Surrendering For The Full Service Of The Savior

I flew into Dulles, last night, from Cleveland on FLYI and it is good to be home! (By the way, I highly recommend you to fly Independence Air for a number of reasons: cheap, fast service, and always on-time (so far)!!)

The gospel meeting in Ohio went very well. I preached on Romans 8 about LIFE and the congregation and visitors really enjoyed it. It was good being with both the deaf and hearing at 38th Street church of Christ. The food was great! The hospitality was excellent! And their love was evident! I thank God for the people at 38th Street!!

I just learned that, in their area (Canton, OH.), there are no full-time deaf ministers. There is one with another church (denomination) but he is hard-of-hearing who can talk on the phone and all. And there are thousands of deaf in the Cleveland, Akron, Canton area! I had a conversation with Ron Mollohan and he shared with me that Arkon has the highest infant fatality rate in the nation!!! He explained that children from infant to 6 years old are being shakened, beatened, or abandoned. The city has been scrambling to eliminate them. Akron is a city where Firestone tire company do their business. It's a factory city. Ron expressed his heaviness in heart that there are many out there (deaf and hearing) without Jesus. And evangelism is very poor! Churches in the area are not baptizing people! People are not surrendering their lives to the Lord!

It is my prayer that the Lord will open the door leading evangelistic families (deaf and hearing) into the city where they can train men, women and children the importance of Showing Jesus to their neighbors and those in the community! I must admit that there has been a sharp decline in families surrendering their lives for the full service of our Savior! It is never an easy decision. This is a challenging task! It is the Lord that calls men and women into His service. Do you hear His calling in Your heart? Be sure you keep the eyes of your heart open to His providence! And pray that those who have a calling will, indeed, surrender to the full service of the Savior!