Happy New Year

It's interesting how the reality of passing years has such a drastically different effect on people depending on whether or not they know the Lord personally. Most people you ask are of the opinion that the years are going by too quickly..."10-20 years ago now those were the good ole days" they might say. A lot of people are living their lives looking back on what once was or what could have been. A lot of people see the future as nothing more than the certainty of old age and then death. For the child of God however there is a real sense of excitement and anticipation for the future because even though we are all getting older and will eventually leave these fleshly bodies behind....we see the future not as merely a time of old age and death but as the threshold to everlasting life.
I thank the Lord for that...He not only has given us a way to be saved in Jesus...but He has given us an inheritance in heaven that is incorruptible (1Peter 1:4). Also, the bible tells us that the Lord has put eternity in the hearts of His people (Ecc 3:11) and I can..to be quite honest with you truly testify to that fact...I'm really looking forward to spending all of eternity with Him in heaven. Just think about it....is there anything that this world can offer us that can even come close to the hope and the future that he has promised His children (those who have trusted in His Son)....No way!
Lets be encouraged to have the attitude of the Apostle Paul to not look back or live in the past but to press on with Jesus looking forward to new ways to serve Him and new opportunities to share Him with people.
Those of us who have trusted in Jesus for salvation...the future is good!...very good!
(Psalm 34:8)"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"
Amen!

A Few Updates:
Thank you so much for praying so fervently, The Lord has opened up a venue for us to meet in. It's a conference room on a guest farm here right off of main Rd. we're so thankful to the Lord and also to Lowie and Lana who own the farm and have agreed to let us meet there. Please pray for us as we will be moving to Sunday mornings as of the 13th of January. Pray that the Lord will give us favor in the community and also that we will be able to work out transportation issues in order for the farm workers to be able to come. Also, we will be getting involved with the "dream team" in February...please pray for direction and vision in how we might work with them to reach this community. Our two families are doing well..we are all healthy and the kids are getting bigger each day it seems, it's incredibly hot here now 90-100 degrees HOT. Pray for some cooler weather too if you would.

Thank you all so much for you prayers and support...we love you all and look forward to hearing from you by e-mail.
ccpaarloutreach@yahoo.com

Happy New Year and God Bless you...The Portlands