July 2008 Update

“Divinely delayed”. That’s the phrase we’ve decided to use to describe the past few months. While our hearts have been longing to be home in Tanzania since early March (our original departure date), God divinely delayed us. I find it so easy to trust the Lord to “step out” and “go” and “do”, but now He has taught me to trust Him just as much to “be still” and “wait”.
Essentially the delay was a matter of finances. We invested everything we had - selling our personal possessions and spending our savings - and combined with the generous partners we already have we were able to live and do basic ministry in Kigoma for the first year. But God is calling us to do even more and put down some roots in Africa, and so a better foundation of support is required, ergo our extra time here in the States.

While waiting on Him to provide we have been making phone calls and new contacts, and also completing a training period at the home office. Through it all the Lord has been faithful and now we are finally beginning to see the doors open to new partnership opportunities with churches and individuals. We are so thankful and tremendously excited as we see that the Lord is not done with us yet and we will be back home in Tanzania soon. Please pray along with us that these contacts and times of sharing the Lord’s vision for us in Kigoma blossom into fruitful partnerships.

Serving God in a Kilt. I was talking to someone the other day about the Scottish Highland Games that I used to compete in. Years ago - before we starting having kids - I used to compete all over the state of California in the Scottish Highland Games. If you’ve never heard of or seen “the games” for yourself, just imagine a bunch of big guys in kilts throwing heavy things around (it’s actually much more complex and skillful than that, but you get the picture at least). I thought of how my times competing in these games began and developed and then the Lord directed my thoughts to Heb 12:1; 2 Tim 4:7; and 1 Cor 9:24. In these verses Paul likens the christian life to a race or other competition. So I thought of my times competing.

The first time I saw the highland games I was a spectator at an event in San Diego. At first I only watched, but then a thought began to creep into my mind... “I can do that”. Have you ever watched your pastor or another believer as they serve and do great things for the kingdom and heard the voice of the Holy Spirit whisper to you, “You can do that.”?That’s the first step towards living the fulfilling and victorious christian life that Paul was talking about - realizing that there are no spectators in the body of Christ. It’s a life of loving service to a living Saviour that requires us to stop spectating and start competing!

After that fateful day of spectating and realizing that I could actually compete, I made a few phone calls and found out exactly how I could begin competing in the games. A few weeks later my wife, my father, and I all drove up to Sacramento for the annual games there, where they had an “open” class for new beginners. You didn’t have to wear a kilt (I didn’t yet own one), and everyone in the “open” class were complete amateurs. So we showed up and I competed in my first highland game. It was absolutely amazing! What fun I had doing something that seemed to have been made just for me! Being 6’3” at well over 300 pounds of... ummm... “muscle” turned out to be just the right foundation for such a competition. Do you realize that God made you specifically for the game! He has given you the foundation of His Word and Holy Spirit! You’re made for it! Get in the game. If you’ve been spectating and longing from a distance to be like the others you see competing, then get in the game! Just as my physical nature was made for throwing big, heavy items around, so your spiritual nature has been made alive by the Holy Spirit of God and is now literally MADE FOR SERVING HIM.

After that first game I began to compete in every competition I could find out about, no matter how big or small. My skills and strength began to grow quickly and I was winning all of the amateur class games. They moved me up to the next level of amateur, the “B Class”, where I had to wear a kilt to compete. This new addition to the wardrobe was required to be in the game, but brought with it a fair amount of murmuring and persecution from those not competing in the game. This is so true of the race that we run in Christ. Those who are not running - and I’m even speaking of those who call themselves christians - will often ridicule or persecute you for doing whatever it takes to compete and finish strong. Who cares? Because when you’re truly committed to competing to win and doing whatever it takes, the joy of the competition and the victory God has in store for you far outweighs the persecution of those who have never even experienced it! (Rom 8:18; Heb 12:1-2)

I continued competing and growing and honing my skills, and by the end of that first year I found myself competing in the national championships in my class and actually tying for first place! This automatically moved me up into the “A Class” amidst a field of giants... literally! Now the game became much more difficult. I was competing with guys who really knew what they were doing, had been doing it for a lot longer than me, and were not only as strong as me but much more skilled. The more we compete... the more we run the race that God has set before us.. the more we faithfully serve Him and bring our fleshly appetites into submission of God’s will, the more we grow and win and excel at the things He puts before us. But along with this victory comes a new level of competition and resistance from the enemy of our souls. Maybe you heard the voice of the Lord to get into the game and you’ve done so. And for a season you’ve flourished and excelled and ran victoriously. But now you’ve found that it’s difficult “in the A Class” and you want to quit. Remember: you’re made for this game! But unless we heed the instruction of Scripture, the race will become extremely difficult. The Word tells us to discipline ourselves for the race (1 Cor 9:24) and to get rid of anything that will weigh us down and fatigue us (Heb 12:1). We are each made for the race, instructed by the Word on how to run, and gifted by the Holy Spirit to win! We need only look at Jesus, our prize... our goal. When we focus on Him it becomes easy to deny the flesh and run with endurance; to finish strong the race that we were made to run.

I’m so weary of seeing the runners in all the wrong places. I see them in the grandstands as spectators. I see them at the starting line and the starting gun has gone off, but yet there they stand. I see them after the first mile or two, sitting under the shade of sin, sipping the tea of temptation and the drink of dissipation. Imagine Tiger Woods, with all of his skill at the game of golf, merely standing with the crowds of spectators. Imagine Peyton Manning, with all of his talent as a quarterback, sitting on the bench because the game got too tough. Imagine if Sugar Ray Leonard had quit boxing because he didn’t like doing sit-ups! Imagine what the world would be like today, if the courageous and heroic men who stormed the beach at Normandy had decided that it was just too hard and given up.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ; if you call Him Lord and yourself a Christian, I urge you to become His disciple. Discipline yourself after Him. Not in your own strength or according to the flesh, but by the power of His Holy Spirit and the Word of God... GET IN THE GAME. Get involved in ministry at your church. Volunteer your time and cheerfully give from the finances God has blessed you with. Be a light at your job, both in how you walk and in proclaiming the gospel verbally. Serve your spouse and children and love them as Christ does. Get in the game. Run the race.

Lord, I pray for my brothers and sisters who are such an encouragement and blessing to me. Will you please encourage them in the race you’ve called them to. Lord if they have yet to begin running, please give them the courage to start. Lord, if they are running victoriously, please bless them even more and continue to give them the victory. Lord if they are weary and want to give up, please lift up their heads to see you, seated in the heavenlies, making intercession for them, and fill them with Your Holy Spirit to press on for the prize in Christ Jesus. Lord, may we all be encouraged by the great cloud of witnesses before us: Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel, Stephen, John, Paul, and many others. We ask for You to be glorified in our lives and the races we each run. In the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen!