By now almost everyone even remotely related to KMUPC knows that I have read My Utmost For His Highest, a book of daily devotions written by Oswald Chambers who was an English Bible School teacher a century ago. He gave these brief devotions each day for the students, and his wife wrote them down in her court recorder shorthand. Chambers died in 1917 while serving as a military chaplain in Egypt. This book was first published by his wife and friends in 1935 and soon became the most widely-read daily devotional book among all Christian books, second only to the Bible. It remains so today. I gave away many copies to the college students and still give away copies of this amazing book. Chambers had an incredible depth of wisdom and understanding of the Bible, and the teachings of Jesus especially, and a remarkable way of expressing his knowledge. Below is one of my favorite quotations from this book (found in the July 16 reading). He called this a principle for living the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ.

God is my Father, He loves me, I will never think of anything that He will forget,
so why should I worry?

If you were at church July 27 you found a copy of the devotions for July 10 and 11 in the
worship bulletin, and we also put a copy of those devotions in this newsletter. Please read them and take time to think about what he said nearly 100 years ago and how it applies to your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ today and to our life together as His body, the church.

I am writing this while on a trip south to visit some friends and family members, but I will be back to lead you in worship on July 27 and August 3. You will read this after I return, and if I do (did) not see you in church July 27, I hope I will see you August 3. I will be out again August 10 and 17 but I will lead worship the Sundays after that until our trip in late September. Although on vacation, my thoughts and prayers are with the church and are filled with gratitude to God for the privilege of serving as your interim pastor and with joy at the developing events in the life of our church – the progress from a discouraged and conflicted church to one that is focused, committed, and hopeful for the future God has for us. I am thankful for the new people coming to our church and for those working on program ideas that will have a positive impact on the lives of children, youth and adults, especially the Wednesday program and the new Sunday School format.

I am especially thankful to God for calling back to worship and fellowship some members who have not been here for a good while (and I am praying for others), and another adult who has never been baptized (Jaime Salzman, baptized on July 27), plus people of the area who are new to our church. I am grateful also for the developing relationship with the New Life Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee (see related article in this newsletter) and other mission activities.

Please extend your hand, your smile, and a warm welcome to all our visitors each Sunday, and keep praying for our church and everyone who is leading and serving in some way. I, especially, invite you to pray for the new Pastor Nominating Committee, as they get better acquainted with each other and with their work of seeking a new pastor for our church. I encourage you to use the audio Bible (NT) to grow in your knowledge of God’s word (love letter/instruction manual for us). If you do not have a copy, you can get one in the church foyer, or call me, and I will bring one to you. They are free, and thanks to all who contributed to the offering of over $1500 to help get the audio Bible in the language of a group of people in South America. For church members, I also encourage you to continue to support our church/the Lord’s church with your presence, your willing spirit, mind and hands, and your gifts.

May the Peace of Christ our Lord be with you and yours.