When I Am Afraid

“When I am afraid I put my trust in you. In God whose word I praise, in God I trust, I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?”—Psalm 56: 3-4

What fears are swirling in your mind as you begin your week? Is it the paper that is due in that difficult class? Is it the overwhelming workload left on your desk from Friday afternoon? Is it a difficult conversation with a friend? Is it a hard relationship at home or an uncertain doctor’s appointment? Whatever the fear is, one thing is certain: in the mind of the fearful one, it can seem like an impassable mountain.

David had much to be afraid of when he wrote this Psalm. He was fleeing from Saul, the Philistines had seized him, and he was now in enemy territory. He stares his fears in the face and speaks to them: “What can flesh do to me?”

Sometimes our fears are over genuinely fearful things. Sometimes, though, our fears are over a lack of perceived control. So often my fear is translated as, “I don’t trust your goodness in this situation.” When I was single it was fear that a guy I liked would not like me back and then I would be left single forever. Now that I am married, so many of my fears revolve around the future and my relationship with my husband. What if God doesn’t give me the five children I hope for? What if my husband does not make the decision I want him to make?

Many of us spend so much of the moments of fear immersed in the fears themselves. The Psalmist makes a conscious decision not to do that. Yes, the fears are frightening—sometimes rightly so. But in my own life, I have found that I need to spend a lot less time indulging my fears, and more time giving them to God. He knows the outcome of them anyways.

He holds the outcome, and the circumstances of our fears, in the very palm of his hand. They are not lost to him. He is watching over every detail of every fear that we face—big or small. Because of his work for us we can look at our fears today and say with David, “what can flesh do to me?”

Missions Wednesday: Saudi Arabia

Imagine living in a family where becoming a Christian means persecution, and often death. Imagine living in a society where you are the only Christian and there are few Bibles, few avenues for fellowship, and hardly any Christian places to worship your Savior. It’s hard to think about isn’t? Especially hard when many of us pass multiple churches on the way to our own church, or when the local Christian bookstore is not too far, or when we have unrestricted internet access to some of the greatest resources for our own growth. Imagine living in a country where Christians weren’t even allowed to get to you.

Saudi Arabia is such a country.

Saudi Arabia is home to the holiest of holy cities for Muslims—Mecca. 1.2 million Muslims pray to Mecca every day. Persecution is high and certain for anyone who claims the name of Christ in Saudi Arabia. According to Operation World’s 24-7 Prayer Guide, Saudi Arabia is possibly the most dangerous place to live in the world as a Christian.

Prayer Requests:

• There are approximately 50,000 people who believe in Christ in Saudi Arabia. Pray that they would be strengthened in their faith.
• Saudi Arabia is a closed country. Pray that God would provide a way for missionaries to get into the country.
• Pray that the hearts of Saudi’s would be softened to the Gospel.

Goals for 2010: Making My Time Count

Like many people I made goals for the upcoming year. I can’t recall ever making goals for the year before, at least as a believer. But I find myself saying “I want to work on that” a lot, so it seemed only right to make a list of said things, if only to have something to pray about and reflect on next year at this time. As I prayed and thought through the list, I found a recurring theme—time management. Most of my aspirations for my growth this year stem from my own lack of time management and self-control. And namely, my lack of control in how much time I spend online. I used to justify my excessive Facebook use with “it helps me keep up with people.” But did it really? No, it didn’t. Checking status updates and profiles does not amount to a relationship, no matter how I look at it. If I really wanted to be consistent I would actually send a message to the people I wanted to keep up with. And how interesting that one of my goals for the year is to keep up with existing friends and cultivate new ones.

Another goal for the year is to read more. I used to read a lot more than I do now. I love reading, but I find myself immersed in time-wasting browsing on the internet. Now I find myself easily bored with things that are more than “140 characters.” I have gotten used to bite-sized pieces of information, rather than large chunks of truth. No matter how I try and justify it, bite-sized information will never fill me up spiritually—even if it is amazing.

As I start the year, I want to spend more time investing in things that matter; things that are of eternal significance. This doesn’t mean I won’t be on the internet. It just means I will limit my time, so I can use the time I do have for things that last. And it means I won’t blindly use the internet, either. If I see an old (or new) friend on a social networking site, I will ask her how she is doing instead of lurking around her profile. Internet and social networking are not needs. They are gifts that can be used for good and bad. I really pray that this year I use the gifts for more good than bad.

Remembering Mrs. Dubert

Today I am linking to a post I wrote in the fall of 2007 about a dear friend of mine. Her name was Mrs. Marjorie Dubert. The post includes something she wrote about her time as a missionary in New Guinea. Mrs. Dubert was a dear lady, who loved and served King Jesus. And on Wednesday, she was in the presence of her King.

Though I haven't seen Mrs. Dubert in many years, I still kept in contact with her. She was the mother of my mom's best friend, who is like an aunt to me. Mrs. Dubert and I would email from time to time, and she was one of the biggest encouragers of me to attend seminary. I still remember the content of her email when I told her I was moving to Louisville to go back to school. When I was living a rebellious life away from Christ, she prayed for me. She supported every misssions trip I went on. She emailed me. She read my blog sometimes. She was my far-away friend. And I will miss her. Now she is even farther away than she was before. But I will see her someday. Someday when we are all around the table of King Jesus worshipping our Savior forever. Until then, you will be missed, Mrs. Dubert. Thank you for your service to our Christ,

Here is the post. I hope she encourages you like she did me.

Missions Wednesday: Turkey

For this week’s Missions Wednesday I enlisted the help of my sweet husband. He has been to Turkey twice and it is a country that is dear to our heart. So below are some helpful tidbits that he relayed to me about the country of Turkey.

Turkey is the largest unreached nation in the world. For over a thousand years Christianity was the prevailing religion, but now Islam is the official religion of Turkey. There are approximately 66 million people living in Turkey. This is a staggering number. Sixty-six million people, unreached, and following a false religion.

Geography lesson for the day: It straddles two continents: Europe and Asia. I thought that was interesting.

How we can pray:

Pray that God would send missionaries to Turkey to proclaim the Gospel.

Pray that the missionaries who are already there would be encouraged.

Pray that God would open their eyes to the Gospel. Islam is a cultural religion there, and to leave Islam means leaving being a Turk in many of their minds.

Pray against fear in the hearts of Turkish people who have become Christians.

Will You Mentor Me?

A biblical mentoring relationship is a choice—for both parties involved. While we see the mandate in Titus 2 for older women to train the younger women, the latter must be willing to receive the discipleship. Often, as younger women, we stay only in the waiting position. We see the command for older women and hope that they will see us at church and resolve to find us and mentor us. It’s not wrong to hope for that. In fact, it is a very good thing to hope for that kind of a relationship. But we can take that hope and help make it into a reality. We can take steps to foster relationships with older women, seeking their advice, desiring their help, and wanting their friendship.

Ruth made a conscious decision to stay with Naomi. The text says that she “clung” to her (Ruth 1:14, 17-18). And this was even against the advice of Naomi! But Ruth wanted Naomi’s God. Ruth wanted to be apart of Naomi’s family. She chose to stay with her.

Mary made a deliberate choice to go to Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-40). Granted, Elizabeth was more than a willing partner in helping the young mother. But still, Mary went to her on her own accord. She knew Elizabeth shared a common experience with her (an unexplained and unexpected pregnancy) and shared her God. This was enough for Mary to go to Elizabeth and seek refuge and comfort in her time of need.

Our action as younger women does not take away from the biblical command directed to older women. But our action, done in humility, might actually encourage them in their desire to fulfill the directive of Titus 2. Asking someone to mentor you, and asking someone if they want to be mentored is never easy—no matter how you word it. But perhaps, and I know this is true of my own life, it may be God’s way of cultivating humility in your life simply by saying “I need help in this area, can you mentor me?”

So often we like to think that we have it all together. Or at least we act like we do. We surround ourselves with peers who think we are great, who think we are holy, who think we have womanhood down. And maybe you do. Praise God for that. But maybe, just maybe, God wants to cultivate an even greater holiness, an even greater heart for womanhood, and an even greater understanding of greatness by putting an older woman in your life to shape those already existing qualities.

Pray about it. Read about it. Talk about it. And by God’s grace make a choice to do something about it.

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday 2010

Yesterday was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention. Every year Southern Baptist churches take the third Sunday of January to encourage believers to continue to care about the lives of the unborn. Our pastor preached a message yesterday out of Psalm 139. He showed us again that God is the author of life, human beings are created in God's image, and human beings are created for the glory of God. Recognizing the sanctity of human life is not just for babies in utero, although it is massively important that we fight for them. Valuing life is about caring for the elderly, adopting the orphans, volunteering at the crisis pregnancy center, helping a single mother, mentoring a foster child, and going on the mission field. We value life in all stages because God wants people to worship him; and we should want this too. People are precious. They are image-bearers of our King. Not waste to be discarded.

Daniel and I have talked a lot about what this would look like for us; long-term and short-term. We don't know yet. But we do know one thing. Valuing life will mean giving up our own life. It is not enough just to say that we are pro-choice when we don't care about the life that is wasting away all around us. Valuing life will mean we are a little (or a lot) less comfortable than we would maybe like. But it only matters if this is all we have to live for.

My prayer for myself this year is that I would be comfortable with the uncomfortable in whatever avenue that means for my life right now. I want to be willing to sleep a little less on a Saturday morning so I can volunteer at the crisis pregnancy center. I want to spend less time browsing Facebook and more time browsing sites that make me love the world more. I want to value life in all stages in a way that helps people see Jesus as the one who makes us really live.

More Thoughts on Haiti

Throughout the day we have been seeing updates from various Christian organizations saying they have yet to hear from many of their staff in Haiti. For many of them they are in the poorest places in Haiti, and in the world. And they chose to be there. Many of them left the comforts of America to live among impoverished people. And they chose to be there. Many of them have now lost their lives, buried next to the very people they were seeking to bring the Gospel to. And praise God, they chose to be there.

I have been amazed and encouraged by how many organizations are actually in Haiti doing Gospel work so that Haitian people might praise Christ. They are a testimony to the truth that Jesus Christ is the greatest treasure in the Universe—even greater than life itself. They are men and women that the world is not worthy of.

In the next few days we will hear more about these organizations and how we can help. I pray that God would use this tragedy to raise up more men and women, like our brothers and sisters in Haiti, to go and give their life for the sake of our Christ’s name.

Here are just a few of the organizations. I know there are many more:

Compassion International

Baptist Haiti Mission

Food for the Hungry

Water Missions International

Missions Wednesday: Pray for Haiti

For this missions Wednesday I think it would be appropriate to talk about Haiti. Yesterday a 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook the country and has left horrible destruction in the aftermath. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and is located on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. To say that the people of Haiti are poor would be an understatement. Many live in utter poverty and an earthquake of this magnitude means much devastation.

Haiti has been characterized by political disorder throughout its history. This has only furthered the economic despair that overtakes the region. In addition to earthquakes, Haiti is also very susceptible to hurricanes.

There are 9 million people in Haiti; 9 million people who either need Jesus or need to be encouraged in their walk with him. And right now, there are 9 million people who need our prayers.

How to pray:

Pray against despair for the people of Haiti. Poverty can lead people to feeling as if there is no hope. Pray that they would see hope in Jesus Christ.

Pray that this earthquake would be a means of much Gospel proclamation. Pray that God would be glorified in this tragedy.

Pray that God would send Christians to Haiti to do relief work in Jesus’ name. Pray that they would be a source of not just physical healing, but spiritual healing as well.

This afternoon Desiring God posted a list of relief organizations that could use our help as they serve the people of Haiti. You can read the list here.

Some very sobering pictures from the Big Picture here.

Disciple Now Reflections

My husband and I just finished up a Disciple Now weekend with the youth of our church. For those of you unfamiliar with DNOW (and I was until I married a youth pastor), it is a weekend conference for youth put on by the local church (or at least in our case it was). Usually you bring in speakers and then break up into small groups at homes hosted by church family. So I spent the entire weekend with three amazing high school girls from our youth group!

(On a side note, I used to be able to stay up until all hours of the night and then function the next day. This is no longer true of my body. There were moments of total delirium on Saturday evening, and this lasted well into yesterday afternoon when I took a very long nap. It’s official. I am 100% a grown-up.)

The theme for the weekend was Resolved and we had two Southern graduates as our main speakers. They did a phenomenal job. They preached from Philippians 3, and one of the things asked of us over the weekend was to “remember God’s work for you in Christ.” This got me thinking. What if remembering God’s work for you brings back memories too painful to think about? Surely this is true for some people. I am sure it was for Paul. He killed Christians. I am sure it was for Peter. He denied the Savior. How do you remember the work without flooding your mind with memories you would rather just bury?

It is often said that you can’t change the past. This is true. We can’t change what has already happened. Often, and I know this is true in my own life, the pain of certain memories cause us to wallow in unbiblical guilt rather than worship the One who took that guilt away. We can remember the past, in all degrees of heinousness, and call it what it is—awful. But if we are in Christ that past has no control over us any longer. If we are in Christ, God does not hold us condemned for those previous sins.

It is good to remember what Christ has done for us. It is a glorious thing that the King of Kings died to reconcile us to God. And we should never forget what we were saved from. But it should not lead us to despair. It should lead us to worship. In Philippians 4:8, Paul tells us to think about the things that are true, among other things. It is true that we were once sinful, rebellious, and condemned people. But it is an even greater truth that because of Christ’s work on our behalf, and his righteousness given to us, those adjectives no longer describe us. This is what we should remember every day of our life.

“When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see him there
Who made and end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free!
For God the just is satisfied
To look on him and pardon me!”

Missions Wednesday (on Thursday)

We had the privilege of being apart of a short-term missions send off for my parents pastor while we were home. I left the service with a strong desire to go with them. I realized that by the sheer prayer and acknowledgment of this family’s trip my heart was stirred to love the nations. I think that this is what we are supposed to feel. We see people go, we hear about the need, and we want to do something (either go or send). Primarily for my own benefit, and Lord willing your benefit as well, I am going to post brief summaries of countries every week, in part to stir in my heart a love for the nations. I am also doing it to prepare these summaries for the children at our church. So stay tuned. I pray that you are educated, engaged, and encouraged to love all nations and desire them to come to faith in our Christ.

Jamaica

I wanted to start with Jamaica because a few summers ago I had the opportunity to serve in an orphanage there and my heart was forever changed.

Jamaica is the third largest country in the West Indies. While the majority of people would claim Christianity in Jamaica, it is in many cases in name only. The rate of illegitimate children is very high, thus leaving many Jamaican children orphaned and wards of the state. One out of every four Jamaican men is a drug user, thus contributing to the problem of orphaned children. Since many Jamaicans do not have cars, there are a lot of small churches within walking distance. Though Jamaica numerically is predominantly Christian, the call for the Gospel among the people of Jamaica is still urgent.

Ways to pray:

• Pray that God would give Jamaican Christians a heart to really follow Christ and not see it as something that is merely cultural.
• Pray that God would kill the selfishness that leads to child abandonment
• Pray that God would burden Christians to adopt Jamaican orphans and go to Jamaica and disciple Jamaican believers

Just One of The Many Reasons...

...I love the Jesus Storybook Bible! I am currently serving as the children's church director at my church. Which basically means I plan the schedule and pick the curriculum, which I love to do! At our church we want everyone to love their Bibles, including children. What better way than to take them through the entire Bible, right? So I prepare questions for the teachers to ask the kids after the story. Usually they are related to the details of the story, but I try to include heart related questions to help them think through applying Scripture to their own lives. I usually finish reading the stories wanting more. I love, love, love them. They are so Christ-centered and true. And it captures the entire story of God's redemptive plan in easy-to-understand language for kids. Our story this week is about Jonah. So here is one of the many reasons I love this Bible (and hope you do to!).

"Many years later, God was going to send another Messenger with the same wonderful message. Like Jonah, he would spend three days in utter darkness. But this Messenger would be God's own Son. He would be called 'The Word' because he himself would be God's Message. God's Message translated into our own language. Everything God wanted to say to the whole world - in a Person. "

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! We are settling back in from visiting my family in Florida (and settling into the cold weather!) and looking forward to the start of a new year for our family. It is hard to believe that a year ago we were in wedding planning frenzy and now we are a happy married couple! The New Year provides an opportunity to reflect on all that God has done in the last year. It also allows for opportunity to examine our hearts and resolve to grow in greater godliness.

It’s hard to believe that it is 2010. It seems like just yesterday we were passing into 2000. My life has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. Ten years ago I was not a Christian and was a junior in high school. Now I am a follower of King Jesus, taking seminary classes, and married to a youth pastor. This is a work of God’s grace and mercy in my life. I do not deserve to be here, but I am.

The New Year should be a time of reflection and worship. Reflection on all that God has done and worship because of his great work.

Yesterday morning at church we sang a song called Jesus, Thank You. One of the lines in the song stood out to me in light of reflecting on the last ten years:

“Once your enemy, now seated at your table. Jesus, thank you!”

This is me. This is you. And may God be pleased to make many more enemies into sons into 2010.