Listening

I have been kind of bad at listening to God lately. We have been so busy as a family-traveling to visit friends and family, going to missions conferences, speaking at churches. It all seems the right thing to do, but my relationship with the Father has not been a very good connection through all of this. It affects me when I do not connect with Him. I feel a real sense of being lost.

Yesterday, we sat in our home church and took the Lord's Supper together. When it came time to examine myself before taking the bread and drinking the cup, I had an interesting time of listening and hearing a conversation that Jesus had with the Father on the cross. Now, I did not hear this audibly, but in my mind, the words came and comforted me, as the comforter always does.

As Jesus was hanging on cross, here was the conversation:

"Father, here is my child Steve. I'm here representing him today. I know he has done many bad things in his life, and he has even turned away from you to pursue those things. Father I know he deserves punishment for the things he has done. But I am ready to take that punishment for him, so he doesn't have to. I am ready to take your full wrath upon myself for him because I love Steve and I want him to do great things for My Name. One day, even though he doesn't think he is ready or qualified, I will send him to people half way around the world to tell of me and what I have done for him today. I will do a great work through Steve for the sake of My name. So Father, I ask you to accept this sacrifice for Steve's punishment today, that he may be a blessing to people who have never had the chance to hear of me. Thank you for your grace upon Steve, and I promise he will be all that he is created to be, and that is My representative; My ambassador; My witness to the ends of the earth."

Now, I am not saying that is the exact conversation Jesus had with the Father 2000 years ago. I am not the only one who Jesus died for that day. However, any one of us could insert our names into this conversation and it would be essentially true. That is the power of God's grace and the truth of the Gospel. It's not just an escape from the coming judgment of God, but a blessing of new life in order to be a blessing to others.

The Soils

This past Sunday, our executive pastor at LifePoint Church preached a message on Luke 8:1-18. It is the parable of the sower, in which Jesus tells about the seed of the Gospel-

Some seed that falls upon those who first receive it, but it is taken away by Satan.

Some seed is received with joy, but since there is no root because it falls upon the hard hearted, or the rocky soil it withers away.

Another is where the seed of the Gospel falls among the thorns and was choked out- the worries of the world choke God's word out of them and they go back to the way they were.

Then, the Gospel that falls upon the good soil, or the prepared soil that is soft and allows the seed to grow yields a crop. That crop produces 100 times more than what was sown- it produces fruit that lasts and then regenerates more seed for more crop and more harvest.

But this does not just happen automatically- all the soils have trouble with the seed. Even the good soil, as Jesus says in verse 15 "receive the word, retain it and by persevering produce a crop." Even though some are good soil, they still must persevere through trouble- through life in order to produce fruit.

The sower has the responsibility to sow seed broadly. Sowers of the Gospel cannot worry about whether or not the soil is good or bad. It is not up to the sower to make the seed grow. He can water it, fertilize it but it is God that makes the growth happen.

Blessed to Be a Blessing

We have had an incredible transition from Atlanta back to Tennessee. We are blessed to have a house provided by local folks who own a second home specifically to house missionaries on stateside assignment. The ministry they are involved with is Shepherd's Rest Ministries, Inc.

Last week, I was blessed by being ordained by my home church's ordination council. On the heels of 5 months of intensive missionary/dicipleship training in Atlanta through Global Frontier Missions, and the power and wisdom from the Holy Spirit, the answers to tough theological and doctrinal questions seemed to come naturally, even being asked by much of the church staff and older and wiser leaders within the church. I feel really honored to be ordained by my home church.

Sunday, we and the rest of Team Bangkok were commissioned in front of our entire church body, LifePoint Church Smyrna, in all 3 services. Again, we are humbled by being sent out by our body, and the pastor telling the body of Christ that we are their missionaries- we are to be representatives of LifePoint Church to the nations for Christ. We have been set apart, much like Barnabas and Saul in Acts 13, and the Holy Spirit will empower us to do God's will among the nations of those Jesus died and rose again to provide salvation for. Today, our team leaders boarded a plane and headed to Bangkok- the rest of the team will follow in the next month, with us bringing up the rear. It was a treat to be with our team for the last time on American soil together, but we know that our home and our task is elsewhere, and we will come together later this year as a team to carry out that task.

We are extremely blessed to be a blessing to those who need to hear the Gospel. We do not take that lightly- we have a responsibility not to waste the blessing we have been given.

Our team going to Bangkok is 16 physically, but spiritually we are much bigger, and we have a big God on our side. If God is for us, who can stand against us?

Church Planting Updates

Just got an update from "D", one of the church planters that we trained in South Asia.

From his and another partner's work, 8 new believers were baptized in February, 22 more in another place in March. In other places he is working, 50 more new believers are are taking baptism this month, possibly as this blog goes out. Praise the Lord!! "D" is also helping the churches he has planted become self supporting by making washing detergents, planting crops and starting chicken and fish farms to sell for food. He is also busy training other church planting groups in the same methods as we taught. One group in another district of his state has planted 65 new churches in the last 6 months. By this, the Glory of God will cover South Asia as the waters cover the seas, starting with this place!

This is the kind of growth we hope to see among God's people in Thailand. The above work took many years of toiling, and did not happen overnight, and we cannot take credit for it, but all credit and glory go to God. We were simply fortunate enough that God used us to be His vessels for the training these brothers received.

As we go to Thailand, we are hopeful and are believing on faith that God will use us in a similar way. Please continue to pray for South Asia and God's Kingdom to continue to grow there. Also, pray for the way to be prepared for us to join and assist what God is doing in the "Land of Smiles".

The Nations Have Come to Us!

Since coming to training in the Atlanta area, I have been blessed to meet many peoples from different countries- in fact, in the last five months I have probably met more internationals from more countries than I have met in my whole life. Below are the countries they are from represented also by their national flags.

Uzbekistan- A couple of us have shared the Gospel with Slava (his easier to pronounce name) who is Jewish and the maintenance worker at our apartments. Another couple who lives in our complex is also from here. We have spent some time with them, and their daughter has literally been playing with the kids of one of the team families and ours.

Uruguay- Met some kids playing a soccer-type game in the park the other day from here.

Thailand- The young guy at the Thai Food restaurant is from here. He will be back in Bangkok this summer and we are looking forward to seeing him there when we get there later this year.

Somalia- We shared the Gospel with a man named Abdi. He is a refugee and has not seen his son in 8 years. Separated by division among Muslims over 9/11. He told us when he saw the planes crash into the towers, he said to everyone around, "This is of the devil." He has been persecuted and separated from wife and child since, and has recently come to America.

Pakistan- Brief encounter with a man from here.

Nepal- Attended a worship that was full of people from Nepal.

Myanmar (Burma)- Many refugees have been sent to this area, and I have been working with a local missionary who is living in their apartment complex and developing relationships with them for Kingdom purposes. Have not been able to share the Gospel much with them due to language difficulties. However, most of them are learning English and doing very well at it. They have been ousted from their native land by the government/mafia to make way for drug trafficking in and out of neighboring countries.

Mexico- Pretty big area for Mexican Nationals all over the U.S., but a lot of Mexican businesses and churches all over this area.

Kosovo- Was blessed to hear the testimony of a Muslim background Believer from Kosovo at church one Sunday. Powerful stuff.

Iraq- Had a conversation with Akram- a young man whose entire family are refugees because of their Christianity. I asked him why his family had to come to America, and he said- "It is very dangerous to be Christian in Iraq." Maybe he'll be a future evangelist for his people one day! Many Kurdish people have come here also.

Iran- Met one family from Iran. They run a local business in the area.

India- Met many Indian nationals here. One Christian family, a local pastor and had a talk with one of the volunteers at the local Hindu temple just around the corner- one of the largest Hindu temples outside of India.

Honduras- Some of the kids that come to Kidz Club at our building are from here.

Ethiopia- Briefly met some folks from here.

Dominican Republic- My son and I went on an adventure looking for a cheap haircut. We found a local Dominican barber shop. Tough conversation, but great haircuts!

Colombia- Couple of kids in our complex from here also.

China- One of the ladies at the checkout counter in the local international farmers market grocery store is from here.

Burundi- The neighbors of one of the families we have been sharing Christ with are from Burundi. They are Christian which is one of the reasons they are here.

Brazil- One of the local leaders being raised up in Sao Palo was able to come and visit us in Atlanta. He has a great testimony and is a great speaker. He was given a tour of the local Hindu temple, and as some of the monks were feeding the statues, he was sad because they were wasting his favorite meal- rice and beans- on dead statues.

Bhutan- Most of the refugees from Bhutan are ethnically Nepali. Generations ago, they migrated from Nepal to Bhutan. The monarchy there had sent them out, so they tried to return to their native land of Nepal. However, the Nepali government did not recognize them as Nepali, and the Indian government did not want refugees, so Nepal kept them in refugee camps until a nation would take them. Most are Hindu, some Buddhist, and some Christian. We have adopted one family through World Relief Organization who helps them and other refugees get placed and integrate into American Society. God has opened some doors for us to share Christ with some of them, and with the local church leadership, hopefully they can be discipled into small churches that will reach out to their refugee community and grow the Kingdom here in this area.

Afghanistan- Many Afghani refugees have come to America in the past 10 years since 9/11.

There are many other nationalities that have settled here that we have not met yet, and since our time is running down here, we may not get to meet. We see signs in Korean, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Laotian- especially signs on local churches. Amazing that we are plopped right down in the middle of the nations here outside of Atlanta.

How much do you know of your hometown? You may be living nearby an international refugee area. Most likely, there are organizations around you like World Relief Organization, and Friends of Refugees who work hard to place people that have been abandoned by the only country they know. All they want to do is adapt and integrate into the local society. Sadly, many will never make any American friends, because we are not aware or are too wrapped up in our busy lives to welcome those people who have been rejected. Think about it though- a refugee is someone who has been persecuted and removed from their homeland because of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, language, political views or simply their government wants them off the land. Refugees usually do not get any respect by their host country. Can you think of any refugees you might know? I can think of one-

There were many children born around the time Jesus was born and were persecuted by Herod. All boys under the age of two years were put to death because of the fear that Jesus would overthrow Herod's kingdom and restore it to the Jews. His family fled to Egypt, and that is where he grew up until Herod's death. Jesus and his family were refugees.