This week has been a challenging week. With a couple of late nights always followed by early mornings. I was tired from about 5 o'clock Monday afternoon until I went to bed last night. I was having a hard time keeping up with this large team. The thing is, they were the oldest team that I have worked with. While there were many young and middle aged, there were several in their 70's and one, at least that was 80.
While the work went on this week, some of the older people were being worn down by the physical nature of construction work here. Everything is done by hand. They completed a pad for a play area and re dug the footers and poured them for the last of the first floor classrooms and the school office. They built columns and a cabinet and many smaller projects. It was a week of hard work.
The thing that stood out to me though was one man on the team. He is 80 years old, has had major heart surgery and both knees replaced. There were times when he would sit in a chair on the job sight and fall asleep. One day, he was shoveling sand into buckets for cement and could not stand so he sat in the chair and shoveled, taking about twice as long as it took anyone else.
He has been faithfully coming to Guatemala for 14 years, working in Zapote and Membrial. I was wondering when do you say enough? By the end of the day, he could barely get in the van with his surgically repaired knees. What keeps him coming back when obviously he does not have the stamina for the work?
On Friday, I got to drive him along with about or 9 others out to Zapote without any other members of the Church team. While at the school in Zapote, which this man helped build, I got a better picture of his motivation. He sponsors 6 children in the school and knows them all. He has been part of the work in that village since it began. While he was there, each of the kids was pulled out of class and brought to him. He had gifts and pictures for them. He also told them about his family and thanked them for their letters to him. he showed them the heart of a grandfather for the grandkids that he did not get to see often enough. His love and concern for them was genuine.
The reason that he keeps coming is because it does not matter how old you are. When we allow God to give us love for people, we love until there is nothing left of us. He may not be able to do all that he once did but he showed the love of Jesus as well as I am guessing anybody could. He is not going to quit demonstrating God's love to these children until he has no breath. Of this I am convinced so I just want to say "Thank You Dale for teaching me a valuable lesson this week."
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Family of God
Yesterday the first team of the year arrived. It is always difficult when a team comes to get to know people quickly. This team is hard for me because they are the one that has been working longest with the Church here and over that last 13 years, their relationships have been cemented. They have been coming to work with Tono and Merari for many years. I was feeling like the outsider as we began the day.
When we went to Church this morning, the presence of God was incredible during worship. He spoke to me about family and the unity of the body of believers. I went along very well with a chapter in a book titled "Kisses From A Good God" by Paul Manwaring. I was reminded that family and relationship are God's idea. He created them and is bringing us into a family for all eternity.
As I look toward the coming week, I am excited. Tomorrow we will start by moving a lot of dirt and getting the ground ready to form and pour a concrete drive and parking area at the school. It may not sound like a great day but I am getting to do it with family. I do not know them well yet but I know that in a week, they will be brothers and sisters living in a relationship that is eternal. My back will be sore but my family will have grown by 29.
I am so grateful that God has been showing me recently how connected we really are as the body of Christ. He is making us into one united whole. Wherever He leads and whoever is there, I have a family. I love the people back home and I miss hanging around with them when I am not there but God has really shown me how He provides for all of our needs, even the need for family.
If you would like to contribute to my expenses for the ministry in Guatemala, you can do so by mailing a check to:
My Father's House of Prayer
C/O Guatemala Missions
P.O. Box 679
Morris, IL 60450
Checks can be made out to MFHOP.
When we went to Church this morning, the presence of God was incredible during worship. He spoke to me about family and the unity of the body of believers. I went along very well with a chapter in a book titled "Kisses From A Good God" by Paul Manwaring. I was reminded that family and relationship are God's idea. He created them and is bringing us into a family for all eternity.
As I look toward the coming week, I am excited. Tomorrow we will start by moving a lot of dirt and getting the ground ready to form and pour a concrete drive and parking area at the school. It may not sound like a great day but I am getting to do it with family. I do not know them well yet but I know that in a week, they will be brothers and sisters living in a relationship that is eternal. My back will be sore but my family will have grown by 29.
I am so grateful that God has been showing me recently how connected we really are as the body of Christ. He is making us into one united whole. Wherever He leads and whoever is there, I have a family. I love the people back home and I miss hanging around with them when I am not there but God has really shown me how He provides for all of our needs, even the need for family.
If you would like to contribute to my expenses for the ministry in Guatemala, you can do so by mailing a check to:
My Father's House of Prayer
C/O Guatemala Missions
P.O. Box 679
Morris, IL 60450
Checks can be made out to MFHOP.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Chasing Happiness
When I was a young man, I chased after many things to make me happy. I thought more money, another party, more alcohol, vacations or many other things would finally give me the happiness that I was searching for. I was always chasing after something that was just out of my grasp. I wondered if it was just an illusion that some people had convinced themselves that they had achieved.
I went to Church as I was growing up. I continued to go even in the midst of my ungodly lifestyle because it was expected and that is what respectable people did. While I was sitting there with blurred vision smelling like smoke and hung over from the night before, I was not finding life. I saw rules for living but not life. I rejected the Church even though, by appearance, I was part of it.
One day I clearly heard God saying that I had rejected systems and rules that people had instilled in me but I had not even given Him a chance. I had never let my life be controlled by a relationship with Him. I was 21 years old and at that same time, a guy that I knew invited me to a College age Bibles Study. That was the beginning of a life transformation that is continuing today
Since that time, I have come to learn that happiness is found first in a relationship with Jesus and then in fellowship with others. He created us for both. Without Jesus, our relationships have a self serving purpose. When He becomes the center of our life, we can love and serve others without fear or hesitation. Our circumstances become secondary to our purpose. We are here to love. When we love God and others, our lives are full whether we have money, health or any other thing that the world values.
Are you happy today? Do you have joy that persists regardless of circumstances? Have you given Jesus the opportunity to lead your life or does He just get to make occasional suggestions? If you are tired of playing the religious game, I encourage you today to ask Jesus to show you His desire for your life and then submit to whatever He shows you. Then begin to talk to people that are on the same journey of faith as you.
Thanks for taking time to read this today. I leave for Guatemala in just about 36 hours.
If you would like to contribute to my expenses for the ministry in Guatemala, you can do so by mailing a check to:
My Father's House of Prayer
C/O Guatemala Missions
P.O. Box 679
Morris, IL 60450
Checks can be made out to MFHOP.
I went to Church as I was growing up. I continued to go even in the midst of my ungodly lifestyle because it was expected and that is what respectable people did. While I was sitting there with blurred vision smelling like smoke and hung over from the night before, I was not finding life. I saw rules for living but not life. I rejected the Church even though, by appearance, I was part of it.
One day I clearly heard God saying that I had rejected systems and rules that people had instilled in me but I had not even given Him a chance. I had never let my life be controlled by a relationship with Him. I was 21 years old and at that same time, a guy that I knew invited me to a College age Bibles Study. That was the beginning of a life transformation that is continuing today
Since that time, I have come to learn that happiness is found first in a relationship with Jesus and then in fellowship with others. He created us for both. Without Jesus, our relationships have a self serving purpose. When He becomes the center of our life, we can love and serve others without fear or hesitation. Our circumstances become secondary to our purpose. We are here to love. When we love God and others, our lives are full whether we have money, health or any other thing that the world values.
Are you happy today? Do you have joy that persists regardless of circumstances? Have you given Jesus the opportunity to lead your life or does He just get to make occasional suggestions? If you are tired of playing the religious game, I encourage you today to ask Jesus to show you His desire for your life and then submit to whatever He shows you. Then begin to talk to people that are on the same journey of faith as you.
Thanks for taking time to read this today. I leave for Guatemala in just about 36 hours.
If you would like to contribute to my expenses for the ministry in Guatemala, you can do so by mailing a check to:
My Father's House of Prayer
C/O Guatemala Missions
P.O. Box 679
Morris, IL 60450
Checks can be made out to MFHOP.
Monday, February 3, 2014
A New Way of Looking at Life
I was thinking about something this morning. As Christians, we are promised an eternity of rewards. All of them are because of the work that Jesus did on the cross. We cannot earn Heaven or cause our own salvation. Jesus accomplished what was necessary for us to be in relationship with Him. Heaven is mine not because of my righteousness but His.
There are however, references to rewards in Heaven. While we cannot earn Heaven, we are rewarded for our acts of obedience
to God. I do not know how this all works out and I know that even my obedience is prompted and empowered by the Holy Spirit. I cannot take credit even for that. But, if there are eternal rewards for obeying Jesus here, on this earth, why do we settle for temporary enjoyment at the expense of eternity?
Obedience to the things Jesus calls us to may come with an earthly expense. It may cost us to follow and obey Him. Some are called to give up everything and live in poverty with the people that they serve. Others may be called to give up their life or spend it in a forced labor camp for the sake of the Gospel. I think that there is a reason that Jesus told people to count the cost. Following Him could cost us everything that we count as precious to us.
Bonhoeffer said "When Christ calls a man, He bids him 'come and die'." In our Western mindset, we do not often acknowledge that our call is a completely surrendered life to the cause of Jesus. We live for immediate rewards. The Church is in disarray because we have bought into the lies of immediate gratification.
Wanting out inheritance now, makes us much like the younger son in the story of the Prodigal. We are wasting an eternity of rewards and inheritance for the right to live it up now. We neglect to understand that the son was a son who had and inheritance that he squandered. When he came home, he was still a son but the inheritance all belonged to his older brother. He could live in the comfort of his father's house but it would never be his house.
What are we living for today? I think that it is time to fix our eyes on Jesus and our eternal reward. We need to live like that only thing that matters is God's purpose. Everything else needs to be laid aside. Let us learn to live for eternity.
If you would like to contribute to my expenses for the ministry in Guatemala, you can do so by mailing a check to:
My Father's House of Prayer
C/O Guatemala Missions
P.O. Box 679
Morris, IL 60450
Checks can be made out to MFHOP.
There are however, references to rewards in Heaven. While we cannot earn Heaven, we are rewarded for our acts of obedience
to God. I do not know how this all works out and I know that even my obedience is prompted and empowered by the Holy Spirit. I cannot take credit even for that. But, if there are eternal rewards for obeying Jesus here, on this earth, why do we settle for temporary enjoyment at the expense of eternity?
Obedience to the things Jesus calls us to may come with an earthly expense. It may cost us to follow and obey Him. Some are called to give up everything and live in poverty with the people that they serve. Others may be called to give up their life or spend it in a forced labor camp for the sake of the Gospel. I think that there is a reason that Jesus told people to count the cost. Following Him could cost us everything that we count as precious to us.
Bonhoeffer said "When Christ calls a man, He bids him 'come and die'." In our Western mindset, we do not often acknowledge that our call is a completely surrendered life to the cause of Jesus. We live for immediate rewards. The Church is in disarray because we have bought into the lies of immediate gratification.
Wanting out inheritance now, makes us much like the younger son in the story of the Prodigal. We are wasting an eternity of rewards and inheritance for the right to live it up now. We neglect to understand that the son was a son who had and inheritance that he squandered. When he came home, he was still a son but the inheritance all belonged to his older brother. He could live in the comfort of his father's house but it would never be his house.
What are we living for today? I think that it is time to fix our eyes on Jesus and our eternal reward. We need to live like that only thing that matters is God's purpose. Everything else needs to be laid aside. Let us learn to live for eternity.
If you would like to contribute to my expenses for the ministry in Guatemala, you can do so by mailing a check to:
My Father's House of Prayer
C/O Guatemala Missions
P.O. Box 679
Morris, IL 60450
Checks can be made out to MFHOP.
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