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My Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Master, I am honored that you would want to include me among your Facebook friends. I am grateful for your understanding.

Because of time restrictions, I hesitated for several years to be involved. Nevertheless, I gave in a few years ago, following the Lord’s leading. I have been astounded by those who have reached out to me in love, affirmation and friendship. As I am more intensely occupied than ever in my Ventures for Christ ministry of sharing the Lord’s grace and truth, I have asked my beloved daughter, Karen M

cCarty Anderson, if she could help me out with her thoughts, guidance and communication. Seeing the potential of those interested, she volunteered to handle my Facebook relations and keep me posted on all of you who write. She passes on your special messages of encouragement for me, even as I write back as I seek to encourage you. May our Messiah Jesus enable us all to fulfill His pleasure!

09/02/2026

𝗝𝗼𝘆𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 (𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝟭𝟬𝟬)

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise." Psalm 100 doesn't wait for your mood to catch up before it tells you what to do. Shout, worship, give thanks — the commands come first, and the feeling follows.

This week's 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 opens a new anchor psalm and makes a compelling case: joy in prayer isn't something you have to manufacture before you show up. It's the gate you walk through, not the goal you're chasing. Because underneath the psalm's imperatives is one settled fact — "we are his people, the sheep of his pasture" (v. 3). The belonging comes first.

"𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴; 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦." — Psalm 100:3

Read "Joyful Prayer" — 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 #𝟥𝟧 here:
👉 http://venturesforchrist.com/year-of-reflection/2026-reflection-35

09/01/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 September 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙝 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲!

In this issue:

👉 Pastor McCarty reflects on the memorial service of his close friend and Ventures co-founder Jim Lindsey, drawing out the seven marks of a Cross Disciple through the lens of Jim's own faithful walk with Christ.

👉 We look at the parable of the talents and what it means to be found faithful — not through spectacle, but through the steady, unglamorous obedience Jesus commends in Matthew 25.

👉 Plus, as a new school year gets underway, Ventures offers a word of encouragement for teachers, students, and everyone carrying the weight of it.
.. and more!

Read the full newsletter here: https://venturesforchrist.com/newsletter/september-2026

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08/26/2026

𝗔 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿

The shower scene in Hitchcock's 𝘗𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰 is one of the most terrifying moments in film history — pure, visceral dread. It's the kind of fear we all recognize instinctively. But Scripture uses a different word entirely for the "fear of the Lord" — one that has almost nothing to do with running away, and everything to do with awe, reverence, and drawing near.

This week's 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 traces that word through Hebrew and Greek, through the Septuagint translators who had to solve a genuine language problem to get the concept right, and lands on this: the fear of God isn't the fear that makes us flee. It's the fear that puts every other fear to rest.

"𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴; 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦." — Psalm 86:11

Read "A Bold and Comforting Fear" — 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 #𝟥𝟦 here:
👉 http://venturesforchrist.com/year-of-reflection/2026-reflection-34

08/19/2026

𝗠𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗱'𝘀 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵

F***y Crosby wrote more than 8,000 hymns without ever seeing a page of music. Blind since infancy, she composed entire hymns in her head — sometimes a dozen at once — and dictated them to be transcribed. Her hymn 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 has been sung for over a century, and its central cry echoes something written nearly 3,000 years earlier.

This week's 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 pairs Crosby's hymn with Psalm 86 — two writers, separated by millennia, arriving at the same conviction: whatever else the world offers, ultimate hope and comfort are found in the Lord alone.

"𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶." — Psalm 86:4

Read "My God's Enough" — 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 #𝟥𝟥 here:
👉 http://venturesforchrist.com/year-of-reflection/2026-reflection-33

***yCrosby

08/12/2026

𝗣𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿

In the 1969 comedy 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘺 𝘗𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵, a new small-town pastor spends his first assignment negotiating a decades-old family feud, a moonshining brother-in-law, and more gossip than he can count. It's fiction, but the underlying problem is real: churches are messy, and the people in them need someone standing in the gap for them.

That's exactly what Paul was doing for the troubled Corinthian church — praying for their restoration even as he corrected them. Scripture calls this intercession: pleading another person's case before God.

This week's 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 returns to Psalm 86 and looks at it as a model for intercessory prayer — one that blends honest personal need, real worship, and unshakable confidence in who God is. And it asks what it looks like for us to stand as go-betweens for the people God has placed in our lives.

"𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘶𝘴." — 2 Corinthians 5:20

Read "Putting the Pieces of Intercession Together" — 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 #𝟥𝟤 here:
👉 http://venturesforchrist.com/year-of-reflection/2026-reflection-32

08/05/2026

𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 (𝗣𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗺 𝟴𝟲)

Most of us know the slow erosion of a prayer life — the same request offered again and again, nothing visibly changing, until we quietly stop asking. Psalm 86 offers a different pattern entirely. In just seventeen verses, David asks and asks and asks — to be heard, saved, given mercy, taught, given an undivided heart — without a hint of apology for coming back.

This week's 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 opens a new anchor psalm and makes a striking case: David's persistence isn't spiritual pressure or wearing God down. It's confidence, grounded in exactly who God has revealed Himself to be — "compassionate and gracious... slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness" (v. 15).

"𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳, 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥; 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦." — Psalm 86:6-7

Read "Persistent Prayer" — 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 #𝟥𝟣 here:
👉 http://venturesforchrist.com/year-of-reflection/2026-reflection-31

08/01/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 August 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙖𝙝 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲!

In this issue:

👉 Pastor McCarty continues his study of Isaiah 53, walking through six stages of the Suffering Servant's cross — from believing to delivering — and what it means for Cross Disciples to carry their own cross in step with His.

👉 We reflect on Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 to find rest in Him — not the world's fragile peace, but the durable rest of a Savior who is gentle and humble in heart.

👉 With sadness, we share news of the passing of Ventures co-founder Jim Lindsey, a Razorback legend and devoted Cross Disciple whose vision helped launch this ministry in 1972.
.. and more!

Read the full newsletter here: https://venturesforchrist.com/newsletter/august-2026

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07/29/2026

𝗝𝗼𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁

There's a particular kind of wonder on a baby's face at his first fireworks show — pure, uncomplicated awe. It's a small, ordinary moment, but it points toward something much bigger.

Psalm 62 closes with King David resting on two certainties about God: His power and His unfailing love. That same confidence runs through Psalm 13, Psalm 21, and into Hebrews and Revelation — all the way to the vision of the New Jerusalem, where God's people finally see His face.

This week's 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 traces that thread of joy through Scripture and lands somewhere important: the awe we feel in small moments now is only a taste of what's coming.

"𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘺." — 1 Peter 1:8

Read "Joy at the Sight" — 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 #𝟥𝟢 here:
👉 http://venturesforchrist.com/year-of-reflection/2026-reflection-30

07/22/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄

Wile E. Coyote never catches the Road Runner — and somehow, we've never gotten tired of watching him try. Mark Twain once said the secret source of humor is not joy, but sorrow. There's something to that: the coyote's endless, doomed schemes make us laugh precisely because there's real futility underneath them.

David knew that futility firsthand. Betrayal, plots against his life, even the devastating loss of his son Absalom — Psalm 62 was written by a man who had genuine cause for sorrow. But eight of the psalm's twelve verses turn toward something else entirely: rest, refuge, and trust in God.

This week's 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 asks what it looks like to move sorrow somewhere real — past comedy, past distraction, into the kind of prayer that actually holds up under grief.

"𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦; 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘨𝘦." — Psalm 62:8

Read "The Antidote to Sorrow" — 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 #𝟤𝟫 here:
👉 http://venturesforchrist.com/year-of-reflection/2026-reflection-29

07/15/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲?

Steve Jobs dropped out of a prestigious college after six months — a decision that looked reckless at the time and turned out to shape everything that followed. In his famous Stanford commencement address, he said you can't connect the dots looking forward, only looking back — so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect.

David does his own kind of looking back in Psalm 62 — tracing God's faithfulness as rest, salvation, fortress, and refuge across his whole life, past, present, and future.

This week's 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 picks up last week's conversation about the soul and asks a pointed question: in a culture obsessed with "spirituality" in every form, why do so many of us neglect the actual health of our own souls? And what does it look like to take that seriously?

"𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥; 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮." — Psalm 62:1

Read "Which Way Will You Choose" — 𝘈 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 #𝟤𝟪 here:
👉 http://venturesforchrist.com/year-of-reflection/2026-reflection-28

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