New & RE-New: A Blog in Two Installments

NEW: Part 1

  I'm glad for peripheral vision.

Standing in the living room talking to Deb, I noticed,

         in my peripheral vision,

a tip-toeing boy, clad in Spider-man blue and red, stealth-fully sneaking across in front of our gate.  Why tip-toes on concrete, I'm not sure, but he was none-the-less stealth-ful. He made it to the other side of our gate, reached up his hand and...

  guess...c'mon, guess....

     YEP, you're right! 

          Rang our bell and RAN, not quite as stealth-fully as his approach.

The grin began at my chin, made it's way up both sides of my mouth to my ears.  "Babe...we've just been pranked!" 

   For those who don't understand the meaning of this, I will 'sum up' - we were accepted and loved (in an odd, adolescent, different sort of way) by our neighbors children!  I obligingly opened our gate, looked around, and said loudly in Khmer, "I'm not sure who rang the bell. There's no one here."

   As I turned to go back inside, I looked across the street, toward the boy's house 2 doors down, to another gate that was dark inside...and slightly open - and smiled. 

  Our bell rang several more times that day.

Since then, God has opened the door for ongoing conversation and sharing about His great love with our neighbors....Ahhh...the NEW.

"Behold,I am doing a NEW thing...." 

She smiled at me...

I smiled at her…
    She smiled at me…
            She smiled at me…
                      I smiled at her…
And so it went for about 10 minutes as I tried to get my computer online at the public coffee shop where I had just finished an accountability meeting with a close friend.  As we had wrapped up our time together, I felt compelled to linger a bit longer….
        And she smiled at me…
            I smiled back…do I know her?...no, I don’t recognize her…

Oh Lord!  How I long to show Your glory to the Nations!  How I long to speak to the hearts of these people I am surrounded by day by day!  I struggle so with this language!  Make me your instrument!  When do I know when it is the right time to share Your truths?  I do not want to get ahead of you, but I am so impatient!  It’s not like someone is just going to come up to me and ask me to lead them to You!  Oh Lord, help me!  (This is my prayer, whispered in my heart as I ride in the tuk-tuk along these crowded streets.)

            And she smiled at me as she approached my table…we began a simple conversation about my computer (that still wouldn’t get online!)
                    May I sit here with you?
                        Well, certainly!  How are you?
                            Well, I feel such joy when I see your smile.  Why do you have such joy in your smile? 

Oh Lord, forgive my doubting ways!
Thank you friends for praying! 

After many hours of listening, talking, sharing, listening, talking some more, I asked this dear lady if she wanted this joy today; after getting over her shock that she didn’t have to wait for a special ceremony or time, she said “Yes!” and we prayed together there in that coffee shop. 
And as we lifted our heads together
she had tears in her eyes as
She smiled at me and said
“I am so happy to see your smile.  Now I have the peace and joy I have been seeking for so many years.”

Shine Jesus Shine! 

It's Not JUST Noodles

   
Writing "Gwuiteo", even phonetically, does not do it justice.  It's one of those words you just have to read in Khmer or Thai to really say it correctly. Anyway, gwuiteo is one of our favorite breafast soups. We know. Some of you are thinking, "Breakfast soup?!?"  Yes, breakfast soup. Now, if it was just the gwuiteo, it wouldn't be any good - gwuiteo are just noodles. Dry noodles (think dry Ramen). You need a bowl for the gwuiteo. And then you need some water - no, not water, but some good broth. Oh, and then add some meat - chicken, beef, or pork. Then some veggies - ooh - and some garlic. What Deb? Oh yeah, can't forget the bean sprouts. Or the squeeze of a lime wedge. Mmm. And then a little 'ma-tich' (HOT little green and red peppers). Oh, and the spicy sauce for dipping your meat in when you remove it from the soup.

    Now you get the idea. It's not JUST gwuiteo, the noodles. It's GWUITEO, the savory combination of broth, noodles, veggies, meat, spicies, garlic, a little bit of HOT (or much HOT, depending on your taste), and dipping sauce. 

    So it is with the church, the ecclessia, the 'called out ones' of God. It's never been the church, the building. It's always been the CHURCH - the diverse combination of individuals, all uniquely prepared and equipped to bring 'flavor' to the world - in this case, SALT and LIGHT. As we go about, following in the footsteps of our Master Jesus, making disciples, let us becareful, lest we think we know who should belong in the kingdom and who shouldn't. Consider Him, who chose fishermen, a tax collector, religious zealot, those well studied, soft spoken, 'spicy' spoken - a unique blend of individuals upon whom was laid the task of spreading the word about the kingdom. Let us go forth, and do likewise, and be GWUITEO to the world around us.

"I could not find my people...."

He had been missing for 10 minutes. Poor Borei. He wasn't sure what to do. So he sat down and waited. And that's where I found him.
   Having completed an informative canal tour of Bangkok, Thailand, all the young leaders were enjoying a delicious (and sometimes spicy) buffet lunch at a riverside restaurant.  The meal was wrapping up and Borei headed to the bathroom - everyone else headed to the buses to depart for the hotel. When Borei exited the bathroom, he found an almost empty room. 
    "Where are my people?" he asked the server.  The server pointed to the dock, where the boats dropped everyone off at the riverside restaurant. Borei ran to the dock only to find all the boats gone. This was his first trip out of his country, to a city with almost the same number of people as his entire country, Borei was alone. At least so he thought.
    "I could not find my people. I thought, 'Oh, what should I do? Where should I go?' And then God said to my heart, 'Do not be afraid. You are my sheep - I will find you.'  And then you came around the corner!"
    I shouted his name, he turned his head - a smile of relief and joy stretched from ear to ear. We hugged and laughed, both relieved.  "God told me He would find me!" he shared.
    The next time you feel alone consider him who said, "My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life....no one can snatch them out of my hand."  We are never alone.

Broken to bring Healing - Consider him

I had to 'consider him' as Deb & I read "My Utmost" by Oswald Chambers a little while ago.
     "There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other....We are called to intimacy with the gospel and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us.... Why shouldn't we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with his Son....If God can accomplish his purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank him for breaking yours."
      He who knew no sin became sin for us.
           he was falsely accused, slandered, maligned, yet did not retaliate.
                All for our benefit
                     All for OUR sins, so that we might be reconciled to God
O Lord, make my life a highway, a pathway to redemption for those who are lost. Help me "strengthen feeble arms and weak knees so that the lame
  [those looking at my life and you at work through me, OR, those who not yet know you, OR those who are  young or weak in their walk with you]
     may not be disabled, but rather healed."
Help me embrace brokenness with the nail-pierced hands of Jesus, that I may draw closer to him,
    and in so doing,
       that those close to me will see and be touched and changed by the Saviour.
 In Christ's name I pray. Amen

Power for Boldness

We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice.  But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. Rom. 5:7-8, The Message

Consider him who showed us, 

     who demonstrated to us

         Such an extravagant love - "Lavished" upon us, it is recorded in another part of God's word. And with this great love comes great responsibility - 

  That we should walk even as he walked,

     in the power which was unleashed by the death and resurrection of the very Son of God.  

For the International day of Prayer, the body of Christ prayed the below prayer together, all around the world.  May it remind us to Consider him, and remember the power released by the resurrection of the Christ: this is the power at work within all who call on His name.

Lord Jesus Christ,

Because You were dead, but are now risen,

   and the Father has given You a Name above all names,

   You will defeat all powers of evil.

Tear down strongholds and ideologies that resist the knowledge of God.

Remove the veil of darkness that covers the peoples.

Restrain the evil that promotes violence and death.

Bring deliverance from demonic oppression.

Break the hold of slavery, tyranny and disease.

Fill us with courage to preach Your word fearlessly,

   and to intercede for the lost faithfully.  

          In Christ's name we pray. Amen

Consider...

Consider Him....
"...who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right had of the throne of God. Consider him who suffered opposition from such sinful men so that you do not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:2-3 NIV)

in all we are and do, we 'consider him', who -
 left heaven for earth
   walked with the least of these
      loved us even while we were yet away from Him
         who wrapped a towel around his waist and washed feet
             endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down
             at the right hand of the throne of God.
and who said, "Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12 NIV) Challenging, to say the least, yet, this is who has called us and set before us an example to follow - Jesus.

in all you are about today, will you 'consider Him'?