Have you ever sat down and wondered?
by Jim Hunter
Have you ever sat down and wondered,
"Is it really worth it?"
I mean, how much good actually accrues from all the money
spent, time expended, care given and prayers offered for the
concerns of our lives.
One of my all-time favorite Christmas movies is Jimmy
Stewart's It's a Wonderful Life.
As you all know, it's a story in which one good man is
confronted with the disturbing possibility that his life hasn't
really counted for anything.
This moment of crisis is unbearable.
The thought of having
lived, loved, labored, and sacrificed all for nothing is a cruel
and frightening specter.
Happily, when George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) is
miraculously allowed to see what his family and community would
have been like without him, he is restored and encouraged.
Psalm 27:13 says, "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the
goodness of the LORD In the land of the living."
Those of us who are laboring arm in arm to bring the
gospel to rural America want all of you who join us in this
effort to know that, IT's WORTH IT!
Over the last half century God has used the people of
RMBM to make a real difference in thousands of lives and dozens
of communities.
- Through our camping ministries multiple generations of people
have found Christ and have been discipled to go into the world
and preach the gospel.
- Through the devotion and sacrifice of rural pastors the body
of Christ has been loved and spiritually nurtured with great
care.
- Through the RMBM spiritual audit resource, rural churches
have been able to sharpen their focus and maximize their gifts
for God's glory.
- Through the RMBM pulpit supply ministry, churches in need of
temporary preaching or permanent shepherding have had a place to
turn for help.
- Through the RMBM Bible Training Center rural church
leaders and teachers can receive high quality training for
ministry through practical, accessible, and affordable classes
and workshops.
- Through the RMBM regional fellowships, leaders in rural
churches have developed interdependent networks of support and
encouragement which no longer just look to the RMBM Board for
help or guidance, but to one another.
On and on the list could go.
You’ll hear more about these and other wonderful ways in which
God is working through RMBM in future editions of the
Rendezvous. But the
bottom line is, what God has done, and what God is doing through
the people of RMBM and their teams of supporters from all around
the country makes a difference.
All of our prayers, sacrifices, money, tears,
frustrations, trials and sweat are well worth it.
I hope that each of you who have joined hands with us in
this effort realize what a privilege it is to be part of this
great and unsung ministry.
I cannot imagine what Hot Springs, Trout Creek, St Regis,
Superior, Drummond, Lincoln, Plummer, Priest Lake, the Flathead
reservation, Ravalli, Lolo, Troy, Condon, Hamilton, and many
other small communities would be like if it were not for RMBM
bringing God and His word to life in their midst.
Fortunately, unlike George Bailey, none of us will have
to jump off of a bridge into an icy river to find out.
We know we need each other, and we know that God’s Spirit
and His word are working through RMBM.
None of our efforts or sacrifices are wasted.
All of your prayers, financial support, words of
encouragement and volunteer labor make an eternal impact.
Thank you all for your faithfulness, and we hope you will
invite others to be a part of the mission God has called us to.
Therefore, my beloved
brethren,
be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the
work of the Lord,
knowing that your toil is
not in vain in
the Lord.
1
Corinthians 15:58
|
