WWNTBM
November Prayer/Praises and Special Dates
Click the link above to download a PDF of prayer requests and praises as well as the birthdays and anniversaries for November. Note: You will need to login to SecureCloud in order to view this document. Once you have logged in, click on Files, Shared, then Headquarter Happenings, then scroll to the month you would like to view. This step protects people with WWNTBM in restricted access fields.
For the next few months, Bro. John O’Malley will be sharing with us from his book, Overcoming Your Devotional Obstacles. We know that everyone can use some encouragement to stay in the Word of God on a daily basis, and we hope these articles will be a blessing to you in your walk with the Lord.
The Obstacle of Recollection—I wish I could remember my Devotions thirty minutes later. I tried. I failed. It makes me feel the negative emotions of guilt and sadness.
Jesus spoke of the Word of God as a seed being sown by a sower (Luke 8:5-8). The sower goes out to sow seeds. He casts the same seed on different types of soil. The way Jesus explained it, sometimes the seed hits land that is not ready for growth. He spoke of opponents and obstacles to the seed taking root. Jesus speaks of this to illustrate the Word of God going forth and taking hold in the hearts of men.
I do not like the days when I read and forget what I read thirty minutes later. To me, it is like the birds in the parable Jesus told; they come and take the seed of what I read. Then, as if I needed more guilt to carry around, I end up feeling sorry. I let the seed get snatched from my mind. I was not intentional in my thoughts on His Word.
If this happens, I refer to this axiom: read less to remember more.
When I want to remember what I read more than thirty minutes from now, I follow these tips to engage my spiritual senses:
Tip #1: Engage the spiritual sense of sight–the physical Bible or digital Bible you use for Devotions.
Growing up, I remember hearing people speaking about knowing where a verse was on the page. They would make marks in their favorite Bible. Some people like to underline or put a distinctive mark on the passage.
If you are comfortable with doing so, make marks in your Bible with pens or highlighters. Use specific colors for specific things. You could use:
If you use a digital Bible, you could save your highlights so that they appear in the text. This way of reading your Bible engages your sight which can aid remembering what you read later in the day.
You could also choose, if you are privileged to own more than one Bible, to have a Bible that you use only for reading your Devotions. I prefer a paragraph-based Bible for this type reading if I must use a bound Bible.
Tip #2: Engage the spiritual sense of hearing.
Use an audio Bible: You could listen to the Bible being read aloud by someone. I know some who holds their Bible open to the passage as the narrator reads it. When you use an audio Bible, it activates three senses: touch, hearing, and sight. Occasionally, I use an audio Bible for my reading to help me connect with His words more. I will also listen to the Bible just for something to listen to while driving, walking, or thinking. I use an audio Bible to help me learn how to pronounce the words. There are excellent recordings of the Bible available. You may have a commute for work and would find this mode of Bible reading helpful.
Reading aloud: You could engage the sense of hearing by reading the Bible aloud. Select your passage and read it aloud. Reading the Bible aloud helps me stay focused like few other things. Yes, it can be weird to do, but it works. Besides, being normal is over-rated! If you are at home when you read, gather your children and read to them. If you and your spouse are alone, read aloud to each other. If you are in a coffee shop, sit outside and read aloud. Engage the sense of hearing when you read to have a memorable reading time.
Tip #3: Engage the spiritual sense of touch.
Your Bible:
I love the feel of a leather Bible. I love to caress the leather. I like the feel of the Bible’s paper. Holding your Bible while you read engages the sense of touch. It is direct contact with God through His preserved words for you. You are in touch with God. Treat it carefully and respectfully.
You may enjoy taking colored pencils and illuminating your Bible with colors.
Your Bible app: The Bible is God’s Word whether it is displayed on a hand-held screen, projected by a projector onto the wall, or on your computer monitor. When you open your Bible app, turn off your notifications if you can and totally engage your mind and hands in the app. You are touching the very words of God. It is not in a museum case or an artifact. It is in your hands; treat it carefully.
Your 3×5 cards: I love using 3×5 cards. I enjoy writing ideas, tasks, and thoughts on them. When memorizing Scripture, copy verses onto these cards to help you to meditate, learn, and reflect.
Your notebook: I have a personal project I am working on that involves writing with a fountain pen and paper. I practice my handwriting (which needs practice) by copying Scripture from my Bible to paper. This simple act puts me in touch with God’s Word.
Tip #4: Engage the spiritual sense of taste.
Throughout Scripture, God engages the senses through taste. He gave His people manna to taste. He uses the word “taste” figuratively to convey the Word of God is like bread, honey, water, and sweetness. Engaging this sense in Bible reading requires intentional thought. It is taking the words you read and savoring their flavor in your life. Sometimes the Word of God is referred to as bitter taste. Develop taste buds for the Word of God and your taste buds for the world will diminish.
Tip #5: Engage the spiritual sense of smell.
God gave us the sense of smell. Have you considered how important smell is to God? He fills His courts with fragrance. Our praise is a fragrance to Him. Our offerings have a scent to Him. Our sacrifices are a fragrance to Him.
When you read His words, do you catch a fragrance of Him? Your reading of His Word brings you into His presence, and this worship has a fragrance that is pleasant to Him.
If these thoughts have been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. O’Malley here to let him know. If you’d like to purchase the entire Overcoming Your Devotional Obstacles book in PDF, Kindle, or iBooks format, click here.
Brother O’Malley and I spend much of our time encouraging church members to give tithes and offerings to the Lord. We emphasize Faith Promise missions in particular. An offering cannot be given to the Lord until the tithe is first given. Malachi chapter three promises that God will open the windows of heaven and bless if we are faithful to give tithes and offerings to the Lord.
I intentionally attempt to never let a day pass without thinking of the hundreds of hard-working people that make my ministry possible. Sometimes I wonder what they would purchase for themselves if they had that money in their bank account. With the exception of my first few years of marriage the Lord’s people have financed my family. The funds that they give me are actually their gift to God.
Your faithfulness to Christ is so commendable that words fail me to express my admiration for you and your ministry. However, I feel the same about those that “stay by the stuff” so that we can press forward with the light of the Gospel of Christ. It is easier for me to be reminded of this multitude of amazing church members because I am with them much of the time. Electricians, nurses, attorneys, mechanics, housewives, doctors and many more support our work. A few can certainly afford what they give, but the vast majority give up something to give willingly to the Lord. In turn, that wonderful gift is passed on to us for the support of our families and ministries.
I want to challenge us to think about them often. Pray that indeed the windows of heaven will be open to them that they might be blessed abundantly for their love for the Lord and His servants.
One question before I go. Do you give tithes and offerings to the Lord? It would be so wrong for us to live and serve on the gifts of others and then be unfaithful in our own giving to the Lord. I’m not referring to paying school bills or ministry expenses. I mean do you tithe and support missions with your money through a local church? God bless you if you do and shame on you if you don’t. You see, the servants of the Lord can rob God also. May it never be said of us.
In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone
If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. Whetstone here to let him know.
November 1 – September Financial Reports will be due.
November 11 – Most US Banks will be closed for Veterans Day.
November 20 – Please contact us by this date if you will need funds in your account before Thanksgiving.
November 23-24 – The Office will be closed in celebration of Thanksgiving.
November 30 – Revised pay date for those who normally receive funds on the 29th.
December 1 – October Financial Reports will be due.
December 8 – Revised pay date for those who normally receive funds on the 10th.
December 8 – All prayer letters should be submitted to our staff in order for your recipients to get them before Christmas.
December 18 – Please contact us by this date if you will need funds in your account before Christmas or the end of the year.
December 20-27 – The Office will be closed in celebration of Christmas.
January 1 – November Financial Reports will be due.
January 9 – Missionaries will receive their statements of December Support Received.
January 11 – All missionaries will receive their final December support on this day, regardless of the day they normally receive support.
January 15 – December Financial Reports will be due, along with any remaining receipts or financial paperwork for 2017.
January 31 – W-2 Forms and other tax documentation for the 2017 year will be available.
Pastor Chad Estep has been appointed to the Executive Board of WWNTBM. Bro. Estep has served on our Board of Reference since 2007. He has pastored Valley Baptist Church in Edinburg, VA, since 2015, where he previously served as assistant pastor under Bro. Jim Bailey since 1997. He and his wife, Becky, have three children: Jeremiah, LauraBecca, and Hunter.
Bro. Jeremy Lockhart has recently been appointed as Director of Deputation for WWNTBM. He and his wife, 
Esther, have served with WWNTBM as missionaries in Brazil for the past ten years, where they have ministered alongside Omar and Tracey Schrock. The Lord has closed the door for them to return to Brazil but has opened up this new avenue of ministry for them to assist others in getting to the field. The Lockharts are graduates of Ambassador Baptist College and are sent out of Maranatha Baptist Church in Shelby, NC, with Pastor Jim Davidson. They are currently in the process of reporting to their supporting churches and have begun representing WWNTBM as well. They have four children: Allie (12), Bethany (10), Judah (8), and Levi (3). Please pray for them as they transition into their new responsibilities. Should you wish to reach Bro. Lockhart, you may do so by email or by phone at 704-434-6152.
We have uploaded a Financial Status Report to your SecureCloud account. This is meant to show you the financial details that we have on file, such as your support estimate and the average amount of support you received this past quarter. This is information we provide to pastors who may call about your ministry. We ask that you update your support estimate once every four years, or as your lives and ministries change. Please review this information and contact us if you have any questions or changes.
The following recordings were recently published on Uplift.com. You may access the site by entering the username: wwntbm and the password: gospel. These recordings for our missions family contain the Uplift calls in their entirety, including prayer requests and challenges to our missionaries. We hope they will encourage your heart.
Do you have any topics you would especially like to hear covered during these Uplift calls? If so, please let us know. We would appreciate any feedback you can provide us.
Please help spread the word about our public podcast, Uplift For Servants. Each episode averages 10 minutes in length. These short devotional excerpts are a perfect length for listening on the go.