The Orange Tutorial

We were gathered around the table at MOT, eating our breakfast and waiting for worship to begin. My new friend began to peel her orange, let out a little squeak of surprise, and set it back down. The outside of the orange was beautiful, but the inside was black and rotted.

My mind immediately began to ponder a blog post about the hidden blackness. I was just about to reach for the orange when her husband got up to throw it away. 

I called him back. "Wait. I can use that orange." 

There were looks of surprise (because we were just getting acquainted, and they didn't know me well yet) but he returned it to the table and I snapped a picture.

The orange, I thought, was so much like us. Beautiful and healthy on the outside. Black and rotten on the inside.

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9 niv

No matter how much we clean up our lives, no matter how beautiful we seem on the outside, our hearts are much like the rotten orange, desperately vile and sinful. We are plagued by both the original sin of mankind as well as our own individual sinfulness. 

Left to our own devices, there is no hope. We can never make ourselves clean. We can never make ourselves whole and healthy.

But God.

God created the hearts we have corrupted with our sin, and He still sees them. He still searches the hearts of men. He still knows.

"I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind..." Jeremiah 17:10 nasb

On our own, we can never be clean, but in the hands of Almighty God, there is hope.

"Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for Thou art My praise." Jeremiah 17:14 nasb

No matter how dark the stain of sin, the blood of Jesus can wash us white as snow. 

He, alone, can cleanse all the sin, all the wickedness, all the hurt and pain from our hearts. What sin has destroyed, He can restore. 

Ashes turned to beauty. 

Sorrow turned to joy. 

Despair turned to hope.

Today, let's ask God to search our hearts and minds, every nook and cranny, and invite Him to cleanse what needs to be cleansed, heal what needs to be healed. 

Let's allow Him to make us new and fill us with joy, hope, and the beauty of Christ Himself. 

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Dead Chicken Lesson

Here's the link to the worldwide prayer guide: The Prayer List 

#sin #bloodofJesus #disciple 

We were gathered around the table at MOT, eating our breakfast and waiting for worship to begin. My new friend began to peel her orange, let out a little squeak of surprise, and set it back down. The outside of the orange was beautiful, but the inside was black and rotted.

My mind immediately began to ponder a blog post about the hidden blackness. I was just about to reach for the orange when her husband got up to throw it away. 

I called him back. "Wait. I can use that orange." 

There were looks of surprise (because we were just getting acquainted, and they didn't know me well yet) but he returned it to the table and I snapped a picture.

The orange, I thought, was so much like us. Beautiful and healthy on the outside. Black and rotten on the inside.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9 esv

The NIV translates this as "beyond cure". 

No matter how much we clean up our lives, no matter how beautiful we seem on the outside, our hearts are much like the rotten orange, desperately vile and sinful. We are plagued by both the original sin of mankind as well as our own individual sinfulness. 

Left to our own devices, there is no hope. We can never make ourselves clean. We can never make ourselves whole and healthy.

But God.

God created the hearts we have corrupted with our sin, and He still sees them. He still searches the hearts of men. He still knows.

"I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind..." Jeremiah 17:10 nasb

On our own, we can never be clean, but in the hands of Almighty God, there is hope.

"Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for Thou art My praise." Jeremiah 17:14 nasb

No matter how dark the stain of sin, the blood of Jesus can wash us white as snow. 

He, alone, can cleanse all the sin, all the wickedness, all the hurt and pain from our hearts. What sin has destroyed, He restores. 

Ashes are turned to beauty. 

Sorrow turned to joy. 

Despair turned to hope.

Today, let's ask God to search our hearts and minds, every nook and cranny, and invite Him to cleanse what needs to be cleansed, heal what needs to be healed. 

Let's allow Him to make us new and fill us with joy, hope, and the beauty of Christ Himself. 

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Dead Chicken Lesson

Here's the link to the worldwide prayer guide: The Prayer List 

#sin #bloodofJesus #disciple 

The Dead-Chicken Lesson

When I went in the chicken coop to feed and gather the eggs, I noticed a big black lump in the corner. On closer inspection, I found it was my black chicken, or what was left of her. 

I didn't do an autopsy, but I did do a "limited external exam". That's doctor-speak for "I turned her over and took a closer look." There was no evidence of trauma. She'd died of natural causes (aka old age).

I gathered the eggs, took care of the carcass, and went back to the house. 

As I headed down the gravel path, I reflected on how much life has changed around here. A few years ago, Sam would've "taken care of the carcass" and told me about it later. 

This time, I was the one who told Sam the sad news. "I wonder why she died. It didn't look like anything hurt her," I said.

Sam slowly shook his head. "Well, they's death all around us with those people doing so much killing. Even chickens is subject to death."

"The ISIS people?"

"Yeah. They're killing people every day. Somebody needs to do something about them."

I, too, have concerns about the terrorism of ISIS, but I wasn't quite sure how they had anything to do with my chicken's death.

The conversation veered away from the chicken and back to ISIS. Sam had been thinking a lot about them. "You know we been killing people since we got started. First Cain killed his brother and it went down hill from there."

"Why do you think that is, Sam?"

"We won't do right." 

It was a simple, yet profound assessment. As Sam went on to say, God gave Adam and Eve a lot of freedom. There were two trees they couldn't eat from, and everything else was fair game. 

Only two simple rules. 

It should've been easy to obey, but they didn't.

Later, God gave ten rules, but we wouldn't obey them.

Jesus made two simple laws the foundation on which all His other commands would rest. Love God. Love your neighbor. So far, we haven't obeyed those too well, either.

We are sinners who won't do right, but, by the power of the redemption purchased by Christ on the cross, and the presence of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we could do better, if we were willing. 

As Sam said, there's death all around us because there's sin all in us. It doesn't have to be this way. God has a better plan for His people, if we will only obey.

Today, let's invite God to cleanse us with the blood of Jesus, fill us with His Holy Spirit, and transform us by His great power. We can live as those who've been redeemed, but only if we're willing to let Him get the sin out of us. 

Today is the day. Now is the time. 

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Thoughts on Training and the Digital World

Here's the link to the world-wide prayer guide: The Prayer List
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Would you like to help spread the Gospel? Like and share this post with your friends. Every share expands our reach and allows us to touch more hearts for Christ. Thanks for helping.
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#gospel #death #farmlife

Thoughts on Training and the Digital World

As you may remember, I started MOT (Missionary Orientation and Training) at Global Outreach a few days ago. In case you wondered, Missionary Training is nothing like I expected. 

It's not endless hours sitting in lectures. Traditional lectures are few and far between. Instead, there are innovative teaching techniques that invite us to learn more about ourselves and the people in our group. 

One of the things I'd expected was that I would be trained to do whatever it is that missionaries do. Instead, I'm learning how I work with others, how to do that better, and how to work within the organizational structure of Global Outreach.

What I've learned as we've gone along is what Global already knew about me. I'm not becoming a missionary. I've been sharing the Good News of Jesus through digital means since the internet was an infant. I've been a missionary for years. My mission is to do more of what I already do, and do it in creative ways.

The table in the board room had paper tents with our names printed on them to mark our seats. All the other missionaries' tents had their name and the country in which they will be serving. 

My tent had my name and my "country", too. It read, "DIGITAL WORLD". I saw that and laughed, but it was exactly right. My mission field is, indeed, the digital world, and I have a lot of work ahead.

We've learned about the importance of building teams, and I've begun to have a vision for how much more could be accomplished if a team of people served alongside me. My vision of gospel-sharing will take more than my computer and me. It will take lots of people to accomplish all that God's put in my heart. 

When we talk about a "team" to support, most people think first of donors, and, of course, I'll need financial participation if I'm to continue in this work. For two decades, I've funded most of my ministry efforts from my own pocket. Maybe we could accomplish more if we worked as a team instead of my ongoing "lone ranger" efforts. Those who give will be just as much a part of my team as the ones who help "in person". 

What I think of first as I consider building a team, though, is of people willing to give their time and prayers. When I host Bible studies, I'll need people to help serve. When I reach out into the community, I'll need others to come along and serve with me. When I try something different, I'll need people to cheer me along and help spread the word. 

We've learned about the procedures for having short-term mission groups visit our sites. As I listened, I pondered innovative new ways to incorporate those things into this ministry. 

Would you like to be a "digital missionary" for a day? That will be possible before long. 

What about a six-week stint as a digital mission intern? I'm envisioning way to make that possible.

The wonderful thing about reaching out to the digital world is that it's always changing, always expanding, always offering new ways to touch hearts and lives. I've gotten a glimpse of the possibilities and I'm full to the brim with ideas. 

Those ideas, however, are not about trying new techniques and seeing big numbers. The dreams I'm dreaming, the plans I'm planning are about the hearts of people who need Jesus, people who will perish in eternity without Him. It's about touching those believers who've lost their way, and encouraging them to encounter Christ in a fresh way.

When Jesus commanded us to make disciples as we go along, He expected us to use the tools within our reach to accomplish that commission. Every one of us have a portion of the world to which God has called us. Every one of us have tools within our reach to touch the world for Jesus. We're all supposed to be missionaries.

My little portion of the world is digital, my "tools" a computer and the internet, but you have a part of the world to touch and tools to use, too. 

Today, let's look at the Great Commission with fresh eyes and ask God what tools He wants us to use to reach the world for Christ.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Matthew 29:19 esv

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's Guest Blogger post: Courtenay Folk: The Balancing Act

Here's the list to the worldwide prayer guide: The Prayer List

#greatcommission #missions #globaloutreach

Guest blogger Courtenay Folk: The Balancing Act

Balance

Balance… It's something I strive to have, and I’m still striving.  As a wife, mom, and missionary my life can be hectic. God has been teaching me that balance is so important in my life with Him and His ability to be glorified through my life, words, deeds, and ministry.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of balance is time management. Making sure that I balance my time so that I can have time with God, my husband, my kids, and my ministry in a God-glorifying manner is a hard task. 

This is where I struggle the most. I co-run a Christian bilingual school in San Francisco de Dos Rios.  If I'm not mindful of balancing my time, I can be consumed with running the school, our students, our families, counseling, our staff, curriculum, lesson plans, learning differences, and discipline of students. 

In reality my ministry is not my first calling, even though it can consume the majority of my time and energy.  

I am, first, a child of God.  I must have time with Him and Him alone.  

I am, next, a wife.  I must prioritize my time with my husband and not let that slip by the day.  

Then, I am a mom to three wonderful children.  

Then, I am the academic director of our school.  

And I must WORK constantly to keep that balanced, and not let my work at our school be on top of the scale and outweigh the rest.  

Time management is not the only place where I need to focus on balancing for the glory of God.

We can bring God so much glory by having Him balance our thoughts.  Have you considered that?  If we let our thoughts go astray and focus on our perspective, our worries, our needs, our life, we won't be able to glorify God with our hearts and minds and words.  

Our minds are our battlefields.  Satan can depress us, stress us, distract us, and worry us there.  Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5, tells us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.  

With all of the current events and our lives in general, it is easy for our thoughts to stray off of the sovereign hand of God.  I've found that if we are to be "more than conquerors" of our minds, we must turn our thoughts to God, His character, and His sovereignty at the first moment of stress, frustration, worry, or fear.  

Philippians 4 lays out God’s plan on how to accomplish this. In verse 4 Paul tells us to rejoice always.  He does't say rejoice sometimes.  He says always – in the good times, stressful times, sad times… you name it, we are to rejoice and worship our Lord.  

Tthink about when you feel closest to God.  Is it through prayer, reading of Scripture, praise music?  When thoughts come that draw you away from God, train your thoughts to do the opposite, and draw near to Him through worship. Rejoice in Him.

In verse 5, Paul says to let your gentle spirit be known to men.  I find that, when my thoughts are not balanced and glorifying to God, if I serve others in some way, then my focus is no longer self-centered.  If I am, with a happy heart, helping a teacher with her lesson plans or a problem in her class, then I am not dwelling on my stressor or my worry. 

Verse 5 ends with, “The Lord is near.”  That' exactly what a balanced life looks like.  The Lord will be near.

Verses 6 and 7 speak of not being anxious, "but in all things with prayer and thanksgiving to let your requests be made known to God."  I think of this as not being whiney when I am spending time with God. If my kids come to me and whine about plans I have for them, I don’t like it.  

How much better and perfect are God’s plans for us and our world.  Let us go to Him in a worshipful, thankful manner to speak with Him.  

And look what verse 7 says will happen:  God’s peace, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ.  If you do this, you will not have to guard your own heart and seek for your own peace, He will do it for you!  

Verses 8 and 9 bring having a balanced thought life together. 

8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Do you know the future?  No, but you can trust in the one that holds it in His hands.  If you are stressing or worrying over something, sad about something, angry about something, turn these thoughts (that are not balanced and glorifying to God) to what is true, what is honorable, what is right, what is pure and lovely, of good repute and dwell with God there.  

The definition of dwell is to live in or at a specified place. A balanced life is a life that is dwelling in all areas with God.  

Learning these lessons from Philippians 4 has transformed my life in Christ, and I hope they've encouraged you, as well. 

As each of us struggle with daily time management and balance in areas of our life, may we each strive to have the correct balance in our minds and hearts, so that we can not only have God’s peace that surpasses understanding, but that we might, through that peace, bring glory to God.

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Courtenay Folk is a Global Outreach missionary in Costa Rica, wife, and mother of three children. You can read more about her life at her blog: http://www.fivefolks.wordpress.com/
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In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: My Eye Trouble and God's Sufficient Grace
Here's the link to the worldwide prayer list: The Prayer List

 photo above courtesy of freeimages.com

My Eye Trouble and God's Sufficient Grace

This time last year, I was struggling with a posterior vitreous detachment in my right eye. Lots of people have these, but it was my first, and hopefully only, experience with them. 

The detachment had caused a very large floater that drifted around my eye like a raft in a storm. My very wonderful ophthalmologist, Dr. Blll Brawner, called it an "overachiever" floater. It was large enough to obscure a significant portion of my visual field, and it felt a little like going half-blind for a nanosecond off and on all day. 

To make matters worse, I had a flashing-light that burst in from the side like a lightning strike intermittently. For some reason, it was worse at night. 

I jumped every time the lightning flashed, and I was less than graceful with my jumping. More than once, I tripped and fell down. It was embarrassing. 

I thought it would never end. 

I felt old and damaged.

Dr. Brawner sympathized with me, and promised it would get better. It would just take time.

I didn't want improvement to take time. I wanted instant relief. 

Surgery was possible, but it was risky. I didn't want risk, I wanted relief, so I passed on surgery and whined instead. Quite a bit. Mostly to my closest friends and to God. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one sick of my eye troubles.

I begged people to pray for me. I begged God to heal me. I listened for the still small voice, confident He would zap me with healing fire and drive that lightning right out of my eye.

He didn't. 

What that Still Small Voice whispered in my heart, instead, was what I least wanted to hear.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness..." 

2 Corinthians 12:9 esv

It would take time, and I would have to depend on God's grace to get me through. That's exactly what I did, but it was still a struggle.

Just like Dr. Brawner said, it eventually improved. I became accustomed to the big floater. It began to shrink a little. The lightning slowed and very nearly quit.

I stopped being offended by my body's failure and imperfection.

I thanked God it wasn't a retinal detachment and that it was improving. Once I stopped being afraid and quit jumping, the light show was entertaining. Mildly so, but no longer terrifying. 

The more I thanked Him, the more grace I had. 

Last week, I went for a follow up appointment. The floater had shrunk, just like Dr. Brawner said. The lightning had nearly stopped, just like he told me it would.

What brought me through, sanity intact, though, was not the tincture of time. It was God's sufficient grace. His power was perfected in my weakness, just like He promised it would be.

The truth we seldom want to admit is that God's grace is sufficient in all our weakness. No matter what we're facing, God's amazing grace can carry us through. If we're willing to accept what He so freely offers.

Do you feel weak today? Rest in the One whose power is made perfect in weakness, for He's the only one who can carry you all the way through.
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Today is the second day of my MOT (missionary orientation and training) at Global Outreach. I'd appreciate your prayers as I strive to learn all I need to know for this next phase of my adventure in following Christ.
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Freda Bush's guest blog
Here's the link to the worldwide prayer guide: The Prayer List 

#sufficentgrace #posteriorvitreousdetachment 

Guest Blogger Dr. Freda Bush: Making a Difference at the Medical Institute

My very wonderful friend, Dr. Freda Bush, is our guest blogger today. She has a busy medical practice. I don't know how she's managed one more thing, but she's been involved with the Medical Institute for Sexual Health for years. It's an organization every parent and grandparent should know about, as should every health care provider. I asked her to write a blog post about her involvement with MI. I think you'll love her sweet spirit and her servant heart. (I've included links to the resources she mentions. Had the Talk? is a free resource of MI)
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“Why am I involved with the Medical Institute?”

It's simple.  I have four children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. My husband, Lee, and I determined years ago, “It is not enough for us to be concerned about ‘our four and no more’ as they will be living in this world with others”.

I'm a PK (Preacher’s Kid) and that upbringing provided a healthy moral compass for me and my eight siblings. We were raised to view life from a spiritual nature and use scriptures as a guide. Additionally, we were taught the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”.  

In 1995, Lee, my husband, began working with the Junior League of Jackson, MS teaching an abstinence education program to inner city middle school boys and girls. When Lee began teaching young boys, he wanted to teach them what he was teaching our son - how to be a good husband to his wife and a good father to their children. He also said, "Who knows if one of those boys might become a husband to one of our daughters?"

The educational resources available from the Medical Institute (MI) were introduced to me when I attended a conference titled, “Abstinence and the African American Youth. Dr Doug Eaton, a member of the MI National Advisory Board, presented medically accurate scientific information on sexual activity and sexually transmitted diseases that encompassed ethics and values.

He explained from a medical perspective the physical, psychological and emotional risk of early sexual debut as well as the long term psychological baggage inherent in having multiple sexual relationships. Listening to his presentation was as refreshing as drinking “a glass of cold water in the desert”.

Armed with this scientific information, I knew I would not be “imposing my values” as I discussed abstinence with the students, their parents, and the educators. The science supported scripture.

Waiting for sex until marriage (a committed long term mutually monogamous relationship) was the healthiest behavior and it was achievable.  The scientific research supported it was never too late for a behavior change even if they had already initiated sex.

I was reminded of what my grandmother used to say, “When you know better, you do better.”

Several months after attending the abstinence conference, I met Dr. Joe McIlhaney, founder of the MI.  I told him how much his material had meant to me, gave him my business card and said, “If I can ever do anything for you, please let me know.”  

A few weeks following our meeting, he invited me to join the MI National Advisory Board.

When asked to become the Medical Director of the program several years later, I accepted because I knew our nation's children needed health information with character and values that would help them navigate through life.

During my time with Medical Institute, I've had the privilege of co-authoring two books with Dr McIlhaney.

The first published in 2008, titled Hooked, New Science on How Casual Sex is Affecting Our Children presented breakthroughs in the field of neuroscience explaining the impact sex has on the developing brain of adolescents and young adults.   

Girl’s Uncovered, New Research on What America’s Sexual Culture Does to Young Women was published in 2010 and gives practical steps that can be taken as parents, as leaders, as a society and as young women in general to dramatically improve young people’s chances at rising above the perils of this culture. These books were written in everyday language so the parents would not feel intimidated by the scientific information.

This year, MI launched a free on-line resource for parents titled, “Had the Talk?”  It turned scientific information into active and engaging dialogue for sexual health topics. This resource provides the tools to increase parenting adults-youth communication and connectedness. Hopefully, it improves the health of youth by emphasizing healthy relationships, postponing the age of sexual debut and avoiding the consequences of casual sex.  

Fast forward to 2016. I'm still working with the Medical Institute. I believe we're still making a difference in the lives of young men and women. I'm still involved because, since its founding in 1992, MI has been fighting for our children to combat the lie of victimless casual sex with medical scientific research, coupled with behavioral and cultural science.  

I, like Frederick Douglas, an African American statesman, believe, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

For more information, please contact: www.medinstitute.org.

"How can a young man keep his way pure? 

By guarding it according to Your word. 

Psalm 119:9 esv

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Freda McKissic Bush, M.D is a Fellow in the ACOG and a practicing OB-GYN. She is CEO of The Medical Institute for Sexual Health and has co-authored two books with Founder Joe S. McIlhaney, MD, HOOKED, and Girls UNCOVERED. Dr. Bush is a Clinical Instructor in the Departments of OB-GYN and Family Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and served on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Married to Lee Bush they have 4 adult children and 8 grandchildren.
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In case you missed it here is the link to yesterday's post: The Reciprocal Blessing That Took My Breath Away

Here's the link to the worldwide prayer guide: The Prayer List

#medicalinstitute #drfredabush #sexualhealth