Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Good or best… life or death!??


After spending a couple hours this afternoon up on the mountain behind my house, enjoying nature, talking to my mom on the phone about the news that I haven't had a chance to share from the past week, and trying to unwind from the stress of the last few days, I came back to my cozy apartment. "Wow! What a blessing to have such a beautiful place to live!" I thought to myself. "God is good!" I grabbed a bite to eat from my overstuffed refrigerator, then I came and sat down at my computer. My computer has  become my constant companion and working partner through many long days and nights, especially these last few weeks. A ministry project that I thought would be done in a day or two has stretched on forever. Hours have turned into days and days and more days. I would think I was almost done and then there would be more. But finally at 3pm this afternoon it was done!!!! DONE!! I was so happy, I wanted to celebrate…so I went walking! It was about time I got outside…I had hardly moved from the computer screen all day.

But with the walk completed, I am back.

Since I will be working at the Hospital tomorrow, I figure that I better get some good sleep tonight. (After all, I was up working till 1am this morning…so I think I deserve a good night's sleep tonight.) Thankfully I have a warm cushy bed all to myself, so I can sleep in ease. Awwww….I'm already dreaming about getting under those warm covers... 

However, before I go to bed, I need to reply to a couple e-mails and look up some info a friend posted on Facebook. First I take care of the e-mails, then I open up my Facebook homepage. As I've been so busy, I haven't allowed myself much time to browse or read any updates on Facebook in a loooooong time. It's just one of those activities that can turn into a vacuum, and I've realized it doesn't really accomplish much of anything. But tonight, since I've finished my big project, I figured I can take a few minutes to catch up on the social world - a world that I feel far and distant from. 

However, before I know it, I forgot why I came there. The posts of my many Christian friends and even a few friendly strangers, that have befriended me, flash across the screen. The posts speak of happiness, comfort, good food, and great lives…lives that are privileged to be living the "American Dream."

Here are a few I saw on my homepage this evening:

  • I have the BEST husband in the world! Todd made a GREAT supper for me tonight.

  • I'm having a blast scanning old photos and making new printed albums out of them. It'll be a long process... more to come. 

  • Had the most AWESOME weekend with my Biology class! Best camping experience I've had in a long time… 

  • Finished 1 great book today, I'm hitting the gym for a break, go back to write school's assignments later... Long Beach marathon in 12 days... C'mon now Yan!! Let's do it!!!! 

  • I havent had any caffeine.......but i sure feel like i did. Got this happy energtic feeling going on. Really like it.

  • Just ate dinner at Tortilla Joe's and now checkin' out the tienditas!

  • Watching the piglet races at the kern county fair LOL! 

  • Ok I'm on this (health crunch) life style change-why does ALL the unhealthy foods have to taste the best? lol 

  • My family is on their way home!!! Yeah, can't wait to see them all. We are getting ready. I am soooooooooo excited….. 

  • After the girls are in bed going for a Target shopping run to clear my mind…FREEDOM!! 

  • SUPER excited about actually going to a theater with PURPOSE... first time since Fireproof, I think. A box of kleenex will be accompanying me this time around... ;) 

  • Ultrasound looking good…He's growing fast. We can't wait to meet Him!

  • Feeling a little nostalgic and melancholy... :( 

I have to smile….I'm feeling a little nostalgic and melancholy too. As I read the updates and look at the pictures of my friends and their happy lives. Then my eyes catch some updates of a different nature…

  • We need to pray for those thousands starving in Somalia as the worst famine in years wrecks havoc on the impoverished nation. Some 750,000 expected to die from the famine in the coming months.

I follow a link and look at photos of hundreds of starving children, their stomachs ballooning out, and their eyes sunken and hollow. Their oversized heads droop above bodies that are barely skeleton and bones. These aren't pictures from the past, but pictures from today…from this month, from this year. "What?" I wonder… "I had no idea?" I don't read the news, I don't watch television, and I rarely even read anything on Facebook. Of course I know there are many starving children all around the world…but I had no idea of the gravity that is hitting the Eastern portion of Africa…RIGHT NOW!!! No food, no water…people and animals are dying by the droves. Guilt over my own comfort floods my mind as I realize that just this morning I threw out an old loaf of bread, some left-overs that I was tired of eating, and a bowl of soup that didn't quite suit my taste buds. What would some of those people in Somalia give for such a delicacy.



Then I read another post, by a classmate of mine from college who, along with her husband, has dedicated her life to the unreached people along the Amazon River of South America. Through a series of providences, God brought them a beautiful boat and mission team and lives have been impacted for eternity along the Amazon. Lives that otherwise would have been left in darkness. Her posts, from just a few hours ago, jolts my senses. 

  • So thankful God spared the life of my husband and 19 other missionaries when one of our mission boats capsized Sat. Night. So sad one person lost their life. May God comfort us all. 

I read more, about how they had been visiting a village the day before and been sharing Christ. Then set out again down the river. Late during the night, a storm came up, and tore off the roof of the boat and capsized it. 20 people were trapped inside, but somehow God helped them get out…well, all but one. One young girl, a volunteer missionary, lost her life. This happened, not last week, not last year, but two  days ago…( My friend and her husband are pictured below with the boat that was destroyed.)





Then I read yet another post, from a former classmate who now lives in the Philippines and is a woman passionate about prayer.


"What? Execution?? Tomorrow?" I follow the link and find myself staring into the warmest and most peaceful face of a young man, probably younger than I, that has refused to recant his faith. He has a wife and children and has been actively serving the Lord. But the religious leaders of the land have determined he must deny Christ or he will die. I quote:

"The 11th branch of Iran’s Gilan Provincial Court has determined that Pastor Nadarkhani has Islamic ancestry and therefore must recant his faith in Jesus Christ. Iran’s supreme court had previously ruled that the trial court must determine if Pastor Youcef had been a Muslim before converting to Christianity.

However, the judges, acting as terrorists, who have a hostage, demanded that he recant his faith in Christ before even taking evidence. The judges stated that even though the judgment they have made is against the current Iranian and international laws they have to uphold the previous decision of the 27th Branch of the Supreme Court in Qom.

When asked to “repent” by the Judges, Youcef stated, “Repent means to return. What should I return to? To the blasphemy that I had before my faith in Christ?” The judges replied, “To the religion of your ancestors, Islam.” To which he replied, “I cannot.”



According to the laws of the land, someone will be given three chances to change their mind, but if they refuse after the third time, they will die. Tomorrow (which in actuality is already today now in his time zone) will be his last opportunity. Without a miracle, our dear Christian brother, a pastor and missionary for the Lord, will go to his death...

I turn away from my computer…suddenly I loathe my warm comfortable cushy world. And the world of those which I so recently was amused to read about… Birthdays, marathons, scrapbooks, shopping, special dinners, out to eat…It's just the stuff that normal every day American life is made of. And I can add to the list. This week I hung several beautiful African Giraffe pictures on my wall. (Pictures that reminded me of my own good times in the mission field this past spring.) I bought a box of popsicles that I could eat when I go sit in the hot-tub with my roommate. I ordered yet another Christian hero's book to read. I ate dinner with some of my friends and even spent time talking with important leaders of our world-wide church as we worked on projects together that will affect upcoming meetings at the General Conference. Yes…good things…but still…have I really given my all?? Shouldn't I be doing so much more??


I'm bothered by the discrepancy in our lives…in my own life. We all call ourselves Christians, and yet are we really living as Christ would when there is so much need? While I love Jesus with all my heart and feel that I have sacrificed much to work for Him, somehow after reading those last troubling Facebook posts, I don't think I've really sacrificed that much! I'm just like all the rest of my friends… I may not be rich, but I can choose whether I want healthy food or a special treat. I can choose whether I want to go jogging in the mountains or to a local gym.  I can choose whether I want to go to a friend's birthday party or whether I will relax at home. I have 5 different churches within a half hours drive that I can freely worship at with no restraints and no threats of death hanging over my head. I have many inspiring story books of martyrs and staunch Christian heros upon my book shelves, but am I really willing to be one myself? I may not have a great husband (like my first friend posted), but I do have a great life…and lots of photos to prove it, as my most recent Facebook posts will tell. Yes, I do try to help the poor and needy… yet, I get the uncanny feeling that I'm really not doing that much.

I have a full refrigerator and am throwing away left overs, but in many parts of the world right now people are dying because they have no food as the worst famine in years ravages their land. I have a warm comfortable bed, but many sleep in the dirt with not even a roof over their heads. In other parts of the world believers of Christ are being forced to give up their very lives for the gospel…and me… I'm complaining because I've sat behind a computer for hours and days on this big writing project. I'm tired, I've lost some sleep. I need a break……Or…... maybe I need a change of priority???

I don't know about you, but I'm once again convicted that I need to be doing a lot more. I think we all do!! We have become too comfortable! We call ourselves Christians, but instead of occupying our minds with Christ and the work He came to earth to do (and has now assigned to us), we've gotten preoccupied with our studies, our jobs, our diets, our Christian movies, our social world, our google world, our Facebook world. We've even gotten occupied in the busyness of ministry. (Like the telegraph operator in the previous post!) So busy, that we've forgotten how to build fires and how to take a personal interest in the needs of those around us….too busy to take daily personal time with a one-on-one relationship with Christ.

As I read through the Facebook quotes again, after seeing the three that pricked my heart to the core, my eyes were opened. At least 90% of the posts, of my Christian friends, all centered around frivolities. (Now for those of you that may be reading my blog, forgive me! I'm not meaning to nit-pick. My eyes have just been opened, not just to my friends, but to myself as well. It's the sad reality of our lives!) These aren't bad things…but they are all too often frivolous things. But what is most scary is that they are taking the time and attention from our lives that should be devoted to the best thing…to Christ and to the work of launching life rafts, to being a true missionary and witness for Him. 

Do we realize that most people miss the best in life because they settle for the good?? They could have had the best grades, but they settled for good. They could have been the best witnesses and won many souls to Christ, but they settled for being good and instead made a few people smile for Christ. They could have dug a little deeper in the Word and had the best food, but instead they settled for the superficial. They settled for the good. They could have waited for God to give them the best marriage partner and experienced a little heaven on earth, but instead they got impatient and settled for the good. They could have given God their best time, but instead they only gave what felt good. And thus, instead of the best, God only gave the good. They could have given all, and received the best…but in the end, they only gave what seemed good. 

Someday, settling for the good when God wanted to give us the best is going to cost us…so we have a choice now. What will our priority be? Will we choose God's best…or will we sit back and relax and settle for what seems good?

I know that I'm up on a soapbox preaching…but it's for myself I preach. "Lord help me?! How do I let go of my comforts and surrender more? I feel like sometimes I'm so complacent, so sheltered, so comfortable…and so easily unnerved when my comfort zone is shaken. Please forgive me God…Help me not to settle for the good when you want to give me the best!"

As I look at the world around me, I wonder, when is the church as a whole going to wake up and realize that we aren't on a luxury boat ride down the river anymore. We're on a titanic and it's about to sink. In fact, we can already see the signs of the ice-berg ahead…it's just a matter of time!!!!! We're going down. But we have a choice. We can sit and enjoy the music awhile longer…we can enjoy our festivities and frivolities awhile longer, we can enjoy our Facebook world, our computer world and our google world a little longer…or while we still have time, we can start focusing on striving for the best - eternal priorities…dedicated time to prayer, to Bible study, and to saving souls for the Kingdom. 

I don't know about you…but I want to be more active in launching LIFE RAFTS! It's not about just a good life anymore… it's about priorities, and about life and death!! 

One young Iranian Pastor, who stands true to his God will loose His life today for his faith, unless God performs a miracle. I don't know him, but my heart breaks. Yet I realize he has chosen the best…and either way events go, God will give him the best. If he lives, a miracle will testify to God's glory. If he dies, the next thing he will know is the face of Jesus. 

If our lives changed tomorrow…would we be ready for such a TEST????

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Rev 3:15-18

"Oh Father, take away the lukewarm complacency from our lives. Deliver us. Open our eyes. Help us to see our true condition. Help us to wake up to our calling as Christians…while there is still time…and while there are still souls to be rescued! Anoint our eyes that we may see!"

Sunday, September 25, 2011

It's cold outside…we need to build more fires!


The story is told of a man that was out scouting the western territories in the late 1800's. It was deep of winter, and unfortunately during his work one day, he got lost in the mountains. So he began walking and walking and walking. Finally, as providence would have it, he stumbled across a railroad line. Well, since he worked for the railroad, he knew exactly where he was and that if he followed the line down the mountain, he would come to a small settlement. So he walked and walked, to avoid freezing, and finally came to the small town. Upon entering the telegraph office, he knew he would find a warm fire. But the fire was out. Dismayed, he knocked on the office window, and the boy behind jerked up the window to see what he wanted. "Um, Sunny…" he said. "Why haven't you kept a fire built out here in the lobby?" The boy irritated by the intrusion replied, "I'm too busy sending telegrams to worry about building fires!" And he slammed the window shut. So the cold man knocked on the window again… "In that case, I'd like to send a telegram!" The boy gave him the paper and a pen and then slammed the window shut again. And so the man wrote, "To the Telegraph Manager at East Central station. Upon receiving this telegram, please fire the telegraph operator at Logan Pass Station* immediately. Signed, J.P. Morgan, President of the Railroad."

One minute later, the office door burst open, and the telegraph operator came out with his arms piled high with wood as he began furiously building a fire. As J.P. Morgan watched, he finally spoke up. "Eh Sunny, did you per chance already send that telegraph that I wrote?" Without skipping a beat, the boy replied, "Can't you see that I'm too busy building fires to send telegrams?"

We chuckle about the story now, but it has a powerful spiritual lesson. We might be enjoying our own little cozy corner, pretending to be busy sending telegrams…writing ministry e-mails, talking on the phone, and studying our Bibles (all good things of course), but if we aren't also out lighting fires and helping make other people warm, our actions (or lack there of) could someday result in our missing out big time…not just on a job, but on eternity.

Matt 7:19-21 goes like this:

"Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

It's not our fruits (or the fires we build) that save us…but the fruit is the indication of where our heart is. Yes, we must be taking time in our own little corner to read our Bible, to pray, to make those important phone calls, and to write those important ministry e-mails…but if our lives are also not lived out practically in the world, building fires among the lost and hurting, and doing our faithful utmost to help those around us…we will someday be without a job and without a future…


So in God's strength, let's go build some more fires today! Jesus is coming soon, but most of the world is experiencing the dead of winter!  They are freezing to death and they don't even know it. We have been given the wood, we have the matches, and we have the offering Christ gave us in His Life that will bring down the fire from Heaven. So we must be at our task. And remember, it is better to build fires now, then to be in the fire later…

(There's my fire and brimstone speech for today!)

*This is a true story, but the actual station name is not known!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Little Girl calls Wolf...


I have to break away from my usual blogging theme of spiritual growth to share an amazing animal story…so amazing that it made me cry. So you better get your kleenex box out! It's a true story, and it's called...

"The Little Girl who Called Wolf"

With all her big brothers and sisters off to school, our ranch became a lonely place for our three-year-old daughter, Becky. She longed for playmates. Cattle and horses were too big to cuddle and farm machinery dangerous for a child so small. We promised to buy her a puppy but in the meantime, "pretend" puppies popped up nearly every day. I had just finished washing the lunch dishes when the screen door slammed and Becky rushed in, cheeks flushed with excitement. "Mama!" she cried. "Come see my new doggy! I gave him water two times already. He's so thirsty!

I sighed. Another of Becky's imaginary dogs. "Please come, Mama." She tugged at my jeans, her brown eyes pleading, "He's crying--- and he can't walk!"

"Can't walk?" Now that was a twist. All her previous make believe dogs could do marvellous things. One balanced a ball on the end of its nose. Another dug a hole that went all the way through the earth and fell out on a star on the other side. Still another danced on a tightrope. Why suddenly a dog that couldn't walk?

"All right, honey," I said. By the time I tried to follow her, Becky had already disappeared into the mesquite. "Where are you?" I called. "Over here by the oak stump. Hurry, Mama!"

I parted the thorny branches and raised my hand against the glare of the Arizona sun. A numbing chill gripped me. There she was, sitting on her heels, toes dug firmly in the sand, and cradled in her lap was the unmistakable head of a wolf! Beyond its head rose massive black shoulders. The rest of the body lay completely hidden inside the hollow stump of a fallen oak.

"Becky," My mouth felt dry. "Don't move." I stepped closer. Pale yellow eyes narrowed. Black lips tightened, exposing double sets of two inch fangs. Suddenly the wolf trembled. Its teeth clacked, and a piteous whine rose from its throat. "It's all right, boy," Becky crooned. "Don't be afraid. That's my mama, and she loves you, too." Then the unbelievable happened. As her tiny hands stroked the great shaggy head, I heard the gentle thump, thump, thumping of the wolf's tail from deep inside the stump. What was wrong with the animal? I wondered. Why couldn't he get up?

I couldn't tell. Nor did I dare to step any closer. I glanced at the empty water bowl. My memory flashed back to the five skunks that last week had torn the burlap from a leaking pipe in a frenzied effort to reach water during the final agonies of rabies. Of course! Rabies! Warning signs had been posted all over the county, and hadn't Becky said, "He's so thirsty?" I had to get Becky away. "Honey." My throat tightened. "Put his head down and come to Mama. We'll go find help."

Reluctantly, Becky got up and kissed the wolf on the nose before she walked slowly into my outstretched arms. Sad yellow eyes followed her.

Then the wolf's head sank to the ground. With Becky safe in my arms, I ran to the barns where Brian, one of our cowhands, was saddling up to check heifers in the north pasture. "Brian! Come quickly. Becky found a wolf in the oak stump near the wash! I think it has rabies!"

"I'll be there in a jiffy," he said as I hurried back to the house, anxious to put Becky down for her nap. I didn't want her to see Brian come out of the bunkhouse. I knew he'd have a gun.

"But I want to give my doggy his water," she cried.

I kissed her and gave her some stuffed animals to play with. "Honey, let Mom and Brian take care of him for now," I said. Moments later, I reached the oak stump. Brian stood looking down at the beast. "It's a Mexican lobo, all right." he said, "and a big one!" The wolf whined. Then we both caught the smell of gangrene. "Whew! It's not rabies," Brian said. "But he's sure hurt real bad. Don't you think it's best I put him out of his misery?"

The word "yes" was on my lips, when Becky emerged from the bushes. "Is Brian going to make him well, Mama?"

She hauled the animal's head onto her lap once more, and buried her face in the coarse, dark fur. This time I wasn't the only one who heard the thumping of the lobo's tail. That afternoon my husband, Bill, and our veterinarian came to see the wolf. Observing the trust the animal had in our child, Doc said to me, "Suppose you let Becky and me tend to this fella together." Minutes later, as child and vet reassured the stricken beast, the hypodermic found its mark. The yellow eyes closed. "He's asleep now," said the vet. "Give me a hand here, Bill." They hauled the massive body out of the stump. The animal must have been over five feet long and well over one hundred pounds.

The hip and leg had been mutilated by bullets. Doc did what he had to in order to clean the wound and then gave the patient a dose of penicillin. Next day he returned and inserted a metal rod to replace the missing bone.

"Well, it looks like you've got yourselves a Mexican lobo," Doc said. "He looks to be about three years old, and even as pups, they don't tame real easy. I'm amazed at the way this big fella took to your little gal. But often there's something that goes on between children and animals that we grownups don't understand."Becky named the wolf Ralph and carried food and water to the stump every day.

Ralph's recovery was not easy. For three months he dragged his injured hindquarters by clawing the earth with his front paws. From the way he lowered his eyelids when we massaged the atrophied limbs, we knew he endured excruciating pain, but not once did he ever try to bite the hands of those who cared for him.

Four months to the day, Ralph finally stood unaided. His huge frame shook as long unused muscles were activated. Bill and I patted and praised him. But it was Becky to whom he turned for a gentle word, a kiss or a smile. He responded to these gestures of love by swinging his busy tail like a pendulum. As his strength grew, Ralph followed Becky all over the ranch. Together they roamed the desert pastures, the golden haired child often stooping low, sharing with the great lame wolf whispered secrets of nature's wonders. When evening came, he returned like a silent shadow to his hollow stump that had surely become his special place.

As time went on, although he lived primarily in the brush, the habits of this timid creature endeared him more and more to all of us. His reaction to people other than our family was yet another story. Strangers terrified him, yet his affection for and protectiveness of Becky brought him out of the desert and fields at the sight of every unknown pickup or car. Occasionally he'd approach, lips taut, exposing a nervous smile full of chattering teeth. More often he'd simply pace and finally skulk off to his tree stump, perhaps to worry alone. Becky's first day of school was sad for Ralph. After the bus left, he refused to return to the yard. Instead, he lay by the side of the road and waited. When Becky returned, he limped and tottered in wild, joyous circles around her.

This welcoming ritual persisted throughout her school years. Although Ralph seemed happy on the ranch, he disappeared into the surrounding deserts and mountains for several weeks during the spring mating season, leaving us to worry about his safety. This was calving season, and fellow ranchers watched for coyotes, cougars, wild dogs and, of course, the lone wolf.

But Ralph was lucky. During Ralph's twelve years on our ranch, his habits remained unchanged. Always keeping his distance, he tolerated other pets and endured the activities of our busy family, but his love for Becky never wavered.

When the spring came when our neighbour told us he'd shot and killed a she wolf and grazed her mate, who had been running with her. Sure enough, Ralph returned home with another bullet wound. Becky, nearly fifteen years old now, sat with Ralph's head resting on her lap. He, too, must have been about fifteen and was grey with age. As Bill removed the bullet, my memory raced back through the years. Once again I saw a chubby three-year-old girl stroking the head of a huge black wolf and heard a small voice murmuring, "It's all right, boy.

Don't be afraid. That's my mama, and she loves you, too."

Although the wound wasn't serious, this time Ralph didn't get well. Precious pounds fell away. The once luxurious fur turned dull and dry, and his trips to the yard in search of Becky's companionship ceased. All day long he rested quietly. But when night fell, old and stiff as he was, he disappeared into the desert and surrounding hills. By dawn his food was gone. The morning came when we found him dead. The yellow eyes were closed. Stretched out in front of the oak stump, he appeared but a shadow of the proud beast he once had been. A lump in my throat choked me as I watched Becky stroke his shaggy neck, tears streaming down her face.

"I'll miss him so," she cried. Then as I covered him with a blanket, we were startled by a strange rustling sound from inside the stump. Becky looked inside. Two tiny yellow eyes peered back and puppy fangs glinted in the semi darkness. Ralph's pup! Had a dying instinct told him his motherless offspring would be safe here, as he had been, with those who loved him? Hot tears spilled on baby fur as Becky gathered the trembling bundle in her arms. "It's all right, little ... Ralphie," she murmured. "Don't be afraid. That's my mom, and she loves you, too!"

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fettling together; and a little child shall lead them." Isa 11:6

Wont Heaven be wonderful?? 

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Just pour out to others as I pour into you...

The Master was searching for a vessel to use;
On the shelf there were many - which one would He choose?
Take me, cried the gold one, I'm shiny and bright,
I'm of great value and I do things just right.
My beauty and luster will outshine the rest
And for someone like You, Master, gold would be the best!

The Master passed on with no word at all;
He looked at a silver urn, narrow and tall;
I'll serve You, dear Master, I'll pour out Your wine
And I'll be at Your table whenever You dine,
My lines are so graceful, my carvings so true,
And my silver will always compliment You.

Unheeding the Master passed on to the brass,
It was widemouthed and shallow, and polished like glass.
Here! Here! cried the vessel, I know I will do,
Place me on Your table for all men to view.

Look at me, called the goblet of crystal so clear,
My transparency shows my contents so dear,
Though fragile am I, I will serve You with pride,
And I'm sure I'll be happy in Your house to abide.

The Master came next to a vessel of wood,
Polished and carved, it solidly stood.
You may use me, dear Master, the wooden bowl said,
But I'd rather You used me for fruit, not for bread!

Then the Master looked down and saw a vessel of clay.
Empty and broken it helplessly lay.
No hope had the vessel that the Master might choose,
To cleanse and make whole, to fill and to use.

Ah! This is the vessel I've been hoping to find,
I will mend and use it and make it all Mine.
I need not the vessel with pride of its self;
Nor the one who is narrow to sit on the shelf;
Nor the one who is bigmouthed and shallow and loud;
Nor one who displays his contents so proud;
Not the one who thinks he can do all things just right;
But this plain earthy vessel filled with My power and might.

Then gently He lifted the vessel of clay.
Mended and cleansed it and filled it that day.
Spoke to it kindly. There's work you must do,
Just pour out to others as I pour into you.


By Beulah V. Cornwall

Monday, September 12, 2011

Teachers we need to be wary of….




As I've been thinking about prayer and God's call to more dedicated prayer lives, I've realized there are many teachers (even with good intentions) that may try to get in the way of our forward progress. 

Back when I was in high school and studying for a test, I discovered the following powerful verse. “I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.” Ps 119:99. 

I was so excited, I told my classmates, “See, if we study the Bible we’ll be wiser than our teachers and we’ll have no problem passing our tests because God will show us what to study!” A bit of a childish interpretation, I must admit now, although I claimed this promise in my College years as well, and I think it worked, cause I passed my tests. (So students take note!) But the reason I wanted to bring attention to this verse is because God has given us His testimonies, His Word, to be our meditation, so that we will be wiser than our teachers.  Apparently there are some teachers we should be wiser then. And unfortunately, many of them are found in our own homes and in our own churches.

For example: We have the teacher named “Cynical City” who when we become more passionate in prayer and dig deeper in the Word looking for buried treasure will cry, “Who do you think you are kidding? I’ve already gone digging in that spot! There’s nothing special down there!” We have the teacher named “Comfortable Complacency” who feels unnerved and a bit guilty when he sees us seeking for more and so he plead with us, “Don’t you think you’re going a little too extreme? Why don’t you just enjoy what you have and be happy!” We have another teacher called “Fearful Freezer” who, when she sees us making unnerving and radical steps towards God, will cry in warning, “You know, that really doesn’t look too cool. That could hurt your reputation. Are you sure you want to do that?” Finally we have  many teachers named, “Worldly Wiseman.” While having a form of godliness, they deny the power and seek after the wisdom of the world. They have plans, they have methods, and they’ve studied the models for Christian growth and success. So when they see us becoming passionate about really going all out for God, they will sidle up to us with some friendly advice. “ You know, if you really want to succeed in this new journey you’re taking, rather than struggling up the rocky slopes where there are a lot of dangers, you should take this path over here. It’s a bit wider and will be much easier to follow. And it will take you to your destination much more quickly.”


The problem is…through God’s testimonies, we know that the wider road leads to destruction and it is the narrow road, that often appears dangerous and rocky, that leads to eternal life. (Matt 7:13,14)

Jesus counsel to His disciples was: "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” Matt 16:6. As the Matthew 16 goes on to say, He was not speaking of bread leaven, he was speaking of a neutralizing doctrine that will destroy the ability of us to walk forward in faith and continue to grow.

In I Cor 1:27 we are told, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.”

Being a person of passionate prayer and deep Bible Study does not always gain the approval and popularity vote of the church culture in which we live. What gets the vote is busyness, business, and more busyness. If you are doing something, you get points, but if you are praying?? If you are tucked quietly away in your room studying your Bible for hours on end?? Hmmm…..you can just see the concerned looks from your peers. "I think you may be getting a bit fanatical here!!" :-) Just remember, it is God's Word (His Testimonies) that we look to and rely upon for strength and correction…not the culture around us. Only He will make us wiser than our teachers….and teachers we have plenty of. Teachers that will only help us compromise. So seek your strength in Him!

Friday, September 09, 2011

The greatest victories gained thru Prayer



Below I'm going to share a brief excerpt from something I'm writing. For now this is all I'll share, but I thought some of you might be inspired and challenged by the testimonies, as was I. I have a long ways to go before my life exemplifies this kind of devotion…yet being far from the goal doesn't keep me from moving forward! :-) 

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:12-14


Greatest Victories gained thru Prayer

Charles Finney was a powerful  and noted evangelist in the early 1830’s. Through his ministry over a thousand were converted in New York one year. In Boston, over 50,000 made faith commitments to God in just one week. Some estimate that he was responsible for at least half a million conversions during his lifetime. But where did he get the power? Through prayer…consistent daily persistent prayer. He made prayer a priority.

E.M. Bounds, well known for his inspirational life of prayer and for practicing what he preached made prayer a priority in his life from 4am to 7am for many years. It was stated of Bounds, “As breathing is a physical reality to us, so prayer was a reality to him.” He was the author of numerous books on prayer that have blessed and impacted thousands.

Adoniram Judson, alive during the early 1800’s, spent forty years of his life as a missionary to the Buddhist of Burma. He translated the Bible into Burmese and founded a number of churches throughout Burma. His success he too attributed to prayer…much prayer. His encouragement to others was, “Arrange thy affairs, if possible, so that thou canst leisurely devote two or three hours every day not merely to devotional exercises, but to the very act of secret prayer and communion with God. Begin the day by rising after midnight and devoting some time amid the silence and darkness of the night to this sacred work of prayer. Let the hour of the opening dawn find thee at the same work again…Make all practical sacrifices to maintain this time of prayer. Consider that thy time is short and that business and company must not be allowed to rob thee of thy God.”

We might say this is impossible…simply fanatical! Yet Dr. Judson impressed an Empire for Christ and made an imprint in Burma that will be seen only in eternity. Inspiration reminds us over and over again:

“The greatest victories gained for the cause of God are not the result of labored argument, ample facilities, wide influence, or abundance of means; they are gained in the audience chamber with God, when with earnest, agonizing faith men lay hold upon the mighty arm of power.” 
Gospel Workers, p. 259

Thursday, September 01, 2011

God shook the Heavens for ME!!!


I was reading in II Samuel 22 yesterday and came across some powerful passages of how God responded when David cried to Him for help!

Join me in reading through a few verses in this passage.

II Samuel 22:7-20

7In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
 8Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.
 9There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
 10He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.
 11And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
 12And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
 13Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.
 14The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.
 15And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
 16And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
 17He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;
 18He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me.
 19They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.
 20He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.


Because HE delighted in me??! Wow, the King of the Universe….He delights so much in us, that when we call unto Him, He literally moves heaven and earth to come to our rescue! Isn't that amazing?? Yeah sure, we can say, "Well, that was for David…many thousands of years ago!" But you know what…our God is the same God yesterday, today and forever. He has not changed, He does not change! What has changed is our belief and trust in Him…we haven't been raised to believe in a big God. We've forgotten…But He is still the same! 

One of my favorite quotes from Oswald Chambers goes like this:

"When we choose deliberately to obey God, then He will tax the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us with all His almighty power." 

That's the God we serve…there's nothing to small for Him, there's nothing to large for Him! What an amazing God we serve!

"And even now I think I hear the heaven's rumbling…" :-)