Heading to London Saturday

I've been preparing to go to London for quite a time now. I leave with 23 others on Saturday night (Aug 12) for a long overnight flight to Gatwick to spend ten days distributing Arabic New Testaments to vacationing Muslims. I heard a figure the other day that said the groups before us had passed out over 30,000 copies of the Scripture.

God is truly doing a great thing within that people group and it will be a great privilege to be a part of it. American evangelism puts so much emphasis on the "soul winning" aspect of witnessing that little attention and no honor is bestowed upon the "seed sowing" part. Yet it is vital. All the glory goes to those who keep count in order to brag that "I've led xxx people to the Lord at my last revival meeting." To be sure, people are being regenerated in the power of the Holy Spirit during these past few weeks but the final tally will not be known until this age has come to a conclusion. I am satisfied with putting the only true way of salvation into people's hands and leaving the Lord to do His great work in their hearts as they read through His powerful Word. I am also hopeful that the Lord will allow me to engage in several conversations where perhaps I can be present when the blind are made to see and the deaf are made to hear.

Of course, to get to London means I have to fly - right on the heels of the recent terrorist activity in London earlier today. All seems to be well and all terrorist plots were averted before they could be set into motion. Praise the Lord for the diligence and hard work of the anti-terrorist protectors in London and America.

But now, my long arduous flight to London will begin with a long arduous ordeal in the Charlotte airport. I am not looking forward to that. In fact, I have no fear whatsoever of flying in this age. My trust and confidence is in the Lord and His perfect ability to complete the work He has begun in me. I don't know what my "expiriation date" is but He does and I can rest comfortably in that.

But I cannot shake the sick feeling in my stomach every time I think of standing in that long, snaking, slow moving line at the airport, shuffling my feet and luggage a fraction of an inch every couple minutes.

Then word came out that no carry-on luggage is allowed on the planes. No laptops. No MP3 players. No phones. I look forward to lack of electronic entanglements but no carry-on means no briefcases or backpacks with books. I can't imagine a flight of that length with no books. I'll take one or two in my hands that I don't mind losing if I have to toss it but I gotta try.

So, whoever reads this thing, say a prayer for our group that God would work mightily through our feeble attempts to spread His word and that many lives are made new through the reading of that powerful word.