In the days of Hosea and Jonah, Obadiah and Habakkuk…
They had lost their country, their king, their temple; they were threatened with the loss of their very identity. It helped them see God’s consistent love and purpose still alive and valid for them. They were invited to view that terrible experience as God’s way of refining them, preparing them for His purpose.
Perhaps this is what God is doing with us. Perhaps he has extended the invitation to us in our trials, as it was to the Israelites. Sometimes God removes the things from our life in which we have placed parts of our identity. Your home. A trusted friend. The dear family member. A job. Your health. The health of your spouse. The behavior of a child. The reputation of your family. The loss of different facets of our identity painfully removes our faulty placements of security and comfort that we’ve built up. It brings us back to see God’s consistent love and purpose as our single, lasting identity. His love and purpose cannot be lost. The Israelites spent 350 years losing everything they had identifies themselves with for over 1000 years. But the theme through this section of God’s Word is His continuing love and His sovereignty over history.
We live in a different time, but God never changes. His love for us is still the same and his sovereign control over our lives is still to refine and prepare His people for His purpose.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
As The Scales Fall
God has used this week to make another layer of scales fall from my eyes. Have I figured out specifically where I am called? I have no idea. But I do know after this week that the costs are going to be much higher than I had last calculated.
Today’s chapel message from 2 Corinthians 1:3-9 about suffering and our Great Comforter, once again prepares me for the difficulties of a future overseas. Again, this is part of God removing scales from my eyes. I do not need to fear what suffering may come because the God of all comfort has already declared me clean by His righteousness. I do not need to fear what comes or run from the dark, hard places. James 1:17 says that God is the Father of lights. Because of His comfort and His righteousness that I am clothed with, I can turn and go into the dark, difficult places because I bear His light and am guided by the Great Comforter and Father of Lights.
How far am I willing to go? Will I limit myself to go somewhere where I can love and serve fashionable, beautiful people? Or will I go where people are dirty and reek from lack of basic hygiene? Where disease runs rampant? Where it is hot, humid, and wet? Am I willing to be a woman in a place where women are inferior, cannot be touched, and cannot look men in the face? Am I willing to go to a place that my life would be in danger of Islamic threat?
The whole time I’m thinking of questions and scenarios about myself and my personality. How might I fit in that context? Then the Lord reminded me, my life is not the point! As John Piper says, “Missions is not the ultimate goal. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.” This is about God and His glory. People were created for that glory. Now in their deep lostness, they are image bearers far from being the worshipper that God created them to be. Philippians 2:10 tells us that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. That may be exciting news within the church, but that is tragic news for millions! Those who refuse Christ or never hear the name of Jesus will bow down to the King of kings but it will be in their submission and His judgment.
227,000 people die every week in Bangladesh without hearing about our Savior Jesus. That’s as if a spumoni is swiping through that nation every single week. We think we’ve experienced hopeless. THAT is hopeless! Hopelessness that needs to meet face to face with our Savior Jesus. During the midst of his call, one missionary saw a poster of several young boys from around the world. The words that he said still ring in my head- Can I get there before these boys die?
God is preparing me now. This preparation for the foreign mission field is no different than that of a believer who will never be capable of leaving the US. It is the utter pursuit of Christ. The more you know someone, the more you act like them, respond like them, love like them. You pick up on their traits. This is my pursuit now. My preparation is does not need to be trying to equip myself with all the necessary skills. The diligent pursuit of becoming like Christ. Conforming to the image of the One with whom I must abide.
Today’s chapel message from 2 Corinthians 1:3-9 about suffering and our Great Comforter, once again prepares me for the difficulties of a future overseas. Again, this is part of God removing scales from my eyes. I do not need to fear what suffering may come because the God of all comfort has already declared me clean by His righteousness. I do not need to fear what comes or run from the dark, hard places. James 1:17 says that God is the Father of lights. Because of His comfort and His righteousness that I am clothed with, I can turn and go into the dark, difficult places because I bear His light and am guided by the Great Comforter and Father of Lights.
How far am I willing to go? Will I limit myself to go somewhere where I can love and serve fashionable, beautiful people? Or will I go where people are dirty and reek from lack of basic hygiene? Where disease runs rampant? Where it is hot, humid, and wet? Am I willing to be a woman in a place where women are inferior, cannot be touched, and cannot look men in the face? Am I willing to go to a place that my life would be in danger of Islamic threat?
The whole time I’m thinking of questions and scenarios about myself and my personality. How might I fit in that context? Then the Lord reminded me, my life is not the point! As John Piper says, “Missions is not the ultimate goal. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.” This is about God and His glory. People were created for that glory. Now in their deep lostness, they are image bearers far from being the worshipper that God created them to be. Philippians 2:10 tells us that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. That may be exciting news within the church, but that is tragic news for millions! Those who refuse Christ or never hear the name of Jesus will bow down to the King of kings but it will be in their submission and His judgment.
227,000 people die every week in Bangladesh without hearing about our Savior Jesus. That’s as if a spumoni is swiping through that nation every single week. We think we’ve experienced hopeless. THAT is hopeless! Hopelessness that needs to meet face to face with our Savior Jesus. During the midst of his call, one missionary saw a poster of several young boys from around the world. The words that he said still ring in my head- Can I get there before these boys die?
God is preparing me now. This preparation for the foreign mission field is no different than that of a believer who will never be capable of leaving the US. It is the utter pursuit of Christ. The more you know someone, the more you act like them, respond like them, love like them. You pick up on their traits. This is my pursuit now. My preparation is does not need to be trying to equip myself with all the necessary skills. The diligent pursuit of becoming like Christ. Conforming to the image of the One with whom I must abide.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Surrender
Reblogged from Walking Worthy ~August 17, 2011
Surrender. It all comes down to surrender. Does anything we have in our lives actually belong to us? Did we decide on and create the people in our lives to custom fit our needs and our circumstances? No, of course not! Our all-knowing, wise Creator did! The people in our lives are gifts from God. They are instruments used for God purposes.
Surrender is key to Christ-centered relationships; so that when the time comes to let go, you already have. Now I am not saying that you should not love or even that you should love less. Of course that would be disobedience to Christ’s many commands to love one another and give thanks for each other. This does not mean you live at an arms distance either because the New Testament clearly demonstrates living life with each other and bearing each others’ burdens and joys. But the best love, what I believe to be the most Christ-glorifying love, is love with open hands. Holding loosely to the things and people God has entrusted to you.
This comes back to living with eternal perspective. Relationships, as we know them, are also temporary.
They serve eternal purpose and with believers they have an aspect which will last for an eternity. But that is the Christ-glorifying aspect! What we manage to accomplish in the slightest way here of centering our relationships around Christ is only a shadow of the purpose of our eternal relationships with other followers of Christ. John Piper writes in Don’t Waste Your Life about a plaque which hung in his home as a child. My sister also made me a replica of it which hangs over my bed. It reads, “Only one life twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”
If you live a life of constant surrender, you respond differently to God’s direction. Take possessions for example. If I have surrendered my possessions to God, then when something is stolen, sold, or given away it comes with ease and joy because I’ve already given it to God! It is His anyway. My life doesn’t fall apart at the loss of those things. Surrendering your possessions can be tough and has to be done every time you make a Christmas wish list or start packing for a big move. But something I believe is even harder to surrender than possessions is relationships. Relationships of all kinds – with our parents, with our friends, with our sisters and brothers, with our church family, with children, and with husbands.
Remember the idea of living with open hands. This is where holding loosely becomes so important. In receiving and giving of the things we’ve been entrusted with by God, keeping this “open hands” mindset gives freedom to live for eternal things. Again, this does NOT mean you do not love, invest in, cherish, and serve the people in your life; rather it means you do those things for the sheer glorification of Christ. If in Christ’s call for you to die to self and take up your cross, He requires you to go great distances from your family and friends or you lose a dear one to death or sickness, open hands enables you to trust God’s greater purpose and bigger plan. Great challenges and lose will come in our fallen world, ask God to instill this concept into your heart and life ahead of time.
For example, as a single I surrender my future husband to God. I hold loosely to him before I even know who he might be. Whether or not God chooses to give him to me or however long or short God allows me to have him before one of our deaths, I surrender him. I surrender my children, before I even have them. That means whether or not God allows me to have children, how long my children might live, and how they might obediently follow Christ in difficult or distant ways. I have neither husband nor children right now, but these are areas in my life that demonstrate the need to live with open hands. Even when God entrusts us with relationships for a season of our life, we are to receive, rejoice, and release- all with open hands.
What if we don’t surrender? Sometimes we turn the blessings from God into idols. We turn the things that God intended for us to use as tools for serving Him into things we serve instead of Him. This is no different from those mentioned in Romans 1 who traded worshipping the Creator for worshipping mere created things. Living continually with two open hands leaves no room for clinging to an idol or hiding it behind your back. Surrender has to be daily. We cannot muster up the ability to surrender. We must ask for it from God. The good news is- it is God’s desire too, and He will equip us and strengthen us each day!
Surrender. It all comes down to surrender. Does anything we have in our lives actually belong to us? Did we decide on and create the people in our lives to custom fit our needs and our circumstances? No, of course not! Our all-knowing, wise Creator did! The people in our lives are gifts from God. They are instruments used for God purposes.
Surrender is key to Christ-centered relationships; so that when the time comes to let go, you already have. Now I am not saying that you should not love or even that you should love less. Of course that would be disobedience to Christ’s many commands to love one another and give thanks for each other. This does not mean you live at an arms distance either because the New Testament clearly demonstrates living life with each other and bearing each others’ burdens and joys. But the best love, what I believe to be the most Christ-glorifying love, is love with open hands. Holding loosely to the things and people God has entrusted to you.
This comes back to living with eternal perspective. Relationships, as we know them, are also temporary.
They serve eternal purpose and with believers they have an aspect which will last for an eternity. But that is the Christ-glorifying aspect! What we manage to accomplish in the slightest way here of centering our relationships around Christ is only a shadow of the purpose of our eternal relationships with other followers of Christ. John Piper writes in Don’t Waste Your Life about a plaque which hung in his home as a child. My sister also made me a replica of it which hangs over my bed. It reads, “Only one life twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”
If you live a life of constant surrender, you respond differently to God’s direction. Take possessions for example. If I have surrendered my possessions to God, then when something is stolen, sold, or given away it comes with ease and joy because I’ve already given it to God! It is His anyway. My life doesn’t fall apart at the loss of those things. Surrendering your possessions can be tough and has to be done every time you make a Christmas wish list or start packing for a big move. But something I believe is even harder to surrender than possessions is relationships. Relationships of all kinds – with our parents, with our friends, with our sisters and brothers, with our church family, with children, and with husbands.
Remember the idea of living with open hands. This is where holding loosely becomes so important. In receiving and giving of the things we’ve been entrusted with by God, keeping this “open hands” mindset gives freedom to live for eternal things. Again, this does NOT mean you do not love, invest in, cherish, and serve the people in your life; rather it means you do those things for the sheer glorification of Christ. If in Christ’s call for you to die to self and take up your cross, He requires you to go great distances from your family and friends or you lose a dear one to death or sickness, open hands enables you to trust God’s greater purpose and bigger plan. Great challenges and lose will come in our fallen world, ask God to instill this concept into your heart and life ahead of time.
For example, as a single I surrender my future husband to God. I hold loosely to him before I even know who he might be. Whether or not God chooses to give him to me or however long or short God allows me to have him before one of our deaths, I surrender him. I surrender my children, before I even have them. That means whether or not God allows me to have children, how long my children might live, and how they might obediently follow Christ in difficult or distant ways. I have neither husband nor children right now, but these are areas in my life that demonstrate the need to live with open hands. Even when God entrusts us with relationships for a season of our life, we are to receive, rejoice, and release- all with open hands.
What if we don’t surrender? Sometimes we turn the blessings from God into idols. We turn the things that God intended for us to use as tools for serving Him into things we serve instead of Him. This is no different from those mentioned in Romans 1 who traded worshipping the Creator for worshipping mere created things. Living continually with two open hands leaves no room for clinging to an idol or hiding it behind your back. Surrender has to be daily. We cannot muster up the ability to surrender. We must ask for it from God. The good news is- it is God’s desire too, and He will equip us and strengthen us each day!
Monday, August 1, 2011
August 1st Already?!?
Can anyone tell me how it got to be August 1st so fast?! Glory be to God for an absolutely incredible summer! The tables have turned for me through the years of coming to Ecuador. Five years ago on August 1st, I arrived in Ecuador for my first long stay of four months. I cried a lot that day and every single day for the next month! Now as my departure date has almost arrived, I am so sad to leave and the tears are for a new reason! This past Saturday night at dinner, the sadness set in. When I got back to my room that night, “I said, Okay God, you’ve got to help me here. I feel so sad and I’ve got to keep moving forward!” Our Heaven Father graciously comforted me with these words, “Katie, I have great things planned for you for your life. Just like I have here. I didn’t write a single pointless, purposeless chapter for your life. The next is rich with purpose just like this one has been. The best news is that I NEVER leave you alone for one chapter. I go with you through all the chapters. I wrote them. Rest in me. You’re sad because I created you to love. If you trust me, your sadness is even precious to me. I’ll hold you and guide you.” Thank you God for speaking to the depths of my heart! The same is true for you. Every facet of our lives as followers of Christ is rich with purpose. So live like it!
As you know (and prayed), I spent this past week in Salasaka working with First Baptist Church Rocky Mount. Let me say- THANK YOU for praying! God worked this week on His watch! The days were full of visits and building relationships with contacts from Rocky Mount’s last two trips in February & May. Let me give you a few highlights and a few beautiful people to pray for!
Daycare- We worked with the children and teacher at a daycare for two days. We
played games and told Bible stories to the children, and my personal favorite, we made friends with the four sweet women who work there. I got to help Anita in the kitchen and see little glimpses of her heart. Anita is not a follower of Christ. Her mother-in-law, who was a evangelical, just passed away. Anita made a clear distinction between her religion and her in-laws. Please pray for Anita’s salvation. Through my time in the kitchen with Anita, I found out about the hidden burden that one of the other teachers, Maricela, carried behind her soft smile and business with the children. Maricela’s mom died eight days before in childbirth. The baby died too. Maricela’s eleven year old sister Johanna has moved in with her, her husband, and their three year old little boy. Thanks be to God for His timing in our visit. One of the women on the team from Rocky Mount and I were able to share the Gospel with Maricela and Johanna in response to their grief. Their sweet hearts are broken and grieving. It is evident that God is working in Maricela’s heart.
Please pray for Maricela and Johanna. Pray that as these families grieve these deaths that the Great Comforter will show himself to them. Pray that they will chose to follow Jesus through this difficult time.
Francisco- A man who is hard and closed to the Gospel. An indigenous man who has worshipped Pachimama (Mother Earth) since he was a child. Worships regularly at a “holy place” on the mountains. He says he has been blessed and he is content with this practice. He sees division among other religions and has no desire to change. His face is solemn. His opinion strong. FBC Rocky Mount is faithful to love him anyway and continue to visit him every trip. Please pray for Francisco and his wife Anna Maria. Pray for the eyes of their hearts to be opened by the Holy Spirit and the consistence of Rocky Mount to soften his heart to true followers of Christ.
House Church- We had the privilege of visiting a house church, one that I visited five years ago. It was a joy to visit and encourage these brothers and sisters in Christ. What an encouragement they were to us! After sitting for two hours of listening to Bible teaching they were eager to continue for another hour or more!
When is the last time you sat in church and didn’t look at your watch when your stomach started growling? When is the last time you were so hungry for God’s Word that you would sit for hours just to hear it taught? I don’t know about you, but that was a convicting afternoon for me! Pray for our hunger for God’s Word to grow to such eagerness. Pray for Angel and this house church to continue on in obedience.
FBC Rocky Mount & Translators- Last thing- Please thank God with me for the incredible relationships developed this week within the team! Thank Him for their obedience and desire to serve Him by serving the people of Ecuador! What a blessing to serve with Wanda, Gretchen, Mike, Allison, James, Jimmy, Cecilia, Diego, and Aunt Ruby! Gracias a Dios por mis hermanos aqui!
I cannot begin to tell you everything. You’d likely grow tired of hearing the details, but be confident in this, God IS working in Ecuador. He is working in the people and He is working in me! I cannot image what my life would be like without having had the privilege of serving here this summer! God is not finished with me! And He’s not finished with you! Obedience prepares us for more obedience! There is more to come! In that there is great JOY!
As you know (and prayed), I spent this past week in Salasaka working with First Baptist Church Rocky Mount. Let me say- THANK YOU for praying! God worked this week on His watch! The days were full of visits and building relationships with contacts from Rocky Mount’s last two trips in February & May. Let me give you a few highlights and a few beautiful people to pray for!
Daycare- We worked with the children and teacher at a daycare for two days. We
played games and told Bible stories to the children, and my personal favorite, we made friends with the four sweet women who work there. I got to help Anita in the kitchen and see little glimpses of her heart. Anita is not a follower of Christ. Her mother-in-law, who was a evangelical, just passed away. Anita made a clear distinction between her religion and her in-laws. Please pray for Anita’s salvation. Through my time in the kitchen with Anita, I found out about the hidden burden that one of the other teachers, Maricela, carried behind her soft smile and business with the children. Maricela’s mom died eight days before in childbirth. The baby died too. Maricela’s eleven year old sister Johanna has moved in with her, her husband, and their three year old little boy. Thanks be to God for His timing in our visit. One of the women on the team from Rocky Mount and I were able to share the Gospel with Maricela and Johanna in response to their grief. Their sweet hearts are broken and grieving. It is evident that God is working in Maricela’s heart.
Please pray for Maricela and Johanna. Pray that as these families grieve these deaths that the Great Comforter will show himself to them. Pray that they will chose to follow Jesus through this difficult time.
Francisco- A man who is hard and closed to the Gospel. An indigenous man who has worshipped Pachimama (Mother Earth) since he was a child. Worships regularly at a “holy place” on the mountains. He says he has been blessed and he is content with this practice. He sees division among other religions and has no desire to change. His face is solemn. His opinion strong. FBC Rocky Mount is faithful to love him anyway and continue to visit him every trip. Please pray for Francisco and his wife Anna Maria. Pray for the eyes of their hearts to be opened by the Holy Spirit and the consistence of Rocky Mount to soften his heart to true followers of Christ.
House Church- We had the privilege of visiting a house church, one that I visited five years ago. It was a joy to visit and encourage these brothers and sisters in Christ. What an encouragement they were to us! After sitting for two hours of listening to Bible teaching they were eager to continue for another hour or more!
When is the last time you sat in church and didn’t look at your watch when your stomach started growling? When is the last time you were so hungry for God’s Word that you would sit for hours just to hear it taught? I don’t know about you, but that was a convicting afternoon for me! Pray for our hunger for God’s Word to grow to such eagerness. Pray for Angel and this house church to continue on in obedience.
FBC Rocky Mount & Translators- Last thing- Please thank God with me for the incredible relationships developed this week within the team! Thank Him for their obedience and desire to serve Him by serving the people of Ecuador! What a blessing to serve with Wanda, Gretchen, Mike, Allison, James, Jimmy, Cecilia, Diego, and Aunt Ruby! Gracias a Dios por mis hermanos aqui!
I cannot begin to tell you everything. You’d likely grow tired of hearing the details, but be confident in this, God IS working in Ecuador. He is working in the people and He is working in me! I cannot image what my life would be like without having had the privilege of serving here this summer! God is not finished with me! And He’s not finished with you! Obedience prepares us for more obedience! There is more to come! In that there is great JOY!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Headed to Salasaka
Last night we picked up the First Baptist Church Rocky Mount team from the airport. Mrs. Ruby & I will head to Salasaka this morning to work with them in their REAP community. Just after meeting them briefly last night, I am so excited to spend the rest of this week with them! We have so much to learn from each other and have so much excitement to share about taking the gospel to the nations. I believe God is going to use them greatly this week in building relationships with the Quichua people of Salasaka.
This week we enter into a place of darkness. A community with very little evangelical presence. Rituals and false hope fills their religious lives. They pray to the Virgin Mary and the Saints. Sure, they’ve heard of Jesus, but they worship the child Jesus or the crucified, dying Jesus. They do not know the victory of the resurrection and the freedom of salvation. Pray that this week the strongholds of Satan will be broken. Pray that some will begin seeking Truth in the Bible and that for some their search will be over and they will be saved by Jesus Christ and experience true victory and freedom.
I cannot believe that 7 or my 8 weeks here are over! The time has gone by so fast. I got a card from my sister Britney back in June that encouraged me to live to the fullest. Elizabeth Elliot said, “Where ever you are, be all there.” Please pray that I will give of myself in service to my Savior this week by pouring into the people and into this team. I don’t want to hold anything back. I want God to use me. Please pray that God will advance our hearts’ desires to live out His love and gospel this week and our lives!
Finally please pray for our friends, Fabian and Gloria’s big evangelistic campaign this Friday, Saturday, & Sunday as they celebrate the 3rd Anniversary of the church they helped start. Please pray that the community will see Jesus through them as the Gospel is preached and sung and free meals are served.
This week we enter into a place of darkness. A community with very little evangelical presence. Rituals and false hope fills their religious lives. They pray to the Virgin Mary and the Saints. Sure, they’ve heard of Jesus, but they worship the child Jesus or the crucified, dying Jesus. They do not know the victory of the resurrection and the freedom of salvation. Pray that this week the strongholds of Satan will be broken. Pray that some will begin seeking Truth in the Bible and that for some their search will be over and they will be saved by Jesus Christ and experience true victory and freedom.
I cannot believe that 7 or my 8 weeks here are over! The time has gone by so fast. I got a card from my sister Britney back in June that encouraged me to live to the fullest. Elizabeth Elliot said, “Where ever you are, be all there.” Please pray that I will give of myself in service to my Savior this week by pouring into the people and into this team. I don’t want to hold anything back. I want God to use me. Please pray that God will advance our hearts’ desires to live out His love and gospel this week and our lives!
Finally please pray for our friends, Fabian and Gloria’s big evangelistic campaign this Friday, Saturday, & Sunday as they celebrate the 3rd Anniversary of the church they helped start. Please pray that the community will see Jesus through them as the Gospel is preached and sung and free meals are served.
Friday, July 22, 2011
For Such a Time as This
I have been in Quito for the past several weeks. Living life with Ruby & Fletcher has been a JOY, to say the least! I love being a REAP team member and a niece in the house of my Aunt Ruby & Uncle Fletcher! We’ve had major construction going on in their apartment for the past two weeks and today things are beginning to be put back into place. Four years ago when I lived with them and planned to teach English classes, a volcano erupted a week after I got there! My schedule shift to major disaster relief for the next three months! So hey- what’s a little cement dust! (Okay- I know Aunt Ruby- it was more than a little ;) I’m glad to be here…for such a time as this!
My translator project is complete! I presented the re-vamped “Translator Ministry” notebook to Ruby and Fletcher on Wednesday night. Over the past three weeks, I’ve been meeting with small groups of potential translators to share what REAP is, what we believe, and what we expect of them as translators. Now we have updated profiles and pictures ;-) on each of them! I’ve also contacted many through phone calls and e-mails. It has kept me busy and I have loved every minute of it! I love projects that I need a “To Do List” for! I love to organize things and to meet new people so it was a fun job for me. So I am thankful to be here for such a project as this!
I’ve been very thankful for some of the people that I’ve met through this. I made a wonderful new friend with a young woman. Through one of these routine translator meetings, I was drawn to this girl. I knew there was more to know about her beneath the surface. Through reading her profile and a later e-mail from her, I learned of some questions and burdens that she is carrying as a new believer. Since then we’ve been able to meet and talk about these things! It’s been so evident that God orchestrated this whole thing. What a gift this dear friend is to me! Such a reminder that behind every face is a story! Stories of pain and joy. Stories written by God intricate in design and rich in purpose. I know God gave me this translator project for such a friend as this!
Tomorrow morning we leave for the weekend to visit and encourage some friends near Ambato, where I spent a semester with the Dickersons in 2006. We are excited to spend time with these dear friends. They are faithful servants and missionaries to their own people. Just like when I get back to Henderson and Wake Forest, and just like you right where you are right now, God has purpose for us for each day! That purpose never differs from sharing the greatness of our God and living out the Gospel to every person you encounter. God put you exactly where you are for such a time as this. Look for those moments and rejoice in them!!
Please pray for my new friend, for safety as we travel, and for rich encouragement to be exchanged among us and our brothers and sisters-in-Christ this weekend.
My translator project is complete! I presented the re-vamped “Translator Ministry” notebook to Ruby and Fletcher on Wednesday night. Over the past three weeks, I’ve been meeting with small groups of potential translators to share what REAP is, what we believe, and what we expect of them as translators. Now we have updated profiles and pictures ;-) on each of them! I’ve also contacted many through phone calls and e-mails. It has kept me busy and I have loved every minute of it! I love projects that I need a “To Do List” for! I love to organize things and to meet new people so it was a fun job for me. So I am thankful to be here for such a project as this!
I’ve been very thankful for some of the people that I’ve met through this. I made a wonderful new friend with a young woman. Through one of these routine translator meetings, I was drawn to this girl. I knew there was more to know about her beneath the surface. Through reading her profile and a later e-mail from her, I learned of some questions and burdens that she is carrying as a new believer. Since then we’ve been able to meet and talk about these things! It’s been so evident that God orchestrated this whole thing. What a gift this dear friend is to me! Such a reminder that behind every face is a story! Stories of pain and joy. Stories written by God intricate in design and rich in purpose. I know God gave me this translator project for such a friend as this!
Tomorrow morning we leave for the weekend to visit and encourage some friends near Ambato, where I spent a semester with the Dickersons in 2006. We are excited to spend time with these dear friends. They are faithful servants and missionaries to their own people. Just like when I get back to Henderson and Wake Forest, and just like you right where you are right now, God has purpose for us for each day! That purpose never differs from sharing the greatness of our God and living out the Gospel to every person you encounter. God put you exactly where you are for such a time as this. Look for those moments and rejoice in them!!
Please pray for my new friend, for safety as we travel, and for rich encouragement to be exchanged among us and our brothers and sisters-in-Christ this weekend.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Top 10 things I’m thankful for from my 22nd year of life-
1. Ricky Vest officially becoming my brother. (Can’t believe Friday they’ve been married a whole year!)
2. Completing my first year of seminary (including GREEK…with A’s!!!)
3. Family Nights with Britney and John Marks. (What a blessing to be in WF and then in Henderson with them!)
4. C-N-C (aka College-n-Career) @ North Henderson really became a family!
5. Making such incredible, life-long friends at Southeastern. What a gift!!! (Can’t believe this time last year we didn’t even know each others’ names!)
6. The 8 months of the Nikon D-5000 and the first 7 months of the 365 Picture Project!
7. Living only 28 miles from my parents & my home church & being able to serve both again!
8. Another trip to Ecuador- God is so gracious in teaching me and preparing me for the future AND allowing me to serve with Aunt Ruby & Uncle Fletcher plus meeting so many new people!
9. Sunday Nights at the Sanders- Britney and John Marks buying a house in Henderson/the example they are living out for me, other young couple (Cecelia & Tony, Mike & Erica), and the students.
10. Lelia. Enough said :-)
2. Completing my first year of seminary (including GREEK…with A’s!!!)
3. Family Nights with Britney and John Marks. (What a blessing to be in WF and then in Henderson with them!)
4. C-N-C (aka College-n-Career) @ North Henderson really became a family!
5. Making such incredible, life-long friends at Southeastern. What a gift!!! (Can’t believe this time last year we didn’t even know each others’ names!)
6. The 8 months of the Nikon D-5000 and the first 7 months of the 365 Picture Project!
7. Living only 28 miles from my parents & my home church & being able to serve both again!
8. Another trip to Ecuador- God is so gracious in teaching me and preparing me for the future AND allowing me to serve with Aunt Ruby & Uncle Fletcher plus meeting so many new people!
9. Sunday Nights at the Sanders- Britney and John Marks buying a house in Henderson/the example they are living out for me, other young couple (Cecelia & Tony, Mike & Erica), and the students.
10. Lelia. Enough said :-)
Monday, July 11, 2011
Time to Put the Pieces Together
The Lord has been so good in teaching me this summer. Now it is time to put some of the pieces together. This lesson has themed around the 4th of July. I’m going to give this to you the way I started to realize it, not in the order it all took place. So get ready to rewind with me.
On July 3, I skyped in for Sunday School. The lesson was about how our freedom in Christ leaves no room for selfishness. Now hold your place here and rewind to the previous week that I had spent with Elizabeth. Despite how incredible the week was with her and how privileged I realized that I was, I carried this attitude of entitlement around with me. An entitlement that when Ruby & Fletcher got back from Peru that I didn’t have to speak any more Spanish! Another entitlement was that I would return to all my comforts and my solid community of believers, which was completely ignorant of the struggles of Elizabeth’s life after I go back to NC. As I wrote in a previous blog, the Lord thoroughly convicted me of this on that last morning with her. So needless to say when Sunday School rolled around the next morning, there was no doubt in my mind of my own selfishness. We discussed this concept of entitlement during the lesson that day. The truth is everything that we think we are entitled to actually belongs to God. HE is the one deserving of everything and I deserve nothing! When I claim such entitlement, I exalt myself to the place of thinking I deserve what God deserves instead of being humbled!
Before that day in Sunday School, the Lord had already begun this lesson of how we spend our freedom through an encouraging letter I received the week before from my dear friend Logan. She wrote Galatians 5:13, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another.” Through her letter, God began to teach me, “Katie, don’t let your freedom in Christ make you think you can do whatever you want. I did not set you free to rule over yourself, but to be free to walk by the Spirit and to love others, and for you, to GO, SERVE, and TELL!”
Now let’s return to Sunday School, the last verse of the lesson was Philippians 3:20 which says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” We are made for and eagerly await OUR country. That country is Heaven; as believers we are NOT citizens of this earth! This is a continuous lesson for me. My home is NOT the USA. It is NOT North Carolina. And the hardest of all to realize, my home is NOT where my family is.
That whole Sunday School lesson of entitlement came back to mind as we celebrated the 4th of July with all the IMB missionaries. As Americans in Ecuador that day, I had this attitude that we are entitled to take the day off, to celebrate, and to eat all our favorites! But I spent that day thinking about this citizenship of Heaven. Yes, we are privileged to be US Citizens, I realize that now more than ever, BUT that is a very temporary citizenship. It does not compare to our true citizenship. I am not a citizen of Ecuador, or of the USA, or North Africa/Middle East or any other country the Lord leads me to. My home and my citizenship are in Heaven.
Now rewind with me one more time to the Monday before this lesson. I opened a letter from my newest brother, Ricky. This letter is a priceless treasure. God used his letter to empower me to look courageously at who God has created me to be. My greatest challenge this summer has been working through my desperate fear of what God is going to call me to do in the next four years and in my life. But Ricky’s letter beautifully described my life, my calling, the support and love of my family, and where my home is.
This lesson continues every day. Luke 1:74 says, “…that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve [Christ] without fear.” What inconceivable deliverance! What astounding freedom! As my Daddy said in his 4th of July sermon, “Giving into ourselves is a false way to get to freedom. To truly enjoy our freedom, we must realize what it cost. Sometimes we don’t appreciate the freedom we have because we did not pay the price to have it.” Jesus alone paid the price for us, the undeserving. Pray for me to continually serve him without fear because of this great freedom!
~*~*~*~*~*~
Special thanks to God today for those mentioned throughout this puzzle. Thank you for being crucial pieces of this life lesson for me by faithfully speaking God’s truth into my life! Know that God is using you in great ways!
On July 3, I skyped in for Sunday School. The lesson was about how our freedom in Christ leaves no room for selfishness. Now hold your place here and rewind to the previous week that I had spent with Elizabeth. Despite how incredible the week was with her and how privileged I realized that I was, I carried this attitude of entitlement around with me. An entitlement that when Ruby & Fletcher got back from Peru that I didn’t have to speak any more Spanish! Another entitlement was that I would return to all my comforts and my solid community of believers, which was completely ignorant of the struggles of Elizabeth’s life after I go back to NC. As I wrote in a previous blog, the Lord thoroughly convicted me of this on that last morning with her. So needless to say when Sunday School rolled around the next morning, there was no doubt in my mind of my own selfishness. We discussed this concept of entitlement during the lesson that day. The truth is everything that we think we are entitled to actually belongs to God. HE is the one deserving of everything and I deserve nothing! When I claim such entitlement, I exalt myself to the place of thinking I deserve what God deserves instead of being humbled!
Before that day in Sunday School, the Lord had already begun this lesson of how we spend our freedom through an encouraging letter I received the week before from my dear friend Logan. She wrote Galatians 5:13, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another.” Through her letter, God began to teach me, “Katie, don’t let your freedom in Christ make you think you can do whatever you want. I did not set you free to rule over yourself, but to be free to walk by the Spirit and to love others, and for you, to GO, SERVE, and TELL!”
Now let’s return to Sunday School, the last verse of the lesson was Philippians 3:20 which says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” We are made for and eagerly await OUR country. That country is Heaven; as believers we are NOT citizens of this earth! This is a continuous lesson for me. My home is NOT the USA. It is NOT North Carolina. And the hardest of all to realize, my home is NOT where my family is.
That whole Sunday School lesson of entitlement came back to mind as we celebrated the 4th of July with all the IMB missionaries. As Americans in Ecuador that day, I had this attitude that we are entitled to take the day off, to celebrate, and to eat all our favorites! But I spent that day thinking about this citizenship of Heaven. Yes, we are privileged to be US Citizens, I realize that now more than ever, BUT that is a very temporary citizenship. It does not compare to our true citizenship. I am not a citizen of Ecuador, or of the USA, or North Africa/Middle East or any other country the Lord leads me to. My home and my citizenship are in Heaven.
Now rewind with me one more time to the Monday before this lesson. I opened a letter from my newest brother, Ricky. This letter is a priceless treasure. God used his letter to empower me to look courageously at who God has created me to be. My greatest challenge this summer has been working through my desperate fear of what God is going to call me to do in the next four years and in my life. But Ricky’s letter beautifully described my life, my calling, the support and love of my family, and where my home is.
This lesson continues every day. Luke 1:74 says, “…that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve [Christ] without fear.” What inconceivable deliverance! What astounding freedom! As my Daddy said in his 4th of July sermon, “Giving into ourselves is a false way to get to freedom. To truly enjoy our freedom, we must realize what it cost. Sometimes we don’t appreciate the freedom we have because we did not pay the price to have it.” Jesus alone paid the price for us, the undeserving. Pray for me to continually serve him without fear because of this great freedom!
~*~*~*~*~*~
Special thanks to God today for those mentioned throughout this puzzle. Thank you for being crucial pieces of this life lesson for me by faithfully speaking God’s truth into my life! Know that God is using you in great ways!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
God's Goodness Redefined- According to Psalm 73
This has been crucial for me in the past few weeks. How we define God’s Goodness changes our perspective of Him. I know that some of us need to rethink how you define God’s Goodness or maybe you are in the middle of some circumstances that you are beginning to think God is not all that good or at least not to you. In Psalm 73, Asaph went from defining God’s goodness as God blessing those who are pure in heart to defining it as nearness to God. If you can relate here, read through this Bible study from a Study on the Attributes of God-
~*~*~*~*~
Asaph, a Levite who was chief of the musicians under David (1 Chronicles 16:4-7,37), composed Psalm 73. My conviction is that the central theme of Psalm 73 is the goodness of God. The first and the last verses of the psalm contain the word “good.” Through the course of time and this psalm, Asaph undergoes a radical change in his understanding of the meaning of the term “good.” Because Asaph’s misconception of the meaning of “good” is virtually the same as evangelical Christians today, we must understand the message of this psalm and the meaning of the term “good.”
Asaph describes a period in his life when he had serious spiritual struggles. His premise was the goodness of God, particularly His goodness to His own people, Israel: “Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!” (verse 1).
To Asaph, this affirmation of truth meant that because God was “good” to Israel, God’s blessings would constantly be poured out upon those Jews who were righteous. On the other hand, the unrighteous could expect many difficulties. Now there is an element of truth in this, as we can see from the blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy 28-30. But it was not altogether true, and this was evident even in the Book of Deuteronomy:
2 “And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).
Asaph admits to his readers that he strayed far off course. He was so far from the truth that he came close to destruction. In his words, “his feet had almost slipped” (verse 2). He seems to be confessing that he considered giving up the faith and forsaking the way of righteousness, supposing that it was of no real benefit.
Asaph’s problem was largely due to his distorted perspective. First of all, he was envious of the wicked. Unlike Lot, whose righteous soul was vexed by the sin all about him, Asaph wished he could be in the sandals of those who were wicked. He did not hate their sin; he envied their success (verse 3). Second, he was self-righteous. He looked upon himself as being better than he was. He seems to have supposed he deserved God’s blessings and concluded his “righteous living” had been in vain:
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, And washed my hands in innocence; 14
For I have been stricken all day long, And chastened every morning (Psalms 73).
These verses also suggest Asaph views his suffering as coming from God. God was punishing him, he supposed, for being godly. Third, Asaph seems to have been consumed with self-pity. It is really difficult to see life clearly when you are looking at it through tear-filled eyes. And these tears were the tears of self-pity.
I believe Asaph’s words in verses 4-9 which describe the wicked are a description of those whom Asaph saw in the congregation of Israelites who came to worship. Asaph is talking about wicked Jews rather than pagan Gentiles. I also believe Asaph’s analysis is highly distorted and inaccurate.
Asaph makes some very sweeping generalizations in the first half of the psalm, implying that all the wicked prosper and the righteous, which surely included him, suffer. He wrongly supposes the wicked are always healthy and wealthy and thinks none of the wicked experience the difficulties of life. Even in their death, they are spared from discomfort. He likewise thinks those who prosper are all arrogant, blaspheming God, daring Him to know or care about what the wicked are doing.
There is some measure of truth in this. Some of the wealthy wicked would be just as Asaph has described them. But Asaph has over-generalized, making it seem God blesses all the wicked and punishes all the righteous. The wicked flaunt their wickedness and are blessed. The righteous practice their righteousness and are punished for doing so. As far as Asaph is concerned, there is good reason to consider joining the wicked rather than fighting them (see verses 10-14).
But Asaph was wrong, and this he confesses at several points in the psalm.
2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; My steps had almost slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant, [As] I saw the prosperity of the wicked (verses 2-3).
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I should have betrayed the generation of Thy children (verse 15).
21 When my heart was embittered, And I was pierced within, 22 Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was [like] a beast before Thee (verses 21-22).
The turning point in the psalm is verse 15. Up to this point, Asaph viewed life from a distorted human perspective. To him, the goodness of God meant health and wealth, not unlike the “good life gospeleers” of our own day. But, as Asaph admits, he was wrong. In verses 15-28, he explains why he was wrong, ending with an entirely different definition of “good.”
When Asaph came “into the sanctuary of God,” he was able to “perceive their end” (verse 17). Now Asaph viewed the prosperity of the wicked in the light of eternity rather than simply from the vantage point of time. Those who seemed to be doing so well in their wickedness Asaph now saw in great peril. Their feet were on a slippery place. In but a short time, they would face the judgment of God. Their payday for sin might not come in this life, but it would surely come in eternity:
18 Surely Thou dost set them in slippery places; Thou dost cast them down to destruction. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! 20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, Thou wilt despise their form (verses 18-20).
How foolish, even beastly, Asaph had been to think the wicked would get away with their sin, and there would be no day of reckoning. How foolish to conclude God was punishing him for avoiding the sinful ways of the wicked. Asaph now sees his relationship with God in its true light. Eternity holds for him the bright hope of God’s glorious presence. But in addition to this future blessing, Asaph has the pleasure of God’s presence in this life:
23 Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. 24 With Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven [but Thee]? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (verses 23-26).
Asaph now sees that the prosperity of the wicked has hardened their hearts toward God. They have become proud, arrogant, and independent of God. Asaph also sees his “affliction,” whatever that might be, as a source of great blessing. His suffering and agony drew him closer to God; the prosperity of the wicked drew them away from God. His trials were indeed a gift from God for Asaph’s good. His struggles had led him into a deeper intimacy with God and were thus worth all the agony and distress of soul. Trusting God and living a holy life are not just the means to eternal blessings; they are the way to great temporal blessings as well.
Now Asaph understands the “goodness” of God in a different way. He has a new
definition for “good.” In verse 1, “good” really meant the absence of pain, difficulty, trouble, sorrow, ill health, or poverty. In verse 28, “good” means something far better than physical prosperity:
28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Thy works (verse 28).
Nearness to God—intimate fellowship with God—is our highest good. We may say then that whatever interferes with our nearness to God, our fellowship with Him, is actually evil. And whatever draws us into a deeper fellowship with God is actually “good.” When God brings suffering and adversity into our lives, our confidence in His goodness should not be undermined. Instead, we should be reassured of His goodness to us.
In the end, Job’s suffering brought him nearer to God; thus it was good, and God was good in afflicting him. Paul’s suffering brought him nearer to God, and he saw it as a blessing (Philippians 3:10). The chastening of the Lord in the life of the Christian is not only evidence of our sonship, it is God’s working in us for good (Hebrews 12:1-13; see Romans 8:28).
~*~*~*~*~*~
Click here to find the full study of the Attributes of God.
~*~*~*~*~
Asaph, a Levite who was chief of the musicians under David (1 Chronicles 16:4-7,37), composed Psalm 73. My conviction is that the central theme of Psalm 73 is the goodness of God. The first and the last verses of the psalm contain the word “good.” Through the course of time and this psalm, Asaph undergoes a radical change in his understanding of the meaning of the term “good.” Because Asaph’s misconception of the meaning of “good” is virtually the same as evangelical Christians today, we must understand the message of this psalm and the meaning of the term “good.”
Asaph describes a period in his life when he had serious spiritual struggles. His premise was the goodness of God, particularly His goodness to His own people, Israel: “Surely God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!” (verse 1).
To Asaph, this affirmation of truth meant that because God was “good” to Israel, God’s blessings would constantly be poured out upon those Jews who were righteous. On the other hand, the unrighteous could expect many difficulties. Now there is an element of truth in this, as we can see from the blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy 28-30. But it was not altogether true, and this was evident even in the Book of Deuteronomy:
2 “And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).
Asaph admits to his readers that he strayed far off course. He was so far from the truth that he came close to destruction. In his words, “his feet had almost slipped” (verse 2). He seems to be confessing that he considered giving up the faith and forsaking the way of righteousness, supposing that it was of no real benefit.
Asaph’s problem was largely due to his distorted perspective. First of all, he was envious of the wicked. Unlike Lot, whose righteous soul was vexed by the sin all about him, Asaph wished he could be in the sandals of those who were wicked. He did not hate their sin; he envied their success (verse 3). Second, he was self-righteous. He looked upon himself as being better than he was. He seems to have supposed he deserved God’s blessings and concluded his “righteous living” had been in vain:
13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, And washed my hands in innocence; 14
For I have been stricken all day long, And chastened every morning (Psalms 73).
These verses also suggest Asaph views his suffering as coming from God. God was punishing him, he supposed, for being godly. Third, Asaph seems to have been consumed with self-pity. It is really difficult to see life clearly when you are looking at it through tear-filled eyes. And these tears were the tears of self-pity.
I believe Asaph’s words in verses 4-9 which describe the wicked are a description of those whom Asaph saw in the congregation of Israelites who came to worship. Asaph is talking about wicked Jews rather than pagan Gentiles. I also believe Asaph’s analysis is highly distorted and inaccurate.
Asaph makes some very sweeping generalizations in the first half of the psalm, implying that all the wicked prosper and the righteous, which surely included him, suffer. He wrongly supposes the wicked are always healthy and wealthy and thinks none of the wicked experience the difficulties of life. Even in their death, they are spared from discomfort. He likewise thinks those who prosper are all arrogant, blaspheming God, daring Him to know or care about what the wicked are doing.
There is some measure of truth in this. Some of the wealthy wicked would be just as Asaph has described them. But Asaph has over-generalized, making it seem God blesses all the wicked and punishes all the righteous. The wicked flaunt their wickedness and are blessed. The righteous practice their righteousness and are punished for doing so. As far as Asaph is concerned, there is good reason to consider joining the wicked rather than fighting them (see verses 10-14).
But Asaph was wrong, and this he confesses at several points in the psalm.
2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; My steps had almost slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant, [As] I saw the prosperity of the wicked (verses 2-3).
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I should have betrayed the generation of Thy children (verse 15).
21 When my heart was embittered, And I was pierced within, 22 Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was [like] a beast before Thee (verses 21-22).
The turning point in the psalm is verse 15. Up to this point, Asaph viewed life from a distorted human perspective. To him, the goodness of God meant health and wealth, not unlike the “good life gospeleers” of our own day. But, as Asaph admits, he was wrong. In verses 15-28, he explains why he was wrong, ending with an entirely different definition of “good.”
When Asaph came “into the sanctuary of God,” he was able to “perceive their end” (verse 17). Now Asaph viewed the prosperity of the wicked in the light of eternity rather than simply from the vantage point of time. Those who seemed to be doing so well in their wickedness Asaph now saw in great peril. Their feet were on a slippery place. In but a short time, they would face the judgment of God. Their payday for sin might not come in this life, but it would surely come in eternity:
18 Surely Thou dost set them in slippery places; Thou dost cast them down to destruction. 19 How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors! 20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when aroused, Thou wilt despise their form (verses 18-20).
How foolish, even beastly, Asaph had been to think the wicked would get away with their sin, and there would be no day of reckoning. How foolish to conclude God was punishing him for avoiding the sinful ways of the wicked. Asaph now sees his relationship with God in its true light. Eternity holds for him the bright hope of God’s glorious presence. But in addition to this future blessing, Asaph has the pleasure of God’s presence in this life:
23 Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. 24 With Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven [but Thee]? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (verses 23-26).
Asaph now sees that the prosperity of the wicked has hardened their hearts toward God. They have become proud, arrogant, and independent of God. Asaph also sees his “affliction,” whatever that might be, as a source of great blessing. His suffering and agony drew him closer to God; the prosperity of the wicked drew them away from God. His trials were indeed a gift from God for Asaph’s good. His struggles had led him into a deeper intimacy with God and were thus worth all the agony and distress of soul. Trusting God and living a holy life are not just the means to eternal blessings; they are the way to great temporal blessings as well.
Now Asaph understands the “goodness” of God in a different way. He has a new
definition for “good.” In verse 1, “good” really meant the absence of pain, difficulty, trouble, sorrow, ill health, or poverty. In verse 28, “good” means something far better than physical prosperity:
28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Thy works (verse 28).
Nearness to God—intimate fellowship with God—is our highest good. We may say then that whatever interferes with our nearness to God, our fellowship with Him, is actually evil. And whatever draws us into a deeper fellowship with God is actually “good.” When God brings suffering and adversity into our lives, our confidence in His goodness should not be undermined. Instead, we should be reassured of His goodness to us.
In the end, Job’s suffering brought him nearer to God; thus it was good, and God was good in afflicting him. Paul’s suffering brought him nearer to God, and he saw it as a blessing (Philippians 3:10). The chastening of the Lord in the life of the Christian is not only evidence of our sonship, it is God’s working in us for good (Hebrews 12:1-13; see Romans 8:28).
~*~*~*~*~*~
Click here to find the full study of the Attributes of God.
Friday, July 8, 2011
A Brief Update
This week has been full but it has flown by! I have been working on contacting all our potential translators, meeting with them, and updating their contact info. I am loving it! Give me a notebook. Tell me to organize it and to contact people. Let me make a “To Do List,” meet people for coffee, tell them what we believe (and expect of them as translators) and take their pictures! And I’m right in my zone!! Hopefully when I’m finished, finding translators will be much easier for Ruby & Fletcher and the REAP teams in the future.
Some of the translators are not believers. Pray that as they have opportunity to translate for a team that by hearing the gospel over and over out of their own mouth the Truth will penetrate their hearts. Some of the women that I meet about translating have deeper needs. One beautiful young woman I met today has the desire to grow spiritually but says she doesn’t understand because she is a new believer and is not part of a church. Pray that the Lord will give me wisdom on who and how to best invest and disciple them in the short time I have here.
REAP has one other member besides the Dickersons- Miss Patti. Miss Patti is 73 years old and has been a missionary for two years. She teaches ESL classes. I spent Wednesday afternoon with her and assisted in her English class. Lots to learn from Miss Patti about being obedient to God no matter what!
I’ve had a great week with my Aunt Ruby & Uncle Fletcher! It started by celebrating the 4th of July with all the missionary families here! Many of which are mentors and heroes in the faith to me! Then on Monday night we made our favorite tradition together- Blizzards! Dairy Queen has nothing on us! They’ve taught me more card games this past week than I’ve ever played before! We love playing cards together at night after our full days! Thank the Lord with me for giving me such incredible family to serve with here!
Some of the translators are not believers. Pray that as they have opportunity to translate for a team that by hearing the gospel over and over out of their own mouth the Truth will penetrate their hearts. Some of the women that I meet about translating have deeper needs. One beautiful young woman I met today has the desire to grow spiritually but says she doesn’t understand because she is a new believer and is not part of a church. Pray that the Lord will give me wisdom on who and how to best invest and disciple them in the short time I have here.
REAP has one other member besides the Dickersons- Miss Patti. Miss Patti is 73 years old and has been a missionary for two years. She teaches ESL classes. I spent Wednesday afternoon with her and assisted in her English class. Lots to learn from Miss Patti about being obedient to God no matter what!
I’ve had a great week with my Aunt Ruby & Uncle Fletcher! It started by celebrating the 4th of July with all the missionary families here! Many of which are mentors and heroes in the faith to me! Then on Monday night we made our favorite tradition together- Blizzards! Dairy Queen has nothing on us! They’ve taught me more card games this past week than I’ve ever played before! We love playing cards together at night after our full days! Thank the Lord with me for giving me such incredible family to serve with here!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Una Semana Incredible
I spent the last week house-sitting for the Dickersons while they attended a missionary conference in Peru. My dear friend, Elizabeth Ascanta, spent the week with me. The Lord truly provided through us spending the week together. I believe it was a rich experience for both of us. Elizabeth is from an indigenous community in Tupigachi, Ecuador. I met her two years ago when I spent the summer there.
This week, I saw a piece of how different our lives are. We celebrated those differences in as many ways as possible. We cooked our favorite meals for each other from our own cultures. We had Elizabeth’s 1st pizza, 1st macaroni & cheese, 1st brownie, 1st real icecream sundae, 1st coffee from a coffee maker. She watched it the 1st morning and said, “Es incredible!” We did things in Quito she has never done. She had 24/7 internet & Christian music access! We kept saying, “It’s vacation!” She said it was like spending a week in the United States; so that is what we imagined. I realized once again, how ridiculously MUCH I have! Her life is so simple and mine so complex.
In the greatest way, we are very similar. Elizabeth & I both desire to serve Our Lord by sharing the news of His great salvation! We are both 22, both love music, both study in seminaries, both are pastor’s daughters, both work with the youth and children in our churches, both single with confidence in God’s timing and will, and both want to be missionaries (though most of the time I’m still scared to admit it).
There is a great difference even in our greatest likeness. Elizabeth’s great desire to serve is hindered because she does not have someone willing to serve with her. It is difficult to accomplish the work of sharing the Gospel alone. Mrs. Ruby pointed out to us that Jesus always sent his disciples out in twos. There is strength in group of two or three. Please pray for a partner in ministry for Elizabeth to continue to reach the people around her community. How many times I have taken for granted the body of Christ which surrounds me! I have great friends who love and serve Christ! How often do I stop and thank God for that team of CO-workers in God’s work? Rather I live like I am entitled to such friends. Like I am entitled to go back home in a month and pop right back into my busy routine and great friends without hardly look back. Rarely remembering the believers who God is working through here. On Elizabeth’s last morning here, during my quiet time with the Lord, I was seriously convicted of my selfishness and grumbling in the midst of God’s great provisions. As I confessed my self-centeredness to Elizabeth, I promised to pray for her as she continues in her walk of obediently following Christ.
I thank God for providing this week with Elizabeth. We learned so much from each other. To share in family of God across cultures is a reminder that God is so much bigger than us! As I mentioned in an earlier post, Elizabeth only speaks Spanish. Thank you for your prayers this week for our communication. We enjoyed talking, encouraging each other, and praying together IN Spanish. She was gracious and patient with me and the Lord provided just what He intended all along!
Check out pictures of our incredible week!
What’s next? This week I’m shifting gears in my summer and will begin working on REAP’s translator ministry. Goal? To organize and update the contact lists & to make finding a translator for REAP teams easier for the Dickersons in the future. How? By meeting with small groups of potential translators to get to know them, their English levels, and their availability. I meet with my first group in the morning.
This week, I saw a piece of how different our lives are. We celebrated those differences in as many ways as possible. We cooked our favorite meals for each other from our own cultures. We had Elizabeth’s 1st pizza, 1st macaroni & cheese, 1st brownie, 1st real icecream sundae, 1st coffee from a coffee maker. She watched it the 1st morning and said, “Es incredible!” We did things in Quito she has never done. She had 24/7 internet & Christian music access! We kept saying, “It’s vacation!” She said it was like spending a week in the United States; so that is what we imagined. I realized once again, how ridiculously MUCH I have! Her life is so simple and mine so complex.
In the greatest way, we are very similar. Elizabeth & I both desire to serve Our Lord by sharing the news of His great salvation! We are both 22, both love music, both study in seminaries, both are pastor’s daughters, both work with the youth and children in our churches, both single with confidence in God’s timing and will, and both want to be missionaries (though most of the time I’m still scared to admit it).
There is a great difference even in our greatest likeness. Elizabeth’s great desire to serve is hindered because she does not have someone willing to serve with her. It is difficult to accomplish the work of sharing the Gospel alone. Mrs. Ruby pointed out to us that Jesus always sent his disciples out in twos. There is strength in group of two or three. Please pray for a partner in ministry for Elizabeth to continue to reach the people around her community. How many times I have taken for granted the body of Christ which surrounds me! I have great friends who love and serve Christ! How often do I stop and thank God for that team of CO-workers in God’s work? Rather I live like I am entitled to such friends. Like I am entitled to go back home in a month and pop right back into my busy routine and great friends without hardly look back. Rarely remembering the believers who God is working through here. On Elizabeth’s last morning here, during my quiet time with the Lord, I was seriously convicted of my selfishness and grumbling in the midst of God’s great provisions. As I confessed my self-centeredness to Elizabeth, I promised to pray for her as she continues in her walk of obediently following Christ.
I thank God for providing this week with Elizabeth. We learned so much from each other. To share in family of God across cultures is a reminder that God is so much bigger than us! As I mentioned in an earlier post, Elizabeth only speaks Spanish. Thank you for your prayers this week for our communication. We enjoyed talking, encouraging each other, and praying together IN Spanish. She was gracious and patient with me and the Lord provided just what He intended all along!
Check out pictures of our incredible week!
What’s next? This week I’m shifting gears in my summer and will begin working on REAP’s translator ministry. Goal? To organize and update the contact lists & to make finding a translator for REAP teams easier for the Dickersons in the future. How? By meeting with small groups of potential translators to get to know them, their English levels, and their availability. I meet with my first group in the morning.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
A Timeless God
Fears, doubts, anxiety, loneliness, and homesickness battled against my spirit this past week. As I serve Christ overseas this summer, great fear of what the future holds has been grabbing onto my ankles trying to pull me down. My Great Protector & Truth fought off this enemy through teaching me new attributes about Himself. My sister, Britney, sent several cards for me to open this summer with different names of God on them. God has used these cards tremendously in my life in the past 2 ½ weeks.
One particular day this week, I studied in my quiet times (from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young) that I am dwelling in the presence of a timeless God in which time is not allowed to be a tyrant in my life, ticking away relentlessly in my mind. Not the dread of what this next week holds, not the length of today, and not the FUTURE. Time is NOT my master. I serve a TIMELESS GOD who is & was & always will be. As I focus on His presence, the demands of time and tasks diminish.
Then I opened up Britney’s card. It said-
“YAHWEH YIREH- The Lord Will Provide --- Genesis 22:1-14
God sees the past, present, and future. He is able to anticipate and provide for your needs. In Abraham’s case, God provided a ram. John the Baptist calls Jesus ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’ I’m praying that God will meet all of your needs according to the riches of His glory.”
God is ALREADY in every moment of our lives! He does not get there as we do and figure out what we need on the spot. He is TIMELESS, remember? He exists already in each chapter of our lives! THAT is how he anticipates our needs and meets them before we even get there.
Real life example- I had been anxious about this next week because I am house-sitting for the Dickersons while they are in Peru at a missionary conference. Well…as it turns out, my friend Elizabeth, from Tupigachi is going to come visit me for the week in Quito! The whole time I was worried about the week Ruby & Fletcher would be gone, God knew the whole time that I would not be alone! All that anxiety, for nothing! How silly it seems now to have been worried. So it is in all areas of our lives! That thing you are worried about, God is already there. He has anticipated and provided for your need already. Did I mention, God is spaceless too!?! He is everywhere at all times! So what does this say about my fear of the future of being far away when I serve a timeless and spaceless God? We do not even have human words to explain or imagine the greatness of our God. Allow that to absolutely submerge you in peace and hope!
One particular day this week, I studied in my quiet times (from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young) that I am dwelling in the presence of a timeless God in which time is not allowed to be a tyrant in my life, ticking away relentlessly in my mind. Not the dread of what this next week holds, not the length of today, and not the FUTURE. Time is NOT my master. I serve a TIMELESS GOD who is & was & always will be. As I focus on His presence, the demands of time and tasks diminish.
Then I opened up Britney’s card. It said-
“YAHWEH YIREH- The Lord Will Provide --- Genesis 22:1-14
God sees the past, present, and future. He is able to anticipate and provide for your needs. In Abraham’s case, God provided a ram. John the Baptist calls Jesus ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’ I’m praying that God will meet all of your needs according to the riches of His glory.”
God is ALREADY in every moment of our lives! He does not get there as we do and figure out what we need on the spot. He is TIMELESS, remember? He exists already in each chapter of our lives! THAT is how he anticipates our needs and meets them before we even get there.
Real life example- I had been anxious about this next week because I am house-sitting for the Dickersons while they are in Peru at a missionary conference. Well…as it turns out, my friend Elizabeth, from Tupigachi is going to come visit me for the week in Quito! The whole time I was worried about the week Ruby & Fletcher would be gone, God knew the whole time that I would not be alone! All that anxiety, for nothing! How silly it seems now to have been worried. So it is in all areas of our lives! That thing you are worried about, God is already there. He has anticipated and provided for your need already. Did I mention, God is spaceless too!?! He is everywhere at all times! So what does this say about my fear of the future of being far away when I serve a timeless and spaceless God? We do not even have human words to explain or imagine the greatness of our God. Allow that to absolutely submerge you in peace and hope!
Alleluia, Gloria a Dios- An update from Thursday’s requests
Let’s praise our God together for his work on Thursday! Thank you for responding to the call for prayer!
School in San Juan Loma- We spent 15 minutes in every class singing & sharing the story of Jesus! We left the school with an open invitation from the director for Sea Breeze teams to come back!
Anita- We decided to go by Anita’s house early to see if she was going to be home to study the Bible with us at 4, as planned. She was home & praise the Lord that we stopped by because she told us we could not come back at 4 because the Jehovah Witnesses were coming at that time. She allowed us to study with her for a few minutes while we were there. We shared God’s word with her and explained the differences between what we believe and what the Jehovah Witnesses teach. She was receptive and told us that she is not a Jehovah Witness but that she just wants to learn the Bible. PLEASE pray for Anita to recognize the truth & follow Christ and not fall into false teachings. Please pray for THE Gospel to spread quickly in this area. The Jehovah Witnesses know English, Spanish, and Quichua; this provokes interest and popularity among the people.
Elizabeth- My friend Elizabeth spent most of Thursday with us; this was a huge provision from God both at the school and at Anita’s house. Since we went earlier in the day than planned, I was the translator for this challenging situation. But, as usual, God provided incredibly by having Elizabeth, who currently studying theology, there to explain difficult topics, such as the Trinity. Praise God for Elizabeth!
Bible Study & Movie- Over 90 adults & children came to see the movie & about 10 adults came to the Bible study in Santa Monica. Several people expressed their interest in following Christ and studying the Bible! Please continue to pray for them! To study the Bible & follow Christ can bring conflict among those who live such close knit lives in the community. The cost to follow Christ rather than the ways of their families for generations can be a high price. Pray for the new believers to stand strong, to diligently read the Word of God, and to boldly share their testimonies.
Pray for Fernando & Clementina who have been following Christ since October. We spent the whole week with Fernando because he supplied our transportation. This week they learned how to share their testimony and their faith with those who do not believe. Pray for them to speak boldly & to become leaders in the faith in their community, Santa Monica.
Alice- At the end of the day, we had a good visit with Alice! She asked good questions of how she could forgive others who have hurt her so badly and how she could have peace. We share with her the problem of sin and God’s gracious solution for that. She expressed interest in following Christ and reading her Bible. We encouraged her to begin in John. I was given a brief opportunity to spend a few minutes alone with Alice before she left that night. She asks questions about how to pray. We both prayed outloud together. This night was a huge step for Alice. She is broken and empty and frustrated. Today I wrote to her about my Daddy’s sermon on John 3:1-20 this morning (which I had the privilege of listening to). Jesus was the healer of Nicodemus’ emptiness, just as He is mine and yours and Alice’s. I hope to see her again, if she travels to Quito before I leave. Pray for Alice’s discipleship as she begins to read The Word and respond to the hurt she is experiencing.
School in San Juan Loma- We spent 15 minutes in every class singing & sharing the story of Jesus! We left the school with an open invitation from the director for Sea Breeze teams to come back!
Anita- We decided to go by Anita’s house early to see if she was going to be home to study the Bible with us at 4, as planned. She was home & praise the Lord that we stopped by because she told us we could not come back at 4 because the Jehovah Witnesses were coming at that time. She allowed us to study with her for a few minutes while we were there. We shared God’s word with her and explained the differences between what we believe and what the Jehovah Witnesses teach. She was receptive and told us that she is not a Jehovah Witness but that she just wants to learn the Bible. PLEASE pray for Anita to recognize the truth & follow Christ and not fall into false teachings. Please pray for THE Gospel to spread quickly in this area. The Jehovah Witnesses know English, Spanish, and Quichua; this provokes interest and popularity among the people.
Elizabeth- My friend Elizabeth spent most of Thursday with us; this was a huge provision from God both at the school and at Anita’s house. Since we went earlier in the day than planned, I was the translator for this challenging situation. But, as usual, God provided incredibly by having Elizabeth, who currently studying theology, there to explain difficult topics, such as the Trinity. Praise God for Elizabeth!
Bible Study & Movie- Over 90 adults & children came to see the movie & about 10 adults came to the Bible study in Santa Monica. Several people expressed their interest in following Christ and studying the Bible! Please continue to pray for them! To study the Bible & follow Christ can bring conflict among those who live such close knit lives in the community. The cost to follow Christ rather than the ways of their families for generations can be a high price. Pray for the new believers to stand strong, to diligently read the Word of God, and to boldly share their testimonies.
Pray for Fernando & Clementina who have been following Christ since October. We spent the whole week with Fernando because he supplied our transportation. This week they learned how to share their testimony and their faith with those who do not believe. Pray for them to speak boldly & to become leaders in the faith in their community, Santa Monica.
Alice- At the end of the day, we had a good visit with Alice! She asked good questions of how she could forgive others who have hurt her so badly and how she could have peace. We share with her the problem of sin and God’s gracious solution for that. She expressed interest in following Christ and reading her Bible. We encouraged her to begin in John. I was given a brief opportunity to spend a few minutes alone with Alice before she left that night. She asks questions about how to pray. We both prayed outloud together. This night was a huge step for Alice. She is broken and empty and frustrated. Today I wrote to her about my Daddy’s sermon on John 3:1-20 this morning (which I had the privilege of listening to). Jesus was the healer of Nicodemus’ emptiness, just as He is mine and yours and Alice’s. I hope to see her again, if she travels to Quito before I leave. Pray for Alice’s discipleship as she begins to read The Word and respond to the hurt she is experiencing.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
A Call for Prayer
Today we begin our last full day of ministry in Tupigachi. This morning I visited with the host family that Brittany, Joy & I lived with for a few weeks in summer of 2009. Praise the Lord! Mami Marta and Papi Luis were baptized one month ago!
There are lots of things to pray for today! I’ll follow up with these opportunities this weekend so you can hear how the Lord is working here in Tupigachi, Ecuador!
This morning we will be working in an elementary school in San Juan Loma, a community that Sea Breeze has not worked with before this week! Praise the Lord for this new contact! Elizabeth, my dearest Ecuadorian friend, is going to serve with us today! Also, I will be translating this morning. So PrAy FoR tHaT!?!
This afternoon, we are supposed to meet a lady, named Anita, for a Bible Study. Monday she was not there. Pray she will be home so we can share Truth with her. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been visiting Anita every week. Pray the spirit of Truth will prevail over the false teaching she has received.
Tonight we will be having a Bible study & showing a movie about Jesus in a community called Santa Monica. When I was here two years ago we worked in the elementary school & daycare in Santa Monica every week. Since then, Christ has saved the several of the teachers at the daycare!! However, the school has been less receptive to the teams coming. Pray tonight that many more will hear and receive Christ and begin to study the Word!
Finally tonight at 9pm (10pm your time) when we get back to the hosteria, we will be meeting with Alice to study the Bible. Alice’s family owns the hosteria. I met her two years ago. She says she reads the Bible sometimes, but it is very difficult for her to understand. At this point, she has not accepted Christ. Pray for our time with Alice tonight!
Thank you for your prayers!
Praise the Lord for HIS work in Tupigachi over the last two years!
There are lots of things to pray for today! I’ll follow up with these opportunities this weekend so you can hear how the Lord is working here in Tupigachi, Ecuador!
This morning we will be working in an elementary school in San Juan Loma, a community that Sea Breeze has not worked with before this week! Praise the Lord for this new contact! Elizabeth, my dearest Ecuadorian friend, is going to serve with us today! Also, I will be translating this morning. So PrAy FoR tHaT!?!
This afternoon, we are supposed to meet a lady, named Anita, for a Bible Study. Monday she was not there. Pray she will be home so we can share Truth with her. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been visiting Anita every week. Pray the spirit of Truth will prevail over the false teaching she has received.
Tonight we will be having a Bible study & showing a movie about Jesus in a community called Santa Monica. When I was here two years ago we worked in the elementary school & daycare in Santa Monica every week. Since then, Christ has saved the several of the teachers at the daycare!! However, the school has been less receptive to the teams coming. Pray tonight that many more will hear and receive Christ and begin to study the Word!
Finally tonight at 9pm (10pm your time) when we get back to the hosteria, we will be meeting with Alice to study the Bible. Alice’s family owns the hosteria. I met her two years ago. She says she reads the Bible sometimes, but it is very difficult for her to understand. At this point, she has not accepted Christ. Pray for our time with Alice tonight!
Thank you for your prayers!
Praise the Lord for HIS work in Tupigachi over the last two years!
Monday, June 20, 2011
A Week in Machachi
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think [or imagine] according to the power at work within us, to HIM be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
Amen! This week in Machachi God INDEED did more than we ask or imagined! Let me tell you a few of the ways so that you– the church –may give glory to Him, just like Ephesians says.
Here are a few of my highlights from the week-
Machachi Moms- The team held a free kids’ camp three days this week. While the kids heard a Bible story, played games, & did crafts, I got to talk with their moms! While working in an adopted area with REAP Ecuador, building long lasting relationships is key! I sat & talked with them one afternoon. I shared my story of how the Lord saved me, what my relationship with Him means to me, & how now Jesus is my life & my hope through the testimony of my Mom’s sickness. I shared my photo album with them, of course! ;-) These women were a blessing to me! Praise the Lord they shared contact info so FBC Camden can follow-up in September when they return to Machachi!
Juan Carlos- On our last afternoon in Machachi, a young man overheard us speaking English and began to talk to us! He had lived in Canada for four years and had recently returned to Machachi where he was born. As we told him why we were here- to teach the Bible- he eagerly asked WHEN & WHERE. Since it was our last day there, we invited him to join us that night for café y pan (coffee & bread) at the hosteria, where we’d planned to visit with our host family. This random coincidence was actually a divine appointment!
From Empanadas & Chocolate Bread to a Bible study with the lost- The last few hours of Friday, we planned to spend casually visiting with our host family, and now Juan Carlos. The Lord had much greater plans! Brief comments of why we are here & a few words about our love for the people of Machachi lead to questions and discussion about how the topic of God is so taboo & how we believe there is one way to One God. Juan Carlos, whom God divinely appointed for us to meet on the street a few hours before, asked, “How exactly is the correct way to pray?” So we studied verse by verse through The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. They continued to ask GREAT questions! The Lord gave us more opportunity to share HIS WORD than we’d ever imagined!!! We gave Bibles to Juan Carlos & the host family, which included their teenage niece, Bianca. We taught them how to read them. Early in the evening, Bianca stated that she believed all paths lead to the one God. Although by the end of the evening, she said, “I’ve never read the Bible before, but now I must. There’s no escaping it!” Praise the Lord that both Juan Carlos & Bianca are eager to read their first very copy of God’s Word!
I could go on and on with stories of people we met & ways our incredible Lord worked beyond our imaginations! The team worked in the daycare, showed Christian movies in the town theater, visited in people’s homes, prayed with people, smiled & talked to hundreds as we lived in Machachi for the week! God IS working beyond our own abilities because HE IS STRENGTH & HE IS SALVATION!
And finally, I cannot end without saying, what a JOY it was to work with my brothers & sisters from Camden this week! The friendships the Lord gave me in them also reflect Ephesians 3:20- more than I could have asked or imagined!
Pray for –
-Juan Carlos & Bianca as they read the Word of God for the first time.
-The Machachi Moms & their kids to grow hungry for the truth they heard this week so they will be EAGER to study the Bible when the team returns in September.
-First Baptist Church Camden, SC as they continue investing in Machachi, Ecuador. Pray for their continual obedience to however the Lord leads them to become more & more involved in this work of the Lord! What a blessing it is!
Amen! This week in Machachi God INDEED did more than we ask or imagined! Let me tell you a few of the ways so that you– the church –may give glory to Him, just like Ephesians says.
Here are a few of my highlights from the week-
Machachi Moms- The team held a free kids’ camp three days this week. While the kids heard a Bible story, played games, & did crafts, I got to talk with their moms! While working in an adopted area with REAP Ecuador, building long lasting relationships is key! I sat & talked with them one afternoon. I shared my story of how the Lord saved me, what my relationship with Him means to me, & how now Jesus is my life & my hope through the testimony of my Mom’s sickness. I shared my photo album with them, of course! ;-) These women were a blessing to me! Praise the Lord they shared contact info so FBC Camden can follow-up in September when they return to Machachi!
Juan Carlos- On our last afternoon in Machachi, a young man overheard us speaking English and began to talk to us! He had lived in Canada for four years and had recently returned to Machachi where he was born. As we told him why we were here- to teach the Bible- he eagerly asked WHEN & WHERE. Since it was our last day there, we invited him to join us that night for café y pan (coffee & bread) at the hosteria, where we’d planned to visit with our host family. This random coincidence was actually a divine appointment!
From Empanadas & Chocolate Bread to a Bible study with the lost- The last few hours of Friday, we planned to spend casually visiting with our host family, and now Juan Carlos. The Lord had much greater plans! Brief comments of why we are here & a few words about our love for the people of Machachi lead to questions and discussion about how the topic of God is so taboo & how we believe there is one way to One God. Juan Carlos, whom God divinely appointed for us to meet on the street a few hours before, asked, “How exactly is the correct way to pray?” So we studied verse by verse through The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. They continued to ask GREAT questions! The Lord gave us more opportunity to share HIS WORD than we’d ever imagined!!! We gave Bibles to Juan Carlos & the host family, which included their teenage niece, Bianca. We taught them how to read them. Early in the evening, Bianca stated that she believed all paths lead to the one God. Although by the end of the evening, she said, “I’ve never read the Bible before, but now I must. There’s no escaping it!” Praise the Lord that both Juan Carlos & Bianca are eager to read their first very copy of God’s Word!
I could go on and on with stories of people we met & ways our incredible Lord worked beyond our imaginations! The team worked in the daycare, showed Christian movies in the town theater, visited in people’s homes, prayed with people, smiled & talked to hundreds as we lived in Machachi for the week! God IS working beyond our own abilities because HE IS STRENGTH & HE IS SALVATION!
And finally, I cannot end without saying, what a JOY it was to work with my brothers & sisters from Camden this week! The friendships the Lord gave me in them also reflect Ephesians 3:20- more than I could have asked or imagined!
Pray for –
-Juan Carlos & Bianca as they read the Word of God for the first time.
-The Machachi Moms & their kids to grow hungry for the truth they heard this week so they will be EAGER to study the Bible when the team returns in September.
-First Baptist Church Camden, SC as they continue investing in Machachi, Ecuador. Pray for their continual obedience to however the Lord leads them to become more & more involved in this work of the Lord! What a blessing it is!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Ultimate Priority
For the past week, I have been serving in Machachi with First Baptist Church Camden, SC. What a privilege it is to see God work through even the smallest details of the week! I look forward to sharing a few of the top stories with you, but let me first share a life changing concept that the Lord has been weaving deep into my heart this week.
God is to be my ultimate priority. “Priority” means “to prefer.” So, already knowing the answer and saddened by it, I asked myself, “Do I prefer Christ?” We usually use the word in the context of prefer over something else. In this case, it means prefer over EVERYTHING else.
So as I find myself longing to be able to answer –yes- to this question, but knowing I’m far from a genuine yes, I started asking myself about specific areas and praying for God to change my heart. Do I prefer time with Christ over time with my family? Do I prefer obedience to Christ even if that means long periods of distance from my family? Do I prefer to serve and invest in strangers rather than staying in my most comfortable circles?
Our faithful Lord graciously taught me all week to prefer Christ above anything else- that HE is the only one & that there is none but Christ that ultimately motivates and guides my life. I have been praying that this lesson will be imprinted into my life even if it is difficult or painful.
The Lord used a beautiful song that my dear friend, Jessica, gave me before I left. The song set the message of Christ as my ultimate priority even deeper into my heart. It says, “Lord when you show me who you are, you break into my heart. There is none but you. Forgive me for giving myself away to anything that calls my name. There is none but you.”
If I believe what I say I believe about eternity, about Christ’s promise of eternity, and about Christ’s promise of a future full redemption, then it WILL change the way I view my time here in Ecuador and the next two years of my life at home with my family & dear friends.
God is to be my ultimate priority. “Priority” means “to prefer.” So, already knowing the answer and saddened by it, I asked myself, “Do I prefer Christ?” We usually use the word in the context of prefer over something else. In this case, it means prefer over EVERYTHING else.
So as I find myself longing to be able to answer –yes- to this question, but knowing I’m far from a genuine yes, I started asking myself about specific areas and praying for God to change my heart. Do I prefer time with Christ over time with my family? Do I prefer obedience to Christ even if that means long periods of distance from my family? Do I prefer to serve and invest in strangers rather than staying in my most comfortable circles?
Our faithful Lord graciously taught me all week to prefer Christ above anything else- that HE is the only one & that there is none but Christ that ultimately motivates and guides my life. I have been praying that this lesson will be imprinted into my life even if it is difficult or painful.
The Lord used a beautiful song that my dear friend, Jessica, gave me before I left. The song set the message of Christ as my ultimate priority even deeper into my heart. It says, “Lord when you show me who you are, you break into my heart. There is none but you. Forgive me for giving myself away to anything that calls my name. There is none but you.”
If I believe what I say I believe about eternity, about Christ’s promise of eternity, and about Christ’s promise of a future full redemption, then it WILL change the way I view my time here in Ecuador and the next two years of my life at home with my family & dear friends.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Full Days Ahead…
Things are about to get busy. After 3 days of settling in, adjusting back to life in Ecuador, and catching up with Ruby & Fletcher, it is time for my first team to arrive! Tonight we will head to the airport to meet the team of seven from FBC Camden, SC. Mr. Fletcher and I will be joining them for their week of ministry in Machachi, which is about 1 ½ hrs south of Quito.
SBC Camden adopted Machachi in January; this will be their 2nd ministry trip. A leader in Machachi has agreed to allow this team to show movies in the theater on Tuesday & Thursday night this week. The theater holds 500 people! This is God’s workings! Can’t wait to see what will happen!
We will be working with children in the mornings each day. Our translators will be two sisters, Natalia and Cinthia. I met Natalia on my very first trip to Ecuador in 2005. It’s going to be a surprise for her that I am here! I can’t wait! I will be rooming with one of the team members who is also in her 20s. Her name is Brook.
Thank you all for your prayers! I’m praying for you as well!
Please pray for-
-Michaela, Meredith, & Jeremy – 3 high school seniors on this SC team… This trip is at a very transitional time in their life. Pray that they will be open to the Holy Spirit’s work in their hearts.
-Relationships to be built with the people in Machachi and the people we encounter will see Christ in us and begin to understand His Gospel.
-That I will be intentional in pouring into the girls this week. That I will point them to Christ by the way I live & through my words.
- My verse for this morning- “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, PROCLAIM THAT HIS NAME IS EXALTED.” Isaiah 12:4 Pray for His name to be exalted.
-My Spanish :-/
-My family at home
SBC Camden adopted Machachi in January; this will be their 2nd ministry trip. A leader in Machachi has agreed to allow this team to show movies in the theater on Tuesday & Thursday night this week. The theater holds 500 people! This is God’s workings! Can’t wait to see what will happen!
We will be working with children in the mornings each day. Our translators will be two sisters, Natalia and Cinthia. I met Natalia on my very first trip to Ecuador in 2005. It’s going to be a surprise for her that I am here! I can’t wait! I will be rooming with one of the team members who is also in her 20s. Her name is Brook.
Thank you all for your prayers! I’m praying for you as well!
Please pray for-
-Michaela, Meredith, & Jeremy – 3 high school seniors on this SC team… This trip is at a very transitional time in their life. Pray that they will be open to the Holy Spirit’s work in their hearts.
-Relationships to be built with the people in Machachi and the people we encounter will see Christ in us and begin to understand His Gospel.
-That I will be intentional in pouring into the girls this week. That I will point them to Christ by the way I live & through my words.
- My verse for this morning- “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, PROCLAIM THAT HIS NAME IS EXALTED.” Isaiah 12:4 Pray for His name to be exalted.
-My Spanish :-/
-My family at home
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Nothing Is Too Hard
"'Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is TOO HARD FOR YOU'...'Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is ANYTHING TOO HARD for me?'" Jeremiah 32:17, 27
On this promise, we embark on this summer! No matter what the day holds, what emotions arise, and what challenges may come, NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR OUR LORD!
I arrived in Ecuador last night. Ruby & Fletcher Dickerson warmly welcomed me into the country and into their home with brownies & icecream topped with whip cream and a strawberry! Mr. Fletcher bought fresh roses for my room!
Today through Saturday will be for adjusting to altitude, re-learning language, transportation, local markets, directions, safety tips, etc. I'm soaking it all in. This morning the Lord gave me His strength through 1 Chronicles 28:20-
"Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service...of the Lord is finished."
I am here to serve Him and I will choose to trust Him with all the exciting things and new things that surround me!
My desire for this summer is to gain a deeper understanding and love for our Lord and His Gospel and for that love to motivate a natural flow of joy & truth & hope to be displayed through my life- in words, actions, attitude, & disposition.
PLEASE PRAY-
- That the gift of my salvation & the love of Christ will change me & motive me this summer.
- For me to hunger for God's word and to diligently seek His face.
- For me to quickly pick up my Spanish again & to learn all the little things about being in Quito.
On this promise, we embark on this summer! No matter what the day holds, what emotions arise, and what challenges may come, NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR OUR LORD!
I arrived in Ecuador last night. Ruby & Fletcher Dickerson warmly welcomed me into the country and into their home with brownies & icecream topped with whip cream and a strawberry! Mr. Fletcher bought fresh roses for my room!
Today through Saturday will be for adjusting to altitude, re-learning language, transportation, local markets, directions, safety tips, etc. I'm soaking it all in. This morning the Lord gave me His strength through 1 Chronicles 28:20-
"Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service...of the Lord is finished."
I am here to serve Him and I will choose to trust Him with all the exciting things and new things that surround me!
My desire for this summer is to gain a deeper understanding and love for our Lord and His Gospel and for that love to motivate a natural flow of joy & truth & hope to be displayed through my life- in words, actions, attitude, & disposition.
PLEASE PRAY-
- That the gift of my salvation & the love of Christ will change me & motive me this summer.
- For me to hunger for God's word and to diligently seek His face.
- For me to quickly pick up my Spanish again & to learn all the little things about being in Quito.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Truly A Blessing
Tonight I received what seems right now to be one of the greatest blessings! My dear friends- Jessica, Liz, Kelly, & Robin- made a trip to Henderson to visit me. I leave for Ecuador in 4 days & this is a week when I could not come to them. They brought joy & love into our house. They brought fresh perspective & encouragement!
Their being here allowed me to see my mom in a new way. It allowed her to be apart of some exciting events in their lives & thus to truly share in mine. It allowed her to share her heart & her legacy of being a seminary wife & a godly mother. She offered wedding planning resources & wisdom on biblical womanhood.
Sunday School this week is about everything we have belonging to God. We are stewards of what He entrusts us with. The friendship I hold with these dear girls belongs to God. Tonight they were diligent and faithful stewards of that friendship. Cultivating Christ-centered relationships. Living as one like-minded body.
Just when I thought my heart could not be any more full, I opened up a small package delivered by the girls, sent from a friend's parents. This precious friend is one of my best friends from college who is making much of Christ by teaching overseas. Inside the package was a stack of cards. The card on the top of the stack said "Open before you leave." I figure that applied to tonight :) Inside was a letter explaining that these cards were to open any day in Ecuador that I would like some encouragement and a word of prayer. My eyes flooded with tears.
When my heart was already overwhelmed with the gift of friendship, our gracious, generous Lord blessed me with this small package that is worth a million! It has been a night full of the loving friendships that I share with my mom, my sweet friends from this chapter of life, and an incredible friend & her family both from the previous chapter & the present one- ALL of them pressing me on towards unconditional obedience to Christ.
Tonight was truly a gift from the Lord.
Their being here allowed me to see my mom in a new way. It allowed her to be apart of some exciting events in their lives & thus to truly share in mine. It allowed her to share her heart & her legacy of being a seminary wife & a godly mother. She offered wedding planning resources & wisdom on biblical womanhood.
Sunday School this week is about everything we have belonging to God. We are stewards of what He entrusts us with. The friendship I hold with these dear girls belongs to God. Tonight they were diligent and faithful stewards of that friendship. Cultivating Christ-centered relationships. Living as one like-minded body.
Just when I thought my heart could not be any more full, I opened up a small package delivered by the girls, sent from a friend's parents. This precious friend is one of my best friends from college who is making much of Christ by teaching overseas. Inside the package was a stack of cards. The card on the top of the stack said "Open before you leave." I figure that applied to tonight :) Inside was a letter explaining that these cards were to open any day in Ecuador that I would like some encouragement and a word of prayer. My eyes flooded with tears.
When my heart was already overwhelmed with the gift of friendship, our gracious, generous Lord blessed me with this small package that is worth a million! It has been a night full of the loving friendships that I share with my mom, my sweet friends from this chapter of life, and an incredible friend & her family both from the previous chapter & the present one- ALL of them pressing me on towards unconditional obedience to Christ.
Tonight was truly a gift from the Lord.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Beginning with One Mind
"...one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel..." Philippians 1:27 This is it. This is where the summer begins. With C-N-C and my North Henderson family, with my SEBTS brothers and sisters, and with my dear friends from all parts of life- past and present. We share in this one mind. Different lives. Different circles of influence. Different ways. Even different countries. But one mind set on making much of Christ.
"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel." Philippians 1:27
"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel." Philippians 1:27
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