Note from Les
Dear Friends,
This month’s letter is late for two reasons. We wanted to report our trip up north, and we wanted to include details of our cruise-tour to Israel in October of 2007.
For our trip, we left Oklahoma Aug. 23rd with our first stop in Eagle Grove Iowa to visit a young man of 52 who is fighting Leukemia and will be going to the University of Iowa Hospital for a Bone-Marrow transplant. Tom has studied with us since we first started teaching over 30 years ago. We ask that you remember him in prayer. The second stop, in my hometown of Buffalo Center, was with one of the two couples who were instrumental in starting us out teaching the Word. They too, need our prayers. After these reunions, we were on to Minnesota in time for a pot-luck dinner and sharing the Word with about 35 dear folks for two hours. The next day, Friday, was time to relax and make our way to our next host and hostess, a young couple in their thirties. What a thrill to see the younger generation hungry and excited about the Word. Saturday was our all day seminar at North Heights in Arden Hills. There was difficulty in getting an accurate account of attendance, but guesstimates were over 700. It was another thrilling day for Iris and me as we met so many of our friends including many new ones. From there we headed back to South Minneapolis for the night with friends and then taught both the Sunday School and the Service at Bethesda Church. We then traveled across Minneapolis 40 miles north to a small country church for Sunday night service. The seating capacity there was 100, but according to the pastor, the house was packed with 147! It was a beautiful summer evening, so speakers were set up and the overflow enjoyed the time in chairs on the lawn. Monday we crossed the river to Wisconsin and the three day retreat at the ARC. What a taste of Heaven! Folks came from ten different states. In that short period of time we had four hours of teaching and three hours of Q & A. After every evening session, many would congregate down at “the pond” for a wonderful time of fellowship. Every morning before breakfast Pastor Mark had a devotional there as well. As things were winding down, many were already looking forward to next year if the Lord tarries! Our next stop was near Duluth for five days with our son, daughter-in-law and family. Iris was on “cloud nine” to be with Todd, Kim and our five grandkids. From Duluth we made our way to Milwaukee and a stop by the Berean Bible Society where we met Pastor Paul Sadler, who graciously took us to lunch. Next, we went on to a small church in Genoa City on the Wisconsin border next to Chicago, and were hosted that night by friends in North Chicago. On Thursday night we stayed in the Chicago area for a meeting with Pastor John Kirkwood at his church. Another great experience! Our message there was already on the Internet by the time we got to Indianapolis. University Heights Baptist was a terrific host for the all day seminar which brought out well over 700. Again, like in Bethesda, we had the Sunday School and Church services. My, what a response! We left for Oklahoma immediately after the service and arrived home early afternoon on Monday. Just short of 3000 miles and three weeks. We are exhausted and exhilarated and praise the Lord for your prayers. How we love every one of you. Our next travels will be simple by comparison. We’ll be holding an all day seminar in Winfield, Kansas on October 28th, and Oklahoma City November 11th.
As I mentioned in the beginning of the letter, the plans for the cruise and Israel tour in October ‘07 have just been finalized. We’ll fly to Athens, board ship, and sail to Israel for three long, jam-packed days, then back to Cyprus, Rhodes, and Athens. Brochures with the details will be available in a few weeks.
Don’t forget to VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!
What in the World
The following is the third and final part of an article featured in Priority One magazine.
At the end of his second letter to them, Paul explains how they may distinguish between his letters and forgeries. He always added a personal greeting in his own handwriting.
“The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is the token in every epistle, so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen”-3:17-18
In another letter, to the Galatians, he shared that he wrote with a very large hand, perhaps because of his poor eyesight. That’s how they could be certain that their letter was truly from Paul, he assured them.
We have seen what confident hope is, and its source. Now let’s consider the results of this priceless possession. Those who have a viable expectancy of Christ’s return, and believe that when they meet Him in the air they shall be completely changed and rewarded for their availability to the Holy Spirit, cannot deny that it has changed the way they live, day by day. First it keeps faith fresh, growing, and active. Paul couples that with their love and confident hope in his letter to the Colossians,
“We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you , since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which is come unto you, as it is in all the world, and brings forth fruit, as it does also in you since the day you heard of it and knew the grace of God in truth” – 1:3-6.
Confident hope is foundational and brings forth fruit. Believing that the Savior is returning soon for the members of His Body is certain to stir up a desire to be yielded constantly to the Spirit’s guidance. Knowing that believers’ days here on earth are limited is a constant goad to pray for fruitful service while they may.
C.S. Lewis put it this way. “Hope is one of the theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not, as some people think, a form of escapism or wishful thinking. But it is one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave this present world as it is. If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were those who thought the most of the next world. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one. Aim at heaven, and you get earth thrown in. Aim at Earth, and you get neither.”
Another result of confident hope is that it helps believers to establish biblical values. They cannot take the stuff of this world with them to glory. Perhaps you have seen the bumper sticker, “He Who Has The Most Toys Wins.” Or the more accurate T-shirt declaration, “He who Dies with the Most Toys, Still Dies.” None of this worlds goodies will be transferable from earth to glory. The only rational option for the redeemed of this dispensation is to determine to exchange this world’s currencies for heaven’s treasures. How, you ask? By investing the hours and days on earth in conscious dedication to the Spirit’s guidance and control. Jesus told his disciples not to store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul wrote, “Not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account in glory”. Spiritual fruit should rate high on every believer’s hope list.
There is another result of embracing confident hope. It produces patient endurance. Please reread the verse that opened this paper,
“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God and our Father.” 1 Thessalonians 1:3
Biblical faith and love will put believers in motion, seeking and doing the will of God. Confident hope will keep them depending and fruitful to the glory of God, even when the way is unfamiliar. Those who have confident hope will weather every storm and surmount any difficulty. Their spiritual goad is confidence that the Lord Jesus Christ’s coming is near. Such expectancy is promised to carry them through today’s challenges, one day at a time, and at last to hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Note from Laura
As I write this, my two year anniversary is fast approaching. I cannot believe it has already been almost two years since I broke my neck and I would not ever want to have to live those two years over, but God has been so good. He has met our needs and blessed us in so many ways and I know without a doubt that it is because so many people have said prayers on my behalf. I think that I am doing very well for someone who has had a C-5 fracture and I am able to stay busy and my quality of life is good. What makes it that way is that I am surrounded by people who love me and because of that, I have a very thankful heart. I want to thank all of you who’ve kept me in your prayers and also want to say a special thank you to those who have helped us out financially in any way over the last two years. I get so overwhelmed with gratitude to our Lord because it is His people that have taken care of me and I appreciate all of it so very much.
As far as my condition, I will probably always be paralyzed, but I am so much stronger and in better health overall. I have no major medical problems now and with modern technology, life is good and I am happy even though I must admit I will be ready for that new body that I’m going to get one of these days. I firmly believe our Lord’s return cannot be far off and like all believers, that is my blessed hope. Thank you again to all of you and do not be surprised that if you happen to call the Ministry, you hear me answer the phone. It is wonderful to be involved again in God’s work!
Note from the Office
As we write this newsletter (around mid September) there are big things happening here at the ministry. As many of you who have visited us can attest, we were getting a little crowded around here to say the least. As He always does, the Lord has more than met our needs, and we are having an addition built onto the office. We will try to have pictures and more details in the next newsletter.
Please let us know if you need a year end donation report. We have no way to keep record throughout the year with those who only want year-ends, so we ask that you call or write for this information. If you contribute regularly, you can include the request with your last donation of the year. We also ask that you not use staples or paperclips in your letters, as they can get caught in the letter opener possibly causing damage.
We continue to remember all those in prayer who call the ministry with those special requests. As we tell people on the phone every day, we may not have a prayer line like some big ministries do, but we have a list to which we add the names of those who need to be lifted up. We now have another special prayer request to ask of you. Many of you have spoken to Melissa on the phone. She has been an asset to the ministry bringing skills that the Lord knew we needed. Melissa has been experiencing some serious health problems for which she will probably need surgery in the near future and possibly some chemo treatment afterward. As she has a young family and no insurance, we hope you will lift her up.
In an effort to update our home Bible Study list, we are asking those of you who currently have an open study to call or write and let us know the details.
The date set for the daily program to “turn around” is January 4th. This is when the daily airings catch up with the latest (weekly) program recorded. Those programs, first taped in 1991, are still very relevant today and Les has said there is little he would change if he had it to do over.
Note from Beacon World Missions
The following is a note from Peter Mucher of Beacon World Missions. If you would like to help support their great work in the Ukraine, you can mail donations to Les Feldick Ministries noting that it is in support of Beacon, or mail directly to Beacon World Missions PO Box 97 Trenton, GA 30752.
“We praise our Lord for the impact that “Through the Bible with Les Feldick” is having in the Ukraine, not only the printed page in our newspaper but also with the DVD’s home Bible studies. By the time this newsletter gets out we should have the first book printed in Russian to be able to share with the people throughout the Ukraine and the other countries we are going to. We send our heartfelt thanks Les Feldick and his listeners for your support in this effort.”