Journey to the Field - MAC Looking Back
Whew.
I'm a little worn out. Marge and I came straight back on Thursday. I'm happy that I had already taken the following day off of work, because Friday I just sort of napped and recovered. The day evaporated. Here it is nearly lunch on Saturday, and I've just started rolling.
So, I'll recap days three and four, but first I have to take a look back at the completed event. It ranks as one of the most intensely revealing and rewarding events of my life. Frankly, it was almost as if Marge and I had left the American culture and were at some missions assignment. Perhaps part of that was being with others who held a similar passion and love for the lost people outside of the U.S.
It feels strange to be back. I feel like I don't belong.
We received confirmation to continue toward missions. They issued some cautions due to our age, medical history, etc. They also let us know of some areas in Baptist General Conference (BGC) missions for which we would be will suited.
I thought that so much would be clear to me once I returned from the MAC. So much is quite clear, but not what I expected.
So, I promise tomorrow I'll go back to the MAC day three and follow the story all of the way through as best as I remember it, but I wanted to end this post with something I noticed yesterday: quiet.
I was driving the car to run an errand, and it occurred to me that during the entire 10 hour drive home and throughout the morning on Friday, my mind was absent the normal chatter and scenarios that normally pack my brain.
Instead there was an odd silence. It left me strangely alert and ready [not completely certain what I mean by that]. A verse came into my head, "Be still and know that I am God." It was a moment of pleasure: freed from worry or fretting, wondering or planning. Moments to simply, be. It lead me to spontaneous worship as I drove. I often wonder if other drivers think I'm some kind of crazy man as a speak and gesticulate to no one visible in the vehicle with me.
I just googled on the phrase, "Be still and know that I am God." It is found in the Bible in Psalm 46:10. Psalm 46:10 says some other things as well:
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, thought the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. . ."
The Psalm goes on to paint a picture of people groups who have rejected the one true God attempting to wage war against Him. Here is how God dealt with them: "The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted."
I know that it is not policitally correct to call non-Christians "heathen" nor is it correct in America to say any disparaging remark about other faiths, but there is a universal truth here: It is God's perspective, values, and laws that are final. No other faith system is valid from God's perspective, and there really are no other God's. Before God every other system political or religious melts into nothing for it lacks a foundation in God's Word.
The one true God is so expansive and amazing that in the Bible He is given many descriptive titles. He is described as the Lord of Hosts, a commander of a powerful army, "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."
What does this have to do with "Be still and know that I am God?" First, God's Word, the Bible, is the truth and without it all are lost. Secondly, God does not lack the power to break through any system of thought with this life giving truth of His. It is not I who must some how convince others of the truth, but it is God Himself that does so by the power of His Word.
There is no reason for me to worry about where God is sending us and if we will be successful. It is my role to enjoy the honor of being called to God's service. It is my priviledge to serve and labor, watch God working through and around me, and render back to Him the praise for His abundant mercy.
One other thing, if you have never experienced the calm, stillness it is a wonderful thing. There is so much fear and fretting in our world, but none of it is out of God's control or beyond His ability to intervene.
"The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge."
I'm a little worn out. Marge and I came straight back on Thursday. I'm happy that I had already taken the following day off of work, because Friday I just sort of napped and recovered. The day evaporated. Here it is nearly lunch on Saturday, and I've just started rolling.
So, I'll recap days three and four, but first I have to take a look back at the completed event. It ranks as one of the most intensely revealing and rewarding events of my life. Frankly, it was almost as if Marge and I had left the American culture and were at some missions assignment. Perhaps part of that was being with others who held a similar passion and love for the lost people outside of the U.S.
It feels strange to be back. I feel like I don't belong.
We received confirmation to continue toward missions. They issued some cautions due to our age, medical history, etc. They also let us know of some areas in Baptist General Conference (BGC) missions for which we would be will suited.
I thought that so much would be clear to me once I returned from the MAC. So much is quite clear, but not what I expected.
So, I promise tomorrow I'll go back to the MAC day three and follow the story all of the way through as best as I remember it, but I wanted to end this post with something I noticed yesterday: quiet.
I was driving the car to run an errand, and it occurred to me that during the entire 10 hour drive home and throughout the morning on Friday, my mind was absent the normal chatter and scenarios that normally pack my brain.
Instead there was an odd silence. It left me strangely alert and ready [not completely certain what I mean by that]. A verse came into my head, "Be still and know that I am God." It was a moment of pleasure: freed from worry or fretting, wondering or planning. Moments to simply, be. It lead me to spontaneous worship as I drove. I often wonder if other drivers think I'm some kind of crazy man as a speak and gesticulate to no one visible in the vehicle with me.
I just googled on the phrase, "Be still and know that I am God." It is found in the Bible in Psalm 46:10. Psalm 46:10 says some other things as well:
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, thought the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. . ."
The Psalm goes on to paint a picture of people groups who have rejected the one true God attempting to wage war against Him. Here is how God dealt with them: "The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted."
I know that it is not policitally correct to call non-Christians "heathen" nor is it correct in America to say any disparaging remark about other faiths, but there is a universal truth here: It is God's perspective, values, and laws that are final. No other faith system is valid from God's perspective, and there really are no other God's. Before God every other system political or religious melts into nothing for it lacks a foundation in God's Word.
The one true God is so expansive and amazing that in the Bible He is given many descriptive titles. He is described as the Lord of Hosts, a commander of a powerful army, "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."
What does this have to do with "Be still and know that I am God?" First, God's Word, the Bible, is the truth and without it all are lost. Secondly, God does not lack the power to break through any system of thought with this life giving truth of His. It is not I who must some how convince others of the truth, but it is God Himself that does so by the power of His Word.
There is no reason for me to worry about where God is sending us and if we will be successful. It is my role to enjoy the honor of being called to God's service. It is my priviledge to serve and labor, watch God working through and around me, and render back to Him the praise for His abundant mercy.
One other thing, if you have never experienced the calm, stillness it is a wonderful thing. There is so much fear and fretting in our world, but none of it is out of God's control or beyond His ability to intervene.
"The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge."
Labels: Journey To Missions
posted by Sojourn @ 7:59 AM
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