{"id":3592,"date":"2019-05-24T11:15:48","date_gmt":"2019-05-24T11:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wpmu.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/?p=3592"},"modified":"2021-12-08T09:21:40","modified_gmt":"2021-12-08T09:21:40","slug":"divine-appointments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/2019\/05\/24\/divine-appointments\/","title":{"rendered":"Divine Appointments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cAnd now, in my old age, don\u2019t set me aside. Don\u2019t abandon\nme when my strength is failing.\u201d Psalm 71:9, NLT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the busyness of life, it can be easy to forget those who\nhave walked in our shoes. We may get annoyed that our day is interrupted as\nsomeone slowly attempts to complete a routine task. And in a culture that\nidolizes youth and beauty, lines on a face or gray hair can make someone feel\nless valuable or that they no longer contribute to a world that seems to be\nquickly passing by. But to God, each person is of infinite value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For 50 years, Doug and his wife, Helga, have lived out this\ntruth. Though a tutor by profession, he found his calling bringing God\u2019s love\nto people others might not even notice. Whether it\u2019s to someone tucked away in\na nursing home or rehab center or to a person in a halfway house or addictions\nprogram, Doug has devoted his life to bringing God\u2019s Word to the often\nforgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter who we are, God has a calling for each of\nus. He has a desire for us to become more like him and to share him with a\nworld that needs to hear his Word,\u201d said Doug. \u201cEvery Christian is called to be\na blessing to others, and I have found my calling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each month, Doug visits at least fifteen nursing homes. As\nhe went from facility to facility, one thing he noticed was the lack of Bibles\nwith text large enough for the residents to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAt one of the facilities, the activities cart had the\nlargest Bible I had ever seen. It was enormous! I asked the activities person\nabout it, and she said when a person requested a Bible they wheeled the cart\ninto the room and read to him or her,\u201d said Doug. \u201cThat day I knew I needed to\ndo something. Many of these people needed the comfort of the Word of God right\nnext to them and shouldn\u2019t have to wait for someone to wheel in a cart to engage\nwith God\u2019s Word.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the help of Tyndale House Publishers, Doug was able to\ncreate a Giant Print New Testament and Psalms special edition. In less than two\nyears, he has personally given out 8,000 of these Bibles and is working with\nnursing home ministers to distribute additional Bibles to people in residential\nfacilities in several states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe New Living Translation really conveys the warmth and\nintimate love God has for each us. It is so well received by the residents\neverywhere I go. Not just the nursing homes but also the halfway houses and addictions\nand rehabilitation centers. People of all ages can relate and understand it.\nThroughout the text, you feel God\u2019s persevering love for us,\u201d said Doug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even at 78 years old, he doesn\u2019t have plans to slow down. Doug\nis part of a softball team, and when he is on his way to tournaments, he brings\nseveral copies of the special edition Bible to drop off at nursing homes and\ncenters he passes on his way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery time I talk to a resident at a nursing home or share\na Bible with a staff member, I know the privilege of being able to share God\u2019s\nlove with them. These are divine appointments, and I never take that for\ngranted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His passion for sharing the Word of God is encouraging others\nto share God\u2019s love too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThere are several homes where the residents have started\ntheir own Bible studies since they each have a Bible they can read. Others feel\nmore confident sharing what God is doing in their lives with a Bible right\nthere next to them,\u201d said Doug. \u201cGod\u2019s Spirit is in each of us, and we need to\nbe the funnel for God\u2019s love to be shown to everyone we come in contact with.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd now, in my old age, don\u2019t set me aside. Don\u2019t abandon me when my strength is failing.\u201d Psalm 71:9, NLT In the busyness of life, it can be easy to forget those who have walked in our shoes. We may get annoyed that our day is interrupted as someone slowly attempts to complete a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,14,15,42,44,45,54,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5798,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3592\/revisions\/5798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmu2.azurewebsites.net\/nlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}