05/07: July 5th Update
After nearly a year, the guard house is finally finished. I know my brother Whitney will appreciate this. We will have the glass / windows in place by Wednesday. You can click on it for a larger image.
The teacher training has been going extremely well so far. They began classes on Wednesday and continued on Thursday and Friday. They were scheduled to only have 10 people attend the training and ended up with 14 with more coming daily that had to be turned away. There is a great demand for the training, so they are considering more classes in coming months. The miracle of it is that these individuals are here on time every day! ;o) Those of you that have been to Malawi and experience the distorted clock of 'Africa Time' know what I am talking about.
The large portion of the team returned yesterday from their trip to the game preserve with great stories of the animals, adventure and fellowship. I am sure they will post more on that on the team blog.
As for the project, we are crawling along biding our time until next Wednesday. That is when we will be able to replenish the funds for the project and buy more concrete. We have had 2 families move in already, Aubrey & Madalo and Gama & Ethel with two of Gama's nephews that he has had to take in. So it is actually nice to have families living here...it feels more like a home and not just a 'project.'
Later today Josh, Bryce and I will begin more landscaping and terracing. We will have to break down the water tank in the front as well. It is turning into a mosquito pit and it is an eyesore. If time permits, we are going to also build a baptismal on the property as well. I know we have several that are desiring to follow through with baptism.
The Lord has been granting us great fruit in evangelism. We have see more taxi and minivan drivers accept the Lord, people on the street, people coming to the site looking for jobs, as well as some of the ladies that came late to the training that could not get slots. Just like in America, they came looking for something else and ended up leaving with Jesus! Monday, Tuesday and early Wednesday, I will be taking Jean, Sara and anyone else that wants to go to do street ministry and house to house ministry in the various villages.
Sunday, tomorrow, we will be attending church here at the orphanage. Last night Asif came to deliver pizzas to us and stayed for a few minutes and just took in the beautiful sights and sounds of Ndirande from our Gazebo. He also said that he would come to church on Sunday as well. The Lord is really working there. Please keep praying. He now wants to go to Bible College! Isn't God amazing!?!
The teacher training has been going extremely well so far. They began classes on Wednesday and continued on Thursday and Friday. They were scheduled to only have 10 people attend the training and ended up with 14 with more coming daily that had to be turned away. There is a great demand for the training, so they are considering more classes in coming months. The miracle of it is that these individuals are here on time every day! ;o) Those of you that have been to Malawi and experience the distorted clock of 'Africa Time' know what I am talking about.
The large portion of the team returned yesterday from their trip to the game preserve with great stories of the animals, adventure and fellowship. I am sure they will post more on that on the team blog.
As for the project, we are crawling along biding our time until next Wednesday. That is when we will be able to replenish the funds for the project and buy more concrete. We have had 2 families move in already, Aubrey & Madalo and Gama & Ethel with two of Gama's nephews that he has had to take in. So it is actually nice to have families living here...it feels more like a home and not just a 'project.'
Later today Josh, Bryce and I will begin more landscaping and terracing. We will have to break down the water tank in the front as well. It is turning into a mosquito pit and it is an eyesore. If time permits, we are going to also build a baptismal on the property as well. I know we have several that are desiring to follow through with baptism.
The Lord has been granting us great fruit in evangelism. We have see more taxi and minivan drivers accept the Lord, people on the street, people coming to the site looking for jobs, as well as some of the ladies that came late to the training that could not get slots. Just like in America, they came looking for something else and ended up leaving with Jesus! Monday, Tuesday and early Wednesday, I will be taking Jean, Sara and anyone else that wants to go to do street ministry and house to house ministry in the various villages.
Sunday, tomorrow, we will be attending church here at the orphanage. Last night Asif came to deliver pizzas to us and stayed for a few minutes and just took in the beautiful sights and sounds of Ndirande from our Gazebo. He also said that he would come to church on Sunday as well. The Lord is really working there. Please keep praying. He now wants to go to Bible College! Isn't God amazing!?!
03/07: Moses on a Bicycle
So here’s the thing. I have been so busy trying to lead the construction project, minister to the Malawians and people in Malawi, as well as lead the team from California and minister where I can, that I had neglected allowing the Lord to minister to me. So on Tuesday evening, after a very discouraging day at the project, I had to go and meet with Asif in town for another great matter. So I decided to walk in to town about 5pm, just before dark. It is about 8km into town, a little over an hour to where Asif works. But for the past week I had not been walking much as the team used minivans, and the Lord really uses that quiet time as we walk (He and I) walk together into town. It had been lacking this past week.
So as I am walking into town, the Lord just begins to break me. I keep feeling such a great burden for the pains, hurts, and eternal direction of so many…the native Malawians, friends like Asif, people on the team, people back home, and people I do not even know…I can actually feel their hurts, pains, and burdens…but I most times have no clue how to deal with this and feel like such an utter failure at taking care of any of them. I felt like a failure for not having the project ready by this time, for not having a place to get these street children off the street in Malawi; I felt like a disgrace for leaving my wife and daughter in such a bind with our housing situation; I felt like such a wretch for being unable to have the words to minister to people like Asif; I reflected on my failures with my employees back in the US…many of whom I use to ashamedly refer to as ‘projects’ the Lord had sent to me to try and ‘work on,’ rather than seeing them simply as ‘lost and hurting sheep that had no shepherd.’ God was not sending me projects, He was sending me and trusting me with living, breathing, hurting children that were orphaned spiritually (and some physically) that needed someone to love them, protect them, watch out for them, teach them, guide them and lead them… and I knew I had failed God and them all.
It was then, in my brokenness, that the Holy Spirit brought to mind a man of God named Moses. The Holy Spirit reminded me of Numbers 11:10a-15 “Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: ... And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.”
He reminded me that Moses had felt the same way. He felt hopeless and powerless, and felt the burden of this people as well. He too was so discouraged that he asked the Lord to just allow him to die so that he would not have to see his own wretchedness…his own utter failure. I could relate to that. After an unidentifiable period of time in this state, something amazing happened…Moses rode by on a bicycle!
It was not the real Moses obviously, but there was a Malawian man, dressed in a Moses like robe, and he was carrying a large hooked staff like we see Moses with in all of the paintings and pictures. It made me laugh and cry at the same time. God sent Moses on a bicycle to confirm I was on the right path and that we were communicating.
That was the turning point as the Lord then began to remind me that it was truly He that was carrying the burden, and not I. He is the one that has born their true burden...the burden of their sin on the cross at Calvary. All He is asking of me is to pick up my cross daily and follow Him…not follow behind Him, but follow Him as a young buck yoked together with a strong and experienced adult that shoulders most of the weight and keeps the plow on course. I am never alone in Christ. The burden is His, obedience stemming from love is mine. Compassion for the lost is ours together.
He then reminded me of the Apostle Paul…he too was ready to spend and be spent for his children begotten through the Gospel. He was ready to be accursed if it would mean the salvation of his people. Consider these and other of Paul's statements:
Galatians 4:19 "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,"
Paul was grieved over the people God led Him to lead until Christ was formed in them!
1 Thessalonians 2 “7But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: 8So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. 9For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. 10Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: 11As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, 12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”
This is the calling of a Shepherd. This is the burden for his flock.
So as I am walking into town, the Lord just begins to break me. I keep feeling such a great burden for the pains, hurts, and eternal direction of so many…the native Malawians, friends like Asif, people on the team, people back home, and people I do not even know…I can actually feel their hurts, pains, and burdens…but I most times have no clue how to deal with this and feel like such an utter failure at taking care of any of them. I felt like a failure for not having the project ready by this time, for not having a place to get these street children off the street in Malawi; I felt like a disgrace for leaving my wife and daughter in such a bind with our housing situation; I felt like such a wretch for being unable to have the words to minister to people like Asif; I reflected on my failures with my employees back in the US…many of whom I use to ashamedly refer to as ‘projects’ the Lord had sent to me to try and ‘work on,’ rather than seeing them simply as ‘lost and hurting sheep that had no shepherd.’ God was not sending me projects, He was sending me and trusting me with living, breathing, hurting children that were orphaned spiritually (and some physically) that needed someone to love them, protect them, watch out for them, teach them, guide them and lead them… and I knew I had failed God and them all.
It was then, in my brokenness, that the Holy Spirit brought to mind a man of God named Moses. The Holy Spirit reminded me of Numbers 11:10a-15 “Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: ... And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers? Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.”
He reminded me that Moses had felt the same way. He felt hopeless and powerless, and felt the burden of this people as well. He too was so discouraged that he asked the Lord to just allow him to die so that he would not have to see his own wretchedness…his own utter failure. I could relate to that. After an unidentifiable period of time in this state, something amazing happened…Moses rode by on a bicycle!
It was not the real Moses obviously, but there was a Malawian man, dressed in a Moses like robe, and he was carrying a large hooked staff like we see Moses with in all of the paintings and pictures. It made me laugh and cry at the same time. God sent Moses on a bicycle to confirm I was on the right path and that we were communicating.
That was the turning point as the Lord then began to remind me that it was truly He that was carrying the burden, and not I. He is the one that has born their true burden...the burden of their sin on the cross at Calvary. All He is asking of me is to pick up my cross daily and follow Him…not follow behind Him, but follow Him as a young buck yoked together with a strong and experienced adult that shoulders most of the weight and keeps the plow on course. I am never alone in Christ. The burden is His, obedience stemming from love is mine. Compassion for the lost is ours together.
He then reminded me of the Apostle Paul…he too was ready to spend and be spent for his children begotten through the Gospel. He was ready to be accursed if it would mean the salvation of his people. Consider these and other of Paul's statements:
Galatians 4:19 "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,"
Paul was grieved over the people God led Him to lead until Christ was formed in them!
1 Thessalonians 2 “7But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: 8So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. 9For ye remember, brethren, our labour and travail: for labouring night and day, because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we preached unto you the gospel of God. 10Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved ourselves among you that believe: 11As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, 12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.”
This is the calling of a Shepherd. This is the burden for his flock.
30/06: Village People
Saturday we got to spend the morning at Asif's house (Maribeth, Eileen, Jean and myself). Here is a picture of my beautiful neice Rijah. This is Asif's daughter. For those of you who know him, please keep him in your prayers. He has gone through such a dramatic shift in personality and mental state since his accident. May the Lord grant you wisdom in how to pray for him, his wife Nazia, Rijah and Zeshan.
Sunday, the entire team packed up around 6:45am and headed out to the village church in Motopone. It was about a 3 hour drive in the brisk morning air, and extremely bumpy. Below is a picture of the team at the church. We had not only a crowd of people, but cows, goats, and chickens as well.
After church, we got to cross the small branch of the river to an island so that we could walk to the actually Shire River and see the Hippo's and Crocs. Well, we only had an hour to get there and back so we did this rush march through all of the gradnes, weeds, and briers to get there and back in a timely manner, (and we did see a croc), and when we got back to the river the boat man had his boat chained on the other side of the river and was gone. By the grace of God cell phones still work there so we were able to call someone on the other side to go and find him.
He showed up about an hour later drunk so another man took his key and pole and moved us across the river in his stead. It is a fast moving branch that is difficult to navigate. I will try and get some more pictures on here later from the California team.
They start their teacher training on Wednesday next week, and things here are going great. Cold weather, but great.
Love to all.
Sunday, the entire team packed up around 6:45am and headed out to the village church in Motopone. It was about a 3 hour drive in the brisk morning air, and extremely bumpy. Below is a picture of the team at the church. We had not only a crowd of people, but cows, goats, and chickens as well.
After church, we got to cross the small branch of the river to an island so that we could walk to the actually Shire River and see the Hippo's and Crocs. Well, we only had an hour to get there and back so we did this rush march through all of the gradnes, weeds, and briers to get there and back in a timely manner, (and we did see a croc), and when we got back to the river the boat man had his boat chained on the other side of the river and was gone. By the grace of God cell phones still work there so we were able to call someone on the other side to go and find him.
He showed up about an hour later drunk so another man took his key and pole and moved us across the river in his stead. It is a fast moving branch that is difficult to navigate. I will try and get some more pictures on here later from the California team.
They start their teacher training on Wednesday next week, and things here are going great. Cold weather, but great.
Love to all.
Well, here it is Saturday and this is the first opportunity to blog since the California Montessori Project team has been here. We have had a very busy schedule with the project, the team and all of the logistics around such a large group. We also had been missing Grey for 4 days as he had to travel to the far north of Malawi in order give his sister some of his blood for a transfusion. She is fine now and the Lord has sent him back to us as of mid-day on Saturday.
As for the team, everyone seems to be doing extremely well. They were many jet-lagged and fatigued from the arduous journey of 33+ (?) hours journey from California, but they are all doing well adjusting to life in a Malawian orphanage under construction. We have done a good bit of walking the hour jaunt into the town of Blantyre, as well as seeing the people and places in the village of Ndirande just behind the property. This seems to have been everyone's favorite part so far as they got to meet the Malawians that the Lord has knit our souls to. It must have taken us several hours just to walk a small loop around the villagers, their communities, visiting Pastor Maini's house, interacting with the precious people, taking and showing pictures, etc. But it was such a great time allowing them to experience who we fell in love with, and now they can see why.
They have been great troopers putting up with constant power and water outages, construction people in and out of their rooms making repairs, adding doors, hanging curtain rods, shower curtains, etc. Not to mention they are currently sharing 2 toilets and showers between 10 women, and 3 young men.
Here is the team for those of who do not know them:
From left to right, starting in the back: Laura, Lindsay, Rose, Jean, Eileen, Sara, Bryce, Maribeth and Josh. Front Row: Caitlin, Patty, Kim and Josh Y.
Today, Saturday, I am taking Maribeth to meet Nazia, Asif's wife and their children. We will be taking a couple more sisters to help encourage her and love her as well while Asif, the children and I play kickball inside the house ;o)
As for the project, we have almost completed both Gazebos except for the last layer of grass that goes on the roof for appearances. They are complete though. The guard house is completely plastered, it is only lacking the roof and door and some glass windows and a ceiling. We will have the carpenter working on it on Monday to get it ready for the pastors moving in on Tuesday. The same goes for the medical clinic. We are expecting the glass providers to come out on Saturday to measure for the windows. Today we went into town and purchased a bunch of flowers, trees, bushes and such to begin planting all around the project. Josh and Bryce helped with getting some good top soil from the river and Rose and Caitlin helped arrange the plants into new flower beds. We planted maybe 14 bushes, 1 tree and several small flowering plants and ground coverings today. They will work on more tomorrow. The masons have also built steps going from the front walk to the top gazebo, and have started the drain on the boys side. We still do not have any permanent power yet, so we are stretching these temporary wires to their limit.
Sunday morning at around 6:45am we will depart for Motopone (aka. Martha's Vineyard). This is about as rural of a village as you get. The entire team will get their first look at truly rural Malawi. We will be holding a church service there as well.
Here are some pictures from around the site:
For starters, after 11 months of applying for a permit, we finally got to set our sign out by the road. This sign was envisioned and donated by very dear friends from Savannah (don't want to steal his reward in heaven ;o) Here it is finally in place:
As for the team, everyone seems to be doing extremely well. They were many jet-lagged and fatigued from the arduous journey of 33+ (?) hours journey from California, but they are all doing well adjusting to life in a Malawian orphanage under construction. We have done a good bit of walking the hour jaunt into the town of Blantyre, as well as seeing the people and places in the village of Ndirande just behind the property. This seems to have been everyone's favorite part so far as they got to meet the Malawians that the Lord has knit our souls to. It must have taken us several hours just to walk a small loop around the villagers, their communities, visiting Pastor Maini's house, interacting with the precious people, taking and showing pictures, etc. But it was such a great time allowing them to experience who we fell in love with, and now they can see why.
They have been great troopers putting up with constant power and water outages, construction people in and out of their rooms making repairs, adding doors, hanging curtain rods, shower curtains, etc. Not to mention they are currently sharing 2 toilets and showers between 10 women, and 3 young men.
Here is the team for those of who do not know them:
From left to right, starting in the back: Laura, Lindsay, Rose, Jean, Eileen, Sara, Bryce, Maribeth and Josh. Front Row: Caitlin, Patty, Kim and Josh Y.
Today, Saturday, I am taking Maribeth to meet Nazia, Asif's wife and their children. We will be taking a couple more sisters to help encourage her and love her as well while Asif, the children and I play kickball inside the house ;o)
As for the project, we have almost completed both Gazebos except for the last layer of grass that goes on the roof for appearances. They are complete though. The guard house is completely plastered, it is only lacking the roof and door and some glass windows and a ceiling. We will have the carpenter working on it on Monday to get it ready for the pastors moving in on Tuesday. The same goes for the medical clinic. We are expecting the glass providers to come out on Saturday to measure for the windows. Today we went into town and purchased a bunch of flowers, trees, bushes and such to begin planting all around the project. Josh and Bryce helped with getting some good top soil from the river and Rose and Caitlin helped arrange the plants into new flower beds. We planted maybe 14 bushes, 1 tree and several small flowering plants and ground coverings today. They will work on more tomorrow. The masons have also built steps going from the front walk to the top gazebo, and have started the drain on the boys side. We still do not have any permanent power yet, so we are stretching these temporary wires to their limit.
Sunday morning at around 6:45am we will depart for Motopone (aka. Martha's Vineyard). This is about as rural of a village as you get. The entire team will get their first look at truly rural Malawi. We will be holding a church service there as well.
Here are some pictures from around the site:
For starters, after 11 months of applying for a permit, we finally got to set our sign out by the road. This sign was envisioned and donated by very dear friends from Savannah (don't want to steal his reward in heaven ;o) Here it is finally in place:
Here is my favorite Gazebo, the one that faces Ndirande. As you can see, they have completed the steps going to it as well. Only about 1/2 of the roof remains.
Above is the front of the project that has a new flower bed.
Above is the boys side of the building. They have begun bricking the drain, and removing all of the excess dirts and all bricks have been moved to make way for the sidewalk along the building perimeter.
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These are the shrubs that Abusa Gama and I planted yesterday along the side wall. This area is almost always moist so we planted the shrubs for appearance, as well as function to help soak up the water here.
We stacked all of the bricks in place to honor the work of our brother Whitney ;o)
Here is one of the walls in one of the 5 rooms of the medical clinic wing. Temporarily, the pastors will be living in here.
This picture is taken of the rear guard house standing on the roof looking down. It is ready to go except for the roof and adding the door and windows.
That's all for now. More by Monday after our trip to the village.
Pray for us as we begin going out in teams for street ministry later today as well.
19/06: In the Belly of a Whale
I have a good excuse for not blogging for the past few days...I have been in the Belly of a Whale. So many times I am guilty of reading Scripture and then thinking how crazy and stubborn some of the people I read about are. I can't believe how stiffed necked the mid-exodus Israelites were after seeing all of God's provisions, miracles, judgments and great deliverance. I could not believe how after only three days had past from the Red Sea being parted, the people of God became bitter over bitter water. I had a hard time with Peter's denial of Christ after all he had seen and witnessed. I shake my head in disbelief as I read about all of the evil King's and people throughout all of both books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. I can't fathom why Jonah was so defiant that he refused to preach to the Ninevites, because he did not want them to repent and be saved.
Well, when I left the US, I had certain expectations as to how the Lord was going to move to accomplish building (remodeling) the house we are moving into (in only 2 weeks from when I left), and moving my wife and daughter while I am here building the Lord's house for His children in Malawi. I guess I had this expectation of this quid-pro-quo agreement that I had with the Lord that I would do things here the way He wanted, and He would do things at home in the way I wanted. What a joke right?! I can just imagine all of the hazing I will get in heaven from the Saints that went on before me, like Peter, Jonah, etc., for not getting the basics all the while dismayed with their behavior.
For the past three days, since Monday, I have been in the belly of a whale...just like my friend Jonah. And just like Jonah, mine was self-inflicted as well. It would probably help to explain.
For the past three days, I have been unable to blog because I was afraid that my "speech" would not be with "Grace." This was because the people that I thought the Lord was surely going to use, in my timeframe no less, were not able to help (or at least as much in our limited time frame) after all. I had actually considered paying a ridiculous fee to change my ticket to go home immediately, thereby running from what the Lord's call was for me here in this hour, because I was so hurt over the tears my wife was shedding as she was worried about things not getting done and having very little help.
You see, every time I have ever gone away (20++ trips) on missions work with the Lord, my family has received great attacks of mysterious medical ailments, property damage, robberies, employee problems, and this list goes on. It is every single time without fail. My flesh always tells me I am such a failure as a husband and father to subject my wife and children to these kinds of attacks when I go. Others within the church have said the same in a nicer way. So this time, having to leave my wife and daughter to fend for themselves to fix a total project house, move, clean up the old house for the precious family buying it, running the ministry in my absence, taking care of all of my daughter's physical therapy for her surgically repaired knee, etc...caused these voices to ring loud and clear again. The only thing that convinces me to 'forsake' my family in this manner is Scripture. I cling dearly to Luke 14:33, "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:25-33 for the whole story) But sometimes that grip slips, and I begin to take my eyes off Jesus and instead focus on the storms of life...much like my brother the Apostle Peter whom I judge. We as a family have learned to be confident in these calls to come here and trust that God's Grace is still in these situations. If I/we were in disobedience by me not going, God's Grace would be hindered. For every mysterious illness they have endured, they have all disappeared. For every employee that has quit, the Lord has sent a better one. I digress...
Now, read the message below about Grace. This was the lesson that the Lord gave me on Sunday just before all of this became known to me. You see, I was suppose to be giving Grace to those that did not "meet my expectations." ...But ashamedly I was not willing too. I actually was resisting giving the Grace I had just preached about. What an idiot.
When I went to email on Monday to try and work all of the details out with my wife, I had a bunch of emails that I did not have time to read because I was so busy venting and trying to fix things myself. After about 30 minutes, they had to close the internet for a while for maintenance, so I could not read the emails that were in my inbox. (It actually takes about 30 minutes to send 1 email here.)
So I spent the next couple of days just not getting all of this/ Especially the 'why' of it. According to my ignorant estimation, the Lord was not taking care of things back home for my wife and daughter, His children. It was only late Tuesday that I finally surrendered to the Lord for His will to be done according to His good purpose to will and do as He pleases.
Late Tuesday evening I walked into town to check on any progress on this dilemma; that is when I broke...no...shattered. I cannot even express how much I wept at the internet cafe as I began reading through the emails that were already there from Monday. These are the same ones that I did not have time to open due to my focus on 'sending' instead of 'receiving.' There, in my inbox all the time, were several offers from Old friends, New friends and people that I have never met that wanted to help my wife however they could, and I simultaneously received a call from my wife. Grace was there all along, but I was so busy not giving it that I could not receive it...and my family suffered. They could have had the grace earlier had I given grace.
Not only had the Lord raised up all of these brothers and sisters, but there was an old friend, a gifted contractor, that the Lord raised up to do the work properly at the house. After hearing my wife, it turns out that he has financial needs right now that I believe the Lord wants to bless. Yes it will cost us money we were not budgeting for, but if we can receive Grace, should we not be able to give it? Again, the Lord is working in more lives than just the McEwen's. I should have took my own homework and sought the Lord how I might be able to give Grace and not just seek it. God may have had to busy the lives of those originally offering to help in order to truly show His power, might and sovereignty by raising up His army. Is that not how He has always operated? When the odds are stacked against us, and we seem to have no way out, and things seem hopeless to the flesh...is that not when the Lord is able to show His might while simultaneously perfecting our faith?! I have taught it hundreds of times, but I seem to be a much worse student than teacher...forgive me Lord.
Some people have questioned about the appropriateness of public candor in relation to my personal failures. I too have questioned it, yet still feel it is the right thing. For starters, is this not what we see consistently in Scripture? We all know that Thomas was a Doubter; we know that Peter denied the Lord three times; seemingly the world has known King David's sin for thousands of years; Moses' failure that limited him from entering the promise land is clearly recorded in Scripture. The real stories about real people and their real failures and the lessons that can be learned from them are what makes up a great portion of the Holy Scriptures. Secondly, my trust in the Sovereignty of our God and the promises of Romans 8:28 give me peace that the Lord can use my public and private failures for His glory. Third, the Lord has burned 2 Corinthians 12:8 in my brain. "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Like Paul, I also have an infirmity in my speech and a thorn in my flesh; mine is likely different, but the purpose is the same...to keep us humble and keep us from being exalted above measure.
I have been blessed so much in hearing from the Lord and seeing Him do things that most people would not believe. The Lord has used my few times of obedience for His mighty glory, so my trust is for Him to use my plethora of failures for the same. After speaking at a church once a few years ago, a brother came up to me and praised me for my faith, obedience, and willing to be used by the Lord. But instead of responding with thanks and being appreciative of the boast, I had to tearfully confess to him that, 'you have only heard of the few times I have told the Lord "YES," but you don't know the countless times I have told Him, NO!" '
In this instance, the Lord brought to mind Genesis 18:17. Here is the account of the Lord's relationship with Abraham. It reads, "7And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;" The Lord was trying to give me the same mercy as He gave Abraham. The lesson He gave me on Grace was for such an hour as this. He was giving me a spiritual forecast for the storm headed my way as well as the directions to the appropriate shelter. But in my ignorance, I wanted to use the shelter I had built instead of His.
Struggling to give Grace as freely as I receive it, Randy.
Well, when I left the US, I had certain expectations as to how the Lord was going to move to accomplish building (remodeling) the house we are moving into (in only 2 weeks from when I left), and moving my wife and daughter while I am here building the Lord's house for His children in Malawi. I guess I had this expectation of this quid-pro-quo agreement that I had with the Lord that I would do things here the way He wanted, and He would do things at home in the way I wanted. What a joke right?! I can just imagine all of the hazing I will get in heaven from the Saints that went on before me, like Peter, Jonah, etc., for not getting the basics all the while dismayed with their behavior.
For the past three days, since Monday, I have been in the belly of a whale...just like my friend Jonah. And just like Jonah, mine was self-inflicted as well. It would probably help to explain.
For the past three days, I have been unable to blog because I was afraid that my "speech" would not be with "Grace." This was because the people that I thought the Lord was surely going to use, in my timeframe no less, were not able to help (or at least as much in our limited time frame) after all. I had actually considered paying a ridiculous fee to change my ticket to go home immediately, thereby running from what the Lord's call was for me here in this hour, because I was so hurt over the tears my wife was shedding as she was worried about things not getting done and having very little help.
You see, every time I have ever gone away (20++ trips) on missions work with the Lord, my family has received great attacks of mysterious medical ailments, property damage, robberies, employee problems, and this list goes on. It is every single time without fail. My flesh always tells me I am such a failure as a husband and father to subject my wife and children to these kinds of attacks when I go. Others within the church have said the same in a nicer way. So this time, having to leave my wife and daughter to fend for themselves to fix a total project house, move, clean up the old house for the precious family buying it, running the ministry in my absence, taking care of all of my daughter's physical therapy for her surgically repaired knee, etc...caused these voices to ring loud and clear again. The only thing that convinces me to 'forsake' my family in this manner is Scripture. I cling dearly to Luke 14:33, "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:25-33 for the whole story) But sometimes that grip slips, and I begin to take my eyes off Jesus and instead focus on the storms of life...much like my brother the Apostle Peter whom I judge. We as a family have learned to be confident in these calls to come here and trust that God's Grace is still in these situations. If I/we were in disobedience by me not going, God's Grace would be hindered. For every mysterious illness they have endured, they have all disappeared. For every employee that has quit, the Lord has sent a better one. I digress...
Now, read the message below about Grace. This was the lesson that the Lord gave me on Sunday just before all of this became known to me. You see, I was suppose to be giving Grace to those that did not "meet my expectations." ...But ashamedly I was not willing too. I actually was resisting giving the Grace I had just preached about. What an idiot.
When I went to email on Monday to try and work all of the details out with my wife, I had a bunch of emails that I did not have time to read because I was so busy venting and trying to fix things myself. After about 30 minutes, they had to close the internet for a while for maintenance, so I could not read the emails that were in my inbox. (It actually takes about 30 minutes to send 1 email here.)
So I spent the next couple of days just not getting all of this/ Especially the 'why' of it. According to my ignorant estimation, the Lord was not taking care of things back home for my wife and daughter, His children. It was only late Tuesday that I finally surrendered to the Lord for His will to be done according to His good purpose to will and do as He pleases.
Late Tuesday evening I walked into town to check on any progress on this dilemma; that is when I broke...no...shattered. I cannot even express how much I wept at the internet cafe as I began reading through the emails that were already there from Monday. These are the same ones that I did not have time to open due to my focus on 'sending' instead of 'receiving.' There, in my inbox all the time, were several offers from Old friends, New friends and people that I have never met that wanted to help my wife however they could, and I simultaneously received a call from my wife. Grace was there all along, but I was so busy not giving it that I could not receive it...and my family suffered. They could have had the grace earlier had I given grace.
Not only had the Lord raised up all of these brothers and sisters, but there was an old friend, a gifted contractor, that the Lord raised up to do the work properly at the house. After hearing my wife, it turns out that he has financial needs right now that I believe the Lord wants to bless. Yes it will cost us money we were not budgeting for, but if we can receive Grace, should we not be able to give it? Again, the Lord is working in more lives than just the McEwen's. I should have took my own homework and sought the Lord how I might be able to give Grace and not just seek it. God may have had to busy the lives of those originally offering to help in order to truly show His power, might and sovereignty by raising up His army. Is that not how He has always operated? When the odds are stacked against us, and we seem to have no way out, and things seem hopeless to the flesh...is that not when the Lord is able to show His might while simultaneously perfecting our faith?! I have taught it hundreds of times, but I seem to be a much worse student than teacher...forgive me Lord.
Some people have questioned about the appropriateness of public candor in relation to my personal failures. I too have questioned it, yet still feel it is the right thing. For starters, is this not what we see consistently in Scripture? We all know that Thomas was a Doubter; we know that Peter denied the Lord three times; seemingly the world has known King David's sin for thousands of years; Moses' failure that limited him from entering the promise land is clearly recorded in Scripture. The real stories about real people and their real failures and the lessons that can be learned from them are what makes up a great portion of the Holy Scriptures. Secondly, my trust in the Sovereignty of our God and the promises of Romans 8:28 give me peace that the Lord can use my public and private failures for His glory. Third, the Lord has burned 2 Corinthians 12:8 in my brain. "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Like Paul, I also have an infirmity in my speech and a thorn in my flesh; mine is likely different, but the purpose is the same...to keep us humble and keep us from being exalted above measure.
I have been blessed so much in hearing from the Lord and seeing Him do things that most people would not believe. The Lord has used my few times of obedience for His mighty glory, so my trust is for Him to use my plethora of failures for the same. After speaking at a church once a few years ago, a brother came up to me and praised me for my faith, obedience, and willing to be used by the Lord. But instead of responding with thanks and being appreciative of the boast, I had to tearfully confess to him that, 'you have only heard of the few times I have told the Lord "YES," but you don't know the countless times I have told Him, NO!" '
In this instance, the Lord brought to mind Genesis 18:17. Here is the account of the Lord's relationship with Abraham. It reads, "7And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;" The Lord was trying to give me the same mercy as He gave Abraham. The lesson He gave me on Grace was for such an hour as this. He was giving me a spiritual forecast for the storm headed my way as well as the directions to the appropriate shelter. But in my ignorance, I wanted to use the shelter I had built instead of His.
Struggling to give Grace as freely as I receive it, Randy.
The Lord has been blessing the progress and the multiplication of the limited funds I was able to bring this trip. So far, here is what the Lord has accomplished since Monday, the first work day after arriving mid day on Saturday.
Currently we are lacking the funds to complete the water tower and tank, so we need to pray for God's mercy for the water not to go out while the team is here starting next week. Also, for security and economy's sake, 6 of our Malawian staff will move into the orphanage on July 1st. This will make for a tight squeeze the last few days of the California teams visit, but it will provide an additional measure of safety for Maribeth as well as Julie for her time here. This will give 6 men staff members onsite as well as the permanent security guard and 3 additional guards at night for a total of 10 men on hand at night. It will also save the pastors nearly 1/2 their salaries in rent. As the orphanage fills up with orphanage staff we will move them to new quarters.
The weather here has been very cold at sun down until late morning. The day time is warm but not too hot. The rains are holding off but the skies threaten daily. Enjoy the pictures below. I will try and update again on the weekend.
Above is the last rain drain being dug down to the reservoir that has already been roughed in. You can click on it for a larger one.
Above is the area that will require most of our manual labor for the Acts III crew and myself. We will be enlarging this terrace to a size of 100 feet long by 65 feet wide. This area will be the last remaining area we can build on. So it should give us 6,500 square feet of space if we are allowed to build on it. If not, we will use it for a recreation area for the children. we have to extend it another 40 feet long and 15 feet wide from its current position. Can you say blisters?
More later. Thanks for all of the prayers.
- The Lord has completed the floors in 4 additional small bedrooms as well
as the 3 other suites. So there is now a total of 4 suites (Bedrooms with
private bathrooms) that have completed floors, walls, ceilings, electrical
and plumbing. There are also 4 additional bedrooms now that are complete
with plastered walls, floors, ceiling and electrical installed, for a total
of 8 usable bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. - The Lord has plastered the front main stairs going into the building and
started the second set of stairs for the next terrace up. - The Lord has had the plumber complete the vents for the toilets as well as
connecting the pipes for the remainder of the back toilets in the boys and
girls hostels. - The Lord has completed the lids for the septic tank and soak away as well
as the man hole covers for them. - The Lord has allowed us to find grace in the eyes of the ESCOM (Malawian
power company) to get out permanent power hooked up this week so we can use
more that one outlet at a time ;o) Currently (no pun intended), we have only
small temporary wires run that allow only limited use. They are only
searching for a power pole for us. - The Lord has granted us favor in the eyes of the carpenter as he has
dropped his rates to get the gazebos completed before the team comes. - The Lord has allowed our team of 5 (including pastors, 2 laborers and
nzungu (me)) to complete the digging of the last side drain and the main
reservoir that all of the drain water will run into. It is all trenched out
and roughed out with a temporary wall until we can shift a mason team to
brick it. - The Lord has also completed nearly 2/3 of the guardhouse wall plastering.
This means we will finally be able to place the roof on it and put it to
use.
Currently we are lacking the funds to complete the water tower and tank, so we need to pray for God's mercy for the water not to go out while the team is here starting next week. Also, for security and economy's sake, 6 of our Malawian staff will move into the orphanage on July 1st. This will make for a tight squeeze the last few days of the California teams visit, but it will provide an additional measure of safety for Maribeth as well as Julie for her time here. This will give 6 men staff members onsite as well as the permanent security guard and 3 additional guards at night for a total of 10 men on hand at night. It will also save the pastors nearly 1/2 their salaries in rent. As the orphanage fills up with orphanage staff we will move them to new quarters.
The weather here has been very cold at sun down until late morning. The day time is warm but not too hot. The rains are holding off but the skies threaten daily. Enjoy the pictures below. I will try and update again on the weekend.
Above is the last rain drain being dug down to the reservoir that has already been roughed in. You can click on it for a larger one.
Above is the area that will require most of our manual labor for the Acts III crew and myself. We will be enlarging this terrace to a size of 100 feet long by 65 feet wide. This area will be the last remaining area we can build on. So it should give us 6,500 square feet of space if we are allowed to build on it. If not, we will use it for a recreation area for the children. we have to extend it another 40 feet long and 15 feet wide from its current position. Can you say blisters?
More later. Thanks for all of the prayers.
When I arrived in Malawi on Saturday, I was informed that I would be preaching in Ndirande church the next day. Well, after a long day of planning and walking into town and back, I laid down for a 'nap' and woke up around midnight. It was then "I" began deciding on a lesson to preach. At any given time there are numerous that I am ready to preach 'in and out of season,' but none of them would have been of the Lord. So I read, meditated upon, and searched the Scriptures for several hours to see what the Lord would have me teach His people.
After some time in prayer, the Lord gave me 'Grace.' That was the topic the Lord gave me. I convinced myself that could not be it, as that was too simple of a topic for this church and this setting, especially for an hour+ message. So I brushed it aside and put my ear phones on and tried to listen harder. Guess the first song that came up? "Grace like Rain" by Todd Agnew. Long story short(er), the next 5 songs in a row that played delivered the motivation I needed to preach that message. However, it was from a whole new perspective. Please find it below and let me know if it blesses you.
When you hear or read the word "Grace" what do you think of? When I asked myself that, I came up with a gift, something we do not deserve, God's saving Grace, etc. When I asked the congregation this morning the same question, I got generally the same answers. Grace is essentially something that God gives and that we receive. The two most common verses cited dealing with Grace were: (1) Ephesians 2:8 "For by Grace are ye saved through faith..." (2) Hebrews 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace..." We all seemed to have a one dimensional view of Grace...we identified it as a unidirectional thing...it was something that flowed FROM God supernaturally TO us. This was why I so quickly dismissed the topic for preaching.
What the Lord was wanting to teach me and then have me share was that we should be giving Grace on the same level that we are receiving it. Grace should not simply be something for us but something that should flow from us.
In the world there are many people that can "Dish it out, but can't take it." The 'it' possibly being joking, teasing, criticism, sarcasm, etc. But the Lord showed me that many of us in the church, including me, are just the opposite...specifically with Grace. We acquire and accumulate grace with supernatural ease, but our propensity and desire to distribute that same grace seems practically nil by comparison.
When I started the study, I searched for all of the times the word Grace is used in the Bible. It is found a total of 170 times in all. There are 39 uses of Grace in the Old Testament and 131 in the New. One thing that I found of interest was that Grace was only used 5 times in all of the Gospels combined. 4 are in John and 1 in Luke. None of the words translated "Grace" were spoken by Jesus in the Gospels. We do however find Jesus quoted by Paul as using the Word Grace in 2 Corinthians 12:8. This is when Paul has besought the Lord for removing his 'thorn in the flesh,' to which the Lord responded with "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
The Apostle Paul truly labored to teach us about Grace. His Epistles use the word 91 times in all. Enough of the background, here is what the Lord was trying to show me.
I Receiving Grace, we get. Access to the throne of Grace, we get. Promises assigned to those under Grace, we get.
II Can I (we) Give Grace? That is the question!
So here were some of the things I noticed after reading the 180 uses of the word Grace in Scripture.
a) The Old Testament used GRACE almost exclusively in the context of 'finding grace in the sight of' God or man. In other words it was about finding mercy, compassion, favor, something underserved. It was typically sought by an 'inferior' from a 'superior' in rank, status, power or position.
b) In the New Testament it often goes hand in hand with mercy, peace, forgiveness, love, faith, compassion, giving, etc.
So my next question was how do we "Give Grace?" There are several ways that are outlined in Scripture. This small list here is in no way exhaustive. The key I found was that we can give Grace in as many ways as we can receive it. Notice the folowing:
We can give Grace through Forgiveness
In Matthew 6, Jesus is training His disciples. One of the first things He does is to teach them how to pray. Notice here the Lord's model of Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13 "9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Now notice what immediately follows the prayer model. Notice the one thing out of the prayer teaching that He calls their attention to: "14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Jesus does not reemphasize God's holiness, the need to focus on His will, asking for provisions, avoiding temptation, etc... Instead He magnifies the need for our SHOWING forgiveness otherwise we cannot RECEIVE forgiveness. Our forgiveness from God is conditional upon our being able to forgive those that have hurt us. This truth is taught throughout the Scriptures, particularly in the parables. Nowhere is this clearer than in Matthew 18:21-35.
21Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."
We give the Grace of Forgiveness just as we receive it from the Lord...undeserved. Are we giving the grace of forgiveness commesurate with the Grace we are receiving from the Lord? If a Holy and Perfect God can forgive us for sinning against Him, our Creator, the Lover of our Soul, who are we to harbor unforgiveness in our hearts from another of God's creatures? Are we better than God? Is 'sinning' against us a greater sin that what we have committed against our Lord?
We can give Grace through our Speech
Colossians 4:6reads, "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."
Ephesians 4:29-32 agrees, "29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you."
A person that has received Grace ought to speak and communicate with Grace. This has been one of my greatest struggles. (See the Belt of Truth). Notice that Paul also ties Graceful speech to: Edification, Ministry, Grieving the Holy Spirit (if not spoken), and forgiveness. This is how people will truly know we have been saved by Grace is the Grace that we speak to them. If we are not speaking with the Grace of God, we are giving place for Satan to accuse and attack us (Ephesians 4:27). Opening our mouth without bathing our Words in Grace is like inviting Satan in. Jesus also counseled often that "18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:" (Matthew 15:18-19)
We give Graceful Speech the same way it was received, with love, compassion, mercy and spoken for the intent of building up and not tearing down, all so God may be glorified. We speak Grace out of the abundance of Grace in our heart or we speak it not if our heart has not Grace. If you squeeze a lemon, you will get lemon juice. Whatever is on the inside comes out in our speech. When God allows you to be squeezed like a sponge, He is trying to get you to see what is on the inside.
We can give Grace through Mercy
Easton's Bible Dictionary defines Mercy as "compassion for the miserable." Mercy is another one of those traits that the Lord lets us know very early is conditional. In the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:7, we find the Lord's first recorded sermon including this concept, "7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." Can you imagine suffering from a horrible debilitating disease for years, knowing all the while it was terminal and hopeless? Can you then imagine someone has mercy and compassion on you and cures you for free? For the trifecta, can you image now that person giving you an unlimited supply of the cure for free to cure the rest of the countless victims ravaged by the plague?
A person that had received that mercy should want to go out and give that same mercy. The same should be true of you and I. If we have understood our own misery in sin and had been set free by the Way, the Truth and the Life of Jesus, we too should want to have the same mercy on others. This is in fact why the Holy Spirit is given to us. Notice Isaiah 61:1-2 "1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;"
The Holy Spirit dwells in us to equip us to have mercy on the miserable. We give Mercy the same way we receive it, compassionately, purposefully, freely, unselfishly and completely.
There are countless other ways to give Grace, the more we understand God's Grace in our lives, the more we will recognize opportunities to give it. Things like loving our enemies, praying for those that mistreat you, being peacemakers, giving of ourselves, our home, our resources even our very lives.
I challenge you to search your heart to see how much grace you are giving verses how much grace you are seeking and receiving. You may in fact be limiting what the Lord can do in your life until you unclog the outflow of your own Grace-pipes. Ask the Lord for more opportunities to give Grace to those around you.
After some time in prayer, the Lord gave me 'Grace.' That was the topic the Lord gave me. I convinced myself that could not be it, as that was too simple of a topic for this church and this setting, especially for an hour+ message. So I brushed it aside and put my ear phones on and tried to listen harder. Guess the first song that came up? "Grace like Rain" by Todd Agnew. Long story short(er), the next 5 songs in a row that played delivered the motivation I needed to preach that message. However, it was from a whole new perspective. Please find it below and let me know if it blesses you.
When you hear or read the word "Grace" what do you think of? When I asked myself that, I came up with a gift, something we do not deserve, God's saving Grace, etc. When I asked the congregation this morning the same question, I got generally the same answers. Grace is essentially something that God gives and that we receive. The two most common verses cited dealing with Grace were: (1) Ephesians 2:8 "For by Grace are ye saved through faith..." (2) Hebrews 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace..." We all seemed to have a one dimensional view of Grace...we identified it as a unidirectional thing...it was something that flowed FROM God supernaturally TO us. This was why I so quickly dismissed the topic for preaching.
What the Lord was wanting to teach me and then have me share was that we should be giving Grace on the same level that we are receiving it. Grace should not simply be something for us but something that should flow from us.
In the world there are many people that can "Dish it out, but can't take it." The 'it' possibly being joking, teasing, criticism, sarcasm, etc. But the Lord showed me that many of us in the church, including me, are just the opposite...specifically with Grace. We acquire and accumulate grace with supernatural ease, but our propensity and desire to distribute that same grace seems practically nil by comparison.
When I started the study, I searched for all of the times the word Grace is used in the Bible. It is found a total of 170 times in all. There are 39 uses of Grace in the Old Testament and 131 in the New. One thing that I found of interest was that Grace was only used 5 times in all of the Gospels combined. 4 are in John and 1 in Luke. None of the words translated "Grace" were spoken by Jesus in the Gospels. We do however find Jesus quoted by Paul as using the Word Grace in 2 Corinthians 12:8. This is when Paul has besought the Lord for removing his 'thorn in the flesh,' to which the Lord responded with "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
The Apostle Paul truly labored to teach us about Grace. His Epistles use the word 91 times in all. Enough of the background, here is what the Lord was trying to show me.
I Receiving Grace, we get. Access to the throne of Grace, we get. Promises assigned to those under Grace, we get.
II Can I (we) Give Grace? That is the question!
So here were some of the things I noticed after reading the 180 uses of the word Grace in Scripture.
a) The Old Testament used GRACE almost exclusively in the context of 'finding grace in the sight of' God or man. In other words it was about finding mercy, compassion, favor, something underserved. It was typically sought by an 'inferior' from a 'superior' in rank, status, power or position.
b) In the New Testament it often goes hand in hand with mercy, peace, forgiveness, love, faith, compassion, giving, etc.
So my next question was how do we "Give Grace?" There are several ways that are outlined in Scripture. This small list here is in no way exhaustive. The key I found was that we can give Grace in as many ways as we can receive it. Notice the folowing:
We can give Grace through Forgiveness
In Matthew 6, Jesus is training His disciples. One of the first things He does is to teach them how to pray. Notice here the Lord's model of Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13 "9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Now notice what immediately follows the prayer model. Notice the one thing out of the prayer teaching that He calls their attention to: "14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Jesus does not reemphasize God's holiness, the need to focus on His will, asking for provisions, avoiding temptation, etc... Instead He magnifies the need for our SHOWING forgiveness otherwise we cannot RECEIVE forgiveness. Our forgiveness from God is conditional upon our being able to forgive those that have hurt us. This truth is taught throughout the Scriptures, particularly in the parables. Nowhere is this clearer than in Matthew 18:21-35.
21Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."
We give the Grace of Forgiveness just as we receive it from the Lord...undeserved. Are we giving the grace of forgiveness commesurate with the Grace we are receiving from the Lord? If a Holy and Perfect God can forgive us for sinning against Him, our Creator, the Lover of our Soul, who are we to harbor unforgiveness in our hearts from another of God's creatures? Are we better than God? Is 'sinning' against us a greater sin that what we have committed against our Lord?
We can give Grace through our Speech
Colossians 4:6reads, "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."
Ephesians 4:29-32 agrees, "29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you."
A person that has received Grace ought to speak and communicate with Grace. This has been one of my greatest struggles. (See the Belt of Truth). Notice that Paul also ties Graceful speech to: Edification, Ministry, Grieving the Holy Spirit (if not spoken), and forgiveness. This is how people will truly know we have been saved by Grace is the Grace that we speak to them. If we are not speaking with the Grace of God, we are giving place for Satan to accuse and attack us (Ephesians 4:27). Opening our mouth without bathing our Words in Grace is like inviting Satan in. Jesus also counseled often that "18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:" (Matthew 15:18-19)
We give Graceful Speech the same way it was received, with love, compassion, mercy and spoken for the intent of building up and not tearing down, all so God may be glorified. We speak Grace out of the abundance of Grace in our heart or we speak it not if our heart has not Grace. If you squeeze a lemon, you will get lemon juice. Whatever is on the inside comes out in our speech. When God allows you to be squeezed like a sponge, He is trying to get you to see what is on the inside.
We can give Grace through Mercy
Easton's Bible Dictionary defines Mercy as "compassion for the miserable." Mercy is another one of those traits that the Lord lets us know very early is conditional. In the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:7, we find the Lord's first recorded sermon including this concept, "7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." Can you imagine suffering from a horrible debilitating disease for years, knowing all the while it was terminal and hopeless? Can you then imagine someone has mercy and compassion on you and cures you for free? For the trifecta, can you image now that person giving you an unlimited supply of the cure for free to cure the rest of the countless victims ravaged by the plague?
A person that had received that mercy should want to go out and give that same mercy. The same should be true of you and I. If we have understood our own misery in sin and had been set free by the Way, the Truth and the Life of Jesus, we too should want to have the same mercy on others. This is in fact why the Holy Spirit is given to us. Notice Isaiah 61:1-2 "1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;"
The Holy Spirit dwells in us to equip us to have mercy on the miserable. We give Mercy the same way we receive it, compassionately, purposefully, freely, unselfishly and completely.
There are countless other ways to give Grace, the more we understand God's Grace in our lives, the more we will recognize opportunities to give it. Things like loving our enemies, praying for those that mistreat you, being peacemakers, giving of ourselves, our home, our resources even our very lives.
I challenge you to search your heart to see how much grace you are giving verses how much grace you are seeking and receiving. You may in fact be limiting what the Lord can do in your life until you unclog the outflow of your own Grace-pipes. Ask the Lord for more opportunities to give Grace to those around you.
14/06: The Next Chapter
Well, it is June 14th here in South Africa and I am awaiting my next plane on to Malawi. This is by far the most I have ever truly let go in order to travel and serve this time. we prayed for about a year for our house to sell, and if you read back through the blog, it was a struggle wondering why the Lord had not yet allowed it to sell. We were trying to get debt free to free our family up to be mobile to go and serve as God calls, and help fund the orphanage at the same time.
Well, what we (I mostly) missed was God's sovereignty and the simple fact that the world and God's plan is bigger and grander than the McEwen family. What I mean is that I was thinking selfishly about how this was affecting our family and not focussed on what God may have been doing in other lives...the buyers, Realtors, neighbors, attorney's, etc.
Jumping ahead, we finally realized we did not want the Lord to 'just sell our house.' We wanted Him to send the family that He had raised up for that house. After all, God is working in all of our lives, not just the McEwen's. The family that is buying our home is truly a blessing from the Lord, not just that they are buying the house, but that our families may have been called together for more than just a housing transaction. They have really gone above and beyond the call of duty with helping Julie and I out with our little 'fixer-upper' that we will be moving into. They are truly a precious family and I pray that the Lord allows us to get to know them more.
My personal struggle of faith this time was leaving my wife with such a daunting task to handle by herself. Our new house that we are moving into (the Lord willing) is still under renovation. It still needs 75% of the sheetrock & insulation in the walls, 60% of the insulation and sub-floor put down, all but 1 toilet still needs to be installed, the new central heat/ a/c is not yet ready, 12 windows have to be replaced, the roof leaks, 20% of the electrical is still lacking, the kitchen cabinets and kitchen still have to be assembled once all of the rest is done, not to mention we will be moving into a house that is 1/3 the size we have now with no room for attic storage nor outside storage. And all of this has to be done before the 26th of June when we close.
All the while, she will be packing up the stuff from our current house, managing 18 employees, running three thrift stores, taking care of our precious daughter, etc. She has long since accepted that she will be put to the fire whenever I leave for the mission field, but this one rivals the furnace King Nebuchadnezzar (I spelled that right from memory - wow ;o) placed Daniel's three friends in.
This was and is a big test for the faith of our family. One thing I have a hard time doing is asking for help and placing myself into a position of having to depend on others. Maybe there is an element of pride in there and an ingrained sense of self-reliance; maybe part of it is a 'man-thing.' But this is where the Lord has us. He sovereignly chose the most inopportune time "by my flesh's estimation" to sell this house and have me going to Malawi to get Maribeth settled in and minister with her team. This is how our God works...He places us in positions to stretch our faith, get out of our comfort zones, and to depend on Him and His Body, the Church.
Mission accomplished, I am way out of my comfort zone ;o) The blessing for my wife is that soon we will switch places for a change. In July, she will come to Malawi and stay for a month+ with Maribeth while I go home and face the fires that she normally has to deal with.
I would like to make a few public prayer requests for the readers of this blog. Please pray with me in these:
1) Pray for my wife. Specifically for her faith to be strengthened as she sees what the Lord is doing and is going to do. Pray for her patience and resolve to know that even if the new house does not get completed by June 26, the Lord has something else already lined up. Pray for her to be able to face the challenges for the 3 thrift stores. Pray for her to still be able to hear the Lord's whisper in this storm of activity and flesh imposed deadlines.
2) Pray for my daughter Haley as she is just getting over knee surgery and starting back into softball this very day. Praise God for her resolve. She sent me an email while I was traveling to Jo'burg that said that she 'missed me and wished I was home, but whatever the Lord says.' Pray the Lord will continue to groom her heart and soul to seek and follow hard after Him.
3) Pray for my dear brother Michael Dant. Everyone that knows him, knows that he is a servant in every sense of the word. The poor man has been out of the country serving the Lord in Malawi for 2 months, and has just barely gotten settled in when he is saddled with the oversight of coordinating all of the volunteer efforts on our house. I know his beautiful wife and family would covet his time, but instead he his laboring diligently for my family. Pray the Lord will multiply his time and return it to him 3 fold. Pray for his family that no one will lack his time and love. Pray the Lord will bless his giftedness with open doors to use his ministry talents.
4) Pray for our Pastor, Al Usher. Pastor Al is working right along side of Michael tirelessly to get this house ready for my wife, daughter and I all the trying to continue to lead our church in Rincon, Bible study in Sylvania, etc. His wife Angie has been so supportive and is working within the ministry of the Rincon store and helping with counseling. Pray for Al and his wife that they be continually filled with the wisdom of God, the strength of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Pray the Lord multiply the love, and devotion this man puts into the congregation at Acts III. We are all truly blessed to have such a humble man as our Pastor, brother and friend.
5) Pray for my Brother Jay. Jay has really come through with making it a priority to have the A/C in the house in these hot summer months so my family can live in the house. His wife and 2 precious children have allowed him the time to take care of this need for us. Pray for the Lord to refresh Jay & Jennifer, to bless their various ministries and give them His guiding presence continually for His plan for their lives. I know of few people that truly seek to hear from the Lord and be obedient like my brother Jay. I ask you to continue to pray with me for his ability to see and hear what the Lord is revealing to him and for his continued courage to walk in obedience whatever the Lord may lead.
6) Pray for the Townley's - Jeff & Dyane and their four children. They are the family the Lord has raised up for our (soon their) home. They are an amazing family that we have gotten to know and fall in love with. They all have such a heart to serve. Jeff, bless his heart, has done most of the 'dirty work' of getting under the house and removing all of the old insulation, plastic, etc. not to mention the sheet rock and putting in new insulation. He has been a tremendous blessing and encouragement. Pray the Lord continues to grant this blessed family Grace and Mercy anew each morning. Pray they are able to find close brothers and sisters in Christ as they move to Effingham (hopefully including us). Pray the Lord returns Jeff's time as well as he has devoted so much effort on his days off to serving the Lord by helping us.
7) Pray for our family and friends that are helping - Julie's dad, my brother, our son Corey, and many others have been such a great help in the work and moving. Pray for the Lord to touch them for their heart of service.
8) Pray for our ministry employees. Without fail, people end up quitting while I am in Malawi and then Julie gets weighed down. Pray the Lord gives Julie Grace and compassion in their sight. Pray He burdens them to carry some of her burden for her. Pray the Lord withholds any 'fires' until I arrive home so I can shoulder them instead of her.
9) Pray for Maribeth and her team in California that will be coming in June 23. She still has things up in the air that need to be prayed over. Join her and her team in prayer. Pray that we will all see the reasons that the Lord is sending the 13 people from California and what we can do to be a part of God's plan. Pray that we will all be out of the way and our plans will be placed on the altar of offering for the Lord to take or to return to us. His will be done and not ours.
10) Pray for our brother Whitney that is in Israel on extended assignment and his wonderful wife Gloria that is at home in Guyton. Pray the Lord reveals more and more of Himself daily to them both. Pray for Gloria's strength much as I have requested for Julie. She has a full plate this summer. Whitney faces many trials and struggles where he is in the world. Pray for him.
Well, I board the plane to Malawi in a couple of hours, so I will sign off for now. Please continue to pray for the orphanage and the orphans of Malawi. Pray the Lord will continue to raise up His soldiers to be His hands, and His feet, and His mouth for the orphans.
In Christ alone, Randy
Well, what we (I mostly) missed was God's sovereignty and the simple fact that the world and God's plan is bigger and grander than the McEwen family. What I mean is that I was thinking selfishly about how this was affecting our family and not focussed on what God may have been doing in other lives...the buyers, Realtors, neighbors, attorney's, etc.
Jumping ahead, we finally realized we did not want the Lord to 'just sell our house.' We wanted Him to send the family that He had raised up for that house. After all, God is working in all of our lives, not just the McEwen's. The family that is buying our home is truly a blessing from the Lord, not just that they are buying the house, but that our families may have been called together for more than just a housing transaction. They have really gone above and beyond the call of duty with helping Julie and I out with our little 'fixer-upper' that we will be moving into. They are truly a precious family and I pray that the Lord allows us to get to know them more.
My personal struggle of faith this time was leaving my wife with such a daunting task to handle by herself. Our new house that we are moving into (the Lord willing) is still under renovation. It still needs 75% of the sheetrock & insulation in the walls, 60% of the insulation and sub-floor put down, all but 1 toilet still needs to be installed, the new central heat/ a/c is not yet ready, 12 windows have to be replaced, the roof leaks, 20% of the electrical is still lacking, the kitchen cabinets and kitchen still have to be assembled once all of the rest is done, not to mention we will be moving into a house that is 1/3 the size we have now with no room for attic storage nor outside storage. And all of this has to be done before the 26th of June when we close.
All the while, she will be packing up the stuff from our current house, managing 18 employees, running three thrift stores, taking care of our precious daughter, etc. She has long since accepted that she will be put to the fire whenever I leave for the mission field, but this one rivals the furnace King Nebuchadnezzar (I spelled that right from memory - wow ;o) placed Daniel's three friends in.
This was and is a big test for the faith of our family. One thing I have a hard time doing is asking for help and placing myself into a position of having to depend on others. Maybe there is an element of pride in there and an ingrained sense of self-reliance; maybe part of it is a 'man-thing.' But this is where the Lord has us. He sovereignly chose the most inopportune time "by my flesh's estimation" to sell this house and have me going to Malawi to get Maribeth settled in and minister with her team. This is how our God works...He places us in positions to stretch our faith, get out of our comfort zones, and to depend on Him and His Body, the Church.
Mission accomplished, I am way out of my comfort zone ;o) The blessing for my wife is that soon we will switch places for a change. In July, she will come to Malawi and stay for a month+ with Maribeth while I go home and face the fires that she normally has to deal with.
I would like to make a few public prayer requests for the readers of this blog. Please pray with me in these:
1) Pray for my wife. Specifically for her faith to be strengthened as she sees what the Lord is doing and is going to do. Pray for her patience and resolve to know that even if the new house does not get completed by June 26, the Lord has something else already lined up. Pray for her to be able to face the challenges for the 3 thrift stores. Pray for her to still be able to hear the Lord's whisper in this storm of activity and flesh imposed deadlines.
2) Pray for my daughter Haley as she is just getting over knee surgery and starting back into softball this very day. Praise God for her resolve. She sent me an email while I was traveling to Jo'burg that said that she 'missed me and wished I was home, but whatever the Lord says.' Pray the Lord will continue to groom her heart and soul to seek and follow hard after Him.
3) Pray for my dear brother Michael Dant. Everyone that knows him, knows that he is a servant in every sense of the word. The poor man has been out of the country serving the Lord in Malawi for 2 months, and has just barely gotten settled in when he is saddled with the oversight of coordinating all of the volunteer efforts on our house. I know his beautiful wife and family would covet his time, but instead he his laboring diligently for my family. Pray the Lord will multiply his time and return it to him 3 fold. Pray for his family that no one will lack his time and love. Pray the Lord will bless his giftedness with open doors to use his ministry talents.
4) Pray for our Pastor, Al Usher. Pastor Al is working right along side of Michael tirelessly to get this house ready for my wife, daughter and I all the trying to continue to lead our church in Rincon, Bible study in Sylvania, etc. His wife Angie has been so supportive and is working within the ministry of the Rincon store and helping with counseling. Pray for Al and his wife that they be continually filled with the wisdom of God, the strength of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Pray the Lord multiply the love, and devotion this man puts into the congregation at Acts III. We are all truly blessed to have such a humble man as our Pastor, brother and friend.
5) Pray for my Brother Jay. Jay has really come through with making it a priority to have the A/C in the house in these hot summer months so my family can live in the house. His wife and 2 precious children have allowed him the time to take care of this need for us. Pray for the Lord to refresh Jay & Jennifer, to bless their various ministries and give them His guiding presence continually for His plan for their lives. I know of few people that truly seek to hear from the Lord and be obedient like my brother Jay. I ask you to continue to pray with me for his ability to see and hear what the Lord is revealing to him and for his continued courage to walk in obedience whatever the Lord may lead.
6) Pray for the Townley's - Jeff & Dyane and their four children. They are the family the Lord has raised up for our (soon their) home. They are an amazing family that we have gotten to know and fall in love with. They all have such a heart to serve. Jeff, bless his heart, has done most of the 'dirty work' of getting under the house and removing all of the old insulation, plastic, etc. not to mention the sheet rock and putting in new insulation. He has been a tremendous blessing and encouragement. Pray the Lord continues to grant this blessed family Grace and Mercy anew each morning. Pray they are able to find close brothers and sisters in Christ as they move to Effingham (hopefully including us). Pray the Lord returns Jeff's time as well as he has devoted so much effort on his days off to serving the Lord by helping us.
7) Pray for our family and friends that are helping - Julie's dad, my brother, our son Corey, and many others have been such a great help in the work and moving. Pray for the Lord to touch them for their heart of service.
8) Pray for our ministry employees. Without fail, people end up quitting while I am in Malawi and then Julie gets weighed down. Pray the Lord gives Julie Grace and compassion in their sight. Pray He burdens them to carry some of her burden for her. Pray the Lord withholds any 'fires' until I arrive home so I can shoulder them instead of her.
9) Pray for Maribeth and her team in California that will be coming in June 23. She still has things up in the air that need to be prayed over. Join her and her team in prayer. Pray that we will all see the reasons that the Lord is sending the 13 people from California and what we can do to be a part of God's plan. Pray that we will all be out of the way and our plans will be placed on the altar of offering for the Lord to take or to return to us. His will be done and not ours.
10) Pray for our brother Whitney that is in Israel on extended assignment and his wonderful wife Gloria that is at home in Guyton. Pray the Lord reveals more and more of Himself daily to them both. Pray for Gloria's strength much as I have requested for Julie. She has a full plate this summer. Whitney faces many trials and struggles where he is in the world. Pray for him.
Well, I board the plane to Malawi in a couple of hours, so I will sign off for now. Please continue to pray for the orphanage and the orphans of Malawi. Pray the Lord will continue to raise up His soldiers to be His hands, and His feet, and His mouth for the orphans.
In Christ alone, Randy
28/04: Buy Truth...Don't Sell It
“Buy the truth, and sell it not…” Proverbs 23:23
Have you ever had one of those seasons when it seems as though you are being attacked on every side? Well, I feel as though I have been in this wilderness for about a month now. However, there have been many blessings to come from this wilderness experience. This teaching is one of them. It is a bit lengthy, but it was life-changing for me, and I pray it will bless you as well.
This past Friday I was driving about 2 ½ hours away to meet a dear brother / pastor for a long lunch. About 20 minutes into my journey, my thoughts fixated on all of the storms brewing around me; I felt like Peter sinking into the crashing waves. The radio in my car is broken so I played the only CD I had in the car to help my focus shift back onto the Lord. It was a CD of James Earl Jones reading the New Testament. This particular CD started with Luke 18.
As I played the CD, the first thing I heard was the parable of the unrighteous judge and the widow. Here it is in its entirety. Luke 18:1-8:
1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
When I first played it, two things about this parable spoke to me personally.
1. God will avenge His elect.
2. Verse 7 ends with letting us know that the Lord ‘bears long WITH US.’
Both of these points blessed and encouraged me. It was exciting to think, ‘Hey the Lord is trying to encourage me…He is going to avenge me of all these people doing these things. Praise God!’ Sadly, I began imagining how the Lord was going to avenge me with these people.
During this time of daydreaming about being ‘avenged,’ the CD kept playing. So, I came back to reality and replayed the same chapter and focused in. What I noticed next I had to replay three times to make sure I was receiving what the Lord was telling me…it was not comfortable. I was trying to find another meaning but could not. Here is the next set of verses, yet another parable. Luke 18:9-14:
“9And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Up to this point, I had never taken these parables to be related. I just thought of them as two independent parables that Luke just happened to place one after the other. Well, here is what the Lord spoke to my spirit from them being taken in tandem:
1. When we (I) seek to be avenged of our adversaries, who are we to say that we (I) are the righteous? How do we know we are not the adversary to the same person or someone else?!
2. It is really and truly a self-righteous attitude to have to think that we (I) are the victim and need to be avenged. Also, this parable warns about exalting ourselves.
It was then that I began to think of King David. David was a man after God’s own heart. Yes he sinned, made mistakes and got into trouble some times, but nevertheless…his heart was right. The Holy Spirit brought to light two particular stories about David. They are from 1 Samuel 24:1-20 and 2 Samuel 16:5-11.
In 1 Samuel 24:1-20 we see Saul hunting David to kill him. If there has ever been anyone throughout history that knew what it like to be ‘persecuted’ it was David. The Lord had already anointed David to be King because of Saul’s rebellion. Yet David would not take it by force. Saul constantly tried to kill David, yet David still loved him and refused to raise his hand against him. David loved God’s Kingdom, but he was not going to take it by force.
Essentially in this account, David and his men were hiding in a cave. King Saul came into relieve himself. While he was vulnerable, David’s men encouraged him to kill Saul and put an end to this persecution. David could not do it. Instead, he simply cut off a piece of the King’s garment so that he could show him that he was not seeking to harm the king.
Here are some of the interesting verses from this account as it pertains to what the Lord was teaching me:
Vs 5 “And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.”
Can you imagine having the heart that would feel guilty just for cutting off a piece of the king’s robe that was seeking to kill you? David’s own heart smote him. Here I am waiting for the Lord to avenge me and thinking up scenarios of how God may judge these people, and righteous King David felt guilt and remorse for damaging the garment of a man that was hunting him like a dog.
After David bows to Saul and speaks kind words to him, he says in verse 12, “The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.” No matter what, David was not going to seek harm for a man that God had anointed…even at the expense of his own life.
This was not just an isolated incident demonstrating the godly heart from David, it was part of a long pattern we see throughout Scripture. David would not take the kingdom from Saul by force, though he had been anointed king. After David had become King, David’s own son Absalom, raised up against him to take the throne. Again, David would not fight to take the kingdom by force. Maybe he felt it was of the Lord.
During this second exodus into the wilderness, we find a descendant of Saul cursing David in 2 Samuel 16:5-8:
“5And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. 6And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: 8The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.”
So here you have this man cursing King David and actually throwing rocks at him and his men. He is also bringing upon him railing accusations that are not true. David had nothing to do with the death of Saul or his children. David actually had the murderer put to death (2 Sam 1:15). So David is being falsely accused and persecuted once again for something that he did not do. Those around him were also suffering with him as Shimei was throwing rocks at them as well.
So how did David respond? Well first. verse 9 tells us how his men of war wanted to respond: “Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.” I believe there is probably a little Abishai in all of us, but not David. Here is how he responds to Abishai’s request in vs. 10-12:
“And the king said…so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? …let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him. It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.”
This is a man after God’s own heart. Notice the two lists below regarding Davis’s Actions:
What David Did Do
What David Did NOT Do
I do not know about you, but I probably would have had 90% of those items in the opposite columns.
The final thing that the Lord showed me was probably the most powerful. It has to do with our spiritual armor, specifically the Belt of Truth. This is probably the most painful truth to date that He has revealed to me.
In Ephesians 6:14-15 we find the following familiar verses: “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” (NIV)
Notice that we have three pieces of Spiritual Armor (4 counting the helmet of salvation). They are: (1) The Belt of Truth, (2) Breastplate of Righteousness, (3) Shoes Fitted with the Gospel of Peace. What the Lord put into focus for me dealt with the Belt of Truth.
If you read any basic commentary or lesson on the armor, it will likely mention that it was the Belt of Truth that holds all of the other armor in place.
What the Lord was showing me is that I have the tendency to want to take off the Belt of Truth and use it as a weapon…not a weapon of righteousness mind you, rather a weapon for self-justification, making my case and bludgeoning other people. This has been a pattern with me that I believe the Lord wants desperately to break. Allow me to explain.
Spiritually speaking, we Christians only have one weapon listed in the inventory in Ephesians 6 and that is the Word of God. (I know prayer is our weapon as well). The Scriptures refer to itself as ‘the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (NASB - Hebrews 4:12)
I have seen this plank in my eye and the same speck in others. When we use the Word as it is intended, we do not always see the effects outwardly instantly. Metaphorically speaking, we do not see flesh cut with a real sword. The Word of God cuts inwardly, below the flesh. So since we do not see outward evidence that the Sword had any affect, we take of our Belt of Truth and begin to bludgeon the person with it.
Allow me to give an example, the other day I was talking to a sister in Christ that made a very derogatory and judgmental comment about a young man that told her he was homosexual. She began to recount how she had shared politely the word of God and what it says about that particular sin. When the young man seemingly brushed off the Scriptures, she put away her ‘Sword’ and took off her belt of truth and began to bludgeon him with it. Speaking the truth in love is what we are called to do; that is the proper use of the Word/Sword. But when we put our sword back in its place and take off our belt of truth, that is when it turns into ‘Bashing.’
When the Lord first saved me, He gifted me with the ability to understand how to speak on Creation & Evolution, cults, false doctrines, etc. The problem is that when I would speak with most people, it started out as ‘the truth in love.’ However, if they kept ignoring the truth, the belt came off and there was a beat down coming. I won many arguments with that Belt of Truth, but lost the souls of the people as a result.
What the Lord is showing me clearly is that when you take off your Belt of Truth, there goes your Breastplate of Righteousness, and there goes your Gospel of Peace. You are left spiritually naked and exposed vulnerable to every attack of the enemy. Keep in mind that the point of the spiritual armor is so that we may stand firm. There is nothing to protect us if we have stripped off our God given armor. I dare say that is exactly what the enemy likes for us to do…misuse the armor to leave ourselves vulnerable for attack. If we lose our Breastplate of Righteousness, that makes our heart susceptible to attack. This may allow the enemy an open window to plant tares in our heart. If our Shoes fitted with the Gospel of Peace come off, how can we stand on Holy Ground? Will we not lose our footing and be on our backside?
At times past and present, there have been people that have used things like ‘unity’ to hide from the truth. They used a cloak of unity to keep the truth from coming out about certain sins. This made me even more desirous to take off my Belt of Truth to demolish what I saw clearly as their web of deception. I could even come up with dozens of Scriptures to justify my actions, but ultimately the obvious danger is to think that we (I) are serving God as a spiritual vigilante. James 1:20 warns about this. It says, “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”
We can take of our Belt of Truth and misuse it in order to be personally justified, gain vengeance, exact justice or to expose sin. The question we have to ask ourselves is does this glorify God or just make our flesh feel better?
Truth is good. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth. Jesus calls Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life. Something worth noting however, is that Truth is rarely alone in Scripture. Typically we see it paired as Grace and Truth, mercy and Truth, etc.
In closing, there are a few main points I hope we all take away from this:
1. The belt of truth is to for defense not offense. It is to protect us, not hurt others. Truth should never be used as a weapon.
2. Truth is something to be bought not sold (Prov 23:23). We will never have to sell the Truth. If we are having to make a case for it, and convince someone of it…we are selling it.
3. Just like Hannah, the Lord promised in that first parable in Luke 18, to avenge those that cry to Him night and day…not to others. When we air our hurts and pains to people instead of God, we are damaging the Kingdom and keeping God’s hand from delivering us. This quickly turns to gossip, slander, malicious talk, back-biting and murmuring.
Have you ever had one of those seasons when it seems as though you are being attacked on every side? Well, I feel as though I have been in this wilderness for about a month now. However, there have been many blessings to come from this wilderness experience. This teaching is one of them. It is a bit lengthy, but it was life-changing for me, and I pray it will bless you as well.
This past Friday I was driving about 2 ½ hours away to meet a dear brother / pastor for a long lunch. About 20 minutes into my journey, my thoughts fixated on all of the storms brewing around me; I felt like Peter sinking into the crashing waves. The radio in my car is broken so I played the only CD I had in the car to help my focus shift back onto the Lord. It was a CD of James Earl Jones reading the New Testament. This particular CD started with Luke 18.
As I played the CD, the first thing I heard was the parable of the unrighteous judge and the widow. Here it is in its entirety. Luke 18:1-8:
1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. 4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
When I first played it, two things about this parable spoke to me personally.
1. God will avenge His elect.
2. Verse 7 ends with letting us know that the Lord ‘bears long WITH US.’
Both of these points blessed and encouraged me. It was exciting to think, ‘Hey the Lord is trying to encourage me…He is going to avenge me of all these people doing these things. Praise God!’ Sadly, I began imagining how the Lord was going to avenge me with these people.
During this time of daydreaming about being ‘avenged,’ the CD kept playing. So, I came back to reality and replayed the same chapter and focused in. What I noticed next I had to replay three times to make sure I was receiving what the Lord was telling me…it was not comfortable. I was trying to find another meaning but could not. Here is the next set of verses, yet another parable. Luke 18:9-14:
“9And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Up to this point, I had never taken these parables to be related. I just thought of them as two independent parables that Luke just happened to place one after the other. Well, here is what the Lord spoke to my spirit from them being taken in tandem:
1. When we (I) seek to be avenged of our adversaries, who are we to say that we (I) are the righteous? How do we know we are not the adversary to the same person or someone else?!
2. It is really and truly a self-righteous attitude to have to think that we (I) are the victim and need to be avenged. Also, this parable warns about exalting ourselves.
It was then that I began to think of King David. David was a man after God’s own heart. Yes he sinned, made mistakes and got into trouble some times, but nevertheless…his heart was right. The Holy Spirit brought to light two particular stories about David. They are from 1 Samuel 24:1-20 and 2 Samuel 16:5-11.
In 1 Samuel 24:1-20 we see Saul hunting David to kill him. If there has ever been anyone throughout history that knew what it like to be ‘persecuted’ it was David. The Lord had already anointed David to be King because of Saul’s rebellion. Yet David would not take it by force. Saul constantly tried to kill David, yet David still loved him and refused to raise his hand against him. David loved God’s Kingdom, but he was not going to take it by force.
Essentially in this account, David and his men were hiding in a cave. King Saul came into relieve himself. While he was vulnerable, David’s men encouraged him to kill Saul and put an end to this persecution. David could not do it. Instead, he simply cut off a piece of the King’s garment so that he could show him that he was not seeking to harm the king.
Here are some of the interesting verses from this account as it pertains to what the Lord was teaching me:
Vs 5 “And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.”
Can you imagine having the heart that would feel guilty just for cutting off a piece of the king’s robe that was seeking to kill you? David’s own heart smote him. Here I am waiting for the Lord to avenge me and thinking up scenarios of how God may judge these people, and righteous King David felt guilt and remorse for damaging the garment of a man that was hunting him like a dog.
After David bows to Saul and speaks kind words to him, he says in verse 12, “The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.” No matter what, David was not going to seek harm for a man that God had anointed…even at the expense of his own life.
This was not just an isolated incident demonstrating the godly heart from David, it was part of a long pattern we see throughout Scripture. David would not take the kingdom from Saul by force, though he had been anointed king. After David had become King, David’s own son Absalom, raised up against him to take the throne. Again, David would not fight to take the kingdom by force. Maybe he felt it was of the Lord.
During this second exodus into the wilderness, we find a descendant of Saul cursing David in 2 Samuel 16:5-8:
“5And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. 6And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. 7And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: 8The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.”
So here you have this man cursing King David and actually throwing rocks at him and his men. He is also bringing upon him railing accusations that are not true. David had nothing to do with the death of Saul or his children. David actually had the murderer put to death (2 Sam 1:15). So David is being falsely accused and persecuted once again for something that he did not do. Those around him were also suffering with him as Shimei was throwing rocks at them as well.
So how did David respond? Well first. verse 9 tells us how his men of war wanted to respond: “Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.” I believe there is probably a little Abishai in all of us, but not David. Here is how he responds to Abishai’s request in vs. 10-12:
“And the king said…so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so? …let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him. It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.”
This is a man after God’s own heart. Notice the two lists below regarding Davis’s Actions:
What David Did Do
- He righteously endured unrighteous treatment.
- He understood God’s sovereignty in the matter.
- He knew God Himself may have caused this to take place.
- He hoped in a future glory as a result of enduring this.
What David Did NOT Do
- He did not seek to set the record straight.
- He did not seek to justify himself.
- He did not tell that he was God’s anointed.
- He did not seek relief from this man
- He did not seek harm to come to him.
- He did not pray to be avenged of this man.
I do not know about you, but I probably would have had 90% of those items in the opposite columns.
The final thing that the Lord showed me was probably the most powerful. It has to do with our spiritual armor, specifically the Belt of Truth. This is probably the most painful truth to date that He has revealed to me.
In Ephesians 6:14-15 we find the following familiar verses: “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” (NIV)
Notice that we have three pieces of Spiritual Armor (4 counting the helmet of salvation). They are: (1) The Belt of Truth, (2) Breastplate of Righteousness, (3) Shoes Fitted with the Gospel of Peace. What the Lord put into focus for me dealt with the Belt of Truth.
If you read any basic commentary or lesson on the armor, it will likely mention that it was the Belt of Truth that holds all of the other armor in place.
What the Lord was showing me is that I have the tendency to want to take off the Belt of Truth and use it as a weapon…not a weapon of righteousness mind you, rather a weapon for self-justification, making my case and bludgeoning other people. This has been a pattern with me that I believe the Lord wants desperately to break. Allow me to explain.
Spiritually speaking, we Christians only have one weapon listed in the inventory in Ephesians 6 and that is the Word of God. (I know prayer is our weapon as well). The Scriptures refer to itself as ‘the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (NASB - Hebrews 4:12)
I have seen this plank in my eye and the same speck in others. When we use the Word as it is intended, we do not always see the effects outwardly instantly. Metaphorically speaking, we do not see flesh cut with a real sword. The Word of God cuts inwardly, below the flesh. So since we do not see outward evidence that the Sword had any affect, we take of our Belt of Truth and begin to bludgeon the person with it.
Allow me to give an example, the other day I was talking to a sister in Christ that made a very derogatory and judgmental comment about a young man that told her he was homosexual. She began to recount how she had shared politely the word of God and what it says about that particular sin. When the young man seemingly brushed off the Scriptures, she put away her ‘Sword’ and took off her belt of truth and began to bludgeon him with it. Speaking the truth in love is what we are called to do; that is the proper use of the Word/Sword. But when we put our sword back in its place and take off our belt of truth, that is when it turns into ‘Bashing.’
When the Lord first saved me, He gifted me with the ability to understand how to speak on Creation & Evolution, cults, false doctrines, etc. The problem is that when I would speak with most people, it started out as ‘the truth in love.’ However, if they kept ignoring the truth, the belt came off and there was a beat down coming. I won many arguments with that Belt of Truth, but lost the souls of the people as a result.
What the Lord is showing me clearly is that when you take off your Belt of Truth, there goes your Breastplate of Righteousness, and there goes your Gospel of Peace. You are left spiritually naked and exposed vulnerable to every attack of the enemy. Keep in mind that the point of the spiritual armor is so that we may stand firm. There is nothing to protect us if we have stripped off our God given armor. I dare say that is exactly what the enemy likes for us to do…misuse the armor to leave ourselves vulnerable for attack. If we lose our Breastplate of Righteousness, that makes our heart susceptible to attack. This may allow the enemy an open window to plant tares in our heart. If our Shoes fitted with the Gospel of Peace come off, how can we stand on Holy Ground? Will we not lose our footing and be on our backside?
At times past and present, there have been people that have used things like ‘unity’ to hide from the truth. They used a cloak of unity to keep the truth from coming out about certain sins. This made me even more desirous to take off my Belt of Truth to demolish what I saw clearly as their web of deception. I could even come up with dozens of Scriptures to justify my actions, but ultimately the obvious danger is to think that we (I) are serving God as a spiritual vigilante. James 1:20 warns about this. It says, “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”
We can take of our Belt of Truth and misuse it in order to be personally justified, gain vengeance, exact justice or to expose sin. The question we have to ask ourselves is does this glorify God or just make our flesh feel better?
Truth is good. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth. Jesus calls Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life. Something worth noting however, is that Truth is rarely alone in Scripture. Typically we see it paired as Grace and Truth, mercy and Truth, etc.
In closing, there are a few main points I hope we all take away from this:
1. The belt of truth is to for defense not offense. It is to protect us, not hurt others. Truth should never be used as a weapon.
2. Truth is something to be bought not sold (Prov 23:23). We will never have to sell the Truth. If we are having to make a case for it, and convince someone of it…we are selling it.
3. Just like Hannah, the Lord promised in that first parable in Luke 18, to avenge those that cry to Him night and day…not to others. When we air our hurts and pains to people instead of God, we are damaging the Kingdom and keeping God’s hand from delivering us. This quickly turns to gossip, slander, malicious talk, back-biting and murmuring.
19/04: Divine Appointment
I gotta share this quick Providential Appointment of our God with you before I head back to the US.
Maribeth, our Sister in California that will be leaving for Malawi in June, sent me an email that I received this morning. Here is a portion of it:
"Also, don't know if she called you but I met a friend of yours- a divine
appointment- Sue Nyugen from Savannah, Georgia. Wait till I tell you the whole story. Jesus rocks the house. She is coming with me to Lakeside on Sunday."
This is a lady that we were able to share the Gospel with 2 years ago at our Thrift Stores. We have lost touch with her over the past year and had no way to reach her.
For the past 4-6 weeks I had had her on my heart and began praying for her in my spirit...not sure why the Lord had laid her upon my heart. Now by the Grace of our Sovereign God she ends up in California with my Sister in Christ, Maribeth.
* Divine Appointment meeting Sue
* Divine Appointment meeting Maribeth in California
* Divine Appointment Sue meeting Maribeth in California
I cannot wait until she shares with me the rest of the story. Folks, our God is a Great God! Amen!
Maribeth, our Sister in California that will be leaving for Malawi in June, sent me an email that I received this morning. Here is a portion of it:
"Also, don't know if she called you but I met a friend of yours- a divine
appointment- Sue Nyugen from Savannah, Georgia. Wait till I tell you the whole story. Jesus rocks the house. She is coming with me to Lakeside on Sunday."
This is a lady that we were able to share the Gospel with 2 years ago at our Thrift Stores. We have lost touch with her over the past year and had no way to reach her.
For the past 4-6 weeks I had had her on my heart and began praying for her in my spirit...not sure why the Lord had laid her upon my heart. Now by the Grace of our Sovereign God she ends up in California with my Sister in Christ, Maribeth.
* Divine Appointment meeting Sue
* Divine Appointment meeting Maribeth in California
* Divine Appointment Sue meeting Maribeth in California
I cannot wait until she shares with me the rest of the story. Folks, our God is a Great God! Amen!
