Walls and Gates

I found this to be an excellent way of thinking about our work with people.  There has been opportunity for both, rebuke and strong challenge, in the past hour and the article linked above by David Mathis and found at John Piper's blog site, Desiring God, was most helpful.  Maybe it will be for you as well.

Pray for us today as we are working with some "challenging" people.  Okay, actually, they are really difficult.  I am concerned for their souls; though they profess being believers, it is very hard to see or believe.  That is where the rebuke came in.  The challenge came in affirming our pastor and his handling of these people and encouraging him in the next steps.

Internet Monk has published an encouraging piece on grace.  It would be worth your time to read his whole article which you can do by clicking on the link above.  Let me quote a few line if you just want a summary:

You have to trust the Gospel to do what it says it promises to do.

Two mistakes to avoid: 1) Making your own agenda the “to do” list for the Holy Spirit. That’s a big leap: I want it to happen to God wants it to happen.  2) Turning to other motivations- like guilt, condemnation, guilt, manipulation and guilt- to get the work done.

I love Paul’s advice in Ephesians 6. Take up the whole armor of God…and having done all, just stand there.  That’s so good. Put on God’s resources, God’s vision, God’s heart. Do all that the Gospel commands and demands.  Then do nothing. Stand.

We use some of God’s resources, and things don’t go the way we want. So we start doing things our way, and finding what does work. Or we just get frustrated and start beating ourselves and other people up with guilt and condemnation for what’s not happening. Then we are upset at people, ourselves and God because nothing’s working.

Life is too short, folks. Grace is the good stuff. Stay with it. Don’t quit and take the road back to legalism as so many do.

Pray that we would be "grace" people in a land not at all known for it.  Even many churches turn to extreme legalism, always justified by their interpretation of Scripture, of course.  Pray in our churches we may have the joy of seeing people changed by God's grace and not by a call to rules, do's and don't's.

Summer is over!  Ryan and Bret are in their third day of school.  Elise and I are in our third day of normal ministry.  We have been meeting with a group of internationals, English speakers, at our church over the summer.  The purpose has been to prayerfully discuss and plan the ministry God has for this school year.

Tonight is the first leadership team meeting for our church and we are making several proposals about new ministry and some new ways of doing things.  Please pray that we will find the leadership team open and that we will be able to move ahead in a way that sees God change hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.

Thanks for your love of our family and for praying for us so faithfully.

Two and a half weeks with no blog posts - I know you have been checking daily and wondering what happened to us.  Well, a combination of a wonderful vacation, an email server not handling our normal group emails (you could only send one at a time for several days), and a quick start to the new school and ministry year have had us all a bit busy and out-of-pocket.

Please remember to pray for the following:

1.  Ryan and Bret begin school early in the morning.  They have a half day each day this week, so they are thankful for that.  Ryan begins the IB program this year, 11th grade and yes, I am far too young to have an 11th grader, and will be working hard in many subject.  Bret has already begun another basketball season.  Every year his obligations to that increase and he will need great discipline and the Lord's grace to pull off international school, travel of 3 hours a day to school, and several hours a day to basketball.  Pray both of these young men would grow in the Lord during this school year, as well as in discipline and wisdom.

2.  Elise is off at one of her PTA obligations.  She is now serving on the executive committee there and we hope to be very active in the school community this year.  Pray for her to have God's wisdom in balancing the life God has called us to.

3.  We have hosted several cookouts this summer for those in the international, English speaking, part of our church.  We are wanting to help put together a more effective ministry in our church and this is one of the areas we have felt led to work in.  Pray for wisdom and that we might effectively reach out into our city and country.

4.  My newest new boss is flying here on Friday.  I will be on the road Saturday - Tuesday for about 16 hours taking him to the various places in this part of the world where we have workers.  Pray that this can be a great time of encouragement and blessing to our colleagues who are on the front line of taking the gospel to those in Croatia and Slovenia. 

Pray today for Ed and his four children.  Please ask the Lord to touch them with grace, peace, mercy, and closeness to the Lord of the universe.  Read here for a more detailed view from an American who went to Russia over the years to work with them as a volunteer.