Immunization from problems?

Image source: everydayfamily.com

During the reign of Herod king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and he had a wife named Elizabeth, who was a descendant of Aaron. They were both righteous in the sight of God, following all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both very old. - Luke 1:5-7 

Some people believe that living a life that is pleasing to God will somehow immunize them from problems - as if serving Jesus is some sort of spiritual vaccination. Unfortunately this is not the case. Zechariah and Elizabeth were both faithfully serving God, but still were unable to conceive. They would have had to deal daily with the stigma of having no children (which in their day was considered a curse).  And now they were "very old."

Thankfully God gave them a miracle child. (You can read more about that in Luke 1:8-17 and the rest of the chapter) We know him as John the Baptist. He still does miracles and answers prayers today. You may feel abandoned by God - forgotten and alone. But God sees you, and the totality of your situation. Don't give up hope. Keep trusting. Keep serving. Who knows... your miracle may be right around the corner. Zechariah and Elizabeth kept their hearts in the game and were eventually able to hold the answer to their prayers in their hands.

Israel Study Trip - Day 2

The Land...
Today was amazing! We started out learning about the land itself: "A Land Between". It lies between the former Mesopotamian & Phoenician empires. All traffic north - south had to pass through here. It was literally the crossroads of the known world of that time. The major International Coastal Highway passed through here, as did the Jezreel Valley, which connected this Highway to the rest of the country inland.

It was from this place that God wanted to make His Name and His mercy & grace known. And it was this very place that God sent Abraham... it was like a podium from which to proclaim His nature and goodness.

The land itself is as much a character in Bible stories as the people themselves. The Bible takes place in time and space and to get the greater story you must understand both the culture and the land.

God told Abraham's descendants, "I'll allow you to live at the crossroads as long as you represent Me correctly. If you will obey Me, you'll live here forever. If you disobey, I'll take you out of this land until you're ready to represent Me correctly."


Caesarea...
We then went to Caesarea. It was a city that Herod built in honor of the Romans who made him king of Judea. He even dedicated a temple here to Tiberius Caesar (while Tiberius was still alive). The only temple dedicated to a living Caesar. He built the 2nd largest port and the only all-weather port) in the Roman empire. And he built himself an amazing palace, along with a Hippodrome (horse racing), an amphitheater and a theater. Next to that stood the Crusader Fort, with a minaret from a former mosque inside. This place has so much history from so many periods!

Historically speaking it could have been the last stop on our tour. It was here that the angel appeared to Cornelius (Acts 10). Because of this the Gospel was first preached to the Gentiles... they received both the gift of salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. It was also from here that Paul sailed to Europe, never to return.

Mt. Carmel...
Next we went to Mt. Carmel, which overlooks the Jezreel Valley. What an awesome view! From there we were able to see the Nazarite Ridge (where Jesus grew up). Jesus wasn't some hick from the backwoods. The Jezreel Valley was only a few miles from one side to the other... and the world passed through here! Whoever controlled it controlled the world.

We could also see Mt. Tabor - the scene of Deborah's victory over Sisera (Judges 4), Mt. Moreh - where Elijah raised the Shunnamite's son from the dead (Judges 4), and Jesus raised the widow of Nain's son from the dead (Luke 7), and Mt. Gilboa - where King Saul & his sons died in battle, where Gideon separated his men at the Brook (), and where Jezebel was killed(2 Kings 9).

Here on Mt. Carmel Elijah challenged the 450 prophets of Baal - the god of storms, high places and fire - to a duel for the hearts of the people. (1 Kings 18) Whichever god answered by fire was God. Of course they accepted. This was at the end of a 3 1/2 yr. famine.

Baal worship originated just north of here, and had been brought to Israel by Jezebel, the Phoenician princess that King Ahab married. He basically takes the fight to Baal's home court.
This mountain was easily seen for miles from 360 degrees. Basically, Elijah backs God into a corner. If God fails to come through, everyone will know it. If He does answer by fire, EVERYONE - even the surrounding nations - will see it!

You can read the story, but the high points are:

* The prophets of Baal built their altar, and started dancing around and "prophesying". Nothing happened.
* Elijah begins to talk some smack: "Maybe your God is going to the bathroom."
* Finally, he builds an altar and has them pour buckets of water on the sacrifice. Then he prays that God would answer by fire, and in doing so would turn the hearts of the people back to Him.
* Of course God comes through! And when the people turn back to Him, the rain returns. God always listens to repentant people!

Megiddo...
Finally, we checked out Megiddo. It controlled one of the major passes into the Jezreel Valley. You could see layer after layer of archaeology. Both King Ahab & King Solomon built huge stables here for their horses, in direct disobedience to God's command that the kings not accumulate horses and chariots (the technological cutting edge weapon of that day).

In both of these kingdoms, everything looked great on the outside. Financially and politically they were well-off. But moral decay from compromise and disobedience was eroding the foundations. both of these kingdoms crashed with the king's successor.

I guess my biggest takeaway from the day was this: Obedience will enable you to stay in the crossroads. If you don't keep your heart right, your actions will follow. Then it's just a matter of time until you crash and burn!

The call to be in the crossroads comes with a cost: obedience!

A letter to beginning missionaries

Robin wrote the following letter to some friends that were getting ready to move to Russia to work with orphans.  I believe it is good advice to anyone planning to go to the mission field! - Jon

I am so glad that you are obeying God and taking this challenge.  We are praying for you and your children! I was thinking about what I wished other people would have told me before I left for the mission field and what advice I did receive that has helped over the years.

The first part of this journey is all so quick and exciting that even the frustrating parts are fun.  It’s amazing to watch the children learn and adapt to their new environment.  Learn from them.  They are watching you to see if this new place is okay.  As I read about others’ experiences on the field, I am so convinced that the difference between a bad and good experience for the children is the attitude of the parents. 

I think one of my biggest challenges is to keep positive about the cultural differences that bug me.  Patsy Cameneti once told me that if we talk about all the things that we don’t like about the mission field…it frustrates the grace of God on our lives.

I am so proud to be an American.  There are so many freedoms that you will give up to serve in another country.  Many Europeans that I have met long to live in America.  Even if they don’t really understand the politics …they understand that America equates with freedom.  Because of that, many will be excited to get to know you.  They want to know more about you and God will use this as an opportunity to lead them to Him.  On the other hand, some people will not like you just because you are an outsider.  Their long time prejudices will come out in strange and hurtful ways.  This is an even greater chance to show the love of God.  Your neighbors will be watching you.  (When we meet people in our village, they usually tell us what they know about our family.)

Remember the call of God.  Write down what He is telling you to do.  When the times get tough…and they will…you can look at what God said and it will keep you there.  There are some extremely lonely times on the mission field.  Times where you are in the middle of many people and feel really alone.  I remember a time when I was at a hardware store and couldn’t figure out how to ask for a concrete screw so I could hang a picture on the wall.  I just started crying in the middle of the aisle.  Then, I had a good laugh. Many times it was frustrating just trying to decipher the bills and the kids homework.  But, they all add up to a wonderful and challenging experience that I wish everyone could have.

No matter where you are on the earth, in God’s will is the safest place to be.  With the political uncertainties that are going on in Russia right now, it’s important to know that God is in control.  We came over here two weeks after 9/11 and things were very uncertain.  But, when we got here we knew that this was the right place. 

One of my concerns before we moved to Germany was that maybe this wasn’t God’s will after all.  Maybe all this trouble was a big mistake.  Deep inside you really know, but there will be questions here and there.  Brother Hagin always said that it’s possible to have faith in your heart and doubts in your head.  But I think it’s better to go ahead and follow what you think is God’s will and fail… than to never try. 

Some people think that it is really too big of a step to take a family overseas to live.  But, that’s why it is so rewarding to do what we do.  We took a leap of faith and now are able to watch God work in ways that we never would have known.  I think in many ways that it is really more of a leap of faith to NOT follow the will of God. With Him, you know that it will all work out. 

Just do what you were doing there in Texas… in another country. 

Many blessings,

Robin

PS. Freetranslation.com is a God-send :-)

The Day The Manna Stopped

They had finally arrived! No more desert!!! The Israelites had finally entered the land God had promised to give them. Now they were "home."

And then someone interesting happened... This miraculous daily provision of manna stopped. It had been a part of their daily life for 40 yrs. And now it was over.

The exciting thing was that they were finally eating the food of their promised land. The hard part was that now they would have to work for whatever they ate.

I find this to be the case in my life as well. On my journey to something God promised me I see His provision...often it's even miraculous. But once I reach my "destination", it seems I need to start doing more for myself.

For instance, the first year we were on the mission field it seemed we didn't even need to pray about finances. After that, things got tough and we really needed to trust God to just survive financially. Of course He took care of us... it's just that our faith and trust in Him needed to grow in this area.

It's like parents putting their children down so they can learn to walk. It's not that they don't love their kids enough to hold them. The parents are actually doing their kids a favor in the long run. God does the same with us... it's a normal part of the growth process. Short-term struggles can produce long-term growth.