Today I spent the morning with two friends who are missionaries. One has come home from the field and is making the cultural shift back to the excesses of the American way. The other is here for a short time and will return to the field in a few days. Both spoke of challenges, changes, wins, losses, heart breaks, major victories and so much more. As we all talked we kept going back to the same truths, God is sovereign and He is good. Another truth that came up frequently is that everything in life is seasonal. For this time and this moment this is the plan, but God moves our lives like He does the seasons of the year and we must move with Him. My sweet friends shared my “pain” of knowing that holding everything loosely is the only way to navigate these waters. So if you are in a seasonal change, you are in good company. There are many of us right there with you. Hold loosely the things of yesterday in order to receive with open hands the things of today.

Oh how I love this Psalm.
Psalm 123: 1 “I lift my eyes to You,
the One enthroned in heaven.
2Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand,
like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
until He shows us favor.”
This is my prayer for us today. Father please show us favor as we turn our hearts completely to you. May we go to the deep places with You and come out completely changed for Your glory.

Philippians 4:14-23 Are you struggling right now? Maybe you are at a point of great need and without God showing up you are sunk. If that is you my friend here is a good word for you. Phil. 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” In context Paul was thanking a faithful group of believers for being the vessel God had used to meet their needs.
I, like Paul, am very thankful for the many people who have given so that I can go on mission. Yesterday I paid my final payment for a mission trip to Swaziland next month. When I first felt like God was telling me to go I knew I was not working much and could not see how I could afford to go. I had already committed to a mission trip for Les and I to Lebanon and had been saving for it, but to do 2 trips in a short time seemed insurmountable. BUT GOD… He always has a plan and when you are walking in obedience to Him He provides beyond anything you can dream or imagine. So if you are one of those who have given so I can go, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am honored to be the hands of Jesus on your behalf to the children of Swazi. If you are feeling called to go, please don’t allow finances to hold you back. If God called you, He will provide. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift and He will supply your needs. If you are just trying to survive life and not even trying to go on a mission trip, hold on. This promise is not just for those being sent. It is for all believers. Make your requests to the Father and be open to how He chooses to answer. As the verse ends so shall I today, Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever.

Luke 6 has a passage that we quote often, 37“Do not judge, and you will not be judged”. I wish people would continue down the rest of the verses. “Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over — will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
These verses are really talking about not judging but also not condemning and forgiving. How often believers tend to look down at others judging, condemning and being self-righteous when we know ourselves that we are in as much need of grace and forgiveness as others. We may not be doing the sin that we are looking down at others for, but our sins are there as well and all sin separates us from the Father. The truth is we are all sinners in need. That is why the last part is so important. With the measure you give grace, mercy, understanding and love to others those things will be given to you, pressed down and shaken together until it slap overflows. Oh that we the church would love with an open heart those who are just like us, sinners. Oh that we would love them right where they are. Let God change them as they are loved well. Then the church will really look like the Kingdom of God.

Philippians 3:15-21 Have you ever noticed that not all Christians live up to the same levels? I will be honest, sometimes that drives me crazy. I want to scream, “don’t you know that is wrong?” I have walked with Jesus over 40 years. I know truth because I have studied and even then sometimes I choose paths that don’t honor the Lord. I have grown in my faith and as God has revealed things to me as being out of His will I have tried to adjust my life to be on the right path with Him. This 40 year journey has truly been a journey and I am much more knowledgable now than I was at the beginning. Therefore, passages like Philippians 3:16 make total sense to me. Here is what it says, “In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.” Living up to what we know is what God wants from us. Do what He has told you to do. A baby grows and learns to walk, talk, eventually run and ride a bike. A Christ follower is a learner as well. This is no excuse for not learning. Just as you would not expect a 30 year old to not know how to walk or run, for those who have walked in Jesus we should become more and more like Him daily. So from one learner to another, I pray today we walk more and more like our Master and find great favor with Him.

Luke 6:1-16 Nit picking has to get on God’s nerves. I know it frustrated Jesus. In Luke 6 Jesus is in the Temple focusing on prayer, the scripture, and helping everyone understand about the Kingdom. The religious elite were there to try to “catch Him” in something that would condemn Him. The man with the withered hand happened to be the show down. Jesus knew their thoughts even before they spoke them. He chose to show His power to heal and do good anyway. How often do we nit pick at each other looking for a weak spot to tear one another down instead of building up. I think it comes from jealousy and not being content in ourselves. The end result is division. It divides friends, families, and even churches and organizations. It also makes people not want to be a part of fellowship with the offender when they feel like that person is always picking at them or looking for their imperfections. Truthfully all of us have something that someone could point out as less than perfect. if you are a nit picker, stop! It doesn’t make you any better finding other people’s weaknesses and pointing them out. If you have been offended, forgive. It isn’t worth the effort to hold a grudge against someone who has probably moved on and doesn’t even remember they offended you. If you have used this excuse to leave church, find another church that you can worship in or go back to your church and consider the source when they start their picking. Life is too short to allow nit picking to steal your joy. Do like Jesus. Do the right thing toward others and move right along. You are listening for His applause not man’s.

5:18 AM the phone was ringing. Les answered and I could hear G’s voice as she told her father she was okay but they had been in a bad wreck. Immediately I began to pray. They had rented a car and had a mechanic driving it as he ushered G and Z to look at a potential car to purchase. A drunk driver had hit them from behind crushing the trunk and moving it forward to the back seat where G had been seated. She was home and doing okay but had hurt her ribs and was soar all over. She had been thrown forward. Z had hurt his back and neck, but both were able to be at home. They are shaken, bruised, but doing okay. My heart sank as I listened to her describing the wreck, the injuries, the fears as everyone around them spoke another language, the comfort of the mechanic having been the driver, his minor injuries. Then the fears of what it would cost and how that would possibly prevent them from being able to get the car was just more than overwhelming. The part that hurt the most, “It just seems when we finally are making headway we are pushed back.” I wonder if that is how so many Apostles, disciples, and prophets of old felt. They worked so hard and then the enemy would send them a punch in the gut. Maybe they did not have car wrecks, but the enemy knew what would get to them as well. G’s last words to her daddy this morning were “tell mom not to freak out”. I was calm until this afternoon when I read G’s account on social media and saw the pictures. Then the tears flowed. She was so close to really being hurt in a major way. She could have been killed, broken something major or had a major head trauma. (I am thankful for that hard head) Z could have been thrown through the window, broken major bones or even knocked out teeth. instead they incurred “minor” bruises, and sore bodies. I wept thanking God for being gracious to us. I wept thinking of the many prayers that are constantly lifted to the Father on their behalf. His angels protect them today! I wept thinking how sorry I was I couldn’t be there to help. I wept because I was sad for them and the anxieties they had over the finances and what it would cost.
Then the call came from G. She had gotten a call from C, a lady in their organization here in the states. She is also a part of the home church that has sent them. She used words to love and encourage G and Z. She assured them that the church would cover any expenses they could not and that there was no need to be anxious or fearful. She told me of some friends who came by bringing chocolates and cola to ease the pain. She told me how her pastor’s wife had called to check on her and make sure she was okay. Again, I wept so hard I could not speak just thanking God for being there in so many tangible ways.
So I want to end this day thanking so many of you for lifting our kids up to the Father. I want to give HIM all of the praise and honor and glory for taking care of G and Z and Les and me. Being a parent of kids serving abroad isn’t for sissies. Grateful He is in control.

Philippians 1:12-20. Paul is a bible character I struggle with at times. He can be arrogant, short tempered and even male chauvinist at times. This passage is one of the reasons I continue to appreciate him though. Philippians 1:20 “For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.” God knew Paul would need to have each of the qualities I get frustrated with in him to allow him to be the man God wanted him to be. Through Paul’s many perseverances he still proclaimed the gospel message and as a result many where saved. Because of his writings even this many generations removed from his we are reading biblical truth and being saved.
In my own life with G there were days I was so frustrated with her I wanted to throw in the towel. She was head strong, frustrating, and always had to have the last word. I look at her today ministering in the 10/40 window where the most unreached people groups exist and know that God had made her that way too. He knew she would need those qualities and traits. He also knew that she too would look at life and death much like Paul. Living is good, but if more can be reached by death I count that an honor. I weep as I even write this, but I know that all of those days of frustration with her have been worth it because she and Z are having opportunity to share The Message with people who have never heard His name as the Son of God. Humbled, happy, sad, and contented I find myself grateful for the gift of being a mom to a “Paul like” child. To the Ends of the Earth….

Luke 2:41-52; Ephesians 4:17-24; Psalm 119:57-64; 1 Kings 12: Have you ever left your child at church? When parents miscommunicate it is easy to do. (speaking from experience) Jesus’ parents did the same thing. They thought Jesus was with family and friends as they departed from a celebration at the temple. They had gone a day’s journey before they even realized it. Now I can say I am not guilty of this. lol. It was three days before they found Him. Now I don’t know about you, but by then I would have wanted to kill him. 🙂 Instead He calmly tells them, “did you not know I would be about my Father’s business.” For Mary and Joseph that must have been a reality check. I wonder how Jesus first understood who His Father was. I wonder how Mary and Joseph encouraged Him in His faith. Did they have to get Him a scroll to read early? Did they leave Him at the local temple frequently? What should really amaze me should be that when they did find Him the religious leaders were listening to Him. For men to listen to a child He must have been impressive in His knowledge and understanding.
Jesus, would You teach me today through the Holy Spirit to know You better and to follow You more closely. Help me not leave You behind when I go about my daily life. I love You Lord.

Luke 2:21-40; Ephesians 4:1-16; Psalm 119:49-56; 1 Kings 11: I don’t know about you but I always get to this point in Solomon’s story and wish I had left him at the opening of the temple. That was such a high mark in his life. He was seeking to please God only and Israel was prospering because of his obedience. Then we get to today’s reading and my heart is breaking because he allowed the gods of the women he loved to lead him astray. I am sure it was innocent at first. He was just trying to make them happy. He started his disobedience when he married multiple women from foreign countries. God had told him not to. The he tried to please them by building altars to their gods. It was just another step away until he was the one worshiping with them at pagan altars.
Maybe my great frustration is because I know that I too can be easily led astray. It is just a one step at a time and one step away process and then we find ourselves far away from God and doing what seems right in our own eyes instead of walking in obedience to God. The end result is that it hurts us and others. Solomon started Israel down a path that would lead far from God. The word to us is check your steps. Are they leading you closer to God or farther away. Follow His commands and find life and freedom. What a wonderful reminder to me.