In the Thick of the School of Biblical Studies

How long has it been? I can barely tell. Time has gotten away from me, so much is happening.
I am deep into studying the word of God with a fine group of fellow students. and we are learning so much.

So far we have studied Philemon, Titus, Galatians, Mark, Philippians, Luke and now we are about to start a week in the book of Acts. it has been a wild ride. It has been really hard at times, nerve racking at moments for this procrastinator when homework is due. One of the biggest lessons I am learning is to be disciplined in sticking to a task until it is done. When it comes to studying, I will admit, it's not easy for me. But thank you all so much for your prayers, they have been a huge help. When the homework is stacked up and the deadline date is drawing near, I have come up with a saying, "I should really be freaking out right now... but I just don't have time."

In Philipians 4:6-7 it says, 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

There are many times I am tempted to wonder and worry about my future, about where finances will come from or if I will know what to do in several months time, but then I am reminded to just give those concerns to God. He has been faithful in the past to give me guidance and provide, so I have no fear that He will continue to do so.

In the Book of Galatians when Paul is telling the Galatians that circumcision is not the way to be saved he says in Gal. 3:2

Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 

Class time!

How wonderful is the grace of God that he would give us salvation and his Spirit by hearing with faith only. Do you see that? What is it that man does? Hears with Faith.
In other word all a person does is hear the Gospel and say in his heart "yeah that's it!"
So many times we feel like we have to perform for God or make sure we check off a list a things to do to be accepted by him, pray a certain pray, work in the church etc. but that is NOT IT AT ALL! Those are things we get to do, but should not feel pressured to do them to be considered a child of God.
But now also...

In Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Charting the Bible 

 The work that we do is not to earn salvation but it is God himself in us now that propels and gives us the desire to do his will and draw closer to him.

So that is just a itty bitty piece of what I have been learning and studying lately.

To some that may seem simple, but I have been a Christian almost all my life and now I am looking at the Word of God with fresh eyes and seeing wonders as I press on page after page.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. May the Grace of God be with you all.

Oh and if you get a chance send me note, It really encourages me to hear from people, but I understand completely now more than ever if you are busy. Just don't ever be to busy to wonder and contemplate the Love and Grace of your Father in heaven.

Learning to Color code fast and efficiently.

For two hours each weekday I stop studying
and help our YWAM community by doing work duty.
This chicken tractor we just finish is
one of many projects we get to work on.
Photo credit to Moriah, one of our fine DTS students.

We get one day off in the SBS
and I have found many ways to spend that time.
Crow hunting and blog updating at the same time,
My multi-tasking at it's finest.

School of Biblical Studies!

It's been a while since I have updated you all.

Here is what has been happening previously.

One of our mornings on Manitou mountain.

For the past month I have served as staff on the base and helped with maintenance around the campus leading a group of students in various projects such as repairing fences, taking out trash, chopping down trees with machetes, setting stones in walkways, etc.

Driving our beloved old work truck.

Grounds team!

Teaching time during the Missing Link
on the site of our Tabernacle layout.

 I also was able to take part for a second time as a support staff reading with students through the Old Testament in our month long Missing Link course.

This Monday the 20th of October, I and seven other adventurous souls are beginning YWAM's most intensive of all its courses (I don't know if that statement is actually true but if you were to hear YWAMers talk about it you would come to that conclusion), the School of Biblical Studies (SBS).
We will only be doing half of the SBS by only studying the New Testament this time for four months.
We will read through all 27 books about five times, chart each one, and study the book through the Inductive Study Method.
Today was the first day and boy was it fun. We learned about the different study methods and why it is good to have a foundation in the Inductive Study Method, OBSERVING the Text, then INTERPRETING what the author meant to the original audience, and then APPLYING what it to ourselves, the community, the church, and the world.
For our first book we are doing Philemon since it is short.

Some of us got excited and went a little overboard
with trying to get everything. In the longer books
we won't be able to make it this colorful.

We read through it together out loud, then the second time through personally color coded the book looking for Who (Characters), What, Repetitions of words, Commands, Atmosphere, References to to Location or Time, Action, Figures of Speech, in other words all sorts of stuff. That is all in the Observation stage.

I am super excited to discover the riches of God's Word in the upcoming months.
Hopefully I can keep you updated with little blog posts here and there.

Please continue to pray for me as that is one of the greatest things you can do for me during this time
Some prayer points are for
~Good focus on studies.
~Passionate love for the Word of God to develop deep in my heart.
~Strong relationships with fellow students and staff.
~Trust in God to provide all I need.
~Devotion to the dream of God to see His Kingdom Come to stay strong.
~Sanity in the face of, what seems to me, a mountain of homework.

Traversing America

I thought I should give you all an update on what I am doing. It is nice to be out of school and take a break.
I took a trip to Missouri and hung out with family and helped around the house.
Being from a family of missionaries there are some members of my family that I don't get to see very often since we are spread across the globe. Even though we love and miss each other we believe God has called us to follow Him first and foremost despite sacrifices.
However, this summer, my brother Matt, who was originally living in Tennessee at the YWAM base there, got a twenty-six foot moving truck and came through Missouri where I joined him and the two of us together drove across the country to California. What a trip! That is a long drive by the way.  But we were able to do it in two days.

Oh yeah!
Driving with the big boys now!

What a beautiful and vast country we have.

It was the first time I have driven such a large vehicle and been able to look straight over at the drivers of the tractor trailers!
It was so fun!

Once in California, Matt and I met up with Erin and my cute little niece and nephew, Liam and Eily.
We then packed up and headed down to Fresno, California.

Matt and Erin have some great new neighbors that helped us unload the twenty-six foot truck in under an hour and a half. What a huge blessing it was.

Matt has been a part of Youth With a Mission for a long time. He met his wife Erin there and they both still love YWAM, but feel God calling them on to a new mission, to bring the Kingdom of God to Fresno through business as missions. God wants to redeem all of the areas of life and community. So please continue to pray for them that God would use them to transform Fresno.

Liam was in love with the big yellow moving truck.

Liam kept a sharp eye on Eily and me so that we would
use his precious train set in the correct manner. ;-D

Right before going to the airport.

After spending some time with my brother and his family I flew back to Missouri. Then after a few days I drove back down to Arkansas. That's a lot of traveling in a short time.

So what am I doing now?
Well, this upcoming week I will be training to staff a DTS.
However, after prayer and the counsel of my leaders, I have decided to, instead of staffing this upcoming September DTS, I will probably help staff our DTS starting in February of 2015.
I will now be a student in YWAM's intense School of Biblical Studies (SBS) this October.
I am super excited to dive deep into God's Word, grow closer to His heart to better understand His Truth, and learn how to better teach it to the world.

In addition to this, I will be apart of creating video promos to let people know about the exciting things we are doing here at YWAM.

Here, I will go ahead and sum it up in order.
 1. DTS staff training, for about three weeks.
 2. Do videos for YWAM and help alongside our month long Missing Link school (a mini SBS).
 3. In October jump into the School of Biblical Studies.
 4. In February 2015 staff the Discipleship Training School.

God has been teaching me many things and my passion for His Kingdom is growing.

Please pray that I would know how best I can prepare for whatever God has in store for me, especially since I am  feeling the call to go overseas someday.
Pray that I do well with the videos and that I can acquire the equipment needed to produce professional quality videos.
Pray I can focus well and learn all that I can in the upcoming School of Biblical Studies.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.
May God richly bless you all!

A Quick Look at YWAM Ozarks Internship

Wakarusa
They slogged past us through the mud, the dim lights overhead revealing their hopeless faces and dilated eyes lost in a world only they saw. One after another, hundreds upon hundreds streamed past me, most either high or drunk. God's beautiful people, created in His image, were wandering around without knowledge of the passionate and relentless love of God that was pursuing them even in the most unlikely of places.
This was the music festival for hippies and drugs which we went too as followers of Jesus wanting to demonstrate God's love in tangible ways. We handed out free breakfast burritos, coffee, tea, and water bottles. We prayed over hundreds of individual people and saw miracles happen. We spoke the Good News about Jesus into hundreds of ears, many who had heard it all before but hadn't grasped that it wasn't all about keeping rules or an organized religion but was about a relationship with the King of the Universe.

The table of food was a great place to grab people and tell
them the Good News.

Engaging people in conversation waiting in line
to enter Wakarusa Campgrounds

So many people let us pray for them, it was amazing.

Pouring into the life of a new brother in Christ. YAH!

Voice of the Martyrs
We were blessed to volunteer at Voice of the Martyrs in Bartlesville, Oklahoma for a few days.In the mornings we helped them stuff their newsletters that they send free to anyone who wants one. In the afternoon we were able to sit down with some of the leaders of Voice of the Martyrs and hear from them the stories of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are actively working to spread the Gospel in their nations and are being persecuted for it. The Kingdom of God is advancing in this world and the price is high for many. Some pastors ride from village to village on bicycles preaching the good news. In some villages they are accepted and a church is planted. In other villages they are beaten and maybe nearly killed yet they get back up on their bike and ride to the next village.

At the wall of martyrs at VOM

Helping pack newsletters.

Anadarko 
We went from Bartlesville Oklahoma to a little town called Anadarko. There we stayed in church for about a week and ran a small Vacation Bible School for the local kids Native Americans. We poured the message of the Gospel into young people and saw lives changed and children give their hearts to Jesus.

Singing VBS songs with kids.

Paul with his grumpy guard Brutus
have a chat with their guests

I got to play as a snooty senator of Rome releasing his slave. 

Mission Adventures

Returning to Arkansas we hosted a youth group from El Dorado Arkansas at our base and immersed them in the world of missions. They learned about the call that God has on their lives and that of the church to lay down our lives and take up the cross of Jesus.
Our mission adventure students experienced a taste of what it's like on a foreign mission field through our mission adventure games, with eating something unknown out of a bag while blindfolded, using a squatty-potty, and trying to understand someone speaking a foreign language.

The students spent a couple days learning what it was like to be homeless, being forced out of buildings except at certain times. Then they took their faith to streets and prayed for people and witnessed to them in the park and at a 4th of July celebration. It was really cool to watch them step out of their comfort zones and feel the thrill of blessing someone in the name of Jesus.

It's kinda squishy, kinda prickly. Do I eat it or not?

Collecting lunch with food stamps.

Praying over the city of Altus Arkansas

Washing Lice (Rice) out of greasy hair.

Conversations with the people/Evangelism.

"You like your hotdog, sir?"

Prayer and passing out free water bottles.

End of Internship

The YWAM Introductory Leadership Practicum students/Interns

Since March, after returning from outreaches to Cambodia and Paraguay, 6 of us have been studying more in depth topics God has put on our hearts. The topics ranged from what is the true Gospel, to what it means to be a peacemaker, to suffering, to childrens ministry, to missions strategy, and more. We had three book reports then a final research paper/presentation to do summing up what we learned throughout the internship.
You probably saw my rather lengthy report of my previous book Eternity in Their Hearts. Well for my final book report I decided to make it a little shorter. So here is a 2.46 min video that gives a summary of a rather lengthy but amazing and insightful book called His Kingdom Come which is a compilation of writings from a large number of mission gurus.
Here is my little book trailer thingy.
                                 

And if you would like to read a lot you can look at my final research paper. It's long but it sums up a lot of what I learned throughout the internship.
Understanding the Great Commision Strategy by Gabriel

What's Next?
Well after going through three different courses of YWAM, the Discipleship Training School, Missing Link, and the Internship, I feel like God is calling me to give a little more time to YWAM and help them in their vision of discipling Christians to be followers of Jesus and disciplemakers. I have been accepted as a DTS staff, meaning I'll be closely involved with students going through the course I went through last year. I'll be grading book reports and journal entries and doing one-on-ones helping the students process the rush of teaching and wisdom they learn throughout their three months of lecture phase.
I also am hoping to continue doing other videos and also promos for YWAM.
After staffing the DTS I am not entirely sure what God is calling me to. Please pray I continue to listen closely to Him. He has guided me well so far.

If you have completed High School and want to get closer to God's heart see how He is incrediblely working in the world and where your place in the Story can be, consider doing a Discipleship Training School. You can join me and my friends in the beautiful hills of Arkansas or you can go to one of the other hundreds of YWAM locations around the world.
APPLY NOW FOR A DTS, HERE!!!!!
IT'S A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE YOU WILL NEVER REGRET!

Oh, can I get it!...

Nope! Oh well try again!

Once you join YWAM you become part of international family
of people giving their lives to follow Jesus.

A Ripe Harvest

The sun was high in the sky over the Valley of the Kings, Abram, with his sword buckled at his side, stood with his nephew Lot facing the Canaanite king of Salem.
The sound of the lowing of cattle and braying of sheep could be heard from around a great pile of goods next to the crowd of women and children behind Abram.
It had been a long night, and Abram still had blood stains on his hands and clothes from the skirmish with Chedorlaomer.
Lot, his nephew had separated himself from Abram some time ago and went to live with the Canaanite kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. The cities were attacked and he was taken captive by the assailants along with the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abram was alerted about it and with his trained servants pursued. They found Chedorlaomer and the three other kings allied with him in Hobah and ambushed them by night, rescuing Lot along with the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
They had traveled back and Melchizedek the king of the city of Salem had come out to meet them.
Most of the kings of Canaan were wicked and worshipers of pagan gods but this king was different.
"Welcome, Abram," said Melchizedek, "You are weary from your night pursuit. Come, drink, eat and be refreshed."
"Thank you, sir," replied Abram.
“Blessed be Abram by El Elyon (the Canaanite name meaning 'God Most High'), Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be El Elyon, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
Abram stared at Melchizedek who had just blessed him in the name of El Elyon.
It had been a while since Abram, a Chaldean, had heard Yahweh call him and tell him to move from his land telling him that he would be blessed and be a blessing to nations.
He was now being blessed in the name of El Elyon by a Canaanite priest. A priest of God's general revelation, which was older and greater than Abram's specific revelation. God's general revelation encompassed all mankind.

"Thank you, Melchizedek. I would like to give you a tenth all the spoil that we have taken," said Abraham.
Just then Bera king of Sodom stepped up to Abram and said, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.”
Abram turned to Bera. Abram knew the king of Sodom was evil and of a different type altogether than Melchizedek.
So Abram said, “I have lifted my hand to the Yahweh, El Elyon, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’

Abraham's descendants multiplied and God blessed them like He said He would. Over the generations Israel's dealings with other nations varied. There was a Melchizedek factor and a Sodom factor, the former meaning that nations and foreigners blessed Israel and Israel blessed them in turn.Then there was the latter factor meaning nations that Israel was told to destroy and not intermingle with.
~~~~~~
The statues of god after god towered over Paul's head as he strolled through Athens, a city known for it's countless gods. There were almost more god's than men in this city.
Paul was a devout Jew who had been taught since childhood that there was only one God in heaven and all others were in violation to Him. It must have vexed his soul to see all those idols. He had gone to the synagogue and had been talking in the marketplace with the people there telling them about the good news of Jesus, but they seemed to think he was just bring another deity to them. The Athenians didn't need another god added to their un-containable list.
Suddenly Paul stopped at a monument. This one was different than the others, it had no graven image on it but was simply an altar with only the words 'To the unknown god' inscribed on it.
"Interesting," thought Paul.
Now Paul probably knew the story that went with that monument.
About Six centuries prior, Athens was smitten with the plague because of king Magacles' treachery against the followers of Cylon. It seemed as though none of their sacrifices to the many gods was working. From an oracle they learned that there was still a god that had not been appeased. They sent for a man named Epimenides from Crete in order to tell them what to do. Epimenides instructed them to have a healthy, hungry flock of sheep released on Mars Hill the next morning. Some of the sheep instead of grazing like any hungry sheep would do, miraculously laid down and rested. It was on those spots that they built altars. The Athenians asked Epimenides what name to inscribe on the altars but Epimenides told them that since this god had done this miraculous thing already for them in their ignorance it would be best not to risk offending him by guessing a name for him so he told them to inscribe agnosto theo - to the unknown god-. On the altars they sacrificed the sheep. The next day the plague was lifted and Athens rejoiced. However over time the Athenians forgot and neglected the altars until eventually there was only one left.
Six centuries later Paul stood on that same Mars Hill before the Athenians.
As a Jew who detested the pagan gods Paul could have gone straight into a denouncement of the Athenians' idolatry but instead restrains himself and goes on to say, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious-"
Instead of Paul going for the obvious issue of their idolatry and 'tuning them from darkness to light' like Jesus commanded, he goes for the prerequisite of 'open their eyes' first.
"-For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription,‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you..."

Could God have been at work in the nations of the world even as he was at work in the history of Israel? In different ways, yes I believe He has been at work.

~~~~~
In the mountains of Southeast Asia a people group called the Karen waited expectantly for the fulfilment of a prophecy spoken long ago.
According to their traditions Y'wa made Tha-nai and Ee-u and put them in a garden with seven different kinds of trees, one of which they were not supposed to eat from. But then Ma-kaw-lee tempted Tha-nai and Ee-u and they ate of it. Y'wa cursed them and said that they would now get old, sick, and die.
One of Tha-nai and Ee-u's children got sick and they asked Ma-kaw-lee to help them.
Ma-kaw-lee said to them, "You did not obey your Father, the Lord Y'wa. You listened to me. Now that you have obeyed me once, obey me to the end."

Then Ma-kaw-lee showed them offerings to be made to the nats [demons] who presided over certain diseases and accidents.
Ever since then the Karen people had been in bondage to the nats, but they waited expectantly for as their prophesy from time immemorable said that a white man would one day come with a book to show them the right way.
They even sang songs of hope about the coming of Y'wa saying;

At the appointed season Y'wa will come.

...Dead trees will blossom and flower...

Mouldering trees will blossom and bloom again.

Y'wa will come and bring the great Thau-thee

["Thau-thee" seems to be the name of a sacred mountain.]

Let us ascend and worship.

Oh children and grandchildren! Do not worship idols or priests!

If you worship them, you obtain no advantage thereby,

While you increasing your sins exceedingly.

There also seems to be no evidence that they had any exposure to Jewish or Christian influence, since they never seem to mention Abraham or any of the Patriarchs in their verse or any incarnation or redeemer dying for sins which would have been highlighted by any Jewish or Christian influencers. So that means these traditions have their origin before the time of Abraham!

One day in 1795 an English diplomat, who had come to see if Burma should be made part of the British empire, met the Karen people while with a Burmese guide.
The Karen people crowded around the diplomate wondering if he could be the one they had waited so long for.

With bated breath, they asked the diplomat if he had brought them a book their forefathers had lost long ago.
The diplomat guffawed at them wondering what author could write a book to charm these illiterate people.
The Burmese guide told the British diplomat that the book was written by Y'wa and that the white brother who brought it would thereby free them from all who oppress them. The Burmese guide was now nervous that the Karen people were unknowingly inviting the British to come take over Burma.
The diplomat noticing the Burmese displeasure and not wanting the Burmese to attack the innocent Karen people. Told the Karen that they were mistaken and that he had no acquaintance with this god called Y'wa or that he had any idea who their 'white brother' might be.
The Karen felt dejected but still held onto the prophecy. Other prophecies might not come to pass but that one would
There were actually ten total people groups in that part of their world with varying but similar legends and traditions, 3,000,000 people incredibly equipped to receive a gospel they barely knew of.
All the while Y'wa's people in other lands let century after century pass by.
~~~~~
In South America in the A.D 1400's a king named Pachauti ruled the Incas. Pachauti brought the Inca empire to it's flowering. He built a temple to the sun with palaces, fortresses and a "fabulous golden precinct" a building of "magnificence rivaling even Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem." He also built a line of fortresses protecting the eastern frontiers of his empire from invasion by the tribes of the Amazon basin. One of those fortresses is Machu Picchu.

Pachacuti also was a spiritual explorer who questioned the validity of the sun god Inti that he had built such a magnificent temple for. Pachacuti pointed out that the luminary always follows a set path, performs definite tasks, and keeps certain hours as does a laborer. If Inti is God then why doesn't he do anything creative?
Also, the path of the sun could be covered and dimmed by a passing cloud. If Inti were God his light couldn't be dimmed by a mere created thing.

Pachacuti looked back at his own culture's near-extinct memory of a figure named Varacocha the Lord and omnipotent Creator of all things.
Pachacuti's father Hatan Tupac had claimed to receive a dream from Varacocha reminding him that He was the Creator of all things.
Varacocha-like figures have been known throughout Indian cultures from North and South America, more so than a sun god figure so the latter was a departure from the former.
Pachacuti realised that the Inti-as-god-thing had gone on long enough, and he figured that the Creator not the created needed to be worshiped. So he called together the priests of the sun and reminded them of Varacocha. "He [Varacocha] is ancient, remote, supreme and uncreated. Nor does he need the gross satisfaction of a consort. he manifests himself as a trinity when he wishes... otherwise only heavenly warriors and archangels surround his loneliness. He created all peoples by his 'word', as well as all huacas [spirits]..."

This was from a king in South America before any influence of Judaism or Christianity!
The revival and turning back to Viracocha was kept to only the upper class as they feared what the common people would do when they learned that they had been lied to all along. It was to their own spiritual detriment though.
Imagine if humble and compassionate followers of Christ had came at this time and seized the opportunity to show these people the rest of the Gospel!
The Incas even had a prophecy that Viracocha would bring them a blessing from the west i.e., by sea.
Unfortunately this was not the case. Instead the church defaulted and in their place came a political conqueror named Pizarro, acting in the name of God he wiped out the Inca empire targeting it's upper class. In their quest to purge the land of idolatry ironically they destroyed the special key to this people and instead tried to force Catholicism on a uninformed lower class which in turn accepted some of it but then mixed it with idolatry.
~~~~~~
From the time of Abraham, God's mission was to all peoples, and in that, he did not leave himself without links and advocates in those people groups. He has made himself known to even them.
Great harm is done when missionaries go in arrogance, not humbly seeking to discover the bridge that God has placed in a people group already.

But great harm is also done when we do not go either.

Jesus was almost always trying to get his disciples who had been trained to think ethnocentrically from childhood to think globally and see the bigger picture.
From Jesus' birth wise men from the east were some of the first to greet him. Simeon proclaimed over the baby Jesus, saying, "My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples, A light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
In the face of his disciples' disgust Jesus talked to a Samaritan woman, had compassion for a Roman centurion, healed a Syrophoenician woman's daughter, a Samaritan leper,  and a Gadarene demoniac.

There were stories in the Old Testament of Nineveh and God trying to get the message through to a prophet that he cared for all people not just the Jews.
God healed Naaman a Syrian general and the Syrians were not always friends with Israel.
God sent Elijah to a widow of Zarephath instead of an Israelite. It was when Jesus mentioned this in a synagogue that it nearly got him pushed off a cliff by the infuriated Jews.
When Jesus went to the Temple and overturned the tables of the money changers it was in the court of the Gentiles. It was a place meant for the Gentiles to come and worship but the Jews had turned it into a place to make money. In Mark 11:17 it says. And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"

With all the stories in the Old Testament and all of Jesus acts of kindness and concern toward Gentiles during his ministry you would think that when Jesus told them before going to heaven to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth that they would understand.
If all that wasn't enough he orchestrated the timing of Pentecost at just the right time when people from all over the world were in Jerusalem, and what gift did he give to His desciples? The gift of tongues in order for them to know that the Gospel was for all peoples.
After all this the apostles and church hunkered down in Jerusalem and would have stayed there for a long time, if God had not sent persecution to get them out. Even then the Apostles stayed on in Jerusalem instead of leading the way.

Just like the Abrahamic Covenant, in the Great Commision they were much more concerned with the first part of the blessing and command  "I will bless you and make you a great nation," "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea..." but they didn't seem to be making any plans to fulfill the second part, "All the families of the earth shall be blessed by you." "and Samaria and to the ends of the earth."

It was the works of a simple layman named Philip preaching amongst the Samaritans that broke the ice for two of the disciples Peter and John to go to their long-time enemies and enjoy the revival that God was bring to those people. The excitement for missions caught them and they even went to other Samaritan villages preaching the Gospel.

Meanwhile the Holy Spirit whisked the spunky layman, cross-cultural, green beret, Philip off to bring the Good News to an Ethiopian.

God saved the encounter with Cornelius, a Roman Centurian, for Peter the Apostle and by it God slowly melted Peter's prejudice.

Then the story shifts from the twelve stuck in Jerusalem to Paul who is actually doing the second part of the Commission.

The book of Acts I used to think was a book about how the church fulfilled the great commission, but even back then in the beginning stages of the church, when so much was happening, things moved grudgingly slow when it involved getting people to go to the ends of the earth like Christ commissioned them.
I think there is hinted message in Acts that Luke, a gentile, is trying to give to those apostles in Jerusalem.

Over time the Apostles started to branch out and go to other lands. They started to understand that as it says in Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
~~~~~

In 1817 a devout American Baptist missionary named Adoniram Judson with Bible tucked under his arm and without the slightest inkling of what was to meet him, disembarked near Rangoon, Burma.

He preached to the Burmese gaining only one convert. Despite the discouragement he pressed on in translating the Bible into Burmese. Then one day a former robber and violent man  named Ko Thah-byu who was estimated to have killed 30 men and was now looking for work to pay of debt, came to the door.

Judson arranged for employment and gradually Judson and others of the household introduced Ko Thah-byu to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At first the Karen man didn't seem to grasp the message but then suddenly he began to ask about the origins of the message and of the white strangers who had brought this book from the west. The pieces fell into place for Ko Thah-byu and he received the love of Jesus. He attended a school for illiterate converts and was determined to read the Burmese Bible as fast as Judsen could translate it.

It had dawned upon Ko Thah-byu that he was the very first to learn that "the lost book" had actually arrived in Burma!

Ko Thah-byu was baptised and then set off into the hills to the Karen villages and his message was met with awe and wonder by most of listeners who then flocked down from the hills to see this "white brother" who had after centuries upon centuries had finally come with the lost book!

~~~~~~
You don't need God to tell you to go overseas, He has already told us to go to the ends of the earth, so pray and ask God if He has given you an exemption card with a legitimate reason to stay.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

This was a book review on the excellent and essential book called Eternity In Their Hearts_by Don Richardson. It has many more amazing stories of God's work in the lives of people and cultures around the world and what His heart has been from the first.

Eternity In Their Hearts by Don Richardson

Startling Evidence of Belief in the One True God in Hundreds of Cultures Throughout the World

The Missing Link_Some Reflections

Enjoying our last Friday Night Feast of The Missing Link

The Missing Link is now finished. What an exciting ride it was through God's story in the Old Testament. We were able to read through the whole Old Testament out loud and learn what each book was about. What a faithful, patient and wise God we have! Time and time again Israel went their own way, committing terrible sins despite countless warnings from prophets. All along God was seeking someone after His heart. He longed for someone who wouldn't toss aside all that He had given them for something worthless and useless. He longed for someone who didn't just say and do the right things on the outside and whose desires were selfish, but He looked for someone with a humble and contrite spirit who sought after Him. Many times the people He found where anything but perfect people. They made so many mistakes. They were mere weak men, but God is faithful and He kept his promises. We read through the Pentateuch, where we entered the Promised Land and recalled how the people of Israel fell into a cycle. They thought they didn't need God and sinned against Him. But God tried to get their attention by sending invaders. Israel would repent and God sent a deliver to rescue them and bring them peace again. But they would fall into sin again and again and the cycle continued. In Judges men did what was right in there eyes and mistreated and even killed their own countrymen. But in the hopeful story of Ruth, there is a glimmer of light in the darkness; redemption, love and sacrifice in the midst of foolishness, sin and violence, as a man named Boaz redeems a woman (a foreigner no less!) and her mother-in-law when they had lost everything. We read of the kings. The people wanted a king to be like the other nations but God wanted one who would rule righteously and follow after Him. Sadly Saul was the perfect picture outwardly of a king, but after reigning for a while he started to disobey God and go his own way. In response, God found a boy who was after His own heart and God anointed him king. Even though David messed up, God made a covenant with him and unlike all the other covenants before, this was an unconditional one which rested totally on God, a covenant where his throne would last forever. After David, some kings followed God and did what was right and some did evil.The kingdom split after David's son Solomon and things went down-hill from there. Instead of Israel being a blessing to the nations around them, they joined them in living a destructive sinful life. And God used the nations to discipline them. God sent prophets to confront the people and warn them of the things that they were doing wrong and what the consequences of their breaking the covenant was. Only a few listened.

Reading the exciting story of Esther.

Even though Israel was faithless a lot of the time, God was always faithful. When His people rejected Him, God kept His Word and is still keeping his Word. When people trusted Him, awesome things happened, seas parted, armies fell, nations arose and fell, rain was withheld and sent again, fire fell from heaven, lions' mouths were shut, and hearts were transformed . The Story isn't over though. It is continuing and we are a part of it now. It's like we are in a play, and if we want to play our parts well in this drama then it's best we know what has happen before our turn. Diving into the Old Testament through The Missing Link taught me a lot about who my God is and what His heart is for humanity. I encourage you, take time in your life and step back and look at God’s Bigger Picture. Learn what's happened and where things are headed. Get acquainted with the stories of those who lived before you and the One whose story is most important to know - God's. Then we can have perspective on the things that really matter in our short time here on this big ball called Earth. So when people look back at our lives, will they see people who believed God and took Him at His word and stepped out and faced new lands, mighty hosts, fire, hunger, ridicule, the lions den, and death itself all because we saw life as vanity, except to give it all for the One who is telling this Epic story? I am a Piece in an Epic.

The Missing Link_Post One

The Missing Link has begun! (A month long course by YWAM Ozarks, Arkansas, using the Inductive Study Method reading through and studying the Old Testament.) So it's time to dive into the Old Testament, buckaroos!

21^{st of April}
It began last night with a foreboding sign being posted on the classroom door, warning that any Non-Levite or un-chosen who entered would be put to death! The shades on the windows were closed to keep out preying eyes as the room setup was underway.This morning we waited outside at the appointed time wondering what lie behind those closed doors. Finally they were opened and we were allowed to enter. The sound of Middle Eastern music met our ears and our teachers strolled about in Middle Eastern garb. Tents were erected around a pile of wood ready to be set aflame, evidence of a group on the move. Maybe that would be us soon! - on an imaginative, learning and growing journey.
We sat and were given name-tags with an Israelite tribal name on it specifying our reading group. I was apart of Ephraim!

Class commenced and floods of the wonderful wisdom of the Word of God entered our minds.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16

Ever think about it and realize that when that was written all they had was the Old Testament? The New Testament was still being made. I am starting to think the Old Testament wasn't something Old and outdated, but the foundation for the fulfillment of a great plan.

I paraphrase Charles Spurgeon – “For every ten men willing to die for the Truth of the Bible I find only one willing to read it.”Ouch! Yeah, reading it wasn't always my strong point either. But we get to read it now. Oh boy, do we get to read it now! And together in groups as well! The more senses we can engage, seeing and hearing, the more we will likely retain.

“Pass the bread and herbs please!” Yum!

Observe what it says, Interpret what it means, then after that, Apply it to you. That's the Inductive Study Method.

Remember it was written to an audience with a different culture and perspective than you. Try to look at it through their eyes.

I had a feeling we were about to embark on an exciting adventure of which God proves again and again that He is the Hero.

22^ndIn the Beginning!God created the heavens and the earth... Gen 1:1
A lot of times we want to know how it all happened, but the original people who way back then, sat around their fires when there was no internet, no TV, no books. They wanted to hear a story, one telling why the universe was there, why they were there. They wanted to understand, in the mist of a world with many crazy stories, why things were the way they were and what bigger story was taking place.

If we go to the Word of God trying to answer Our questions, we can come away with some dangerous ideas and beliefs. We could use the Bible to argue just about any point we wanted if we cut it up right. But instead of reading into the Word of God what we want to hear, let us let the Word of God read us and show us His reality and where we stand in it.

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country...” Gen 12:1God created the world. Man fell away from God. The flood destroys most of mankind. We are preserved through a righteous Noah. People are spread over the face of the earth from Babel.

God calls a man into a redemption plan, to be blessed, and to bless the world.God saves the world through a man named Joseph. God has a plan of redeeming us.

23^rdExodus! - ...I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. Ex 9:16God wars against the gods of Egypt and rescues His people Israel, sweeping them out into the wilderness to teach them to live as a kingdom of priest and a holy nation.

Reading is going great!.......but wow those measurements and instructions about building the Tabernacle can be hard to read and understand at times... However...
It's God wanting to dwell among men again! That's how He does it! God has us build him house. A house that had a few resemblances to the Garden of Eden, and more so to the Heavenly City to come

We gathered barrels (to mark the size of the outer courtyard), poles (size of tabernacle), an old sink (basin for washing), a muffler?! (altar of incense), a box (ark), a truck (altar), stuffed cows (sacrifices), and other stuff that laid around the work shed, took our tape measures and laid out the tabernacle. Wow,that's pretty big!

Our makeshift tabernacle layout. There is so much hands on stuff  we get to do! It's so exciting!

Careful don't go into a place you aren't allowed or you might get struck down! God is a holy God, who wants to dwell with unholy men in order to make them holy.

24thLeviticus!Had a great morning, learning about Jesus in Leviticus. You could say that the Leviticus is the Gospel in the Old Testament. Of course the Gospel is the whole Word of God, but Leviticus is packed with deep and wonderful truths and symbolism.

Jesus forgave sins! To the Jew who had to go through a ceremony of taking a lamp to the priest at the Tabernacle, meant that Jesus was saying He was Priest, Lamb and Tabernacle all in one in His person-hood.

So what is holiness? It's being set apart, but way more than that. If you think about it, what was the most unholy thing?It was something that was dead.So what would be the most holy thing? Being fully ALIVE! Jesus came that we may have life and have it to the fullest! In other words, He came that we may be holy.It's easy to picture holiness as something lofty and out of reach to us. We use the phrase, 'don't be a holy roller' to refer to people we view as religious stuck-ups. But Holiness is not being set apart 'from' the world, but set apart 'for' the world.Abraham, and also we ourselves, as followers of Jesus, are called to be blessed to be a blessing to the nations.In order to do that, we need to be made fully ALIVE!

25th
Numbers! - The Making of a Nation. Moses intercedes again and again for Israel when they rebel. God is very merciful, yet sin is not tolerated.The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generation. Num. 14:18

40 years Israel wandered around in the wilderness because they didn't trust God to give them the promised land.

(Ok, reading team, time to move to the next reading location. Over there by the shed.)

We set up our booths that evening for the Feast of Booths that we would have around the campfire.

Oh, I longed to have something more than manna (bread in a Walmart bag) that we were eating during the reading part of the day.

The probably didn't have tarps back then. Oh well.

God is a God of celebration! If He wasn't, He wouldn't have instituted so many feasts for the people to keep!

28th
Deuteronomy! - God renews his covenant with the next generation of Israelites before they enter the Promise Land.
We stood outside in two groups with the wind blowing in our hair. Each group had a loud speaker and from across the yard, we proclaimed to each other, the blessings and curses that God had for Israel; blessings if they obeyed and curses if they didn't.
Moses makes one last speech.
In reading through Deuteronomy we see a lot of references to the sojourner, the widow and orphan. God really has a heart for them!

And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.
I got shivers when I read this verse. I said to myself, "Oh I wish I could be like that."
I could be. I can know God face to face. I can have His heart for the widow and orphan and foreigner.
I can be zealous for righteousness and holiness and one who has a deep intimate relationship with God.
Take me into the Promise Land with you, God!!!