, Love, Repeat: Other-Centered Living in a
Self-Centered World
by Karen Ehman
(6-session DVD study)
Click
here
to download one of our checkout forms. Then just complete it and
bring it by the office to borrow a Bible study to meet your needs.
We’re also accepting donations of used DVD Bible study kits.
If you or your church have some that you are no longer using, we’d love
to have them here to share with other churches in our Association.
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Frio River Baptist Association | Phone: 830-334-2061 | Fax: 830-334-3025 |
Email |
Website
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