Update from Lud, August ’24

During the last month I have slowed down some after the very full schedule in Ohio.  I taught one Bible study and will do the monthly vesper service tomorrow.  I had the joy of praying with a guy to receive Jesus Christ here in the community.  And yesterday I was at the bedside just a couple of hours before one of the residences here graduated to glory.  I told God after breakfast, “I’m available and on assignment.”  Then, shortly after, while sitting to study for tomorrow’s vesper service, there was a knock on the door.  The family of the dying woman requested I come and have prayer.  I shared from what I was studying in John 10, where Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, no one can snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (verses 27-29).  What a comfort to share with family and friends this promise for one like this woman who was a believer in Jesus Christ.  It was a joy to prayerfully put her into the unbreakable grip of Father and Son.

During July I had the blessing of being with Tammi’s whole family, all 21 of them!!  What fun!  In addition, I had the privilege of doing a 50^th anniversary, renewal of vows celebration with Mickey and Susan Rice.  They came down close to where I live with their whole family for a weekend.

Yes, I am still having serendipitous encounters along the way.  Following is another one I  had many years ago shared by Ajith Fernando from Sri Lanka.

“Lud Golz came to Sri Lanka when I was in my late teens.  Youth for Christ was new in Sri Lanka and there were a few of us young volunteers with a desire to minister and learn.  The Evangelical movement at that time was a very small group in our country.  How grateful some of us are to Lud because he opened to us the Scriptures and showed us some of the treasures that could be gleaned from them if we applied ourselves to it.  I particularly remember him describing the prayer of Paul in Colossians 1, placing books on the floor to describe what I believe he called “The Cycle of Growth.”  Thanks, Lud for your commitment to the world that has spanned many years.  And thanks Mur.  As one who travels a lot now, I know how hard it is to be separated because of travel.  You  bore it for the Gospel, and many the world over are grateful for that sacrifice.”

Now, 15 years later I received the following milestone report from him:

THANKING GOD AT 75 YEARS

I thought I would spend some time on my seventy-fifth birthday thanking God for his blessings to me. I could go on and on. I limited my list to a few points that come to mind.

I thank God for

• The glorious gift of salvationand of being a child of God. As the day of seeing my Savior’s face draws nearer, that desire is moderated only by the sense that there is more work to do on earth.
• God’s gift of joy, graciously given despite all my failings, which makes life beautiful!
• The familyI was born into, my parents and siblings, where I first tasted Christianity and real love.
• The familyI got through marriage: my beloved wife, the greatest human medium of God’s grace in my life and my children, their spouses and grandchildren, the delight of my life.
• The call to ministry, the thrill of which has never left me; and knowing that perhaps I still have some work to do for God on earth.
• The privilege of prayingfor people, churches, organizations, and nations, which I can hopefully do even when I am too physically weak for active ministry.
• The delights of God’s wordand the privilege of studying and teaching it.
• The family of Youth for Christof which I have been a part for 57 years. They propped me up and compensated for my weaknesses and together we were involved in some thrilling exploits for God.
• The family of the Nugegoda Methodist Churchof which I have been a part for over forty years. How much Nelun and I have learned as we have tried to apply the Christian teaching within the context of that body.
• My friends,some of whom are accountability partners, whose protection I cherish, and many others with whom I have enjoyed hours and hours of refreshing godly conversation.
• My teacherswho have taught me through their words and their lives: seminary teachers, mentors, mentees, the subjects of biographies I have read, pastors and authors.
• The church in Sri Lanka, whose servant I seek to be.
• The privilege of having had an international ministry. How much I have learned from Christians of other cultures and what sweet fellowship I enjoy with them!

Praise the LORD!  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 106:1)

Ajith Fernando, Long time Director and now Teaching Director, Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka