I Wasn't Talking to You!

Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

That reminds me of a story.  Every night this mother would kneel on the floor with her little 4 year old to pray. And then one night the little girl asked if she could pray. The mother consented and the little girl began to pray. The more she prayed the softer and softer her little voice became, until her mother could no longer hear her speaking. And then finally the little girl said, Amen! The mom said, Honey, I didn’t hear a word you said. The little girl answered, Mama, I wasn’t talking to you.

The Uniqueness of Community

We spoke about the uniqueness of community this morning in staff devotions.  In Ephesians 1:4-21, Paul shared with us how he specifically prayed for the church.  That’s not a bad idea to share with people how we specifically pray for each other!  

In vv.22-23 we see that nothing is over the head of Christ (except God according 1 Cor. 11:3).  All things are under His feet (that’s you, me and all of our problems).  Pastor Jon Courson says, “Jesus is in absolute control of every situation, be it financial, physical, relational, vocational, or parental. Whatever might seem to be rolling your way, ready to sink your boat and wipe you out is already under His feet—and might be the very path He chooses upon which to walk to you.  

The name of the game is community. We need another. We need to be with brothers and sisters who pray with us and care about us because the more closely we're linked to the body, the more clearly we'll experience the authority of Jesus' headship. That's just the way it works.  For one to separate themselves from community is not in God’s divine plan. 

The Spiritual Journey

In regards to a devotion I heard this morning called "Your Spiritual Journey”, I was reminded of what Gordon MacDonald said one time, “In order for us to know where we each are in our individual journey with God, we must first figure out what road we are on.”  Our spiritual journey should be characterized by our continually observing, seeking and finding (Titus 3:3-8).  Christ will always force us to define our position.  Our only choice is to move closer to Him or to become increasingly resistant.

Back in Lima

We arrived back in Lima last night at 9:30 p.m.  The weather here is awesome at the moment with temps hovering around 60 degrees.  We spent the morning today recovering a bit and then ran some errands for groceries and haircuts.  We also ended up getting a new battery for our car.  I knew it was coming because we had to have it "jumped" a few times before we left.

Tomorrow, Jannett and I start back to work at the school.  The boys will still have a bit of their "summer" left until next Wednesday.

It sure was great to see family and friends while we were at home.  It was also great to make some new ones!

Audio Files

I just received a gift from a dear brother to add space to my website so that I can upload some audio files.  I'll be adding them a little bit at a time.