Tell Me A Story About God's Greatness

When someone goes on a mission's trip, they experience God in a greater way.  Often, we put God in a box and have expectations of what He will or will not do.  We have Him as part of our life, but we do not expect Him to change our lives.  On a mission's trip, we see God at work changing lives, meeting needs in unexpected ways, and answering very specific prayers.  It is exciting!  We want to come home and share that excitement and what we have learned about God with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Unfortunately, we often find no one is interested in hearing about our experience.  I have talked to numerous people across the country who have had this disappointing experience.  They are so fired up about the greatness of God, and no one really wants to hear what they have to say.

What can churches do differently?  Can they make opportunities for people returning from a trip to share with other groups in the church?  Is there any follow-up where team members can meet again and encourage one another?  Are we taking the opportunity to pass this excitement on to the congregation and maybe change their lives and our church forever?  I was thrilled to be at Faith Church in Montoursville for an evening where each member of the returning team spoke about their experience to the church.  The group was also continuing to meet as a team for Bible study, accountability, prayer, and encouragement.  I thought this was great!

God is doing great things here and abroad.  He deserves glory for what He is doing.  This means the stories should be told and retold.  Stories benefit children as well as adults.  They stick with us as we face difficult situations in our lives.  How are you enabling people to tell their stories to others of what they have seen God do?  Are your children learning that God is alive and active and can make a difference in their daily lives?  Are our churches too structured to allow the Holy Spirit to shake things up and change what we are learning?  Are we too focused in one area to see what God is doing across the world?

Louisiana

Louisiana

I am in Louisiana in my heart,
Wishing I was there to do my part.
Many homes from Katrina are not rebuilt,
Which should fill our nation with some guilt.

Hurricane Isaac stalled there with lots of rain,
Causing the residents still more pain.
Flood waters broke into homes on the North Shore,
Stealing contents from both rich and poor.

Wind tore up trees and roofs throughout the Ninth Ward,
Through streets where Katrina floods once roared.
People are hurting and feeling little hope,
Looking for new ways in which to cope.

Open up your heart and show a little love,
Sharing the strength which comes from above.
You can be the one to patch a hurting heart,
If you say "yes" to doing your part.

 

God continues to change lives

I enjoyed the testimonies at our recent church baptism. With all the negative we here about the current world situation, it is great to hear how God is at work changing lives from the inside out. A number of young people had life changing experiences at camp. I am sure that was the result of praying families.

I have been hearing miraculous stories from Haiti. God is meeting people's heart needs and bringing real change to lives as a result of the earthquake. I still hear miraculous stories from New Orleans as well. Many things happening in our country have been discouraging, and it would be easy to move our concentration onto those events instead of on our great God and the good things He is doing. When we see what God is doing, we are moved to praise. That is what we should be doing. We are meant to praise and glorify God, and we grow as we fix our gaze on Him. We still need to be active in pursuing good leaders and good laws, but we must not forget that our God is greater than anything we see happening around us. We also need to remember to pray for our leaders.

Thoughts

With so many frightening things happening in the world around us, it is easy to take our focus off where it should be. It is good to be informed and active in reform, but we should not be stressing out over the situation in our world. We should be quick to meet the needs of those in distress and firm in standing for the truth revealed in God's Word, but we should not be focused on evil. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things."

God has done and is doing wonderful things in our lives daily. His power, love, concern, and care are evident over and over again in any given day. He is very active in our world, taking the wrongs people do and the disasters occurring around us and bringing good things out of them. He is more powerful than any force or person in our world. He sees everything, cares, and can bring the greater good out of rotten situations.

We become like what we focus on. What a great reason to focus on God and His goodness! I want to become more and more like Him. Not only at Thanksgiving time, but any time, we should be looking for the good things He is doing and praise Him. He deserves it! Let our focus be on Him.

Enjoying Family

My nieces have adorable children. They are delightful to be around. It is fun being a great aunt. They are an important part of the family.

Fun in Louisiana

I have had fun this week interviewing people to hear their stories, taking pictures of missionaries for their prayer cards, and visiting people in New Orleans. I was driving from St Bernard Parish headed to the Ninth Ward when my one tire fell apart. I was able to pull around the corner to get off the road, and then I called AAA. It was a hot wait, but I did get some phone calls made, and I was thankful that I did not break down on the bridge. I heard a really interesting and uplifting story. It is amazing what God does!

Crisis Response Dedication

The building is not done, but the dedication went as scheduled to celebrate the fourth anniversary of Katrina. It has been a very hot week. It was great to hear the stories of what God has been doing. Ex of story told- When the ice machine broke, of course the first volunteer who arrived was an ice machine repair man. God always knows our needs even before we do. Three Bible studies have been formed, but there is a need for more. There are so many new converts and so many seeking, but many churches are still not open, and there is a real need for people to do discipleship and follow-up. Please keep praying for this ministry. They have several people filling out paperwork right now who are interested in coming for a year to do follow-up and discipleship.