With A Grateful Heart

I love Thanksgiving! It is a time to enjoy special time with family and reflect on God's goodness. I have been thinking back over this year, and I am amazed at all that has happened! I see God's hand and His plan that is unfolding and bigger than I could have imagined. Here are a few of the highlights for me from this last year:

- Taking a class from Kent and Erika- squeezing an amazing amount of information and digging into God's Word into two weeks! God deepened my conviction for those who haven't had a chance to hear about Jesus and also stirred my heart to increase my prayers for Cambodia and the unreached. Out of this came a very special weekly time of prayer with my now-teammate Kristin.

- Finishing three years of study at Dallas Baptist University and celebrating with friends and family. It has been a privilege to get to further my education and learn from great professors and fellow students.

- Lovely visits from friends, exploring Dallas together and making memories

- Getting to go home to Nebraska for two cousins' weddings, and spending some really special time with family.

- Seeing prayers answered as my sister went to Cambodia and watching her journey begin to the nations

- A deepening love for the Khmer people, seeing God provide in amazing ways as I prepare to go, and confirmation that this the way and I am to walk in it, even as I battle fears or doubts. God continues to use His Word, songs and stories to confirm this direction.

The way is not always easy, but God's grace is so amazing!

Psalm 89:8 O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

The Cost of Following Jesus

Luke 9:57-62 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go”. Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head”. He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father”. Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God”. Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God”.

I have always struggled with these verses. As I look to the not-so-distant future when I will get on a plane for Asia, in many ways I dread the goodbyes, the tears, the culture shock, learning a language that I can’t quite get my mind around. I dread getting in a moto accident, getting sick, being hot all the time, and having to constantly, every day push out of my comfort zone. I fear failing as a missionary.

But, my hand must be to the plow because the fields are ready to be harvested and there are souls that MUST hear about Jesus. I fear sacrifice and yet this is what is required. Joy will replace the fear, peace will replace the dread because I am choosing to obey and choosing to serve. 

A Story

A mother and her little girl came to the US and with excitement headed to the wonder of America- Wal-mart. They were in search of one very special item- a Barbie flashlight for the little girl. They combed the shelves and found what they had been searching for. Without wasting any time, they put the flashlight together and put in the batteries so the little girl could begin to play with the flashlight right away. The mother and daughter went through the checkout line, as the little girl tried turning the flashlight on and off, on and off. As the mother was paying, she heard the little girl utter a great big sigh. Pulling on her mother’s coat she said, “There’s too much light in here. Can’t we go somewhere where there is darkness?”

Aren’t we that way as Christians? We spend a lot of time with other “lights”. We send our resources to the places where there are lots of lights already shining. Who will take their light to the dark places, the places where there is no one to speak of Jesus?

Response

My organization is facing some major changes with a new health insurance policy and for many on the field it will be a big stretch financially. This has caused a great deal of anxiety and we have been taking time to be family together and support one another in prayer.

One of my co-workers brought us to Nehemiah and I have been dwelling on his story as I've been praying. One of the things that stuck out to me first is that when Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed and that the survivors of the exile were experiencing great trouble, he mourned. It broke his heart. Then he spent days fasting and praying. He didn't just sit in his sadness but he took it to the Lord. God's heart is broken too when He sees us hurting, so I think when we bring this before the Lord it draws us closer to Him. Nehemiah didn't remain in mourning but when he saw the opportunity that the Lord presented to share with the king, he took it. Again, he prayed earnestly on the spot for the right words to say in response to the King.

Often I look at all of the huge issues in the world and I am overwhelmed. My first reaction in the face of crisis is fear, worry and doubt. I do not turn immediately to fervent prayer. Too often I don't notice the brokenness around me, or at least not enough to actually do anything about it. Nehemiah felt the pain, he took it to the Lord and sought God's direction. He focused on God and His love and mercy and His great promises. Nehemiah kept his focus in the right direction and he was able to accomplish the task the Lord gave him.

No Fear in Death

Philippians 1:20-24 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 

Last week one of my co-workers on the field passed away suddenly from a heart attack. It was a shock to the organization, and at first I struggled with fear. Death has always scared me a bit- more those close to me dying than my own- and the realities of the field set in. I was reading through Philippians and I was reminded that as believers, we are really in a win-win situation! As Paul said, if we die we get to behold God’s glory in person. I don’t think I can even grasp that yet! If we wake up to live another day, it means we have another chance to be God’s hands and feet here on earth. How do people survive without the hope of heaven and the hope that keeps us going day to day? 

God’s glory is our ultimate goal and purpose. Glory, according to the little dictionary in the back of my Bible, means “great honor, praise and thanksgiving offered in worship; splendor and majestic beauty”. There are many places in the world where God’s splendor and majesty are not known, and where no one gives Him the praise and honor He is due. Focusing on that, and the fact that we get to truly behold God’s glory when we get to heaven, takes away the fear of death. There will be pain and sorrow here on earth as we lose people we love, but if they know Jesus than they go to be in His presence and take in all that glory. We have no reason to fear! 

Photo by Beth Hilkemann

The Master's Call

The Master's Call

a hymn written by Oswald J. Smith, 1935

Have you heard the Master's call? Will you go, forsaking all?

Millions still in sin and shame, ne're have heard the Savior's name. 

Some may give and some may pray, but for you He calls today. 

Will you answer, "Here am I", or must Jesus pass you by? 

Have you heard their bitter cry? Can you bear to see them die? 

Thousands who in darkest night, never yet have seen the Light? 

Soon 'twill be too late to go, and your love for Jesus show. 

Oh then, quickly speed away, tary not another day. 

What if you refuse to go? Someone then will never know,

Of the Savior kind and true, and the blame will rest on you. 

Will you then, forsaking all, gladly heed the Master's call? 

Answer quickly, "Lord send me, to the lands beyond the sea".

Shouldn't We Just Love?

There are many hot-button issues in our culture today, and my experience has been that often Christians come down in one of two camps. The first is that no matter what someone has done, all we are to do is love them. The most important thing is to love, which often looks like tolerance. The second camp is that if someone is living in sin, they are wrong and should be judged accordingly. Often this looks like hate.

It seems to me that there should be some sort of middle ground. Jesus definitely commands us as believers to love. He modeled love while He was on earth, and in His death and resurrection as He took the punishment we deserved. John 13:34-35 says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV). Our love for each other must be sincere, and we get a pretty thorough definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13. I don’t think, though, this love extends to tolerance of wrong or sinful behavior. While this behavior in someone else does not give us the license to hate, if we truly care about someone then we do not want them to keep going down a path of sin. God desperately wants people to turn away from sin and follow Him in obedience. In love, shouldn’t we want the same thing?

So where is this middle ground? On the really tough issues like abortion or gay marriage, how do we respond? First of all, I think we need to pray. Ask God to give us a love for people, whether they agree with us or not. We should search the Scriptures, our source of authority on what is right or wrong, to see what God has to say. Then, we shouldn’t back down from what God says is right. Now more than ever it seems people disagree with the positions that the Bible has. But there is no shying away from the things the Bible calls sin. We must rely strongly on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to know how exactly to confront someone who does not agree with the Bible’s position or who is practicing a sinful behavior. God’s grace is amazing and free for all of us! We should continually turn our focus to Him.

I read this quote recently that seemed to really pull together my thoughts on this topic. It is from Bryant Myers' book Walking with the Poor: “God’s love of us and our neighbor can be a tough, truth-telling, there-are-consequences, your-soul-is-in-danger kind of love. But, there is never hate; the enemy is never demonized or declared hopeless. The offer of grace is always there”.

If this is the way God loves us, isn’t that how we should love others?

Pray without Ceasing

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray continually. 

I used to wonder how this verse was possible. The typical physical form of praying- head bowed, eyes closed- was not feasible to be continued every hour of the day.

I began to understand this verse a bit better when I traveled internationally for the first time by myself to Italy the summer after my junior year of college. There were so many things I was nervous about, so many things I feared would happen just on my journey to get there. Prayer became my lifeline as I asked God to give me peace about each little step, wisdom to know what to do when things didn’t go quite right, and patience with people around me. Stepping into a world where I didn’t know the language, didn’t always have someone to translate and where I was expected to act as one with authority was so intimidating and my first day at the preschool where I was helping I wanted to shout, “Just let me go home! This isn’t what I expected!”. So I prayed more. When the children were throwing temper tantrums and all I knew how to say in Italian was “No!” and “Stop!” (neither of which they listened to very well), I prayed for their little hearts and for my heart to be strong. As I walked around the neighborhood where I was staying, I prayed and asked for God’s blessing and revelation for the people. I couldn’t do much else but pray. It sort of became like breathing: exhaling my worries and fears, the struggles and the good things as well, all before God, and inhaling His precious promises and peace and strength.

I have a feeling the verses surrounding this command are there on purpose as well:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Thanks and joy are a part of that praying without ceasing. They go together. Not only should I let go of all of the fears, worries, whatever, but as I am in a state of "prayerfulness" I think I can see much more clearly how God really is working and praise Him. We can see with different eyes.

The Church in Cambodia- Interesting Facts and Figures

• The Christian population of Cambodia can be said to be between 1.30% and 2.82%. 
• Compared to other religions such as Buddhism and Islam, there is a large percentage of women in leadership roles in Cambodia
• The average age of Cambodian church leaders is 34 years old; the average age in the US is 49
• Only 81.94% of church leaders have been baptized
• The most common occupation in Cambodia is rice farming, which requires the person to stay close to tend to the field. This makes it more difficult for the person to be involved in evangelism and church planting. 

Photo by Ben Tillotson

Gratitude

Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter every day epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.

~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

I remember one Thanksgiving, not too long ago, when all my siblings and I were home to celebrate. For some reason we were sitting at the dinner table ready to eat and were quite annoyed with each other. We were bickering and making quite a ruckus, and my mom yelled, “That’s enough! I want everyone to say one thing you are thankful for!” No one was particularly in a mood of thankfulness, but having to shift our focus helped change the attitude at the table.

I have been pondering gratitude a lot lately and have been struck at the power it has to change our lives. There are plenty of things that are rotten about our world right now- evil is alive and well. There are plenty of daily frustrations that can get us down- things like being stuck in traffic which drives me CRAZY! There are plenty of places in the Bible, though, where we are encouraged to be thankful. For example: Psalm 106:1 “Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever”. Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”.

It is easy to say that we need to be grateful, but what are we supposed to be grateful for? Here are several things I have been struck with lately:

• Our gratitude needs to go to God. If we don’t see that He is the source of the goodness in our lives, then I think we have missed the mark.
• We should name specific things. We can all say, “God, thank you for your provision”, and that is a wonderful thing. But we should be specific in what we are grateful for. When I start making a list of these things, my focus really shifts and my eyes are opened to even more things I can thank God for.

I am adding to a list each day of at least three specific things I'm grateful for. It might be something really simple- like yesterday the clouds were splendidly poofy and they were beautiful! The fellowship at the Cambodian church I attend was particularly sweet. My pesto pasta at supper was especially delicious. These are everyday things but because I am looking with eyes of gratitude, perhaps my senses are enhanced and I'm enjoying them even more.

If you started a “gratefulness list” today, what would be on it?