Matthew 25:37-40– 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Dear Friends,
I apologize that it has been so long since I wrote the last update letter. I have been trying to write but it seems that anytime I start to, something comes up that I have to deal with. I am sure that many of you can relate to that.
We are all well. Sissie, myself, and some others around here, all had covid right after Christmas but was nothing really serious for us and we were thankful for that.
One thing we have had happen is that we have lost 3 of our best cows in the past 2 months. One (that had horns) somehow got her head caught in the hay rack and broke her neck. Another, somehow broke her front left shoulder, and then I found our Jersey down, out in the pasture. We had the vet out here to take care of her but she did not make it.
As I would go out in the pasture and see these cows down, I would think “Well Lord, these are your cows. Why this?” But what I have found through the years is that the Lord is not under any obligation to answer us. However, no matter what, we are to trust Him that He knows what is best.
I told you all of that in order to say this—-With all that is going on in the world, we can trust that our Lord knows what is best and is in full control. So often I am overwhelmed with things I need to do, phone calls, text messages, and emails. I have to remind myself at those times that I have to ask the Lord, again, to help me establish my priorities so that my thoughts and actions are His thoughts and actions for my life. It is only in this way that He can be glorified in what we accomplish. HE is ALWAYS faithful if we will just trust Him.
The Lord willing, Chaz will be graduating this year. Chaz has lived with us since he was 2 (with the exception of 2 yrs during that time). He plans to join the Marines upon his graduation. Please pray the Lord will direct his life.
I am attaching a story by Anton Osoinach, and also a devotion by Oswald Chambers. Each of these relate to you and I being a faithful servant. Anton’s story demonstrates how the Lord can use us simply by being faithful in doing what He calls us to do. Oswald Chamber’s devotion reminds us of our responsibility to serve others as Christ did. I hope these will be a blessing to you.
As always, we thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Please continue to pray that Fairhaven will be the ministry that our Lord wants it to be in these coming days, and that only He will be glorified through what is accomplished here.
May the Lord bless and keep you all.
In HIS Service,
Johnny
NOTE: I was having a lot of problems with email when I sent out the last letter. I hope the problems are resolved now. If you did not receive the last letter in December, and would like to, please let me know.
Johnny Huffman
Fairhaven Ministry of Faith, Hope, & Love
21066 Fairhaven Road
Covington, La. 70435
Ph: 985-892-1134
Fax: 985-892-1385
Cell: 985-264-5052
Email: johnny@fairhavenministry.com
Web: hopeforothers.org
Love is God’s will in action.
Phillipians 2:4,5—Look not every man on his own things, but every man on the things of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
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The Determination to Serve
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve… —Matthew 20:28
Jesus also said, “Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27). Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s— “…ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). We somehow have the idea that a person called to the ministry is called to be different and above other people. But according to Jesus Christ, he is called to be a “doormat” for others— called to be their spiritual leader, but never their superior. Paul said, “I know how to be abased…” (Philippians 4:12). Paul’s idea of service was to pour his life out to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no difference. As long as there was one human being who did not know Jesus, Paul felt a debt of service to that person until he did come to know Him. But the chief motivation behind Paul’s service was not love for others but love for his Lord. If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another.
Paul’s understanding of how Christ had dealt with him is the secret behind his determination to serve others. “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man…” (1 Timothy 1:13). In other words, no matter how badly others may have treated Paul, they could never have treated him with the same degree of spite and hatred with which he had treated Jesus Christ. Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake.
Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.
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This is another demonstration of God’s faithfulness and love, written by Anton Osoinach. (He, his wife and family worked with our ministry in Romania for several years)
Claudiu
Claudiu,Is one of the boys that spends a lot of time on the street. Normally he does not live on the street but ends up there from time to time. He doesn’t use drugs or smoke but he spends a lot of time begging in front of Mc Donald’s. We have been talking to him for a year or so. He is one of the boys that has a weak leg as a result of an injection. His leg is very weak and skinny. At one time he had crutches but they were broken along the way so he walked with one hand in his pocket applying pressure on his thigh to keep his leg stiff.
Johnny when I pulled out the brace you should have seen his face. I put it on him and we made some adjustments, His leg is so skinny that it barely fit. I will end up inserting the other padded part to make it fit him a bit better. After that Claudiu went to take a bath and put it on under his pants. He sat near by the rest of the afternoon and waited till I finished talking to other boys.
Then He asked “Why? What did I do to deserve this gift?
I told him Nothing. It (the brace) was like Gods love, it was a free gift, not because we did any thing to merit it. The Bible says while we were sinners Christ died for us. ”
Then I told him about the man in Tamand with only one leg.
“He has a prosthesis and his prosthesis was causing a wound on his stump. He was showing it to me and asking what I could do to help him. I sat and looked and prayed, ‘God what can I do for him’. Then I remembered the sock like pads you has sent for bed sores (to use on feet, elbows etc) and slipped it over his stump, I slipped it over his stump and he tried his prosthesis on and it was a perfect, comfortable fit.
Claudiu, God knew your need even though I did not and God supplied for your need.
Claudiu, your need is the same as mine and his. It is not for colored hair, or ear rings, or cut skin or tattoos (Claudiu has all of these), but it is on the inside. It is a need for a savior to wash your sins way on the inside. And God sent a savior for both you and me before either one of us was born because He loves us.”
I left him with that and tears in his eyes.
Thought you would want to know.
There is an open door to many places and people because of the wonderful supplies you have sent me.
Thanks
Anton