Mid-year Update from Pastorvirgil

“Moving Christians from the pew to the harvest.” Matthew 9:36-38

Stay steady and get ready, My Friend.

Welcome to the last half of 2020. I know you have enjoyed all the new experiences of the first half, and I believe God has good things in store for us the rest of the year. The phrase “Stay steady and get ready” sort of sums up the marching orders we have had so far, and we are steady and ready. We have been having bi-weekly Zoom meetings with many of our pastors in Mexico, doing leadership training. This week I will begin weekly meetings with the bible school leadership team getting ready for the Fall. Pray that we can get creative and make the next moves there.

We are learning and growing and finding new ways to have an impact on people’s lives. Thank you for being part of it. You are precious to us. I am amazed at the faithfulness of God’s people.

Rather than bore you with a rehash of all the projects that are underway, I will refer you to the website at www.pastorvirgil.com. There are lots of resources there.

This last Sunday I was privileged to share a few things about what lies ahead for all of us and how we can be about getting ready. You can see the video here. The message begins at the 44:22 mark. Don’t ever think God will waste your time during the mess. Below, I’ve included a recent article along those same lines. Steady and ready!

Please Pray:

• For our nation. The virus is the least of our problems. The assault of the enemy to destroy our land by force and division is much more dangerous.
• For our Latin American friends. Many of our pastors and their churches have been hard hit by the virus. For many, the economic hit has been particularly devastating.

Financial support can be sent to Faith Christian Fellowship of Tucson at the address below, or given online at www.fcftucson.org. Make checks payable to FCFT, you can designate for missions or pastorvirgil and it will get where it needs to go. Thanks again.

Don’t forget to visit www.pastorvirgil.com. I post stuff there every few days. Share it with your friends. You can help by looking at the Pastorvirgil.com Facebook page and hitting follow. Whenever you see a post, share it. This stuff will help people.

Virgil and Judy Stokes

Sunday, July 5. The Morning After

Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. (5) For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

Psalms 30:4-5 NKJV

Today is the 5th of July, the morning after the 4th. In thinking about today’s services, the Lord dropped those words in my heart, “The morning after.” The Declaration of Independence was passed by the continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Up to that time, there had been significant fighting, but most still thought of it as a demand for reforms in the way the colonies were treated by the King. July 4th was decision day. That decision and the wonderful words of the declaration were a grand thing, but the living out of those principles is still going on. It would be more than 11 years before the Constitution was written, then 2 more years to get the states to agree to it. A grand document indeed, codifying the ideals of the Declaration in an unheard-of form of practical government. Yet it was another 75 years before emancipation and another 57 to give women the vote. And it continues. The principles of the 4th would have no life without the actions of the 5th.

Grand declarations of principle and commitment are wonderful things. It occurs to me, however, that they are little more than emotional eruptions if nothing happens on the morning after. Our faith, our commitment to Christ and to the Word, are essentially empty if we put them to bed on Sunday night and fail to awaken them the next day, and the next day, and the next, etc. This Sunday is another opportunity, as we experience the wonderful gift of trials we have never faced before, to allow God to bring us to new insights, require new commitments, and impart new passions and abilities. We are being pruned and prepared to be propelled to heights we’ve never reached before. The impact of Sunday’s passions depends on what we do the morning after.

To say we live in turbulent times would be an understatement. We are not the first. How we come out the other side will determine to a great degree whether this is seen as an aberration, a cataclysm, or a turning point. This Sunday don’t let your experience end in an altar call and a benediction. Take it home and let it arise again the morning after.

Pastor V.