Yesterday I took my dad and son to visit an old friend of my dad's. Dan Troyer is an Amish man that can no longer speak because of a stroke but he is totally aware of everything that is going on. This man owned a large sawmill and was an entrepreneur in every sense of the word. However his most notable work was after he accetped Christ as a Savior. This happened much later in his life. This might surprise some of you but old order Amish and Mennonites very rarely have a relationship with Christ. They are in a religion that is built around what they do, not what they are or better yet who Christ is! They hope to be saved by the works that they do and the hardships they endure by shunning worldly ways. Once this man found Christ and the assurance of his salvation he became a man of God and literally traveled around the world sharing his faith. Much of his overseas work was in the Palestinian community!

It is an interesting thing to "reject or shun the world." In many ways that seems rather inviting at times. In fact I believe that most everyone I know ought to occasionally evaluate their lives in this area. We would all be better off by being less effected by the culture around us. We are after all, as Christ followers, just strangers and pilgrims passing through this life to a land far better where we will spend eternity with the one who has given us eternal life. Maybe we ought to start working on our relationship with the Lord so we recognize Him someday. (Smile) Time spent with Him down here is an investment in our future with Him forever.

This day meant a lot to my father and I was glad he agreed to find somebody to watch my mother while he got away for a few hours. Who would have thought that this old friend lives only 30 minutes away. I also found out that some old Amish friends from my teen age years live fairly close by as well. I took many a buggy ride with these guys as a teenager in Pennsylvania. By the way, my dad is the one on the right!!