Only Trust Him...only trust Him now

Growing up as the son of an SBC pastor, I can't begin to imagine the number of times I have sung that famous old invitation hymn, "Only Trust Him". Here I am now, almost 50 years old, and every day I learn to trust Him more and more. The older I become, the more He proves His providential care to me.

I am serving in a role now, as the director of maternity ministry where the needs are great, every single day. When you care for six to ten pregant teens in a residential setting and three times that many in other settings, when you understand that one in four teen girls has an std, when you realize that for the first time in a decade the teen pregancy rate is rising, when you see how human life is devalued in our culture...you understand just how great the needs really are....and when you look at the bank account, you realize how small the resources appear. Yet, the resources are not small. God is all over this ministry...He continues to bring young people to us that need hope. He continues to cause Godly men and women to suport this ministry with their time and treasure. And He continuly reveals that He is able to meet each and every need.

A week ago I had no idea how we were going to find the resources that we so desperatly needed. But God knew, and He provided. How alive we feel when we live by faith. Walking on the water, falling in, getting wet and being carried back to the boat by Jesus is a far better experience than just hangin' out in the boat. No doubt one of the weakness of the church in America today, is that with all of our resources, all of our wealth, we don't have to live by faith. What a loss.

Now back to Muller.

In recent days as I felt the pressure of meager resources combined with mega needs,I was drawn to the story of George Muller. His life is a powerful inspiration to me. The following is a portion of a message by John Piper concerning Muller.

"George Mueller was a native German (a Prussian). He was born in Kroppenstaedt on September 27, 1805 and lived almost the entire nineteenth century. He died March 10, 1898 at the age of 92. He saw the great awakening of 1859 which he said “led to the conversion of hundreds of thousands.” He did follow up work for D. L. Moody preached for Charles Spurgeon, and inspired the missionary faith of Hudson Taylor.

He spent most of his life in Bristol, England and pastored the same church there for over sixty-six years...

In 1834 (when he was 28) he founded The Scripture Knowledge Institute for Home and Abroad, ....Five branches of this Institute developed:
1) Schools for children and adults to teach Bible knowledge,
2) Bible distribution,
3) missionary support,
4) tract and book distribution, and
5) “to board, clothe and Scripturally educate destitute children who have lost both parents by death."

The accomplishments of all five branches were significant, but the one he was known for around the world in his own lifetime, and still today, was the orphan ministry. He built five large orphan houses and cared for 10,024 orphans in his life. When he started in 1834 there were accommodations for 3,600 orphans in all of England and twice that many children under eight were in prison. One of the great effects of Mueller's ministry was to inspire others so that “fifty years after Mr. Mueller began his work, at least one hundred thousand orphans were cared for in England alone.”

He did all this while he was preaching three times a week from 1830 to 1898, at least 10,000 times. And when he turned 70 he fulfilled a life-long dream of missionary work for the next 17 years until he was 87. He traveled to 42 countries, preaching on average of once a day, and addressing some three million people....
From the end of his travels in 1892 (when he was 87) until his death in March of 1898 he preached in his church and worked for the Scripture Knowledge Institute. At age 92, not long before he died, he wrote, “I have been able, every day and all the day to work, and that with ease, as seventy years since.” He led a prayer meeting at his church on the evening of Wednesday, March 9, 1898. The next day a cup of tea was taken to him at seven in the morning but no answer came to the knock on the door. He was found dead on the floor beside his bed.

The funeral was held the following Monday in Bristol, where he had served for sixty-six years. “Tens of thousands of people reverently stood along the route of the simple procession; men left their workshops and offices, women left their elegant homes or humble kitchens, all seeking to pay a last token of respect.” A thousand children gathered for a service at the Orphan House No. 3. They had now “for a second time lost a ‘father'.”

He had read his Bible from end to end almost 200 times. He had prayed in millions of dollars for the Orphans and never asked anyone directly for money. He never took a salary in the last 68 years of his ministry, but trusted God to put in people's hearts to send him what he needed."

You can find the entire message about Muller on Piper's web site at ww.desiringgod.org

We are hitting the beach

It was without a doubt the "greatest generation". It has been said that D Day, June 6 1944 was perhaps the single best example of the greatness of that generation. As our troops were pinned down, they would seek a radio operator with a functioning radio who could communicate to the great ships off the coast and lead them to direct their fire toward the enemy strong holds.

John Piper reminds us that prayer is among other things "war time" communication. As we move from the safety and comfort of our "home" shores and take the battle to the enemy, we need the power of God to be focused on those "strong holds" of the enemy. Piper further reminds us that prayer is a powerful tool that far too often is used far too little.

The Light House is in every way, attacking the darkness with light. We are passionate about saving human life, saving children in the womb and we are passionate about the saving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To that end, God is moving among us and providing real and exciting opportunities to expand our work. At the same time we are facing extreme attack by our adversary. So, here I am, calling on you to pray for us. Pray for God's provision, His protection and His guidance. I am convinced we will soon move toward victory, a victory that only God in response the prayers of His people can provide

There is grain in Egypt

Gen 42:1 When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?"
Gen 42:2 And he said, "Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.

On March 30, 2008 I preached from this text at The church@brookside.While reading Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening (a must read for every believer!) I was blown away by Spurgeon's insight on this text, God seems to speak to me every time I read Spurgeon's words. As it has often been said, it's a pretty good idea for all of your spiritual heroes to be "dead guys" because there is no chance for them to fall into a moral failure.

Spurgeon correctly draws a parallel between God's provision for Jacob in his day and God's provision for Christ's followers today. There was no way for Jacob to foresee the life saving provision of grain (in the midst of a great famine)which God would provide. Likewise we receive God's full and abundant provision for our lives from the most unexpected sources. To carry the Biblical truth even further, the provision of grain in Egypt was made possible because of the sinister plot of Joseph's brothers to sell him off as a slave to Egypt. What man meant for evil, God used for good....pretty cool, huh?

In recent months I have witnessed my own "grain in Egypt" story. As you know 2 years ago I began to lead a little band of mostly elderly believers to replant the once great Wornall Road Baptist church here in Kansas City. From a small group of 20 with no money and very few resources, God has given us great abundance. Our attendance is well over 100 and we enjoy connecting to 4 "daughter churches" who share our building. Money has never been a problem, God has always provided, leadership has never been a problem, again God has provided.

Today in our worship service we ordained to the pastoral ministry Kumar Venugopal, Kumar was born in India and raised as a devout Hindu. Today, by the sovereign grace of God Kumar is a Christian. Beyond his conversion, God has richly gifted him as a teacher, preacher, evangelist and leader. Our church needed a pastor to serve on our team who could lead in the area of evangelism...Kumar is that pastor. For those of us at The church@brookside, there was "grain in India". God met our need from the most unlikely of places...pretty cool, huh?

Now I am praying for grain for the Light House. My full time voactional ministry is serving as the Executive Director of the Light House. The Light House is a ministry to mothers and their babies. We are a state licensed residential maternity home and adoption agency. We have assisted with more than 1000 births and 350 adoptions.

In recent weeks the number of young ladies we are reaching has steadily increased as have all of our expenses. Mother's Day is a big day for the Light House, nearly 40 area churches will conduct special "baby bottle offerings" for us. But for now, and I mean today, we are facing critical financial needs. Daily we pray for God's provision, and today is no different. This coming week is critical for us. Our "grain bins" are empty...and yet we know there is grain in Egypt...maybe you are the one, like Joseph in Egypt through which God will chose to supply our need. If you have been patient enough to read this blog to this point...it maybe because God is going to move you to provide the "grain". In all of my 25 years of ministry, I have never faced a week like I am about to face...our ministry needs are so great, and our resources are simply not enough.

Each day as we open the mail at the Light House we are blessed by our partners who support us, and do so faithfully...but for this week, for the time between now and Mother's Day the donations from our regular partners will not be enough. Yet, the grain will come...and next Sunday evening I look forward to sharing with you a very current "grain" miracle...and maybe God intends to use you in that miracle.