Our Good Shepherd

Spend time yesterday discussing how we will teach the truth that "Jesus always takes care of His followers" to the kids in our classes. Because that is the truth that the Bible teaches. 

However, we want to be clear that it doesn't mean that we will be kept from troubles and pain. So, I take very seriously that the seed that i will sow tomorrow to my babies is that Jesus, the Good Shepherd will never abandon those who are His. 

Reading this article today reminds me of the same truth.

From the article: "the refuge of the people of God is not a refuge from suffering and death, but a refuge from final and ultimate defeat."

Slain in the Shadow of the Almighty (article from Desiring God)

He WILL take care of His followers, and NOTHING will take them from His mighty, omnipotent, LOVING hand.

This is truth that gives me ASSURANCE and PEACE.

Follow and Don't GO

This year I am following a Bible reading plan that has me reading in four sections of the Bible on any given day; currently Matthew, Acts, Psalms, Genesis.  I did the New Testament sections this morning and was struck by something.

In Matthew, Jesus is starting to call His disciples, specifically Peter and Andrew.  He utters the famous, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

How many times has that passage been used to show that following Jesus is about leaving what you're doing and following Him?  I know I've seen it multiple times in recent years.  It is not a bad message.  Something radical shifts when we "FOLLOW" Jesus.

But before I could gloss over the all-too-familiar passage, God brought to mind another encounter Jesus had with someone who was radically changing their life and NOT literally and physically following Jesus' footsteps.

I've spent quite a bit of time in Luke 19 in the last few months in preparation for our church's annual missions conference.  Our theme is "engage," taken from the instructions left to the servants of the nobleman in the parable of the ten minas.

Why was Jesus telling this parable?  Well, right before He shares this parable, we get to meet Zacchaeus, a tax collector.  A chief tax collector, nonetheless.

Jesus sees Zacchaeus, beckons him to come down from the tree and then has dinner with him.

Zacchaeus promises to make restitution to those he (likely) defrauded and to give money to the poor. Jesus replies, "Today salvation has come to this house."  Zacchaeus has become a "follower" of Jesus.

Of course, Jesus' critics grumble.  That is when Jesus replies with the parable.

Jesus tells them how a master has gone away and left ten servants to conduct business on his behalf, using his money.  When the master returns, two servants present varying degrees of profit, yet both receive praise.  A third servant has done NOTHING with the master's investment and is thus left with nothing, stripped of the responsibility and of any reward.

I didn't go searching for references, but there were other times when Jesus did not let people follow Him--instead sending them to the temple, or back to family.

As I pondered that fresh look at the Matthew passage, I went over to Acts.  Where we read about hurt-feelings and resentment about how the widows were being treated.  The apostles essentially pointed out that they should not neglect the word of God to take care of this administrative matter.  Then they passed on that responsibility to others.

Here again I saw that believers, "followers" of Jesus are given different jobs.  I love when a passage of Scripture sheds light on another passage!

There are different callings.  Believers are uniquely prepared to do the work God has ordained for them.  And they are all needed for the whole to function.  The apostles could not continue to do their work if the church had continued in the path toward fracture.

That is still the case today.  We are each called to "follow" Jesus be exercising the gifts and abilities and passions that He has given us.  Maybe a closer, intimate walk with Jesus is needed to prepare for teaching and preaching, for shepherding of fellow believer.  Or perhaps staying in our job and exercising integrity and generosity.  We are ALL needed for the whole to function.

He gives us gifts--and we get to use them for His glory, for growing His kingdom.  Because like the master from the parable of Luke 19, Jesus IS coming back. Soon.

What gifts has He given you for use in this season?  How are you using them for His glory?

Prayers go ACROSS

February is always a full month.  And truthfully, it's January that sees all the work.  But I am grateful for the opportunity and am not complaining at all.  I really am amazed that God would want to include me in the global effort to bring to Himself worshipers from every people group in the world. 

As the GO Conference at Cypress wraps up, I want to look back at one of my most favorite parts, which is the Conference Prayer Room.  There were several people involved in making it happen and I am deeply grateful for their time and ideas and energy. 


As the GO Conference Prayer Room was coming together this year, someone noted that it wasn't a room where people came in to pray.  We provided space for that, but I did agree with that observation.  It was about giving information--that because of my bias--I assume will move people to pray and/or make them more effective in their intercession.

So we shared about the mind-numbing number of people who have no access to the Gospel--over THREE BILLION.  We shared a little about how that looks on our planet--WHERE they are mostly located.  And we shared about our own workers.  THEN we made available a little resource, a small bookmark, to help people pray--for our workers and for unreached people.

My prayer is that more people will be praying.  That in that practice, they will grow to be more like Jesus and participate in what He is doing around the world.

If you missed the bookmark, or if you simply want a simple guide for WHAT to pray, I humbly submit these points to you.

Praying for Global Workers:
Su   Relationship with God
M    Physical and emotional needs
Tu   Family relationships
W    Ability to communicate
Th   Effective ministry
F     Team relationships
Sa    Country of service

(paraphrased from material from OMF International)

Global Team Posters are located at the welcome center and at the Missions Alcove (second on left of W101).


Praying for Unreached People Groups:
*  For the Lord of Harvest to SEND WORKERS to:___________
*  For workers to have BOLD WITNESS through verbal proclamation of the Gospel
*  For workers to bring VISUAL DEMONSTRATIONS of the Gospel (miracles, service,compassion, etc.)
*   For PROTECTION and PERSEVERANCE of new believers when persecuted
*   For MULTIPLICATION as disciple-making efforts become INDIGENOUSLY LED

(paraphrased from online article from Global Frontier Missions)


Unreached People Group cards
The cards we had and will continue to have (in W115) available for people to take and use with the bookmark/prayer guide were from Joshua Project.

My prayer is that YOU will join us in praying!


It is no secret that I am passionate about PRAYER.  I strive to practice it more for myself.  It is critical for deepening my relationship with God--and for allowing Him to transform me day by day.  Also, for how I can intercede for others and be part of God's plan for them.  Blows my mind away, really.

Any chance I have to talk about it so that others are helped, I will take it.  Any chance to teach or help or make resources, my heart aches to serve. So, let me know how I can serve you!  Happy to pray for you, share with you, walk with you--let me know.  Leave a comment or contact me via FB or however else you know me.

WHY study the Bible?

Funny thing:  Piper also mentioned how much of that first day was about setting it all up...

I just found more notes from his introduction--and I think they're worth sharing. [The three points on HOW to study were from the handout--and he demonstrated it more than go over it word by word.]


WHY study the Bible? (the list is a sequential argument, each point building on the previous)

1. God's call on every human is that we glorify Him--by KNOWING, ENJOYING, and SHOWING Him--that we would show His supreme greatness(with how we use our mind, heart, body/strength. (Is. 43:6-7; 1 Cor. 10:31; Rom. 1:21, 25, 28; Ps. 149:5)
2. Seeing God's glory is essential to knowing and enjoying Him.  (Matt. 13:13; Eph. 1:18; 2 Cor. 4:4)
3. The first key to seeing God's glory is internal, NEW BIRTH.  (2 Cor. 4:6; John 3:3, 6)
4. The second key to seeing God's glory is external--We must hear and understand the Word of God, the Gospel.  (1 Pet. 1:23; Acts 26:17-18--Always through humans!*)
5. When we are internally awake to the glory of God and externally focused on the Word of God, we meet God and see Him in His glory.  (1 Sam 3:21)
6. THEREFORE, we give ourselves to careful, thoughtful reading of God's inspired spokesmen, like the Apostle Paul.  (2 Cor. 2:12-13; Eph. 3:4; 2 Tim. 2:7)

* So when he explained point #4, he talked about how the Spirit who opens the eyes of the heart, who does the internal work, and the preaching of the Word are like two planes in formation.  He held up his hands and made the sound of planes flying!  SO great!  He said the Spirit doesn't just open eyes indiscriminately--but opens eyes to see Jesus as preached in the Gospel.  MISSIONS is how the gospel is taken to the ends of the earth--that is our JOB, humans take the gospel.  God opens eyes to see it!

So that was WHY we study the Bible.

Then he explained WHY we would be looking at Romans 9--and how in that chapter God's will and Sovereignty collide with man's free will.  Why does it matter that God is SOVEREIGN?  He reminded us that the first eight chapters of Romans contain some of the sweetest promises in the Bible, with the 8th chapter being "one of the most precious chapters in all the Bible," with verses like this: 

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

SO Paul is anticipating the objection--but if God hasn't kept his Old Testament promises, how can we trust Him now?

Romans 9 is Paul's defense of God's covenant with Israel and therefore with the church. He states his thesis in verse 6:

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed.

The Word of God has not failed!  God keeps His covenant--He has the power to do so.  He is SOVEREIGN.  And the Sovereignty of God STABILIZES us!

Piper also gave a relatively recent example, which was neat to think through. He read part of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address.  How did Lincoln see this country through the Civil War?  What stabilized Him?   God's PROVIDENCE.

[And as an unrelated aside--that speech was mercifully short. May God grant me the wisdom to choose words so well.]

Piper also threw in a few anecdotes about how this is the attribute of God that gave most people cause to thank Him for tackling weighty issues. We have a BIG GOD and it gives "ballast" to the boat....loved that picture!

Thanks for reading, as I'm trying to make sense of my scribbled notes.

and then we had an orchestra

I love music.  I don't often recall specific lyrics or read music or even recognize familiar tunes.  Well, I do recognize, just can't identify.  YET, I love the role of music in my worship.  Not just in the expected ways--like singing in church and in my car.  Simply, I marvel at the graciousness of God to give us music in the first place.

I hear a beautiful voice and I wonder, "How could anyone think THAT just evolved from sludge?"

A generous and wonderful God gifted that person with that voice, and the person who wrote the song, and the person who wrote the music and the person who played it.  (Never-mind that they can live and move and desire to even create the music).  All those people working together, weaving their gifts into the delivery of a beautiful song.  I think I get teary-eyed each time.

I love to hear when many voices blend to lift up a song.  I love imagining that heavenly scene (Revelation 5:9) where there will be a choir comprised of people from every tribe and language and people group and nation.  So many different languages, all worshiping God!

That scene makes me think of an orchestra.  And how a single instrument can play beautifully--but when they all play, it's magical.

Okay, here's my point.

I am preparing to teach the kiddos tomorrow about the Tower of Babel, when God confused the languages.  Such mercy from God--when the people had disobeyed Him by settling in one place and NOT "filling the earth"  like they'd been instructed after Noah and his family got off the ark.  (And really, it was just the re-stating of what God had told Adam.)

Instead of multiplying and filling the earth, they decided to stick together and make a name for themselves.  SO, God threw a monkey wrench in their plans and gave them many different languages.

Not one language.  Many.  There in that place of disobedience, God created other languages.  The people then scattered and the richness of different languages and cultures began.

Instead of a single instrument offering up a beautiful song for God--it will be a complete and perfect orchestra!  It will be perfect because Jesus is WORTHY of perfect worship!

That heavenly choir can only fully worship the amazing God we serve when it has all the tone and texture and richness of every single language represented.  It WILL happen.  I can't wait to sing!

Lord, thank you for how you use all things for Your greatest glory!  Help us as we seek all choir members from around the globe--because only when that full and perfect worship is offered will our commission to make disciples of all nations be accomplished.

God's Mission

We just finished our annual focus on missions at church.  I was blessed to be able to work on some curriculum for our preschoolers.  I love getting to work with these kiddos.

We were able to tack on a few extra lessons due to how the Christmas series concluded, but then missed a Sunday due to a fabulous missions experience.  All in all, five lessons were prepared.

It was so fun to think through and get them ready.  Here is a quick summary of the lessons & the main point we were trying to communicate.  Seeds of TRUTH.

God Calls  Abraham is called out.  (Genesis 12:1-4a)

• God called Abraham so that ALL nations of the world would be blessed. 

 God Sends  Jonah is sent to Ninveveh (Jonah 1-3; 4:1-2, 11)

• God sent Jonah to tell Nineveh about Him.  

We Tell Others  The Woman at the Well (John 4:4-30, 39-42)

• We can tell others about Jesus even if we only know a little.

We Bring Others  Four Friends (Mark 2:2-12; Matthew 9:2-8)

• Those who know about Jesus bring others to Him.

We all play a part  Choosing the First Missionaries (Acts 13:1-3)

• Everyone in God's family in involved in His mission for the world.

For all these lessons, we went over our memory verse:

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.  Psalm 67:4a

All nations will be represented in that great multitude--and worshiping the the Lamb who was Slain will be glorious!

May He be praised now and forever!

We All Play a Part

Last week we met missionaries.  They are some of the people that our church has SENT out to other places in the world to TELL OTHERS about Jesus.

We have learned that from the beginning God has had a plan for having someone from EVERY nation and language and tribe worshiping in heaven.

He WILL do it and we get to play a part in how God works out His plan.

Just like the missionaries you met were sent out by our church, we learn about some others who were sent out by a church a long time ago.

In the book of Acts, we learn that there is group of people who love Jesus and are praying for God to show them what to do.  We can do that too!  We pray and read God's Word and He tells us what we should do. They were praying and even going without food so they could keep concentrating and listening for God's answer.

We don't know how God spoke to all of them, but the Bible does tell us that God told them that two of them were being chosen for a specific job.

God told Barnabas and Paul to GO.

God told the rest of those praying to SEND them.

They ALL played a part in obeying the last thing Jesus had told them before going up to heaven.

Go make followers of all people in the world.

Tell people what you've seen me do--tell them in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to ends of the earth.

We too can all pray and ask God what He would have us do.  Obeying Jesus last words to His followers means some of us will GO and some of us will SEND.

WE ALL PLAY A PART!

We Bring Others

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.  Psalm 67:4a

Jesus is the one that will make all the nations glad and able to sing for joy.  Only through Jesus can we go to God the Father in Heaven and be part of that big group of people who will be singing for joy and worshiping God.

The woman at the well from last week had an amazing meeting with Jesus Himself.  She ran back to her town to tell others about Jesus and how He had told her things about her life that no one knew.  More importantly, Jesus had revealed to her that He was the Messiah, the Promised One, the Savior.  Many people from the town were able to listen to Jesus and believed Him too.

The story today is about some men who also believed that Jesus was very special, that He was sent by God.  Maybe they didn't understand everything, but they believed that Jesus could heal their friend.  Four men who believed Jesus could help their friend did something extraordinary.

Their friend was paralyzed--that means he could not walk.  He needed to be carried to be able to go anywhere.  His friends heard that Jesus was in their town and in a house nearby.  Together they picked up their friend and started walking toward the house.  They knew which one it was because there were people crowded at every door and window.  They would not be able to get through!

But they believed Jesus could help their friend, so they did not give up.  They slowly and carefully climbed on top of the house and started to make a hole in the roof.  Can you imagine how little pieces of roof fell into the house?  Would everyone have stopped and looked up?

There were men working very hard to make the hole large enough for their friend to fit through.  When they could, the slowly and carefully lowered their paralyzed friend in front of Jesus.

People who know about Jesus bring others to Him.

Jesus could see how much faith they had because of all the trouble they had gone through to get their friend to Jesus.  Jesus looked at the paralyzed man and said, "Young man, your sins are forgiven."

There were some leaders and teachers of the law that were there and they did not like that Jesus had said that.  "Only God can forgive sins," they thought.

Jesus could tell what they were thinking and asked them, "Why do you think that?  The Son of Man has power to forgive sins, but I can't prove it to you.  What if I said, 'Stand up, take your mat and walk?' Then you would be see I have this power."

Jesus then turned to the man, "Stand up.  Take your mat and go home."

Immediately the man stood up, picked up his mat and walked out.  Jesus healed the man!

God Sends

We started the series by learning about Abraham and how God called him and his family to a very special purpose: to bless all the other families of the world.  We have God's Word recorded for us in the Old Testament because those in Abraham's family wrote it for us.  We learn about God through the stories recorded for us.  All stories in the Bible are true.

Many of the stories in the Old Testament tell us about how God showed us about Himself through Abraham's family, this story is different.  In this story, we learn about another nation. A nation that didn't know that God is the one and only true God.  God is God over all people--whether they know it or not.

We learn this story in a book called by the same name:  Jonah.  Jonah was called by God to be a prophet.  A prophet is someone who tells God's Words to others--even when they are difficult to hear or believe.  Sometimes God's words are telling them what is going to happen.  Always God's words are true.

God told Jonah he had to go to a city called Nineveh.  The people in Nineveh were very wicked--that means they did things that God didn't want them to do.  They were mean and hurt others.

God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell them God had seen them.  And to stop doing wicked things.

But Jonah did NOT go to Nineveh.  Jonah went in the other direction.  He bought a ticket to get on a boat to go far away from Nineveh. Jonah was trying to run away from God.

While they were on the boat, God sent a storm.  The men on the boat were scared and were trying to save the boat.  They were each praying to their god.  But that didn't work because their gods were not real.  There is only one God over all people.

The captain went to find Jonah:  "Wake up!  Pray to YOUR God.  Maybe He will save us."  The men on the ship figured out that Jonah was the reason for the storm.  "What have you done?!"

Jonah told them he was running away from God. Jonah told them they would have to throw him into the sea.

The men did not want to do that, they tried to row back to land, but the storm was too rough.  The men finally threw Jonah into the water.  Immediately, the sea was calm.  The men from the ship realized that Jonah's God was the true God.

When Jonah fell into the sea, he did not sink and drown.  Instead, God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah.  Jonah was inside the fish praying (talking to God) and worshiping God.  Jonah was sorry for disobeying God.  Jonah promised to obey God. After three days and three nights, the fish threw Jonah up onto dry land.

Once Jonah was on land, God spoke to him again:  "Go to Nineveh."  This time, Jonah obeyed.

Nineveh was a very big city.  Jonah walked through the city telling the people that God would be punishing them because of all the evil they had done.

Imagine how he must have looked and smelled after being in the fish for three days and three nights!

The people of Nineveh listened to Jonah.  They believed in the one true God who had sent Jonah.  They were sorry for what they had done and even put on special clothes to show how sorry.  From the most simple workers to the king.  The king even told all the people to stop eating for a time and to cry out to God.  Maybe God would change His mind and not punish the people of Nineveh.

God did see.  And God forgave them and did not punish the people of Nineveh.  God sent Jonah to Nineveh because God loved them too.

God loves people from all the nations and wants them to hear how much He loves them.  God still sends people to tell nations around the world about Him, about His love, about Jesus.

"Let all the nations be glad and sing for joy."    Psalm 67:4a

God Calls

This year we get to take the preschoolers through a journey of seeing God's plan for all peoples.  I have loved getting this series ready and am looking forward to having others come in and share with the kids as if they're the character in the story.  

We started Sunday with a simple introduction--God had a plan from the beginning.  We looked at Genesis 12:1-4.  God's call to Abram. 

I open my Bible and listen to God,

He tells me what I should do. 

I know that He loves me, 

He hears when I pray.

And ALL OF HIS STORIES ARE TRUE.

We have just finished looking at the stories from the Bible about when Jesus was born.  Now we're going to look at the first book of the Bible and how Jesus was mentioned there!

God, the Father, knew from the beginning that He would send Jesus to be our Savior.  He knew that the only way for any person to join His forever family was to love and believe in Jesus.  

He picked one man, Abraham (Abram).  God CALLED Abraham out of a country and out of a family that didn't know the one and only true God.  I don't know how Abraham knew it was God, but he OBEYED the call of God.  Abraham didn't even know where he was going.  Abraham trusted God to show him the way.  

God told Abram that He would make his name great.  God promised to bless Abram and his family so that Abram would be a blessing to all the families of the earth!

God went on to tell Abraham and his family about Himself.  Abraham and his family lived differently that those around them--people noticed the differences!  We call Abram's family "God's chosen people."  We have the Old Testament because those in Abraham's family wrote God's words down for us.  We are some of the families who are being blessed because Abraham's family wrote this [hold up Bible].  

We get to now learn about God because of THIS TRUE BOOK.  And you know?  There are people in the world today who still don't have God's Word in a language they understand.  There are still families who still haven't been blessed.  And God said ALL FAMILIES.

The MOST important blessing God gave Abraham was that through his family, God sent Jesus.  Jesus is the only way for people to know God and to become part of God's forever family.  Jesus is related to Abraham! 

The last book of the Bible, Revelation, describes for us how it will be in heaven.  There will be a great multitude--"multitude" means "many, many people"--they will be worshiping God.  They will be singing for joy and worshiping Jesus--and EVERY language ever spoke on earth, every nation, every family will have someone there. Only those who believed Jesus died for them will be there.

Now, we know about God and how He wants to bless ALL FAMILIES--how that has been God's plan from the beginning.  We get to now tell others about God, about Jesus, about what we know.  We can tell our friends at school, our neighbors, our family, other families.

Some of our missionaries go to places where they have heard of Jesus but don't know that He is the ONLY way to God.  Some of our missionaries go to places where they've never even HEARD the name "Jesus."  They all trust God when he said ALL FAMILIES will be blessed.  God has called missionaries to go to places near and far.  

Maybe someday, God will call you.

Our Bible verse for the next six weeks:

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!               Psalm 67:4a 

One day, ALL nations will be glad and sing for joy--they will worship the One who is worthy.