devotional

Tito had been away from home for three weeks. The final leg of the journey was a 15-hour bus ride. His wife and six children were excited to see him. They wanted to hear about all of the experiences he had during his international trip. What would he tell them first? Would he tell about walking through the long tube into the ear of the giant eagle (jet airplane)? Would he tell them about the stairs that moved up on their own (escalator)? Would he open the packages and give the children the gifts he brought them?

Despite all of these exciting things, his mind was elsewhere. His mind was not on his experiences nor on the toys and gifts. It was on the other box, the heavy one. He insisted that they call the whole family, cousins, uncles, aunts, everyone. Then he opened up that box and showed them his own copy of the Bible in the Teribe language. It’s only a binder containing a copy from a laser printer, but it’s his, and it’s in his language. For the first time, he led a study using God’s Word in his own language, teaching his own family.

Tito asks for prayer that he will be able to clearly present the message of the Bible to his people. He also asks that his life will be an example of what God can do with someone who completely trust in Him.

Andy Keener (Calvary Missionary)

Do you ever feel like as much as you want to, and as hard as you might try, you just cannot successfully do a specific thing that you desire to do?

Coming back to Albania, I have been faced with that frustration almost daily as I work through the language learning process. Some days I feel like I am learning words and grammar, and making progress, but more often I feel like I am never going to be able to really express the things that my heart wants to say. The other day I found myself in the midst of a conversation with friends as we discussed the differences between my beliefs and theirs…..

“We both believe that there is only one God. Our religions aren’t really different!”

“Yes,” I replied, “I do believe that there is only one God, but I believe that Jesus is God, not the prophet that your book teaches.”

“How can you believe that there is one God, but then you call Jesus God? That is idolatry!”

The conversation ended soon after and I left feeling sad and frustrated that even with all of the practice and study that I do every day, I still am not able to explain well who Jesus is, and why that is important! I’m not able to share with people at a heart level. I grapple for words and expressions that really show what God means to me. I want to be successful at language learning. I want to be able to share the Truth with people who have never heard it.

But then I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” His power IS made perfect in my weakness and I pray that He will use even those weaknesses to show His glory!

Please pray that in my weaknesses, God’s name would be proclaimed to the people around me!

Pray for His words when I find myself in” eternity” conversations.

Pray for contentment and joy as God uses hard situations and inconveniences to grow me to be more like Him!

Jen Bitterman (Calvary Mission)

A missionary living in a remote location, returns to his village home to find his wife of 39 years has died. A pilot returning from a long day of flying missionaries to dangerous airstrips rounds a corner on his motorcycle and is hit head on by a truck, resulting in a 2 month hospital stay. While speaking at the local high school commencement, a translator has his home burglarized and computer stolen, losing 6 weeks of translated scripture. What’s up with that? Doesn’t Jesus promise to protect us while we are following Him? Luke 9:57-58 provides us with an interesting dialogue between a prospective follower and Jesus.

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds have nest, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

What kind of encouragement is this!?! I thought that if someone volunteered to follow Jesus that He would have rejoiced and congratulated him on his “good” decision. Instead Jesus confronts him with the reality of the price that is paid to be a follower. While even the animals are offered some security in the lives that they live, Jesus lets his “would be” follower know that even God’s son is left vulnerable. Vulnerable to what? Vulnerable to His Father’s will.

When one commits to following Jesus, we must understand that Jesus is not willing to protect us from His Father’s purposes. The good news? He promises us His presence. It is in His presence that we build a relationship with Him, and in relationship that we find purpose. Jesus says “Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:19b-20)

Jesus doesn’t promise to protect us but He does promise us His presence.

Tim Scott

“Challenges I am facing”

Balance is always a challenge for me. As a young Lancaster County boy watching others walk on beams high up in the barn, made me gaze in wonder. Now as a missionary, I see that life is filled with balancing acts which I never felt I needed before.

My surety of communicating where God wants me to serve
&  Realizing I walk by faith, not by sight.

On deputation being determined and never giving up   & Getting on the field and being a servant doing what others demand of me.

Showing leadership capabilities, giving confidence
& Willing to serve others even becoming a second fiddle.

To write exciting informative prayer letters
& Being ever so careful with the truth, without spin!

Solomon wrote, “There is nothing new under the Sun.”. More aware now than ever, it is really true in every day Christian life, anywhere. Learning to take life’s expectations and blend together strength, wisdom and mercy, with gentleness, dependency and dependability, which can often be a tight rope.

Prayer needs:

1) To see myself under the mighty hand of God and find contentment there.

2) To compliment life with an example to mentor others on their journey.

Don Stauffer

“Great things God is doing!”

Pastels seem to be so easily overlooked when my eyes are seeking bright splashes of color. Yet, in saying that, life’s experiences often do not express themselves in like manner. A fatherless teenage boy, whom I had brought alongside me to help me lay an attic floor gave me much. Using dangerous power tools and learning safe conduct while working was never before opened up to him in his few years of growing. I felt we became friends, even when I allowed him to beat me in a game of horse shoes!

While attending the Morning Service, over time he left his mother’s side and chose to sit with his friends. One Sunday, he chose to come alongside me, and sit next to me, and his friends followed him. No big splash, no sudden conversion, no big scene, just a gentle acknowledgment of him accepting me. That little thing, became huge in my life. God does wonderful things.

Prayer needs:

1) Lord, open my eyes to view the needs I can help fulfill in those around me.

2) May I live the gospel as I help others that I may gain the right to speak to them about Jesus.

Don Stauffer

“Lessons I am Learning.”

Weather is always a “safe” topic to talk about in Ireland. I find myself locating those “safe” places in life, those plateaus as I assist God in maintaining a good testimony with those around me. Storms that come along often uproot my feet and cause me to slide close to the edge and I feel out of control.

Facing these times, these storms and the emotions that come along side as attachments, cause much turmoil in my being. I find I can never muster up enough stamina I need to overcome these lessons in life. It is only as I “rest” in the Word of God, in His presence and then all His stillness; that I experience that “safe haven” that truly gives peace. Life itself might not get calmer, but I find within myself, Jesus gives that grace that only He can give, never to be taken away by these fears or complacency. All this, as I learn to “rest” in Him.

Prayer needs:

1) To face challenges in life head on and rely upon His grace to meet this need.

2) Look around for others whereby I can encourage their struggling souls in their storms of life.

Don Stauffer

Phil and Jan Morrison are currently living in Pennsylvania on their one year home assignment. For the past four years, they have served with the Africa Inland Mission at Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya. Phil is the RVA Chaplain and he and Jan together provide pastoral care to the staff of 115 missionaries on the RVA campus. Approximately 500 students attend RVA, while their parents serve in about 20 different nations in Africa. Prior to their ministry at RVA, Phil was a teacher at Moffat College of Bible for 10 years, training nationals for church leadership. In 2004 he wrote a book entitled The Multi-Church Pastor, a manual for training lay leadership.

During their home assignment, Phil is continuing to write materials to provide further training for pastors and lay leaders. He and Jan will be attending conferences on both pastoral care to missionaries and church leadership. Their desire is to return to Kenya in July 2008, better equipped to minister to the missionary community and the national church leadership.

Please pray for clear guidance in planning for and balancing the ministries at RVA and with the Multi-Church Pastor ministries. Please pray for the RVA staff as they care for the students, and for the ministries of these families throughout Africa.

Nguyen’s ministry outline

Since Don is a native Vietnamese, we will serve with World Team to open up a new ministry to reach the Vietnamese of Cambodia. Vietnamese is the largest but poorest minority ethnic group in Cambodia totaling approximately 2 million people. Primarily Buddhist, many Vietnamese are farmers or fishermen and are among the least-reached.

As a medical doctor, Don wishes to use his medical skills to build relationships for the purpose of church planting. As a couple we will use our gifts of discipleship and evangelism to work on a team with others with the hope to build the church of Christ in Cambodia among the Vietnamese. Our desire is to evangelize and disciple national leaders, equip them with the Word, and encourage them to reach out to the lost around them through indigenous reproducing churches.

Prayer Request

Pray for our language learning and continual spiritual growth in Christ as we live and minister cross-culturally in Cambodia.

We need to form an effective team as well as strong partnerships with other missions for church planting. Pray for God to open doors and to give us a vision to reach the Vietnamese of Cambodia

Founded on the Word, Focused on the World, that is our church motto.  But more than just a nice phrase it is what drives us.

Our ABF coordinated curriculum has aimed at deepening our foundation on the Word, hopefully while strengthening our resolve to focus on the world.

We have just complete the first major section of Romans in which we were reminded that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and therefore our mission, like Paul’s, should be to ” bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations” (Romans 1:5).

This weekend we focused on our global impact.  Great timing.

So, this week’s devotionals will therefore be a little different.  We will use this delivery system to allow us to get to know several of our missionaries better and pray for them as an extension of our church ministry.  They, like every member at Calvary, are part of the ministry staff and we want to celebrate and support their ministry.

But as you learn about them and pray for them, ask yourself–”what is my role in the global impact of my church?”