Ain’t it good to be back home again

I have been traveling in Europe for the last two weeks and I must admit it feels good to be home again. Of course there is that nagging question that crosses my mind over and over again asking me where my home is. Being in the work I am in right now means traveling a lot and living in different places. Our family over the last 25 years has lived in three countries and at times we have moved to new places within those countries and back and forth to America in between. Some of you reading this might think that sounds like fun and others will read it and wonder how we could do such a thing. I am somewhere in between these thoughts.

I enjoy my work and think that life would be a little dreary being in just one place. At the same time I enjoy coming home to family and a place where I hang my clothes and put things away so that I know where they are the next day when I wake up. It is nice when at home to wake up and know exactly where you are instead of waking up and having to remind yourself you are in someone else’s house or some motel near an airport. At the same time I have to keep going back to that question I asked before and that is, “Where is my home”. While traveling in Europe I saw an advertisement reminding us of the old saying that home is where you hang your hat. We have all also heard that home is where you heart is. I am not convinced that either one of these statements are totally right.

Perhaps the real answer to this question for me is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 1 where the Apostle Paul writes, “…we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.” I have heard Christians speak of this world as not being our home and that we are just passing through and I agree that we often find ourselves alone here and not at home. Over the years I have begun to realize that I am at home when I am in fellowship with God. When I worship Him and enjoy his presence I feel at home no matter where I am here on earth. I am greatly encouraged by this because I know that if I am at home in the presence of God then I will always have a home. God is eternal and will always be around and the secret for me to feel at home is to always make sure that I am in His presence. The verse in 2 Corinthians promises me that not only can I be at home in his presence here on earth but when I die He promises a new body that He has prepared for me so that I can be in his presence and feel at home forever. Wow, that is a promise I like. One day there will be no more feeling homesick and even now in the present I can cure homesickness by making sure I am living and communing in God’s presence.

On the road again!

My bags are packed and tomorrow I head out. Yea, over the next two weeks I will travel back to Europe. I get an opportunity to visit Sweden and the church plant ministry that we have been involved in there. I will also attend some Greater Europe Mission leadership meetings in Berlin and I get an opportunity to visit a new church plant in Estonia. Am I excited? I am always excited to go back and see what the Lord is doing there!

God is at work everywhere doing things that we don’t always notice. He hears our prayers and He answers them in ways that we don’t always expect. One of the big things I have learned about prayer and God recently is that prayer doesn’t control God. We don’t make Him do what we want when we pray. He is in control of everything already. Prayer is more a reminder for me that I can’t do anything in the Spiritual world on my own. He is the one that does it and yet He desires that I am involved and He wants to answer prayers through us, His children. I am even convinced more and more that He puts even the thoughts in our minds so that we will pray and begin to see just what He is up to. In the Old Testament in the book of the Prophet Amos Chapter three verse seven the Prophet writes says, “Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.” He wants us to see what He is doing. He does not do anything without letting us know but we must be watching.

I am looking forward to seeing what the sovereign Lord is up too right now in Europe. I will try and write about a few of those things over the next two weeks.

An end and a new beginning

2008 is at an end. As I was listening to the news tonight I heard several times that people were going to be happy about 2008 coming to an end. I imagine that most are thinking about the economy. Things are definitely not what they use to be and at the same time it sure could be worse. I have heard it said that there are countries in the world that would love to have a recession if that would mean that they had as much money as those that feel they are suffering in America. I guess it all depends on how you look at it, or even better, it all depends on how you respond to what comes your way.

As the New Year comes my way I want to think about some words of wisdom that I have tried to remember, memorize and put into action. Here it is, “The circumstances of life, the events of life, and the people around me in life do not make me the way I am but reveal the way I am.” (Dr. Sam L. Peeples. Jr) In other words I can’t blame circumstances etc… for making me unhappy in 2008. If I was unhappy in 2008 it was because I choose to be unhappy. If I am going to be happy in 2009 it is because I will choose to be. My job is to respond to all that comes my way as coming from a sovereign God that loves and cares for me and has my best interests in mind. This does not mean that all will go the way I want it to or even the way I think it should. What it does means is that I can’t control the things that happen to me or around me but I can control the way I respond to them.

Paul in Philippians 4:4-7 says, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”