Spending Money

When you are working with the public and trying to do all the good you can, you inevitably run across those who are less than honest. Yesterday I mentioned a lady who was living in a tent - a situation which really touched my heart. When we contacted local officials about this situation, they knew all about it. Turns out there is absolutely no record of these people being in Pascagoula before the storm. They are drifters attempting to take advantage of the situation. There is also a drug issue with this situation as well. I'm very gullible when it comes to these kinds of situations! By the way, did you know that the word "gullible" isn't in the dictionary? The phone call of the year might have come yesterday when someone called to ask if in our relief effort we gave people "spending money". I guess someone had a hankering to hang out at Dollar Tree. My friends Danny Dodd and Gary Kirkendall are back from their respective mission trips. Gary has a report on his blog, and I'm sure Danny will also as soon as his jetlag gets some relief! Both report a great trip, and I'm thankful for what God does through these two brothers. Last night was a special treat at Central as Brittany and Will shared with us some of their experiences on their mission trips to Africa. Will also talked about his trip to Scotland. I think it is great when young people travel across the world to share the good news of Jesus Christ. I also appreciated during the question and answer time that Jim Ingram was focused on what kinds of food they ate in the various locations! Will ended up with a devotional thought from Matthew 19 and how we sometimes forget that we are the rich people of the world. Even in our hurricane-torn Coast, we are living far above many people in the world. We ended our night by viewing the DVD presentation of Gary Boswell's song, "They Came". It was great to have Will's parents, Bill and Sabrina Collins, with us last night. They came over to hear the reports on the mission trips and to visit. After our Wednesday night services, several of us went to the Boswell's home for tacos and talk. As I type this I'm drinking my morning coffee and watching the news. There are disturbing reports as fighting between Israel and Lebanon escalates with the threat of war. I'm not a big "sighns of the times" kind of guy, so I do not regard these events as signaling the end of the world. Nor would I say that they are not a part of the end of the world. But to me, they are reminders of the promise of the regeneration of all things. One day Christians of all nationalities will walk streets of peace, greeting neighbors who have had tears wiped away by our Father. We will reign over His creation without the deception and destruction of our enemy. Praise and worship will erupt from our hearts unhindered by our own inhibitions. We will enjoy these blessings without a second thought, knowing that they will never end. Thank you, Jesus for your precious and sweet promises! Maranatha!