The Spanish Bible

A couple years ago Josh and I loaded our car to the brim, dropped off our children with my mother and headed toward Moore, OK to help with tornado relief there. We were there the day or so after it happened and stayed for several days sifting through people's ravaged belongings trying to salvage what we could find for them.

On the way there, Josh and I went into a gas station. As I was perusing, I noticed a Spanish Bible sitting beside 15 other books or so. It was $5 and I felt very compelled to buy it. I did not. I talked myself out of this purchase by convincing myself I didn't need it, I couldn't even read Spanish well, and just because I had a Bible collection at home didn't mean I needed to impulse buy this Spanish copy. But I really did think I should buy it... and regretted not getting it immediately after we left, but who turns around for a $5 purchase?

Fast forward to one of the last days we were out serving Moore families. I was four months along expecting Jonah, so I did not operate chain saws or do heavy lifting. One particular day the men (including Josh) were all demolishing through the remains of a house, and it left me temporarily idle. I started speaking (very poor) Spanish with a man from South America who was single. He was a humanitarian who randomly flew around the world after natural disasters to help however he could. I spoke a little Spanish and he spoke a little English, and between the two of us we laughed and gestured our way through a great conversation. We had lunch together.

He was very interested in this God of mine which I attempted to tell him about after inquiring about his own faith. He did not know about God where he had come from, and he wanted to know more. He was leaving the following morning to return back home.

I did not have that Spanish Bible to send him home with.

Two and a half years later, my heart is still grieved by this loss of opportunity.

The Lord often speaks in a still, small voice. Today I challenge you to obey that voice. If you are prompted to do or buy something that you don't understand, obey.

The man I met in the path of a tornado's destruction was a seeker. He was a good man and he had done many good works, but he was lost. I do pray God sends another obedient servant to that man, and if he doesn't, I do hope God forgives me.

Damage From the May 2013 Moore, OK Tornado

Who's on Your Throne?

I had people serve me these past two weeks.

For the followers of Christ who might be reading this post, it should be our highest goal to become more Christ-like every day. Referring to Jesus, John 15:13 says, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

I don't believe we are all supposed to look at each other and then kill ourselves so that we can get to Heaven and tell Jesus that we imitated him. I don't think he'd reward us for that.

But there is a much more difficult way to lay our lives down for each other that doesn't involve simply stepping into our next phase of life, that is, death.

I heard a message by Adrian Rodgers yesterday. I love something he said: "We will either place ourselves on the throne while Jesus dies on the cross, or we will place Jesus on the throne while we die to ourselves."

Serving other people is a sacrifice. It often involves our time and our money. And if I'm watching someone else's kids, it often requires my patience too!

Two times this month I made people cry. Here I was just going about my little life, deciding how I was going to intrude into someone else's life, and I ended up making them cry.

It probably took one lady a full minute on the phone of crying after I answered before she could get out the two words, "Thank you."

And then the favor was INCREDIBLY UNEXPECTEDLY returned to me!!... By two different people than the two mentioned above. Two people intruded into my life and decided they were going to help me when I hadn't asked for it, didn't expect it, and certainly didn't deserve it.

And now I have no words to say. I don't even know how to express my gratitude to them.

Americans live in a do-it-yourself kind of world. And yet, as Christians, I believe we are supposed to live life together. If one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers (1 Corinthians 12:26). If we all give the extra time, energy, wisdom, encouragement, and dare I say money to those who are lacking in the church, the whole body would have enough. And yet, we all live in our American homes while many members suffer. This shouldn't be.

What have you done lately to help bring up another part of the body of Christ? Was it a sacrifice for you? If we desire to be like Christ we should not only die to our sinful nature, but we should also practice laying our lives down for our friends. This will look different for everybody, and it will look different for every friend.

The American church is in great need because the majority of members do not serve one another.

Galatians 6:10 says, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (NIV emphasis added).

Uh oh.

Food banks are great and so are all the humanitarian projects most churches are involved in. But we should not take care of the poor before we take care of one another. Who is to be the hands and feet of Christ within our churches if our main focus is solely the care and convert of the unbelievers?

Who have you served this year? Your self? Your family? The unbelieving masses? I encourage you to find a person within your church. Get to know them and learn what some of their needs are, and if you're able, let God use you (your money, your stuff, or your time) to fulfill that need in that believer's life. You could be their answer to prayer while all your doing is taking care of your body.

Same Old Lang Syne

An old friend contacted me last week. I hadn't talked to him in a couple of years and a goofy smile lit my face for two days after hearing from him. It's nice to be remembered. It's nice to be worth somebody's time to contact after years of silence.

Because of him I contacted my best friend from junior high. Yes, nearly 15 years after the awkward start of our friendship, she and I always pick up right where we leave off.

We got to talking about another high school friend of mine who isn't doing as well as I had hoped.

My heart is grieved. For years we drudge through this life meeting people, loving them, and hoping for the best for them.... and yet, the Bible says that the road to destruction is wide while the path to life is narrow.

How many of my friends over the years will I not see some day in Heaven? How many of the ones I loved did I neglect to help get there? How many did I, in fact, hinder from getting there?

Old lange syne will be a curse when we look back on the impact we could have had or should have had, when our time was wasted. Our dear friends left forever out of God's company. Forever in a state of torture, forever in a state of despair separated from everything that is good and lasting.

And what could we have done?

What should we have done?