Defeated Individual or Victorious Team? A Timeline

David and Joanne Divakar are our Grace-supported missionaries to India and to Indian communities in Australia. Indians themselves, they are uniquely gifted to minister in both Indian and Western cultures. Speaking at our church several years ago, David related a story which shows God’s power and plan in a unique situation. It helps us see past our own tiny slice of history and influence to God’s larger perspective. Feeling small? Unsuccessful? Ineffective? Check. Check. And check. I’ve transcribed from the recording of his message; this reads more like a speech than a written account because it is. The rest of this article is entirely his; I’ve not added anything. If you have heard Mr. Divakar speak, you may be able to hear his voice as you read.  (Lynda Shenefield)

 

Way back, over 100 years ago now, there was a Hindu Guru. A Hindu Guru is a priest, and he was reading from his book, a commentary on the Bhagavad Ghita, and in that he was reading and teaching his disciples. In the course of his teaching, he read a passage that said, “All religions will ultimately be done away with, but a religion started by a carpenter will survive.” And he was thinking, “What in the world does this mean?” because he said, “I am the priest of what I would consider the greatest religion in the world.” This is gross, but they used to wash his feet and drink it as holy water because according to the system of reincarnation, you become, you know, the bad dog becomes a cat, but if you’ve attained humanity, that’s pretty good. And then if you go one step farther, where you’re a rishi or a swami or a guru or something like that, that is sort of right below the status of one of their gods, and eventually you attain Nirvana, which is nothingness. And so he said, “I am a priest, I am a guru and I don’t even know what’s going to happen in the future. And here this book is talking about someone who is going to come, a carpenter of all people, and his religion is going to supercede mine? It doesn’t make sense.” And so he didn’t know how to explain that, so he just sort of went over that. But that kept bothering him.

In God’s providence, there was a missionary who left London, England, and about that same time came into that area and started preaching the gospel, and as he was preaching the gospel, he came to this particular place where this guru was, and he started teaching them and talking to them. And, if you know anything about Indian people, they are pretty hospitable, pretty nice people. They won’t accept everything you say, but they will shake their head and say, “Yes, yes.” You know, the bobbing head “yes;” you’ve probably seen that. And they were listening to him, not accepting what he said, but, in the course of his preaching, he said, “As a matter of fact, Jesus was probably a carpenter before his three and a half years of ministry, because His foster father Joseph was a carpenter, so it’s very likely in that culture the son does what the father did,” and so he just said that as a matter of fact, and he just went on, but that struck a chord in this elderly man’s mind and he said, “Hey, maybe what I read in my book and what this missionary is talking about are the same thing.” So, later on, when no one was around, sort of like Nicodemus, he went secretly to where the missionary was, but he wouldn’t go into his house, because this man worshipped cows and that man ate beef, so that’s anathema. But he was curious; he did want to know what he meant by what he said, and the missionary was so happy to talk to him and tell him that God loves you. He loves you so much He came down to this earth and died on the cross for you. That blew his mind. You know why? Because it’s not Islam, it’s not Buddhism, it’s not Hinduism, there is no religion in this world, you can Google it if you want to, there is no religion that tells you that God loves you and in a personal way and that he died for you and that He was a sacrifice for sin for you. That’s what this man understood of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. He said, “If this is true, it’s too good to give up.”

Making a long story short, he accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior. When he did that, these same people who washed his feet and drank the holy water said, “Man, we’re gonna kill you because you are a priest, and now you are a Christian, of all things, and we cannot have that.” And so they kicked him out of the village; his house, his land, everything was just left, bag and baggage. He left and went to a big city. They kicked the missionary out, as well, because they said, “Man, you messed us up big time, because you’ve converted our guru into a Christian; if you stay here, that’s just not gonna happen.” And so they kicked him out as well, and it is said that the missionary left, a very sad man. After all that time and effort, just one person came to Christ; that’s not good to write in your prayer letters, right, just one person came to Christ? But, here’s the thing, we’re talking about a life turned around. God can take any situation and use it for His glory.

What this missionary did not know is that this elderly man’s son would pastor a church for 42 years, preaching the gospel of Christ, seeing many souls saved. And that his son, in the later part of his life, would be an evangelist, again, preaching the gospel, and that his son would be a missionary, and that his son is myself.

I am from that lineage.

And I say that, to say this. It is because we do not realize the power of our Lord and Master until we go through that valley. You know, we love the victories, right? When I was a kid, I used to love to hear my father and all the wonderful stories he used to tell about how God did this for him, God did that for him, wonderful things, and I used to wonder, is that ever going to happen to me? And you know what? It isn’t until you fight the battle, that’s the only time you win the victory. If you don’t fight the battle, you’re not going to win any victories. I learned that and that’s what I understood – that God, if You want me to be in this, I have to go through it. And that’s the same for all of us. We want the victory, but we have to fight the battle before the victory. I thank God for the life of Abraham and other people here in the Bible that we see that went through a lot of hardship, a lot of difficulties, but God has the power, the resources, the ability and, if it is His will, He can take a bad situation and turn it for His glory and honor.

Once for All!

 There are some occurrences in the Old Testament that are really difficult to imagine. Listen to this story and imagine you are there. First, let me set the scene: God has delivered His people the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt through miraculous events. They have crossed the Red Sea on dry land; they have seen God lead them through a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They have watched God provide food from the sky and water from a rock. Now they have come to a mountain, Mount Sinai. God speaks the law to Moses which he is to pass on to the people. God promises that if His people obey Him, He will drive out the enemies from the land they are about to enter. This is His covenant to the people – the Law and His promises. As the book of Leviticus outlines, His law includes the regulation for animal sacrifices to be offered by the priest in response to their sin. When Moses meets with the people, here is the account from Exodus 34:3-8:

Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.”  And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

            The author of Hebrews refers to this, and he writes that Moses “sprinkled both the book itself and the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you’.” He goes on to explain that Moses also sprinkled the blood on the tent itself and the vessels used in worship (Hebrews 9:19-21). Can you imagine? Blood everywhere – sprinkled on the tabernacle, the vessels, and yes, even sprinkled on the people at the inauguration of the covenant that God was making with his people.

            One of the goals of the writer of Hebrews is to show how Christ is the better sacrifice, and in chapter 9, he deals much with the necessity of blood for the forgiveness of sins (22). He explains how the old covenant was just a shadow of the better thing that was coming. Christ too shed blood, but His sacrifice was a “once for all” sacrifice. His death and shed blood inaugurated a new covenant, and this time, the law of God would not just be written on stones. Hundreds of years prior, God had already told the people a new covenant was coming, “This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days…. I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it” (Jer. 31:33). The law was weak in that it could not make the Israelites perfect (Heb. 9:9). It was only outward, not inward. The blood was sprinkled on them, but it could not cleanse the inside of them. It could not change their hearts.

            “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb. 9:13-14).

            Christ’s sacrifice, on the other hand, reaches our inside. It cleans our conscience. It is the law written on our hearts that is referred to in the Jeremiah passage. Christ’s death and his blood shed inaugurated this new covenant (Heb. 9:16-18). We are called to remember Christ’s death in a special way when we celebrate the Lord’s supper together. Part of that important time is the drinking of the cup of which Christ said, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”  In a talk by author Jen Wilkin that I listened to yesterday on Hebrews 9, she pointed out that in the drinking of the cup (that stands for the blood), we are also showing the contrast with the old covenant. We are not just “sprinkled” with it as the Israelites were in the old covenant; that couldn’t truly cleanse. No, we drink it; we take it in. It is the blood of Christ through His sacrifice on our behalf that cleanses our hearts. When we drink the cup, that is what we declare.

            Sisters, let’s praise God afresh for His wonderful plan of which the tabernacle with its sacrifices was only a picture and of which Christ is the fulfillment. Let’s praise Him for the cleansing that Christ’s sacrifice wrought in our own hearts ‘once for all.’

--Amy O’Rear

 

The Unbounded Love of God

 

I stood on the second floor walkway of the mission guest house and looked out over a cityscape of varicolored concrete and corrugated tin.  Smoke from many cook fires drifted skyward past spreading branches of fan palm trees.  Early morning sounds of crowing roosters and brush brooms on dirt courtyards rose on the warm air.  I recalled stepping off the plane in Accra: stepping into heat like a fog, into a rush of sounds--voices with lilting English and a variety of tribal languages blended into one melodious chorus of tongues, into the smell of charcoal and fish and warm bodies. The drive from Ghana was filled with vividness: tall corn stalks growing right up to the edge of the road, clusters of women pounding fufu behind their huts, children in tattered brown and yellow uniforms kicking lopsided soccer balls in knee-high grass.

I was in Togo, West Africa, six thousand miles from Chattanooga, Tennessee, but I didn't need a map to tell me I was a long way from home. I had come with a group of teachers to offer hope and love in the form of lesson plans and school supplies, but what we brought seemed so little up against so much need. That very first week in Togo, the situation seemed bleak.  I couldn’t help wondering how God could reach these people. Here where poverty is a given and only the well-connected have running water and electricity. And what could we do to help? How could our small effort make a difference?

I took another look over the neighborhood. Young women walked below me with water pots and bowls expertly balanced on their heads; men strolled by scraping their teeth with short, clean sticks--Togolese toothbrushes; little girls in brightly colored skirts clapped their slender hands and jumped up and down on skinny legs. In two short weeks of sharing food and laughter with my African friends, the poverty and darkness I first saw had disappeared. Instead, I noticed love: the love of the Togolese believers for one another, for us--their Christian friends from around the world, and for God.

************************

That first trip to Togo was many years ago, but I still recall the overwhelming love I felt—God’s love for these people I was just getting to know. My first impression of the great love of God extending all the way around the world still comes back to me when I see pictures from far away such as we have enjoyed in the last few weeks at Grace. I love hearing about the many new believers in Ukraine despite the extreme difficulties there, the tiny baby church in Melissa’s Italian town, and the flourishing ministry in Togo. The simple verse we learned as children is a profound truth that I often pass right by: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God loves the world. This world includes your neighbors and mine. It includes people in Africa and Asia and South America—and all points in between. It even includes the people we don’t like, the perpetrators of war and suffering. I am so glad God loves me tonight. Truly he is a God of unbounded love and grace. Let’s be thankful for that.

--Sherry Poff

Brothers and Sisters

         Last year was my husband’s and my fifteenth anniversary. To celebrate, we enjoyed a rare trip away from home, to the beautiful hills of North Carolina. The first day we spent in Charlotte, helping out at the Samaritan’s Purse warehouse. Because of covid, Christmas of 2020 saw a huge increase of Operation Christmas Child shoebox donations built online (as opposed to people donating physical boxes). The warehouse was set up for volunteers to pack shoeboxes according to each donor’s specifications.
        Besides the obvious enjoyment of preparing boxes for children in restricted access countries, and the excitement of being involved in a hands-on way in reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ, there was also an unexpected take-away from the day for me. Bill and I were able to work side by side with Christians we had never met before, people who were there because they love Jesus just like we do, and want to make a difference for Him. One lady was from a small church in North Carolina a few hours away. Her ladies’ group had been volunteering for a couple days at the warehouse. She is also a seamstress, and sews items for Samaritan’s Purse to give away in third world countries. Her mom lives in Oklahoma, and does the same thing. Seeing the dedication of other believers whom I previously didn’t know even existed reminded me that, although our country as a whole has walked away from God, there are still pockets of people scattered across our land who truly love Him and live for Him. He will always have a remnant of the faithful, and He knows who they are.
        Only eternity could be long enough to get to know all of our brothers and sisters in Christ – people from all times, places, and walks of life who heard the still, small voice of God, and rose up to follow Him. Until then, it is enough to know that our shared kinship in Christ unites us across all obstacles and challenges. Praise God!
 -MaryBeth Hall    

 Brothers and Sisters

 I Kings 19:18 – “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

  

Elijah was talking to God one day

When evil over his land held sway.

“I, I alone, am left,” he did pray,

“And they seek my life to take it away.”

The Lord replied with jobs for him to do,

Then revealed a fact that only He knew:

“Yet I have reserved seven thousand who

Haven’t bowed or kissed Baal;” He wasn’t through.

 

Those seven thousand, less than one percent,

Wouldn’t give in no matter how culture went.

Belief in Yahweh they did not relent;

His one sentence applauded lives well spent.

And the eyes of the Lord still run to and fro

Throughout the whole earth, His strength to show

In behalf of those who truly yearn to Him know.*

In the night He sees their faith’s steady glow.

 

Today once again, sin seems to be winning,

But yet there are some who like you are standing

For Jesus, His Word, and His way of living;

All steadfast allegiance our God is counting.

Pockets of people scattered here and there,

Brothers and sisters who for holiness care;

Though we know not our number, His name we share.  

Rise up then encouraged to meet the world’s dare!

*2 Chronicles 16:9

Walk

Remember when you could hardly wait for your child to walk, to take his/her first steps.  I was especially anxious for my fifth child to walk because he was such a chunk it wore me out to carry him.  (I'm not sure I remembered with each child how much more difficult it was to keep track of the child with increased mobility.)

I was in Atlanta with my daughter and son-in-law when my grandson Ruben decided it was time to walk and simply took off.  He made it look easy.

Today I have no grandchildren who need to learn to walk, but instead have had to learn to walk again myself after knee surgery.  One of my aunts is learning to walk again after a minor stroke.  Two aunts have had to walk again after falls and breaks.  So sometimes adults must learn to walk again.  

All of us must learn a spiritual walk.  This definition of walk does not refer to simply placing one foot in front of another.  Instead this definition (according to dictionary.com) is "to conduct oneself in a particular manner; pursue a particular course of life."  The illustration in the dictionary is "to walk humbly with thy God."

If you are using either the KJV or NKJV there are numerous uses of this word "walk."  If you are using a newer translation, other words are substituted.  But since I am thinking of "walking", this is the translation we will use.

Colossians 2:6, "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him."  If I can walk in Him, that makes the walk easier.

Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."  You can't do both, walk in the Spirit and in the flesh.

Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."  What a wonderful thought--no condemnation!

I John 1:6-7, If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."  There are no frauds here.  The light shows truth.

II John 1:6, "And this is love, that we walk after His commandments."  Love is the mark of the Christian according to John 13:34-35.

I Thessalonians 2:12, "That you would walk worthy of God, who has called you into His kingdom and glory."  When I was a teenager, I never experienced teen rebellion.  I was afraid of bringing shame to my father's and grandfather's ministries.  If I wanted to walk worthy for my family's honor, how much more should I walk worthy of God.

To me, the most specific instructions on how to walk worthy of God, come in Ephesians 4:1-3, "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

Let's learn how to walk!

                                                                ~~Faith Himes Lamb

Not a Complainer - Part II

Since my last post in August, where I write at length about giving praise and thanks to God in all circumstances, I am still working on not being a complainer. It is an uphill battle, as you might imagine. I am presently fighting a flu bug which interrupted our vacation. I have also just finished an ordeal with an infected thumb. Who knew infected digits could be so serious? I burned the same hand in a small electrical fire. It was a minor injury, but the temptation to complain is strong. Small trials can take a toll on one’s spirit!  And to think there are those who are genuinely suffering! 

In my attempt to correct my attitude, I resolved to write a prayer of gratitude to God. Here’s how it goes: 

“Thank You LORD for allowing me to be sick and that it’s not worse. I trust You for my greater good even when it’s unpleasant. I got this bug from loving on my grandbabies. Thank you for them and that they are feeling better. What a joy they are to me! You brought us home early from our vacation due to this illness, so I assume you have your reasons. Thank you for allowing me to endure all that went into my thumb infection and for the medicines You used to heal it. Thank You that my burn was not serious. Today is beautiful, and that makes things easier. Thank You for that! I love Your seasons! You know my days, and the knowledge that You see me and know what I am going through encourages my heart.”

Things for which I am thankful that make having the flu more bearable:

Supplements

Tylenol and Ibuprofen

Cold medicine

Herbal tea

A comfortable bed and couch

Dinner I did not cook

A warm and loving husband

The strength to move around

My back roller to ease the stiffness

Comfy pajamas

A refreshing bath/shower

Through the Apostle Paul, God commands us, “in everything give thanks.” He knows a good attitude and positive thinking are good for us. And it’s a way to demonstrate our trust in God's goodness and wisdom. It’s not always easy for sure. But sometimes obedience is hard, especially if it does not seem to make sense.

(prayers appreciated)

joyce hague

Every Opportunity

 

Ephesians 5:15-16: “ See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, ¹⁶ redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (NKJV)

¹⁵ “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the MOST of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (NIV)

 That phrase “making the MOST of every opportunity” jumped out at me as I was reading my ONE YEAR BIBLE recently. I haven’t been able to get it off my mind. CAN YOU BELIEVE...God has over and over challenged me to “make the MOST of opportunities” He has brought to me since I read that verse. 

The word “redeem” has many definitions but can be “to get, to buy back, or to exchange for something of value.” That fits well with “making the MOST of every opportunity” because we are using our time to make a difference, to contribute something of value.

All we have to do is to study the Gospels to see how Jesus made a difference...making the MOST of every opportunity. Just in Luke 7-9, He related to a Centurion, a widow, a storm, five thousand and more hungry people,  a demon-possessed boy...just to name a few. Each was treated with compassion and mercy and purpose.

Who has come across your path this past week who needed help but you thought: “Maybe later. I am too busy right now.” 

We need to BE ALERT...FOCUS...keep our “heads up” looking for opportunities. Now consider in our next few verses, Colossians 4:5-6:

^“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. ⁶ Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. (NKJV)

⁵ Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. ⁶ Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (NIV)

So...we need to ask God for opportunities to help, but we also need wisdom in our choices. Making the MOST of an opportunity might just be involving another person to serve. Or encouraging the one who is dependent to step out and do his or her best to accomplish the task.  This means that “every opportunity” does not entail your doing the work but just acting as encourager.

Then we need grace in our speech when we are called upon to do something that is totally disrupting OUR schedule. We need grace in our attitudes. Philippians 1:27a:  “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

That is the bottom line, isn’t it? The Gospel of Christ!  I Timothy 2:3: “This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved...” We must be constantly alert to those around us who need the Lord Jesus. Sometimes it takes months to cross that bridge with a neighbor or even family member to talk to them about their need for salvation. But let’s make the most of every opportunity.

--Maylou Holladay