A Spiritual Flat Tire

Ephesians 5:18 "...but be filled with the Spirit"

I have been learning the importance lately of the need to be Spirit filled. In the past I would have said that I wanted to be Spirit filled. I knew that I needed Him when I was going to do some task like preaching or witnessing. I knew that I needed Him for victory over besetting sins. But the thing that I could not figure out was why at times when I needed the filling most, the times when the pressure was on, I seemed to be flat.

I have been learning that my life is like a tire. It is one whole piece. I cannot divide my life into parts, and say that one part has nothing to do with another. If you have a hole anywhere in a tire, the air will leak out and the part with the pressure on it will always go flat.

God has been showing me the importance of my walk with Him. If I want to be filled when the pressure is on, then I have to be filled and free of holes when the pressure is off. That means I don't get time off.

At times I want to think, "What does it matter what I do with my free time? If I want to watch a movie or read a book, so what! It is my time! Hey, I have extra money in the bank I can spend it on whatever I want, so long as it is not sinful."

I could think that way because at that time I was not feeling any pressure (did not think it was so important be filled with the Spirit). I just would make a decision based on my desires or thinking and not seek the Lord. But, the Lord has shown me there is a problem with that. If I am not living filled all the time, because I allow the Spirit to depart through a slow leak of my own thinking and wants, when the real pressure comes, I will be flat. And all drivers know how hard it is to drive on a flat tire.

So I am learning what Hudson Taylor said is true: "The faith that is ready for emergencies is the the faith that is strengthened by a daily dependence on God."

The only way not to be spiritually flat is to follow this verse: Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

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.

Being Spent for Them-

2 Corinthians 12:15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

Early on as a missionary a person is called to serve people. This all seems so glamorous as a missionary is preparing for the field and traveling on deputation. The thought of self-sacrifice and surrender is romantic and in the future. Then the missionary arrives, and the spending begins. And like always the flesh begins to rebel as the cost mounts and the mind begins to take tally. The hardest part of serving is the spending, and the hardest part of spending is the spending of self. The missionary finds out early that it is much easier to pay all the bills, pass around the money, then to spend himself. If he is not careful this is just what he does. But, if he is really going to reach them with the gospel and not his money, then the greatest thing that he needs to do is close the wallet and open the heart. Stop spending money and start spending time. I got a great reminder of this, this past week.

My wife has been witnessing to a young lady named Martha for months now. Martha is very close to accepting the gospel and we have been praying for her for sometime. About a month ago Patty found out that Martha was sick and needed to go to the hospital. After visiting a specialist, Martha was told that she would need an operation. Patty really encouraged her to have the operation, but there was a catch that seemed to be holding her back. She had someone to watch here son for the days that she was in the hospital, but had no family to look after her. See here in Ghana, the hospitals do not prepare food for there patients, and the nurses generally have about 100 patients to care for each shift. So the fact of the matter is if a patient does not have family members then he/she will not eat, have bed sheets changed, or clothes washed, for the time that they are in the hospital. Martha is from the north, and has no family to help her. The father of her child has abandoned her and the child. She really needed the operation but had no one to help. So my wife and Gifty (a good Ghanaian friend of Patty’s) offered to help.

When Patty came home and told me, I was excited that she would be able to help, but I had no idea how much she was going to spend herself over the next five days. Here in Ghana, the hospital has two visiting times. The morning visits are 5:00 am to 7:00 and 4:00- 6:00 pm. The hospitals do not have microwaves or any way to heat up food, so each morning at about 4:00, Patty would get up and cook the food. Ghanaian food and needs to be hot and fresh, no cereal and sandwiches here. Each morning at 5:30 when I would get up, Patty would be heading out the door, basket in hand, so that she could meet Gifty and give Martha here morning food. She would take the 30 minute mini-bus trip across town, and visit Martha. Patty said that is was quite interesting to see all the people staring. They have never seen a foreigner serving an African before. They would wash the dishes from the night before, change the sheets, and get the night clothes form the day before, so that they could be washed. After that, another 30 minutes trip home, time to get the kids ready for school. Teach, and back to cooking again for the evening meal. Jump in the mini-bus again about 3:30, and start the process at the hospital all over again. She would get home in time to start cooking dinner and to get ready for the next day.

Overall, it was a very busy five days. I thank the Lord for my wife. I am glad that the Lord has given me a wife that is willing to be spent for the people that God has called her to.

A Missionary Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13

If I have the language ever so perfectly and speak like a native and have not His love, I am nothing.
If I have diplomas and degrees and know all the up-to-date methods and have not His touch of understanding, I am nothing.
If I am able to argue successfully against their religions and yet have not His wooing note, I am nothing.
If I have all faith and great ideals and magnificent plans and have not His love that sweats and bleeds and prays and pleads, I am nothing.
If I give my clothes and my money to them and have not His love for them, I am nothing.
If I surrender all prospects, leave home and friends, make the sacrifice of the missionary career, and turn sour and selfish because of the daily annoyances and slights of missionary life, and though I give my body to be consumed with heat and fevers and have not love that yields its rights, its leisure, its pet plans, I am nothing.
If I can heal all manner of sickness and disease but wound hearts and hurt feelings for want of His love that is kind, I am nothing.
If I can write articles or publish books that win applause but fail to transcribe the Word of the Cross in the language of His love I am nothing.

The Long Way Around!

As missionaries, we always appreciate mail. We are very blessed that we have family and friends that send us mail on a regular basis. One amazing thing about Ghana is that our post office is more effective than the United States post office.

But, we do still have problems receiving our mail at times. We have come to learn, though, that most of our mail delivery problems are caused by ignorance. For example, in my small home town of Northern Michigan, the post master has sent my sister's packages to Guyana, South America, instead of Ghana, West Africa. He would label it with the computer, not knowing that these two places are very different indeed. Once a letter is sent to it new location, it disappears to the unknown world of lost mail. We even had a letter marked Ghana, South Africa, that made it to us.

Yesterday, I went to my post office box to check mail. When I checked my box I found a surprise. The mail men in the States had done it again. Here was a letter sent from Saginaw, Michigan, on the 3rd January, that instead of being sent straight to Ghana, it had been misdirected and was sent to... wait for it... Thailand! Yes, that is right, Thailand, southern Asia. Lucky for us, a nice postal worker over there in Bangkok, knew that Ghana was in Africa, and sent it to us.

So I believe that we have now made a record. I think that this letter has traveled farther than any other letter to arrive at its destination. We want to thank the people in Thailand for the forwarded letter, and we want to thank our friend in Saginaw that sent us the letter and pictures.

I have attached a picture of the letter so that you can see.

Existing or Living?

live \ˈliv\ verb
1: to be alive : have the life of an animal or plant 2: to continue 3: to have a life rich in experience

living adjective :
1: having life 2 a: exhibiting the life or motion of nature b: live 3 a: full of life or vigor

ex·ist \ig-ˈzist\ intransitive verb
2: to continue to be 3 a: to have life or the functions of vital life b: to live at an inferior level or under adverse circumstances

Why do I and so many others seem to be so content with a life of existing and not living! I seem to float through life at times in this ethereal state, not really seeing or enjoying, but just doing. Patty and I had a talk here lately that really helped me. So often I am so saturated with service, I am a full-time Christian service robot. But this is the times that I am existing, not living. This is when the sin creeps in, and slowly, or quickly in some cases, the Spirit is replaced by flesh. The kind of flesh that gets tired, but labors without rest to gain acceptance, and is consistently preforming because the fear of men!

I think that the really reason that I exist instead of live, is that the Spirit is not being obeyed or sought after. When I am existing, I will not have the fruits of the Spirit. I do not have peace or contentment. Instead of having a calm in the storms of life, I have chaos in quiet! The peace of the Spirit is what allows you to live.

Today God gave me two glimpses, to reminding me of the importance living has in my life. Last night the girls did not sleep well, and ended up in our bed. That always means a ruff night sleep for mom and dad, especially because we just have a double bed. Well, this morning while I was trudging around trying to get ready for the day, I saw Ella's teddy bear on the floor by the bed. It was one of those moments when the mind takes a picture. I can still see the things sitting lopsided by the bed. The thought came to mind, that I had better enjoy it, because they will not be small forever!

The other reminder God gave me today happened this afternoon. The girls where down for a nap, and Patty was trying to rest, hoping to recover from the lack of sleep last night. I was sitting in the living room, and had just started praying for Carey. I was praying for the guy that she will marry someday, when I heard a noise at the hall door. There was Carey, standing in one of her play dresses. It was a kid's wedding dress, val and all. Talk about a shock. Scary enough that day is not as far off as it feels. But, it reminded me again that I need to live, not exist!

Life is made up of moments! The greatest lives are ones that the moments are used to the honor and glory of God, and are truly enjoyed!

Baptisms

Yesterday at the Bible Study we where able to baptize our first three converts. It was a long saga, that I will not take the time to cover, but lets just say that finally after waiting for three weeks for the public water to flow in the pipes, we decided that we just needed to find a local river that we could use.



The Lord provided a great location, and we all had a wonderful time. Our first person baptized was a young man named Inusha. Inusha used to be a Muslim (one of his jobs in the mosque was to call out the prayer calls to gather people to daily prayers). He was very eager to be baptized, and rushed out to be the first person.



Our second person was Maybel. Maybel is a young single mother, that Patty led to Christ, and has been disciplining. She is Asante, and has never been in water over her knees. We explained everything to her, but still when I baptized her, she got sacred. But everything went well, and overall her baptism went well.





The last to get baptized yesterday was Joe. Joe is a young teenage guy that I led to Christ. He lives very close to the church and is very faithful to the Sunday services.



It was very exciting to see these people baptized, and publicly display that they have put their faith in Christ! Please continue to pray for each one of them, that they will grow, make good decisions, and become committed to Christ!

Just a few pictures of the areas that we visit in our Salvation Bible Studies: