So after finishing a wonderful birthday dinner at a restaurant last night, we arrived at the girls apartment to find a half inch of water on the floor!
After some investigation, we found the source of the problem; water splurging out of a wall in Raquel's bathroom. Always a treat. We managed to clean up the mess and contain the leak within the bathroom with a legion of towels. The plumber's scheduled to come at 8 this morning.
However Raquel woke up surrounded by another small lake. Apparently there is a problem in the building...
It's hard to believe, but Summer Project is here. The staff arrived yesterday in the evening and we had our first day of Staff Orientation today. The students are all arriving tomorrow evening!
I'm excited to be working full time at UTP during project. I'll be leading a team of 4 students alongside Raquel. God is doing some amazing things there and I'm excited to experience it with the Canadian students!
This year has definitely been a struggle with language. I've made a lot of progress with learning Spanish this year and it's had it's ups and downs. My personal ministry with students definitely looks different than I was expecting at the beginning. I'd say I'm a lot less independent than I was hoping. Raquel has been awesome with helping translate as we go sharing. I still felt like there was a disconnect when we were sharing with students.
I was reading Corinthians this morning and was reminded and encouraged.
"1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
I'd say that when I'm talking with students either in translated english or "baby" spanish, I'm not using wise and persuasive words. But I can rest in the fact that God is bigger than any language barrier I could fathom. I can rest knowing that the Holy Spirit is at work. It's not my postion to change somebody's heart. God does that. It's my responsibility to share the Gospel and leave the results up to Him. He is a lot more capable than I.
It keeps me asking where I'm placing my faith; In my human wisdom or in the power of God?
One thing that continually amazes me is how living and active God's word is. I can have read something many times before, yet so often God will reveal something completely new and relevant to me. I was reading through Genesis this past week and it happened again.
"3 “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. 4 “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. 5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. 8 So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt." Genesis 45:3-8 (NLT)
Even though circumstances look grim and things seem to be falling apart; when we're confused, hurt and even broken. God is sovereign. Period.
Here, God took circumstances that, from our perspective, seem horrible and cruel and used them for His purposes both in the near future and for all eternity . First, God raised up Joseph and sent him to Egypt so that he could preserve his family's life. That in itself is pretty neat!
Looking back a bit in Genesis, God had made a covenant promise with Abraham that he would establish his descendants and bless all the nations of the world through them. God's covenant promise would not be true if the children of Israel had starved during the famine. So God also raised up Joseph to fulfill his covenant promise to Abraham. That's definitely cool!
It gets even better when looking ahead to Christ and thinking through it. Christ was from the tribe of Judah(Joseph's brother who was saved from starvation) , in the line of David(Also from the tribe of Judah), and the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. God worked in Josephs life to bring about His final redemption for humanity!
So, God raised up Joseph not only to save his family's life, but to keep his covenant promise to Abraham which was fulfilled through Jesus Christ! To me that is just a symphony. Absolutely beautiful!
So when we encounter circumstances that seem horrible or even cruel, remember God's hand is at work and praise Him! Does God like to see people suffer? By no means! But his ways our higher than our ways and his thoughts higher than our thoughts. Who are we, oh little clay pots, to talk back to the potter?
God works in all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Knowing this, can we not trust him? He is shaping and molding us as SONS AND DAUGHTERS!!!
As the author of Hebrews writes in chapter 12: "7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (NIV)
And Peter in his first epistle writes: "6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." (NLT)
During our time here in Panama we as a team have been working on some Campus for Christ staff training called Min Prep 101. Part of the training is to read books about various topics like prayer, theology, evangelism, apologetics etc.
I had been given a book that I brought down to read that happens to be part of the reading list.
This past week I finished the book and was quite impressed. It's called Knowing God by J.I. Packer. It's a pretty meaty book with regards to it's teaching and Packer makes some very strong (and dare I say truly biblical) claims about the nature of God and our relationship with him.
I was struck the most about his thoughts on our adoption into God's royal family. So many times we've heard that we become children of God when we invite Christ into our lives. It's never hit me so vividly what that actually means until recently.
In the old testament God revealed himself to his people, Israel, as YHWH. The holy, righteous, jealous, wise, perfect, immutable, patient, wrathful, loving, merciful GOD of the universe. That's pretty cool already. God gave Moses the Law with which to govern Israel. The set of rules and guidelines that the people of God were to follow to the letter.
In the new testament, all of Gods qualities and characteristics still stand, except there is another that is revealed. God, the GOD of the universe, is also our Father. Sometimes I need to just let that sink in for a bit.
I mean the creator "...who laid the foundations of the earth... who determined it's dimensions...what supports it's foundations and laid it's conerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy." The same "I AM" who revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush. YHWH, The LORD. He who brought the universe into being by His Word, is also the one who we can cry "Abba, Father" to. He is ourFather, who knows what we need before we ask, who gives every good and perfect gift, who has plans to establish us and give us a hope and a future.
It blows my mind reading in Philipians about Christ...
"Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
Whoa...
God decided before the foundations of the earth, that He would love us in such a way that He would give is only begotten son over to humility and death so that He may gain our love, and that we may share in Christ's risen glory.
He CHOSE THAT!
To take this wicked man that I am call me his heir and his child. To refine me, to clothe me in white and conform me into the likeness of Christ. What a blessing. Packer claims and I agree; That the blessing of adoption is the highest blessing God gives those who are in Christ Jesus. It's amazing to think that God justifies and sanctifies us, but to think that God ADOPTS us truly leaves me speechless.
No longer is it those whom obey the written law that will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but those who are called heirs in Christ! No longer are we slaves to sin and death and the law, but slaves to righteousness! It's not about following "God's written law to his rebelous people", but living by the "family code" with our heart that Christ preached about in his sermon on the mount.
It's pretty cool to think that we will be and are Co-Heirs with Christ in inheriting God's kingdom. And that is just one more reason why I desire to labour all the harder for it.
Well I've finally gotten around to setting up a blog! It's taken me a while as I was being picky with names. Many I had thought of were taken. I decided to settle with a simple "Derek in Panama". I guess it gets the job done.
I'll be trying to write and update this with things that are going on. I'll be doing this in addition to my monthly news letter.
I have the amazing opportunity this year to take time off my degree and serve God making Disciples of Jesus Christ on the University campuses in Panama! Wow!
