It's Simple: Bring People to Jesus...

What do you know about Andrew the apostle? Not much, probably. He is mentioned several times in the New Testament but is usually mostly in the background. However, there is one unique thing about Andrew. He was always bringing people to Jesus. He brought his brother Peter (John 1:40). He brought the boy who had 5 loaves and 2 fish (John 6:8). And, along with Philip, he brought a group of Greeks who were seeking to see Jesus (John 12:20-22). What a great thing to be remembered for: simply bringing people to Jesus! (Idea from H. Blackaby writings)

I wonder what they will put on my tombstone? Or what will I be remembered for? I honestly am not too worried about it. But wouldn't it be nice if our obituaries one day simply said...

"He/She brought people to Jesus"

We do a lot of "things" in our life but there is none more impactful and lasting than bringing people to Jesus.

Selah!

Don't Make The Good Things In Your Life Into An Idol...

There's a great set of connecting stories in the Old and New Testaments regarding the bronzed serpent made by Moses in the wilderness. Taken together, they give us a couple of really good life-lessons to heed and follow.

In Numbers 21, Aaron has passed away, Israel has a skirmish with Arad and then God has them skirt around the Edomites. The people become impatient so they complain against Moses and against God.  The Lord sends poisonous snakes among them and several Israelites are bitten and die. They cry out to mercy and so God tells Moses to make a snake image, mount it on a pole and anyone who looks at the bronzed snake, will live (even if they are bitten).

Fast forward a couple of hundred years to the time of King Hezekiah (2 Kings 18). Israel (the northern Kingdom) has fallen and times are tough in Judah. Hezekiah, is one of the good kings and he desires to renew Judah's vows and commitment to Yaweh. He removes the high places and destroys the altars and shrines of the foreign gods. He then breaks into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made because it too has become an idol. He even named it "Nehushtan" meaning a bronzed thing or a detestable thing.

Again, fast forward a couple of hundred years to the time of Jesus. Jesus is talking to a Pharisee named Nicodemus who came to him by night to ask Jesus about God (John 3). As Jesus is talking with Nicodemus, He brings up the imagery of Moses' bronzed snake and uses it as a redemptive analogy to describe His coming sacrifice and crucifixion. Jesus says in John 3:14-15...

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life."

So, here's the recap.

* The children of God are disobedient and rebellious, God sends snakes among them, He then has Moses to make a bronzed snake and all that looked at the snake were saved.

* The Israelites began to worship the bronzed snake forgetting that it was God who provided salvation. Hezekiah had the idol destroyed.

* Jesus uses the story of the serpent being lifted up and people looking to it to foreshadow the fact that He also would one day be lifted up (on a cross) and those who "looked" to Him would live and have eternal life.

Life Lesson #1 - We should always be very careful about the victories God brings to our lives. We do not want them to turn into idols. It is God that should be the focus, not what He does for us. We should, as the saying goes, seek His face, not his hands.

Life Lesson #2 - God/Jesus can take the most twisted story (e.g. the bronzed snake becoming a "Nehushtan") and turn it into a redemptive story. I find comfort in this knowing that He has done this in my life and millions of others. I know that I once was blind, but now I see.

It Always Pays to Hear and Follow...

I have re-read through the story of King David (1 Chronicles 10 thru 16), his coming to power and his desire to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. I won’t go into details (you know the story), but the Ark was lost during the days of Eli the Judge and Prophet and his two corrupt sons. It was when Samuel was just a small boy and the Philistines captured it in battle. After they were afflicted, they returned it to Israel where it came to rest in Beth-Shemesh (a priestly town) but 70 men there were struck down for looking into the Ark and so they sent it on to Kiriath-Jearim where is came to rest at the home of of the family of Abinidab.

The Ark stayed there throughout the reign of Saul and into the beginning of the reign of David. One of David’s first desire was to bring the Ark back to a more central area of his kingdom and his new capital, Jerusalem. You remember that he sent 30,000 men to “fetch” the Ark (ironically, the number of men who died when the Philistines defeated Israel and captured the Ark) and they failed costing Uzzah his life (because he dared to touch God’s holy Ark). The Ark was then turned aside and placed at the house of Obed-Edom and God blessed his family.

In the next couple of months, David learned a great lesson. The Philistines attacked him on two different occasions and in the same way each time. David, wisely, inquired of the Lord both times, “Should I go war against the Philistines?” and the Lord replied that he should but gave him different strategies and marching orders for each encounter. (See my last blog post) David saw that the battle belongs to God and that obedience to God’s direction is always better than man’s strategy. Therefore, he renewed his quest to bring the Ark to Jerusalem but this time, he inquired of the Lord as to the Lord’s plan. And…you know the rest. God honored David’s request and brought His presence back to Israel.

Long story, clear lesson…

There are ways that seem right to man but in the end, it is always best to hear God and follow His plan.

I pray that truth for all of us. I pray that we look to God for our marching orders, not to ourselves or even what makes sense to us as individuals. I pray that we see Him clearly and what He is doing among the helpless, hopeless and hurting of the world and I pray that we look to Him and hear Him clearly on how He wants us to align ourselves with His will to join in that great endeavor.

Best Get Your Marching Orders From God...

When David became king of Israel, the Philistines heard and so they sent a massive army to teach him a lesson (2 Samuel 5:17-25). David was young, new to the job, but wise enough to inquire of the Lord and ask...

"Should I go to war against the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?"

To which the Lord replied, "Go, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you."

David marched straight down, with his army and proceeded (in the strength and command of the Lord) to rout the whole Philistine army. He came on them with a frontal assault like a "bursting flood".

The Philistines ran away, went home, licked their wounds and then decided to try it once again. So they came up the same way and in the same manner, spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.

It was just like before. The natural thing for David would be to do the same thing they had just done. A head on attack. It worked remarkably well the first time. Why wouldn't it work a second time?

But here, David shows true wisdom even at a young age. Instead of jumping to the obvious, he stops, and he once again inquires of the Lord. And the Lord answers differently this time...

"Do not make a frontal assault. Circle around behind them and attack opposite the balsam trees. When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the Lord will have marched out ahead of you to attack the camp of the Philistines."

To his credit, David did exactly what the Lord commanded and God honored this action by striking down the Philistines.

The moral of the story? Just because we have success today with one method and just because we did so because we listened to God doesn't mean that the same method will work next time. It is always best to get our marching orders from God day by day. He may surprise us. He just might want to do something in a new way that we have never thought of or experienced.

And, when we listen and get our orders from God and He breaks through with an amazing miracle, it's He that gets the glory not us...just the way it should be!

Where are you getting your marching orders today? I don't know about you, but I long to hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees...

Can You Name the Sons of Samuel? I Didn't Think So...

I have been reading through this morning the story of Samuel. Do you remember his sons Joel and Abijah? Probably not. They are only mentioned in a few short verses. Joel was the eldest and Abijah the second born. They were judges in Beer-sheba but they did not walk in the ways of their father. The turned toward dishonest gain, they took bribes and, worst of all, they perverted justice. They were so unlike their father that they basically disappeared from the scene and were relegated to Israeli historical irrelevancy. (1 Samuel 8:1-3)

Dad (Samuel) was a great guy. One of the greatest prophets/judges that ever lived. He was a man after God’s heart. When the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel due to the sins of Eli and his two inept and corrupt sons, God still visited and spoke to Israel through Samuel. 

Joel and Abijah, Samuel's sons, were raised in a good home. They were trained and appointed as judges by their father, the prophet. But they were just bad. 

What went wrong?

Here is a truth. Our successes today in no way guarantee success for tomorrow. Our successes as individuals in no way guarantees success for our families. And the scary part is that our faithfulness today doesn’t guarantee faithfulness tomorrow as well. Our walk with God through Christ empowered by His Spirit is at best a day to day proposition of denying our self, taking up our cross and choosing to follow Him.

Jesus never said, “Don’t count the cost to follow”. Conversely, He always reminded those listening that it is extremely and always costly to follow Him. 

I pray that we, as followers of Christ, be ones who always daily looks to Jesus for our marching orders and willingly count the cost, take up the cross and follow Him daily.

Selah!

Do Not Remove Ancient Boundary Markers...

Don't you just love the seemingly quirky laws of the Old Testament? I won't go into detail here, but there are a ton of them that don't really make sense to us today because of the specifics of the time that they were given (see Deuteronomy 23:13 and the command to have a digging tool...case closed).

Anyway, I ran across a favorite law. It is regarding ancient boundary markers. In Deuteronomy 19:14 it is explicit that the Israelites were not to in any way move or adjust them. These were the boundaries of the tribes established by the Lord when Israel reached the promised land. They were God appointed and any attempt to move or adjust the boundary between you and your neighbor was a direct offense to God.

It causes me to reflect on ancient boundary markers that God has placed in my life. Things like a commitment and promise I made to my sweetheart so many years ago that I would love her like Christ loves the church, until death parts us. Or like the promise I made to God that I would always honor Him with my tithe and offerings as an act of obedience. And the promise I made to Him to raise and guide my children and family in His way and never waver from His path no matter what comes.

I then think about the ancient boundary marker of the call that He placed in Regina's and my life of a lifetime commitment of service in His Kingdom. Of the call that led us to say "yes Lord" to wherever and however He chose to lead us. And that commitment that we made so long ago to join Him in His global task of making His Name known to the nations.

These are ancient boundary markers that should never be moved. And I once again submit and commit to His calling. For my life is not mine, it has been bought and paid for with a dear price; one I could never repay.

I choose to remember His boundary marker in my life and choose to follow it from here to eternity.

Selah!

The Cost of Discipleship...

In my recent trip to Nepal, we visited with several communities and leaders of local churches. One pastor received us into his home, prepared us a meal and spent the best part of a day taking around his community to look at earthquake damage and potential projects.

As we were relaxing in his home, he told us his life story. He said it wasn't easy to be a follower of Christ in a place where there was so much persecution. There is constant verbal and emotional abuse from neighbors who don't like the church. There is actual physical abuse to persons and properties. And there is the constant secret threats that come to the believers day and night.

When we asked about the persecution and was it worth it all, he told a story of how he knew the value of being a follower of Christ.

He said that when he was a young boy, about 5 years old, local village leaders came into their home, tied his mother and father to some chairs, and then, in front of him and his sibling, began to beat them with wires. They beat them and demanded that they recant their faith in Jesus. But his parents refused to do so, no matter how hard they beat them or how much they threatened them.

He said that he knew that very day that their faith was something real and different. And he knew and committed that he would be a life long follower of Jesus no matter what might come.

Today, he is an overseer of hundreds of churches. And he is constantly singing and sharing about God's love and goodness...even in the midst of on-going persecution.

Jesus said, "If anyone wants to come with me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it." (Luke 9:23-24)

What a great testimony. Oh that you and I would be so faithful...

From Persecution to Praise...

I visited our earthquake response projects and teams in Nepal last week. It was humbling to see the sacrificial work of local and expatriate partners in responding to the needs of over 2 M displace Nepali people. We have done food distributions, hygiene kits, temporary shelters, medical/health care clinics and reconstruction, just to name a few of the ministries going on.

I also heard some amazing testimonies. One local pastor told me about how he had some to faith 20 years ago and has endured constant persecution. He was one of the first believers in his village and had been beaten, threatened with death and his wife and children were constantly harassed by other members of his community. In the past few years, he said that the community where he lived began digging up the bodies of deceased Christ-followers and desecrated the bodies believing that they could discourage the gospel advance this way.

He then smiled and told us that things had changed since the earthquake. The pastor, along with our team members there, was able to help in the community through our disaster response projects. This shocked the local people. They knew they had been cruel to the small group of believers in their community. They felt bad and the leader of the persecutors came to the pastor and told him that they were sorry for all the things they had done to the local church and its members. They confessed that the followers of Jesus were good people and that there was something different about them. They even offered to create a special place for the church to bury their deceased and they would not continue to desecrate the bodies.

The pastor was grateful for all of this but he was more grateful that after so many years of resistance and persecution, many people are now responding to the gospel. And he credits the earthquake response as the tipping point to change the hearts and minds of the persecutors.

The pastor said that only God's Spirit can change the hearts of people but that acts of kindness by his church and BGR was God's tool to help initiate the change.

"Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord and He will give a reward to the lender." (Proverbs 19:17)

He is Still Risen...

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 8:32…

“He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything?”

We celebrated our most sacred of holidays yesterday as followers of Christ: Easter and the Resurrection Sunday. It is a celebration of God offering up His One and Only Son on our behalf. Churches all over the world were gathered together, overflowing with the regular members and thousands of others who maybe only make it to church that one day of the year. It was a sacred gathering to celebrate the Risen Savior. And as we prepared to gather together, I had this wonderful thought (based on the verse above)… 

"The fact of the resurrection should remind us that He sacrificed so much to give us eternal life that we can rest secure in the knowledge that He will also give us abundant life!"

As we labor in the sacred effort of making Christ known to every people, tongue, tribe, and nation, let us not forget that He is still risen. And He is constantly at the right hand of the Father interceding for us and all who have come to trust and have faith in His Name, Person and what He did on the cross. He is not only risen, He is risen forever and will fulfil all His wonderful promises. Not one of them will fail. He saves fully and abundantly! (John 10:10).

I pray you know the risen Savior.  And if you do, I pray you make Him known and help people experience the abundant life He promises.

He is risen…still! 

The Good of Suffering...

"There is a positive aspect to suffering. We all endure suffering to some degree, but the good news is that through it we can become like Jesus" Henry Blackaby

Nobody likes suffering. We are creatures of comfort, aren't we? We go out of our way to avoid inconvenience. Therefore, when suffering comes, it roots us out of our comfort zones and makes us, well...uncomfortable.

I am not trying to minimize the pain of suffering but I do believe that, as Blackaby says above, there is a positive aspect that we can focus on when trials come that will help alleviate some of our inward focus. If we accept that suffering is inevitable and that suffering is one of God's ways to conform us to the image of His Son, we then can maybe endure better the hard times.

Gold is not gold unless it passes through a flame and the crucible. A diamond is not formed without extreme pressure and time. And you and I do not become like Christ through our comfort alone.

Paul said it best when he said,...

"Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death - even to death on a cross..."

I really don't want to invite suffering into my life but if it helps to hold me into Christ's image, may I embrace it with an eye towards what God wants to do in me through that suffering.

Amen...

Telling Future Generations...

(Exodus 40:38) "For the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey"

You would think that the significance of the cloud by day and fire by night would be testimony enough for Israel to remain faithful to the Lord. However, it is amazing that the more they journeyed towards the promise land, the more it seems they forgot the provisions of the Lord for them along the way. They even came to a point where they remembered (incorrectly) Egypt, the place where they came out of enslavement, as the land flowing with milk and honey. Not a few times, God moved to wipe out Israel and start over with Moses but Moses pleaded on behalf of the people.

Why would Israel forget? The cloud of God's glory was with them daily. The fire of God's presence guided them through the night. On the surface, it doesn't make sense, or does it?

We as humans tend to become accustomed to the usual and tend to stop seeing the wonder of the miraculous the longer we see it. Life and everyday is a gift from God but most mornings we run through our routines and never stop to think of the One who made us and gave us life. Most of us are blessed way more than we deserve and yet we complain about the hardships we face. And as life becomes ordinary, routine and even monotonous, we forget to acknowledge and tell others just how special our God is, His goodness and His provisions.

I think the Israelites, like us, began to take the cloud and fire for granted. It was there every morning and every evening. Initially, it brought awe and reverence. Eventually it was just something they saw every day until finally, they began to lose their significance. I think the Israelites began to forget what or more importantly who the cloud and fire stood for.

May I always remember to tell my children, friends and family about the greatness of God in my life. Of all the miracles and wonders that He does for me, day by day, year by year. May I live each day in awe and gratefulness for the cloud and the fire that God makes plain to me. May I never take His presence and provisions for granted.

Amen!

A Few Pennies Here and There...

Sunday was World Hunger Sunday. That's the day I collect my change (I do it about three times per year) from my "Bread Banks" and make my donation to Global Hunger Relief (GHR). GHR is a 100%, dollar-in, dollar-out way to make a difference in the world regarding hunger.

My "Bread Banks" sit on my dresser and desk at home. Anytime I find change lying around, I pick it up and put it in one of the banks. I especially look for change - quarters, dimes, nickels and even pennies - when I'm out walking, running or just around town. Amazing what you can find just lying around that nobody wants.

About every three to four months, the banks get full and I cash them in. I usually have about $15 to $20 to donate. Yesterday's haul was $20.12. Doesn't sound like much, does it?

Let's say I do this 3 to four times per year. That would mean I would glean about $75 in change that I can then turn around and give to global hunger causes. What difference does $75 make?

* Seventy five dollars could provide water and food for a day for 75 days for one person in the Philippines who lost everything after typhoon Haiyan hit their home
* It could provide almost 4 months of formula for a hungry infant orphan in Sub-Saharan Africa
* It would provide for a sewing kit for a young woman in India to be able to start a micro enterprise, earn money, feed her family and keep her away from sex trafficking to survive
* It could help provide 7 families in Bangladesh with enough seeds and seedlings to start a nutritious vegetable garden near their home
* It could provide 3 water filters for widows in the slums of a major urban center so that they could have clean drinking water
* It could also provide a pair of pigs to help a poor family in Central America have a better hope for the future

A few pennies here and there really do add up. They add up to helping people in need if they are redistributed back through good causes such as BGR and Global Hunger Relief.

If you would like to know more about these ways to help and how your pennies can make a world of difference, I would encourage you to visit:

globalhungerrelief.org

or

gobgr.org

As my parents used to teach me, "every penny helps." 

What I Saw Today...

(Note: These next few blogs are some that I wrote while on my Middle East trip this past week. I will be posting them this week)

Today was unlike any other day that I have had in a while. I travelled close to the border area of a war torn country, Syria. I went to a village that had more than tripled in size due to the influx of refugees. Makeshift tents were everywhere. Every crook and cranny was filled with people trying to find shelter. Animal stalls, garages and storage sheds had been converted to barely liveable units.

And I saw scenes…

I saw a young girl with her arm amputated and shrapnel wound all across her torso. She was still in shock and holding her arm up for any body who cared to see.

I saw a baby with shrapnel wounds constantly crying as a local doctor tried to treat her. She was writhing in her mother’s arms.

I saw a worn out man who had just fled his country two days earlier. He crossed over the border with his wife and five children. He is injured himself – bullet wound in his leg and lower back. He doesn’t know how they will survive.

I saw and old man who told us that he has not seen his two sons in over a year. He fears he will never see them again.

I saw babies constantly crying, literally screaming, and they cannot be comforted. They are traumatized and can’t recover from their fear.

I saw a little boy with scars on his face due to shrapnel. The scars stretched as he smiled.

I saw families being exploited in their grief. Many were paying $300 per month for the privilege of renting a filthy cattle stall for their family to live in. As bad as it was, they said it was better than living in make shift tents.

And you know what else I saw? I saw compassion. It was compassion in the hands and feet of our local workers as they were moving among all these needs, giving a word of comfort, offering help such as food and hygiene supplies and more than anything, taking time to listen to the stories of those hurting and then offering words of comfort and hope.

I saw hurt...I saw healing...I saw hope...

A Funny Story...With a Moral?

I was standing in line at a local department store waiting to pay for some things I picked up for my mother's birthday present. I noticed a family (father, mother and two teen-aged sons) in front of me. They were speaking German and obviously weren't from Mt. Juliet, TN.

The department store had several cash registers open and you have to line up and wait for them to call you when one comes open. In not too many minutes, I heard one of the cashiers far down the aisle call out, "Register nine".

The German family looked perplexed and began talking in whispers among themselves. The cashier said a bit louder, "Register nine!" Their internal family discussion became a bit more intense.

Finally the father looked back at me and asked, "Register nine?" to which I replied, "Register nine".

This threw them into an even deeper family discussion. The cashier at the far end was starting to get a bit antsy. And then it hit me and I said to the father...

"Register number nine" to which he replied, with a smile, "Yah! Register number nine!" and proceeded to the cashier who had been waiting.

As you might have guessed, he had heard, "Register, nein!" or "No register." And I had confirmed it for him that there was no register.

I suppose the moral of the story is that real communication can be a tricky thing.

But What Will I Tell My Children...?

Several years ago, I was traveling in the southern Philippines, headed to a community where we were going to help with agricultural projects. Along the way, we passed through a village where a prolonged drought and an armed conflict had forced several families to take refuge in a local school.

We stopped to see if there was anything we could do to help. We were overwhelmed by what we saw, but did not have with us what was needed to help. When we told the people at the school, one of the older women said, “But what will I tell my children? We have no food.”

There are almost 1 billion people in the world today that are wondering the same thing. The majority of these are women with children. Where will they get their next meal? What with they tell their children when they come home with no food?

Isaiah says, “…and if you offer yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted one, then your light will shine in the darkness,…” (Isaiah 58:10)

James says, “If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15, 16)

And Jesus says, “I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat…I assure you: Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” (Matthew 25:35,40)

So, what will you and I do about that hungry person who asks what to tell their children? More importantly, what will we tell our children about what we have done for the hungry of the world?

Sunday, October 12, is our Southern Baptist World Hunger Day. You can start now praying for the hungry of the world. You can also start saving – a few pennies here and there – to give an offering on behalf of those in need.

You can even do something right now by visiting our Global Hunger Relief website and making a contribution at:

http://www.globalhungerrelief.com

What will we tell the children?...

The Definition of Faith…(Numbers 9:23)

The word "faith" is only truly expressed when it become "faithfulness". To say you have "faith" is evidenced by actions. James knew it when he said, "You say you have faith?... Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith from my works." Furthermore, he says, "You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe…" (James 2:18-19)

Faith is a great thing. Or should I say faith is a "grace" thing. It really is a gift from God that we give back to Him and is evidenced by how we choose to live our lives - for Him or apart from Him.

In the Old Testament in the book of Numbers, while the people of Israel are being formed into a nation in the crucible of the wilderness wanderings, we find a simple yet poignant definition of faith…

"They camped at the Lord's command, and they set out at the Lord's command. They carried out the Lord's requirement according to His command through Moses." (Numbers 9:23)

The people inhabiting Canaan and the surrounding countries must have watched with awe as this mass of humanity seemingly wandered aimlessly closer and closer to their lands. They had evidently heard of what God had done - the parting of the seas, the defeat of Pharaoh's army, the provisions of food and water. They saw the massive army of 600,000 plus men, all armed for battle. And they watched them move for a day, camp for one day or maybe one month, and then set out again. This would go on for forty years - seemingly random, wasted movements.

But it was not random and it was not wasteful. It was faith in action - faithfulness.

They camped when God said "camp". They set out when God said "move". The carried out the Lord's command whatever He asked of them.

Faith - expressed in faithfulness.

We would do well to do the same...

The First Three Laws of Holiness…

"The Lord spoke to Moses: 'Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, Yahweh your God, am holy.' Each of you is to respect his mother and father. you are to keep My Sabbaths; I am Yaweh you God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images of gods for yourselves; I am Yahweh your God." (Leviticus 19:1-4)

This whole chapter is an interesting passage. It has to deal with God's laws regarding holiness. There is much to the chapter but I want to look at the first three things that He says He requires from His holy, set apart people…

1. Respect your parents. It is the first commandment with a promise (e.g. so that you will live long in the land). And it somehow plays prominently in what God desires for His holy people to look like. Those who respect, care for and obey their parents.

2. Keep God's Sabbaths. Note that He calls them "His" Sabbaths. They are not ours (although we greatly and wonderfully benefit from His Sabbaths). We keep them and keep them holy because they are His and He has commanded us to.

3. Have no idols and make no cast images for yourselves. In other words, we are to have no thing, no possession, no position, no "toy" to come between us and our total love and devotion to God.

Here's the thought I had. When we think of "holiness" today, we think of piety, of righting living. We think of personal holiness and devotion. I, errantly, think of mystically sitting in the woods and just spending time with God. While all these things are not bad, I am struck that God's idea of holiness has more to do with positive actions and practical implications in our relationship with Him and with others.

Respect your parents…Keep God's Sabbaths…Don't let anything come between you and God…

Kind of redefines holiness in our current age, doesn't it? 

Abundant Life has a Face...

(I received this story from a BGR field partner and thought I would share it with you)

------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. G, aged about 45 years, is a married man with two school going children aged 12 yrs and 9 yrs. He belongs to a Hindu family but recently he has adopted a Christian life. He stays in a house provided by his farm owner where he worked as a watchman.

Mr. G was dependent on alcohol and spent all his earnings on drinking. His wife worked as a coolie (e.g. hauling of heavy loads) to support her family financially. He lost his job. He was socially boycotted due to his erratic violent behaviour and abusive language. 

An alcohol awareness program was being held in his village. He was encouraged by his wife and neighbours to attend the de-addiction camp and he agreed to do so.  The de-addiction camp was organized by Bangalore Baptist Hospital (BBH).

Mr. G turned over a new leaf after the camp. He completely gave up his drinking. He and his family were given regular counselling and encouragement by the BBH field staff.

Gradually he started concentrating on his work and the money was spent on his family. His physical appearance and behavior changed. His co-villagers his new, positive attitude. It has been more than a year since Mr. G stopped drinking.

The pastor/counselor visited his home regularly and, over a period of time, shared the love of Chrsit with him and his wife. They both committed their life to Jesus and he is now a transformed man.

He requested support to improve his economic. BBH and their outreach program helped him obtain a cow. He bought it on a loan and paying back the principle. He has imrpoved his family income and livelihood through this cow project and regularly remits the money advanced to him in weekly installments back to BBH. He is also a change agent to other alcoholics in his village and refers several of them to the de-addiction camps.

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Jesus said, "I come that they might have life and have it more abundantly".

Isn't it great that we serve a God who cares about all aspects of our lives? I know Mr. G thinks so! 

Amen!

Jayne's Story…Gone Home

In April, I wrote a blog about Jayne and told you about her and her battle with HIV/AIDS. We had delivered a BGR "hospice" bucket to her and her family and she smiled as our BGR COO Rick Funderburk showed her the contents and explained what they were. She also shared her testimony about knowing Christ as her Lord and Savior when she was asked if she knew who Jesus was. 

We got word last week that Jayne has gone home to be with the Lord. Pastor Patrick sent this note…

"Hallo Her Name Was Jane Wanjiru She Has Let Two Chidren The Who Have Join The  Form One And Three Old Girl Who Are Now With Glandmother . We working out how can assist the family we visit them this afternoon."

I remember Jayne's smile at the kindness of those who prepared the bucket for her. I remember the big smile as she shared how she could bear anything because she knew Jesus. 

Her name was Jayne Wanjiru. She has gone home now.

Please pray for her mother and her two children left behind. Please pray for Pastor Patrick and his ministry as he helps Jayne's family and hundreds of others like her in that community.

Her Name Means "Flower"...

The other day, we visited Manang (Mrs.) Bulac. Her name means "flower" in English. She is 90 years old and lives in the Philippines on the island of Bohol. She is a widow who has a hard time getting around especially up and down the wooden steps to her small house.

She's survived many years, seen many joys and hardships as well. A few months ago, she survived the strong earthquake which shook her island. But her house didn't do as well.

Ninety years old, a widow with no one to provide for her and in need of a home. 

We visited just in time to see the local carpenters putting the finishing touch on a small but new, sturdy and accessible home. It had a cement floor and no stairs to climb. It was sturdy and cool with part cement, part plywood walls. 

Mrs. "Flower" had tears in her eyes as she said, "Thank you so much for my new home." And we were there. We were there to tell her that people on the other side of the world cared enough to help her have a new home. We told her that people cared enough to come and help her build that home as well. And we told her that the true provider of the home and the true provider of all things good is God the Father. 

We had a short prayer of thanksgiving and dedication for her home and then got in the van to visit some other project sites. We told her that we would tell the people in the USA who gave for her to have a new home, "thank you" for her.

Her name is Mrs. Flower and she wants you to know that she says "thank you" for blessing her life.