God is at work here
27 JulThe past nine days have honestly been a blur. An emotional rollercoaster. Times of great victory immediately followed by passes through the valley of the shadow of death. Yes, we’ve seen that shadow this week. And it is so much to process.
I have no idea what I will preach on Sunday, but something is telling me not to worry about it too much. There is so much to say and share about this trip. One thing I know for sure right now is that God is at work here and I am thankful I got to join Him.
I have no idea of the medical numbers, but I would guess it to be that we saw between 800 and 900 patients on this trip. Paula Hooss did women’s ministry for hundreds. Nancy and Marci Gatewood did children’s ministry for hundreds. And Paula and I got to be a part of praying individuallly for hundreds and leading 31 to Christ.
Even more importantly, we have relationships. This is not a get-in and get-out and never see ’em again thing … Not only do we have relationships with the pastors with whom we work, we have relationships with the PEOPLE. As long as that continues, Ebenezer has an obligation to keep going!!
God IS at work here. And I am just glad I got to be here, too!!
Last few things …
16 Jul3:00am Wednesday morning is coming. FAST!! That is the designated time for the buses to pull out of the EBC parking lot, en route to the Columbia Airport. From there, Atlanta and then a direct flight to San Pedro Sula. Make no mistakes in understanding that the “mission” has already begun. The Holy Spirit is already at work in the places we will go and in the hearts of those we will see. I know this sounds so cliche, but I can literally FEEL it!! I am so pumped about this trip!! But there are many things to do, and the clock is ticking …
And the devil is doing his thing, too. One of our team members is still waiting on her passport to be delivered. We are all praying hard that it WILL COME tomorrow. Please join us in that prayer!! And I cannot even describe the things that were thrown at us today at the office. There was one GREAT spot: I got to talk to one of our children about accepting Christ and being baptized. His mom was so careful to not want to encroach on my time of preparation for this trip… Little do they know that was the BEST THING that could’ve happened!!
So now, packing … Praying … Studying … I have no idea what waits for me, but right now there are several speaking opportunities. I thank God for that!! But I am willing to do whatever He wants!! I’ll miss you guys, and my family most of all. A little known fact about me is that I AM heavily entrenched with my family. I love them most of all and 10 days without them will be rough on me!!
You guys pray, and when you think you have prayed enough, pray more!! Pray for us. Pray for Ebenezer. Pray that God will continue to do His thing, and that we will all be willing to do OURS!!!
In One Accord …
2 JulActs 2 describes the day of Pentecost and how the Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way to lead the early church into a time of glorifying God and reaching THOUSANDS. It was unlikely the early church would’ve EVER been that effective in such a brief period of time, but there IS an explanation. They waited on the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus told them before He ascended. They were obedient, and look what God did with them!!
Rev. Oscar Holland shared some thoughts about this on Saturday night at the Honduras meeting I attended. It really sparked a thought in my mind: What could God do with Ebenezer if we were all in one accord?? If we were all in the same place, together, listening to Him, what great things could He do with us??
Truth is, we are not in one accord right now. There is a little too much pride and conflict rolling around. As I told our deacons last night, Ebenezer is actually in pretty good shape compared to some others I know. But, we are not in one accord. And the only reason for that is that we are not all listening and waiting. And to apply this principle from Acts 2, the Holy Spirit will not pour out on us until we are waiting on Him and in the same place!!
So here is the challenge: What if we all started praying this simple prayer: “Lord, bring us all to one accord. To one place.” What if we committed to pray this EVERY DAY for one month?? Let’s do this and see where we are in August!! And if Ebenezer is not your church, what if you prayed that for YOUR church?? What great things will we see from God if we all agree to do this??
What if it sparked a revival in our world?? It could!! Test and see that the Lord is good and faithful!!!
The Lord gives and He takes away
30 MayIn the second part of Job 1:21, Job says this: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (NIV) Never have I seen the meaning of that verse more evidently than in the past seven days in the life of Ebenezer Baptist Church.
This week we have great cause to celebrate with our family!! David and Tracey Daniel are in Korea preparing to bring Maddox home. Many at EBC have prayed for that little boy and that adoption for well over a year. I remember, as if it were yesterday, the day they came and we prayed about this at the start of this procedure. Great joy overwhelms all of us who have walked this difficult path with them, and we are THRILLED that Maddox is on his way HOME!!!
In the same breath, we mourn with our brother (and faithful staff member) Bill Watkins. Bill discovered last week that his step-dad (whom Bill calls DAD because he raised Bill) was found dead in his apartment in Los Angeles. With many tears, Bill boarded the next flight to LA and is now out there trying his best to get home. There is a much longer story behind all of this, but Bill needs our prayers now more than ever. This is one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do.
All of this reminds me of Romans 12:15, when Paul reminded us to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” This week we have cause to do both.
May the name of the Lord be praised!!
One Pastor's Perspective 