Aches and Praise Two Hundred & Fifty Five

Dear friends,

It is good to be home! As much as we enjoyed being in British Columbia for the past three weeks, Karen and I are glad to be back in Chateauguay. We had a wonderful time with Karen’s sisters and their families, who all treated us like royalty. Thank you for your prayers this month. On the way home, we sat next to a very pleasant young man from Abbotsford who was reading his Bible before takeoff. When he went for a stroll to the back of the plane, Karen told his mother that she had raised a fine son. I then joked: “Except that he lied about his age.” He had told me that he had just finished the first year of high school. I was very surprised to hear that, as I thought that he looked much older.

While Karen and I were on our way home from attending two weddings, the family seated near us was going to Newfoundland for a family wedding. In recent years, at least one movie has portrayed people known as “wedding crashers.” The Bible states that all people are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb (see Matthew 22:9). That doesn’t mean that everyone will be welcomed into the banquet hall. In his book “God’s Final Word,” Ray Stedman writes: “Only those who are suitably attired in the righteousness of God may attend. Those who have rejected the invitation and those who have tried to enter through the back door, clad in their own filthy rags, are barred from the festivities.”

Ray Stedman continues: “What a privilege that will be, to see the Bridegroom face to face, to be a member of His beloved bride, to share in the intimacy of fellowship with the Lord Jesus!” He then quotes the great Scottish saint of the eighteenth century, Samuel Rutherford:

“The Bride eyes not her garments,
But her dear Bridegroom’s face.
And I will not gaze at glory,
But on my King of Grace.
Not at the crown He giveth,
But on His pierced hands,
The lamb is all the glory
Of Emmanuel’s land.”

Thank you for praying for our daughter, Bethany, while she has been in Israel on a missions trip. Lord willing, she will fly home on July 31st. We look forward to hearing her stories when she returns. In the meantime, you can see some amazing photos and read her very interesting blog posts at: http://www.bethanyisrael2016.wordpress.com/.

A brother in Christ in Montreal wrote to our ministry office recently to request prayer for himself, as he is being persecuted. He also asks prayer for his daughter and her two children. Let us ask the Lord to protect and strengthen him and that his family would know His love and grace.

Scripture for the weekend: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7 (NASB)

Thought for the weekend: “These tears are the tears of suffering over sin and death, the tears of oppressed people, the cries of the poor, the widow, the orphaned, the unborn, and the persecuted. God will wipe away the tears of racial injustice. Such crying shall be no more.” – Randy Alcorn (quoted by Richard DeHaan in the Discovery Series Bible Study “Heaven”)

By His grace,

Steve


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