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Dear Shiloh Family,

One of the most fun things I have ever done in life was raising cattle. If I wasn’t in the ministry, and had more money than sense, I would own a cattle farm. However, I discovered that the ministry doesn't often mesh with crazy bovines that would rather stick their necks through a barbed wire fence than eat the knee-deep grass in which they were standing.

It seemed like it never failed. No matter how many hours or dollars I spent on fencing, the first time I went out of town on a youth retreat, or out of the country on a mission trip, my entire herd would end up in my neighbor's garden, grazing in some rare hybrid flower bed, or standing in the middle of a busy road. It's like they had some sentry steer lookout that gave the coded moo when they spotted me loading luggage. And they never escaped on Monday-Friday. No, they could tell time as well. The animals seemed to know Saturday night after midnight and Sunday morning before church was the optimal time for fence breaking.

I know that seems humorous, but the longer I serve the Lord, the more I realize that there is a correlation between true spiritual service and literal satanic attack. It's called spiritual warfare, and it is real. And the flip side to that scenario is that guy who doesn't know Jesus, never goes to church, and barely attends to his livestock. And yet, he rarely has problems and makes more money than he will ever spend.

The prophet, Jeremiah, questioned God about just such situations;

Jeremiah 12:1: 1 Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? NKJV

I'm sure many of you have posed similar questions to our God. In fact, I can't remember a time when our church families have been attacked more by Satan or tested by the Lord. Almost daily, I am approached with prayer requests for family and friends. I won't even delve into the atrocities, illnesses, and personal attacks directed toward my family in the past few months.

So, I'll just remind you of what your church has faced in the past two weeks. The youth retreat bus broke down forcing us to pay a charter both ways, two church air conditioners crashed at the same time, the brand-new refrigerator in the kitchen went down, and the heater in the baptistry broke. And to top it all off, there are those who believe you don't have to tithe and give offerings during vacation season (sorry, I had to get that one in).

One might ask, "Pastor, are you dismayed, and what are we going to do?"

Well, I know Satan must be pretty mad. The youth had 9 decisions for Christ on the retreat, the kitchen ministry serves families almost every night of the week, the air conditioners cool the offices of the staff members who keep ministry going, and the baptismal pool is being used nearly every Sunday.

I think we'll just pray that the Lord will take care of those trivial problems so that we can continue serving and allow Him to continue saving.

By the way, God is providing for the needs of his church. However, he uses his children to do so. Please, pray how he can use you. Also, continue to place your trust in Him as you serve. He knows your situation and hears your prayers.

Psalm 34:4-7: 4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. NKJV

Shiloh, let's keep serving Jesus, in whatever capacity he has called us to serve. Then, let's trust him to provide the means.
 
The deeper the testing, the deeper the trusting. 
 
God bless you all,
Pastor Derrell