JOY

Seasonal teaching
Dec 232010

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

(NASB says, “in whose heart are the highways to Zion)

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping or sorrow),
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

Psalm 84:5-7 NIV

In the midst of the joy of Christmas, we are sometimes very happy.  Other times we are dealing with hard, painful things in our lives.  This passage in Psalms brings us comfort and encouragement.    It comes from knowing there is a highway in my heart that Jesus walks in on. He’s not just a sweet baby in the hay.  He is also a road builder.  He constructs a highway in my heart because He is always looking for ways to be closer to me.  He is traveling toward me.  He wants to be nearer. He walks the highway with me. He leads me along the road to deeper maturity.  He sits and talks with me along the way.  Being with Him is the best and deepest joy, fulfilling the profound needs of our hearts!

But sometimes our highway to Zion detours through the Valley of Baca (tears, weeping, and sorrow).  How do I find joy on those days, when it’s my first Christmas without a loved one, or I can’t afford the gifts my heart wants to send, or I am aching over lost health, a wayward child, an angry spouse?  I want to soak in His presence, but sometimes I just hurt.  Where do I find joy then?  What a beautiful picture God paints in verse 6.  As I pass through (thank God I’m passing, not staying!!), my tears fill the valley of weeping.  My tears and crying out to God begins to fill the valley until the water level rises to become a sweet spring that lifts me up.  When we are in this valley, it seems there is no way out.  But it is the place I depend on Him.  I can’t float to the top of the water without surrender!  Sweet trust brings deep joy!

My highway builder doesn’t just make a way for me to meet with Him.  He doesn’t just lead me in the right way.  He doesn’t only lift me up, using the very tears of my suffering as a way out.  He even causes us to go from strength to strength until we appear before our Beautiful, Wonderful, Comforting God in Zion.  The highway leads Home!  Blessed Christmas.

Posted by Dawn Kennedy at 2:00 am Tagged with: , , , , ,

Total Surrender

regional review
Sep 302010

Submitted by Yadira Call, West Region, VP

As I have prayed over what to share, one area of my life that the Lord brought to mind was Total Surrender.  In John 15:4 I am reminded, when I remain in God then I am depending on Him.  When I am surrendering to Christ then He becomes my constant source of strength as a Christian. There are two events in my life that I would like to share that have challenged me to daily surrender to Christ.

When in high school my father led a ministry for two years.  This ministry caused my family’s life to be shaken to the core, causing physical and spiritual damage.  During that time I couldn’t depend on my father, who was consumed with ministry, and my mom had fallen into a depression.  I had youth pastors that loved and encouraged me in God’s Word.  They helped me to trust God during those hard times.  That was my first experience with surrendering to God my situation.

John 15:2 showed me that the pruning process hurts and can be difficult but necessary to grow as a Christian.  I didn’t completely allow myself to surrender my hurts to God during that time.  So, I tried to control my life and told God I would never serve as a leader in church because of what I had gone through.  But God in His grace would bring me to a place of surrendering.

I was in college and studying to attend medical school and do medical missions.  I thought I was doing God’s will for my life.  Then I met my husband, a man who loves Lord and has been called by God to serve as a pastor! Despite the calling he had on his life, I had told God I would never be a leader in a church setting, EVER!  Daniel challenged me to seek God and HIS direction for my life.

Over the next year God brought me to a different place of surrender.  I began to see that I was living independently apart from God.  John 15:5 showed me that when I choose not to surrender to God, I can do nothing.  I wasn’t depending on God in any area of my life but rather depending on what I could control. God was letting me see the lack of surrender in my life for a second time.

I’m still learning to surrender daily to God.  Despite my imperfections, God continues to pursue me and asks me to daily recognize that my life needs to be in total TRUST (of my circumstances), SURRENDER (my desire, will, agenda), and DEPENDENCY (my expectations) on Him.

——–

The West Region update is published on the fourth Thursday of each month. Submit comments or suggestions to westpresident@pwoc.org

Posted by Blog Manager at 12:00 pm Tagged with: , , , ,

The Call to Missions

Devotions
Aug 092010

My family recently traveled to the tropical and very hot Kingdom of Cambodia. It is a third world country stricken with poverty; not only physical, but spiritual too. I was disheartened by the many Buddhist temples and shrines that lined the main roads and were scattered across the county side. My heart felt joy when I identified a small number of churches that displayed a cross above the building; a visible symbol to me and a remnant of HOPE that TRUTH was being proclaimed in this land. There are people who heard the call to missions in this country. A mission is defined as an assignment, task, job, work, charge, undertaking, duty, or operation. “Missions” is the Great Commission that Jesus calls us to fulfill in the book of Acts and the four Gospels.

When I was a young teenager, I felt in my heart God called me to the mission field. However, I didn’t surrender to the call to go into foreign missions and went my own way. I pursued a college degree and upon graduation, married an Airman from my home town. Even though I didn’t step out in faith and obedience when I was young, God had His way of accomplishing His purpose and plan in my life. God foreknew I would marry an Airman who would take me all over the United States and the world. I have had wonderful opportunities to be a missionary in several states and live abroad in predominantly Islamic and Buddhist countries. God is amazing!! Only He could have orchestrated the plans He had for me. I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve my God, husband, children, country and church in the wonderful places He has sent me and will send me.

God has a purpose and plan for each of our lives. It is His plan for us to share the gospel; not only in word, but in actions too. There are many people with physical and spiritual needs. Jesus did not come only to save the lost from their sins; but He fed the hungry, cast out demons, healed the sick, and even raised the dead. That is the power of God! He told the disciples that anyone with faith could do greater things if they ask in His Name. (John 14:11-13). The Holy Spirit will give you boldness and endue you with power to witness and minister to a lost world. He will be the light shining through you in a dark world. Where has God placed you? Are you sharing the gospel and fulfilling the mission that God has planned for you? Are you a living testimony of His salvation and are you demonstrating His love and power in your actions? It is His plan for you to be where you are right now and to use you. Listen to His voice and allow Him to guide your footsteps. Surrender your ‘will’ and step out in faith and obedience to serve Him wholeheartedly. Don’t limit the power of God. Trust in Him and not in your own ability or the gifts of others. God calls us to live by faith, not by sight. Love, minister and proclaim the gospel of HOPE and TRUTH to the people He has placed in your home, neighborhood, school, workplace, and church. If your husband has a military “mission” in a foreign country, take the opportunity to reach beyond the gates of the base. The mission field is all around you. Have you heard and surrendered to The Call to Missions?

What you can do:
* Share the Gospel
* Live the Gospel
* Support missions with tithes and offerings
* Pray for missionaries around the world
* Pray for salvation of the lost

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8

But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Psalm 33:11

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

John 14:11-13

Posted by Laura Miller at 2:00 am Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
© 2012 PWOC International Blog Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha