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STEEL AND CONCRETE, June 2003 "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10)

THE STEEL AND CONCRETE
MISSION FIELD NEWSLETTER
June 2003


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"Lord, I'm Coming Home"
Lyrics Below
IMC Christian MIDI Archives

SAFE AT HOME
Re-written by Brother Gregory Wamsley



With the baseball season in full swing, I'm reminded of watching baseball with my grandaddy. Grandaddy once patted the sofa next to him, motioning me to come sit with him. I remember a strange event that's stuck deep in my mind. I can't recall who was playing or who won, but I remember the event. The umpire had signaled a full count, two strikes and three balls. Grandaddy said, "Watch this, he's going to swing at whatever crosses the plate." The pitcher slid in a fast one. "Strike three!" yelled the umpire. I said, "He's out grandaddy, he's out!" Grandaddy jumped off the sofa and yelled, "Run, run, run!" I saw the runner heading to first base while the catcher scrambled to get the ball he'd dropped. The catcher overthrew first base and the runner made it to second base. He later stole third base. The next batter popped one up but the infielder dropped the ball and the first runner made it safe at home. My grandaddy explained that a batter can run on the third strike if the catcher drops the ball. I never forgot that moment with my grandaddy, and this baseball season brings that memory back.

All this brings a very pertinent thought to mind. "Never count yourself out just because you have three strikes against you." I'm not able to sit with my grandaddy anymore. He's been dead for some time. Today, if I watch baseball, it'll be on the TV in my prison cell. As a child, I disobeyed my parents: "Strike one!" I used poor judgment and it cost me my career: "Strike two!" I allowed stress and the problems of this world to overrun me leading me to another crime where I took a man's life: "Strike three!" A judge called me out on strike three and sentenced me to a very long prison term. I was "born in sin and shaped in iniquity" as the Bible says of us all. I lived by my own rules. A self-centered life style kept me from the Godly teachings of my youth. I had no time for God in my life and little time for anyone else. But my true enemy Satan, the one who thought he had "caught me" dropped the ball. "I was so close to hell you could probably smell the smoke on my clothes!"


With Satan's first mistake, I made it past his first attempt to destroy me and reached for my second shot at eternity. With the help of God's written word, I was able to thirdly steal back from Satan some of what he'd taken from me. With the help of a precious Saint who led me to the cross of Christ, he popped up just in time to get me safely to home plate. I thank God for loving me enough to send His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins. I only hope and pray that no matter where you are, no matter who you are, no matter how many strikes you have against you; never forget God has a place for you, and it's "Safe At Home" in Jesus!

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, I encourage you to do so before the catcher of your game of life catches the ball of your third strike! Go to God the Father in prayer, Admit you are a sinner and are in need of a Savior, Accept Jesus Christ as that Savior and Lord, Repent of all sin, Learn of the new life you've been given while studying God's word.



GOING HOME
by Paul Durham

I have a sweet assurance
Of a home above with God,
Overflows within my heart
His Peace and Grace each step I trod.

Here on earth I'm but a pilgrim,
But a soldier for my Lord,
Knowing when my course is ended,
Jordan's tide I'll gently ford.

With His Promises, my passage,
And His Presence for my guide,
"Twon't be long to reach rejoicing,
In that throng on Heaven's side.

You can have the same assurance
Just for trusting Christ, naught more,
Faith will keep the road,
Salvation bring you safe to Dawning's shore.





INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE
"JUST GIVE ME JESUS!"
Submitted by Rev. Phyllis Freburger


He is God's Son and the sinner's salvation. He is the breath of life.
He is the centerpiece of civilization, undisputed and undefiled.
He is the cornerstone, the capstone, the stumbling stone to all religion.
He is the miracle of the ages. Just give me Jesus!

He forgives and He forgets. He creates and He cleanses.
He restores and He rebuilds. He heals and helps.
He comforts and He carries. He is the God of the second chance.
He is the God of the slim chance and no chance. Just give me Jesus!

He seeks the stray, He finds the lost.
He defends the week and comforts the oppressed.
He heals the sick and cleans the dirty.
He restores the failure and mends the broken.
He blesses the poor and fills the empty.
He satisfies the hungry and forgives the sinner.
He raises the dead! He beautifies the meek.
Just give me Jesus!

He is the key to knowledge and the wellspring of wisdom.
He is the foundation of faith and the doorway of deliverance.
He is the passageway to peace and the road to righteousness.
He is the gateway to glory, the highway to happiness.
He supplies strength to the weary and increases power to the faint.
He saves the hopeless and shields the helpless.
He gives light in the darkness and gives comfort in our loneliness.
He gives Heaven to the hopeless and life to the lifeless!
Just give me Jesus!

He is indestructible, indescribable, incomprehensible, irresistible and irrefutable.
I can't get Him out of my mind and I can't get Him out of my heart.
The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, b ut found they couldn't stop Him.
Satan tried to tempt Him, but found he couldn't trip Him.
Pilate examined Him on trial, but found he couldn't fault Him.
The Romans crucified Him, but found they couldn't take His life.
Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him.
Which is why our hearts' cry is, "Just Give Me Jesus!"

~ and God has!



GIVE ME JESUS
www.negrospirituals.com
Recently, Fernando Ortega has popularized a version of this spiritual.

I heard my mother say
I heard my mother say
I heard my mother say
"Give me Jesus"

Refrain:
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus
You may have all this world
Give me Jesus

At dark midnight, was my cry
Dark midnight was my cry
Dark midnight was my cry
"Give me Jesus"

Refrain

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
Give me Jesus

Refrain

And when I come to die
And when I come to die
And when I come to die
Give me Jesus

Refrain

These lyrics were added by the webmaster.



POEM PAGE





"THE UNINVITED GUEST"
By Bro. Greg Asimakoupoulos, Standard 4/02

An uninvited houseguest, Lord, arrived the other day.
He said his name was loneliness, he said he'd come to stay.
"I've come to keep you company, I heard about your loss."
His words had no sincerity, they cut like dental floss.

He robbed me of my peace of mind, he challenged my routines.
He made himself feel right at home, at times he was quite mean.

There was a time I thought he'd really gone,
But then I heard the door knob turn an hour before the dawn.
Loneliness had staked his turf, he said he wouldn't go.
And so I changed my tactics, I just didn't tell him so.

The next time he got pushy, I smiled and said, "Just wait, I'm not done.
I'm in charge here now, since heaven claimed my loved one."
All the more determined, he dug his heels into the floor.
But with your help, Lord, I'll stand him up, and show him out the door!"





I WONDER
By Sis. Vannetta Chapman, Standard 3/03


If I had seen a star, would I have followed it?
If I had passed the stable, would I have knelt?
If I worshiped in the temple, would I have listened?
If I sat on a hillside, would I have shared?
If I had been in the boat, would I have been afraid?
If I was at the last supper, would I let Him wash my feet?
If I had waited in the garden, would I have slept?
If He asked if I knew Him, would I have cried, "No"?
If I had been on the road, would I have turned away?
Would I have walked that hill?
Would I have stayed to watch?
I wonder.

If I saw the stone rolled away, would I have believed?
If I had talked with Him, would I have noticed the wounds?
If I saw Him ascend, would I go back to my humdrum life?
Would I have felt within the center of my being to tell someone?



HUMOR AND GIGGLES PAGE
All the humor on this page is by Brother Michael Hodgin and is used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.





COLLECT CALLS

Illinois Bell Telephone reports that the volume of long distance calls for Father's Day is growing faster than the ones for Mother's Day. The delay in figuring out the statistics for the extra billing of calls was that most of them were made collect!



BEST ALIBI

The area police foundation was sponsoring a contest for the best speeding alibi any officer had ever heard. Honorable mention went to a Christian father who was stopped with a load of fighting, screaming children in the back of the old station wagon. He told the officer, "I was trying to get away from all the noise behind me!"



CONTROLLED LIVES

First half of life is controlled by your parents:
Second half of life is controlled by your childhood.



STRONGER MOM?

If dad is stronger than mom, then how is it mom can put a lid on a jar that it takes dad fifteen minutes to remove?



PUZZLE PAGE

BIBLICAL FATHERS MATCH-UP
Re-written by Gregory Wamsley after Sister Emily Philipi

The most influential people in the family lives of the Israelites were fathers. Match each of the fathers with the proper statements. The answers are at the bottom of the page, but check your skill first before looking the answer sequence.

____1. Told to sacrifice his son (Gen. 22:1-2). S. JOB
____2. The father who walked with God (Gen. 5:21). G. JOSEPH
____3. Blessed the wrong son (Gen. 27:22-23).D. ADAM
____4. Betrayed by his son (2 Sam. 15:21-31).T. JAIRUS
____5. Tragically, lost all his children (Job 1:13-15).R. ISAAC
____6. Jesus raised his daughter from the dead (Mark 5:22,42).H. ENOCH
____7. Father of twelve tribes (Gen. 49:28).I. DAVID
____8. The father of John who baptized Jesus (Luke 1:13).M. JACOB
____9. Fled to Egypt with his family (Matt. 2:13). O. KISH
____10. The father of the first king of Israel (1 Sam. 9:3).V. ZECHARIAH
____11. The first father on the earth (Gen.4:1).C. ABRAHAM











ANSWERS:
Letter answers from the top number 1 to the bottom number 11 should read "CHRIST MY GOD"



LORD, I'M COMING HOME
Words & Music by William J. Kirkpatrick



I've wandered far away from God,
Now I'm coming home;
The paths of sin too long I've trod,
Lord, I'm coming home.

Refrain
Coming home, coming home,
Nevermore to roam,
Open wide Thine arms of love,
Lord, I'm coming home.

I've wasted many precious years,
Now I'm coming home;
I now repent with bitter tears,
Lord, I'm coming home.

Refrain

I'm tired of sin and straying, Lord,
Now I'm coming home;
I'll trust Thy love, believe Thy Word,
Lord, I'm coming home.

Refrain

My soul is sick, my heart is sore,
Now I'm coming home;
My strength renew, my hope restore,
Lord, I'm coming home.

Refrain

My only hope, my only plea,
Now I'm coming home;
That Jesus died, and died for me.
Lord, I'm coming home.

Refrain

I need His cleansing blood, I know,
Now I'm coming home;
O wash me whiter than the snow,
Lord, I'm coming home.

Refrain


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