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It is good to stop every once in a while and do a little dreaming. Dreaming is good because we get out of the routine we’re in and start to think about things “being different.” Obviously that can be bad in some contexts, but in many situations it is very good to think about how we might do something better than we have done it before. A number of us have been dreaming for some time about the mission of God as it relates to missions. God desires to be worshiped in the nations, He is worthy of the praise of the world. Sadly however, there are many people groups that still need to hear the good news. One way to accomplish this is sending our fellow American believers to foreign lands to learn the language and culture and then begin the process of evangelism. This model has been the practice for many years. We participate in this model and believe there are still places where this is the best option. However, it is not the only model and dreamers have been thinking of other ways. For example, what if we could develop a partnership with people who love Jesus in foreign lands and support their church planting efforts? The believers that are already there know the language, know the culture and are often much better at reaching their fellow countrymen. What if we supported these individuals in prayer and with our money? How many churches would it take to support one national church planter? How much could we do? What would this look like in terms of accountability? Are such things actually happening? Should we move past the perception (and practice) of paternal colonialism and look for ways to see the Spirit moving in new ways? This Sunday (August 18, 2013), we’ll have an opportunity to consider a partnership like I’ve described above. Chansamone will be preaching in both services on Sunday AM. I ask you to listen well and consider how we may participate in the Great Commission work in the country of Laos. Laos is a restricted access country, Americans cannot do what needs to be done there yet there are people open to the gospel. How should this happen? How could this happen? What if we could we be a part establishing and building a church thousands of miles away? This is well worth our consideration.
You have probably said this at some point in time. Maybe your faith was wavering or you were in desperate need. Maybe you wanted God to intervene in someone else’s life and you were pleading for Him to break in and “do something.” We read about the miracles of Jesus, the apostles, the prophets and Moses and wonder, “Why not here, why not now?” It is a legitimate question if we really live in a super-natural universe governed by a good and loving God. I confess I’ve been disappointed at times. I have asked for what I thought would bring Him glory and He answered…but the answer was “no.” Why did He heal people so freely in the days of His earthly sojourn? What’s wrong with us? He parted the Red Sea for Moses and we have a hard time with plumbing! He healed the leper and we can’t get rid of pimples! Is God still active? We’ll be exploring these questions and more as we study the miracles of Jesus in Matthew 8 & 9. The good news is, the answer is “yes.” God is still active and He is still doing marvelous works. The tough news is, what we see today will not always be exactly like what we read about in the Bible. That is not to say that He cannot do what He once did or that He is no longer doing these things. We simply need to readjust our thinking about the matters of utmost importance. Our study of the leper this week will help us move toward a greater sense of understanding. Wait on the Lord and be of good courage!
