A Living Epistle

This past week I was listening to a preacher speak about the love of God and he began detailing the life of Mother Teresa, who was an Albanian Catholic nun and founder of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India. She ministered for more than 45 years to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries. At the time of her death in 1997, Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity had more than 4,000 sisters, and an associated brotherhood of 300 members, operating 610 missions in 123 countries. These included hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, personal helpers, orphanages, and schools.

The preacher went on to share a quote of hers that has remained lodged in my head all week because of its incredible poignancy and truth. An interviewer years ago had asked Mother Teresa how she was able to accomplish such great works in her life given her humble beginnings as an Albanian nun. She responded that she had not accomplished great works, but had rather performed simple acts toward others in need with great love.

As I pondered this statement, I thought to myself that she perfectly summed up the crux of the gospel and the Christian faith. It is not the acts themselves but acts performed in the love of Christ that minister to the body and soul.

Mother Teresa said many times throughout her life that being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat. She acutely understood and lived the message of Christ as he told His followers to love their neighbor as themselves. In fact, all of Christ’s miracles were not performed simply to wow people but to showcase His love. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, visited the lonely, and raised the dead because of His great love. He told us in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that love is the greatest virtue of all because it encapsulates all of the others.

So, it is no wonder that in Matthew chapter 25, as Jesus speaks about the judgment of God when the believers will be separated from the unbelievers, He tells us that the litmus test of our faith in Him would be practically demonstrated in our lives as we minister to the needs of others. He never mentions what a devout Christian we were in terms of how often we attended church, Bible studies, or revival meetings, but instead focuses on how we loved and met the needs of others, in particular other believers, as he says to those on His right, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”

Did you notice that the acts that are commended are not earth shattering in nature, are they? Christ speaks of giving water to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked, shelter to a stranger, and visiting the sick, lonely, or imprisoned. These are acts we all can do regularly in the normal course of life no matter our status, education, or geographical location. Christ did not say, “When you founded a church, surrendered to the missionary field, or built a school, you did these things to me.” He said a cup of water given to someone in need was given to Him.

What an amazing thought - a cup of water, some food, a bag of clothes, shelter for a stranger, time spent with the sick or lonely. These are the demonstrable acts of a life that is completely lost in Christ and these were the very acts that Mother Teresa performed over and over again for 45 years. This is why she said that she performed small acts with great love because she understood the Person she was truly ministering to – Jesus Christ. What a wonderful thought to allow to captivate our life and shape our walk.

So, this brings us to the most important question. What are we doing to minister to others? What am I doing? I recently listened to a sermon where the preacher said that your neighbor is anyone that has a need that you can meet. How many people around you and me have needs that we can meet? Let’s dedicate ourselves this Christmas season and throughout 2011 to becoming living epistles to others.

"Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus." - Mother Teresa

Precious Things Are Saved Only by Sacrifice

During the past two years the Lord has taught me much about sacrifice. Sadly, in today’s “me first” society, sacrifice has lost its true meaning. Most think of it only in terms of sacrificing one thing in order to attain something bigger or better. We gladly sacrifice a little here or a little there as long as we are sure the outcome will be in our favor. But true sacrifice, the kind that fuels the passion of the soul, has no such expectations.

The abundant life that Jesus offers is one that is based on sacrifice, but of course this message is not one that today’s world wants to hear much less live by. Jesus said that you would know His disciples by their love one toward another. He continually admonished His followers to love their neighbor as themselves and to even love their enemies. He lived the life of a servant and told His disciples when they asked Him who would be the greatest in His kingdom that “if anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).

So, it is no wonder that the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2 to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. We can conclude then that the key to spiritual victory is not getting all you can get, but giving all you have. Many people flock into churches and seek spiritual experiences to get more of God when the issue is not what they need to GET but what they need to GIVE.

I don’t pretend that this is easy but as John MacArthur has skillfully said, “This [presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice] is absolutely necessary if we are ever to know the fullness of the blessing of God and be able to render to him the service that is due to Him and bring Him glory. Most Christians never really come to that place fully. They flirt with the world, they flirt with the flesh. They flirt with their own personal indulgences and desires. They become victims of the philosophy and psychology of the world around them. They buy into the world's bag. They entertain themselves with the world's mode of entertainment. They think along the lines the world thinks. And so they never really come to the place of total commitment that is discussed in these two verses and therefore they forfeit the fullness of the blessing that God would have for them.”

I think for many of us we meet a need here or help someone over there and we feel pretty good but God is asking for our mind, body, and soul. When He is in possession of us than we are most suited to serve others as He did and experience His full blessing in our lives. In other words, if our vertical relationship with God is where it should be than our horizontal relationships with others will also be in harmony.

I think so often we have this backwards. We work on our horizontal relationships in our own power and then feel like a failure and wonder why our walk has become a burden when the key from the start is to fill up on God and let his power flow through us. Of course, this takes much sacrifice, doesn’t it? It means turning off the TV, the radio, the computer, and communing with the Living God in His Word and in prayer.

What is even more frustrating is that when I have truly committed myself to the Lord my Christian life feels effortless and full of joy but soon, for whatever reason, I revert back to doing things myself and in my own power and soon the drudgery resurfaces.

I think it is important as we seek to know God more and to glorify Him within our lives to remember that anything worth having, anything that truly endures is always attained by sacrifice and the Lord is asking us to be a living sacrifice unto Him. Surely, this is not too much to ask by the One who sacrificed His own life for us so we may obtain eternal life.

“The Christian life is never measured in success but in sacrifice.” – Leonard Ravenhill

Cultivating a Heart of Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I must admit that as a child I kind of glossed over Thanksgiving in anticipation of Christmas. I never really liked turkey as a child which may also have contributed to my blasé feeling toward it. But as an adult, it is by far my favorite holiday. I love getting together with my family (I am one of seven children) and eating all the delicious food and watching football. Of course, the Patriots are playing as well this year which makes it even more special.

In contemplating Thanksgiving and God’s command for us to be thankful in all things (Ephesians 5:20), I am reminded of God’s most important gift to all of us who know Him as our Savior – Himself. For you see, God could have given us temporal riches to enjoy in this world but He has always had in view our number one need – redemption. John Piper once said that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” And this really is the key to the abundant life that Jesus promised would be ours in Him. So often in today’s world where gain is mistakenly for godliness as Paul said it would be (1 Timothy 6), we look toward temporal blessings as an indication of God’s favor and miss the fact that Jesus reminded us often that life does not consist in the abundance of things but IN Him alone (Luke 12:13-21).

Nancy Leigh DeMoss has written a wonderful book called Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy, which I highly recommend reading as it has helped me to think about the importance of gratitude in my walk. She states that gratitude is a choice and if we fail to chose it, by default we choose ingratitude. And when we do choose a lifestyle of heartfelt, humble gratitude, we are mindful of the benefits received from our gracious Savior and those He has placed around us. By intentionally thanking God and others, bitterness and entitlement are replaced with joy and the humble realization of just how undeserving we really are.

DeMoss also challenges us to give thanks not only to God but to other people. She deftly points out that the Apostle Paul thanks people in all but four of his epistles. She also includes a 30-day devotional guide to help readers practically implement gratitude into their daily walk.

I hope this Thanksgiving you will take some time to think about gratitude beyond just the one day that it is celebrated in this country and look toward developing a heart attitude of thanksgiving throughout the year. I am currently on this journey, which I must confess has not been easy at times, especially when I am hurt by others or suffer injustices, but it is at these times that God is urging me to be most thankful. I realize this seems like a paradox, but much of Christianity is the polar opposite of human reasoning because humanism at its core leads us away from God and from the precepts of His kingdom which bring true joy and contentment. I think one of the keys to living victoriously in this area is to never forget your own salvation. It is at the cross that we find all we truly need to be thankful for, and with that perspective, anything we suffer in this life can be counted as all joy.

I hope everyone has a blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving.

“Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.” - Edward Sandford Martin

Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Prayer

Each week I update the bulletin for my church. Earlier this year, we began to include updates on the efforts of our missionaries on the back page. I typically update this section every month as we receive prayer letters. This past week, I received a prayer letter from our missionaries in the Dominican Republic/Haiti. They are Wesley and Melina Lane and I wanted to include a portion of their prayer letter as their battle to share the gospel in this area of the world is fierce and they need prayers desperately:

“Dear Friends, Psalm 91:5,6 says, "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday." The whole Island of Hispañiola needs the comfort of these verses right now. Earthquakes, hurricanes, and disease continue to take their toll on the population, the churches, and the Christians here. Hurricane Tomas passed far out to the west of Port-au-Prince, giving mostly heavy rains, with the worst affected areas on the far western tips of the peninsulas far away from any news crews. There was local flooding in Port-au-Prince and the mud made the tents camps miserable. Fortunately the high winds and heaviest rains mostly affected sparsely populated areas.


As of this writing, the death toll in Haiti from the cholera outbreak has topped 1000, with more the 14,000 hospitalized and the epidemic has now reached the Port-au-Prince area. Thousands are hospitalized and no one really knows what the future holds for this outbreak. In many areas sanitation is very primitive or non-existent. The cholera outbreak has caused the frontier areas to be subjected to violence and new restrictions. This affects our ministry because we cross the border on a regular basis. I personally know the official in charge of the Jimani crossing and he has informed me that if I take my truck into Haiti, I cannot bring it back until the outbreak is declared over. In spite of reports like these, there is still some cross border traffic.


Fortunately, none of our church people have been directly affected so far. This outbreak is expected to take as long as a year to contain and some people feel that it is inevitable that is will spill over into the Dominican Republic. If it does, the political/social results will be unpredictable, but they won't be good in any case. These two countries have a long history of strained relations, sometimes escalating to armed conflict. Most Haitians living in the Dominican Republic are illegal and the situation parallels the illegal immigration problem in the USA in many aspects. In past times of stress, there are two recorded massacres of the Haitians in which thousands were simply slaughtered. There are still occasional outbursts of anti-Haitian violence in which dozens are killed, usually triggered by an act of crime by a Haitian against a Dominican, but these are generally kept out of the media.

I am sure upon reading this letter your reaction was similar to mine – we have no idea what suffering for the sake of the gospel means in this country. The Lane family is putting their life on the line every time they share the gospel in a place that has been recently leveled by natural disaster, further perpetuating the internal conflict that has been raging between the two countries for a long time. But still the Lane’s press on and urge us to pray for them and their ministry.

So often, it is easy to forget our missionary brothers and sisters because they are so far away which is why we decided to include updates in our bulletin and also on our church website. These people have truly counted the cost of the gospel and have deemed it worthy to sacrifice everything for the sake of Christ. Their reward will be great and we can have a part in that reward by supporting them, not with just our money but with our prayers and time. At our church, we encourage the body to send letters and emails to the missionaries to let them know that we are thinking of them and praying for them. It means so much for them to hear from us.

I wanted to encourage you to do the same. I know if I was in a foreign country battling even just a few of things that the Lane’s face every day, my spirits would be lifted tremendously to know my fellow Christian friends were praying for me and fighting the battle alongside me. Let’s enter together into their labors and reap eternal glory, "Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest?’ Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” (John 4:34-38)

Never Forsaken, Always Fed

This past week I found myself fretting about money. Again. Almost two years ago, I stopped working after being laid-off. My husband and I felt at the time that the Lord was leading me to stay home with my two daughters who are now five and three years old. To say the Lord has blessed the decision would be an understatement. Not only has He had provided for us financially, He has revealed more of Himself to us in the process, which is the wonderful benefit of obedience. Every time we obey the Lord according to His Word, we see more of Him manifested in our lives.

So, even though the Lord has been faithful, I still found myself in a weak moment fussing around the kitchen worrying about how we were going to pay this bill and that bill. As I reeled my hectic and fearful thoughts back to God and His sovereignty, He brought Psalm 37 to my mind, “I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.”

This psalm was composed by David and addresses the issue of why the wicked prosper in this life and the righteous suffer, which is a repeated theme in the Bible. The Lord makes it clear that although the wicked enjoy great prosperity for a season, their felicity is momentary and evanescent. In other words, it is temporal and it will end in destruction and divine judgment because they have rejected God and abused His bounty and paternal goodness.

In contrast, the pious and devoted servants of God never cease to be happy, even in the midst of their greatest calamities, because God takes care of them, and comes to their aid in due season. Admittedly, this appears to be paradoxical in nature and in opposition to human reasoning but as you look deeper, you realize that God is trying to pull our thoughts off of the temporal and focus us on the eternal. By moving our attention to the spiritual realm, this psalm invites us to lay hold of the providence of God, as He stretches forth His hand to help those who are His servants while quietly reminding us of the ultimate end of the wicked.

In Ecclesiastes chapter three, the Lord says that He has “put eternity in the hearts of men.” God has put the things of eternity in our hearts as believers so we will not lose focus and grow faint and weary in well-doing. It is there as a source of comfort because we know that one day we will see Jesus. We will see Jesus! And if our focus is centered on Him, then the things of this world really do grow strangely dim as the great song, “Turn You Eyes upon Jesus” states in its chorus.

I have found in my own life that I begin to despair when I lose eternal focus. The temporal world is hard at times, isn’t it? Between mortgage payments, car payments, school tuitions, health concerns, marital problems, etc., we have a lot on our plates to deal with on a daily basis, but the Lord is always trying to pull us away from those temporal things unto Himself.

It is at His feet, in His presence, within the pages of His Word that we find our fulfillment and purpose. And still, He understands we are frail and but dust. So, when we fret about unpaid bills in the kitchen, worry about lay-offs at work, or agonize about a crumbling marriage at 2:00 a.m., He tells us all we really need to know and believe, “I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.”

"Be content with such things as you have. For He Himself [God] has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say: 'The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6)