Thought from a Book I am Reading

Taken from the book, God’s Missionary.

“We dread malarial fever, and fear lest it should get hold of us and drive us out of the mission-filed. Should we less dread this spiritual malaria, the fever of a restless soul, which has a power, we know not how, to enervate the very fiber of our being, and so unnerve us for the fight? Surely this is the most dangerous form of fever possible. A fit soul in an unfit body is doubtless uncomfortably crippled, but it is not wholly ineffective: but what is the good of a fit body with an unfit soul inside it? It may as well go home at once for all the fighting it will do in the mission battlefield.”
“But is there no a better way?”

Searcher of spirits,
Try Thou my reins and heart
Cleanse Thou my inward parts
Turn, overturn and turn.
Wood, hay and stubble see,
Spread out before Thee,
Burn, burn.

Savior of sinners,
Out of the depths I cry,
Perfect me or I die:
Perfect me, patient One;
In Thy revealing light,
I stand confessed outright,
Undone.

O to be holy!
Thou wilt not say me nay
Who movest me to pray.
Enable to endure:
Spiritual cleansing Fire,
Fulfill my heart’s desire.
Make pure

Amy Carmichael

Signs of walking in the flesh or walking in the Spirit

Ask myself am I like this today---

Am I lusting after, unhappy without, or incomplete without: A person, procession, object, amenity, and or attention?

If yes, I do not have LOVE!

Am I seeking a rush of emotions, seeking an experience more than calm delight?

If yes, I do not have JOY!

Am I filled with worry and fear? Does my mind go back to things that I should leave to God to figure out? Our do I struggle and worry about the future that I cannot change?

If yes, I do not have PEACE!

Am I quickly angered, frustrated by waiting, filled with impatience about my ministry, family, life, or future?

If yes, I do not have LONGSUFFERING!

Am I feeling unkind? Do I feel that it is a burden to be friendly, good and kind. Do I feel that I have the right to be mean and unfeeling?

If yes, I do not have GENTLENESS!

Am I filled with doubt and am I wondering if what God says is true? Do I know the truths of God’s Word and struggle to claim them, or say that they do not apply to my situation? Do I feel that I have to understand, figure out, or control the circumstances of my life, because no one else will?

If yes, I do not have FAITH!

Are my actions, thoughts, words, focused on myself? I am confident because of what I can do or have done, or am I fearful or inactive because of what I cannot do?

If yes, I do not have MEEKNESS!

Am I self-controlled (Spirit-controlled)? Do I seem to have no ability to control lust, appetites, habits, or actions? Do I live by my feeling or wants, and seem to be controlled by them even when I would like to do the right things?

If yes, I do not have TEMPERANCE!

IF I HAVE TO SAY YES TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS, THEN THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT FILLING ME ON A REGULAR BASIS, FOR HE PRODUCES THESE FRUITS IN ME!

From the Mouth of Babes...

It is amazing at times to watch young Christians grow. Many times when a missionary is teaching and training young Christians he can be amazed at their maturity. Wednesday of this last week Andrew and I went to Dora's house for a study about baptism. (Dora is a new convert that Patty has led to Christ). She is from the north of Ghana, and was raised in a Traditional home. The first eighteen years of her life, before she moved to Kumasi, she had never attended church.

After arriving in Kumasi, she decided that she wanted to learn more about Christianity and stop following her traditional beliefs. After attending many churches, and the Lord allowing us to meet her, she was led to faith in Christ. This brings us to our Bible study with her on Wednesday of last week. Dora lives very close to a Catholic school, and the school was having a drumming program that day. The drums where very loud, even from a long distance away. Before we started the Bible study, I made mention of the drums, and asked Dora if that was the same music style and rhythm that they played when she was growing up. She told me that the drum beats where the same, and that was how people worshipped the gods back at her home village.


After she made this point, she asked me an interesting question. She said, "Pastor when I first came to Kumasi, I attended many different churches, and I have a question, many of them when they play their instruments, play the same music that they played in my village to the false gods, why are people playing the music of traditional religion in the churches?

I will be honest, I was amazed at her understanding! Most people here have swallowed the line that all music is good, no matter it's form, as long as it talks about God. It was very encouraging to hear a baby Christian with clear understanding in this area.

Sometimes we are blinded by our own opinions, but many time when a person is converted from other religions, they have eyes that see the truth quite clearly.

Please pray for the people here in Ghana. It is quite common in almost all churches here to see people that call themselves Christians but have churches filled with Traditional Religious practices, and beliefs. Please pray that God will raise up a generation of Ghanaian Christians that know the truth and have been set totally free.

When it Rains it Pours

The work here seems a lot like farming at times. There is a lot of preperation to do. The missionary tends the fields, weeds, and plants. The whole time he is praying for rain. He knows that all the labor of his hands are nothing if God does not send the rain. Sometimes it seems like it will never come; the intervauls between rain start to spread out. Then one day, he is outside working, and the rains come.

God blessed His work this week with some of that rain. Like the old saying says, "When it rains, it pours". This week we were able to see three people saved. It was like an African rain storm. One moment it is bright and sunny, the next minute, the sky is black, the wind is howling, and 2 inch rain drops are casacading down, and if a person does not find shelter in about three minutes, he is drenched from head to foot. (Nothing is done half way here, if it is is hot, it is real hot, if it is raining, it is really raining, etc.) That is how it seemed this week. We were working away, and all of a sudden the rain came pouring down.

Pastor Andrew and I have been having salvation Bible studies with a young community college guy named Fred. He has been attending all the Sunday services for the last few weeks. Saturday we went to his house and had a three hour study. At the end, all the pieces seemed to just fall into place, and we had the wonderful pleasure of hearing him asked God to save him. It was great!

For the last few months we have also been progressing through our salvation Bible studies with our Thursday night group. We have been praying for God to touch hearts. Last week on Thursday, I preached about the resurrection power of Christ over death. The people really seemed to listen. Martha (the young lady that Patty helped out last week) asked how a person can enter into this resurrecion power. I very clearly and plainly told her how a person receives Christ as Savior. I told everyone that if they wanted to speak to someone about trusting Christ, that they needed to speak with one of the leaders after we closed. After the meeting a young man named David that has been attending for about 6 months came up and told me that he wanted to get saved. I had the wonderful opportunity to lead him to Christ.

After the Bible study on Thursday, my wife was on the lookout for any ladies that seemed to want to talk, especially Martha, but none approached her. The good thing is that God knows what is going on, even when we do not. The next day came and went and it was now Saturday. Patty was a little nervous. She had been working so long with Martha, it seemed like the truth was never going to break through. Saturday afternoon, her group headed off for witnessing. At this point I will relate the story the way that it was told to me...

"We came to Martha's house for our final visit," Patty said. "We greeted her and started our Bible study by reviewing our earlier studies. After that I asked Martha a few questions." "I asked Martha, 'Are you sinner?' to which she said "Yes", and then I asked her, 'What is the punishment for sin?', to which she said "Hell", so then I asked her, "Martha, if you died where will you go?" Martha then said, "I will go to hevaen!" I was so shocked and frustrated that she did not understand, I just asked in Twi, "Aden?" which means why???? Even Gifty was frustrated and asked her why she thought that she would go to heaven, if she was a sinner and should be punished. Then Martha gave this answer. She said, "Well, Thursday night Pastor John said that if a person knew that they were a sinner, and should go to hell, but believed that Christ shed his blood for them on the cross, they could be saved. You said that I could pray anytime. I did not have to be with anyone, so Thursday night I asked God to forgive my sins. I asked God to cover me with Christ's righteousness and to place Jesus blood over my heart, and to forgive my sins. So I am saved now, and will not go to hell, I will go to heaven!"

Patty said, "Gifty and I were shocked! After all this time, it had finally clicked." Gifty grilled her a little, but after a few moments Marhta said, 'Look, I understand everything. I am saved. I am a child of God. I understand.' So Gifty and I finished the Bible study and told her that we would be back next week to start to talk to her about growing in Christ."

So finally after all these months the flash flood came. It has been a blessing to see, and we are praying and preparing for some more rain here in the near future.