Hello everyone, I just wanted to send out a quick prayer request.
Just over two weeks from now, on May 31, I plan to leave for the UK for the summer. Because of the particular ministries that I plan to work with, I need a Visa as a Temporary Migrant Volunteer Religious Worker. The application process was fairly straight forward and the time frame for processing should be sufficient, but as my departure date approaches I am asking for added prayers in the process.
Please pray much that my visa will be reviewed in the next day or two, that if there are any mistakes in my paperwork they will be overlooked or forgiven and that everything will be approved and in the mail to me in plenty of time for the trip!!
God is in control and I trust Him and His timing, yet "we have not because we ask not" so let's pray in faith!
I will post an update when I have any more news :)
It has been entirely too long since I have posted anything here, and this isn't my usual type of post (and it is much longer than my typical blog posts), but I felt led to share this today:
I recently came across an article I wrote while I was in college - I had been thinking a lot about it because of something that I am calling "Project 2025" but I'll explain more about that a little later...
Do you ever feel like you are the only one doing anything for the Lord? Have you ever felt discouraged in what you are trying to accomplish because it seemed like no one else would help you? Sometimes the task before you is so overwhelming that you feel it can never be accomplished. So what if you are the only one out there? What if you have to "go it alone," you can stick with anything for a short time, right? You can last at least a month or so. . . .
Have you ever stopped to think about the enormous task that the Lord put before us in the Great Commission? Mark 16:15 states, "...Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." How is that possible? Recent statistics tell us that there are well over six billion people in the world, how can we tell all of them about Christ? Why would the Lord give us a command that we cannot obey? The answer is, it can be done if we will obey, because "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." (I Thes 5:24)
Many years ago, my grandmother showed me a statistic that changed my thinking about Christ's command to "teach all nations" (Matt 28:19-20). This statistic illustrated the amazing opportunity that we, as Christians, have to reach our world in our lifetime. Let me show you what I mean. Let's say that there is only one person in the entire world who has received Christ. If he talks to one person each day, leads them to the Lord and shows them how to tell someone else, he will begin to multiply himself as each person goes out and does the same.
Day one gives us one person winning one person, but day two has two people each winning one person. Now, on day three, four people can each win one person. At the end of only three weeks, over a million people will have heard the Gospel; 1,048,576 people, to be precise. By the fourth week, with each person going out and winning one more person every day, the number will pass one billion. That's right, in thirty-one days, 1,073,741,824 can be reached for Christ. Now, if they will each continue to reach just one person per day, in a total of only thirty-four days 8,589,934,592 people could hear the Gospel. That is well over our current (2008) global population of some 6.8 billion people.
So my question to you is, how many days has it been since you told someone about the Lord? When was the last time you even dared to leave a Gospel tract behind as you left a store or restaurant? On the other hand, how many people do you talk to every day about everything from weather to the next election? The Bible promises us, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved..." but that same passage reminds us of our responsibility by asking, "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:13-14)
Thirty-four days is a very short time in the scope of eternity, but we may not even have that long before the Lord returns! "...The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." (Luke 10:2) The task is great, but it is by no means impossible. If you will go, give, and pray, we truly can reach our world with the glorious Gospel of Christ.
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Now you may be thinking, "It would never work that way. You can't expect to find someone every day that you can lead to the Lord, disciple, and train in a single day." Okay, maybe you're right. Maybe you wouldn't find a new person every day. Maybe they wouldn't come to faith in Jesus the first day you talk to them, and maybe it would take a while to disciple them and teach them how to lead someone else to Christ. But what if you tried to find one new person every year? Would that seem a little more reasonable to you? What if I also acknowledge that there is more than one Christian in the world already?
Let's say that there might be one million Christians in the world (out of a current population of over seven billion that's about 0.014% or roughly one of every seven thousand people). If each of them will make an effort to find just one person each year and talk to that person about the Lord, show them how to become a Christian, teach them about the Bible and train them to do the same thing, then by the next year the number of Christians could double. I think you know where I'm going with this... If the original one million plus the new one million did the same thing the next year, there would be four million. If that number doubled again, and again, and again, in ten years there would be over a billion Christians. In only two more years there could be over four billion Christians. By the following year - which would be 2025 if we start now - the number would exceed eight billion!! And guess what? The projected world population is expected to reach eight billion in the year 2025!
We have all heard people say that "Where God guides, He provides" or, "God enables those He calls" but how about putting that into action? You see, I firmly believe that every Christian is not only called, but commanded to reach souls for Christ, disciple new believers, and encourage other Christians to do the same (if you want to know what verses I base that belief on, Matt 28:19-20, 2 Tim 2:2 and Heb 10:23-25 are a good start). So I challenge you: find one person who is not a Christian and tell them about Jesus (don't only invite them to church - take your Bible and tell them yourself or get someone to go with you to help you tell them). If that person does not accept the Lord, try again if possible and find someone else as well. Once you personally lead a person to the Lord, start a regular time where you can study the Bible together and begin to teach them how to lead someone else to Christ (a great way to do that is to take them with you while you go to tell others).
We don't know how much time we have left, but we do know that Jesus could return at any time and it will be too late for many people to trust Him then. If we really believe in God, the Bible, Heaven and Hell, then we must put that belief into action and warn those around us of "the wrath to come." I think if we had even a small glimpse of the splendor of Heaven and the horror of Hell (and we do - in Isaiah 6, Revelation, Luke 16 and many more passages throughout Scripture), we couldn't help but tell everyone how to escape the judgment of God that the Bible tells us will await those who reject Jesus.
Second Corinthians 6:2 says, "...behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." Won't you please use this time that the Lord has given us as a day of salvation for those around you so that every person on earth can have the opportunity to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved before it is too late?
Romans 10:13-18
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world."
It never ceases to amaze me when God sends exactly what I need at the exact moment that I need it!! Just this week my pastor preached on the story of Peter coming to Christ on the water and today God reminded me again of the words of our Lord when Peter faltered: "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" (Matthew 14:31b)
Over and again, the Lord reminds me that anything and everything I do can only be accomplished through faith! As I continue on deputation, I feel more and more that "faith" is my keyword! Today, I started the day with a prayer that in spite of several commitments that would limit my time on the phone to contact pastors, that somehow God would allow me to schedule some meetings. My words showed a little bit of faith, but my thoughts were full of doubt. I was faltering, but God came through for me - and as if repeating those same words to me that He said to Peter so long ago, He came through in a way that I couldn't have done if I tried!!
Just as I was getting ready to leave the house to go to a funeral, a supporting pastor called me and asked if I would be a part of their conference next week. This was one of my open dates so I gladly agreed to come! Then, as I was leaving from the funeral, I got to talk to the daughter of the pastor of a church I visited a few months ago and as we were talking, her parents joined the conversation and her father invited me to come to their church this Sunday to be a part of their Missions Month!
God gave me two meetings today without my having called either pastor! He also encouraged me with another Scripture in Luke 17 (5,6), "And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea, and it should obey you." I often pray the first verse to the Lord without remembering His reminder in the next verse - even the smallest bit of faith, when it is placed in Him, can accomplish great things for His glory!!!
Do you believe that the world can really be reached with the Gospel?? I DO!
If you start with just one Christian who commits to find one person to lead to the Lord, then disciple and train that person to go out and do the same thing and then both of you do the same thing over and over, the Gospel continues to multiply at such a rate that if each person just reached one other person a year the total could climb to 8,589,934,592 in just 34 years!! That is well over the current global population of around 6.9 billion - actually, that is the estimated global population for 2025!
Here is my challenge to you: Will you commit to the Lord that you will, with His help, share the Gospel faithfully and seek to bring at least one person to Christ each year? If one million Christians did this we could reach over eight billion people by the year 2025!!!!!
When Christ told us to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to EVERY CREATURE" He knew it COULD be done - within a single generation!!!
Hello again everyone!! I just sent out my Prayer Update Letter by email so those of you who get both my letters and blog by email should have them both today! Those of you who would like to get my blog, letters, or both by email please sign up by clicking here and completing the form! I need your prayers and it really is an encouragement to see so many people on my mailing list and especially to see when you open the emails I send! (Yes, I can see if or when you open the emails I sent - don't you just love technology ;-) The real value of that to me is if I add a church to the email list and then see that they aren't opening the emails I send I can call them to be sure that I have the right address!) I just wanted to give a quick update on the VBS at Calvary Baptist last week (I was their "VBS Missionary" and also had the privilege of teaching one of the classes): The pastor told me Sunday that he expected around 30-35 kids the first night and maybe around 60 by the end of the week. We were all so excited when 60 kids came on Monday!! There were even some kids who came just because their parents saw one of the church's buses in their neighborhood on Sunday and called to ask about VBS! The kids were encouraged to bring friends so our numbers kept climbing throughout the week and we had a high of (I think) 86 on Thursday (32 of them were in the Junior class that I taught!) with over 100 kids coming at least once during the week and at least 150 kids and parents at the family night on Friday! The highlight of the week for me was seeing the kids listening and responding to the Bible time each night! One girl accepted Christ on Tuesday and got so excited that she brought five friends with her, learned all the memory verses and ended up winning the points competition and being "VBS Champion" for the week!! I titled this post "VBS and other happenings" because there have been several exciting events this week including the chance to talk to a friend of mine in England who said that their church is in need of help and it looks like this might be the open door that I've been waiting for!! Please pray much with me that God would continue to show me the next step that He has for me and that I would stay open to His leading all along the way! I really feel like it is important for me to stay flexible and open, but I would very much like to have a more definite direction to aim towards as I continue to contact churches and try to raise support. I also think that being able to tell churches more specifically who I will be working with and what I plan to do will help me to not only get more meetings but hopefully get support as well. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!! I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends praying for me!!
March has been a month of surprises - I began the month in the middle of a twenty day trip through four states visiting seven churches. During this trip, I had the wonderful blessing of being a part of several missions conferences and meeting many wonderful friends along the way!! At one of these meetings, the pastor told me after the service that his church plans to partner in support. I also received word from a church I visited with a few months ago that they will be starting support as well! God's provision is always perfect and right on time!!
Another conference saw 40 souls come to Christ during the course of a single week!! Community Bible Baptist Church in St Petersburg FL has been a terrific encouragement to me already and I enjoy hearing what God is doing there! The week of revival and missions conference was definitely one of those precious "times of refreshing... from the presence of the Lord."
On the way home from Florida, I ended up breaking down three times and needing to replace my battery, battery cable and alternator. I praise the Lord that each time I broke down I was in a safe place and had help readily available. I was glad that the cost of the repairs ended up being within the amount of what I had received in special offerings during the trip and then my pastor told me that the church had decided to pay for all of it!! The blessings of God are always beyond anything I could ask or imagine!!
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement!! You mean so much to me!! Thank you for your part in the Lord's work in the UK and around the World!
Seems like every month there is some new lesson that God is trying to teach me!! Sometimes I marvel at God's patience with me, especially when I am reminded of how easy it is for me to be impatient. Recently it seems God is reminding me to be patient and wait on His timing!! Within the next few weeks I will be attending two missions meetings at churches that I had almost given up on trying to contact. One of these churches was among the very first contacts that I made nearly a year ago. At that time they indicated that they would be interested in allowing me to come and present my burden for the UK, however after multiple attempts to schedule a time to do so, I had nearly given up hope of scheduling anything with them. I started to just mark them off of my contact list several times, but God never gave me peace about doing that so I kept trying and finally God opened up the opportunity for me to go and visit with them! Another church that I contacted recently told me on the first call that they were making the schedule for their missions conference and would love to have me come - but when I tried to call them back a few days later, no one answered. After repeated attempts to follow up on that first call, I was again about to give up when God put it on my heart to try one more time - and that time I reached the secretary who said that they did in fact want me to come.
There are so many things that I try to set a time limit for, when God just wants me to stay faithful and trust Him! I struggle so often with wanting to do things my way and on my schedule, but I am thankful for the reminders that God gives me that He is in control and that He will lead me in the next step only when He knows that it is His time for me to make that step!!
"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." Psalm 27:14
The last few days of 2010 are slipping by and 2011 is just around the corner. Like most people, this time of year causes me to think back on what has happened in the last twelve months and think ahead to the year to come. My reflections and anticipation are so filled with wonder at all the things that God has done and is doing in my life!!
What a privilege it is to think back to souls I have seen come to Christ in salvation, baptism and surrender to service!! What a joy to recall lessons shared and decisions made, and what glory to think of how God will continue to work in my life and in the lives of others in the coming year!!
I trust that each of you reading this have taken time to honor the Saviour whose birth is celebrated at Christmas time, but I hope that you have also reflected upon the depths of mercy that called you out from before your birth to bring glory to that Saviour who gave you life!!
I often take time to pray for people that I know and even those I've never met, for churches that I've visited and those I've never heard of, for pastors and missionaries I've talked with and those I may never see... The prayer for each has a common thread: that each of you would be drawn closer to the Saviour and strengthened to do His will.
I know that many of you have spent much time in prayer for me and I am humbled by and grateful for that. As I enter the new year, I know that I will need those prayers more than ever!! I am already in the transition to full-time deputation and I can feel how much your prayers are supporting me as I lean ever closer on the Lord's provision and care. What a wonderful place to be!!
Thank you for your prayers and support! May God continue to bless you as we "strive together for the faith of the gospel" (Phil 1:27)
The Lord continues to bless as I seek to raise support to reach the UK. This month I have had several great meetings and made many new friends.
This month has also been a busy one because of my move out of my apartment into my parents' house. Praise the Lord I was able to get everything moved last Monday and now I'm trying to get unpacked and organized! A big thank you also goes out to the many friends who helped me pack, load, move and unload!! This move should help me to be able to focus more time (and money) into being "full-time" on deputation as soon as possible. Since my apartment rent recently went up by $200 each month, I knew it was time to do something else and the Lord worked it out so that my parents could move back to Georgia and I could move back to their house.
Another important answered prayer involved a phone call I received last week that seemed at first to be either some sort of scam or possibly even identity theft to the tune of $20,000!!!! Praise the Lord it was all just a mistake and the whole thing was straightened out within a few hours!
Praise the Lord once more for His continual protection and provision!!!
December is a hard month to schedule missions meetings but God provided two meetings for me next month as well as several more meetings during the early months of 2011. I pray that the remaining open dates will be filled soon and that I will begin receiving the support that churches have promised.
I would ask you to pray for the upcoming Christmas Concert for my music students. This concert provides an opportunity to share not only the Christmas Story but also the Gospel with my students and their families as well as the residents and workers at the Assisted Living home where we will be preforming. Please pray that God will use this opportunity to reach hearts!!
Thank you for your continued prayers and support. I pray that each of you will have a wonderful Holiday season and a New Year full of the blessings of our Great God!
This week it has been my privilege to be a part of the Lighthouse Baptist Church of Jackson's Missions Conference. This is a special church to me not only because I have many friends there (including the pastor), but also because it was actually started (10 years ago) out of my home church, Liberty Baptist. My church's founding pastor, Dr Anderson, has been the speaker for the conference and it is always a blessing to see his heart for missions showing through everything he says.
 Last night, the Lord allowed me to witness one of those special blessings that can only come from His Hand. At the close of the service, a young lady came forward to tell the church that she believes the Lord has called her into His service and she has surrendered to that call! She is just a little older than I was when the Lord did the same thing in my life.
What a privilege to see the Lord at work in a person's heart and to see them respond to His leading!! I can't express how excited I am for this wonderful young lady - I ask you to commit to pray for her as she continues to seek the Lord in her life and obey what He leads her to do.
Please keep praying for me as I travel (two trips to South Carolina in the next eight days, then another trip to just below the SC State Line the following Saturday) that the Lord would keep me safe on the roads and would help me to be an encouragement and help to the churches I visit. Pray also that God would help me use my time wisely as I try to keep up with working and making deputation phone calls and packing to move all at the same time!
We serve a great God Who is able to do great things - what a blessing that He chooses to use people like you and me to do His work!!
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