It is always a blessing to read books by Billy Graham.

“Who would you most like to meet?” is one of the questions in the Table Talkers box.

(“Find out the answers to 46 revealing questions in this box and get to know your friends and family a whole lot better at your next social occasion,” is written on the box.

“Who would you most like to meet?”

When I was a new convert the answer was certainly Billy Graham.

But of course I met other Evangelists as well after passing from darkness to light.

I was in Germany at that time and I heard Evangelists over the radio and also went to their meetings in Germany and also in Switzerland.

There was Werner Heukelbach, Leo Janz and his team, Wim Malgo, Samuel Furrer and many more.

But I never met Billy Graham. I almost met him in Bangkok while working as a missionary in Thailand. The Thai church had a special anniversary and Billy Graham was supposed to be the guest speaker. But something happened and he could not come.

“Who would you most like to meet?” The answer now is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Missionaries reaching children in Thailand.

Picture / Alan Collingwood

“Who is the person you most admire?” is one of the questions in the Table Talkers box.

(“Find out the answers to 46 revealing questions in this box and get to know your friends and family a whole lot better at your next social occasion,” is written on the box.”)

While working in Thailand as a missionary we had a so-called field conference once a year.

At one of the conferences the International Director of the Missionary Society was the guest speaker and he said that he was glad that he was not called to come because of problems on the field.

Have you ever been told that the greatest problem on the mission field is that missionaries don’t get on with each other?

The desire of missionaries is to reach the unreached.

And only just now I am reading in a missionary magazine I received today that missionaries are getting sometimes so stressed out with relationship problems that they are getting so tired and getting sidetracked.

When I worked as a missionary in Thailand from Christmas 1966 – Christmas 1979 we had a field leader from the United States of America. He said that if we put enough pressure on each other we will will all go home sooner or later.

There are others I admire, but I think he is the person I most admire because he was a wise leader, in fact he was like a father to me.

“If you’re happy, let your face know!”

“What makes you happy?” is one of the questions in the Table Talkers  box.

(“Find out the answers to 46 revealing questions in this box and get to know your friends and family a whole lot better at your next social occasion,” is written on the box.)

“What makes you happy?”

“Causing joy or gladness,” is the definition of “happy” in the Collins English Dictionary. “The happiest day of my life,” is given as an example.

That reminds me of the happiest day in my life many, many years ago now. That was when the Lord Jesus Christ came into my life.

And if you ask me now, “What makes you happy?” my answer is,”When I hear other people telling how they passed from darkness to light, how they began a new life.

That’s also why I want to be obedient to The Great Commission, which you find at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew 28, 16-20.

BAPTIST CHURCH: Paihia

WOMEN CONNECT

ANNUAL RETREAT 2018

SPEAKER : MARIZETE CRADDOCK 

OCTOBER 27TH

9:00a.m. – 4.00p.m.

PAIHIA BAPTIST CHURCH

In an Editorial in our local paper I am told that it is common knowledge that criminal offending has its beginning in a set of social issues.

Are you connected?

Six social issues are listed, namely:

• Disconnection from society,
• an appalling lack of effective health services,
• drug and alcohol addiction,
• unemployment,
• lack of education and
• poverty.

I want to add one more social issue that needs urgently to be addressed, because it is in fact the main issue. Once we start addressing this main issue we will also be successful in addressing the other issues.

The main issue is our lack in worshiping our creator. We must come back to worship God in spirit and in truth.

The trouble is that most people of this nation are not connected with the Lord Jesus Christ.