Man of God
How do you recognize a man of God? Does he carry a Bible? Can he quote verse after verse of scripture? Does he know how many decks were on Noah’s ark?
Here on Troublesome Creek, where there is no lack of something that needs to be done, we see men and women of God all the time. We call them “work groups.” They are ministers of the Gospel with hammers, ladders, paint brushes, and brooms. And the funny thing is that they always go away saying that they received a bigger blessing than they gave. It is incredible to watch the Body of Christ at work.
Tonight, we get to have a man of God join us for supper. His name is Buddy and he is a retired computer systems administrator from Virginia. He and his wife have made numerous trips here to give us a hand and are just as much a part of the work here as any of us. The picture above shows Buddy leaving the shop, where he had just completed installing insulation under the house. He had been working on the project for days–eating dust and crawling on the cold, damp ground. And his labor is purely on a volunteer basis. All the school provides is living quarters and a meal a day. Buddy’s church even paid for the materials he used.
Buddy, you see, is living out the Gospel and spending himself for the kingdom. That is how you tell a man of God.
Revival
More and more, I hear “Revival” being mentioned from the pulpit, in meetings, at the store…everywhere. Spread the word. Fan the fire. Join us in prayer that we be awake and active in this movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives, our Church, our communities. Pray for revival. Put it on every prayer list you know of.
Nine years of joy…
Tomorrow is Violet Sunshine’s birthday. She will be nine years old. What a joy that girl is; she is absolutely precious. We will be singing a “special” at Church this morning. Violet chose the song, and it is an example of the sweetness within her. For her birthday, she asked to sing “It is all about you, Jesus.” (Heart of Worship.) Is that incredible, or what?
Please pray that we can get the Hosanna Kids ministry going in force so that Violet and other children will have choices outside of the mainstream. Right now, she is being tugged by her friends to get involved with cheerleading, ballet, and such. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with these activities, but I see other kids who are so caught up in sports and such that they are away from home constantly and have little time for anything else. Knowing that we must choose, our desire is to choose the best. Of course, the Father has special assignments for us all. Pray that we rightly discern hers. She is a jewel in the Kingdom.
Focus
Our family verse is “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). My paraphrase is, “Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will work out fine.” That verse is a big part of how we ended up working as missionaries. God’s word is powerful, indeed.
These past few days, then, have been a real lesson to me–I have been pulled away from a vision for revival. And as is often the case, the distraction was not a “bad” thing, but a good one. My school has been having computer/internet problems. So, as one who is fairly well versed in the technology, I was asked to take part in the repair efforts. As a result, the last 72 hours have been mostly devoted to internet security issues, and my focus has suffered.
What is the lesson? As I see it, there are two parts. First, that even though I am multi-talented, I cannot do everything. I sense a real pull to closely evaluate my calling and to keep it center-stage in all that I do.
A second realization is that I may engage in a number of activities–as long as my primary direction is not lost in the process. To illustrate, suppose that I choose to drive from Boston to Seattle. There is no problem with stopping along the way or even in diverting a bit to see a special sight. If I were to get hung up in Omaha though, and lose track of my initial desire, I may never make it to Seattle.
There is no lack of valid tasks that need to be accomplished, but it is crucial that I not lose sight of my primary purpose and lose myself in them. There is nothing either mundane or sacred about any particular chore. The important thing is that I invite and recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in every moment.
Your comments and personal experiences on this topic are invited and welcome. May God continue to bless and keep you and yours on this and every day.
Field trip to Israel…
Hosanna kids want to visit Israel. That’s right, this little group of Appalachian children is not afraid to think big. And I’m not about to tell them that the goal is impossible. What can God do? Anything. One thing for sure, having a big dream gives us a real-life teaching on how to head towards that which you desire. If the Lord God wants us to go, we shall. If not, He will use our momentum to take us where He wants us. Either way, the effort is not wasted and God gets the glory. Wow! What could be better than that?
Hosanna kids get going…
Thanks to that right-on-time check for a set of classroom Bibles, we have begun our first close study of the Word. The Gospel of John is our first focus, a verse by verse effort to learn a different way of reading. Our desire is not just to sound out the words, but to understand them and to apply them to our lives.
This week, we are considering the first 18 verses and asking ourselves one question: What does John say about the Word? Our first job was to differentiate between John, the Apostle, and John, the Baptist. Many, maybe most, of the students initially believed that they were the same–that John the Baptist had written the Gospel of John.
The response has been excellent. For the most part, the kids are bearing down and finding that there is more to the Bible than words–there is The Word. A few are attempting to be disruptive. Please pray that I will be able to handle those students and situations with love and wisdom. One pupil was escorted from class, yesterday. She has a special problem that needs attention. Whether it is spiritual, physical, or both; I am not sure. Hers is a special case, though, and especially needs your prayers.
Please pray for us as we take the Word of God to these precious children.
Stolen money at a high price.
An email from a childhood friend, today, took me back to an incident that I regret deeply. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home and was basically a wild child. That’s not an excuse–it’s just the way it was. One of my best friends had stolen some money (he broke into a local feed store.) I told another friend about it, and he recommended that we steal the money from the first guy….the idea being that since it was stolen anyway, we wouldn’t really be stealing–great rationalization, hey? Well, we did so. Rick (the first thief) confronted me about the missing loot, but I denied any involvement. Our friendship was never the same after that.
I haven’t heard from him in twenty years, or so. What a surprise. Oh, I had later confessed my sin to him…even offered to give him a Mossberg .308 caliber rifle to make up for it. He refused, though, and just told me that it was stolen money in the first place, so it didn’t really make any difference. I guess I should have tried to return the cash (about $100) to its rightful owner, but the business had long since folded and I had no idea (nor desire) to try and figure out who that might be.
Reading and responding to Rick’s email brought all of that back up. That’s the way it is with sin. It will accuse you and hound you right to the grave, and it will destroy any relationship it touches. Ouch. I know that God forgives me. I think that, maybe, even Rick forgives me. It is difficult to forgive myself, though…and you know what causes that? Pride. If I made an honest assessment of my own righteousness, I would have to agree with the apostle that “in me dwells no good thing.” My nature is to sin. The Holy Spirit, living within me, convicts me of error…but He also leads me to Jesus. Pride tells me that I should have done better and causes shame. The Spirit knows that I am fortunate to not have done worse…and offers forgiveness. I need to apply this truth to my life, today and everyday. Will you pray for me to have the strength and wisdom to do so?
The Living Word…
A big lesson for me today, as I worked with a group of kids at a local church. They like doing drama, I like studying the Word, they are on a scripture memorization team, I have always thought that John 9 would make an excellent skit (as it is written–it’s hilarious,) their pastor wants them to not just know scripture, but live it. They asked me to come and help. All told, it seemed to be an excellent opportunity to apply the Hosanna principle (It is better to live one verse of scripture, than to be able to quote the entire chapter.) But it didn’t work out…at least not on this try.
Why? The kids told me that they are so tired of being drilled on memory verses (for competition) that the last thing they want to do is learn a skit that is nothing but scripture. They want to do something more exciting–not so boring. So, I bowed out and wished them the very best. My job, my desire, my calling is not to entertain people. If it was, I would likely be singing Jimmy Buffet songs in a Florida beach bar…me and my guitar. That’s just not my gig. I am here to shout encouragement to the Church and to fan the coals of revival. And I have plenty of that work to do right inside of myself. Here I am, Lord, use me.
He never sleeps!
I mentioned elsewhere that we need a set of classroom Bibles. Our school administrator told me to find the Bible I wanted and get him the information on how to order. His daughter attends a large Church congregation, and they are often willing to give time and money to the work here. I did my research, gasped a bit at the idea that the hardback study Bible I wanted would cost US$ 27 each…even going through an excellent source, and turned in the request.
Just a few hours later, one of the other teachers waved the papers at me. He is a longtime missionary, a real man of God, and everywhere he goes, folks who know him want to get in on the ministry and join in the blessings. Turns out that he had received a check–that very day–from a foundation. The amount was more than I had asked for and the directions were that we should “use it for Bibles.” My comrade looked at me and said, “He never sleeps, does He?”
No, He doesn’t. My need was known and taken care of, even before I asked!
Blogging through the snow…
The snow is melting, here on Troublesome, so the school bell is likely to be ringing Monday morning. I look forward to seeing the students, and hearing about their Christmas journeys. The new year is presenting a host of opportunities for us to serve–from lesson plans to field trips to Hosanna groups; there is plenty to keep us busy. Furthermore, I am in the final phase of work towards my master’s degree, and will be designing and implementing a “capstone” project over the coming months. I’m not sure what form it will take, but I am sure that it will include the Hosanna Road Mission and blogging! For those of you who would love to get your own blog going, but just haven’t taken that step, here is a link that will get you on board with the best company, at the best price…and I will be happy to help you get started: Blog Alive!
A steep hike
On the last day of the year, I hiked up a steep Appalachian hillside to the grave-site of the family who founded the work here. The view from the little cemetery looks out across Troublesome Creek, to the church that is named in their memory. In elevation, the graves lie considerably higher than the cross-topped steeple spire, and about one-half mile to the east. I know that they are not there, yet the determination I felt to help carry on the ministry here was very real. They dedicated their lives to living the Gospel, in service of others. Are we not all called to do the same, in our own way, in our own place? God, help me to do as you would have me do, and be as you would have me be, and desire what you would have me desire. That is my prayer for this new year.
Snowed out…but not snowed in.
Hosanna kids are snowed out at local schools, today. We will use the time to play in this wonderful snow, but also to clean and pray over the room where we will be holding our Hosanna kids ministry meetings. Please join us with your prayers for this fledgling venture. The Word tells us not to “hide our lamps under a basket.” So our plan is to shine…join us.
