Are missionaries "human", or How can I bless God?

      For several years while I was in Bible College, I had hoped to be a part of Wycliffe Bible Translators when I graduated. Wycliffe's goal is to provide scriptures to every tribe and tongue on the earth. Many such peoples have no written languages, so the translator's first task is to learn the language and then put that language into writing. One time I saw a demonstration in chapel of the process of reducing a language to writing. Also, in the college corridor I came face-to-face with Dayuma (See Amazon.com), the first Auca indian in Ecuador to be saved though the efforts of 5 men, their wives, and Rachel Saint, sister to one of the men. In 1956 those 5 men were martyred by the same Indians whom they had been trying to reach with the gospel.These men and women were involved in the translation process for these indians.

      During my junior year God made it clear to me that Wycliffe and Bible translation was not where He was directing me. However about a year ago I started receiving literature from Wycliffe and requests for support. I wrote to them about how I had been interested in becoming a translator when I was in college, but that God had redirected me. They began emailing me a weekly list of prayer requests and praise reports. I committed myself to praying for these requests for the missionaries, their families, and the many Wycliffe projects. I don't find it easy (never have!) to pray for requests on a list without knowing the people. Many times I have to force myself.  After I "get going", however, my heart softens, and prayer flows more freely.

     Today I was touched as to how "human" each missionary is. There were requests for one who just learned that she has cancer, and another whose newborn died after living only two days. Others live and work in dangerous countries where there is hostility to their presence and their work. Then I was amazed by how many support personnel it takes to keep all of this going--housing, managing, business, computers, pilots, etc.--and how many people have been willing to give of their time and finances as volunteer support personnel. 

     I am impressed. Impressed with God's people who are so willing to lay down their lives for Him in order to bring the Word of God to even small groups of people in backward and dangerous places. I am impressed by their "secret" lives in which they experience fatigue, illness, fear, stress, joy, sorrow, environmental irritations, family--and life. I am impressed by their patience and persistence. By their focus on the King and on the King's business.

     I remember once going into a Christian bookstore just to browse--or "graze", as a friend described it. As I went down the rows of books, I stopped briefly at the section which contained biographies including missionary biographies. The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart: "These folks are a blessing to Me!" He said. My spirit was very touched by His comment. Why do I think He put it that way? Because I believe that He was expressing that these folks were those whose hearts beat with His heart; who shared His vision for the Kingdom of God. I am reminded, however, that we don't have to be missionaries or Christian leaders in order to lay down our lives and bless God. Just be sold-out Christians who obey, "follow the Lamb wherever He goes" and place God and His Kingdom first!! (Revelation 14:4)

Holy Hornets!!

I don’t think that Robin ever exclaimed, “Holy Hornets, Batman!” although it sounds like something he would say. However, the Bible does talk about such critters. Here is what God says to the Israelites as He instructs them concerning their entrance into the land of Canaan which they were to conquer:

“I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you until you have increased, and you inherit the land. Exodus 23:27-29.

Up to this point the Hebrew people had only been delivered OUT of Egypt, now they were to be brought IN to the land which God had promised them. (Deuteronomy 6:23) From this point on they battled on the basis of their inheritance; they owned the Land. There was, however,  a 3-step process to taking it: (1) Inherit (2) Possess (3) Inhabit. God gave them the above promises (see whole passage). Part of that help included His sending His “Holy Hornets” before them to drive out the inhabitants, rout them out of hiding, and chase them down.

This is more than a good story, or history. The taking of the Land is scriptural “type” for the believer today. The Land is a picture of our life in Christ, or of Christ Himself in the believer. He/it belongs to us by the covenant and promises of God. We stand in authority because He is our inheritance and we are His. Our job is not to “try” to own the land; our job is kick out the “inhabitants” of our Land and “possess” it. Yes, there is a battle, and the Hebrews had learned to be warriors. But, the battle was not to become owners of the land, rather to be possessors and inhabitors. God will do His part, whether our “hornets” are demons or habits, He will drive them out as we fight the battle of faith!

Did you ever have to work on Easter Sunday?

     “You are scheduled to work on Easter Sunday!” my manager informed me. I was crushed by this news. As a nurse in a hospital I had been required to work many, many weekends. But, this was different; it was Easter Sunday! It meant I could not be with my husband and children nor with my church family either. I tried to get someone else to trade days with me, but no one was willing. I didn’t blame them!

With a heavy heart I went to work that Sunday morning. The day supervisor told me that I had been “floated” from my regular unit to the ICU. I didn’t mind going to our small ICU. The work load would actually be lighter since I would be assigned only one or two of the easiest patients in the unit because I was not a certified ICU nurse.

The shift change took place in the ICU nurses’ lounge. Report was given and then someone remarked about it being Easter and how sad she was that she couldn’t be with her family. I made a similar remark. Then the nurse in charge said, “Well, I guess Mary can give us our Easter message today since we can’t be in church!” I was in shock, but agreed to do so at lunch.

Amazed—but thankful--I checked with the Lord as I went about my morning nursing care. “What would you have me say to these women?” I asked the Lord. An idea came into my head: since all the nurses in the ICU that day were women, I thought I would recount to them how it came about that a woman became the very first evangelist: Mary Magdalene.

A few of the nurses gathered in the lounge at lunchtime. (Obviously all could not be present as some had to watch the patients!) Before I said anything, one of the nurses asked, “Well, Mary, we’re waiting. What message do you have for us today?”

With simplicity—and brevity—I recounted the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Then I told them how Jesus appeared first to Mary after which He commissioned her to take the good news to the apostles! I well remember one gal’s countenance totally changing as the truth broke in on her. Her face literally became brighter.

I really can’t remember details from any other Easter Sunday in my life. Only this one. Easter came alive for me as this Mary joined that other Mary on Easter Sunday in sharing the Good News with and encouraging fellow women in the Lord.

P.S.—I have to work this Easter, also. Hmmmm……Join me in prayer for one of my patients that I have begun talking to about the Lord. 

Tired of Winter?

     Grey skies, snowy ground, and bare trees: the view from my window. Below freezing temperatures; rolling electrical outages. Bleak scenario. Winter, who needs it? Still, winter in Dallas is better than one northern December I recall when the sun shined only one day out of the whole month. Always something to be grateful for.

     A poem came to mind this morning which gives perspective to the winter season. Especially when you know that the Christian authoress was confined to her bed from the age of 12 and then later became deaf also.

TO BE AT HOME
I am at home with winter.
I understand the thin
Determined trees, and all the calm,
Bare fields and I are kin.

I am at home with winter,
And I am glad to share
The dull gray days of waiting,
The cold, unfruitful air.

All hearts must master silence
Before they learn to sing,
Must be at home with winter
To be at home with spring.
                   --Jane Merchant

(from Think About These Things, Abingdon Press)

My Future...at 73

I am 73 and have a number of "damaged parts". I am not among those Christians who think that God is The Giant Tester in the Sky, something like a miserable Latin teacher I had in high school. God's "tests", they think, are for the purpose of seeing whether or not we pass or fail, or to see how much we can endure. No. God's "tests" are designed to cause us to be strengthened; for us to grow up as we move on in our journey. I have concluded also that aging is God's final reality check. We really don't know how full of pride and independence (from Him) we are until sickness or aging hits us!! Aging is humbling. BUT that can be partly a good thing if it thrusts us into the arms of our loving God who is working toward our becoming what He designed us for now and in our eternal future.

I look forward to my "Future". While there is not a lot of “future” left in this earth life, I look forward to a future of “Heaven” life, whatever that is. I do not believe it is a place to sit around on clouds and play on little harps. I expect to explore the wonders of the universe and beyond. I imagine spending time with Jesus as well as all my relatives and friends who have gone on. I also think about what challenging service that He will have for me to do. And, about having a body free of pain and suffering; a body which is youthful--and limber.

One delightful elderly patient I had was very animated one day when I went into her room. She said she was “going home next week” and was talking excitedly about seeing her former Sunday School students and others whom she had known in the past. It seems that her doctor had told her: "You are going home next week." Apparently this lady had attended a church where they used the term "going home" to refer to dying and going to heaven. In her slightly confused mental state she thought the doctor was telling her that she was going to die the following week. She was anticipating her "home going" with great enthusiasm!!

God reminded me recently that life is a gift. I believe that there are contributions to be made--even if it is only a smile, a word, or prayer for others. Ultimately, God is the loving giver of life and also the one who determines when life will end (Job 1:21). Until then may I be a fruitful branch to Him, even when I definitely don't feel like it!

This life is just the "foyer", not the main building. When my family visited Las Vegas on a ministry trip in the 1970's, my husband wanted our grade-school aged children and I to see the inside of a casino. To my surprise there was a really huge foyer before you reached the gaming floor. And, even more surprising, there were NO chairs or other places to sit in the foyer. The message? Move on to the gambling area; no time or place to sit in the foyer. I thought: Hmmm...Rather like this life. While God gives us places of rest during our journey, still the idea is that this life is not the main event!!! It is only the foyer!

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize!!!!

      Yesterday I was reading about “adoption” and “sonship” in the New Testament. I fully believe that the “adoption” that the Apostle Paul is talking about has far more to do with maturity in the believer than it has to do with being born again. If someone tells me they were “adopted” into God’s family, I tell them, “Not me! I was born into God’s family. I have His DNA!” The “adoption” of which Paul is speaking is not the same as we ordinarily understand it,  i.e. legally making a child (not of your seed) part of your family so that you call him/her your “son/daughter”. While you have legally made such a one to be your child, he/she will never be your child physically or biologically; he does not carry your DNA.

     Paul was speaking of a process of his era whereby a tutor was given the task of educating and preparing a child for an adult life of maturity and responsibility, perhaps in the father’s business. To be “adopted” was, at the appropriate time, to be placed as a mature son in the father’s family. (Read Romans  8:14-25). While suffering is going to occur in this process, it is designed to produce maturity—mature sonship: “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God…even we ourselves [not just creation] groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption [to sonship], the redemption of our body...” (See NKJV and NIV)

      Recent revelations about an internationally known TV station owner’s extended extra-marital affair have caused us to pause and grieve--once again. Many comments could be made. Nevertheless, for us, we must remember to Keep Our Eyes on the Prize! And, seek to grow into mature sons whom God can entrust with His Kingdom business. Ones who will, like Moses and Joseph, choose righteousness and integrity above any sexual or other temporal desire. “By faith Moses…[chose] to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward…” (Hebrews 11:25,26)

                                       LET’S KEEP OUR EYES ON THE PRIZE!!!

Gifts or Maturity

“He [the Lord] made known His ways to Moses; His acts to the children of Israel” (Psalm 103:7)

“ For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest’” (Psalm 95:10,11)

It sounds like in these verses there were two different categories of Israelites whom the psalmist is referring to: (1) those who know God and understand Him and His ways of doing things; (2) those who only know God by His “acts”—or miracles.

The Israelites always had to see miracles in order to believe in the God who had brought them out of slavery!! They didn’t really know God or how He accomplished His purposes. In other words, they thought that the only way God acted, no matter the situation, was by performing a miracle. Miracles were the answer to everything. Sound familiar?

As charismatics we are quick to defend the functioning of the Gifts of the Spirit. I would like to suggest that the Gifts are not the goal in our lives or of those lives to whom we minister. God is forming something. Not just “church”—or especially not “church growth”. But He is after maturity!! One could have 50 Gifts operating through him, and yet be immature! We can see this demonstrated in history. But, even more evidentiary are the letters Paul wrote to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians, chapters 12-14.) He chastises them for having all the Gifts going on yet they do not have love. They were immature and needed to grow up in Christ.

God is raising up His Bride. I don’t believe His desire is for this little bride trotting along behind him like a Japanese wife of the last century. He is forming a mature Bride who can assist in managing His Kingdom. At the same time, in a different metaphor, He is growing mature “sons” who, when they have reached the appropriate maturity under his tutor, will be “adopted” into mature sonship and assist Him in the business of His Kingdom. 

You don’t get that maturity by knowing God only by His “acts”.

(Continued in next blog post)