Thirsty?

Are you?  See the page on Clean Wells.  I will be updating well information there and I hope it will help maintain knowledge concerning this new aspect of our work here in Kabiyeland.  Thanks so much!    

Ah Sunshine!

I don’t know where all of you are in the world right now, but where I am it is so beautiful.  The sun has risen and as I sit here typing it bathes our entire yard in warmth.  God’s power is amazing and the consistency of the sun rising and setting always reminds me of His consistency.  Similarly would be the tide and the crashing waves of the ocean.  It is so wonderful to know that we serve a God who is consistent!  In Him there is no shifting or changing.  His righteousness endures forever, his love constantly accompanies us throughout our days and we are continually immersed in his forgiveness.  I am thankful for my God and so filled with joy when I think of the eternal relationship that we share together.  Praise you Lord!

Praise God!!!

Jesus told his disciples that all the angels in heaven rejoice when just one who is lost returns to the fold.  So how much more rejoicing is there when three return?  I have often tried to imagine what the party must be like in heaven following the baptism of those who believe and put their faith in Jesus.  All I can understand at this point is how my own heart rejoices and how thankful I am for the saving blood of Jesus that washes away sin.  This past Saturday in the village of Tchefengda, three young men gave their lives to Jesus and there was rejoicing throughout the Kingdom of God!  These men have been coming to our Saturday afternoon Bible study for some time now and I have watched as their understanding of God and their faith in Him has grown.  Last week when they expressed interest in following Jesus, I held my breath in anticipation praying that Satan would not step in and discourage them.  God listened and protected their newfound faith and this past Saturday we walked fifteen minutes to a small stream and there they completed their belief and obedience.  I am so excited for them.  As they came up out of the water their joy was mirrored in the smiles that all but swallowed their faces.  Please pray for these young men!  Their names are Olivier, TCHAGOMA, Pabanam, N’GNAMA and Essosolim, N’GNAMA.  They will need your prayer and God’s strength to maintain their committment in the face of the inevitable questions and temptations that will seek to pull them away.  Pray for their understanding and knowledge of God’s word to continue growing in their minds and hearts.  The angels in heaven are having a party!  Please celebrate with them and with us.  

A Good Friend, Part 3

Recently Adam, my good Muslim friend, came to the house to repair a couple of ceiling fan controls.  He brought with him some questions about a few things he had been reading in the Old Testament.  As you know, Adam and I have been having an ongoing discussion about the truth of God’s Word and the fallibility of the Koran and really most of what Muslims believe.  The discussion, however, brought to light what the really core issue is for Adam and I would expect each and every Muslim.  As we discussed many of the same things over and over again, it seemed we were going in circles and that maybe this would be a never ending circular process.  I began to doubt whether or not Adam was truly open to hearing the truth about God.  Then Adam spoke about a particular statement made in the Koran in which God questioned Jesus about his divinity and whether or not he had really told all his disciples in the New Testament that he was the Son of God.  Jesus response was no not exactly!  A light went on in my head as I saw the key to cracking Adam’s deeply entrenched faith in the Koran and it’s writer the “great prophet” Mohammad.  My question to Adam was, “If Mohammad is a true prophet of God, as any good Muslim would assert, how is it that he is the only prophet of God that denies the truth about Jesus Christ as savior and messiah?”  Adam’s only response to this was the difficulty he had in believing that Jesus could be God’s Son and he could be God at the same time.  We had spoken earlier about the claims made in John 1 and 14 about Jesus and Adam really struggled with how they express so strongly Christ’s divinity and his supremacy in all things.   In a nutshell, my word to Adam following all of this discussion was that if Christ the Son of God is removed from the pages of the Bible then everything is meaningless.  The Bible becomes nothing more than a glorified history book and all that I live for is gone.  Adam left my house with his mind swirling.  To put it into his words, Adam grabbed his head and said, “There is much turbulence in my mind.  It is like a war is happening in here!”  I told Adam that was good and that I would pray for that to continue until he saw and accepted the truth.  I told him that once he accepted Jesus that the war in is mind would cease.  Adam rode off on his bicycle shaking his head.  I am asking that you pray for Adam and for his thoughts.  Pray that God will continue to work on his mind and heart and that Adam can soon believe that Jesus is truly the Son of God.  Something so simple for those of us who believe but so distant and murky for one who has been deceived by Satan.