Romans 10:15

"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!'"

Paul was quoting Isaiah 52 when he wrote this to the Romans. I believe this verse touched my heart for the first time when I was with my wife in Thailand worshiping with our missionary friends the Sunday morning before we were to leave and go teach English to children in a small village school. The missionary couple, our friends for many years, knelt before us that morning, and tenderly and gently, took a pan of water and a small hand towel and washed our feet. As is evident from the photo I have shared, there was not a dry eye in the house. Words cannot convey how humbled we all felt during those moments, and yet, that is what our Savior did for His disciples before going to the cross. He showed them that they must be servants. He said,"Whoever desires to be great among you, must be your servant." (Matthew 20:26) He is the Son of God and He was at the feet of those He created. Try to wrap your mind around that for a moment. We should always be at His feet. He alone is worthy! He did this to show us that in order to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we must put away our own selfish desires and become what He wants us to be- servants. That is not an easy thing to do for any of us. But I feel so blessed, for on that Sunday morning in Chang Mai, Thailand, God showed me a glimpse of my purpose. Instead of questioning Him, I had to trust His calling for me. So, instead of asking, "How can I go?", I am now saying "How can I NOT go?"

To share this personal note, "Beautiful" is the nickname I have given my wonderful wife, Jean Ann. I have called her that since we started dating. It flows so effortlessly from my mouth. Not because of repetition, but because I mean what I am saying when I call for her or am just speaking to her. I think God relayed that to my spirit using the verse above. My feet are not beautiful by any means. These size 12's are battered from many days on a basketball court and on a treadmill. But the Lord is encouraging us by describing His love for those who want to tell others about Him or even speak His name. He is our Father in heaven and He loves His children. What father wouldn't want his children to praise him or just tell others the great things about him? The Word of God is filled with praises for His children. It is a "beautiful" love letter. And the Word came to earth to tell us personally about the Father. How amazing is that!

How can we not go and tell others the good news?

Tell your family.

Tell your friends.

Tell your co-workers.

Tell anyone that will listen.

Because He loves you, and He wants to bless your feet and the time you have left here on this earth walking to bring good new and glad tidings from your Holy Father and His Son, Jesus Christ!

Amen.

Prayers, Miracles, Signs, and Wonders

Jean Ann and I had already decided that we could NOT go on a mission trip this year, but God had other plans for us.
Financially we were struggling with any "extra" expenses outside of our tight budget, and we only have two weeks of vacation time for the entire year. So, after thoughtful consideration and prayer, I sent an email to our minister of missions informing him that we would not be going anywhere this calendar year. Unbeknownst to us, God was working things out behind the scenes. That same day our associate pastor, one of my wife's bosses, voiced his sadness that we would not be able to accompany him and his wife on this year's trip to Korea. My wife explained that we had prayed about it for months, and she even told him about our financial struggle with the cost for the two of us for this long trip. I believe Brother Tommy's direct quote was, "Nothing is impossible with God," and that, "He always provides abundantly."
Well, we knew all those things, and had seen His work in and for our lives SO MANY times before, even with other trips we had gone on; yet, we didn't feel this was the right timing for us. We didn't have the same peace we had before on other trips.
About that peace, the Holy Spirit is alive and living inside of us. He does give us discernment and peace, but also is our advocate, whether we give Him the credit or not- I have the proof right here.
I was actually wanting to go to Korea with our pastor. I wanted to stand alongside him, hear him preach, and give my testimony, sing- do whatever the Lord needed me to do. My wife, on the other hand, was worried all along about all the details. And you know what, I praise God for her looking out for us and all the details in our daily lives. She has a heart that covers us both, and she protects us and all of our family with this care, but most importantly through her daily prayer vigils she holds on her knees in her prayer closet. I praise God for her. I know the Lord speaks to me through her so many times. I am so blessed.
In this case though, we both weren't listening. For some reason we had "worldly excuses" to prohibit our service to the God who created this universe!
Now, for the verse that has spoken to me through all this: Philippians 4:19 "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
AMEN!
Let's pick back up with our story as Jean Ann came home from work that evening. She had to go do two haircuts (a simple, side job/ministry) which she does for friends at their homes a couple days a week. When she finally made it home, she had a smile on her face that permeated my soul, and spoke to me the answer we both knew was so obvious now. Our friend had paid Jean Ann by check. And as usual she just slipped it into her purse while she said her goodbyes. When she arrived home, she took out the check to sign it and put it in her checkbook. The amount was for $200. Now, she is a great hairdresser, but not THAT great (sorry honey). She looked at me with twinkling eyes, and asked what I thought. My tongue was not working so well (for once). She picked up her phone, and called our friend and asked why she had given her such a huge amount. Our friend simply stated with so much Christian love, "Sometimes you just want to do something nice for someone that means a lot to you."
A blessing.
What you need to know is that the next day was the deadline for the downpayment for the mission trip to Korea. The exact amount due, $100 a person. We needed $200 by tomorrow morning. (If you don't mind, stop a minute here and pray for us. Pray to God and thank Him for supplying all our needs, your needs, for everything that He is and does for us, even when we doubt Him.)
The next day God opened the floodgates. Jean Ann shared our miracle news, and then Brother Tommy blessed us more. He told Jean Ann that someone had donated a large amount for this trip, which would be put toward our costs. AND, a scholarship was available for this trip. Mission funds from our church were available. So, God continues to show us that He will provide. To this very moment that I am typing this, we are still getting contributions for our trip, so we have no doubt that we will be completely covered; not just our expenses, but covered by His love that even though we doubted, He had other plans for us.
We are now praying daily for our trip and how God will use us.
Brother Tommy has asked me to be ready to preach. ME?! I am humbled how God can lift you from being a broken sinner to person with a desire to serve, to a mountaintop of blessings if you just say, - "I will go."
Please keep us in your prayers.
I will update this blog with news from our trip. I will include testimonies, pictures, and whatever else God shows us on this trip to South Korea (October 15-28).
God bless you all!
Wink