Scripture tells us to "wait on the Lord". From multiple references we are advised to be patient and wait for God to direct us when, how, where or why to proceed. In the meantime we are to keep doing what we have been doing and do it with excellence and to honor and glorify God. And in all these Bible references, from Genesis to Revelation, there are blessings which flow to us when we are patient, stay the course and do not lose heart or get discouraged.
Too often, we want a quick fix to our problem, an immediate answer to our prayers, a clear direction or a "bells and whistles" response to our request and we forget that God's timing is not the same as ours, and for the response we want to happen, many other elements must fall into place, and there is more involved than we might understand. But God understands, know all the consequences to the situation and will do what is best for all involved. And for our part.......we need to sit back.......wait.......and by faith know that in His timing......the answer will come.
A lot of our friends and family are facing issues: Many of them involve medical conditions, injuries, financial difficulties, family disputes, pain, career or ministry direction or a host of other matters. In every case, much prayer is being offered and God is being inundated with requests to fix or heal the problem. Whether we are the one in need or the one praying for the one in need, or the one who is being asked to meet the need, the ultimate resolution will come from God. In the meantime, we need to be patient, be a good patient, and wait on a God who has been infinitely patient with us. In time, it will all be resolved for our good and His glory.
Take a deep breath. Rest in The Lord. It will be okay.
Sent from my IPad
.
Monday, December 19, 2016
Friday, December 16, 2016
December 16, 2016. Madison, GA. Three Years and a Day
It was supposed to be a test run of three or four months and then a return to Colorado to rest, assess and hit the road again for three or four months........That was the plan on December 15, 2014 as we headed out of frigid Fort Collins into what became a three year and a day test and now a frigid day in Madison, Georgia, though far less frigid than Fort Collins.
Who would have ever imagined what we have experienced, and where God has called us to serve Him over the past 1096 days and more than 25,000 automobile and motor home miles. We have met people from all over the United States and many foreign countries, have been part of ministries which have preached the message of Jesus Christ, one for 64 years, the other for 50 years, and which have ministered to tens of millions of people in that period of time. We can only imagine the impact Source of Light, The Great Passion Play and our little Ministry of Miles have had, but one day we will know.
It has been a wonderful journey, not always smooth or without problems, and there have been things which have broken, didn't go as we had hoped and caused us to question whether we were in the right place or doing the right thing, but we have always felt protected, watched over and provided for. There have always been people to help us, people who prayed for us and the belief that God was with us, guiding us along the path, laughing with us (and at us), but always faithful, patient and gracious. We have not real idea what each new day will bring, but we are comfortable in the home we have been given, content with the work we are called to do and living each day without worrying (too much) about what lies ahead.
We started without a fixed timetable or agenda and that has remained unchanged. Thank You, Lord, for the journey the past three years, Your faithfulness to us even before we came to know You and surrender our lives to You, and the plan You had for us before we were even born. We thank You, in advance, for what is to come and our role in Your Kingdom now and forever. All Praise and Glory to You.
Sent from my iPad
Who would have ever imagined what we have experienced, and where God has called us to serve Him over the past 1096 days and more than 25,000 automobile and motor home miles. We have met people from all over the United States and many foreign countries, have been part of ministries which have preached the message of Jesus Christ, one for 64 years, the other for 50 years, and which have ministered to tens of millions of people in that period of time. We can only imagine the impact Source of Light, The Great Passion Play and our little Ministry of Miles have had, but one day we will know.
It has been a wonderful journey, not always smooth or without problems, and there have been things which have broken, didn't go as we had hoped and caused us to question whether we were in the right place or doing the right thing, but we have always felt protected, watched over and provided for. There have always been people to help us, people who prayed for us and the belief that God was with us, guiding us along the path, laughing with us (and at us), but always faithful, patient and gracious. We have not real idea what each new day will bring, but we are comfortable in the home we have been given, content with the work we are called to do and living each day without worrying (too much) about what lies ahead.
We started without a fixed timetable or agenda and that has remained unchanged. Thank You, Lord, for the journey the past three years, Your faithfulness to us even before we came to know You and surrender our lives to You, and the plan You had for us before we were even born. We thank You, in advance, for what is to come and our role in Your Kingdom now and forever. All Praise and Glory to You.
Sent from my iPad
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
December 13, 2016. Madison, GA. Keep The Faith
My last two blogs have been a little more somber (deep) than usual and it has been a time of reflection for me about the state of our country, our world and our own "call" to ministry and the roles we play where we are called. The past three days have not made my reflection any easier because there have been a lot of distractions, detours and things which have "gone wrong". We are determined to Keep The Faith.
The church we attend here in Georgia has been struggling for a while with differing views on its future direction, staffing and financial concerns, and the past two weekends have brought out some harsh comments. We pray that the emotions will mellow and the fellowship will Keep The Faith. Karen and I went to another church Sunday evening and were part of a Live Nativity. it was fun and the 175 people who drove through the outdoor setting represented the largest number of attendees in the whole 20+ year history of the event. But, Karen came away with a sore throat and a major case of the "sick". Keep The Faith and pass the medication.
Yesterday our refrigerator's cooling unit sprang an ammonia leak and will need a repair which our extended service contract will partially cover. We saved all the contents, and the repair should be accomplished Thursday. Thankful for Juvi's availability to fix it so quickly and the resources to see it through. Keep The Faith, God is on top of it. Today, I realized that the email on my smartphone, tablet and IPad had stopped functioning, but a trip to the nearby Verizon store was able to resolve the problem and get me back "on line" and connected to the many billions who send me stuff. Keep The Faith, even if my IPad is a dinosaur and unable to keep up with the modern world, It still should be able to handle our "secure" financial issues on the road. If not, I'm confident we'll be guided to a new solution.
I'm not sure if this blog is less somber, more somber or just as somber as the past two, but regardless, I'm determined to press on, endure whatever comes our way.......and.....Keep The Faith.
Sent from my iPad
The church we attend here in Georgia has been struggling for a while with differing views on its future direction, staffing and financial concerns, and the past two weekends have brought out some harsh comments. We pray that the emotions will mellow and the fellowship will Keep The Faith. Karen and I went to another church Sunday evening and were part of a Live Nativity. it was fun and the 175 people who drove through the outdoor setting represented the largest number of attendees in the whole 20+ year history of the event. But, Karen came away with a sore throat and a major case of the "sick". Keep The Faith and pass the medication.
Yesterday our refrigerator's cooling unit sprang an ammonia leak and will need a repair which our extended service contract will partially cover. We saved all the contents, and the repair should be accomplished Thursday. Thankful for Juvi's availability to fix it so quickly and the resources to see it through. Keep The Faith, God is on top of it. Today, I realized that the email on my smartphone, tablet and IPad had stopped functioning, but a trip to the nearby Verizon store was able to resolve the problem and get me back "on line" and connected to the many billions who send me stuff. Keep The Faith, even if my IPad is a dinosaur and unable to keep up with the modern world, It still should be able to handle our "secure" financial issues on the road. If not, I'm confident we'll be guided to a new solution.
I'm not sure if this blog is less somber, more somber or just as somber as the past two, but regardless, I'm determined to press on, endure whatever comes our way.......and.....Keep The Faith.
Sent from my iPad
Saturday, December 10, 2016
December 10, 2016. Madison, GA. Sick, part 2
When I blogged three days ago, I was celebrating our new television antenna, but also bemoaning the content of the programming we are now receiving, the news, the advertising and the programs themselves. In spite of my critical analysis, we are thankful for the additional channels and the chance to be more aware of the world around us. I was, however, not reporting the whole story, when I mentioned the need for prayer and the fact that ultimately, God is in control of everything we encounter.
The whole story is: we are living in community with friends, family, acquaintances, billions of people we do not know and will never know, but every one of them is "sick" in one way or another. There is so much pain, illness, physical discomfort, greed, injury, disease, emotional trauma, pride, crime, intentional and unintended consequences of words, opinions, actions and thoughts, that we can easily become discouraged or tune the bad out. As Christians we are supposed to do the right thing, live according to a moral code, be generous and compassionate, but we see, hear and experience so much that is "broken", we may forget that we can't fix it all, but we have faith in The One who can fix it, and will fix it, in His timing.
Christmas means a lot of different things to the billions of us on this planet. But to us who are Christ-followers it should be more than gifts, parties, contatas, or carol singing, too much food and a day off. No matter whether we even consider it a legitimate "Christian holiday" or not, the reality is that we are surrounded by a lot of hurting people. We ourselves may be hurting and the prayer lists are long, the needs great and the calls for God to act are infinite. Every day should be Christmas, a day we need "more of Christ", a day to pray for healing, unity, belief in something greater than ourself and a day to be thankful for life, for the gift of Jesus and the promise of better things to come.
Thank You, Lord, for the peace which passes all understanding, peace the world cannot give to us, for our light and momentary troubles which are achieving for us an eternal glory we can rely on. Yes, Lord, Yes. By faith, I do believe You have it all under control.
Sent from my iPad
The whole story is: we are living in community with friends, family, acquaintances, billions of people we do not know and will never know, but every one of them is "sick" in one way or another. There is so much pain, illness, physical discomfort, greed, injury, disease, emotional trauma, pride, crime, intentional and unintended consequences of words, opinions, actions and thoughts, that we can easily become discouraged or tune the bad out. As Christians we are supposed to do the right thing, live according to a moral code, be generous and compassionate, but we see, hear and experience so much that is "broken", we may forget that we can't fix it all, but we have faith in The One who can fix it, and will fix it, in His timing.
Christmas means a lot of different things to the billions of us on this planet. But to us who are Christ-followers it should be more than gifts, parties, contatas, or carol singing, too much food and a day off. No matter whether we even consider it a legitimate "Christian holiday" or not, the reality is that we are surrounded by a lot of hurting people. We ourselves may be hurting and the prayer lists are long, the needs great and the calls for God to act are infinite. Every day should be Christmas, a day we need "more of Christ", a day to pray for healing, unity, belief in something greater than ourself and a day to be thankful for life, for the gift of Jesus and the promise of better things to come.
Thank You, Lord, for the peace which passes all understanding, peace the world cannot give to us, for our light and momentary troubles which are achieving for us an eternal glory we can rely on. Yes, Lord, Yes. By faith, I do believe You have it all under control.
Sent from my iPad
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
December 7, 2016. Madison, GA. A Sick World
A few days ago, I replaced the TV antenna on our motor home, and with the new equipment, we are able to pick up quite a few more stations than we could with our old antenna. I'm not sure if this is going to be an improvement in the level of entertainment and information we receive.
Last evening I watched two national news broadcasts and was overwhelmed by the number of stories about things which are going wrong with our "world". The stories covered such topics as: Building fires, forest fires, arson fires, election controversies, the attack on Pearl Harbor 75 years ago, terrorism, computer hacking, floods, extreme winter weather, school bus accidents, false allegations and court battles, a potential $4,000,000,000 airplane for the President, foreign economic difficulties, road rage, distracted driving, sleep deprivation, etc, etc, etc. To make matters worse almost every commercial on the two network news broadcasts was for medications for: heart disease, diabetes and diabetic nerve pain, asthma, Alzheimer's and dementia, E.D., chronic dry eye, depression, sinus problems, pneumonia, acid reflux, shingles, etc, etc, etc.
And then it was the choice of what program to watch: and whether it was a current crime drama, a music show with scantily-clad women, or the plethora of "accept me as I am sit-coms" or some of the old classics like Archie Bunker, George Jefferson, the shoot-um-up westerns or cop shows, it was a choice of which was the least objectionable, sort of like our recent election. But, by the end of the evening I had seen a few good shows, heard a few good sermons on TBN and went to sleep ready to face a new day and the prospect of mulching more leaves, helping prepare bible lessons for shipment and hoping that the work we are engaged in will make a dent in the sickness and hopelessness many people face in our country and around the world. I know that we, individually can only do so much, and trust God for the "big picture" and the plan He has to remedy the ills we face and return us to the "garden" He gave us in the beginning of Creation. For now, we pray, trust and obey, continue to pray, do our best, pray some more, and wait on The Lord's return with faith and hope. Pray......pray.....pray. God has it all under control.
Sent from my iPad
Last evening I watched two national news broadcasts and was overwhelmed by the number of stories about things which are going wrong with our "world". The stories covered such topics as: Building fires, forest fires, arson fires, election controversies, the attack on Pearl Harbor 75 years ago, terrorism, computer hacking, floods, extreme winter weather, school bus accidents, false allegations and court battles, a potential $4,000,000,000 airplane for the President, foreign economic difficulties, road rage, distracted driving, sleep deprivation, etc, etc, etc. To make matters worse almost every commercial on the two network news broadcasts was for medications for: heart disease, diabetes and diabetic nerve pain, asthma, Alzheimer's and dementia, E.D., chronic dry eye, depression, sinus problems, pneumonia, acid reflux, shingles, etc, etc, etc.
And then it was the choice of what program to watch: and whether it was a current crime drama, a music show with scantily-clad women, or the plethora of "accept me as I am sit-coms" or some of the old classics like Archie Bunker, George Jefferson, the shoot-um-up westerns or cop shows, it was a choice of which was the least objectionable, sort of like our recent election. But, by the end of the evening I had seen a few good shows, heard a few good sermons on TBN and went to sleep ready to face a new day and the prospect of mulching more leaves, helping prepare bible lessons for shipment and hoping that the work we are engaged in will make a dent in the sickness and hopelessness many people face in our country and around the world. I know that we, individually can only do so much, and trust God for the "big picture" and the plan He has to remedy the ills we face and return us to the "garden" He gave us in the beginning of Creation. For now, we pray, trust and obey, continue to pray, do our best, pray some more, and wait on The Lord's return with faith and hope. Pray......pray.....pray. God has it all under control.
Sent from my iPad
Sunday, December 4, 2016
December 4, 2016. Madison, GA. Stuck on 46
This morning we woke to drizzly weather, gray skies and 46 degrees. The forecast was for drizzly weather, gray skies, temperatures in the mid 40's all day, and so it has gone. It has been one of those non-descript days other than the drizzle, gray and 46 degrees. Our outdoor thermometer has shown a high of 47 and a low of 45 for the past 24 hours, so that would appear to average out to 46. Not much to do with the day, other than do things inside, like Sunday School, Church, eat, balance the checkbook, pay some bills and keep the outside temperature from creeping inside. Our television isn't receiving any signal because of the drizzle, low ceiling and poor visibility.
The past two days, I gathered leaves in anticipation of the forecast rain for today, Monday and Tuesday, and I can already see that many more leaves are yet to be collected. There will be a steady work diet of "leafing" once the ground dries out and until the trees drop their last vestiges of foliage. This is one of those "cow never stays milked" chores. Good thing I enjoy being outside on non-drizzly, other than gray, over 46 degree days. Right now it's nice to just be looking out the window, resting and enjoying the day God has blessed us with. We definitely need the moisture.
I think I'll check the temperature so I'll know how we should dress for our walk across the parking lot to our 5:30 game of cards in the Mission breakroom. Surprise of surprises.......AccuWeather says it's.............46.
Sent from my iPad
The past two days, I gathered leaves in anticipation of the forecast rain for today, Monday and Tuesday, and I can already see that many more leaves are yet to be collected. There will be a steady work diet of "leafing" once the ground dries out and until the trees drop their last vestiges of foliage. This is one of those "cow never stays milked" chores. Good thing I enjoy being outside on non-drizzly, other than gray, over 46 degree days. Right now it's nice to just be looking out the window, resting and enjoying the day God has blessed us with. We definitely need the moisture.
I think I'll check the temperature so I'll know how we should dress for our walk across the parking lot to our 5:30 game of cards in the Mission breakroom. Surprise of surprises.......AccuWeather says it's.............46.
Sent from my iPad
Thursday, December 1, 2016
December 1, 2016. Madison, GA. A Whole Lot of Learning Going On
Source of Light Ministries is in the "business" of teaching people around the world about Jesus Christ. This is accomplished in a number of ways: writing Bible Correspondence courses, printing lessons and disseminating them to missionaries in almost 40 countries: sending lessons and encouragement to individuals in prison who want to know more about Jesus: discipling people, raising up pastors in underdeveloped countries: planting churches around the world. In every area, SLMI is seeking to preach Jesus to people who desire to know Him more intimately.
As we go about our daily activities here at the Mission, we try to provide information, support, an environment for retired missionaries to continue to use their gifts and talents, grow in our relationship with God and encourage others to be salt and light to a troubled world. We all have our own reasons for working or volunteering here, but ultimately our goal is to glorify God, provide resources so people can learn, grow, mature and get closer to Father God, His Son Jesus and be guided by The Holy Spirit. When we have the opportunity to welcome our missionaries when they visit the Mission here in Madison, it gives us a chance to hear what it means to be "in the field" and we are constantly in prayer as we receive continual updates on the activities of our branches in other countries and the challenges they face.
Not all of us have the gifting to learn a "native" language, spend years overseas or live in conditions far different from what we enjoy in the United States, face opposition and dangerous physical situations on a regular basis, but we do have the opportunity to pray, provide resources and materials needed in their work and encourage them and ask God to strengthen them in their calling. And in all of this we learn something new about our world, our faith and our God. Every task, no matter how trivial or mundane, affords us the opportunity to contribute to God's plan for His creation and the Kingdom we are part of. Thank You, Lord for allowing us to experience You in so many different ways. What a joy it is to be In Your Service.
Sent from my iPad
As we go about our daily activities here at the Mission, we try to provide information, support, an environment for retired missionaries to continue to use their gifts and talents, grow in our relationship with God and encourage others to be salt and light to a troubled world. We all have our own reasons for working or volunteering here, but ultimately our goal is to glorify God, provide resources so people can learn, grow, mature and get closer to Father God, His Son Jesus and be guided by The Holy Spirit. When we have the opportunity to welcome our missionaries when they visit the Mission here in Madison, it gives us a chance to hear what it means to be "in the field" and we are constantly in prayer as we receive continual updates on the activities of our branches in other countries and the challenges they face.
Not all of us have the gifting to learn a "native" language, spend years overseas or live in conditions far different from what we enjoy in the United States, face opposition and dangerous physical situations on a regular basis, but we do have the opportunity to pray, provide resources and materials needed in their work and encourage them and ask God to strengthen them in their calling. And in all of this we learn something new about our world, our faith and our God. Every task, no matter how trivial or mundane, affords us the opportunity to contribute to God's plan for His creation and the Kingdom we are part of. Thank You, Lord for allowing us to experience You in so many different ways. What a joy it is to be In Your Service.
Sent from my iPad
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)