4. JOSEPH and JEREMIAH...
GOD USES EVEN THE HARD THINGS IN LIFE
Now, sometimes God uses hard things that happen to help people see the truth about Jesus. Everyone has some hard things to face in their lives, but if we are obedient to Christ then He will use everything about us and everything that happens to us, even those hard things, to do His will through our lives.
When our sons were born, they all seemed just as healthy and normal as anyone else's' children. They played and grew and helped with all the chores and activities around our home and little farm. But when Joseph was seven and Jeremiah was eleven, we discovered that they had a disease. This disease is very rare, and it is not something you catch; it is something that you are born with. It is slowly taking away Joseph's ability to write, walk, hear, and it also affects other things like breathing and speaking. Both Joseph and Jeremiah shake a lot, particularly in their hands. This makes eating difficult, too.
All of this sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? Well, it is sad to think about, but we don't think about this as the end of the world! Both Joseph and Jeremiah have given their lives to Christ and have grown to trust Jesus with their problems. Joseph is now 17, and he is a computer wizz. He is able to help me with a lot of work I do over the internet, ministering and communicating with people all over the world. Amazingly, Joseph can type and he does many things that help with the mission work, including maintaining our website on the world wide web. If you have a computer and can get e-mail, Joseph's address is jvm@internet8.net Our website address is www.pinn.com/ect
Jeremiah is 21. The disease is not as progressed in him as it is in Joseph. Last year he worked as a missionary teaching woodworking in a Christian school in Belize, Central America. For the past year he has been directing our youth ministry here on Bayou DuLarge. He will begin serving the Lord as a missionary in Mexico this fall. Many people consider Jeremiah's physical problems as disabilities. Really, though, God's plan to use him in ministry is not stopped by these problems. Actually, these problems provide opportunities to show and tell people about Jesus.
Is that enough hard things to talk about? Don't let these things make you sad. Like I said, everyone has some problems, some are big problems and others are just small ones. But if you follow Jesus and do what He tells you to do, then you can use the problems that you face in life to serve God and bring people to Jesus. You know, the hardest thing in the world was for Jesus to die on the Cross. That was a hard thing that God used to do the best thing for you and me that could have ever happened.
In Heaven we won't have all these problems. If we trust Jesus here, we will enjoy eternal life with God forever. If you haven't given your life to Jesus Christ, why not do that right now! He can use your life to do His will, and He will use you to help others trust Jesus, too.
For your convenience, here is the Table of Contents of the VBS pages.