Dear friends,
Today is the birthday of Pastor Frank Humphrey, who served as Senior Pastor at Peoples Church of Montreal for more than 30 years. The week that he was born, Israel announced its statehood. Pastor Humphrey earned his Ph.D. in Old Testament studies at McGill University, which is fitting in light of the establishment of the state of Israel in May 1948. While battling ALS for the past decade, Pastor Frank has kept his focus on the Lord and his wife, Daria, and their family. By God’s grace, he writes a weekly devotional.
Today is also Felipe Alou’s birthday. While managing the Montreal Expos, he and several baseball players visited Peoples Church of Montreal. After meeting him, Karen and I could see that he was a serene man, who had gone through many experiences in life. I was thrilled when I found his autobiography in a Christian bookstore in Abbotsford, British Columbia while visiting Karen’s family.
One of the many remarkable things that I learned about Mr. Alou is that he walked to school in his native Dominican Republic. I also walked to school, but it only took me about ten minutes. For Felipe, his journey took several hours each way. Now that the warmer weather has arrived in Quebec, more and more people are walking and jogging. On Sunday morning, there was a race in Châteauguay. This helped me see how life can be compared to a marathon.
Just as there are spectators who watch a race, there are people watching us. Those who are parents know this, as they observe their children repeating their actions and words. There are also people who help the runners in a race, by giving them water and towels. In our spiritual journey, there are Bible teachers, pastors and friends who encourage us and pick us up when we stumble.
Last Friday, the phone rang the second after I typed the title of a new CD of Pastor Michel Martel’s messages. J.P. had phoned more than a year ago to request a New Testament. I was very glad to hear from him again as he is in an institution for people with mental health challenges. On Monday I had the opportunity to visit him and learned that he has survived many serious incidents. The title of the new CD is “Échec à un ‘down’” (“Overcoming a ‘down’”). When I learned that it was J.P. on the phone, I was amazed at the timing of his call, as I realized that he and many others need encouragement from God’s Word. Please join me in praying for him and for all who listen to the broadcasts of “La Voix de l’Évangile.”
Thought for the weekend: “Grace is the capacity to do anything spiritually profitable. You can’t pray without grace. You can’t understand the Bible without grace. You can’t choose right over wrong without grace. You can’t get through this thorn without grace. And that’s why Jesus said to Paul, ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’ Those same words are meant for us. Stick with the grace of Jesus Christ all the way to eternity.” – James MacDonald (from his book “When Life Is Hard”)
By His grace,
Steve