Monday, July 19, 2010

Goodbye Kansas, hello Illinois!

Our 2 months in Kansas have been such a blessing that words will never adequately describe all we have learned, let alone all the fruit of the Gospel work. Justin Humes is sending out a newsletter concerning the Ottawa Gospel outreach that continues on after we leave. The churches in Baldwin City, Lawrence, and Shawnee, Kansas are also sending out email updates via Uplook Ministries. Go to www.uplook.org and sign up for their email updates concerning the continuing work in all these locations.Visit www.assemblycare.org, Assembly Care sends out a "commended worker newsletter" that gets out prayer requests for many full time workers of the Lord in the USA. Just go to their site and sign up for the "workers newsletter", as that is a new ministry to make known the requests of many pioneer Gospel workers, evangelists, church planters, and much more. 

We praise the Lord for revival fire, for refining our hearts, challenging us to look beyond our walls and our comfort zones, to go out and reach the world for Christ. Brother Allan Scherger, our neighbor, has been challenging me more to see the many that we have neglected too often in our Gospel efforts. The Scherger family has been a blessing to us in our time here,we will miss them greatly, and we thank the Lord for families like them here and at every place the Lord leads us to serve Him. It doesn't make it any easier to leave, but the Lord is calling and we will follow wherever He leads. 

Our schedule on the road will be hectic the next month or so, but we are breaking up the driving for the sake of Mark's back, and the sanity of the whole family. We will drive an hour and stop for 15- 20 minutes to stretch and move around, feed the baby, and let the kids run around. With the heat advisories for this region, we won't be able to park at Walmarts as usual, as the heat is beyond uncomfortable, and in the range of health hazard for the baby. So, we will be staying at a few campgrounds along the way to Maine in the next 5 weeks. Our schedule is included below, for those praying and those we will be visiting. We thank the Lord for providing for our family in everything. He is Jehovah Jireh, our provider, and the Great Physician that brings healing. God is mighty to save, and we look forward to those we will meet along the way, praying for opportunities to share the Gospel, and for boldness and wisdom to speak as we ought in every situation.

We are so encouraged to see the Christians here excited about the Lord, about reaching the lost with the salvation message. We have been blessed with hospitality, love, encouragement, challenges from God's Word, and so much "one anothering". Please continue to pray for laborers in the field in Ottawa, Kansas. Justin Humes and family, along with SaraGrace Hinton, labor tirelessly in door to door work, Bible studies, preaching, teaching, and could really use the help. We thank the Lord for our time here, and look forward to what God will do as we go forward. We appreciate your prayer for us, and encourage everyone to add the work in Ottawa to your daily prayer list. 

Our travel Schedule (if the Lord wills)
July 20-Leave Baldwin City, Kansas
July 21- 25- Belleville, Illinois outreach (Villa Hills Gospel Chapel)
July 25-August 15- Richmond, Kentucky 2 weddings, teaching, etc.
August 16-18 Bluffton, Ohio visit with family, R&R
August 19 Toledo, Ohio visit with family
August 20-? Travel to Maine

The work in Maine will be working with multiple churches in Gospel outreach, training, encouragement, preaching, and jail ministry. We do not currently have a departure date, but will continue to seek the Lord's will in length of stay, focus of the work, and hope to see a revival in the mid coast Maine area. Revive 2010 will be at First Baptist in Waldoboro. Brothers from West Rockport Baptist are seeking our help in their ongoing Gospel work. We plan to work with Rock of Ages in Wiscasset, all in reaching souls for Christ, for His glory. We hope to be involved in a few fairs at the end of the summer, as time permits.. A trip to Hancock County is in the tentative plans, hoping to work with a few churches in that area to encourage and equip in the Gospel work. Maine will always have a special place in our hearts, and we desire to see Christians united in Christ, a genuine work orchestrated by the Holy Spirit, where we see less denominational division and more hearts focused on Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. He is the King of Kings and Lord or Lords, and is the one we worship and adore. 

We will try to write as we have time, but Belleville will be a short stop, and without internet, so don't expect to hear too much until we arrive in Kentucky, July 25 or 26. We would appreciate your prayers for safety and effectiveness in the Gospel work. Phone calls and text will be the best ways to contact us the next week and during all our travel days. 

Mark for the Cowperthwaites
Mark 207-542-8916

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The blessings of fellowship

We were blessed this past evening with enjoying the fellowship of the Scherger family, our neighbors (rather neighbors of the Keane's) that just got back from vacation. We enjoyed tending to their home and their animals while they were away, sharing chores with another local family. Allan and Heather have 3 children and have quite the diverse homestead with gardens, cats, dogs, chickens, pigs, and cows. Their family reminds us much of our own in many ways. We are reminded of our little one acre homestead (our blogs' former namesake, 1acrehomestead) enjoying the Lord's creation and working the ground, and being a family that works and plays together. It has been a blessing to get to know them more, and last night Allan and I talked for hours about the Lord, about reaching the lost with the Gospel message, and just our love for God.

Sara and Heather spent their time also talking about God's plans for our respective families, of training our children in God's Word, of the blessings of marriage, children, and so many blessings from the Lord. It was a time of encouragement and challenge, of getting to know one another and sharing testimony of God's work in our lives for the edification of one another and for praise to the Lord who richly blesses us with all things. 

The children also had a fun time, and hope to spend more time in our last few days in Kansas with the Scherger children. The children are well mannered and respectful. It was fun to watch "the secret barn" a movie written and directed by Andrew Harmon, starring our children and friends from Richmond, Kentucky. The children were hard to pry apart, truly. Still, about 10 pm it was time to head for bed, to get some sleep. We plan to get together with this family on Saturday, and look forward to learning more about what the Lord is doing in their lives, their church family, and this community for His glory. 

Pondering our visit, and thanking the Lord for the fellowship we have in Christ with so many, I just offered a prayer of thanksgiving for this time of encouragement and fellowship. We are blessed to have family in Christ all over the world, and no matter where we go, we have found it often the case that we would love to stay longer and continue in that sweet fellowship. Still, we are also reminded that there are many that still have never heard the message of Jesus Christ. So, we enjoy our times of fellowship, prayer, teaching, and other things that we enjoy. Do we also enjoy the times of reaching out with the Gospel, speaking of our Savior to those who have not yet heard? 

A story was shared last night of a man that walked across the country carrying a cross, sharing the Gospel message. Often he would walk into churches  only to be disregarded, the Christians unwilling to hear his burden for the Lord and the lost. Yet, this man was always welcomed at the bars and night clubs where he would speak of Christ, shining as a light in a dark place. Why would this man be rejected by his own, yet welcomed in such places? I have been studying Jonah's life in the Bible. Jonah was God's prophet, and ran away from God's calling. Jonah would rather God would kill him than make him go to Ninevah. But, when he finally went, the whole town repented before the Lord. 

Are we willing to go to the Ninevah's of this world in order to preach God's message, or will we only speak for Christ inside the walls of the church buildings? If a brother was to go into the bar, not to drink and be friends with the world, but to preach the Gospel, would we applaud his fervency, or pick apart his methods? God has always sent His people into the world, to where the sinners are. Paul writes to the church in Philippians 2:14-17, "Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all."

It seems hard to be "in the midst", "among whom", and "in the world" if we hole up in our churches and our houses, unwilling to go out into the highways and byways where those live that so desperately need to hear God's proclamation of sin and judgement, of repentance and salvation. There is a time for fun, study, prayer, worship, and fellowship. Then there is the command of Scripture to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature". Will we go, or will we disobey the Lord? Jonah seemed to think either that the Ninevites would not repent, or that they were not worthy to be forgiven. He was wrong on both accounts, as they did repent and they were forgiven. Jonah's story closes with his moping about sinners that actually repented, selfishly whining about his lack of comfort. His comfort should have been from seeing the salvation of a whole city, but instead we see the closing moments of Jonah's story end in God rebuking him for his silly outlook on who was worthy of God's message. We are told to go to all people, and so let us go. 

Mark

Some resources I recommend

I have a list of recommended resources available on our family site, and on this blog. Best of all, most of them are FREE! This past week, I have found myself mentioning a few of these resources to many folks. When we first started looking into the Biblical pattern of evangelism and the responsibility and privilege of believers to share the Gospel, we found a mass of resources. Some were profitable, and others seemed to be more intellectually stimulating than practical. It is with this in mind that I wanted to share a few of the things that have made the biggest impact in my life. Granted, I don't agree with every word of these men or their books. I do believe them to be highly profitable, and urge everyone to be as the Bereans, searching the Scriptures to see if these things are true.

Of course, God's Word is the primary resource I use, and the only authority we can hold fast to. Men make mistakes, but God's Word will never fail.Many of these titles are available at church libraries, and some even at public libraries, depending on your locality. We also belong to Paperback Swap.com, look into their online book swapping site for many of these titles.

"Tortured for Christ" by Richard Wurmbrand is the true story of a pastor that was jailed for preaching the Gospel. This man helped found Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry dedicated to serving persecuted Christians worldwide. Sara just finished this  book, and it was eye opening and convicting. We found this at the local public library in Ottawa, Kansas! It was available free as a PDF from E-sword recently, as I recall. 

"Heavenly man" by Paul Hattaway is a true story that chronicles the life of a young Christian in China. Brother Yun, nicknamed "the heavenly man" by some of his captors, shares his story of living for Christ in China. There were great consequences for this brother's public proclamation of the Gospel including beatings, imprisonment, and a host of other persecution. This book was a wake up call to me.

"Living Water" by Paul Hattaway is the follow up book to "Heavenly man". When Brother Yun escaped communist China, he ended up in the United States, and writes his recommendations(and admonition) to the North American church. This book is written from a heart of love and desire to have Christians see some of the things that have crept into churches that displease the Lord. This book was a tough chastisement at times, and a comforting encouragement at other times. You can read excerpts free at Google Books, including chapters such as "Chocolate soldiers" and "The wet blanket brigade"

"Way of the Master" is a ministry that many have heard of the past few years. With a complete school of evangelism, training videos, and step by step "ice breaker" challenges,  this was one of the first evangelism courses I took, and still use their resources often. Ray Comfort's messages are available on MP3, and I highly recommend his insight concerning the use of the Law, the "10 commandments" and their approach to witnessing. Ray does not claim to have invented some new method, but rather scours God's Word for examples, often quoting great preachers of the past such as George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, and Billy Sunday. Specifically suggested are these audio messages that have stirred my heart: "Hell's best kept secret", "True and false conversion", "Militant evangelism", and "Why the lack of power within the church?"These are some of my favorites. All are available through WOTM or www.oneplace.com last I checked. 

Mark Cahill is another person that I appreciate. Many of his messages are available for free at his website. Mark has a series concerning Roman Catholicism (Mark grew up in the Catholic church) that is quite helpful in understanding their doctrines. Mark uses God's Word to show their many doctrinal errors. Of Mark Cahill, Ray Comfort (a fireball preacher of the Gospel) says, "Mark Cahill is the only person I know that makes me feel lukewarm", in fact Mark has a message entitled "lukewarm no more" that I recommend. 

J.B.Nicholson has many wonderful messages concerning evangelism, and has worked with Uplook ministries to put together a series of affordable CDs with Gospel messages on them to give out. These messages such as"The uniqueness of Christianity" and  "Hope in the storms of life" are available for free listening online. You can find many other Gospel resources at the "Good News Granary" online. Jabe Nicholson, among many others, was one that was instrumental in Good News on the Move, a team that we have been blessed to work with a few times in the past 2 years. Jabe is passionate about God's Word, of its truth, and has some messages that are hard to take, but SO profitable. His messages are presented with love and wisdom, and we enjoy his messages immensely. Look for titles such as "Stuff" at http://www.buckitweek.org/audio and many other messages are available at http://www.voicesforchrist.org 

As most of you know, we as a family, consider ourselves to be ministers to the body of Christ, not any denominational group. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, as His laborers. Paul's letter to the church in Corinth, chapter 1 speaks to my mindset on the subject of division among Christians. We work for God, in the name of Christ, and no denomination has ever offered to die for me. That being said, we have been blessed to work in many local churches of "all flavors" and believe these resources to be profitable to all who call themselves by the name of Christ. We hope that these resources are available to you, let us know if you have difficulty finding them. Being without internet service right now, I can't check right now, but would make time to search out specific sources if the need arises. 

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the necessity and blessed privilege of boldly proclaiming the Gospel of salvation through  Jesus Christ. It is the most important message you could ever hope to hear. It is sadly also one of the most obvious areas of disobedience to God's Word that we see in this country. How can we who are called by His name not speak His message? Are we worthy to be called His children if we want to keep this gift to ourselves, in blatant disregard for His simple command. If you won the lottery, you would tell the world, how much more so should we tell the world of eternal life in Christ? 

Many have taken the step of obedience to not just worship in church meetings, but truly worship the Lord by serving Him by stepping out from the world to be counted with those who are willing to be ridiculed, persecuted, or worse for the cause of Christ. A brother once said, "Worship without evangelism is like a plane with one wing" , and I believe he is right. Others have said that true  worship cannot exist without obedience, that if we revere God, we would obey Him. I don't say these things to offend, but to spur others on to see the beauty of Christ, to step out and let the Holy Spirit give you the strength that none of us have in the flesh. I thank you all for your time and hope that these resources are a help to you. I thank the Lord for faithful men who committed to teach these things to me, and count it a privilege now to teach others also. 

Mark

Monday, July 12, 2010

Continuing to grow

I don't often "brag on the kids", but was impressed the other night at Justin's Bible study. My friend, Jeremy, who I have mentioned a few times, came out to the Bible study. We are so glad that Jeremy got to meet Justin's family, and got to see that Bible study doesn't have to be some stuffy, intellectual pursuit, but rather a bunch of faulty people looking into God's Word for direction, encouraging and challenging each other, but without judgement. We are all in different stages of growth, and none of us should ever be comfortable with where we are, but seeking to grow more and more into the image of Christ.

Most of all I was impressed as Nathaniel was listening to the lesson, he kept thumbing through his Bible. At first I thought of correcting him, thinking he was not listening. It turns  out, he was not only listening, but was connecting some of the lesson with his recent studies. Some of the verses that I posted from Nathaniel's blog post turned out to be greatly helpful in sharing the Gospel with Jeremy that night at Bible study.Nathaniel was listening as we considered why Jesus had to die, what God desires from us, and whether someone has to "clean up" their life in order to be saved. The Bible tells us that we can never clean ourselves up enough, and that only the sacrifice of a perfect man, Jesus Christ, would be enough to pay the penalty for our sins. Nathaniel pointed out those passages from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and a few from Romans that were exactly what was needed from God's Word at that moment.

I am just so happy that Nathaniel cares for lost souls, that he is thinking and praying about these things. As my partner in ministry, Nathaniel has seen people of all types, depressed, suicidal, proud, self- righteous, all in need of a Savior. Not once has he said anything negative about one of these contacts, but rather prays for them and asks how we can help them to see the truth. He is certainly growing each day in his walk with the Lord, and the fruit has become more and more evident lately. Parenting is a great responsibility, but also a great privilege and a chance to share the wisdom we have gained from the Lord. I hope we all continue to grow in the grace of God, so that we will be more useful for His service. 

Mark

Getting ready for the road, cleaning out the excess.

Monday is usually our "day off", yet it seems to become cleaning day most weeks. Today, we are taking the whole camper apart, so to speak. Everything has to come off the shelves, be wiped off, the shelves cleaned, and most everything put back. Along the way, many things get thrown out or passed on to others for use. Each item is assessed so that we don't allow our home to become cluttered. We pulled out the couch and table, vacuuming under everything, inspecting every hidden corner for dust, cobwebs, and the stray food particle or toe nail. Nobody intends to collect toenails, to the best of my knowledge, nor do we plan to store dust, but these things creep their way into our home nonetheless. We all tend to collect things, but when you live in a camper and haul it around all the time, you have to be quite mindful of weight. For our family, every time we prepare to move, whether that be once a week or after 4 months in one place, we have to make sure that we reassess what we want and what we don't.

Our lives so often tend to get cluttered with "stuff". This is not just about material things clogging up our homes, but the many things that clog up our schedules. Just as we have to take time to assess whether we are spending our time properly. For our family, we do this often also. When we find that we have not been spending the time we should  in God's Word or praying, meeting with Christians, reaching out with the Gospel, that we have to take time and re-prioritize our lives. Sometimes we must repent of our selfish ways, and ask God to give us His eyes on the world and his heart for seeing souls saved, disciples made, and then sent out to do the same for God's glory. After all, we have been bought with a price, we are not our own. God rules our lives, and we are blessed to be able to serve our loving Creator and Savior. 

Some people fill their lives with TV, sports, games, and a myriad of other activities. None of these are bad in and of themselves, I guess. Surely, we have some things in this camper that we don't NEED, but that we enjoy and use often. The problem would come if we decided that our bikes, games, computers, and other things were more important than keeping food and water. Funny how we think of food as necessary, but often excuse ourselves from feeding on God's Word. Job tells us "I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food" and I have to remind myself that spiritual life also requires food and water for strength to live. Spiritual exercise is even more important that physical exercise!  There are some things that are necessary, and some that are not. For the Christian, there are not many things that we are commanded to do, though there are many that are certainly modeled as good suggestions, and other things that God has given us liberty. James 2 reminds us that though we are not saved by good works, that  a true Christian should desire to do things for God's glory. 

Every Christian is commanded to go and preach the Gospel. Every Christian is commanded to put away idols, not to have any god that takes the place of the true God that deserves our worship and our service. We can't judge each other about everything, but must all come before the Lord honestly and humbly to ask Him to guide our hearts in what we should  allow to stay in our lives, and what we must "put off" as the Bible says. So today, as we clean out the camper (our earthly home), we are taking time to consider our time, our finances, and everything else in our lives. We must leave behind anything that does not please God, and keep making more room for Him and less room for ourselves. If we are to be growing more each day into the image of Jesus Christ, then "He must increase, I must decrease" in every area of our lives. 

Mark

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Evangelism training for young men- Brookings, SD

This was excerpted from a recent letter on www.uplook.org asking for young men committed to the Gospel work, and desiring to grow in the Lord. Larry Sax is a church planter, and will be overseeing this program. Check out http://www.goodnewsbrookings.com/evteam.html for more information. Here is a short part of the overview. We know many of the folks involved in this Gospel work and the training program, and would love to see more young men equipped to share the Gospel and be more effective in their local churches.


Emphasis of learning/equipping opportunity:
1.      Evangelism – door-to-door evangelism; street evangelism; campus work; gospel preaching
2.      Prayer –
3.      Bible study – personal and leading group studies
4.      Follow–up work – gain exposure and experience with follow up work and discipleship.
5.      Learning to work together with God and other believers to plan and implement evangelism and discipleship efforts.


Wednesday, July 7, 2010

"While I'm Waiting" blog

I stumbled across this the other day, and was challenged by this post from a young man that is waiting on the Lord, just 16 years old. He knows God wants him to be a foreign missionary, and is diligently seeking the Lord's guidance and timing, serving God in many ways until that time comes. You can check out his blog post at http://while-imwaiting.blogspot.com/2010/06/me-be-content.html
I hope this is an encouragement and challenge to us all to be content in wherever God has us. We should not complain or be jealous, coveting someone else's  life or privileges. We ought to look to the Lord, knowing that HE is the greatest blessing, and be content with His will for us at all times.

by Mark

More blogs to read

I am just finding so much to praise the Lord for today. This blog post is by a friend back in Maine, a home schooling mother of three boys. There are 23 year old twins and a 15 year old, and of course Mom and Dad. Laura (the mom) writes about daily life, and finds great spiritual truths in everything. I am reminded that wherever we look, we can see either something to complain about or something that points us to lessons from God.

This post is about the youngest son's trip to the dump, and how he rescued an old canoe and made it something usable, and even beautiful! Please check out blog post: one man's trash...  and check  in often to read these wonderful insights. We praise the Lord for so many Christians that take the time to remind us all of God's work of redemption, purifying, and shaping us to be what He wants us to be. 


Attention: young men and ladies, parents.

Please check out this blog post on modesty. I believe this young man has  a solid hold on what God desires from us in the area of purity and modesty. We have many young ladies ask us why modesty is such a big deal. This post states it better than I think I could. It is written by a young man that has set in his heart to be pure of heart, waiting on the Lord for direction in every part of his life, including when/if he will be married, and I believe is a great example for young folks.

We have found more and more the last few years, we have seen that young ladies are largely ignorant of the stumbling block immodesty causes men. I also know  that some intentionally put themselves out for viewing, desiring acceptance from other females and the attention of males. Dressing and acting immodestly only hurts everyone involved. I encourage folks to pray about what standard of dress and action would please the Lord. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and godliness. We must not follow the trend of the world to sexualize everything and normalize immorality. Let the Lord guide your heart and pray that He will guard your heart. Read the blog post at http://while-imwaiting.blogspot.com/2010/06/goat-show-and-modesty.html

Mark

A boy becoming a man before my eyes


I just found an email sent from my gmail account, and checked it out. I quickly realized it was sent from my son to a friend. Nathaniel is 14 and his friend is a Bible teacher from Tampa named Jesse. Jesse has been a blessing to our family, taking Nathaniel "under his wing" to help him in areas of interest such as computers, websites, etc. Nathaniel is not the type that talks to just anyone, he is kind of shy. They talk about computers and spiritual matters. It has been a blessing to have them become friends, though we are geographically separated and are many years apart. Still, the Lord has opened the door for them to keep in touch. 

So, what kind of email does a 14 year old send? He did have a few lines about computers, but here is the bulk of the conversation(yes, I asked if it was OK to post this):

"Here's a verse I found:
Isa 64:8  
       But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 
Jer 18:1-6  
       The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 
       "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." 
       So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 
       And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 
       Then the word of the LORD came to me: 
       "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 

The idea of us being the clay and God the potter. Then we see that the potter was taking a spoiled piece of clay to make it into something new and better than the first.
I don't remember all the words but a song that I learned: 
     He's still working on me, to make me what I ought to be, it took him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars. How loving  and patient he must be, he's still working on me. 

When we are born, we are first born in Sin. But when we get saved we are born in Christ Jesus. So he takes the old person and makes him new.
2Co 5:17  
       Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

The thought that God makes us into a new creation, and continues to mold us into Christ image. Even if others think that we're not worth using, or spending time to re-mold the a creation.
I can see God's Grace and Compassion toward us. 
- Nathaniel"


I am blessed to see my son growing into a man, searching God's Word for not only knowledge, but practical application and insight into where we stand before God.I thank the Lord for men like Jesse that take the time to reach out to young men, to encourage them and invest time in their lives. 

Mark

The modern day Jonah

I have been considering a few things about my own life. Living as we do, we have learned to trust the Lord to direct our paths, to open the doors for His ministry. Now, part of this life is knowing and discerning God's calling. Some of that is just reading God's Word and putting it into practice.  A bigger part is trusting Him, in faith being obedient to that call and going wherever God leads to reach whoever He tells us to reach. Sometimes, we are in "upper class" neighborhoods, and find most folks think they have the world well under control. I am reminded of Paul's instructions to Timothy in this regard,

1Timothy 6:17-19 "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;  That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. "

We have also been in poverty stricken areas, and seen that so many have their eyes on the flesh, of what other people have, and despise God for not giving in to their desires. Many pray that God will give them the things of this world and when God does not oblige, they assume He does not care. This is also not true, a selfish outlook that does not understand the serious nature of sin. 

Romans 1:19-23 "For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 

Romans 1:29-32 "They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. 

Either way, rich or poor, sick or healthy, the problem is sin. Each of us have sinned and separate ourselves from God. The road to eternal life is not just for the broken down bicycles or for the Rolls Royce. It is a path that none can walk on their own, for no one is righteous but God. We need not worry about any of that, but be true to the message of the Gospel, for it applies beyond racial, cultural, or "class" barriers. Sin's penalty knows  no bounds, and God's mercy in Christ knows no limits if only one will humble themselves before God and repent, trusting in the work of Jesus Christ to impart His righteousness on our account. 

Jonah's problem was not with rich or poor, but that God was even giving them a chance to repent. It would seem Jonah assumed that such a wicked lot of people would never repent, or maybe that God should not show them mercy. This is one example of spiritual pride, as Jonah assumed he knew better than God who should and should not hear the message of God's mercy. It was not Jonah's place to call the shots or hand God his travel plans, hoping God would agree. God makes the plans, and His people are to obey.

God commanded Jonah to leave his home country, to preach repentance to the city of Ninevah. Now, Ninevah was a wicked place, and those people needed to repent before God for their great iniquities.But when God sent His prophet, Jonah to speak in His name to them, Jonah disobeyed God and ran away. God then forced Jonah's hand, one might say, and he finally went to Ninevah. The sadly true moral of this story is that Jonah was displeased when the whole city repented, putting on sackcloth, and humbling themselves before the Lord. Why would Jonah not rejoice, as we know there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when just one sinner repents? We all lament Jonah's disobedience, but too often mirror his story. Let us examine why Jonah's story is so relevant today?

Would you be willing to invest time and effort, and open your home up for Bible studies? I ask because the most likely fruits of this type of labor for the Lord will be that people come into your home that have addictions, broken marriages, financial  woes, and a million other problems. These are the people that Jesus came to save, sinners such as we all are.  There may be some along the way that dress and look like you, but that would be an exception rather than the rule. We have seen first hand that the business of Gospel work is dirty work, and it is amazing to see the Lord transform hearts and conform even the worst sinners(think of Saul/Paul) to the image of Jesus Christ. Are we willing to get our hands dirty? I pray that we are, and if we are not, that God will change our hearts to conform to His image in this way.

So, what can you expect if you walk in obedience? In most places where I have seen a true passion for souls, you see Christians regularly spending time sharing the Gospel with alcoholics, sex offenders, liars, thieves, and adulterers. It is not necessarily my idea of a good time, and I love spending time with Christians of like mind, that appreciate and love the things of the Lord. But if you want people to love the Lord, we must first introduce them to Him. You see, these are the people of the world, dead in their sins, without the life that is available in Christ. Even after they are saved,  often in their early Christian walk  they will struggle, they may fall, and they may take advantage of your love and hospitality. If this sounds too hard, or if you get discouraged along the way, remember how much God has forgiven you. Remind yourself that you too were dead in your sins, and someone took the time to love you and wait patiently on the Lord for you to mature. None of us were born perfect, and we all have much room to grow still. 

Will we walk in obedience and reap the rewards God has in store for us, or will we go our own way and disregard the dozens of Scripture passages that directly command us to proclaim the Gospel? Will we obey, will we go wherever He leads us? Or will we continue to see churches shrink, entertainment take over where worship used to stand, letting our home towns turn into Ninevah more and more with each passing day? You can only change you, and I can only change me. May we all walk worthy of the calling we have in Christ.
--
Mark Cowperthwaite- cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Lack of ability or lack of obedience?

A recent post concerning the great need for obedience to God. Read the whole post by Nathanael Pena at http://nathanaelpena.blogspot.com/2010/07/ability-or-obedience.html


"I want to ask a question to stimulate our thoughts about this a bit. Is the problem that we are facing a great lack of ability, or rather that we are facing a great lack of obedience?"

Hope you are having a great day serving the Lord, enjoying fellowship with your Creator. May God richly bless you with all spiritual  blessings.
Mark

Will you join us in Belleville, Illinois?

We are working on our plans for our 5 day stop in Belleville, Illinois July 21-25. Mark will be speaking Wednesday evening and during the Sunday School hour on July 25 at Villa Hills Gospel Chapel in Belleville, Illinois. We will be parked at the chapel for this time. The saints at Villa Hills have been working with Randy Holeyfield to reach out to their community with the Gospel. Randy will be there August 12-16, helping with door to door witnessing, and giving a Gospel message twice on Sunday. Due to a previous engagement (and wedding, lol) we will not be able to attend during the main outreach. While we are there, we intend to help make further plans for the August outreach, and to get started on the door to door efforts. 

Villa Hills is a small assembly just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, across the river in Illinois. We were blessed to meet with brothers and sisters there a few months ago, and would like to invite others to come help during the August outreach, or during our stay should that be possible. They are seeking, as the Lord wills, to reach out with the Gospel to see souls saved, to encourage folks to attend Bible studies offered by local Christians, and to make the name of Christ known. All glory to God in all things, these folks desire to be salt and light in their community. We praise the Lord for folks like this all over the world.

Do you live in the St. Louis area, or would you consider traveling to help with this Gospel work? I urge you all to be praying for the saints here, and consider if you could be used in Belleville for God's glory in proclaiming the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. Email me if you want more information, and I will put you in contact with those organizing this outreach. 

Thank you all for your prayers in this regard, and for our family as we travel. Mark's back is progressing and he will be back out today for follow up in Ottawa, Kansas. We have 2 weeks left in Kansas, and are blessed to have wonderful fellowship with the faithful saints here. What a privilege to get to share the message of salvation to a lost and dying world. As always, we would love to hear from you all, and have been blessed the past few weeks especially to receive calls and emails checking in on us. We appreciate you all so much. May the Lord richly bless you with all spiritual blessings as you serve Him!


Saturday, July 3, 2010

Summary of Kansas work, looking ahead

The Lord has graciously allowed us to take part in "Good News Eastern Kansas" in Ottawa,Kansas alongside Justin Humes and family,beginning May 13.We will stay, Lord willing, until July 20 to continue Gospel work, follow up, etc. Of great blessing was the offer to park our camper home at the Keane homestead in Baldwin City. This location allows us to continue to work in Ottawa (15 miles away) and also work with Baldwin Gospel Chapel. We thank the Lord for the fellowship of the churches in Baldwin, Shawnee, and Lawrence.

Sadly, the work on Mark's part has been slowed in recent days due to herniation of his L4/L5 disc, a lower back issue. This is a matter for which we would ask for your prayers, as this is an all too regular occurrence of impedance to the work. This injury tends to never fully heal, and progressively gets worse. For 10 days now, Mark has been unable to walk, drive, or even sit without great pain. An MRI showed no immediate need for surgery, but other tests did conclude that we should seriously assess things looking forward. For now, Mark continues to write, to correspond with brothers involved in the work, and assist as much as possible. Sara has been meeting with young ladies for Bible study and discipleship, and we thank the Lord for the blessing these young  ladies are to their local meetings. 

Looking  ahead, we plan to be in Belleville, Illinois July 21-25, then Richmond, Kentucky July 26-August 15, then visiting family in Ohio for 3 days. These days on the road will be especially hard on Mark's back. We are prayerfully considering a few options from there, and would appreciate prayer about a possible trip to Maine to assist in Gospel efforts and teaching in local churches. 

As for continuing work in Kansas, Johnny Douglass and family from Texas have been instrumental in Baldwin, while in Ottawa, Justin Humes' family coordinates the work, assisted daily by SaraGrace Hinton's tireless efforts. Please prayer for all these workers, and the Christians in the local churches. The Lord has blessed the Gospel effort with many professions of faith, and many local believers finding more opportunities to share the Gospel. We praise the Lord for all the fruit we see in the hearts of new converts and long time Christians.