January 2015
Reminders & Memorials
The Apostle Peter wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the first century: “Therefore I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know them, and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.” (2 Peter 1:12-15 – NKJV). God understands how forgetful we are as human beings, so He has provided us an abundance of reminders such as the Lord’s Supper to bring again to our minds how much He loves us and sacrificed to have us in His family.
Della brought us a quote she saw in November and put it on our cupboard to remind us to be thankful. It so impacted me that I told her we needed to put it in our prayer letter as a reminder to all of you as well. Do you remember? Here is what it says:
What if today you woke up with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?
This memorial on our cupboard has profoundly influenced how I pray early each morning. When I look across the room from my chair, I see first the reminders of Jesus, which Della has on our wall above the couch – a picture of the Man of Sorrows with tears in His eyes, a picture of His nail-pierced hands, and three crosses on a small shelf. This reminds me to thank the Father for the greatest gift ever given and to thank Jesus for paying the penalty for my sin. On the shelf next to the three crosses is a small plaque which says:
“Instead of carrying the world on your shoulders, talk to the One Who carries the universe on His!”
A short distance from that plaque is a framed picture by our front door which reads: “Only one life. It will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last!” My mother had one like this, which impacted my heart when I was a boy. On the other side of the door is a cross-stitch picture given to us by special friends, Sam and Pam Harsin. This one reminds me to pray for our many wonderful friends and thank God for them. It is the Irish Blessing, which reads:
“May the road rise up to meet you and may the wind be always at your back; may the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.”
On the wall above the TV is a rustic scene of an old, worn Bible, illuminated by candles with the words, “Let your light shine.” This reminds me to thank God that we have the Bible in many translations, and to pray for believers in many areas who need a copy of the Bible.
On the top shelves of our three bookcases are pictures of our grandkids. These photos remind me to thank God for each of them and pray for God’s guidance in each of their lives. Next to bookcases is a picture we got from Voice of the Martyrs entitled, “Safely Home”. It shows Jesus holding a martyred believer in His arms. The believers shackles are off to the side, and his crown at Jesus’ feet. This reminds me, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.” Amen and Amen!
Just above our fireplace is this prayer: “God grant me Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; Wisdom to know the difference.”
On our mantle are pictures of our son, Randy, and our daughter, Sandy. We thank God for choosing each of them with their unique personalities and abilities to bring into our family. (As I write these words, I’m reminded of three hauntingly beautiful songs: Dean Martin singing “Memories Are Made of This”, Andy Williams singing “Memories Etched on the Tablet of my Mind”, and the Bill Gaither Trio singing “We Have This Moment to hold in our hands and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand.”)
Randy is seeking heart and soul to know God and His will in his life, and God is working the transformation of his priorities. Praise God!
Sandy was named Jong In Lee by Holt Adoption Agency when we first saw that heart-stealing picture of her as a three-month-old baby. We also realize that it was not just Holt Agency who picked her to suggest to us as our baby girl – it was God Himself who chose her for us. She is now our co-worker for both our business, Deighton Lighting, and our ministry projects (Overseas Outreach, Northwest Science Museum, and Creation Summit). We could not have done what we have in the past 6 1/2 years without her! Della was both office manager and bookkeeper – now Sandy is our office manager. God tailor- made her for this position with her excellent computer skills, uplifting and pleasant phone manner, and her determined persistence in completing projects. She has also supplied us with beautiful grandchildren, who brighten our lives with love and laughter – along with our son-in-law, David. Praise God! We named her Sandra Joy to correspond with Randall Troy – and she is certainly a joy! Adoption is a wonderful option!
To the left of my desk in a frame on the wall are the words, “Great strength comes from faith in God.” On one side of my desk is a large picture of my lovely wife, ministry and business partner, Della. I’m reminded to thank God for giving her to me as the ideal helpmate and best friend (loyal in spite of all she has to put up with about me). On the other side of the desk are photos of many special friends from different states and countries to remind me to pray for them.
Above my desk is a large picture of three beautiful horses with manes flowing as they run. At the bottom are the words of Philippians 3:14, which remind me to continue to “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
On the side of our file cabinet is a map of the world from Voice of the Martyrs to remind me to pray for persecuted believers in over 50 nations. Above the file cabinet is a picture by William Hallmark of God’s original creation in the pristine purity of the Garden of Eden. The Scripture with it is Psalm 148:5: “Let them praise the Name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created.”
To the right of the door to our kitchen is a calendar from Creation Summit, which has fantastic scenery
photos to remind us of the lingering beauty of God’s amazing creation in spite of the fact that this earth is now cursed by sin and death because of human rebellion.
From Our Mailbox
“Thank you Rick and Della, for your steadfast love and faith. For nearly 40 years you have been my Teacher, Mentor and friend in Jesus.
An Elder friend of mine from South East Church of Christ in Lebanon OR recently reminded me that whatever we do or say we are to use the Name of Jesus! They are rewriting their mission statement and had left Jesus out, and he was adamant that any Mission Statement without the name of Jesus was no mission statement for the Church.
AMEN!!! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there’s just something about that name.
All For Christ,
Al Cinnamon”
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“Greetings Rick and Della,
First of all, A merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I’m very glad that I know you. I hope to meet you too in person some day, if God wills, Della. And Rick, you have a really special place in my heart. I thank God for you every day.
Thank you for the opportunities that you are providing for me by God’s grace to take part in the ministry work! I’m honored. (Paul has designed book covers for my last book and this new one. R.D.)
I’m so sorry that I’m unable to deliver you all the designs in time. I believe God has a reason for this illness. I’ve been to the doctor and after verifying my scan reports, he said, I have two problems with my spinal cord. One is that the thickness of the soft tissue between the vertebrates is lesser than it should be, at several points. And due to it, the nerves that protrude out of my spine are under pressure and that is the main reason for my pain. The second problem is Scoliosis! My spinal cord is not straight. It’s slightly bent. However, Doctor said, it’s not harmful and can be improved by physical exercises and regular massage sessions.
I’m still not worried or beaten by these newly discovered health problems in me. ‘Cause the weaker I get in my body, the more Christ’s strength is being revealed in me! And it brings joy to me to see his power being revealed in me and me being a living testimony of it.
I received your present on my Birthday! I got the study Bible! Thank you for the wonderful gift. It means so much to me.
And one last thing before I finish – Can you move forward without the in-page illustrations? I’m so sorry I have to ask this. I feel so bad. But, I’m worried about delaying the publishing further. I donno how long it would take for me to recover from this pain. I don’t want to keep you waiting till then. I’m soo sorry.
Please continue praying for me. The pain is terrible. I’m on medication, but still it hasn’t reduced yet. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers. Convey my wishes to Sandy too.
Love,
Paul” Sudhakar – (A university student in Kharkiv, Ukraine – and one of my special students. R.D.)
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“Dear Brother in Christ, Rick
Thank you very much for your letter and of course for your whole-hearted support towards the Christian Open University. It really means a lot to us. Sergey informed us that this gift is intended as a memorial in Rostislav’s honor. Thank you very much again. He was truly a wonderful man, who devoted his life to serving God. We still go through his loss and miss him greatly. The Lord takes the best by his own will, and I’m sure that Rostislav is rejoicing now in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. I also knew Vladimir Parfinenko, he was a pastor of my church and also miss him greatly.
We are looking forward to meeting you this spring. You are always welcome to teach at Christian Open University, and you are free to come when it is convenient to you.
May God richly bless you,
President of the Christian Open University of Economics and Humanitarian Sciences
Member of the First Church of Evangelicals Christian Baptists
Valery Savelyev”
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“We hope and pray that the war will be over soon. Please, pray for us and our church. There are days when I have to make urgent decisions related to the situation with people from occupied areas, and I
crave for wisdom. ….
Zhenya” (Molodchy)
Prayer Requests
1. Northwest Science Museum is sponsoring the new movie, “A Matter of Faith” to come to Boise February 6, 7, and 8 for the nationwide launch, and the other directors asked me to spearhead the project. We are selling advance tickets for $8.00 each (instead of $10.50), so if you want tickets, or a DVD with two trailers (less than 2 minutes each) and a 3 minute message to pastors from the director, Rich Christiano, or a poster, please contact me by our Overseas Outreach email, phone 208-467-6563 or my cell phone 208-284-7425. This movie is powerful and deals with the same problem as the movie, “God’s Not Dead”. It also parallels perfectly with my new book, “Millions of Miracles – The Evolutionist’s Dilemma”. Rich Christiano wrote a high recommendation for the book after reading my manuscript. His review will be printed on the back cover of the book, along with the one by our missionary friend, Steve Bragg.
2. Our publisher, Robert Sweesy, has worked hard to get this book published before the launch of the movie – and it is scheduled to arrive here on February 4th. Please pray that it will not be delayed – and that both the movie and the book will impact multitudes for Christ, that souls will be saved, and believers will be emboldened and encouraged to become confident witnesses for Jesus.
3. I am working on my itinerary for a spring mission trip to Ukraine, so please pray for funds for the trip, funds for the book expenses, lots of book sales to come back in, and funds to share with struggling believers in Ukraine.
4. I am now teaching a 12-lesson series on “Unlocking the Mysteries of Genesis” at 9:00 a.m. Sunday mornings at Eagle Christian Church, using Institute for Creation Research’s DVD series and our book, “Ready to Give an Answer” for the basis of our lessons and discussions. Please pray – and join us in class if you can.
Yours & His, Rick
A Thought to Ponder:
“You can’t seem to find the car keys, You hit every traffic light;
Don’t get mad or frustrated; It may be just that God is at work watching over you.”
I went to the post office yesterday, and just as I got out of my car to walk in, I heard a loud sound, like an explosion of some kind. As I rounded the corner and saw the intersection that I had just come through about a minute or two earlier, I saw that two vehicles had violently collided. I thought, “If I had come through there any later than I did, that could have been me. Thank you, God, for your protection!!! And please be with these two drivers in the midst of their crisis.”
How many times does God protect us from harm without our even realizing it?
Della