Day 3 began with the team splitting up for a time and going to different job sites, one part of the team went to a location and did some cleanup, while the other installed the electrical service that was built yesterday.  While at that site we noticed many interested flowers.  One of the human interest aspects to this has been seeing peoples garden plants growing on site while their house is long gone.  We found a watermelon vine growing wild with a watermelon on it, potatoes, rose bushes, and numerous other flowers.  It reminds you of the people who were in this place before it was destroyed.

 After we finished those two jobs we rejoined and followed our leader, Jim Boyd to Apison, TN, another community devastated by the tornadoes. It was here that we met Jojo.  Jojo is a firefighter and he lost his home as did his step-dad.  But what he has done is coordinate efforts in the community to help everyone rebuilt.  He setup a tent in his front yard and people started coming.  What started as a tent is now a large tent with cooking trailers, and supply trailers, and people helping each other out.  The community meets here to dine together and help one another out.  Jojo is an amazing leader in all of this, and the church is at the forefront.  It is God who is being glorified in this effort.  As one lady we talked to said, you don’t see the atheist leagues coming out here and doing this, it is God’s people who are doing this to the glory of Christ.  What a neat testimony to the love of Christ.  This community is rallying around the gospel as they help one another rebuild.  And along with the neighbors there are church groups that are coming from all over the country (like us from Wisconsin) to help.  The people are so appreciative.  They cannot believe people came all the way from Green Bay, WI to help them. That is really cool.  

As far as work goes, today was mostly a construction day.  We worked along with a group from a church near Nashville, TN, rebuilding a house which was destroyed.  After a long day of work we were hot, tired, and hungry, but we were also satisfied because we are seeing the work we are doing, as small as it seems in the larger scheme, is having an impact in people’s lives.

The job site we were on today was the home of a 73 year old gentleman who rode out the tornado braced in his bathroom.  There were only two walls left in his house, yet he survived.  He has been able to rebuild his house, but his property was covered with fallen trees and other debris. He was overwhelmed We took 6 dump trailer loads of wood off of his property.    We are all humbled to be able to serve Christ in this way, helping people and sharing the love of Jesus with them.  Needless to say, the team is exhausted after day one.  When I have a more consistent internet connection, I will post pictures.

-Paul

If you are believer in Jesus Christ, you understand this, but the question is, what are the implications of the gospel?  What does it mean to live out the gospel.  This is the question that I myself am grappling with.  But, I think that it means at least 2 things:

First that we are living to God’s glory.  We live in a country that literally has everything.  Often we live for ourselves and for the fulfillment of our own satisfactions.   We live for our own pleasure.  But this is not what God intends for us.  We should be living our lives to the glory of God.  Everything we do, eating, drinking, driving, reading. . . and on and on. . . all should be done in accordance with God’s will and to His glory. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).  Living out the implications of the gospel then means that we should do all things to the glory of God.  What we do is not for us and our satisfactions but to the glory of God, in thankfulness for the grace that he has showered on us!

The second implication of the living out the gospel is that we need to be sharing this good news with others, and this is of course related to implication number one, God’s glory.  If we have the good news that is the salvation of souls, then why don’t we want to share it?  Living out the gospel means that we share our faith in Jesus Christ as naturally as we breathe.  I struggle with this, do you?  God’s is most glorified by the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  What the Christian needs to live out gospel implications is to glorify God, and share faith, while resting in the full assurance of salvation in Christ.

Would you add anything?  Please let me know.

“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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)

What is often times missed is that the imperative of this verse is not “Go”, as is often taught, but “make.”  Based on the emphasis placed on go, some reason to themselves that not everyone can go off somewhere else, so they must be off the hook for disciple making.  They think that this verse is for missionaries and pastors, not lay people. However, literally, the passage should read, “in your going therefore”, or “as you go.”  As you go about living your life you are to make disciples.  So disciple making of all the nations does not start with some far off place, but with your next door neighbor as you go about your business.

The question is how do we go about making disciples of all nations, starting with my neighbor?  The answer is found in the rest of the verse.  There are two Greek participles of “means” (Go by the way is also a participle, but its syntax is “attendant circumstance”).  Baptizing, and Teaching.  Disciples are made through relationships with people.  People have to come to know Jesus.  We have to be active in evangelism, sharing the good news with a world in desperate need. And when people are converted to Christ, they are baptized.

The second  participle is “teaching.”  We are to instruct our new brother in Christ all that Jesus commanded.  This is the second part to disciple making.  This is the life long aspect of discipleship.  Disciple making does not end with conversion, but continues on as person is build up and grows in the Word of God.  This is the Christian life, and we are all called to assist in this.

However, there is one final thing that Jesus says.  This is a work accomplished by God through us.  Jesus is with us until the end of the age.  How grateful I am that I am only called to be obedient to the Great Commission, but it is the Spirit of God who accomplishes all that He has set out to do.

So are you making disciples?  Are you active in sharing your faith with neighbors, co-workers, etc.?  And are you active in teaching new believers and seasoned believers  alike all that Jesus commanded?  What would the church look like if we all took the time to mentor or disciple one other person?  Would we see the church grown numerically and more importantly, spiritually?

Plain Promise is a quick and fun read.  Beth Wiseman draws the reader in with the quiet and peaceful setting of the Amish community.  Yet, not all is peaceful within the hearts of the people.  A young widow, Sadie,  rents out her extra cottage to a new tenant, only to find out he is a famous, wealthy man.  Kade is attempting to escape his life and “hides” among the Amish.   Seemingly, Sadie and Kade have nothing in common and yet attraction continues to grow.   At the same time, Sadie has been writing and communicating with Milo, an Amish man she has yet to meet.   Further complicating Sadie’s world is the arrival of Kade’s son, Tyler who is autistic.   Kade does not know what to do with his son, how to communicate or how to take care of him.  It is through Sadie’s special touch and love that a family is born.

Though the romance side of the story is predictable, I also enjoyed the deeper aspects that Ms. Wiseman added to the story.   Kade must struggle with forgiveness of the deepest kind – his best friend marrying his ex-wife.    Kade also must struggle with how to relate to a son who he has not spent time with.   I also appreciated the way autism was looked at.  Sadie points out the “innocence” that accompanies a child who is autistic.   Finally, I also enjoyed the tension of a relationship against two different worlds and how Ms. Wiseman resolves it in the end.

Fearless by Max Lucado is a timely message to this generation.  Everyone is tempted to worry and be anxious about something.  Mr. Lucado addresses several major areas of concern that are especially prevalent in today’s economy.  Mr. Lucado is careful to take the reader to scripture not only to show that we are not to have fear but that we have every reason to trust because of who our God is.

This book is a gentle read in that it is not terribly deep theologically.  I enjoyed Mr. Lucado’s story telling format as he presented how a Christian can live fearlessly.    My only wish is that Mr. Lucado would have stressed more often that these promises from God are truly only for the believer.  The world can not have peace without belief on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Overall, an encouraging and easy read.

Advertised as a study tool and aid in reading the bible, I was very excited to obtain a copy of The Expanded Bible.    I eagerly opened it up and was dismayed to find my expectations were not fulfilled.   To be fair, my husband is in seminary and so we are exposed to deep material.   This bible might be okay if you are just trying to get a sense of what the text is trying to say but it is not really a fair translation; it is more of a paraphrase.   Imbedded in the text are examples of what the words could otherwise mean like the red [burgundy, rouge] flower [plant, leaf].   I found this to make the text more distracting and choppy.   Personally, I would rather sit with my bible open and a dictionary or commentary next to me.   One thing about translating original language into modern day language is that while words can have different meanings, they can’t have all the meanings within that context.  No translation will be perfect but scholars work very hard to find the BEST meaning within the given CONTEXT.   One can get themselves into all kinds of trouble when applying just any meaning of a word to the text.