Your Name is Matchless

Aaron Shust wrote a great song a few years ago. I have to share the lyrics:

Son of a Man, Great I am,
King of heaven, Son of God,
you hold the measure of my days
Holy Lamb, spotless Lamb,
You are worthy, I am not
Before Your throne I stand amazed

Every tongue confess and every knee will bow
To Jesus Christ the Lord forever, hear our praises now

Your name is matchless, Your name is priceless
Your name means more than I could know
You're so far above me, the way that you love me
Goes further than any love could go

Wonderful Counselor, Root of David,
Morning Star you are the Way, the Truth, the Life
Lion of the tribe of judah,
Mighty God is who you are
The Only Perfect Sacrifice

In your name you took the blind man and you gave him back his sight
In your name you took the dead man and you brought him back to life
In your name you took this prisoner and you opened up the doors
And I will sing before your throne forever more

Your name is matchless, Your name is priceless
Your name means more than I could know
You're so far above me, the way that you love me
Goes further than any love could go

Cultural Holiness

Author Jerry Bridges defines 'cultural holiness' as Christians adapting to the character and behavior patterns of the Christians around them. As the Christian culture around them is more or less holy, so these Christians are more or less holy. But God has not called us to be like those around us.

Wow, that's a punch right in the spiritual nose. 1 Peter 1:15-16 says 'But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

God requires us to be holy. Different. Set apart. Yes, even different from our brothers and sisters in Christ, in the sense that God is not comparing us with them, but he is rather comparing us to himself. We are good at praising ourselves when in our private conversations in our heads we remind ourselves how we've never killed anyone or committed adultery or stolen anything of real value. But in comparison to The Holy One, we come up sorely lacking.

And so I ask myself: Am I practicing 'cultural holiness'? Or am I letting the Holy Spirit conform me into the image of Christ? Am I just another one of the 'Christian drones', just like all the other ones getting through another day? Or am I in relentless hot pursuit of holiness?

A woman once had 10 coins. She lost one of them. She lit a lamp and swept the whole house until she found it. Once she found it she went rejoicing. I see a parallel in this story from Luke. I imagine the panicked woman searching for something she regarded as valuable. She swept the house from top to bottom. There is no apathy when you're looking for something valuable. There is no 'doing what everyone else is doing'. You have one thing on your mind and you pursue it until you find it, and then once you've found it, you rejoice. If only we would pursue holiness like this woman pursued after the coin. If only we would forsake 'cultural holiness' and embrace 'biblical separateness'.

Contra mundum,
Mark

The Beginning of a New Era

Yesterday marked the end of an era. Today marked the beginning of a new one. Yesterday was the last day of my youngest son's five-and-a-half year vacation. Today was his first day of his seventeen-year formal education.

He was so excited to be entering kindergarten, riding the bus to school with his second-grade brother and third-grade cousin. It is the start of an exciting time, not only for him, but for mom and dad. We have seen for two years now, the benefit of a solid Christian education in the life of our oldest son. There is no substitute for the staff who genuinely care for my children and their eternal destiny. Many other schools around here, public and private, may offer more in the way of technology, languages or sports... but do they offer more of Christ? The blessing of being able to send our children to such a high quality school far outweighs what the other schools have to offer.

We give praise to our great Provider for allowing us to confidently send our kids to a place that agrees with us doctrinally and that understands what we are trying to accomplish in the lives of those whom He has given us charge over.

Forever grateful,
Mark

Viability

Viability is now the big buzzword being thrown around now in the abortion debate. The word has popped up every now and then in the battle over saving the pre-born, but seems to be the ‘new’ big word in the argument again .

Consider what Randy Acorn says in his book ‘ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments’:

Viability is an arbitrary concept… In Roe V. Wade, the Supreme Court defined viability as the point when the unborn is "potentially able to live outside the mother’s womb, albeit with artificial aid". The critical issue in when this point is reached is the development of the child’s lungs.

But why make worthiness to live dependent upon the development of the lungs? Why not say he becomes human in the fourth week because that’s when his heart beats? Or the sixth week because that’s when he has brain waves? (Both are also arbitrary, yet both would eliminate all abortions currently performed). Someone could argue that personhood begins when the unborn first sucks his thumb or responds to light and noise. Or why not say that personhood begins when the child first takes his first step or his potty trained?

There is only one objective point of origin for any human being – and only one point at which there was not a human being a moment ago, and there is now. That point is conception.

That concept was not above John McCain’s pay grade to figure out. McCain understands the value and worth of the pre-born and seeks to protect them. In our day of technology, it is pure hogwash that we 'really aren't sure when life begins'. Does Senator Obama not care that the lives of our nations babies are being extinguished by saline solutions? Does Senator Obama not care that perfectly formed hand and arms and feet and legs are being torn off of our pre-born babies? Can anyone really believe that 'mankind is basically good'? Who gave us the right to do such atrocities? The Supreme Court?

There is only One Supreme Court, and it is in that courtroom that our nation will be judged for its failure to protect our innocent human lives.

Vote Pro-Life. You will be saving your future.

U-Turns in Ezekiel

Repentance. A change of mind and a change of attitude that results in a change of behavior. A 180-degree turn around. Going one direction and then turning around and then going the other direction.

Wayne Grudem in his work on Systematic Theology defines repentance as 'a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.

I've been plowing through Ezekiel in my morning readings. Not the easiest book of the Bible by any stretch. In my reading today, I came upon some repentance passages. They were addressed to the house of Israel, but the principle is applicable to us today: if we practice righteousness, then we live; If we practice wickedness, then we die. Practicing righteousness requires a change of our mind and attitude about our wickedness, agreeing with God about the heinousness of our sins, and turning around to do that which is righteous. Of course, we first rely on Christ and HIS righteousness, without which NO ONE can do one shred of a righteous act.

Hear (or read) the words of 'turning' or 'repentance' from Ezekiel 33: "Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive? Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’ And you, son of man, say to your fellow citizens, ‘The righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’ When I say to the righteous he will surely live, and he so trusts in his righteousness that he commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but in that same iniquity of his which he has committed he will die. But when I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness, if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statutes which ensure life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced justice and righteousness; he shall surely live. Yet your fellow citizens say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right,’ when it is their own way that is not right. When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, then he shall die in it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righteousness, he will live by them."

Turn or burn.

Lovingly and truthfully,
Mark

Marks of a True Believer

Who is a true Christian? Many people make the claim, but as the saying goes, not everyone who is talking about heaven is going there. William Hendrickson remarks that "the kingdom is not for weaklings, waverers, or compromisers. It is not won by deferred prayers, unfulfilled promises, broken resolutions and hesitant testimonies. It is for strong and sturdy men, like Joseph, Nathan, Elijah, Daniel, Mordecai, Peter, Steven and Paul… and valiant women like Ruth, Deborah, Esther and Lydia." What does he mean?

He means the same thing that Jesus meant when he commanded us to enter through the narrow gate. In Luke 13:24, it says to ‘strive’. In the Greek it is 'agonizomai - from where we
get our word ‘agony’. It requires conscious, purposeful, intense effort. It is not a cheap, easy
way. You come to Christ mourning over your sin, hungering and thirsting for righteousness,
wanting the kingdom at any cost.

Who is a true Christian? How about those people in Matthew 7:21-23, who cried out "Lord, Lord, didn't we do this and that and the other..." These people THOUGHT they knew Christ, but they were sadly mistaken. Jesus told them to depart from him and then called them workers of iniquity. Do you really know Christ? How do you know? What are the marks of a true believer?

Here are several indications that someone is a Christian. Please be clear however... these are indicators that show the world that you are a Christian, but these in and of themselves do not make you a Christian. A person is only a Christian because of the shed blood on the cross that purchased their forgiveness. A person who has not accepted Christ as their Lord CANNOT lay claim to being a Christian no matter how many of these things are true.

1). Recognizes his own weaknesses apart from Christ (Matt 5:3). (be aware... you can still recognize personal weakness and still not have surrendered your life to Christ)
2). A genuine love of and zeal for the Word of God. This is God’s communication to you. It is your bread, your food (Matt 4:4). How do you claim to be a Christian if you don’t study it/ read it/ meditate on it/ share it??
3). Total devotion to prayer. This is your communication back to God. John Bunyan would say that ‘if you don’t pray, you are not a Christian’. Praying is the normal response of someone who is forgiven.
4). Genuine love for the people of God and the things of God. Do you run to Christian fellowship and/or bible studies or don’t you have time for this? Is church exciting for you or is it a drag? Do God’s people spur you on to love and good deeds or do God’s people bore you.
5). Joyful service. Psalm 100:2 – serve the Lord with gladness. Do we like to serve or be served? Do we take every opportunity to help someone else?

There may be other marks of a true believer, but these may help gauge where we are in our relationship to the Creator and Redeemer.

You Hypocrite!

Barack Obama 'flip-flops' on alot of issues, but one thing he unfortunately hasn't flip-flopped on is his pro-abortion stance. He has a consistent record that is anything but friendly to the pro-lifers and the pre-born.

Obama said an amazing thing in response to a question posed by Rick Warren on Saturday night. Warren asked Senator Obama what America's greatest moral failure was. Obama responded quicker than a Baptist pastor at a revival meeting with a reference to a Bible passage from the Gospel of Matthew: "Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me", he said. This is quite an amazing statement of hypocrisy, given his stand against 'the least of these'. Who are the most helpless among us? Is it not the pre-born in the womb?

Before Obama goes judging America on its moral failure of not doing to the least of these, maybe another quote from Jesus might be appropriate, "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye."

The shame belongs to you, Senator Obama, and the blood of our innocent 'least of these'.

I've Been Blessed Beyond All I Could Think or Imagine

Come Thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.

Meet Mocha

Today my son Jesse became the proud owner of a new pet. Her name is Mocha, and she is a Chestnut Mini-Lop, who happened to win Best of Show in her breed at the local farm show last week.

We were on the receiving end of the generosity of a local business who placed the winning bid for this prize rabbit.

Since we found out the bunny was going to be ours, I spent four evenings building a bunny hutch for Mocha, hammering together two-by-fours and chicken wire. The hutch is well equipped with a small living room with a round entrance; a play area including a ramp to the loft area; an eating area; and of course a stylish purple litter box where she will do... well... you know...

The dog wasn't real happy to find out he just gained a new sister. And no doubt the feelings are mutual for sister. Mocha is a little jumpy in her new environs (I guess I've been a little out of whack too when I've moved to a new home). But she will soon learn that she's in good hands - Jesse will make a great bunny owner.

Poured Out

In chapter five of Romans, the Apostle Paul tells us that 'the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us'.

That phrase 'poured out' means overflowing, super abundance, gushing out, profusion, lavish outpouring. John MacArthur makes the comment that "our Heavenly Father does not proffer his love in measured drops, but in immeasurable torrents". This gives us unwavering assurance and comfort that the God who saves us is the God who keeps us.

The hymn, 'The Love of God' describes this pouring out of God's love very well. Written in 1917 by Frederick M. Lehman, the lyrics follow:

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Refrain

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
Refrain

I Pledge Allegiance to What?

Am I the only one that thinks that the Pledge to the Christian flag is odd? There are a couple versions of this pledge, one of which goes like this:

"I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag, and to the Savior, for whose kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe."

It seems iconish or Catholic-esque to me. If we take the 'flag' part out of that paragraph then I could live with it because the rest of the words are mostly biblical (I would change the last phrase to say 'all who repent and believe'). I pledge my allegiance to the Savior alone, not to the recently man-made symbol of him. I read some things on the internet on how this flag came into being and its uses and such... I understand the symbolism that is meant here, but do we really need a 'Christian Flag', to divert our attention? Don't we already have the beauty of Christ to capture our gaze? Don't we already have the cross? Don't we already have biblical symbols that remind us of or point us to the Savior, like the ordinances of Communion and Baptism? Do we find any such pledge in the Bible?

I'm just asking...

The Theology of Resting in God

I couldn't resist sharing the devotion for August 12, from Oswald Chambers' classic devotional work, "My Utmost for His Highest".

"Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 8:26).

When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God. We come to our wits’ end, showing that we don’t have even the slightest amount of confidence in Him or in His sovereign control of the world. To us He seems to be asleep, and we can see nothing but giant, breaking waves on the sea ahead of us.

"… O you of little faith!" What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, "We missed the mark again!" And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.

There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.

We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him.

Goodbye Charlotte

Though I had not seen you for years, I still remember those days as a kid when we would come to visit. And I remember your visits to our house too. Those were days and years gone by too fast.

We prayed for you as you traveled down the painful road of cancer. You didn't die on Sunday. You are more alive now than ever, because you are now face to face with the Savior and your pain and toil are over.

You are free now... enjoying the benefits of eternity... something that the rest of us long for. Goodbye Charlotte, I'll see you on the other side.

Eliot Mooney - One of the Many Reasons Why I am Strongly Pro Life

Go to Randy Alcorn's website and read about Eliot Mooney: http://randyalcorn.blogspot.com/

Or see the video about him here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th6Njr-qkq0

Pew Crimes

I recently read an outstanding book by James R. White called "Pulpit Crimes". In it, he suggests that the impotency found in today's Christian circles is largely due to the 'crimes' committed in the pulpit. In some cases, pastors (or anyone who stands behind the sacred desk) often have not taken their task of preaching the Word quite as seriously as they are expected to. Clarity of speech is non-existant at times. Explanations of crucial cornerstone doctrines maybe confusing or even flat out wrong. Proper exegesis, dividing the Word correctly, is a thing of the past.

In typical James R. White fashion, he does much to make the reader think through the issues. I did come to an unexpected conclusion, however, upon finishing the book. I wondered how many of those 'pulpit crimes' I had been committing as I teach Sunday School. Furthermore, I wondered how many 'PEW' crimes I had been committing. After all, the pastor is not the only criminal here, right?

I considered writing my own book on 'pew crimes'. If I were to write such a book, I would include the following 'pew crimes', of which there is enough evidence to convict any of us of being guilty:
1). Stumbling into church at the last minute, unprepared for worship. How often have we stayed up late on Saturday night for entertainment value, only to have our worship lackluster on Sunday morning.
2). A wandering and distracted mind during worship. The afternoon dinner or football game looms large in our minds while we're singing, 'How Great Thou Art'.
3). Pretending to know it all, thus being unteachable. We're a pretty intelligent bunch of Christians, we are...
4). Carrying a load of guilt from unconfessed sin into the worship service. Isaiah tells us in chapter 57 that our 'iniquities have made a separation between you and your God'.
5). Participating in the communion service without a full self-examination (eating and drinking condemnation to yourself).
6). Being an "over-Berean", that is, over-criticizing the pastor. Holding the pastor or teacher accountable to Biblical truth, as the noble Bereans did in the book of Acts, is one thing. Criticizing out of selfish motives is quite another.
7). Focusing on style and dress. Yes, the fashion police are alive and well in the church. We want to make sure we are respectful and modest in our attire, but our family motto has always been: 'we dress up on the inside'.

I am sure there are many others I could list, but I am starting to convict myself.
Are you as guilty as I am?

George Mueller, Devoted to Prayer - Part 3

So, what can we learn from this man of God, George Mueller?

He was a man who was fully devoted to prayer. After having been sickly as a young man, by 1839, George was physically and mentally healthy than he’d ever been. He attributed this to his habit of rising early to pray (and the eccentric habit of dunking his head in cold water).

George also realized that God's sovereignty was at the very root of his confidence. He said, "God is almighty, the hearts of all men are in his hands."

I will let Mueller speak for himself as I make several observations from his life. Quotes are taken from the biography, Delighed in God, by Roger Steer.

Mueller had proper FOCUS – "My eyes look not at the empty stores and the empty purse, but to the riches of the Lord only".

Mueller had NO WORRIES – "Our need is my comfort"

Mueller had JOY – "Inexpressible was the delight I had in God, who had thus given me the full answer to my thousands of prayers"

Mueller had PATIENCE – "See how precious it is to wait on God! See how those who do not do so our confounded! Is it not manifest that it is most precious, in every way to depend on God?"

Mueller had VISION – "My chief object was the glory of God, by giving a practical demonstration as to what could be accomplished simply through the instrumentality of prayer and faith". (reflecting on the days when he was seeking God for wisdom regarding starting the orphanage)

Mueller had unshakable FAITH– "My hope was in God alone. I knew him, and I knew He would do what was best for me. My heart was satisfied with Him. I delighted myself in Him." (when he thought his first wife was dying from a serious illness. She survived that particular illness.)

Mueller had PERSEVERANCE – "The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not go on praying; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God’s glory, they should pray until they get it. He has heard my prayers tens of thousands of times. Once I am persuaded that a thing is right and for the glory of God, I go on praying for it until the answer comes – George Mueller never gives up!"

Many people would ask George the secret to his spiritual success, to which he would reply,
"There was a day when I died, utterly died. Died to George Muller, his opinions, preferences, tastes and will – died to the world, its approval or censure – died to the approval or blame of even my brethren and friends – and since then I have studied to show myself approved only unto God".

George Mueller did die... physically. On March 10, 1898 at 6:00am, George peacefully went to his heavenly home... but not without making an eternal impact in this world.

What will you and I accomplish as a result of meeting with God in prayer???

George Mueller, Devoted to Prayer - Part 2

To get to the reason for George Muller’s spiritual success, we need to start early in his life: He lived a godless and reckless life when he was young. He was a liar and a thief.
When his mother was dying, he was spending time out on the street drunk. He spent four weeks in jail at age 16 for stealing. His father, who was an unbeliever bailed him out.
George’s father sent him to the University of Halle to study divinity and prepare for the ministry because "that would be a good living". Neither he nor George had any spiritual aspirations.

When Mueller was 20 years old, he was invited to a Bible Study. Of that invitation to Bible study he said, "It was to me as if I had found something after which I had been seeking all my life long. I immediately wished to go." As a side note, we can never over-estimate the power of God to change someone's life through a simple invitation to Bible study, church or Sunday School. At the close of the meeting, they sang a hymn and someone prayed. Mueller thought, "I could not pray as well, though I am a much more educated man." After that evening of Bible study, Mueller stated: "I have not the least doubt, that on that evening, God began a work of grace in me. . . . That evening was the turning point in my life."

Six or seven weeks later and after much prayer, Mueller returned to see his father to seek his permission to become a missionary. His father was furious, disowning him. In the hopes of becoming a missionary, Muller went to England to work with the London Missionary Society, but because of his theology and ministry convictions his association with them ended.

In the meantime, in the summer of 1829, George became sick and ended up staying with another man of God while he recovered in the town of Teignmouth.

Two crucial discoveries while he was sick:
1) . the preciousness of reading and meditating on the word of God, and
2). the truth of the doctrines of grace.

He said 40 years later that his preaching had been fruitless from 1825 to 1829 in Germany. But then he had been taught the doctrine of Grace in England. Nornally, we might look at 'sickness' as being a disturbance or interruption in our plans, but as God's sovereignty goes, Mueller was right on schedule... In learning these doctrines of grace and God's sovereignty, Mueller states,
"…when it pleased God to reveal these truths to me, and my heart was brought to such a state that I could say, "I am not only content simply to be a hammer, an axe, or a saw, in God's hands; but I shall count it an honor to be taken up and used by Him in any way; and if sinners are converted through my instrumentality, from my inmost soul I will give Him all the glory"

God's sovereignty = Mueller's confidence. It was at this time that George Mueller sought to glorify God through a children's ministry, and the idea of the orphanage was born. Mueller and his wife prayed incessantly for wisdom and guidance. It became clear that this is what the Lord would have him do in ministry. When he studied the passage in Psalm 81:10, where it says, 'open your mouth wide and I will fill it', George realized that they had prayed long and hard about whether or not to start this kind of ministry, but not how to fund it or staff it. So now he set out to pray diligently for God to provide everything necessary to make it happen.

Because of his confidence in God to provide, he didn't take a regular salary, he didn't go into debt or take out loans and he didn't ask anyone directly for money at any time. God answered these prayers for provision exceedingly and abundantly more than Mueller could have thought or asked. In his biography on George Mueller, Delighted in God, Roger Steer details many, many accounts of how Mueller and the orphanage was well provided for. Answered prayer, after answered prayer are recorded in this very encouraging book.

What can we learn from a guy like Mueller? Part 3 next time will let George Mueller speak for himself as I post quotes from the book then.

George Mueller, Devoted to Prayer - Part 1

Last summer I read a biography on George Mueller, one of my heroes of the faith. I recently reacquainted myself with this great man of God for a Sunday School lecture.

He was born in 1805, and lived a full life of 92 years, going to heaven in 1898. He was born in Germany, but spent most of his life in Bristol, England where he pastored the same church for over sixty-six years. Mueller married Mary Groves in 1830 (she died in 1870). They had one daughter that survived infancy (Lydia). He married Suzanna Sanger in 1871 (she died in 1894).

When George was 28, he founded The Scripture Knowledge Institute for Home and Abroad. There were five aggressive goals of the Institute: 1). establish schools for children and adults to teach Bible knowledge, 2). Bible distribution, 3). missionary support, 4). tract and book distribution, and 5). "to board, clothe and Scripturally educate destitute children who have lost both parents by death".

Mueller's vision for children grew into the orphan ministry that he is so well-known for.
He built five large orphan houses and cared for 10,024 orphans in his lifetime. He never took out a loan or incurred debt and he never asked anyone for money. He didn’t take a salary for 68 years and he rejected life insurance and retirement accounts. Mueller, his family and his orphans never went hungry.

George Mueller was quite the accomplished individual. He did all this while he was preaching three times a week from 1830 to 1898. If you do the math, that is at least 10,000 sermons.
At age 70 he fulfilled a life-long dream of missionary work for the next 17 years until he was 87.
He traveled to 42 different countries, preaching once a day, addressing some three million people. In 1878, Mueller and his wife Suzanna were invited to the White House to meet with President and Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes.

How does someone accomplish so much? To what do we attribute the many spiritual successes and victories of George Mueller? Find out next time!

Back To School

We did a little 'back to school' shopping tonight. My sons both picked out their bookbag/backpacks and lunch boxes. We have a few more things to get before the first day of school at the end of August. It may sound trivial, but the bookbags and lunch boxes are an answer to prayer. When you thank God for His provision, and pray for Him to continue to provide - and then when there is money to get backpacks and lunch boxes - that is a direct answer to prayer.

We recently had another direct answer to prayer regarding the kids going back to school. They attend our church's school - First Baptist Christian School - where they are receiving a top-notch education. We have been extremely impressed with the program. For some months now, there has been a need to fill a vacancy in the Principal position. And so we prayed. This is no light matter for us, and so we prayed for this person who would be a key in setting the direction and policy for the school. We prayed for this person who would be shepherding our children for 7 hours out of the day. We prayed for this person who would be bringing new ideas and thoughts to the table.

Yesterday, we spent the day helping our new principal, his wife and seven children move into their new house. This man - and his family - are a direct answer to our many prayers. We have heard him speak several times at our church, we spent time with his family yesterday and we are looking forward to knowing them more personally in the coming days and weeks. We are quite confident that this man and his family were the ones that God had in mind to minister to our family at the school - and to use in increasing our faith, seeing as how He is interested in hearing and acting on our prayers.

In a familiar passage of scripture, James 4:2, we are told that 'you have not because you ask not'. We can literally state the converse of that: 'we asked, and we received'.

Thank you Lord, for another answer.