Ok, this is it. I got it! You can get your own pic on a paper cutout displayed in the new Dodger Stadium Pavilion Home Run Seats for only $299! There are other less expensive options higher up in the nosebleed seats. What a deal! Do we have any takers? Play ball!
Man, for such a time as this…. Babe Ruth must rolling in his grave right now. Paper cutouts?
Hey, I thought I’d take your mind off things for a second before we dive into what the Lord has been doing in my live during this past month. Let’s play ball…
Teaching Calvary Chapel Saving Grace Morning Devotions
I started teaching a 20-minute morning devotion ‘live’ on our church Facebook. What a privilege and responsibility. So much studying as I want to make sure I teach the Lord’s Word accurately. We’re going through the book of Mark. This apostle is so on the GO! I mean the Lord is. One teaching and one healing after another after another. Didn’t anyone eat or sleep during those three years of ministry? Slow down Lord; my cardio isn’t what it used to be! CCSG pastors from all over the world and we SGWM missionary interns are doing the teachings Monday through Friday at 9:00 am. PST. Check it out. Grab your coffee and get into the word!
Internship Discipleship Class
Pastor Mike is doing a short Discipleship class for us interns who are still stateside (half the missionary interns are serving at the Calvary School of Missions (CSOM) in Mexico (see prayer request below). For me this has been a very convicting class. I know I have been and am being discipled by our church – that is what the Saving Grace World Missions (SGWM) Internship program is all about, getting us ready to serve out in the mission field. In this class, we are learning this discipleship thing is a two-way street. We, as Spirit filled believers should be discipled throughout our entire lives by someone and at the same time we should be discipling others. This “spiritual handshake,” you can call it, is simply a response to Jesus’ command, “Follow Me” in the Gospel accounts. Are we truly following Jesus? Are we being groomed by the Holy Spirit to be “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19)? I told you it’s convicting.
On a Personal Note…
On a personal note, I know for a lot of you, being a grandparent is probably a long ways off. Too bad. Enjoy pulling your hair out? Well, as some of you know I’ve been super blessed with a wonderful family (see cool pics). My three kids each have two kids of their own, ranging from 17 yrs to 1. You know I loved being a dad, still do. My kids were always well behaved, I think… Hey, it was ALL God’s grace as I made every mistake in the book (patience and humility always seemed to be an arm’s length away). Now they’re all grown up and have their own kiddos. I love being a Papa. It is soooo cool. The best! I love sipping pretend tea with Storyanne and romping with the boys in the pool or guzzling down Chai boba with the older ones. Being retired and no longer chasing the American Dream, my life is now simply – simple. So fulfilling And during our Thursday afternoon Discipleship class, Pastor Mike said being a grandparent could be a calling/ministry. I like that.
On a side note, I do have to restrain myself at times at church and in ministry from being goofy and acting like a kid. Next to the Bible my favorite book is probably Peter Pan. I guess it comes with being a Papa.
Laughing, learning, praying in Jesus name
Am I ever loving teaching English to my refugee gals at Voice of Refugees (VOR)! Zoom, duh. It’s ok. It just makes making relationships harder. I’m finding myself yelling at my screen, “Speak English with your husbands or daughters! They speak perfect English.” Over the last couple weeks or so, right in the middle of class, one of my gals said, “I’d like you to meet my husband Mohammad.” We introduce ourselves and I hear this guy speak fluent English. Hello? “He’s your teacher!” I scream at my screen. They can see the smile on my face. Just last Wednesday, one of my gals said it was her anniversary. Wow! Now that was an open door if I ever saw one. We went over each of the 8 gals’ anniversary dates and how many years they were married. That alone was a good conversation and math exercise. Then I talked a couple minutes on the sanctity of marriage. I drew a triangle on our shared virtual whiteboard and went over husband, wife and Jesus. It was a blessing. One of my dear ones missed class for a couple days. I felt led to lead my students in prayer for the sick gal, who we all know. I ended it with “In Jesus name, Amen.” I felt good not shortchanging the Lord. All I can say, I so love getting to know these gals. We laugh. I even show them my toast with mangos and bananas sometimes before we start the lesson (late breakfast). We are building up quite a vocabulary – mostly food and the different beaches in Orange County! Love it! Love them.
Keep your commitments
I want to share something that happened last Saturday. Over a year ago I made an agreement with the Lord that I would not run long distances anymore. Bad knees. Goodbye half and full marathons. Well, last Saturday, August 1, I thought I got the ok from Him for me to run a half marathon race at Huntington Beach – knowing full well the agreement I had made with Him in June, 2019. Doesn’t make sense, right? I’ll spare you the details. Well, around mile five after walking up the Huntington Beach steps from the bike path to the pier, I felt a lot of pain (normal pain you just deal with it) in my right knee. I limped to a bench and prayed – and repented – for disobeying Him. Ha! It took the injury/pain for me to realize I was wrong all along. I was not even half way done with no phone and no debit card to call for help. No more than 30 seconds after I continued running (more like hobbling) did I run into two of my usher buddies from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. Talk about grace! We did hugs and I immediately cried out for intercessory prayer – pleeeeeze! We fellowshipped for a good 20 minutes and had a great time. I then continued on my race and took my time (had no choice) and finished. It was not easy. Prayer works at the beach!
I learned my lesson. The important thing wasn’t that the Lord wanted me to no longer run long distances to save my knees. The important thing was that I broke my agreement with Him. You don’t do that. Always do what you say you will do. Keep your commitments. The Lord knows what we should do and not do.
Well, I’m still running my race. Ha, ok, short races for sure. And in closing, as I always say, come run with me. Nothing is more enjoyable for a runner than to have someone run alongside of them, even all the way to the finish line. It’s so true. So please partner with me financially, by clicking on the Become a Partner Financial button below. You can do this through a one-time donation or monthly reoccurring donation. Thank you so much for your financial and prayerful support.
Praise Report
That all my family and friends here stateside stay in good health
That our church, Calvary Chapel Saving Grace, can continue to enjoy our Sunday service outside. So great to be amongst the brethren.
That the Lord is building closer relationships between myself and my VOR students
Prayer Requests
That the Lord would, of course, put an end to COVID and in turn open up the schools so my grandkids can attend real school. My oldest one is graduating from high school this coming year; my youngest one is entering pre-preschool or whatever you call it.
That the Lord would bring out more people to church on Sunday. As long as we are coviding our service, this will be an ongoing prayer request.
That the CSOM team in Mexico would finish strong in all that they do. They are winding up their 6-weeks on August 17.
For the safety, well-being, strength, and good health for all of our SGWM missionaries serving all over the world. This is so needed and will also be an ongoing prayer request as well.
Praise report and prayer request: Last month I asked for prayer for the opportunity to teach more hours for VOR. There may be an opportunity coming up this fall for more hours as our zoom classes will most likely continue for the remainder of the year. Pray our Lord’s will. Exciting!
That I continue to be steadfast in my Bible studies in the teaching of God’s word.
If you’d like to get my monthly updates sent directly to your email inbox, just click on the following link: Jim Needham Updates. You can reach me at jneedham@sgwm.com. The Lord bless all of you.
Jim Needham