What makes some men great? While walking through the ongoing archeological dig of David's Palace in the City of David - Jerusalem - my mind was drawn to these passages and could not escape from these thoughts: Why is David's legacy still remembered? And what went wrong with the kings after him? What happened before David? The Jewish people, called Hebrews at the time, were a theocracy, ruled by God. Yet the people wanted a physical, human king, someone tangible to be like the other nations around them. Perhaps, like we try to find a tangible substitute for God in our lives. God granted the request with specific instructions. Hence Israel chose Saul, who brings us to David anointed to be king after Saul. "Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you ... Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” 1 Sam 7:4-9
Long before Israel had kings, Moses wrote God's guidelines for them. Long ahead of time, God knew what would be the downfall of their human leaders. This passage never before stood out to me until reading through the legacies of Israel and Judah's kings that descend from David. A common theme is the idolatry brought in from foreign nations, often by marrying foreigners, or the love for glory, recognition, power or money. “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. ...Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold." Deut 7: 14-17 "And {God's Law} shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel. "Deut 7:18-20 God never left His people without guidance, but time and time again they would shun Him, turn to idolatry, and face years of hardships personally and internationally. All three of these commands Israel and Judah would fail to obey. Since we, however, are not kings, can we not be like David? Just as God gave guidance and promises to the kings, so also does He love, provide, instruct, reprove, and protect His children today. We have been given a treasure in Scripture, letters from One who unconditionally loves us and wants what is best for us. Let it be out of trust in who God is that we seek to know and walk in His Word. In just one generation we see the heartaches David experienced within his own family. Between the many wives and sons and daughters, strife was brought into his home with sin {2 Sam 12, 13, 18}. How much tragedy could he have avoided by obeying the commands given him - the truths he proclaimed as a youth? The lineage that follows only spread the foreign idolatry, conspiring, tributes, and wickedness. It is easier to pick out history's failures, but this is applicable to today. Will those who come behind us find us faithful? So perhaps David's fame is due to his many psalms, or credited to the legendary stories of his valor, but I think it is because of the relationship he had following God. His heart was poured out before his Creator whom he loved and sought out.
This - David's submission to and trust in God's Word - this was his strength. This is greatness. "Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, 'Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that You have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of Your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to Your own heart, You have brought about all this greatness, to make Your servant know it. Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, and there is no God besides You..." 2 Sam 7: 18-22 I remember watching the green fields of rice grow more distant with watery eyes as the plane left Guyana over a year ago. I hoped - but did not expect to ever return to the country that opened my eyes in so many ways to seeing the body of Christ in another place and that challenged me to be ready always to give an answer for the hope that is in us. My trip to Guyana in January 2015 with Medical Missions Outreach was my very first missions trip, and to say that it opened my eyes would be an understatement. To be - for a short time - even a small part of what the Lord is doing there left a great impression on my mind. While I have had the opportunity to travel to a couple other countries since then, Guyana and MMO still held a special place in my heart. As we returned this summer to serve again with the Yankana family and Bible Baptist Church in Grove, it was a exciting to see how the church is continuing to minister. Below is video compiling some video clips from the week and pictures. Sunday, we enjoyed worshipping with Pastor Yankana and Bible Baptist Church. The children sang so enthusiastically in Sunday School and were a great blessing! So many of the church members were served so faithfully helping set up and tear down clinic, driving the buses throughout the week, and preparing meals. We were thankful to have the opportunity to serve alongside them.
During the week, I worked in the Lab. The clinics are set up with 1) Registration 2) Triage 3) Seeing a Provider 4) Lab if necessary and 5) Evangelism while the pharmacy fills prescriptions for each patient. We were also excited to have the Vision Clinic this year! With our reading charts and the auto-refractors their glasses were very popular among the patients. It is usually a great draw to the clinic. Lack of clear vision is a great detriment for many people especially who work with their hands, and many patients were excited to be able to read again. Some things the Lord has kept on my mind even as I returned home was the importance of being obedient to the Spirit - not because we feel adequate but because Christ wants a willing heart. Throughout the week, I can be fairly comfortable and even confident cleaning ears, taking blood pressure, and dressing wounds. Likewise, as Christians, we are to study to by approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. In a society of political correctness to the point it is stifling, it is easy to slip into the mindset that our statements and remarks in public must be general, generic, and non-controversial or in other words remove all references to our God. While is usually profits little to debate, it is appropriate to give Him honor and praise! If we are not willing to speak of the hope that we have, who will? There are lots of other voices loudly proclaiming false hope; may we be bold to share the life we have been given! The Medical Clinic:Registration and Triage: Providing wound care and working in the Lab... These flyers and posters where made weeks before we came, to tell the community about the clinic! the whole team helps with preparing medications such as vitamins for children and adults when it rains, it pours! The providers: a team of doctors and nurses Sharing the Good News! The Vision Clinic:The People:Between playing cricket on the street, and climbing trees, these boys were excellent at the flips! The Communities:These are just a few of the Mandirs and Mosques we regularly passed, representing the Hindu and Islamic strongholds in the country. Georgetown:Food & Fun:Everything always tasted delicious: plantains, curry chicken, star fruit... but the sloth was definitely at the top our list of cool things!
"Rend your hearts and not your garments."... Joel 2:13 I have to admit, it has been a long time since I last read Joel. But since reading this short book last week, this one verse has replayed in my mind over and over... What does it mean to rend your heart - practically? It is contrasted to tearing your clothes which is often mentioned in Scripture as a sign of intense grief or anguish usually in response to a loved one's death or God's judgement on the nation of Israel. The book of Joel was likely written after the children of God returned from a time of exile in Babylon to the land of Israel. The people were then faced with a famine due to locusts and God calls His people to repent and return to the Lord, for in the Day of the Lord He will bring deliverance and judgement to the nations and bless His people with His Spirit. “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, In other verses it is compared to circumcision. This is an even more tangible, painful, obvious picture. It is sometimes easy for me to slip into thinking that repentance is only necessary for salvation, or perhaps, we only take time to cry out to the Lord after a special conference or camp, but it should be a regular part of our worship to the Lord. A question once asked by a pastor still rings in my mind, "When was the last time you cried over your sin?" This does not mean you have to cry to be sincere, but when is the last time we at least thought seriously about our sin? A Christian imprisoned for his faith once asked his wife to please not cry for him but cry only over sin. I am convicted to think how often we are desensitized to sin. For what are we ever truly remorseful? Or can we dismiss the memory of guilt by turning on the radio on the way home from work, can we sever the conscience enough with entertainment, can we accept profanity in the name of jest? We are created as new creatures and given a new love for our Savior, yet we cannot experience growth in our walk with Him and continue as lovers of the world living for the world's acceptance or approval. The two cannot coexist. To repent requires humility - which is definitely not a natural response. So do we truly love the Lord? enough to tear off the sin, enough to forsake it completely, enough to remove it from our life, enough to cut it out? I am afraid we are too often lovers of pleasure instead of daily examining our thoughts, reflecting on our attitudes, accepting responsibility for our actions, and choosing do what is right - as painful as it may be. And when {not "if"} temptation does rear its ugly head, flee! And when we fall into sin, repent! We must realize the pain Christ suffered for our sin and how it grieves his heart when we choose to continue to walk therein. ... What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, The purpose of rending or tearing our hearts in humility before the Lord is to love Him more fully. It is an inward, heartfelt, intentional action that God desires and not a show of knowledge or appearance of fake sincerity. It is not visible for others to see, but is a beautiful sight in God's eyes. ... Circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. As nursing students.... we write patient care plans. During sophomore year these were terribly overwhelming and quickly became one of our least favorite tasks, not for their lack of value but for the great time investment required to make one. Now, they make much more sense, thankfully :) While many diagnoses are the same for many patients, each care plan is individualized. Each plan takes into account a patient's specific conditions, medications, limitations, and strengths. My patient may never see my care plan, but I am responsible to implement it. The patient's outcome is based on their compliance with the care and treatments provided. Ultimately, we cannot do anything as healthcare providers without what we call "informed consent" which can be revoked by the patient at any point. A good doctor will use all his resources available to provide the best care and prescribe accurately. The plan of care may include pain relief medications after surgery, ice to reduce swelling, while also prescribing physical therapy, infusions, or nauseating liquids before a scan. Some things are pleasant and others not so much, but all are necessary. The best care plan usually includes both. While sitting in chapel one day, I had a "light bulb" moment. I am definitely a visual learner, and object lessons are my favorite. All of the sudden, I thought "this is like God's plan for us!" He is always doing what is best for me, but I must choose to submit. I have to give my consent - put my life in the care of my Father and take one day at a time. I don't know all that his plan includes yet, but have to trust that everything is for my good and His glory. God's Care PlanToday we celebrate Easter, God's greatest plan - the salvation of His people! His power over death was seen in His resurrection from the grave. It is finished! Everyday, this same power is working in and through us for our sanctification. Here is the breakdown in a care plan format... it is just the way my brain is wired these days :) Assessment:
Diagnoses:
Planning the goal & expected outcomes: this is the ultimate purpose and just some of the things the Lord wants and wills for us! {Micah 6:8}
Interventions: As for God, His way is perfect {Ps 18:30}
Evaluation: May we run the race well!
Rationale & Source: God's Word
~ God has not changed; MY plans might, but He is still the same. His perspective make sense~
and this... is what it actually looks like most of the time when I write care plans... :) Today is special to me because it is a reminder to me of God's unconditional grace and love. 14 years ago today, I was an especially strong-willed, deeply convicted 6 year old little girl whose heart was hard and strongly resisting the Holy Spirit. The gospel was clear in my mind, but far from my heart. All the facts, I could have quoted back to you. I understood that I was a sinner, but I enjoyed making my own decisions! Listening to the song "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" in children's church, my heart would beat faster and harder knowing I couldn't even sing the words because I had put up a wall against submission. I waited for the end of every service when the teachers would open an invitation and hope it would pass quickly. Each time they would invite us to talk with a teacher in the back or raise our hand if we had questions about accepting Christ as our personal Savior, and each time I refused to budge because I did not want anyone to tell me what to do. I knew that I just needed to pray and call out to my God in repentance, but I also knew no one could force me. It became an issue of control. When I could hardly fight it anymore, the Lord extended mercy once again on a Saturday afternoon. Halfway through the AWANA games where a mess of hundreds of kids were seated on a cramped gym floor with all their parents in the bleachers listening, a young guy shared the gospel once again. I remember nothing about him or what he said; I had heard it all before, but I remember his closing. The Lord knew my stubborn heart and had the speaker extend an invitation saying we did not have to raise a hand or talk to anyone and could pray right where we were seated. I remember listening intently - waiting in anticipation for these words. Finally, I released control! I prayed, not perfectly, but broken and repentant. Such a peace washed over me! Christ's sacrifice was sufficient to wash away all my sins. His power was sufficient to conquer death and give me eternal life. His blood was sufficient to satisfy God's wrath. And just as He was sufficient in my salvation, I can trust HIM to be sufficient everyday. This is SO hard to live out, but I want to trust Him. What trust will look like today is a moment by moment choice. He is sufficient to satisfy my heart, to sustain, and to give strength for tomorrow. When I returned to children's church that next Sunday, I remember being so excited so sing. With confidence as God's child, I had decided to follow Jesus! The song might be trite to some but is a reminder to me that following Him is an adventure. I do not know what the future holds - whatever it is, no turning back. I have decided to follow Jesus; Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and he shall bring it to pass. {Ps 37:5}
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ {Phil 1:6} Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. {2 Pet 1:3} Here is a photo journal of sorts for my week in Honduras with Medical Mission Outreach. It was such a blessing to see how God is working there! The ministry of Team Honduras lead by missionaries Matt & Dallita Goins, Jon and Sarah Stammen, and Mark and Amy Coats in incredible. Their humility, dedication, and love for Jesus radiates in all that they do. Thank you for your prayers and support! Iglesia Bautista El FaroPreparing meds at the church before clinic starts! El Progresso, YoroThe Medical ClinicThe team's reaction when they saw the early morning line as we drove up for the first day of clinic! During the four days of clinic we treated 3,618 patients. For the first time, we ran out of so many medicines we had to close clinic a few hours early on the last day. The Lord blessed greatly and even brought the most patients on the rainy day! Over 70 members of Iglesia Bautista El Faro volunteering during the week serving as translators, patient guides, registration, and did the evangelism. Triage: takes blood pressures, pulses, chief complaint, and oxygen saturation. 10 Doctors and nurses served as providers; they send patients to our lab, diagnose, and prescribe. As I saw patients come through the clinic one after another, something struck me. So many did not appear to be sick; on the outside they were smiling, carrying their children, feeding a baby, and talking amongst themselves. Granted some had obvious wounds and bandages or limps and crutches, but at a glance most seem to be doing fine. I was convicted that this is often how I can view people around me. I can dismiss the urge to talk to someone, get distracted by my phone, forget about someone sitting beside me because they seem ok. No one is dying right? Sure, if there was an emergency I would help, but they're ok; or are they? Then, once the young and older patients sit down beside you and tell you about their chronic pain since an accident 5 years ago, or the problems since delivering her last child 36 years ago, or the injury at work 2 months ago, or the inability to eat for the sake of pain, or the sudden chest pain that will not go away anymore - the seemingly normal looking patient becomes complicated. Every person has a story. While we saw many of the same diagnoses, each life has it's unique struggles; we sometimes had to dig with our questions to find the root of the complications and untreated diseases. Many patients had parasites, and all were treated for parasites. The parasites are like sin and sneak in with contaminated water using all the food's nutrients and starving the body. They grow and must be rooted out. While we treated the illnesses we could, it was a constant reminder of their greatest need, Jesus Christ. This is why we do clinics - to give them real hope. But it is often only after someone knows that you care and are listening that we can introduce them to the Healer of their sins, the One who extends to us a gift of eternal life because of His payment for our sins. As I go home, I pray I will not miss opportunities God gives to introduce others to my Father. May we live redeeming the time, be sensitive to the Spirit, and be prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within us Members from the church sat down with each patient to pray for them, and explain the gospel. MMO is careful to make sure the patients hear it in their own language from someone they can follow up with afterward in the local church. This builds a foundation for relationships with new believers. We praise the Lord for 51 who accepted Christ! While the patients heard the gospel, the pharmacy prepares the prescriptions. Here is a video I pieced together, I am not a videographer! But it should at least give you an glimpse of the week and show what the clinic days are like :) The Vision ClinicSo many patients came for the vision clinic. Many of them receiving glasses for the first time. First: they read the eye charts on the wall and either wait on the doctor if they have cataracts or pterygiums or wait for the autorefractors. After receiving a prescription, the volunteers look for a pair of reading glasses or a close prescription from the donated glasses. It is a lengthy process and hard work, but many were very thankful to see clearly again! One little boy came having injured his eye a week prior to have the doctor find a metal shard in his eye. Instead of losing his sight in that eye, it is likely it will heal with the eye drops. Other AdventuresBesides working at the clinic, we were blessed to meet all the children at Hope of Honduras Children's Home. It is an incredible ministry with 18 children with contagious joy. The older kids were a huge help at the clinic too and several helped as translators. We enjoyed playing soccer, and jumping on the trampoline, and basketball with them. On the last day the whole team took a fieldtrip to the waterfall. It was absolutely breathtaking! So majestic and powerful. Some of the team went cave exploring and diving while some took the kids ziplining. It was great fun! Also pictured are a few of the exciting critters we met during the week :) As I flew home a beautiful array of clouds passed below. Fluffy peaks, wispy trails, golden crowns, and frosty shades of blue, and a hundred shades of white and pink as the sun reflected off a million suspended water droplets. It was a gorgeous sight and always changing with the wind the farther we flew. It is a sight we can never appreciate from the ground below. I thought of it like a picture of God's perspective. He sees an entire other side of our lives. He sees the beginning and the end. He sees the rain to come and the next sunrise. He holds blessings in store and is orchestrating tomorrow. Without going to Honduras, I would have never seen how He was working in the believers there, but God saw. He is working in Guyana, in the Middle East, in China, and so many places far from our limited sight. As I think about graduation and the future, I look up and just see clouds. From my perspective it is all still gray. I have hopes and dreams and do not want to waist any time in serving the Lord, but I wait on His direction and pray. I do not wait idly but trusting. I can trust Him who made all things, whose thoughts are above mine, whose ways are above the heavens.
Ps 37:5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and he shall bring it to pass. Day 1: Travel After traveling with Medical Missions Outreach in January to Guyana, I was very excited to go this time to the Dominican Republic for another week of clinics this summer! We flew into Santo Domingo with 50+ other team members. With such a large team of 105 people and many of us from all over the country, we had to travel in shifts! Flying over the water was a brilliant turquoise and the coastline rocky. The countryside has many rice and sugar fields. During the week we all traveled in buses which had great windows to soak in the views and if you were lucky enough, intermittent wi-fi to keep family back home updated :) I have never seen so many motorcycles or so many people riding together on one. Our team leaders and founders of Medical Missions Outreach: Bradley and Kelleigh Edmondson We stayed in the Score International Facilities where we also enjoyed our meals. Day 2 :Making visits In the morning we visited the Fundacion Pasitos de Jesus Girl's Care Home. There are 53 girls currently in the home learning that they are loved by a Heavenly Father and that they are special because God made them. Many of these girls were orphaned, abused, or rescued from the streets. Even though we didn't share the same language, we could paint water-colors together! Below is Carmen and Jessica who have been in the home for 10 years and now help take care of the younger girls. Their singing was a blessing! Another ministry we were able to visit was the Lily House. This is a home for women getting off the street and out of prostitution. It is a 3 yr program designed to teach the women a trade and how to run their own business. They provide a daycare for the women's children and a workshop for the ladies to work in. On the second story were several shops: a bakery, nail and massage salon, and jewelry and craft shop. The ministry's goal is to be self-sustaining. Currently they praise the Lord for 11 women working in these shops! Later in the week we visited a similar ministry called Mercy Workshop. In both of the ministries, money from their sales goes to support the women directly. The Mercy Safe House is pictured below where construction has begun to provide a refuge for some women in dangerous situations. We spent the afternoon walking through 4 different villages passing out invitations to the clinic. Below is the village of La Lamo, where there is currently a national pastor starting a church with only one believer. Since this village was one of the closest to the clinic, we prayed that he may be able to follow up with the many who came. Day 3: Flyers Baseball is a huge sport in the DR as many major league players have their origins here. This allows a great opportunity for ministries here to reach out to the youth with sports. We enjoyed a pick-up game of baseball and basketball before going out to pass out flyers again in the afternoon. Not sharing a language didn't stop anyone - everyone understands what to do with the ball! This afternoon we drove out to a more remote village. I learned how to say "Free clinic for all of your family" in Spanish "Clinica gratis todos familias." The people were always kind enough to accept the flyer and smile at my effort to pronounce the phrase :) By the time we made a loop through the whole village every child was following us eagerly collecting our invitations and chanting for more chewing gum! Meanwhile, half of the team was back preparing medications and vitamins for the week. They made little bags of a month's supply of ibuprofen, Tylenol, allergy medications to name a few. These are later labeled with directions in Spanish for administering. Day 4: Church Because the team was so large, we split into 4 groups for Sunday morning and visited separate missionaries and national pastors' church plants. Mom and I attended Iglesia Bautista Cristianain where we enjoyed worshiping with the believers there! A deacon welcomed us into Sunday school and with the help of 2 team members who interpreted for us, we studied 1 Peter 4 together. The singing and message from Matthew 25 were encouraging, and the people most welcoming! Day 5 : Clinic The Lord truly answered prayers in allowing me to go to clinic Monday. I wasn't feeling well all Sunday night, but after a few hours of sleep the Lord gave me the strength enough to sit up and walk without aches! When we arrived at Quisqueya Multi Uso at 7:30 in the morning we were excited to find a line already outside the building. We set up clinic as fast as we could, dividing the open air building into 3 sections for dental, vision, and medical. Team members worked in triage, lab, as providers, pharmacy, vision, patient assistance, and many Score employees and church members volunteered as interpreters and were responsible for evangelism. The main goal of doing the clinic is for the people who come to hear the gospel in their own language, and the other is to expose as many people as possible to the mission field. Many, if not half, of the team members are not medical at all, and many others are students. To be on the team one simply needs to be flexible to work wherever needed! I was on student rotations which meant helping in a different part of the clinic each day. I really appreciated getting to see how each part works together while still getting to interact with the patients and hear their stories. Monday we had the opportunity to pray with one patient who was a Christian and 3 yr old daughter had passed away 6 months ago. The fellowship that we can share as believers in Christ despite a different language and culture is sweet. We praised the Lord for 732 patients the first day and 13 that accepted Christ. "No Medicine Can Cure Sin" Triage: where we take blood pressure, pulse, chief complaint, name, age, and address for follow-up. Day 6 : ClinicTuesday, I was so thankful to be feeling much better! When we showed up, apparently the word had gotten around about the vision clinic because the line was around the building! I was working with the providers, and enjoyed the chance to talk with patients. Our interpreters were so faithful and patient with us! This was our busiest day - seeing 1,162 patients! Lab: where we did blood glucose, urinalysis, pregnancy test, ear lavage, and breathing treatments. Pharmacy: every patient received vitamins, and a toothbrush as well as any other medication prescribed to them by the provider from antibiotics to anti-hypertensives. Day 7 : ClinicThe lines in the morning stayed consistent. The Dental team had 2 dentist and 2 chairs so their waiting list quickly filled up! They worked non-stop and were able to see about 40 patients a day doing extractions, fillings, and cleanings. The Vision team saw approximately 1500 patients during the week - the most vision has ever had! Beginning in January of 2016 all MMO trips will have a vision team with the medical clinic. We saw several patients with Pterygium which is a benign eye growth that causes blindness - much more common in developing countries while rare in the US. While there is no cure, patients can prevent further growth of the Pterygium by wearing sunglasses anytime they are outdoors. It is amazing that with a simple pair of sunglasses, we can help a patient prevent blindness. We also matched patients with prescription glasses and reading glasses thanks to two auto-refractors. One gentleman who received a pair of glasses was 104 years old; after putting them on he exclaimed "Oo-la-la!" :) Mom worked in the vision clinic all week and learned more than I will ever know about astigmatisms and prescriptions! Today we saw another 1,003 patients. Day 8 : ClinicOur last day of clinic: we were so excited to finish strong. By the end of the day we had seen over 3,870 patients and seen at least 77 accepted Christ after hearing the gospel. Day 9 : Santo DomingoOur team split up: one group going to white water rafting and another sight-seeing. Downtown Santo Domingo had several historical sights that we walked around including the burial place of Christopher Columbus, the oldest Cathedral built in the Americas, and Christopher Columbus's son's home.
It is a tradition of mine, if I go to the beach I build a sandcastle! Since building sandcastles last weekend, I have been thinking about the verses in Matthew where Christ tells his disciples to not build houses on sand but on rock. Actually, I thought first of the children's song (humming "the rains came down, and the floods came up... and the house on the sand fell flat!") while I was building these sandcastles and parts were crumbling.
For this reason we built the sand castles behind a fallen palm tree as far away from the water as possible. And the tide still washed it away overnight. When we came back the second day, all that remained were lumps of seaweed in its place. When we hear Biblical truths, it is easy to agree with the principles that are already a part of my life, and perhaps dismiss the ones that are not. Having been recently reading the book Radical, Platt talks about blind spots - areas of our life where we think we are ok or choose to ignore. For myself, it can be easy to think everything is going fine, but I have to ask myself what areas am I not seeing. Am I really taking God's Word and obeying it - all of it? Platt challenges us to be "radically" sold out meaning following Christ with everything, in every area of our life. So does this mean I am supposed to be preaching all the time or every sentence I speak must be quoting Scripture? No, but God wants me to evaluate every area of my life though the truths of His Word. Hearing the truth at church, chapel, Sunday School, discipleship groups, and Bible studies is passive; obeying is active. If I am only piling up knowledge, it is as good as a sand. If I am not seeking the Lord, digging into His Word to find direction and guidance for life every day it is only a matter of time before the waves come. In James 1:22-25, the Lord says,
"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks in the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, he will be blessed in his doing." Am I walking away from the mirror even after doing my devotions? Or am I dwelling on the truths and praying the Lord would show me ways to apply them? Jam 4:17 says "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." When God gave Saul a mission in 1 Sam. 15:17-23, he listened to part of the command and chose to finish the story his own way to cover his tracks with a sacrifice. Makes me think of my mom telling my "partial obedience is disobedience." Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel, and the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices. As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.” We have been given the inspired Word of God - most of us more than one copy. I do not want to dismiss any of it; it is a treasure! We often wonder what God's will is... read it! Ex 19:5-6 … if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests ,and a holy nation… Ex 15: 26 If thou wilt diligently hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee. Jn. 9:41 Jesus said unto them {Pharisees}, if ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. We have truth, now what are we going to do about it? What does a life lived out for Christ look like? I liked this quote by Elisabeth Eliot in the last chapter of Radical, "Jim's aim was to know God. His course, obedience - the only course that could lead to the fulfillment of his aim. His end was what some would call an extraordinary death, although in facing death he had quietly pointed out that many have died because of obedience to God. He and the other men with whom he died were hailed as heroes, 'martyrs.' I do not approve. Nor would they have approved. Is the distinction between living for Christ and dying for Him, after all, so great? Is not the second the logical conclusion of the first? Furthermore, to live for God is to die 'daily' as the apostle Paul put it. It is to lose everything that we may gain Christ. It is in thus laying down our lives that we find them." I obviously still need to hear these truths again; I don't think it was coincidence that this week's Sunday School lesson and the evening service both touched on some of these passages and obedience in response to God's Word. We discussed being a hearer and doer of the Word. In the parable for the sower, the seed was the same in each circumstance. The difference was the response or the soil. What kind of hearer am I? Am I sacrificing a deeper relationship with my Heavenly Father because by devotions are choked out by weeds otherwise known as Facebook, Pinterest, lack of sleep, or simply being too busy? Is my heart tender to hear the Word preached, or do I spend time distracted during the service and let birds steal away the seed? Hearing involves paying attention and meditation. What catches my attention or motivates me to pay attention to God's Word? Is hearing important then? YES, Jesus tells the disciples to "take heed therefore how he hear…" Lk. 8:18. Meditation is then choosing to listen to God. Paul tells us to take every thought captive unto Christ, 2 Cor. 10:5. Finally, obedience is our response to what we have heard. 1 John 3:16-24 tells us that obedience is evidence of love with Christ as the ultimate example of obedience to the Father and love for His people by giving His life for us. Even if I could gain all the knowledge possible and listen to a lifetime of sermons and have not love, I am nothing. (1 Cor. 13) If I have the truth and do not love others enough to share it with them, what am I? The priest and Levite knew the Scriptures better than most anyone in Israel; they had piled castles of knowledge high but it proved to be a sandy foundation. When they passed the Jew left for dead on the side of the road, they did not take action. They read God's Word but their religion did not change their actions. 1 John 3:18 "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." Ezekiel 33:31-32 "And they come unto thee… and sit before thee as My people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth show much love, but their heart goeth after covetousness. And lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but do them not." May this not be the testimony of us today. Be doers of the Word and not hearers only. "The wise man built his house upon the Rock,… and the house on the Rock stood firm!" |
AuthorI will be the first to admit that I am not a writer, but have a sincere aspiration to articulate Truth with grace, in love, seasoned with salt. Here is a journal of sorts, or photo documentations of a journey - one currently around the world in Papua New Guinea working at the Kunai Health Center. Thanks for visiting and your support! Archives
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