Joseph Herrin (03-19-2011)

Having finished the recent revision of the book “Laying Down the Law,” I have not been posting as often as I might wish. There have been a great many things keeping me busy. Let me begin with my bus/motorhome.

As most of you know, upon completing four months on the road this past fall, the Father directed me to convert a bus into a motorhome. I spent a little more than two months doing the work on the bus, and on January 1st of this year I moved in.

Since moving in, work has continued on the bus, including painting the exterior. I had used a few warm days this past winter to get most of the exterior painted. The majority of what remained was on the nose of the bus. There were some rusted areas on the hood and front fenders that needed patching and sanding, and I was awaiting some warmer weather to complete this work.

In the meantime, I decided to also take care of some mechanical issues on the bus. When I drove it from Macon, Georgia the forty miles to where I have been camping, the bus was running rough. It lacked power, and was backfiring as it went down the road. (I am sure there is a spiritual parable there, as vehicles often represent ministries.)

A few weeks back I purchased all the parts needed to do a tune-up on the bus. The bus is built on a 1972 GMC chassis, and it has a GMC 350 V8 gas engine. I purchased new spark plugs and wires, a distributor cap, rotor, points, condenser and ignition coil. I bought some new belts and an air filter and gas filter.

Engine mechanics is not an area in which I have a lot of experience, so I asked a friend who has worked on a lot of vehicles to perform the work for me. He is not a professionally trained mechanic, but has done extensive work on many people’s vehicles, usually with good results. However, he was not to meet with success in working on my bus. After installing all the parts, and making some adjustments to the distributor, and spark plug wiring, he was unable to get the bus to crank. He worked on the bus for two days, being met with a growing frustration.

I was not too concerned, for I had nowhere I needed to go in the bus, having recently paid for another month’s rent at the RV park. I thanked him for his time, and waited on the Father to show me what to do next. I was able to find a couple of GMC service manuals for the bus. It is amazing what is available on the Internet. All the tune-up specifications were there. A couple weeks later I made a connection with a brother in Christ who had attended some meetings I had spoken at in North Georgia last year. He is a master mechanic, and had told me previously that if I had any mechanical needs to please call on him. I did, and Marc Liebermann came down last week-end with his wife Honesty.

Marc is originally from Germany, having been in the United States for more than a decade. I felt led to invite another brother who is a German transplant to come and fellowship with us that day. Joe Boes is a dear brother with whom I have been blessed to meet with on numerous occasions. Both brothers are skilled mechanics, and I was delighted to watch them conversing (often in German) as they discussed the situation. I told them that since there was an interpreter present, it was okay for them to speak in tongues. (As an aside, my family name is also of German derivation.)

Joe arrived some hours before Marc and Honesty, and we were able to break bread and share some wonderful fellowship together. Later that afternoon, my daughter also dropped by.

It didn’t take long for Marc to solve the mechanical problems with the bus. It was good to hear it crank, and run smoothly. Marc and Honesty spent the night in town so that we could fellowship some more the next day. It was truly a week-end of much blessing.

Having gotten the bus motor running well, I figured it was time to complete the work on the nose. I spent a couple days this week doing Bondo work, sanding, and painting.

There have been other projects I have been attending to. A little over a year ago I created a series of newsletters to send to men and women in prison, as well as to make available for people who find it difficult to read teachings on the computer. I took the books I had written, and put them into a newsletter format, posting them online so that others could also have access to these teachings, being able to print them out and share them with others. You can find the original newsletters online.

http://www.heart4god.ws/bookshelf/index.html

I initially created 58 newsletters, but recently I have come to the end of all that I had prepared. Some who had been receiving them from the beginning had gone through the entire series, and I felt the need of creating more, especially for those who are in prison, for they very much need Biblical teachings that will help them to grow spiritually and renew their minds. I have spent a number of days expanding the number of newsletters. I now have 83 different newsletters prepared, and I intend to add to that number.

I have received many gracious letters of appreciation from those who are receiving the newsletters, and I consider the opportunity to send them out to be a high point of that work the Father has given to me.

I have had to make some changes to my method of printing. I was using inkjet printers, as the cost per page was less than laser printing. After going through three inkjet printers in as many months, I concluded that they simply could not handle the volume of material I am printing. So last month I purchased a color laser printer manufactured by Brother.

The print quality is much better than the inkjet printers I had been using, and it is several times faster, enabling me to complete my work more quickly. I have been very pleased with the printer thus far, but consumables are more expensive. It costs approximately $240 to replace the four toner cartridges. I ran through my first set of cartridges after having the printer two weeks. At some point I may find it more cost effective to have the newsletters printed in bulk by a printing company. Then I will only need to print labels for the newsletters.

Each newsletter is 18-24 pages. The actual sheets of paper are half of this number as I print on both sides of the paper. It requires a 61 cent stamp to mail each newsletter. I very much appreciate the brothers and sisters who have sent in financial contributions making this work possible. Prisoners do not have the financial resources to pay for the cost of printing and mailing. Yahweh will certainly honor those who have given freely that others might be fed spiritually.

Matthew 25:39-40
“When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

I am hopeful that a wider door of opportunity will be opened to get these newsletters into the hands of more prisoners, as well as those who are not able to read these teachings on the Internet. Believe it or not, not everyone has Internet access.

A less enjoyable, but necessary, use of my time recently has been spent at the dentist’s office. Many of those who read this blog know that I was born with a hereditary bone disease called Osteogenesis Imperfecta. It is commonly called “Brittle Bone Disease.” This condition has led to about a dozen fractures throughout my life, most of them when I was a child.

I learned later on in life that there is a corollary condition of the teeth called Dentinogenesis Imperfecta. This leads to the teeth becoming brittle, and breaking. After I turned forty a decade ago, I began breaking teeth. I have now had about a dozen break. I spent time at the dentist the past two weeks getting four broken teeth pulled. The good news is that I do not have any more broken teeth in my mouth. The bad news is…, well, let’s just say that my dentures are expanding.

Projects Pending

It has been satisfying to get the recent book on the Law updated, to get more newsletters prepared, and to make further progress on the bus I am living in. I have a list of projects still pending, however. There are more newsletters to create, and I would like to update and revise a couple more books, as well as write some new ones. There are Parables Blog posts to be written, and a sizable amount of e-mail to attend to.

The other day I sensed the Spirit speaking to me through the words “Feed My Sheep.” It is truly an honor and a blessing to be able to do so. I am very grateful that the Father has called me to this work. I desire to be found as the faithful servant that Yahshua spoke of in one of His parables.

Matthew 24:45-47
Who then is the faithful, thoughtful, and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household to give to the others the food and supplies at the proper time? Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is that servant whom, when his master comes, he will find so doing. I solemnly declare to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
[Amplified Bible]

In the book of Genesis we read that Joseph, the son of Jacob, took food from his table and gave it to his brothers (Genesis 43:34). It is a delight and a privilege to be able to follow in this pattern. For those who will pray for me, please remember to ask that I might be given wisdom to know where and how to make the best use of my time. There are many demands upon me.

As much as I enjoy the work of the ministry, at times I find that I neglect that which is most needful, which is to spend time with the Father. If I fail to abide in the Vine, I will wither away spiritually, and have no fruit to share with others. I hope to share in a following post how the Father has been bringing to my mind this matter of spending focused time in communion with Him.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Heart4God Website: http://www.heart4god.ws

Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com  

Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063