Archive for July, 2009

« Older Entries

Love Tank

Friday, July 24th, 2009

 I’m holed up in a university dormitory in Gdansk, Poland, as I write this. Am refining a parenting workshop about the five love languages, based on Gary Chapman’s book by that title.

The premise of the workshop is that God has created us with an inner “love tank” that longs to be filled. As parents, one of our key responsibilities is to fill our kids’ tanks by communicating to them in their love language – either affirming words, quality time, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. When we do so, they are reassured of our love and this impacts their emotional well-being.

God, our heavenly Father, does the same thing for those who are His children. Romans 5:5 says, “For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love” (Romans 5:5).

 

The Holy Spirit has been given to all who place their faith in Jesus Christ – what an amazing, ongoing way for the Father to fill His kids’ love tanks! This ought to serve as a permanent reminder of His love, enough to erase any doubt of whether or not He cares for us. How should that impact us?

 

Well, it ought to give us the confidence to believe that God will keep His promises to us. It should give us the freedom to share our innermost thoughts with Him, telling Him our desires and fears. It should grant us the joy of knowing we’re loved unconditionally and forever, and it should give us the courage to face the future knowing He’s with us. Add these things together, and the sum is emotional health and well-being.

 

If we profess to be God’s children but doubt whether or not He truly loves us, then we need to ask why those doubts are present. Is it because God has failed to fill our love tank? Or is it because we simply don’t understand Him and His ways? Chances are, it’s the latter. And that can be remedied with a prayer: “God, cleanse my heart from doubt so Your love may dwell there unhindered. I invite You to fill my love tank to overflowing!”

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Devotionals | 1 Comment »

A Song in Your Heart

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

King David wrote, “I will sing to the LORD because he has been so good to me” (Psalm 13:6). We could look at his life and say, “Yeah, I’d sing, too, if I was royalty and as wealthy as he was.”

Before we’re too unsympathetic, let’s step inside his head for a moment and see how he really felt sometimes: “O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the light to my eyes, or I will die” (vv.1-3).

David may have been a king, but he endured a lot of difficulties and sometimes felt as though God had abandoned him. In the midst of his trials, however, he kept his perspective right: “But I will trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me” (v. 5). His heart, burdened with troubles, could sing because he looked beyond the tough stuff and focused on God’s goodness in his life.

Can we do the same? Can we sing to the Lord when our teenagers make lousy choices that carry far-reaching consequences? Can we sing when tragedy strikes? Can we sing when our finances take a nosedive, or when our dreams and hopes disintegrate?

The very thought of singing to the Lord in the midst of trials sounds ludicrous. As difficult as it may seem, however, it is possible. Even when we don’t understand or appreciate the direction our lives take, we can trust in God’s unfailing love and rejoice because He has promised to rescue us. We can sing because His goodness never fails. We can sing because He’s able to work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. We can sing because His purposes are eternal, and because His presence is always with us.

Next time you feel like God has forgotten you, make a list of the things about which you can sing. Then do it. Read that list aloud to God and thank Him for His goodness. Guaranteed – your heart will be filled with joy and hope, and others around you will be blessed.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Devotionals | No Comments »

Announcement re: Blog Schedule

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

 Hi ladies! I’m in Poland right now, headed to the Berlin airport in a couple of hours to pick up our Canadian volunteers who will be joining us to minister at an evangelistic family camp for the next 10 days or so. This is my last opportunity to post anything online as we will not have internet access until I return to Canada on August 4th.

Please pray for our team, that we will have physical strength and good health to keep up to the schedule. And pray for the salvation of the campers who will be attending. Many are from poor and at-risk families where alcoholism is a problem. Most are non-believers.

You’ll find two more devotional blogs this week — Wednesday and Friday. After those have been posted, the next one will be on Friday, August 7th. If, by chance, there is internet access after all, I’ll post travel blogs as my schedule permits.

In the meantime, blessings on you and yours!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Announcements | 2 Comments »

Good News

Monday, July 20th, 2009

I’m reading the book of Romans now. My spirit is refreshed as I read about God’s plan of salvation for all mankind. It’s so clear and simple. I’m simply going to write out several verses today and let God’s Word speak for itself.

If you’re already a believer, then spend some time pondering what God has done for you. What did it cost Him? What price are you willing to pay in return? What are you doing to tell others about this free gift?

If you’re not a believer, then I encourage you to read these verses and ask God to help you understand what they mean. There’s nothing you’ve done that’s too complicated or grave for God to forgive. If you want peace with Him, rest assured He’s made the way for that to happen. Simply do what He says and place your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation rather than relying on good deeds or a religious upbringing.

Now sit back and savor the sweetness in God’s Word….

“We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us…So that’s why faith is the key! God’s promise is given to us as a free gift…Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 3:23-26; 4:16; 5:1).

God’s Word speaks for itself. He loves us, He wants relationship with us, He made the way for that to happen. Why would we refuse it?

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Devotionals | No Comments »

Journal Entry for July 16-20

Monday, July 20th, 2009

We’ve been holed up in a university dormitory in Gdansk, Poland, for the past four days. Pretty basic facilities, but they did the job. Here are the pluses: There was a little fridge so we could store milk, cheese, and yogurt for our breakfasts. There were two big windows that allowed air movement to dry our clothes after handwashing them in the shower stall. And the building was secure – we had to show an ID card at the front door before the receptionist would electronically open it so we could enter.

Here are the challenges: A toilet that refused to flush properly and then decided to leak. It grew worse by the day, leaving the bathroom floor wet. Yesterday I mopped it four times in an effort to keep it as clean as possible. And oh yeah, there was the pub located at the end of our hallway, about four doors down. The patrons obviously like loud music…until 2 or 3 a.m. I bought sleeping pills after the first night – a woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do to get her beauty sleep.

We spent the majority of our time preparing for the upcoming evangelistic family camp. Besides teaching an English class and Bible study each morning, we’ll also be teaching five parenting workshops. Bless his heart, Gene collected material for the latter before we left Canada because I was swamped with writing two more chapters under deadline for my next book proposal. Now it was my responsibility to organize and edit what he’d done.

Late Friday afternoon, we decided to take a break and head for the beach. Gdansk is located on the Baltic Sea, and its beaches are beautiful. So, we caught a tram and spent about 20 minutes traveling through the city. When we arrived, we took off our shoes and walked along the surf. Lovely! We decided to spend most of the next afternoon there. Things didn’t go as planned!

By the time we finished the day’s work, it was after 1:30 and we still hadn’t eaten lunch. So, we found a little restaurant, grabbed a bite to eat, and then caught the tram. Unfortunately, the sky turned black and a wind came up at the same time. When we arrived at the beach, we were the only people headed for the surf against a tide of about 300-400 leaving the area. Not to be deterred, we spread our towels on the sand and sat down. That lasted about 30 seconds.

Lightning flashed around us, thunder boomed and cracked, and we joined about 60 others under cover as the rain began to fall. Five minutes later, it let up enough for us to try again. That lasted maybe a minute before we once again ran for cover. A third try let us stay on the beach for about 10 minutes before the rain rolled in once more. That’s when we gave up and caught the tram back to the university. We’ll try again on Sunday, we thought. Things didn’t go as planned!

Yesterday dawned with black sky and more rain. We spent most of the day hunkering down in our room, waiting for a break in the weather. When it came, we walked to a huge mall about 30 minutes’ away where we found internet access outside a Kentucky Fried Chicken food booth – no kidding – a KFC.

This is one of the biggest malls I’ve ever seen – three stories of glass-front stores with wares of every description, many of them North American name brands. It’s been only 20 years since Communism fell – how a country could make so much progress in two decades is beyond me. Or…is it progress? Actually, the availability of goods might be a danger to these folks as a materialistic mentality takes hold. We met a Canadian couple on the street and walked with them to the mall – he’s Polish and they’d returned to visit his parents here. The wife looked around the mall and said, “This is absolute nonsense. It’s dangerous for the people – for so long, under Communist rule, they didn’t have material goods available. Now the goods are available and they buy them even though they cannot afford them.”

Well, our train leaves in 25 minutes and we still have to walk to the station lugging our bags. I’ve gotta dash!  

I might not have internet access for the next week. If so, it will be quiet on my travel blogs. If not, I’ll do my best to keep you posted about how things are going at the camp!

Tags: , ,
Posted in Travels | No Comments »

I Told You So

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Have you ever said, or felt like saying, “I told you so”? Paul did. He’d been taken prisoner and was being transported by ship to Italy when lousy weather blew in (Acts 27:1-20). Knowing that the fall season made weather dangerous for long voyages, he expressed his concerns to the ship’s officers: “Sirs,” he said, “I believe there is trouble ahead if we go on – shipwreck, loss of cargo, injuries, and danger to our lives.” But the officer in charge listened more to the ship’s captain and the owner than to Paul” (vv.10,11).

What happened? Paul’s predictions came true. The scenario turned nightmarish. “The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. The following day they even threw out the ship’s equipment and anything else they could lay their hands on. The terrible storm raged unabated for many days, blotting out the sun and the stars, until at last all hope was gone” (vv. 18-20).

That’s when Paul said, “I told you so. If you’d listened to me, you would have avoided this loss and these injuries.” If I’d been in his place, my words would probably have been tinged with anger. To the listener, they might have sounded more like, “You’re a bunch of idiots. I was right and you know it. Now look at what’s happened!”

Paul may have felt a little angry, too, but he didn’t let it control his response. Instead, he spoke words of encouragement. How could he do this to the very people who’d refused to take his counsel and landed him in this mess? I believe it was because he knew God, understood His sovereignty, and understood that He was responsible for him.

Look at Paul’s words: “Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me, and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid…’” (v.23). When our circumstances turn sour, we often forget that God is sovereign. And when other people are involved in making those circumstances miserable against our better judgment, it’s easy to feel annoyed or angry.

If we find ourselves in situations where we’re tempted and even justified to say, “I told you so,” let’s remember that God is sovereign. We belong to Him, and He’s responsible for us. If He allows others to ignore our counsel, as wise as it seems to us, then we need to trust Him and His  ways.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Devotionals | No Comments »

Journal Entry for July 13 — Auschwitz

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Last night we were the house guests of a lovely Polish couple – the parents of Carol’s roommate. We arrived at their home in Auscchwitz around 8:00 pm after an 8-hour train ride, and then they treated us to a traditional evening meal.

Irene and I met for coffee early this morning. Even though her English language is very limited and my Polish is nil, we were able to communicate using simple words, pictures, and hand gestures.  What a sweet lady!

My hostess searching for a word in her Polish-English dictionary.

My hostess searching for a word in her Polish-English dictionary.

After breakfast on the patio, Carol took us to the Aushwitz Museum. This was sobering, to say the least. More than one million people died there in the 1940s. It originally held Polish political prisoners – doctors, lawyers, professors, and such. It later evolved into a killing house when the Germans’ plan to purge the region of Jews failed. Palestine and other countries around the world refused to accept Jews as immigrants, so the Germans rounded them up and sent them to the camp. There they died either by gassing, hard labor, or starvation.

A map showed how far people were transported – in cattle cars – to the camp. Considering that some came from 2000 km (approximately 1200 miles) away, it’s no wonder many died enroute. Once they arrived, life turned into hell on earth. Upon deboarding the trains, Jews were immediately sorted by their ability to work – the able-bodied were sent to the left while most children, the sick, and the aged were automatically sent to the right. That meant being gassed under the guise of having showers. One’s chances of survival were based largely on job assignment (an office job would require less physical output, therefore starvation was less likely than if doing strenuous manual labor) or outside contacts (Polish prisoners could receive care packages from family members while Jewish prisoners could not).

Various signs told the story along the tour: “Corpses of those killed trying to escape were left in this place as a warning to others.” “Roll call took place here, sometimes lasting a dozen hours or more.” “Hundreds of people died working in the quarry at this point; others were executed.” Watchtowers enabled guards to watch all movement in the lanes between the barracks, and electric fences kept people from escaping, although some prisoners committed suicide by deliberately running into them.

Prisoners' barracks surrounded by electric fences

Prisoners' barracks surrounded by electric fences

Inside the museum, we saw collections of prisoners’ shoes, clothing, eyeglasses, toothbrushes, hair brushes, and even human hair. Nothing was wasted – human hair, for instance, was stuffed into large bales and shipped away to be made into mattresses and blankets and other products. Unbelievable. Whatever personal belongings the prisoners brought with them were collected, sorted, and stored in warehouses until they could be shipped to Germany for distribution. Interestingly, these storage warehouses were nicknamed “Canada” because they were a symbol of affluence.

Perhaps the most sobering moment for me was stepping inside the gas chamber where several candles burned beside three floral bouquets. A sign at the doorway asked everyone to be silent to honor those who had died there. As often as the Germans deemed necessary, 800 men, women, and children would be told to strip and were then jammed into this small enclosure. A soldier would open a canister of poison and drop it through a hole in the roof. Everyone died within 20 minutes. Before the bodies were incinerated, other prisoners were forced to shave the heads and extract all gold teeth. I believe the horror witnessed in this room will never be fully comprehended. It is said that, if the cremations had been a faster process, the number of people gassed would have been much higher. 

Entering the gas chamber -- no indoor pictures were allowed.

Entering the gas chamber -- no indoor pictures were allowed.

One prayer ran through my mind over and over as I toured this site: “God, save us from ourselves.” The depravity of mankind, the evil of the human heart defies comprehension. Why are we offended, then, at the thought of being sinners in need of a Savior?

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Travels | 1 Comment »

Journal Entry for July 11

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Our Romanian team has dwindled over the past day or so. Two flew out of Timisoara, one remained at River of Life to donate his maintenance skills for three weeks. Six of us traveled by van to Budapest where three boarded a British Airways jet bound for Vancouver. And the last three – Gene, Kim, and myself – headed for Slovakia by train today.

Before doing that, however, we took a 3-hour tour of Budapest. 

Welcome to Budapest!

Welcome to Budapest!

 It was wonderful to finally see something other than the airport and train station. Then we met Mike and Nancy Elwood for dinner. They serve with Greater Europe Mission, and Nancy also helped found SHARE, a ministry to help equip missionary parents in the context of their kid’s education. I first met Nancy when she came to an IM conference to provide information and educational testing services for our staff. She later invited me to teach a couple of workshops at a SHARE conference in Hungary in 2008 – that’s where I was when I received word of my dad’s passing. It was good to touch base with them again.

We had a divine appointment on the train to Slovakia. We sat with a college-age fellow who, we learned, could speak English. John told us that he was traveling home to visit his mom, a widow. “She always worries too much about me,” he said. “That’s not good for her. She gets headaches and stomach aches and she can’t sleep at night.” Then he added, “Fear must run in the family, for I do the same thing.”

His speaking the word fear was like throwing a bone to a dog. “I happened to write a book about overcoming fear,” I said. “Did you know the Bible addresses it 366 times?” I mentioned that God’s presence in our lives is the secret to overcoming it. That’s when he said he plans to study theology in Romania after he completes his law studies. The conversation went on to other things, but minutes later he said something completely random: “I read a novel recently. It was about two brothers. The one with a family committed a crime and was sentenced to death. The other, without a family, took his death penalty. He sacrificed himself for the sake of his brother.”

 

I looked at Gene and he looked at me. We read each other’s minds. Without a doubt, God is seeking John. His words provided an easy and automatic lead into a brief chat about what Jesus did for us, how He sacrificed Himself when He paid our death penalty for sin. John listened and nodded. He said, “Many people don’t understand what Jesus did.” I agreed. Then I offered him my NT in the New Living Translation and explained that it told the entire story. He said, “Thank you for your offer. I will consider it and let you know before our journey ends.”

 

Sure enough. Minutes before we reached his destination, he said, “I will accept your offer for the Bible.” Yahoo!! I jumped from my seat and dug through my suitcase until I found it. With sheer joy I handed it to him. Now I’m praying for God to continue drawing John to His heart.

 

“Thank You, God, for divine appointments and for Your great love for mankind.”

 

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Travels | No Comments »

Women

Monday, July 13th, 2009

Women are a fascinating study. Last week, while riding the city train in London, I sat opposite a lady covered in black. Even her hands were gloved. The only exposed part of her body were her eyes. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to ask her about her life – childhood, career, marriage and family, traditions, hopes and dreams. What lay in the heart and mind of this sister behind the black veil?

In Eastern Europe I see women clothed in black, too. These are senior villagers – stooped, wrinkled, and worn.

A senior Romanian lady with whom I did a craft. Isn't she a sweetie?

A senior Romanian lady with whom I did a craft. Isn't she a sweetie?

In Communist days no one wanted to draw attention to themselves, and these women behave the same way today, avoiding eye contact with others when walking down the street. What atrocities have they endured? And how do they survive on a daily basis when they have next to nothing to eat and often no electricity or indoor plumbing? In stark contrast, young women in the same countries are attending college and preparing for a career. Wearing skin-tight jeans or flowing skirts and stylish high heels, they strut down cobblestone streets while chatting on their cell phones.

Scripture talks about a woman named Sheerah. We don’t know what she looked like, but we know what she did. “Ephraim had a daughter named Sheerah. She built the towns of Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah” (1 Chronicles 7:24). I’m in the back of a van riding through Hungary as I write this, so I don’t have study materials at my fingertips to explore this more. However, based on what we know about the culture of that day, Sheerah must have been an extraordinary woman, a leader, a motivator. She had a vision and knew how to fulfill it. She was a team player, able to work with others to accomplish a purpose. What a gal! I wonder how others accepted her and her giftedness. No doubt some followed her leadership; others probably tsk-tsked and criticized her efforts and passion.

Yes, women make for an interesting study. Some are ruled by fear and anxiety. Others rise to seize challenges before them. Some are overcomers – they have to be because they live in abuse or poverty worse than anyone can imagine. Some are creative geniuses. Others are gifted teachers, administrators, caregivers, nurturers, behind-the-scenes servants, artisans.

The differences are many, but they all share one common factor: God loves them and has gifted them to fulfill His purpose for their lives. How exciting is that? May we rise to the call even if means swimming upstream sometimes. And may we be faithful to help those younger, those coming behind us to do the same.

One of my favorite photos from our trip to India.

One of my favorite photos from our trip to India.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Devotionals | No Comments »

Gray Hair

Friday, July 10th, 2009

So…yesterday was my birthday. I won’t tell you how old I am; let’s just say I’m in the second half of my first hundred years.

Aging is an interesting process, don’t you think? My body is starting to act like an old car – it creaks and leaks occasionally. The skin on my neck is starting to sag a wee bit. My upper arms wiggle in the wind if they’re not sleeved. And my hair…well, that’s another story. It’s developing gray highlights with absolutely no effort on my part.

My body protests a bit when I bend down or get down onto the floor. It aches a bit when I rise in the morning. It’s not the suave, sleek shell it used to be; it takes more effort to keep it in reasonable shape these days. Yup, my body’s definitely getting older, but don’t tell my brain. It still thinks I’m 22. 

Proverbs 16:31 says, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life.” As my body ages and my hair turns gray, I look back and give thanks for the life the Lord has given me. It’s been a journey with bumps and detours, highs and lows like everyone else in the world experiences. But all along the way, He’s been my faithful travel companion. He’s shown me how to be content in my circumstances, given me strength in times of weakness, and joy in times of sorrow. He’s shown patience when I’ve been slow to understand the lessons He wanted me to learn. He’s granted forgiveness when I’ve blown it, and skillfully brought good from bad.

Yes, my graying hair proves that there’s a lot of life behind me. Hopefully there’s a lot ahead. I look forward to whatever the next year brings knowing my travel companion will be with me every step of the way.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Devotionals | 2 Comments »

« Older Entries