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Showing posts from February, 2013

Weeping Uncontrollably

A friend sent me the following email from a retired missionary lady. I had recently discovered that she was praying for our ministry, even though she had never received an update from us. I added her to my list without really knowing what this saint was doing. As I read her letter, that she said she "just   rattled off ... never expecting that it would be sent to others", I began to sob uncontrollably. Her prayer life had a tremendous impact on me. See if you can grasp what this jewel is embracing. She asked that I not mention her name. So, I didn't. But here is her letter. Dear -----, Sorry for the delay.  I got home Monday night but I had so much mail to go through, bills to pay etc. etc. I just now feel back to normal. When you retire from a very active life on the field,  you feel as though you are not accomplishing anything meaningful and then after (my husband) went to be with the Lord, the day seemed very long.  He was the prayer warrior of the fami

Visit of the Vandals

Just a week after our work day we had visitors at church. Actually they visited our worksite not our church. They were mean people. They came kicking and bashing and crashing our party. They knocked over a lot of the work that our bricklayer had accomplished during the week. Remember that cute picture of Dawn in one of the windows? They leveled the windows. Mean people. Nothing better to do. Vandals! These people don't realize who they are messing with. They have no idea that they are toying with God’s building. They don't understand that their lives are at risk. They have no respect for anything or anyone and it will be the end of them. Unless. Unless they come to the Savior that is. Can it be that they will? God knows. We have be showered with blessings lately. So, when the crashing and crushing comes we are not discouraged. Mad, yes. Discouraged never. We’d love to crack some coconuts and break a few arms. We’d love to kick em right in the shins. But that is God’s business

Victory then Desert

How many times have you watched Charlton Hest... er Moses part the Red Sea in the movie The Ten Commandments? When I was a kid I was amazed at the special effects. As I grew older I was disgusted by all of the stupid dialog. I haven’t seen that film in years. However, I just finished reading the on the set account this evening in the book of Exodus chapter 14 and 15. Something hit me this reading. The sea closed over the enemy. There were dead on the shore. There was an on the spot original score written by Moses and recorded in Scripture. There was a dance lead by Miriam of all people. She must have been ninety at the time. Everyone was happy. The big bad Egyptian army was no more. Victory was won! Then the phrase that caught my attention in Exodus 15. 22 where text says, “ Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. CUT! That can’t be right. We need to do that over again. Fresh from one of the greatest displays of God’s might since Creation. One of

Quit Your Crying and Get Going!

“But wait LORD! We can’t get going. Don't you see it? There is a big sea in front of us!” The COI (Children of Israel) had a point. There WAS a big bad old sea blocking any further forward progress. Why would God make the preposterous demand that they advance? Why would he be so unreasonable? Was he blind? How often do I face such “impossible” situations? Why is God so insensitive, so  insistent, so blind to my trouble? Why? If you and I had been in the COI’s sandals, hedged in on one side by the Egyptian army and on the other by the Red Sea, we would have been different, wouldn't we? Of course not. We’d have been right there in the middle of the mass, grumbling and complaining and whining. “Moses! All of this is YOUR fault! You got us into this mess! What are you some kind of weirdo?” Even though that Moses had become great in the eyes of the Egyptians he hadn't made much of a dent in the popularity charts for the COI. I would have loved to see the look on their faces as

So You Think God is a Nice Guy?

The title seems a tad irreverent doesn't it. We know that God IS love. How can a being BE love? The Bible explains the concept if you care to know. However, in Psalm 18 there is a stark picture of God that you might not have meditated on recently. This terrifying look comes in the first third of the psalm. Please read verses 6 - 15 before you proceed. I’ll wait.... As my pastor, Juan Moreno, might say, “This passage needs some unpacking!” The text to this ancient song starts with an amazing claim. When I screamed for him my cry reached God’s Temple and entered his ears (my interpretation). A scream for help startles. It usually causes a reaction. Caring helpers jump and run to the rescue. This is what David says in verse six, 6 In my distress I called upon the Lord ; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. David’s cry also brought a reaction alright. God heard his servant in a fix and he wasn't the least bit