Locusts and Wild Honey

The good folks at Mout Zion Bible Church in Pensacola Florida, sent me a case of tracts and booklets to distribute along with our relief efforts at Lakeshore Baptist Church and to encourage our church members in the wake of hurricane Katrina. They included several copies of J. C. Ryle’s “The Ruler of the Waves.” Today I took the time to read through this encouraging booklet based on Mark 4:37-40. Let me quote just a part:

I have the privilege of being one of Christ’s ambassadors. In his name I can offer eternal life to any man, woman, or child who is willing to have it. In his name I do offer pardon, peace, grace, glory, to any son or daughter of Adam who reads this booklet. But I dare not offer that person worldly prosperity as a part and parcel of the gospel. I dare not offer him long life, an increased income, and freedom from pain. I dare not promise the man who takes up the cross and follows Christ, that in following him he shall never meet with a storm.

I know well that many do not like these terms. They would prefer having Christ and good health, Christ and plenty of money, Christ and no deaths in their family, Christ and no wearing cares, Christ and a perpetual morning without clouds. But they do not like Christ and the cross, Christ and tribulation, Christ and the conflict, Christ and the howling wind, Christ and the storm.

Is this the thought of your heart? Believe me, if it is, you are very wrong. Listen to me, and I will try to show you [that] you have much yet to learn.

How should you know who are true Christians, if following Christ was the way to be free from trouble? How should we discern the wheat from the chaff, if it were not for the winnowing of trial? How should we know whether men served Christ for his own sake or from selfish motives, if his service brought health and wealth with it as a matter of course? The winds of winter soon show us which of the trees are evergreen, and which are not. The storms of affliction and care are useful in the same way. They discover whose faith is real, and whose is nothing but profession and form.

How would the great work of sanctification go on in a man if he had no trial? Trouble is often the only fire which will burn away the dross that clings to our hearts. Trouble is the pruning-knife which the great Husbandman employs in order to make us fruitful in good works. The harvest of the Lord’s field is seldom ripened by sunshine only. It must go through its days of wind and rain and storm.

If you desire to serve Christ and be saved, I entreat you to take the Lord on his own terms. Make up your mind to meet with your share of crosses and sorrows, and then you will not be surprised. For want of understanding this, many seem to run well for a season, and then turn back, in disgust and are cast away.

If you profess to be a child of God, leave to the Lord Jesus to sanctify you in his own way. Rest satisfied that he never makes any mistakes. Be sure that he does all things well. The winds may howl around you, and the waters swell; but fear not. “He is leading you by the right way, that he may bring you to a city of habitation.” (Psalm 107:7).

Read the full tract: “The Ruler of the Waves.”

The Florida Baptist Witness did a story on the great folks from Sawgrass Fellowship coming to help Lakeshore Baptist Church in the wake of hurricane Katrina.

SUNRISE (FBW)–A little bit can go a long way in a time of crisis according to Jan Deans, senior pastor at Sawgrass Fellowship in Sunrise.

After Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, the small church worked with their mother church, Coral Baptist in Coral Springs to send much-needed supplies to Lakeshore, Miss., 30 miles east of New Orleans.

Read the full story: Operation ‘Little Bit’ in small-town Mississippi forges partnership

We deeply appreciate the help Jan, Steve, and the other folks from SF brought. We look forward to their return visit in November.

btw, It looks like Sawgrass Fellowship just launched a new web site. Check it out.

I talked to some folks day before yesterday who came down to Lakeshore for the first time since the storm. They could not believe the utter devastation, the number of downed trees, the piles of rubble strewn everywhere they looked. The scene overwhelms the senses. Their jaw dropped when I reminded them that they were viewing the area after 3 1/2 weeks of clean-up. A lot has been done, but the clean up task remains monumental.

Chain Saw Work: If you remember the old game “pick up sticks” you will get some idea of what the landscape looks like in many areas of Lakeshore; only lots bigger. I couldn’t begin to estimate how many trees were snapped off or uprooted . We have several on the church grounds and countless others on church member’s property.

In addition to downed trees, we have a 100X40 foot wooded area of our church property we need clear cut. We will probably place a temporary building here so that we can keep the main portion of our land open for new construction.

Portable Saw Mill: If anyone happens to have access to a portable saw mill and the expertise to operate it, we should be able to make lumber out of many of the trees. I do not know anything about this, but it seems to be something worth looking into.

Debris Removal: Tree limbs, household appliances, children’s toys, clothing, pieces of furniture, concrete blocks, and all manner of debris litter the landscape like grotesque monster confetti. All of this, large and small, needs to be removed. If you can operate a Bobcat, a tractor, a wheel barrel, or even a garden rake or broom, we could use you.

House Demolition: Most of the houses even partially left standing will need to be demolished. For example, you can see what the Fricki’s house looks like. Most of our member’s homes look like that or worse. As soon as the insurance companies give the OK, these houses will have to be torn down and hauled away.

Dirt Fill: Many trees were snapped and broken off at various heights, but many others came up completely by the roots leaving massive holes in the ground. After we haul off these roots systems, we will need to bring in lots of dirt fill. We will also need to build up the marshy areas of our church property to prepare for the new construction.

If you would like to schedule a trip down, we could use all the help we can get. Just tell me when you would like to come and what kind of work your group can do and we will point you in the right direction. Please put “clean up,” and perhaps the date you would like to come, in the subject line to help me keep things organized. You can contact me at elbourne@lakeshorebaptist.net.

CNN featured Lakeshore MS Tuesday night in a piece called “Forgotten Town.” Gary Tuchman narrates:

You’ve probably never heard of the tiny town of Lakeshore Mississippi, but you are unlikely to forget about it now; because no place was hit harder by hurricane Katrina. The homes in this coastal town have simply been blown away. Block after block of nothingness. Piles of rubble covering the memories of family lives…

People from here are still missing. Prayers for them are being offered behind a steeple that was recovered from a decimated church.

Tuchman interviews a few folks and shows just a small glimpse of the devastation. The camera pans across some of the destruction and then to our blue tarp make-shift shelter and our salvaged steeple. You can watch the video on the CNN web site.

My friend, Chris Bostick, finally reported in after the storm. He is OK, but his house is gone. Chris’s grandfather, Ed, and I were good friends. After Ed died Chris and I began building a similar relationship. God has been working in his life in various ways. Chris had requested baptism. We were in the process of discussing the supernatural change God performs in our hearts through regeneration, what it means to be a believer, and the forgiveness of sin Christ provides through his work on the cross. I pray that God will continue to work in his life to His glory.

I love Chris and his family. I hope they do not mind me posting a picture of where his grandma’s house used to be. The big front porch looked out over the water. Katrina’s monster storm surge took the entire house. Not even a single board from the structure could be found.

I took this picture standing in Mrs. Bobbi’s front yard looking up at the slab for the front porch.

Standing on the porch, looking where the house used to be you can see the slab of Ed’s big work shed off to the right. Chris’s house used to be somewhere back there to the left.

Sitting on the front porch looking out to the water.

Our pianist, JoEll Fricke lost everything in the storm. Pictured above, you can see her house collapsed on top of her car. Her and her husband Geb just finished renovating the house and we had scheduled a church fellowship in their home the day before Katrina hit. We canceled the fellowship to evacuate. When the time comes I hope to have volunteers willing to lend her and Geb a hand in rebuilding their house. For now, JoEll really needs a car.

We found the church piano, that JoEll has played for years, in the woods across the road from where the church used to be. My pulpit laid beside it, surrounded by other rubble. We found the top of the piano about a hundred yards away.

I could not begin to tell you how much of a blessing JoEll has been to me and Lakeshore Baptist Church over the years. Her leadership in our Vacation Bible School musical highlights every summer. She always has an encouraging word for me. She volunteers for everything. Pictured below she wraps a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child. Her two beautiful children Gabrielle and “little Geb” are such a blessing. She is like a sister to me. I know it may be asking a lot, but I’d really love to provide her a means of transportation. If anyone would like to donate her a vehicle please call her at (228) 493-1317.

Update: The Lord provides! A gracious church in the Chicago area donated us a car and we passed it along to JoEll. Now they need a house.