One at a Time

When I become discouraged or weary, God gives me a glimpse of the work He is doing here. 

Let me share just a few recent stories…

His eyes are full of light as he tells of the deep changes he is experiencing. David has just finished the first month of the six months of a Discipleship Training School (DTS) he is doing at a local YWAM base here.

What David is gaining is more than a greater knowledge of God’s Word or a more intellectual understanding of Christian truths - he is experiencing a true transformation of his heart and mind as he yields to the Holy Spirit’s work in his life. 

Although raised in a Christian home under the loving care of God-fearing parents, David is beginning to understand that Christ desires truth in his inward parts. Cutting away old ties and affections is not easy, but David has caught sight of the freedom that Christ brings to lives yielded to Him.

Pray for David in the coming months, that God would continue the incredible work He has begun in this young man.

Without Abandoning Her Faith

“God has done great things in my life” says an exuberant Halima, with her eyes and smile beaming. A student at the island school, Halima has shared her struggles with me in the past – such as being the Christian daughter of a staunch Muslim father. 

Oftentimes after listening to her hardships, the primary being to pay school fees, I would admit I didn’t have the answers, but suggested we take her concerns to the Lord. So we bowed our heads in prayer, admitting our own weaknesses and inadequacies, but pleading for God’s wisdom and provision.

In this, her first term of her final year at the school, God performed a miracle. Halima’s father has refused to pay her tuition since sometime in her primary (elementary) years. He told her that would only change if she converted back to Islam. I and others encouraged her to remain strong in her faith in Christ, promising that God would make a way. With joy, Halima shared that her father paid this term’s fees – without her abandoning her Christian faith.

She attests to a fact that I can see is true – her faith has grown, and her desire to serve God her Provider has intensified.

Providence Amid Broken Promises

Kenyan born, Benjamin came to the islands of Uganda on the wings of hope. But instead he found challenges and broken promises. His uncle, a fisherman on a nearby island, struggles to care for his own four children, let alone his nephew, whom he invited to study in Uganda.

Last school year, Benjamin could not afford to board at the school, so he lived in the nearby village of Kyoya. Sometimes he was late for classes or skipped days entirely as he looked for money to pay his fees and buy food. Showing mercy, the school teachers began helping him to eat. This term, he again paid the day student fee, but was permitted to board.

Last year he came to me asking for help, such as in the form of sponsorship. After telling him I was unable to offer help at the time, I suggested we pray. This year when one of our sponsors offered to help more students, Benjamin’s name came to mind. And the choice was confirmed when the school administration spoke of the boy’s good behavior and work ethic.

Words of heartfelt gratitude poured from Benjamin’s lips as I sat with him last week to learn more about his background. As he told his story, I asked when he became a Christian. Born a Catholic, Benjamin’s interest in Christianity was piqued when he came to the Christ-based Lingira Living Hope Secondary School. In the second term last year, he confessed Christ and since then has seen Jesus changing his life.

“I used to be lazy,” he says, but now is eager to read his schoolbooks and seeks out work around the school to earn extra money. Indeed it was his strong work ethic that caused Benjamin to stand out from the other students who could have received the sponsorship.

His countenance exudes joy and gratitude. His eyes sparkle with joy, and his voice is rich with it. In his childlike faith, Benjamin trusted God, and saw God answer in a remarkable way.

Faith in God’s Promises

I am awed as I witness God working in the lives of David, Halima, Benjamin and others like them. Yes, God loves the whole world, but He is in the business of changing lives one at a time.

God began his work on the Buvuma Islands long before any missionary reached there. Those of us serving here are just joining a work the Holy Spirit has already begun.

God does not need my help or your efforts, but He invites us to be part of the greatest and most magnificent story of redemption and restoration.

Don’t doubt God is at work in your life, in the lives of your family or friends, or those for whom you feel a burden. Trust. Pray. Have faith. And believe God will continue and complete the work He has begun. He promised to do so.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6

Photo: Cross atop Lingira Island, Uganda

Imitation=Admiration=Imitation

"Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children." - Ephesians 5:1 (NLT)

Who are you following?

Who is your model?

Your pattern?

Your hero?

Whose steps are you pacing?

Whose shadow are you tracing?

Whose path are you tracking?

Who are you trying to be like?

Imitate, follow, copy, model, emulate, clone, replicate, reproduce...

"...in everything..."

In thoughts, words, motives, actions - in love, kindness, mercy, grace, forgiveness...

"Imitate God...because you are His dear children."

"Imitation is the highest form of admiration." - Unknown

* Post inspired by a recent Sunday School lesson on "Who do I want to be like?"

Image Source: Microsoft Office Clip Art

Unconscious Usefulness

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they
                                                       g                                                      
                                                       r
                                                       o
                                                       w;
                                                                          ...they simply are!

Think of the sea, the air, the sun, the stars and the moon - all these are, and what a ministration they exert.

So often we mar mar God's designed influence through us by our s-e-l-f c-o-n-s-c-i-o-u-s  e-f-f-o-r-t to be CONSISTENT and useful. 

Jesus says that there is only ONE way to develop spiritually, and that is by concentration on GOD.

  

"Do not bother about being of use to others; believe on Me" - pay attention to the Source, and out of you will flow rivers of living water.

We cannot get at the springs of our natural life by common sense, and Jesus is teaching that growth in spiritual life does not depend on our watching it, but on concentration on our Father in heaven.

Our heavenly Father knows the circumstances we are (in), and if we keep concentrated on Him we will g-r-o-w spiritually as the lilies.

The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to us, but those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the field, perfectly simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mold us.

If you want to be of use to God, get rightly related to Jesus Christ and He will make you of use unconsciously every minute you live." 

- From "My Utmost for His Highest," by Oswald Chambers, May 18th entry

Available: Weakness

"There are only two kinds of people in the world: the weak ones who make themselves available to God and the weak ones who don't." 

~ By Greg Livingstone - From Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, pg. 741

Enslaved

"The problem is that they build the island houses too small," explained Pastor Samson one recent evening.

He went on to expound. Most island homes have one, maybe two rooms at the maximum. As more children are born, the oldest find themselves having no place to sleep at night, simply for lack of room and privacy. They are forced out of the home to find shelter elsewhere.

His explanation made sense as to why this may be a contributing factor to the teen pregnancies that are all too common on the islands.

Amidst exciting testimonies of answered prayers, recent salvations, and a flood of new students descending on the island, we learned this week, through routine testing, that three of our girl students had started the school year (that began in early February) pregnant.

All three were in the top class. Two were in the group I had taken to a Bible camp in December. One had professed Christ last year, was in regular discipleship and was serving as the head girl student of the school. One was the niece of a good friend and an area pastor.

Those of at Shepherd's Heart and at the school shook our heads in disbelief and disappointment, and asked ourselves why.

Counseling was done before the expulsion took place and the girls were sent home. One was doggedly determined to abort the baby so she could return to school and resume her studies, saying her mom had already threatened her if she became pregnant "again." This was obviously not her first pregnancy, not would it be her first abortion.

It seems she suspected the pregnancy even before the testing was done, and bought the abortive medicine beforehand. "It is too late," she told concerned counselors Friday morning, as they tried to dissuade her away from killing her own baby.

"I didn't plan to get pregnant," said one as I sat next to her Friday morning on the boat, her packed belongings nearby. Her time at the island school had been very brief - lasting only about two weeks. Now she was returning to the mainland with a heavy burden and many questions.

When I asked about her plans, she responded fearfully, "I am going to run away." Run away from her family, her neighbors, anyone who might know her. After encouraging her not to make any decisions in haste or out of fear, I asked if she would keep the baby. "No," she said, she planned to abort. She said she was too young to be a mother and wanted to finish school.

Again, I encouraged her to turn to God to seek forgiveness, guidance and help in this hard time. "Entrust your life and the life of the baby into God's hands." I spoke of God being the giver and taker of life, and to take a life would be violating His law.

I am not sure it had occurred to her that she was carrying a precious life, a baby.

Such cases and stories are all too common here. Sexual immorality is like a plague, especially on the islands.

While some girls find themselves forced out of their family's home and compelled to sleep elsewhere, like in Pastor Samson's explanation, others turn to prostitution to earn extra money - perhaps money to buy food (that may not be provided at home) or take care of basic needs. The economic opportunities for island women and girls are very limited.

Others are forced into such a lifestyle by their own fathers or other family members. In this culture, a woman's value is found in not who she is, but in what she provides. For others, such choices are consensual and a decision they make on their own.

I am being blunt and not mincing words, because this is reality. Until fathers and families reclaim the great and God-given responsibility toward their duties, this will continue. Until the culture cries out and says this is wrong, nothing will change. Until the girls and women see their value and worth in the eyes of their Creator, they and others will continue to view them as "objects" to be used.

Until Christ captures, saves and radically transforms the hearts and minds of girls, women, families, communities and islands, they will remain in this deep and deceptive pit of sexual sin.

Satan has set many traps and many have been ensnared. Yet Christ is the True Redeemer - to redeem from sin and bondage.

Many need to be set free.

Image Source: Microsoft Office Clip Art

Never tell God...

 
...you are bored.

You have heard of those parents who when hearing their kids are "bored," immediately respond by assigning the bored child some kind of a chore. Maybe you grew up in a home like that.

I don't remember experiencing boredom as a child. I have the blessing of having a sister very close in age. In our young years we were always using our imaginations in creative play, whether it was running a "restaurant," performing a two-person talent show, or making "handcrafts" that our parents felt obligated to buy from us in our little "bazaar."

I am also realizing you should not tell God you are bored. It falls in the same category as asking God for patience. :) You are bound to receive the answer to your prayers - but in unexpected ways.

Anyway, when I first came to Uganda, I had one primary job - to serve as the coordinator for the Child Development program (the ministry's sponsorship branch). But, I found myself being idle and having too much free time on my hands, which I did not like. Since then God has placed other roles and responsibilities in my arena. And I usually say, "I would rather be busy than bored." I think God heard me say that one too many times.

However, I feel like while I have been juggling my various roles, I have been dropping balls here and there. Between the sponsorship program, hospitality, and communications at SHIM, and working at the school in computer classes, serving in the financial office, and teaching Bible study, plus taking an online missions course - I feel like some areas are not getting the attention they need.

The Bible said God will not give us more than we can bear in terms of temptation. But I also believe that the same principle could apply to the responsibilities He gives to us. He won't give us more than we can handle - with His strength and grace to accomplish it. That is the key.

I am always mesmerized by juggling acts and have noticed that when there is more than one juggler in the act, they can handle multiple balls, even knives and other objects - more than one person could handle.

Timing and knowing your partner are crucial, otherwise you may miss a step, embarrass yourselves terribly, or worse suffer an injury.

My previous post was about not letting busyness and work come before my relationship with God. I am still learning this lesson - slowly. Again, I am grateful for God's graciousness and patience with me in this particular "classroom."

With what you are juggling today, are you in sync with your Heavenly Father?

Keep it Straight and Simple

I have a tendency to complicate things.

I have said that if there is a hard way to do something, I will find it. This is especially true if it has anything to do with mechanical "thing-a-ma-jigs" or numbers. Either one tends to short-circuit my brain.

Unfortunately, I also seem to complicate my life of faith. Lately I have been reading in Genesis and have so enjoyed the simple and straightforward faith of men like Noah and Abraham. They believed God, and they obeyed Him, even when such obedience drastically set them apart from their world.

And back then they had less peripherals to bolster their faith. There were no churches, weekly Bible studies, Bibles, radio evangelists, contemporary Christian music, e-devotionals, small groups, or a myriad of volumes on any topic of spirituality you can imagine. Perhaps that is why Jesus encouraged us to have faith like a child (Matthew 18:1-4). A child receives a word and believes it, usually with no questions asked, nor seeking for more assurances.

Last weekend I sent out an e-mail update, sharing what God has been teaching me concerning not confusing my priorities of ministry and my relationship with the Father who called me here. Here are some excerpts:

"This morning I read: 'Beware of any work for God which enables you to evade concentration on Him. A great many Christian workers worship their work.' (From "My Utmost for His Highest" - April 23)

"Ouch. That hurt.

"Finding value in what I accomplish is often a trap for me. At times I think, 'I am missionary. People are supporting me so I can get things done here. They need proof of their investment.' However, the truth is I am called by God (not by others) - just as you are, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ. God calls me foremost not to a task, a role or a mission, but to a relationship with Himself. And the overflow of the relationship with my Heavenly Father fuels and directs how I use my time, energy and resources. Lately, I have been reminded and challenged by these truths, especially as I enter a busy season here on the island.

"This past week marked the beginning of a new school year for many students, including our own who are attending Lingira Living Hope Secondary School. It is with excitement and some trepidation that I think about stepping back into my roles at the school - working in the financial office, teaching computer classes, and befriending and mentoring the girl students through the weekly Bible study and in some one-on-one discipleship. Honestly, sometimes I get overwhelmed - by the needs, by the culture, by what may be expected of me, by expectations I put on myself. 

"But again I am reminded, God is not looking to me for the results, but to be faithful in my relationship to Him, and in what He has called me to. Phew, that is a stress reliever.

"'There is no responsibility on you for the work; the only responsibility you have is to keep in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with Him...We have no right to judge where we should be put, or to have preconceived notions as to what God is fitting us for. God engineers everything; wherever He puts us our one great aim is to pour out a wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. 'Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.'" (From "My Utmost for His Highest - April 23)

In the busyness of life, don't forget your first priority - your relationship with your Creator. Everything else is secondary."

God has been confirming this lesson in so many ways recently that I could probably write several blog posts, but I will stop here. 

Wherever you are at, remember to first put God first.