David Vise of Idaho Falls, Idaho, sent a note. God is calling this student minister into the pastorate. He reminds me of the time I led him to Christ, and then the 1976 Adrian Rogers revival in our church (the FBC of Columbus, MS) when he was called into the ministry. He and Tammy finished seminary in Fort Worth and led the student ministry in several churches before landing in Idaho. And now, in his mid 40s, he will become a pastor. Some church is going to be so blessed.

Word came from that same Mississippi church of the death of Scott Neaves. This young man fought muscular dystrophy for many, many years and has left an incredible testimony for Christ. I talked with his parents in Columbus tonight (Tuesday) and said, “Mississippi State has lost a great fan.” Robert (his dad) said, “He’d already bought his tickets for the upcoming season.” I told Dee (his mom) of a lasting memory I will carry to my grave. When I started telling it, she said, “I know. I will never forget that.”

Bryan Harris was our youth minister–there was never a better one; he now pastors in Vallejo, California–and the youth were going to present a drama in the evening church service. They had turned the lights out in the sanctuary as the kids slipped into their places. Because of Scott’s infirmity and the cumbersomeness of his wheel chair, some of the youth would carry him into the room and slip him into his chair. So, the lights are out, we hear the youth softly walking in, and then, someone hit the spotlight too soon. It stayed on for perhaps a full second, then was shut off. But while it was on, we saw something we will never forget: the young person playing Jesus was standing in front center holding Scott Neaves in his arms, just exactly as we expect the wonderful Lord is doing at this very moment.

My buddy Harry pastors an English-speaking international church in the Far East. Some of the Lord’s workers in that part of the work prefer that their last names and locations not be given out, so you’ll understand that I’m using only his first name. He emails a weekly news update to his friends and supporters in the States, and I’m constantly being amazed at the cultural differences he’s now having to deal with. The weather forecasters are a big concern, for example.

Harry says there is a law in his small country that companies must send their employees home during heat waves. But if the forecast for that day was for cooler temperatures, no one goes home; all must stay and work. It’s the forecast that rules, not the thermometer.

Furthermore, in public housing, the heating is pre-set to turn on and off on specific days based on–not the actual temperature outside–but on the prediction of the meteorologists. So the forecast is a big, big deal, and sometimes weather people are pressured to make sure that the weather is going to be a certain way on certain days.

Harry pastored some significant churches here in the States before the Lord sent him overseas. In his updates, he comments on some “pre-believers” attending his worship services and on remarks or questions they make. I wrote to him that he must feel himself on the cutting edge of the gospel. He answered humbly, “I am pleased to be in a place where I feel that have found some use for me. My wife is loving her work here as she teaches a diverse ladies Bible study and a university class, and also creates the powerpoint for my sermons.” He ended his note with: “Gotta run to court to try to help a couple in crisis.”

The work of a pastor hardly varies on any side of this globe.

Jeff Box, pastor of Suburban Baptist Church in East New Orleans, wants to invite us all to their rededication this weekend (April 14 and 15). Saturday evening they’re having a cookout at the church to appreciate all their workers. Sunday morning at 10:30 the rededication follows the 9:15 Sunday School. “The church continues to grow with a new member almost weekly.” The church is located at 4521 Schlinder Drive, where it crosses Gentilly Boulevard.

Becky Brown is one of God’s treasures. Her periodic internet newsletter is called “Little Brown Light,” and she does two things I could never ever do on the ‘net. She is very brief and very very creative. I’m about to prove that to you.

She mentions the four-month-old baby of some friends which has just died of Sudden Infant Syndrome. Then Becky Brown writes:

“Death is a dusty, dirty business that robs us of those we love. For those who know Jesus, it was a temporary kidnapping and the ransom has been paid for our freedom.”

“Jesus chose to leave His place beside the Father and come to walk the dust of Earth. His bare feet made tiny inquisitive tracks on the dusty floor of the carpentry shop in Nazareth. His big boy sandals stirred up the dust on the roads as he hastened from village to village in Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. His holy hands scooped up dust of the earth and combined it with moisture from His own mouth to make a blind man see. He stopped down and patiently wrote in the dust while He waited for the would-be rock throwers to walk away, sparing the life of an adulterous woman. On the night of His betrayal, He bent as low as the most diligent servant to wash the dust from twenty-four feet. Later that same evening, He knelt in the cool, moist dirt of the Garden of Gethsemane to commit His will to the Father on our behalf. Indeed, He fell on His face in that garden in prayer as His salty tears and sweat drops of blood left their mark on the Earth. That next morning, after a grueling night of torture, He dragged a rugged cross through the dusty streets of Jerusalem, tracing an eternal line in the sand that led toward Mt. Calvary. For six hours, His own sinless blood spilled on the dusty ground at the foot of that cross as a payment for our dirty sins.”

“The One who formed the dust of the Earth with His own hands took that same dust and made a man named Adam. The Dust Maker knew what Creation would cost. He knew His Son would have to get down and dirty with sin and death before the story could end. As I cried and prayed for the Daves family last night in the wee hours, I took courage in the One who was willing to leave a path in the dust for us to follow. Be assured of this: death died when Jesus rose on the third day. As long as we walk the dust of this Earth, death may arrive shockingly sudden or agonizingly long, but it is not final.”

“Death is dusted.”

Becky Brown’s website is www.littlebrownlight.com and she’s worth knowing. Wish I had the opportunity to know her better. As things stand, we swap internet newsletters.

Hope you enjoyed my mail.