MY REDEEMED SOUL REJOICES

When the Rabbi Says, "Come"

I wrote my "Wisdom and Revelation" earlier this week because I had read a beautiful passage in the book of Ephesians. God has made my soul rejoice again by blessing me with one of those coincidences he throws my way occasionally. Our congregation of believers has been watching the entire video series by Ray Vander Laan called "That The World May Know".  It is one of the best video series I've ever seen. I told our members that since few of us would be able to visit the Bible lands this series would be the next best thing to being there. Vander Laan takes us to the sites, shares with us the culture and makes applications from them to our own day and our own lives. Every congregation should see this series and it would not be a bad idea for every household to have them in their DVD library. They are rich.

My coincidence has to do with the one we watched this Wednesday night. After reading that great passage in Ephesians and coming to the conclusion that Paul was trying to get the message across to his readers that they should be reading and paying close attention to what he wrote along comes Vander Laan and tells us the importance of the scriptures as it pertains to becoming a disciple back in the days of Jesus. As young people studied in the synagogue and decided to be a disciple of a rabbi they needed to know that "There is no building block more important to discipleship than the building block of the Bible, the scriptures...."

After a wonderful description of Jesus choosing his disciples from among those who had not "made it" in the continuation of their education, Vander Laan pictures Jesus looking at those who had decided to pursue the family business instead of becoming a disciple of a rabbi because they did not "have what it takes" to be a disciple and he says, "Come, follow me. Be like me." But what does it take to be a disciple today? "Without being immersed in the text, which is the only way I know of to know the rabbi [Jesus], how will we ever know him well enough to be with him and to be like him?" 

Vander Laan doesn't just emphasize the scriptures. He states that God must be at work in the individual through the Holy Spirit but the passion must be there in the heart of the disciple. We must ask ourselves "How badly do we want to be like Jesus?"

You need to take a trip to the Holy Lands with Ray Vander Laan. It will deepen your understanding of the Bible and the culture in which Jesus grew up and fulfilled his mission. The quotes above came from the lesson "When the Rabbi Says, 'Come'" from volume six of "That The World May Know". The entire series of eight volumes - forty-five lessons can be purchased together.

Faith Lessons DVDs, Volumes 1-8 Collect all 8 Faith Lessons with historian and teacher Ray Vander Laan, and experience actual places where Biblical events took place! Ray's historical and geographical teaching will add context and depth to your understanding and application of the Bible. Leader guides are included with each DVD. Participant Guides are sold separately.

A Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation

I've been studying the letter to the Ephesians. (For my non-Christian friends who read this blog Ephesians is a short letter found in the New Testament of the Bible.  It was written in A.D. 62 by the apostle Paul to a group of Christians in the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor).

The verse that got me thinking is Ephesians 1:17 "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him...."  The sentence goes on for several verses but I began to think of the phrase "a spirit of wisdom and revelation."  How were these people to have or get wisdom and revelation?  They did not have the New Testament (it was in the process of being written at this time).  They may or may not have had portions of the Old Testament.  How were they supposed to know the will (desire) of God for their lives?

The gifts of the Spirit may have been the answer.  People in the early church had supernatural gifts. The gift of prophesy likely wasn't what we would think - the foretelling of the future - but rather the ability to share a message - to preach or teach.  The gift of tongues would have been similar except that it would have been necessary for someone to interpret what was said. But would either of these have accomplished Paul's desire - that the Christians at Ephesus know the will of God?

The situation in another church in another city makes me wonder.  Corinth had all kinds of serious problems.  They also had the above-mentioned gifts yet Paul still had to write letters (1st & 2nd Corinthians) to tell them what the will of God was.  Why didn't the Spirit say these things through those who had the gifts?  I don't know the answer to that question.  What I know is Paul wrote them a letter to tell them the will of God, which makes me believe that what he was suggesting to the Ephesians was that in order for them to know God's will, they should read his letter(s).

The same would be true today.  Think about history for a moment.  When was the (so-called) church at its worst?  Was it not when only the "clergy" had access to the scriptures?  When did the church start on the road to recovery?  Was it not when the common people were given the scriptures in their own languages?  Even before that, wasn't one of the great reformers, Martin Luther, great because he opened the Bible, read for himself and challenged the religious leaders of his day?

We live in a time when people are downplaying the role of the Bible in understanding the will of God.  Won't this lead us down the same unhealthy path that lead others to error and misinformation?  There are those today who speak of the errors and contradictions in the Bible.  They no longer believe the word of God is inerrant.  With what does that leave us?  The Spirit leading each person down his own personal path?  Don't misunderstand.  I believe the Holy Spirit works mightily in our lives but the tool he uses the most is the word of God.  The inerrancy of the Bible is of utmost importance if this is true.  An abandonement of the scriptures will only lead to darkness.

The great apostle Paul wanted Christians to read and understand what was the will of God.  There is no reason to believe his message would be any different to us as it was to the Ephesians or any other churches to whom he wrote.  As you and I seek God's will for our lives let us make the word of God, the scriptures, the Bible the core of that understanding.  In doing so, we supply the Holy Spirit the tool He needs to give us "a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." My soul can rejoice in that, can your's?

Rain, Rain, Rain Beautiful Rain

It rained today.  I was sitting in my office and the rains came.  Normally that wouldn't be a big deal but the heat has been oppressive here in Yadkinville, North Carolina of late.  Some may laugh and say, “Oppressive? What was it, in the nineties?”   To which I would reply, “Yes, but things are relative aren't they?”  I know what really oppressive heat is.  I lived for five years just six degrees north of the equator, in Nigeria, West Africa.  It gets hot there (understatement).  I remember when Harmattan was at its worse, not only was it hot, the dust got into everything – including one's nose and mouth, so when you heard the distant rumble of thunder and began to see a few flashes of lightning, you started to get excited.  “Rain, rain, rain, rain, beautiful rain” sings the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.  They understand.  When the rain starts in Africa you cannot help yourself, you have to go out into it.  Four or five months without a drop of rain compels you to go out into it and you cannot resist.  It feels like the rain is cleansing the whole earth, you along with it.  

Isn't that how the grace of God is for the Christian?  There are times when you feel so dusty and you want to just spread your arms wide and be drenched by the grace of God.  And as a child of God He invites you to do just that, be drenched in His grace.  No feeling is better than that and maybe that's why He gave us the rain – so we could understand. 

Honduras Bound

Robin and I are putting out feelers to find folks who will help us move into the mission field in Honduras. Let me explain.

We made a move about four months ago to Yadkinville, NC after working with a church in Charlotte for seven years. Our reasons were two-fold. We were going into business with Robin's sister and her husband to start a blueberry farm and the church at Yadkinville was looking for a preacher. To make this concise, it wasn't working out for us. It just didn't "feel" right. We began discussing on Tuesday the possibility of making a change when on Thursday Marc Tindall called us and said he had been trying to find us so he could invite us to come to Honduras to help with the work there (see God's "Coincidences" below). Marc and his wife, Terri, are the ones we work with when we go on our annual mission trip to Honduras. After much prayer, we have decided we would like to join them in this work.

We are now looking for churches or individuals to help us make the move. We are looking for a reasonable annual salary plus money for a vehicle and furniture to set up housekeeping when we arrive, plus some working fund money. Marc says there is a house for rent in Santa Ana within walking distance of the children's home for $250.00 per month. We do not plan to ship anything down as we have in our mission work always used local products.

Our biggest concern has been for Jacob, our 15 year olds well-being. At first, he wasn't real excited about the idea but when we told him he could take his pets with us and that we would make sure he gets back each summer for camp at CBC, he is ready to go. He's been to Honduras four times, so he knows what its going to be like. We also consulted with our four older kids whom we also took to the mission field around his age and they assured us he would do fine.

What will we be doing? Throughout the summers we'll be helping the several hundred folks who come down for mission trips get their work done  building houses,  visiting the hospital, holding medical clinics, handing out food to people who live in the city dump and evangelizing. After the mission trips are over, there will be plenty of follow-up work to do as new congregations have been established, feeding centers continue through the year and the children's home at Santa Ana will have children who need care. In fact, that will be one of our concerns as  we fill in as needed when the current houseparents need to get away for other needs. Robin and I both will also have ample opportunity to teach the Bible and hopefully share some of our knowledge about marriage and family. We also will be working with Baxter Institute to get preachers for the newly established congregations.

We want to go in August 2009. The sooner we get there, the more we will be able to relieve the work of Marc and Terri. Please let us know if you or your congregation can help.  Pray and rejoice with us as we prepare to help reach souls with the redeeming love of Jesus.

While the blueberry farm spoke to our need for financial security and a place to call home; the work in Honduras speaks to our heart and the need to make a difference for the kingdom of God.