The New Year (and a Mailing Update)

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“It’s always a challenge to find sources where we can turn to help us, as we do rely largely on organizations such as yours for donations. The magazine Loaves and Fishes is a very welcome addition and will be put to good use.”  —Chaplain Niles Behrens, EDC, Eloy AZ

I couldn’t be happier to announce that we have received the money for the mailing of Loaves & Fishes issue 23. Even though we missed our goal to mail four issues in one calendar year, we are encouraged to know that God is faithful and we have a team of caring supporters on our side.

Volunteers will come on Tuesday, Lord willing, to help prepare the mailings. The truck will come on Wednesday to pick up all the orders. I’ll send you another update with photos once the books are on the road.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve those in prison through printed literature. All it takes to stir my heart again is one letter from a chaplain who is self-supported and on a tight budget, asking us to please help in some way.

It’s because of your prayers and gifts that we can tell them, “Yes, we’ll be happy to send you whatever you can use for the glory of God.” You probably don’t realize how special this is to them and to me.

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Taxes and Giving

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“It’s always a challenge to find sources where we can turn to help us, as we do rely largely on organizations such as yours for donations, and the magazine Loaves and Fishes is a very welcome addition, and will be put to good use.”  —Chaplain Niles Behrens, EDC, Eloy AZ

The year is coming to an end, which means tax time is approaching, a time to make sure income and expenses are properly recorded. Some may think back over the year with satisfaction and others with disappointment, hoping for a better year in 2014.

You may wonder if it is even right to send money to a government that doesn’t operate with your principles. The corruption you hear about and all the money spent on war and things that do not align with your values could make you question your responsibility to pay taxes.

Ever since the church was established, Christians have taught that civil governments have a God-ordained duty to rule as they see best. Paul says, “The authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Romans 13:1) and “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). Jesus had a neat way of paying taxes. He sent Peter fishing, and told him to use the money he will find in the fish’s mouth to pay his taxes (Matthew 17:27).

One way to legally avoid paying taxes is to give money away. In certain tax brackets, you can either pay a chunk of income tax or give a lot and end up with about as much in the end. Ask your tax accountant and see what giving can do for your bottom line. After all, giving is God’s way to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and share the burdens of the poor.

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The Power of the Printed Page

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“It’s always a challenge to find sources where we can turn to help us, as we do rely largely on organizations such as yours for donations, and the magazine Loaves and Fishes is a very welcome addition, and will be put to good use.”  —Chaplain Niles Behrens, EDC, Eloy AZ

 
I just finished unloading six pallets of the new issue of Loaves & Fishes magazine, and was again reminded of the power of the printed page. Here we have 99,500 books, neatly boxed and ready to be processed into mail tubs and different sized boxes and mailed. These little preachers are ready to take their message to all who will read. The message will not be silent or change regardless of how much someone hates it, stomps on it, spits on it, rips it in two, or crumples it into a ball. Even burning a book is not too easy. You need a very hot fire to totally destroy a book.

This reminds us to be careful as we choose material for each new issue of Loaves & Fishes. It may be a long time before all 99,500 copies stop “preaching their sermon” and it’s impossible for us to retrieve them.

Using modern communication that reaches around the globe within seconds, we can easily forget the power of the old fashioned printed page. It’s especially useful in prison, where people don’t have access to so much technology.

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Progress in Pikeville?

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A year ago there was a report in our local paper of recent progress in Pikeville. It stated that we now have a new multimillion dollar jail, have made it legal to open a couple liquor stores, and have expanded the prison from 800 to 2,800 beds.

Just last week one evening we visited the Pikeville prison for an annual holiday service. Our group fed over 100 of the prisoners. This event is a big highlight for them and includes a delicious home-cooked meal of turkey, ham, potatoes, pie, ice cream, and everything else that goes with a holiday feast.

We sang about six songs and a brother preached to the men. Afterward, we ate and enjoyed an evening of fellowship. I always look for the loner sitting off to the side by himself; there are many lonely people in the crowd. As we were eating and talking, I tried to imagine how it would feel to be halfway through a 33-year sentence.

One man I talked with was sentenced at eighteen years of age and has been in prison for sixteen years, yet the end is not in sight. He seems like a wiser person now, but has been cheated of some of his best years in life. The devil is such a deceiver! I am reminded of the verse that says he comes to kill and destroy. Is this progress?

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