Willing

Another thing I read about in Through Gates of Splendor was the of the willingness of these wives. Their husband were going to go off into the jungle to reach the cannibal people. You know they had to be afraid of what was going to happen, that's human. But Elisabeth Elliot tells what their whole reaction was.

"The other wives and I talked together one night about the possibility of becoming widows. What would we do? God gave us a peace of heart, and confidence that whatever might happen, His Word would hold. We knew that 'when He putteth forth His sheep, He goeth before them.' God's leading was unmistakable up to this point. Each of us knew when we married our husbands that there would never be any question about who came first- God and His work held first place in each life. It was the condition of true discipleship; it became devastatingly meaningful now."

What an example! They were willing to give their husbands over completely to the Lord. I'm not married, but if the Lord sees fit for me to be someday, may I be as willing as these ladies and let the Lord do whatever He sees fit with my husband.

More thoughts from Through Gates of Splendor

I was reading more of my book and some more things stuck out to me.
There was a chapter about Roger Youderian, one of the men, and how he was struggling with going on for the Lord. He was discouraged and felt that what he was doing with the indians wasn't helping anything. He was struggling with leaving the field and going home. He was having a rough time of it and was praying and begging the Lord to help him. But at the end of this chapter it tells the end of his struggle. Nate Saint came to him and asked him to go with him and the other men deeper into the jungle. And "Roger recognized something of what this decision might mean for him, and the hours spent on his knees with God witnessed agony of soul. But God 'who causes us to triumph,' brought him out of his slough of despond.
'He was cleansed through the Spirit for the task that lay ahead of him,' said Barbara (his wife) afterward, 'and went with a happy, expectant mind and his heart full of joy."
He wrote something in his diary that really made a lot of sense. On December 19 he wrote: "I will die to self. I will begin to ask God to put me in a service of constant circumstances where to live Christ I must die to self. I will be alive unto God. That I may learn to live Him with my heart, mind, soul, and body."

That's what it is all about, dying to self daily and living for God. We are going to go through stuggles but when you are in that trial don't give up. Continue to seek His face. He will come through and be there in the end.

One Step At a Time

While posting on my other blog I thought of somthing. I was reading in my devotions this morning and I found a couple verses that stuck out to me. II Samuel 22:29 says, "For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness."
I try and tell people all the time that the Lord doesn't show us His Will all at one time or else we would be overwhelmed and not want to do it. When we are walking with Him, he shows us His will a little at a time, like a lamp that shines a little in front of you till you take the next step. Well when we take the first step into following God's will the next step will become illumined. This verse reminded me of this, and I realized that if I had known that I would be going to Germany before I started college I don't know if I would have started college when I did. But the Lord always works things out. Two verses down is one of my favorite verses: "As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him." And two more verses down it says, "God is my strength and power: And he maketh my way perfect." What a wonderful verse! When I am following Him and doing His will, my way is perfect! I Love It! Alright that was what I was thinking, there are some other things I want to post about I'm not sure if I will or not.

Lesson From a Missionary

I have been reading Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot and there was a paragraph in there that was really good. Pete Fleming told this to one of his friends.
" Remember the last few verses of I Corinthians 3: 'For all things are yours...and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.' Throughout all our personality we are God's, and since God has made our whole selves, there is great joy in realizing who is our Creator. This realization is to permeate every area and level of life. In appreciation of beauty, mountains, music, poetry, knowledge, people, science- even in the tang of an apple- God is there, to reflect the joy of His presence in the believer who will realize God's purpose in all things."

This was just a reminder to thank God for the small things in life. Everything has a purpose, and God has planned it all. Be aware of everything around you, God created it. Thank the Lord and be amazed with the beauty and complexity of his creation.

Stand in the GAP

I just wanted to post quick, I was thinking of something Mrs. Bullock told us. In Psalms 142:4 it says, " I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul."
We have all heard messages where the preachers have begged for someone to stand in the gap, step up and be the one that God can use. And that is the case; yet, we still need people to stand in the gap. Mrs. Bullock showed us something in a verse that is so familiar to most Christians. Romans 12:2 says, "And be no conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." She told us that one of her teachers had shown them that God wants people to be doing these things. Be Good - following what is right. Be Acceptable - Doing that which is pleasing in the Lord's sight. Be Perfect - Mature in your faith, Complete in Christ. Then you will be one that God can use to stand in the G.A.P.

Some Thoughts from the Psalms

I was looking through my Bible and I love the way the Psalms looks. I have a Life Application Study Bible that I use for my devotions and I just recently started writing my own notes in the sides of the margin. I really don't care for study Bibles that much because to me they are all man's ideas and I don't like to rely on that. So I like to just study myself and use my Strong's Concordance(which I think is the best study tool there is).
So back to what I was saying before I put that little thought in there, I was looking over some of the notes that I put in Psalms as I go through it and I wanted to post some of the things I learned.

Ps.77:1,3,6,11
In verse one it tells us that the writer calls out to the Lord and He heard Him. Isn't it a blessing that we have the same God? We have the promise that He hears us. But in each one of the other verses I mentioned there is some form of the word remember. I was thinking to myself, when we are going through a rough time in our lives and we feel the Lord isn't hearing us or answering us we better sit down somewhere alone and remember the things that He HAS done for us. Think of who He really is and how He has changed your life.

Ps.79:5a
"How long, Lord?"
Wow! I think this comes from everyone of our hearts at some time or another. We become impatient with the Lord because our flesh wants something Now! We need to get it through our heads that it doesn't matter how much we want something now in our timing, God isn't going to let it happen until it is His timing. We must learn to wait.

Ps.63:1
"Oh God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water it."
David learned something that we need to learn too! He know that there was nothing in this world that could satisfy his soul like time with God. Why not do it in the morning? If you wake up in the morning most people want a drink and if you don't drink during the day you will become dehydrated and feel terrible. So it is with our time with Him. If we wait till later to spend time with Him we become spiritually dehydrated and feel like something is wrong. I know I have had times at school where things got all a wreck and my alarm didn't go off so my schedule(I really like those!) was messed up and I didn't have time to spend with the Lord like I normally do. And because I am used to reading His Word and spending time with Him early in the morning I couldn't figure out why I had this void and this strange feeling, like something wasn't quite right. Then in the afternoon I would remember that I hadn't finished my devotions so I would do them and the Lord would show me things in great abundance from His Word. Don't neglect your time with Him and do it early before you become spiritually "dehydrated".

Some Quotes from a Teaching Book

I wanted to go through the one book that I read for Mrs. Bullock's class and put some of the quotes on here. The book is Mentoring and Modeling Developing the Next Generation by Dr. John Goetsch and Dr. Mark Rasmussen.

"Teachers of God's Word are unique. They are obligated to make a difference in the lives of the learners. Their teaching should have impact. They can never be content with status-quo. They must continually engage learners in a quest for an ever-deeper understanding of and relationship with God. Teachers of the Word are uneasy with a Christianity of ease and success, or with faith that is culturally limited or anemic. Their role is to communicate undiluted, life-transforming principles. They are not content with anything less than to challenge the learner growth. To teach Scripture is to be obliged to nurture lives that are increasingly conformed to the image of Christ."

"It is a sin to do less than our best." - Dr. Bob Jones Sr.

"God has called us, not to model perfection, but to model redemption. We are to be living demonstrations, not of how good we are, but of how good God is."

"Our followers can more readily identify with our failures then they can with out successes. So admit the failure and grow from it in such a way as to communicate a consistent walk with the Lord."

"Maybe some hot tears from our eyes, fueled by a love in our soul, would help to lead some kids in the right direction today."

"As mentors we are trying to facilitate change, growth, and progress, but we have to have an idea of what the finished product is going to look like."

"Too often, they never become anything great for God because we don't expect them to."

"The effective Christian communicator should exhibit the joy of the Lord both in his person and in his teaching."

"Those in our care need to see us always telling the truth, living a life of purity, being willing to be a servant, and truly giving our all to the Master."

"It is our job to inspire vision as to what others can do for the cause of the Lord. we truly are our brother's keeper, but we are also his mentor and model."

"Dr. Bob Jones Sr. said, 'You will be someday what you are now becoming.' We ought to ask ourselves, What are we helping those children to become whom God had placed under our watch care?"

"Through the process of mentoring, we have the privilege of writing history of the future."

"The ultimate success of my life will not be judged by the number of those who admire me for my accomplishments, but by the number of those who attribute their wholeness to my love for them- by the number of those who have seen their true beauty and worth in my eyes."