I recently read "The Truth Comes Out" the story of my hearts transformation, but Nancy Heche. It's a well written and thought provoking book that will make you look at the way you see others, and even see our own self-righteousness, ugly as it is.
She came to a wonderful understanding of what it means to bless others after reading Acts 3:26
God, having raised up His servant (Jesus), sent Him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.
Upon looking up the meaning of "to bless," she found this definition:
To ask God to interfere, to take action in ones life to bring them to the desired relationship with Him so that they are fully satisfied.
This blessing became a small obsession with her, and I am praying that it will be with me also. What a difference it would make in our relationships if we chose to bless in this way those we love and those we have less than love for.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Imprisoned in Iran
How would I respond to being imprisoned without knowing why? With being verbally and physically abused and left in a cell by myself, still without knowing why? This is so foreign to us in America. We have rights after all. This couldn't happen here. But in another country our rights mean nothing. Dan Baumann found this out in January 1997.
He and a South African friend were living Turkmenistan and, with YWAM, working with the Turkman people. They had prayed about an opportunity to go into Iran and connect with the Trukman people there, some of them being believers, and see how they could help them and work with them. the Lord opened the doors and gave them some good contacts so they left for a two week "checking it out" trip.
Dan had duel citizenship with the US and Switzerland and always traveled with his Swiss passport in that area, since they weren't too fond of Americans.
As they were leaving the country they ran the Iranian officials confiscated their passports and told them they would have to go to Tehran to recover them. They took someone from the South Africa Embassy with them to recover the passports, however the embassy representative had to return to the embassy and the Iranians interrogated and arrested them.
Most of the book is about his experience in prison. He is very honest about his frustration, anger, fear, lack of faith, despair and of God's faithfulness and grace to him.
This book will remind us that God is in control, even when we don't get it, and that His plan is much bigger than we can ever imagine. He experienced comfort, peace, and encouragement when these things didn't seem possible. He saw how he was used by God as the waterer of seeds that had been planted 20 years before by Christians imprisoned during the overthrow of the government of the Shaw. He heard one of the guards telling the other guards the truth of the gospel that he had heard and witnessed from those prisoners and was now seeing in "this American."
This book blessed and encouraged me. I think it had more impact because it was someone from "my world" (he even grew up in So. Cal like I did) facing things that we think we will never face
and seeing a faithful and mighty God in action.
He and a South African friend were living Turkmenistan and, with YWAM, working with the Turkman people. They had prayed about an opportunity to go into Iran and connect with the Trukman people there, some of them being believers, and see how they could help them and work with them. the Lord opened the doors and gave them some good contacts so they left for a two week "checking it out" trip.
Dan had duel citizenship with the US and Switzerland and always traveled with his Swiss passport in that area, since they weren't too fond of Americans.
As they were leaving the country they ran the Iranian officials confiscated their passports and told them they would have to go to Tehran to recover them. They took someone from the South Africa Embassy with them to recover the passports, however the embassy representative had to return to the embassy and the Iranians interrogated and arrested them.
Most of the book is about his experience in prison. He is very honest about his frustration, anger, fear, lack of faith, despair and of God's faithfulness and grace to him.
This book will remind us that God is in control, even when we don't get it, and that His plan is much bigger than we can ever imagine. He experienced comfort, peace, and encouragement when these things didn't seem possible. He saw how he was used by God as the waterer of seeds that had been planted 20 years before by Christians imprisoned during the overthrow of the government of the Shaw. He heard one of the guards telling the other guards the truth of the gospel that he had heard and witnessed from those prisoners and was now seeing in "this American."
This book blessed and encouraged me. I think it had more impact because it was someone from "my world" (he even grew up in So. Cal like I did) facing things that we think we will never face
and seeing a faithful and mighty God in action.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Soul Connection
A friend recently gave me Gordon MacDonald's book, "The Life God Blesses." I haven't read much of his work, I always thought he wrote mostly to pastors and church leaders, but I am enjoying this book. He is an honest, wise and godly man.
He shares some reflections from Bertrand Russell as his wife was dying and I find the thoughts lingering in my mind.
"... the sense of the solitude of each human soul suddenly overwhelmed me...the loneliness of the human soul is unendurable; nothing can penetrate it except the highest intensity of the sort of love that religious teachers have preached; whatever does not spring from this motive is harmful, or at best useless...in human relations one should penetrate to the core of loneliness in each person and speak to that."
What a difference it would make in our lives and relationships if we related to others like this.
I had breakfast with a friend recently and she started out by asking me how I was doing. Not with the usual casualness associated with this question. I could tell she wanted to know how I was truly doing. I felt encouraged by her interest and humbled by how often I get together just to talk and don't take time to see how my friend is truly doing.
Since God, the highest intensity of love available, has poured out His love in my heart, through the Holy Spirit I have this love to offer others, and yet so often just don't.
I pray that this truth will change me and the way I relate to all that I come in contact with.
He shares some reflections from Bertrand Russell as his wife was dying and I find the thoughts lingering in my mind.
"... the sense of the solitude of each human soul suddenly overwhelmed me...the loneliness of the human soul is unendurable; nothing can penetrate it except the highest intensity of the sort of love that religious teachers have preached; whatever does not spring from this motive is harmful, or at best useless...in human relations one should penetrate to the core of loneliness in each person and speak to that."
What a difference it would make in our lives and relationships if we related to others like this.
I had breakfast with a friend recently and she started out by asking me how I was doing. Not with the usual casualness associated with this question. I could tell she wanted to know how I was truly doing. I felt encouraged by her interest and humbled by how often I get together just to talk and don't take time to see how my friend is truly doing.
Since God, the highest intensity of love available, has poured out His love in my heart, through the Holy Spirit I have this love to offer others, and yet so often just don't.
I pray that this truth will change me and the way I relate to all that I come in contact with.
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