Dear Pastor and Praying
Friends,
Church News
1 Peter 4:10 "
As
every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as
good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
Once
again, I have much to share with you as it has been a while since our last
letter. I want to begin by thanking all of you who support us faithfully
with your prayers, as well as financially. We do continue to see both spiritual
and numerical growth in the church and are happy to be able to not only
"trust" that God is working; but to "see" His work. As the verse above states, we are commanded
to minister to others in the church with the gifts that God gives to us when we
are saved. I am always happy when
visitors show up, in fact, we have had a steady stream of visitors every Sunday
for months. I am especially excited to
report that two people from my job have been faithfully attending for months
now as well; but I am rejoicing today because I have seen our faithful people
demonstrating the gifts that they have before, during, and after the
services.
This is a very important
aspect of "building" a church.
My family can do everything in our power to keep people in church; but
when the members take it upon themselves to not only invite others to church, but to also show hospitality, encourage, and
minister to each other; it is then that people start to stick around.
Family
news
John 9:1-3 "And as Jesus
passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples
asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was
born blind?
Jesus
answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of
God should be made manifest in him."
In our last letter we
rejoiced over the fact that #5 is on the way.
Shortly after that letter, we received news that Brayden (#5) is faced
with many challenges. The doctors
believe he has trisomy 18 which is a chromosomal disorder. Our first visit to the geneticist after the diagnosis
left us with very little hope. The
ultrasound showed that he had issues from the top of his head to the bottom of
his little feet. We set up an
appointment for the next visit; but did not believe he would be with us that
long...but he was and still is! The
second visit showed problems, but they were fewer. The third visit showed fewer still. Of course, the doctors are still giving us no hope
of his survival or living a "normal" life; but we are asking God to do a mighty work in this
"impossible" situation.
Regardless, we know with Christ there is always hope! This is the difference between the saved and
the lost. We are blessed to be able to
approach the throne of grace on our son's behalf because of the work of
Christ. The lost have to accept what the
professionals tell them. Would you join
us in prayer about our precious son? Thanks
again for your faithful prayers and support!
Prayer
requests:
1. Our church to
continue to experience spiritual and numerical growth.
2. Favor in our
community.
3. Wisdom and
finances to pay off the churches Mortgage supernaturally.
4. Continued health
and safety for our family.
5. Baby Brayden's miracle
6. Several others in our
church who are facing health issues (cancer, kidney problems, lung/heart
problems). I would love to share these situations with you in future updates as
we are seeing the Lord work here as well.
In His Service,
Pastor Raymond Beckles
Lighthouse Baptist church
Newport, Arkansas
