From: David Jones [david.jones@lbfc.org]
Sent: Mon 9/1/2003
Subject:Keeping up with the Joneses

September 1, 2003

Greetings to our friends at LBFC:

After a fairly relaxing summer, life is now moving at what feels like fast forward. We are thankful for a break on this Labor Day so that we can recompose and prepare for the coming weeks. Thank you to those of you have written or called in the last few weeks. We appreciate hearing from you and learning about what God is doing in your midst.

Weeks of 100+ degree weather and drought-like conditions came to an end this past Friday with a much-needed weekend rainstorm. Interestingly, the rain seemed not only to provide a drink for the soil but also for our souls. Thank you to those of you have been praying with us, and again, send us your specific prayer requests. I have at least 80 minutes of daily prayer time on my commute to and from work. At first, I really resented the commute (after being only 5 minutes from Cabrillo), but now I see it as a blessing because I get to spend a lot of quiet time with God each day-a blessing in disguise!

My first week with students went very well. I am finding many similarities between the students of Schlagle and the students of Cabrillo. God has blessed my classes with a good atmosphere thus far and I ask that you will continue to pray against Satan's schemes to disrupt the good things that are happening. I have learned of a few Christians in my classes and would like to get a Christian club started (I don't think they have one yet). I also met a Christian teacher and will be talking to him soon about helping me sponsor a club if possible.

(Emily's part): My first week of fall classes went well - I am starting to get a feel for how busy my semester is going to be. My classes are interesting (for the most part, statistics sometimes gets a bit dry), and they are going to be challenging. So, once again, I'll have my nose in a book for a good portion of my days! I have also been enjoying getting to know my classmates better. I went out to dinner with them a week ago, and have struck up good conversations with quite a few of them after classes this last week. I was especially encouraged after chatting with Audrey, a neat Christian woman in my class. So, I look forward to seeing how God will use me to reach out to the majority of my class that isn't saved. (Now it's Dave's turn again!)

I am glad to hear that you are thinking about starting up the Friday night ministry again. That ministry was how I initially got to know many of you!

Are you guys reading the Bible? I don't want to come off in a pushy way, but I also want to encourage you not to be deceived. You need to read God's word if you are going to grow closer to Him. Emily and I continue to read through the New Testament and have been blessed, for lack of a more suitable word, by God. Through the reading of His word, I more fully know Him, myself, and my place and purpose in this life. There is no substitute. Unlock the treasures! One of the treasures that I found recently comes in Luke 21 when Jesus is talking to his disciples about how they will be persecuted and suffer many things for His sake. He tells them that they will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of His name. Why? This is the part I don't remember ever reading: "This will result in your being witnesses to them." We see this common thread in the advancement of the gospel through persecution in Acts and throughout church history. The motley crew that we know as Jesus' disciples wouldn't have had a chance to get an audience with the rulers of nations by their own merits, so God chose to deliver His message to the gentile lords and nations through another means-suffering and persecution. What a plan!

In closing, I want to include a quote that Ken Himple gave to me when I was living in Idaho. Ken was the pastor of a small church in Filer, Idaho, as well as the president of the Romanian Workers' Fund, a mission organization dedicated to the physical and spiritual needs of the Romanian people. Here is a quote that guided his life with respect to his study of God's word:

"This book [the Bible] will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book." If you're not reading God's word, check to see if there is some sin in your life that is keeping you from doing so. We don't feel like reading the Bible when we refuse to repent of sin in our life. Trust God that the temporary pleasures of sin are just that, temporary. The living water comes from Jesus!

Trusting in His promises,

Dave and Emily