By Michael E. Brooks

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” (Revelation 2:20).

The Jaipalgari district in West Bengal, India is known locally as “the Dooars.” This region lies in the extreme northeast area of India, not far from the countries of Bhutan, China and Bangladesh. Historically it was also near the tiny ancient kingdoms of Sikkim, Assam, and Nagarland, all now a part of India. This location made the region a natural gateway or door into a variety of nations and cultures, hence the nickname.

Life keeps all of us in proximity to a variety of opportunities. We are presented with choices every day. Some of these are material in nature, involving jobs, education, recreation, health, and similar physical matters. Other choices are emotional or spiritual. These may include relationships, attitudes, and religious or philosophical beliefs. Every one of us lives constantly at “the door”, and every presented choice demands a decision.

Jesus’ invitation, expressed in Revelation 2:20, is typical of our choices. We may accept it immediately or refuse it. If we open the door, he will enter. If we fail to open the door, he will stay outside. Notice that those are the only alternatives. It is easy to be deceived into thinking that there is a third option, that of delay. “Not now, but maybe later” is the “decision” many wish to make. In reality, however, it is plain that this is simply a refusal. The door remains closed, and he stays outside.

So it is with all our options. Opportunities knock, and we must either accept or refuse them. The state of Arkansas is filled with people who now talk about their chance to invest with Sam Walton back when Walmart was only a dream. Oh, if they had only said yes. Stock may still be purchased, but the opportunity for huge profit is long passed. Others “could have gone to college” and “made something of themselves” but time has passed and opportunity with it. I am reminded of the quotation several years ago from a famous athlete, known for his life of dissipation and consequent poor health. “If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself.” Good choice, but way too late.

A favorite saying is, “good memories have to be arranged for in advance.” Life is most rewarding if we make our decisions promptly, while opportunity exists, and if we make them based on thoughtful consideration and proper priorities. Decide now where you want your life to lead. Evaluate every choice on the basis of those goals. Open doors that lead in the right direction, and open them at the right time. We all live in “the Dooars.” Let us take good advantage of such a strategic location

by Warren Baldwin

Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When he had placed his hands on them he went on from there.

Matthew 19:13-15

You have to wonder about religious leaders who don't have room or time for children. Who are they serving? What are they serving? What is their vision for the future?

God has long been concerned about the needs of children. From Old Testament times he made it clear that children were to be cared for. Parents were to train their children in the ways of God (Deut. 6). The larger society was to see that the fatherless were taken care of. They were not to be caught up in an economic or social system where "only the strong survived" (Deut. 24:17).

Years later the prophets reminded the people of their responsibility to children. Isaiah reminds his listeners to "defend the cause of the fatherless" (Isaiah 1:17). Micah delivers a scalding judgment against those who prevent the orphan from inheriting his father's land (Micah 2:9).

This theme of caring for children is picked up in the New Testament. James defines true spirituality in terms we may not be comfortable with: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress" (Jas. 1:17).

The disciples of Jesus would not have argued with these verses. They probably would have thought of them more in line with providing for their physical needs, and that would be true. But these verses go beyond that, especially a number of passages in Deuteronomy.

God was concerned with the physical needs of children. But he was also concerned with their spiritual needs. He wanted them to be reared thinking about God, about his blessing in their lives, about his provision. Being well-fed highlighted those lessons. But being trained in righteousness was the core of the curriculum.

Christian people have debated for years on the best way to care for children who are orphaned or abandoned. Adoption? A Christian children's home? Which? I think God would say, "Yes." However we do it, let's just do it.

Taking care of children in need lies at the heart of who and what we are as followers of God.

There are a lot of children in need in our world today. Children who need food, who need clothing, who need adults who will take an interest in their lives. Adults who will take them to ball games, coach their teams, take them out for an ice cream. Adults who will pick them up and take them to Sunday School and other spiritual functions.

God calls all of us to a ministry to children. Please hear his call.

by Barbara Oliver

Ok, hang on. This is going to be a fast trip.

It has been a while since I have been able to get on line, so here is a synopsis of the travel to Tasmania.

We left Bangalore by train on Monday evening and arrived in Trivandrum 18 hours later. We were met at the train station by brother P.K. Varghese, who took us to his home.

Several years ago, J.C. and Betty had taken a site-seeing trip with the Varghese family. Since I had never been to south India before, Betty wanted me to see some of the sites (since we had not seen any so far - after a month!). So Thursday we went on a harrowing car ride to visit the palace of Patmanabhapuram and then down to the tip of India where the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean meet.

J.C. reminded me that I had been to Kashmir back when I had lived with the Choate family in India for a year and a half during 1972-74. Now, here I was at the tip of India. "Not many Americans can say that they have been from one end of India to the other", he said. Wow! What an adventurous life I have had!

The next day, when we were ready to leave, Thankum, P.K.'s wife, had tears in her eyes. She told Betty that they had not had a holiday since that time many years ago when they had taken that one with the Choates.

We boarded a Sri Lanka Airlines plane on Friday morning at 9:00 am and got to Banderanaike Airport about 55 minutes later. Lilani Thomas, Reggie Gnanasundarum's daughter, picked us up in her pickup. Lilani is great! Everyone should have the privilege of meeting her. Her life story is an inspirational one, and she tries to make every day count. You won't be around her for more than a minute before you will hear her infectious laugh!

As she drove us to her house, to my surprise, I discovered that she lives about a quarter mile from the ocean! We got to visit it only one evening, though. We did a bit of relaxing there and left by plane on Sunday night at 1:30 am and got to Singapore three hours later at 6:30 am. That is not a math mistake! We were going backwards in time.

We went to the Supreme Hotel and checked in and slept for about 2.5 hours. Once again, I regretted my inability to sleep on a plane. We got up about 11:00 and picked up our tickets for the New Zealand-Australian part of our trip.

We left Singapore at about 8:00 pm that evening and arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on Tuesday morning about 9:00, and were met at the airport by John Staiger. We stayed at his house with his wife, Linda, and family and left by bus the next day for Palmerston North. The 10 hour drive was beautiful. Lots of sheep and cattle, and snow-topped mountains, and wonderful beaches!

Thursday evening was the start of the Ladies' Challenge. There were about 50 ladies who stayed in a cottage motel-like place at night and then drove to the church building for the seminar. Betty was the speaker, and she did a great job. The seminar ended on Saturday at about 3:00. We went back to Graham and Frances Walker's to spend the night.

The next day after morning worship, the Walkers took us to Wanganui where we met Nathan and Rachel Paki and had dinner at their house. We hopped in their car and they drove us to Kent and Rachel O'Donnell's house. They took us to New Plymouth the next day to meet Steve and Juricz Blackman and family. I also met her mother, Ma, who read to me out of the Samoan Bible and then made me read to her to make sure her lessons had taken.

The next day we went site-seeing in Taupo and stayed in a hotel that was 15 meters from the lake! Kent's parents, Wally and Maureen had joined us and we all had a wonderful time together in that beautiful place.

Wednesday morning, we drove for a couple of hours and met Rex Banks, who had come down from Hamilton, just to drive us all the way to Auckland! He dropped us back at the Staigers and took off to get home in time for his Wednesday Bible study.

As we were driving up to John's house, he turned to Betty and said, 'The ladies have a Bible study tonight. I bet you would like to speak at that.' With no preparation time, she headed into that study and did a wonderful job, as usual! When it started, Linda said that they usually had a prayer session in the beginning and then at the end, but for time's sake they would dispense with the starting prayer. Betty, in a panic, shouted out, "Oh, no! We have to pray!"

By the time we got back from the ladies' class, it was 10:30 pm. Since our flight was at 6:00 am, we decided that we would just go to the airport and wait instead of trying to get a few hours of sleep only to get up at 1:30-2:00 in the morning to get to the airport, which was about an hour away. So John got us to the airport at about 12:30. We slept on some chairs, and I wondered around the airport until about 5:15, when we were allowed to board the plane. We went through Melbourne to Tasmania. As we were picking up our luggage, a voice behind said, "There you are! Welcome to Tasmania." Dennis Grisham drove us home to his wife Shirley and she has taken good care of us ever since!

Whew! That was a fast trip, I know! We covered lots of miles and met lots of great brethren. We went from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, but wherever we were, we were with family, so we were home.