Growth

When does a brush grow best?  After it’s been cut back.  Every fall my mom cuts all the branches off of the brushes in front of our house.  Once, strong, budding limbs become pudgy stumps. They do not look very pretty this way and if you are not a gardener then you might ask why someone would do such a thing.  However, if you are a gardener then you know that this is necessary for growth.  The branches and leaves that die when the weather gets colder need to be removed.  In the spring, the branches will grow back bigger and stronger than ever.  They grow best after they have been cut back. 

This is similar to what happens to us when we go through hard times.  Life is a continuous cycle of ups and downs.  We go through different seasons in life.  When a family member dies we might feel so down that we do not know how we will ever live again.  Or when a relationship is severed we may feel like our live will never be good again.  But, there is always hope.  When we overcome our hardships we grow.  When we look back and see the path that we took and eventually conquered we learn. 

Look at the words of 1 Peter 1:6-7.  

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

God does not delight in our pain, nor does he enjoy watching us suffer, but he does rejoice in our accomplishments when we emerge victorious from a seemingly impossible situation.   It might seem like a life without all the ‘pruning’ would be nice, but without it we would never grow or learn or change.  So when you start feeling like the sun is never going to shine on you again, just remember that the pain is necessary and that you will be stronger in the end because of what you have been through.   

Romans 10:14

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 
Romans 10:14

That You May Gain

Look over the hills

What is in sight?

Homes scattered around

Glisten in the sunshine bright

So many people

Who’ve never heard

So many friends

Lost alone in this world

What can we do

How can one reach

How can we tell them

Who will come to preach

So many people

How can we look

On so many faces

The task is so large

Make us more than a few

Send us revival

Teach us to follow you

Silence our fears

Make us strong and bold

We must take this task

Your glory must be told

Soon day will end

And night on earth will rise

Through your faithfulness

Let us lessen the cries

So many faces

Have never heard your name

Lead us to their homes

So that through us, you may gain

Written June 20, 2010

Praying for Change

There are two things that I know are true about myself: I know nothing about politics and I believe that little children are extremely important.  So naturally I don’t spend a lot of time keeping track of what the government is doing.  However, recently I came across a court case that has me very, very interested.   This case is concerning abortion and the point at which life begins.  The Ohio Senate is trying to pass a bill that would ban abortion after the first heart beat is heard.  I wish that abortion would be banned completely and that the people of our nation would no longer desire to have abortion as an option to being a parent.  But since we can’t have that yet, I’ll take this ban for now.  I believe that it is a step in the right direction.  This bill is called the Heartbeat bill and is currently being challenged in the Ohio State Senate for being unconstitutional.  I wish I could explain the bill a little bit better but my lack of political understanding has me at a loss.  If you want to know more about the bill just google it!  I was able to find several articles stating the details of the bill and the debate that way. 

This is important to me because I believe that life begins at conception.  Grab your Bible and look up the following verses: 

Psalm 139:13-14: God says that He made us while we were still in His mother’s womb.  We are wonderfully and fearfully made because we are a creation of God. 

Jeremiah 1:5:  God knew who we were going to be before we were even born. Our lives do not happen by chance.  God knows every child that is conceived and has a plan for their lives to use them to bring Glory to His name.  I do not think that God is glorified when one of His children are taken away. 

Genesis 1:27 and Acts 17:28:  God created us to in His own image.  Life is a wonderful and precious gift.  Who are we, as mere men, to take this gift away from someone else?

I will fight for this cause because I believe that God has given us as Christians a command to care for the weak and the helpless.  I may not be able to do much, but I have to do what I can to provide care for those who cannot defend themselves.  In this case, the unborn babies.  Take a look at these verses:

            Psalm 82:3: We are called to defend the rights of those who are weak and maintain their rights in times when they cannot speak for themselves. 

            Proverbs 31:9: We are to speak up for those in need.  This implies that we will need to take action.  Feeling bad about this the loss of an innocent life does nothing.  If we want something to change, we have to be willing to make that change happen. 

            I could go on and on with this, but you get the idea.  We are called to protect and defend. 

Being faced with a situation like this and knowing that I am required to do something about it leads to the obvious question of what can we do?  I had to think about this for a while.  It would be great if I could go to the Senate House is Columbus and ask the senators to pass the law, but I know that this isn’t really possible.  I could get mad and protest at an abortion clinic, but I’m pretty sure that would just make people angry and that might not be the best thing for our cause at the moment.  So, what I am going to do is devote a specific amount of time to praying for this cause every day.  I know that prayer is powerful.  It is a gift from God that we shouldn’t neglect.  Miracles happen when we pray.  Look at 2 Corinthians 10:4: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”  The greatest weapon that we have is prayer.  If we are really passionate about getting rid of abortion we have to pray.  This issue is being debated in our courtrooms but it is part of a greater battle that is taking place between unseen forces as we speak. 

So what do you say?  Do you really want to see this law passed?  If you do, then I challenge you to spend at least 1 minute in prayer specifically for this cause each day until it passes.  If you want to pray longer go for it!  No matter how busy you are you can spare one minute a day to pray.  Put a post it note reminding you on your keys each night, and don’t leave the house until you’ve prayed.  Even if you are running late, stop and pray, 1 minute is not going to make much of a difference.  Or put a reminder by your toothbrush and pray while you brush.  I don’t think God will mind.  Do whatever you have to do, but make sure that you do it!  I want to see this law pass and I am going to do what I can, but I can’t do it alone.  So please, please, please join me in praying for the Heartbeat bill!

Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow

Today, I just have to take a minute to stop and thank God for all of His blessings.  A few months ago, I was invited to speak at Greenbush Baptist Church and after much planning and prayer I was able to share my experiences living in a Filipino orphanage with them.  The past week has been quite a challenge. Every story I wrote out and every picture I looked at was accompanied by a tear.  It’s been a year since I last spoke about my trip and I didn’t remember how much I miss those kids until I spent a week praying about them and reliving my time with them. 

                I’ll never forget the day that the kids took us to Lake Sampuloc and we almost got attacked my monkeys or the day that we celebrated Joseph’s birthday.  I still remember how much fun it was to have a tea party and dance party on the roof of the church with the girls.  I remember their names and faces and pray that God is keeping them safe.  I look forward to the day when I can be on the mission field once again, caring for God’s children. 

                I don’t know why God decided to use me in this way but I am thankful that He has.  I am not a public speaker but today God used to speak to a group of people who were interested to hear what I had to say, even if I didn’t say it well.  God can truly do amazing things if we are willing to let Him use us.  This afternoon Greenbush had a tea party for their CIA’s, which is their kids program, and they had “Lottie Moon” come and share about her life.  Then I shared about my time in the Philippines.  It was a great evening and I got to meet some very kind people.  God has reminded me of the urgency of spreading the gospel and the great need in the world. 

                Thank you, Lord for all of your great blessings.  I pray that you will continue to use me in my everyday day life and that you will lead me to service in missions. 

                I have now completed my first semester of Seminary. Yay!  I wasn’t sure that I would make it but I did.  I’m working full time at the preschool now that school is out.  This has been a fun experience.  Three year olds truly say and do the funniest things.  Those kids are such a blessing to me.

                Two weeks until Christmas!  In this time of giving I encourage you to remember missions and specifically Lottie Moon.  Pray about giving to the Lottie Moon Offering and ask God how He can use you to further His Kingdom and bring Him glory.    

Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow…