An Unnerving Comment

Sitting in class for eight hours a day can get a little difficult to manage at times.  The professor does his best to keep things interesting, but you sometimes have to fight to stay focused and engaged.  Today though, it wasn’t that difficult to pay attention.

This week, we’ve been covering the second half of the two-course requirement that ThM students have in Historical Theology.  The first course was spent covering the history of the church since the time of the Apostles all the way to the modern era and the second course is now being spent examining the church in the modern era with a little more depth.

Today we were talking about John Wesley, who was educated at Oxford University in 1720-1725.  Wesley was a zealously pious man and even attended Bible study regularly in an Oxford club called the “Holy Club”.  The club members were devoted to seeing themselves become holier and holier through religious activities such as regularly partaking in the sacraments.  Wesley took his devotion further then the rest and committed himself to reading the Greek New Testament, fasting twice a week and receiving communion weekly.  He even took on a prison ministry and became ordained as an Anglican priest in 1728.

In 1735, John Wesley launched on a missions trip to teach the heathen Natives about Christianity in Savannah, Georgia.  He sailed with a group of Moravian missionaries who were also headed to pursue missions in Savannah.  The Moravians had a sense of peace and fearlessness during the trip over the North Atlantic that impressed Wesley greatly.  One day, the leader of the Moravians asked him, “Do you know Jesus Christ?”

Wesley replied, “I know that he is the Savior of the World.”

The Moravian then said, “Yes, but do you know that He has saved you?”  To this, Wesley had no response.

Years later, back in England and while attending a meeting of Moravians, he heard a sermon by Martin Luther being read and finally understood that faith was not something that he could produce, but that it was a gift of God.  In 1738, John Wesley was converted as a true believer in Jesus Christ.  Thirteen years earlier he was the most pious member of the “Holy Club” at Oxford and an ordained priest in the Anglican Church.

A conversation ensued in the classroom about the fact that John Wesley had substituted acceptance into the Christian culture for an authentic Christian conversion.  We compared this to the reality that the standards for entrance and acceptance in the Christian community even in today’s day can be exceptionally lax.  That’s when the unnerving comment was mentioned by the professor: “I have even had DTS students be converted in my office.”

It’s not that hard to imagine, although it is shocking and disturbing to acknowledge.  Seminary students…converted to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.  No one forces us to come here.  We are all supposed to have a compelling conviction to be here in service to OUR Savior.  We all write out our testimony and belief in Christ on our applications!

So, how does this happen in our Christian communities?

More important, where does that leave us?  What should we do?

The professor’s answer was threefold:

• Ask diagnostic questions about the faith and beliefs of those closest to us
• Evangelize to our own congregations
• Evangelize to our own families and our own friends

The scariest part is not that we might be fooled about the authenticity of their conversion to Christ, but that they might be fooled about it themselves.

Salvation is by grace, through faith.  Everyone of us must believe this personally to be saved.  Faith is not something we can achieve or produce; it is a gift of God.  Amen to that.  Let us preach it to everyone we know.

Defending a Lion

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

            For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

                                                            Psalm 107:1 (NASB)

“Who is wise?  Let him give heed to these things,

             And consider the lovingkindnesses of the Lord.”

                                                            Psalm 107:43 (NASB)

The two verses quoted above are the first verse and the last verse of Psalm 107.  I just sat down and picked this Psalm at random to read tonight.  What I began to realize is that Psalm 107 is God’s own defense for His goodness, something that is challenged too often in today’s society.  I like the quote by Charles Spurgeon that I heard recently concerning apologetics (defending our beliefs):

            “Defend God?  I’d sooner defend a lion!”

I’m getting more and more surprised by reading Scripture and realizing that many of the major questions that today’s society throw at Christians about the God they defend seem to have been addressed at one point or another in Scripture.  Why does God let bad things happen to good people?  Read The Book of Job chapters 38 through 42.  Is God really good?  Read Psalm 107. 

Another thing that surprised me today was the amount of attention I was given by a Hindu and a Janist as I began to explain who the Christian God is.  I told them that the God I worship created everything.  It is because of Him that you and I can breathe.  He provides the sun, the rain and everything necessary for life.  He is perfect with respect to power.  He isn’t just powerful, but He is power (the source of it).  The God I worship is perfect in respect to knowledge.  All truth comes from Him, spiritual or otherwise.  He is perfect with respect to love.  He isn’t just a loving being, He is love itself and without Him we would be incapable of the emotion or action.

I told them that God was everywhere.  He isn’t simply everywhere you go, but there is nowhere that you can go that is outside His presence.  Not even time contains Him.  All points of time (past, present and future) are in His presence.  He isn’t a God made with human hands and no temple made by human hands can contain Him.  That’s the God I serve.  That’s what He’s revealed about Himself to mankind through His Word and through the creation that testifies to His existence and glory. 

Like I said, I had their attention. 

I’m learning that our God is nothing to be ashamed of.  Sounds kind of weird, but it’s taken awhile to embody that belief rather than just say it.  This is the kind of God that we worship and whose Word is the bedrock of truth.  Regardless of religious or cultural background, to hear that such a being exists provides a hope that can’t easily be ignored.  To hear that the same lovingkindness that God attests to in Psalm 107 is the same love that compelled Him to send His Son to the earth as a sacrifice for us is to hear a message worth listening to.  This Word we have has power to do infinitely more than we ever could.  This Word is Jesus Christ.  Sharing Scripture is sharing Jesus Christ.  This is what I’m learning.  In the classroom I learned it by concept, but in ministry I learning of its power firsthand.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Hebrews 4:12-13 (NASB)

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The Haitians Praise God!

From time to time I post emails that I receive from Lemuel Ministries down in Haiti.  I received this one a couple of days ago and read it just today.  While reading this, remember that not long ago Haiti, as a nation, dedicated itself to following Satan.  Reading this email in light of that is incredible –

Dear Friends,

I am too excited to not give you an update on the service here on the plateau last night.  It was the third of the country wide calls to fasting and prayer and Manis decided to start at midnight and go into the morning.  To our surprise, one lady coming from a distance arrived at 7:30p.  Manis gave her a place in the church to sleep.  By midnight, the church was already full of excited people ready to sing praise, pray and lift their broken country up to God. 

The people sang, they prayed, they read Scripture, they prayed some more.  Then, at one point around 3:30 in the morning, Manis reviewed what Haiti has been like under the rule of satan.  It was amazing.  He showed the devastation to land, families, integrity, health and so on.  Then he went to the Cross where Jesus payed the ultimate price to free us from this bondage.  Then he asked the people to pray … giving their hearts and lives in full surrender to the Lord, and then to lift up the plateau…  removing the curse of years of bondage and giving it to Jesus.  Lastly he asked them to, in one voice, give Haiti to the Lord.  As we were praying, it started to rain.  At first it was tiny little drizzles… then harder.  The prayer ended with people erupting into songs of praise. One of the ladies ran for the guitar and took it to the house.  Manis continued to play the keyboard as the singing intensified and the people raised their hands exclaiming,  “Our God is amazing… our God is love … He has given us rain… He has heard our prayer… A man from the church grabbed a plastic mat and covered Manis and the keyboard… the singing grew more intense…  Some had tears running down their faces, some were dancing to the rhythm of the music …  the rain continued.  Then one of our Lemuel leaders got up and led them in a little chant that goes… “a-le-lu-jah… praise our great God.”  The sound echoed all over the plateau… and the rain continued. 

Still getting wet, yet full of praise, Manis allowed some people to share a praise….  many of the people here are so grateful for the bucket filters that MAF flew up to us as a total surprise last week.  That led to a time of prayer and praise for MAF.  It was such a beautiful tribute to the love these people have for the pilots who have faithfully provided them with food, medical supplies, and people who have come to the Plateau to bless and encourage them. 

As I sat there listening to the praise for the pilots, my heart was drawn to the medical supplies that were flown in to us last week, along with food for the workers.  We were able to bless a local clinic with many of these supplies.  The nurse from that clinic came down to thank Manis, and she was able to share how God’s love is demonstrated as one group (MAF) blesses us (LEMUEL) allowing us to bless others (HER).  She opened up to us how after 6 years of marriage her husband died from a never-diagnosed illness, leaving her with two small children.  They were with her mom in Port the day of the earthquake.  But, through a series of miracles, while everyone in the three story house died, her sister and her two kids lived.  One of her aunts lost 8 children that day. 

There in that church shaking with the sounds of praise, I thanked God for showing His love and care to this young nurse, who ministers in such a remote area. 

I also thought of the beautiful cement block church that sat behind the coconut leaf structure that we were meeting in.  Had plans gone as we had designed, there would be a roof on that building, and all of us would be dry.  But then I wondered if the miracle of the praise and the rain would have been as obvious to us. 
Dripping wet and cold, the people begged for Manis to extend the service.  They felt that they wanted to thank God more.  So, we continued. 

At the end of the service, Manis’ workers carried in bags of rice, beans, oil and more.  Supplies that Harry and Jason had brought to us on the Kodiak plane that had been loaned to them.  Manis reminded them again of how much God loved them and desired to end their fast with a hot meal… 

Wow, as I walked into the house cold, wet, and sleep-deprived, I could not sleep.  Joy, praise, and a sense that I had truly been in the presence of God overwhelmed me.  It was an hour before sleep finally took over and refreshed my tired body.  But, my spirit had been more than refreshed in that meeting… it had been nourished and perspective restored to me. 

God is going to do a great thing in Haiti as long as we continue to follow His plan and purpose and aren’t tempted to sabotage His plan with our near-sighted ones. 

Thanks for your on-going prayers for Haiti, and for Manis and the Lemuel leaders as they move on from here. 

God bless you,

Ginger

Once again, here is their blog address:  http://www.lemuelministries.blogspot.com/

Elijah and the Opposition of the Times

Scripture Read: 1 Kings 17:1 – 1 Kings 22:53

Focus Passage: 1 Kings 18:17-24

Background: Read 1 Kings 18!  Elijah is asking the prophets of the false gods that Israel is currently following to throw down!  He challenges them by setting up two altars and seeing which sacrifice will be consumed when they call upon Baal and he calls upon Yahweh (The Lord God).

Journal Entry:

“That is a good idea” is the calm and confident response of a people that are disillusioned and consumed by the vast movement toward serving a false god.  There were 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah at Mount Carmel.  The people of Israel were also all gathered there to watch a single man stand in defiance to the cultural trend and stand firm in his allegiance to the Lord.  Elijah knows the Lord God and realizes the reality of who He is as opposed to the false powerless gods that the people had recently taken to serve.  Being so persuaded by the sheer number who served Baal and Asherah, the people gladly agree to Elijah’s test thinking that it is a good way of showing the strength of the gods they serve.  “That is a good idea” is their response…what ill-founded confidence!

What actually impresses me the most about this passage is Elijah’s confidence in the presence of an overwhelming crowd that opposed him.  Regardless if we admit to it, people tend to like the security that the herd offers – ‘there is strength in numbers’, some will say.  Standing confident in one’s beliefs despite the number of people in opposition isn’t easy and I don’t think we should prepare for it lightly, even as people who live in a predominantly Christian culture. 

The truth of it is that acceptance of Christian beliefs is on the wane as religious pluralism becomes much more culturally acceptable within the United States.  If you’ve watched any movies lately or seen some of what’s on television, millions of dollars are spent by companies producing entertainment that helps people question their beliefs and float toward the more comfortable middle-ground of a “all paths lead to god” mentality.  When you talk about Jesus Christ to someone today, you may have to be prepared to address concerns they have from their exposure to the secular world.  It isn’t at all abnormal for someone to have scientific or philosophical concerns over the reality of God or our belief in the historical Jesus as being the Messiah and Savior of the world.  You may also have a large number of people that have been hurt by others in their life who proclaimed themselves as Christians.  Some have just become jaded to the church culture that they remember from their youth.  These people have questions…and the passion they put behind some of their questions may make you or I feel like we’re standing before 850 false-prophets who are challenging our God. 

What I’ll say is this – do not forsake the basis of truth for the beliefs you hold.  The prophets of Baal danced and cut themselves to provoke Baal to act, and yet he never showed up.  Our God consumed Elijah’s entire altar before the false-prophets, even after 12 pitchers of water were poured on it.  I have a professor here at DTS that often likes to repeat: “What God has done in the past is a model and a promise of what He will do in the future”. 

Go – open up the Bible and learn what our God has done in the past so that you too can stand firm in who He is today, tomorrow and for the rest of eternity!

Does our Theology Result in Doxology?

Scripture Read: 2 Samuel 6:1 – 10:19

Focus Passage: 2 Samuel 6:12-23

Background:  David is now king of Israel and following the defeat of various surrounding peoples, it is his desire to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to the city of David (Jerusalem).  As the ark approaches, David celebrates before it with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.  While he dances in a linen ephod before the ark, his wife Michal sees his actions and despises him.

Journal Entry:

How ashamed am I to take joy in the Lord?  Better yet, how often do I despise others that enjoy the liberty of their freedom from sin in Christ Jesus and display it publically?  David’s actions represented his heart’s gladness before the Ark of the Lord.  The symbol of God’s presence amongst His people was no longer in the hands of the Philistines and was being brought to the city of David.  For the man who takes delight in the Lord and whose heart leaps for joy at the triumph and might of his Heavenly King, David’s dancing requires no restraint.  How much of my joy is caught behind a façade of self-restraint?  What if I were as free from my inhibitions before men so to allow the glow of my heart to shine forth and take shape in my worship of the King?  If I felt so joyful, could I raise my hands in praise?  Would I move a little bit as I become thrilled with the delight of my redemption before God or as I come to understand the perfect love of the Savior which renews my strength daily?

More importantly, I must consider the attitude of David’s wife, Michal.  She is ashamed of her husband because she thinks it isn’t fitting for a king to be seen in such a light (v.20).  The ironic part of this story is the last verse of the chapter which reminds the reader of Michal’s own shame.  It was a disgrace for a woman in the Ancient Near East to be barren and have no child.  Perhaps her concerns are a good example of how an ill perspective of one’s own circumstances can result in the type of bitter spirit that doesn’t edify or encourage anyone.  Regardless, the state of one’s heart is always set above the words of one’s lips throughout the Bible and we can see how the condition of David’s heart outweighs trivial matters of pretense before his people.  How often do I conjure up reasons to discredit the emotions of praise I see exhibited by a fellow believer in Christ? 

This passage and the questions I’m asking force me to consider a common tendency amongst academics while engaging in the study of Theology.  We have much to say on paper, but the truth of our faith has to do with what is written on our hearts.  I once heard it said that the study of Theology should and must result in doxology to be pleasing before God.  That is to say that all of what we study doesn’t find its end in the pages of books, but rather is meant to become fuel to throw onto the fires that we have burning within.  How often will you and I dance before the Lord?

Repentance and Humility

Scripture Read: 1 Samuel 18:1-23:29

Focus Passage: 1 Samuel 22:14-19

Background: The previous chapters of 1 Samuel have been laying out the tragedy of King Saul.  He was God’s anointed king for Israel, but his failures to be faithful to the Lord and the foolishness of his ways as king are destroying the administration that has been put into place. 

Journal Entry: The failure of a leader is both public and often severe.  I consider the story of King Saul’s rise and devastating fall to be a grave testament to the implications of becoming a leader of men.  His paranoid escapade to find and kill David is acting like destructive venom as it cripples his reputation and his favor in the sight of the Lord.  His men don’t respect him, priests rebuke him and no one even informs him that his own son, Jonathan, has made a covenant with his enemy.  To say it simply, his personal issues and lack of faith in who God called him to be have developed to a point where he’s losing the respect of everyone around him.  Not only has he lost their respect, but the pace by which he continues to lose it is accelerated as he fails to attempt to correct his path.  In verses 14 & 15 of chapter 22, the priest Ahimelech attempts to straighten out Saul’s way of thought concerning David, yet Saul’s best response in the heat of his maddened logic and fuming rage is to put the priests to death (v.17). 

When I read a passage like this, I have to reflect upon the ways in which I am both similar to the character in focus, namely Saul, and also the lessons I want to learn from such a story so that I can be sure to avoid the same pitfalls.  Saul messed up, but his larger fault was his inability to admit his failure, repent and humbly seek the way of the Lord.  How long do I push my disobedience before I am willing to look in the mirror and admit I’ve failed?  How difficult is humility, really?  Do I have anyone in my life that will remind me to excercise it?  Dr. Hendricks says that “everyone needs someone in their life who loves you, but isn’t impressed by you.”  Who is that person in my life right now?  I want to serve the Lord with all that I am, but am I willing to return back to my knees daily and admit that I need Him for every step of the way?  Is there someone, who after helping me see my foibles more clearly, would then be willing to fall to their knees beside me and help me on my way?  These are important questions when considering the path that Saul took and his inability to live up to all that God called him to be.  How will you and I be different in the positions we are anoited to serve in?  Where and in what way will humility become synonymous with our leadership and will we earn the respect of the people we lead?  I’d say that we need to learn it now, well before our first rebuke by whoever will serve to be our Samuel!

The Knowledge of God

Scripture Read: 1 Samuel 13:1-17:58

Focus Passage: 1 Samuel 17:41-48

Background: Much time has past since the Israelites last put their trust in the Lord to go before them and deliver their enemies into their hands.  When the Philistines have gathered their armies for battle at Socoh, the giant Goliath now stands and taunts the men of Israel with no regard for them as the armies of the living God.  With no one brave enough to meet the giant for battle, the shepherd boy David unwaveringly takes the challenge.  Since the King’s armor doesn’t fit him, the boy decides that all he needs is a sling and his knowledge of the Lord God.

Journal Entry:

            David’s response to Goliath floors me.  His bravery and courage in the face of an imposing and overwhelming force is remarkable and is an incredible testament to the depth of faith that he had in the Lord God.  I consider the fear I’ve seen portrayed in the hearts of other godly men throughout Scripture.  Even Samuel, the best portrayal of faithfulness to the Lord thus far in the book of 1 Samuel feared for his life when God sent him to anoint one of the sons of Jesse as the new king over Saul (16:2).  I consider Moses at the beginning of Exodus, while soon to become God’s representative before Pharaoh and lead the nation out of Egypt, he was deeply reluctant to respond to God’s call for his life (Exod. 4:1, 10, 13).  David, on the other hand, remembers well what God has done in his life (1 Sam. 17:37).  He remembers so well that the knowledge of who God is dwells deeply within David’s core.  There is no room for fears to develop or doubts to form about who the Lord is and whether David can trust Him to defeat Goliath.  David stands firmly in the knowledge of God and sets out to portray a faith so that “all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel”.  What the people of Israel have failed to do, a single boy does because he knows who his God is.

            The parallels to our daily lives in this section of Scripture are innumerable.  What would my life look like if everything that God has revealed about Himself to me through creation, Scripture and my past experience with Him filled the core of my heart?  Would there be any room left for fear?  What would my life look like if I saw every lie of Satan for what it was and realized that I had not a single thing to worry about when making God’s words the edict and direction for everything I did?  Would I strike up a conversation with people in my community and share the gospel with them?  Would there be any place too dangerous to consider a ministry in response to Matthew 28:19-20?  Would it change the means I use to make money and provide for myself?  When Goliath shows up (and if he hasn’t yet for you, he will), would my knowledge of the reality of God’s sovereignty cause me to respond like David?  I think that if I knew God like David did, the Lord’s sovereignty would BE reality and it wouldn’t matter if Goliath was 2 feet tall or 10.

The Character of Our God

Scripture Read: 1 Samuel 7:1-12:25

Focus Passage: 1 Samuel 12:19-25

Journal Entry:

            Oh how the Lord is always faithful, even when we are not!  Reading through the past 6 chapters, it is painful to watch the people of Israel reject the Lord God as their king due to their fear of imposing armies such as the Ammonites.  How many times has the Lord delivered them from their enemies?  Did the Lord not defeat the great kingdom of Egypt with plagues until they actually let the Israelites leave?  Did not the Lord provide food and water daily for the people in the desert as they wandered and grumbled against Him?  Did He not defeat numerous peoples in the land of Canaan to hand over the land to Israel?  Did the Lord not just defeat the Philistines in chapter 7 of 1 Samuel by bringing so much thunder that they were confused and routed before Israel (7:10-11)?  Despite this history of strength with God as their king, the Israelites feel they’d be better off by appointing someone amongst their people king over them so they can “be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (8:20 NASB).

            When Israel is made aware of their great sin in this matter, they are struck with fear before the Lord (12:19).  What is Samuel’s response though?  In essence, he says: “Yes…you messed up and did evil.  BUT…despite of your sin, don’t stop serving the Lord.  If you start serving futile things, you’ll surely be worse off.  Humble yourselves despite your sin and serve the Lord.  Why?  It’s because the Lord will not abandon you” (my paraphrase of 12:20-22).  Samuel goes on to explain why the Lord won’t abandon them and instructs them in their service to Him. 

            How is this situation similar to our own walk with God?  I’m not talking about the part of putting hope in worldly symbols of strength despite the history of God’s provision in our lives.  What about the shame we feel after we know we have displeased Him and yet He is still unwilling to abandon us?  I don’t know about you, but I remember times I was too ashamed to come before Him and admit once again, “Lord, I messed up”.  I think it is because of His grace and His unbridled love that I felt ashamed.  I don’t deserve love at all and yet He’s there with open arms…this is the character of our God.

A New Project Starts Today

For my Bible Exposition class this semester, I’ll be doing a serious amount of Bible reading & journaling for an end-of-semester assignment.  I need to read 1 Samuel through Esther, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.  It’s about 250 chapters.  For every 5-6 chapters I read, I need to take one small passage and journal about my personal reflections of what I read.  Over the next couple months, I’ll be sharing those daily journal reflections on this blog.  Please feel free to comment as I’ll just be sharing personal thoughts and questions for reflection/application.  In keeping with the purpose of the blog, it’ll be a good way to share with everyone how this journey is shaping me.  I encourage to you take a look at the focus passage if you want to follow with my thoughts in the journal.

Scripture Read: 1 Samuel 1:1-6:21

Focus Passage: 1 Samuel 4:5-9

Background: After years of unfaithful living to the Lord who brought them out of Egypt, Israel goes out meet the Philistines in battle near Aphek and Ebenezer.  At their first encounter, Israel suffers a defeat and sustains major losses.  To get back into the battle, they bring with them the Ark of the Covenant in hopes that it will deliver them from the power of the Philistines.  Here’s a map to get a grasp of the setting.

Journal Entry: It is interesting to read the reaction that the Philistines had to hearing about the presence of the Ark of the Covenant within the Hebrew camp.  It’s apparent that the Ark, or more specifically the God that was seated upon it, had a reputation within the land that bought the Philistines to consider their lives finished when opposed to it (v.8).  The people in that surrounding area had heard of the mighty acts which God had done to bring His people out of Egypt in the past.  Despite the reputation that was supposed to belong to the Hebrew God, Yahweh, the Philistines only referred to ‘mighty gods’ that smote the Egyptians with plagues (v.8).  The people of the earth were supposed to be blessed through Israel, and yet Israel wasn’t bearing witness to the very God that made their history so well known.  The reputation of what was done for the Hebrews was maintained, but the credit due to Yahweh was not.

            How often do we as Christians actively bear witness to the source of our happiness in Christ?  When our friends/family/co-workers notice how we live and the contentment we have in the midst of trials, do our explanations flood over with credit to where it is due?  When someone notices a success in your life, do they credit it to nameless ‘gods’ like the Philistines did?  Modern day examples of these ‘gods’ that people could be quick to connect to our happiness might be a high-paying job, our social status or maybe just our connections with higher society.  If we don’t make it clear to people around us that the framework of our lives is built upon Jesus Christ, they’ll probably try filling in the gaps of what they know on their own.  This is what it appears that the Philistines or other surrounding peoples did when it came to Israel’s success.  If people around us have no other need to inquire further about our lives and our joy in Christ isn’t abundantly flowing over, where else are they going to find the witness of Christ in our lives?

A Light Amidst Darkness

In the past week, we’ve all been experiencing a flood of information and requests concerning the tragedy in Haiti.  As you can imagine, my inbox and blog reader have been flush with updates from my missionary friends in Haiti as well as from organizations I’ve supported in the past like Hope International.  After reading through everything, I’m amazed at some of the stories of God’s provision in the midst of this disaster.  If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to visit the blog I read and often refer to on this site concerning their ministry in Haiti http://lemuelministries.blogspot.com/

The one thing I notice from all the updates and prayer requests is how closely the people in Haiti who put their faith in God are clinging to Him in this dire time.  Haiti was once (and in some parts still is) devoted to Voodooism and devil worship.  These Christian believers are a light in very dark place. 

I read earlier this week in class about the living witness that early Christians had upon non-believers during a severe plague in the 3rd century.  What I read was a letter from Dionysius, the Bishop of Alexandria at the time.  In it, he explained how the widespread devastation and disease caused most people to treat the infected without compassion and avoid them as if they were dirt.  On the other hand, many Christians attended to the sick and often drew on themselves “the sickness of their neighbors while cheerfully accepting their pains”. 

The Christian faith eventually took over the very empire (Roman) that sought to extinguish it.  Why?  Because while catastrophes like the plague or an earthquake do bring much pain, they also brings people to that critical moment in their lives when they have no hope other than the mercy and grace of God.  In times when everyone else turns their back, the love of Christ compels the believer to help. 

While this is a horrible tragedy, I urge everyone to continue to pray for the love of Christ that WILL shine from the Haitian believers to impact the lives and hearts of the people there with nowhere left to turn.  Read the blog above…the Christians are there serving the people and thousands are coming to them for aid.  Now is the time to pray for the harvest to be brought in and for souls to be saved. 

Only by His Grace,

Tony

Matthew 9:36-38