“Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.” (Proverbs 24:27) This verse encompasses the two items that have been dominating my time for the last few weeks—life’s work (preaching, for me) and earthly home.
On July 20, we closed on a house in Olive Branch, Mississippi, and began the work of getting things ready. I wanted to be able to have all the necessary work completed before I left for my next meeting, but there was more work to do than we were able to get accomplished in the allotted time. The above verse says to put occupation before building the house, however. So, house done or not, I got on a plane to come to Utah to preach in two churches in the southern part of the state.
After spending so much time working on the house—a temporal pursuit at best—it was good to be in a revival meeting again. The Saturday before the first meeting, the pastor and I spent almost the entire day visiting different people. At one house, we found a man home that had previously been difficult to catch because of his travels. This time, however, he was home.
Not only was he home, but he was also burdened about his sin. The pastor began to talk to him about salvation and before long, he prayed to trust Christ as his Savior! It was glorious to be able to witness the transaction of reconciliation taking place once again in the life of a sinner.
There were some Mormons who attended the services this week, some of whom did not seem to be very attentive, but others of whom did. Two men in particular took in every word that I said. Mormons usually have to hear the Gospel many times before the truth breaks through the layers of falsehood that their religion has erected.
We are praying that the seeds sown in this meeting will yield fruit in the months and years to come.
As soon as I get back to MS, I have to finish some work on the house before I leave for a couple of months in my fall revival schedule. Once we get everything done that we want to accomplish, we will try to post pictures of our home.
Thank you so much for your prayers.
