Shepherds do not give their sheep grass; they lead the sheep to where the sheep can find good pasture.  Jesus is the Shepherd who brings us into the abundant pastures of His time, love and wisdom, but how much nourishment and refreshment we receive there is up to us.  The degree to which we enjoy His unlimited provision depends upon the degree of our willingness to be bold and claim what is ours—what Jesus has already provided for us through His death and resurrection.

Humanly speaking, sometimes it would be easier to casually pass over the souls of men with callousness—it really isn’t our responsibility, it’s their choice, they know what truth is but ignore it.  If that were possible, we could feel so much better and light-hearted—no tears or burden.

But, if we choose, the Lord will answer our heart’s desire to begin to see men through His eyes.  He has entrusted us with His compassion on the souls of His creation.  Our hearts will ache, our souls will rip, and our eyes will sting seeing the desperate wickedness that thrives in humankind and the endless devastation to be experience by those unredeemed, entrapped for eternity if they reject our Lord. 

 He paid too great a price to leave His story untold!  We can choose to have His eyes, full of understanding and insight, to know what will reach that particular heart, that particular need, so there will be results—there will be cleansing—there will be newness—there will be life!  This heaviness and sorrow will be in vain without a reaping, bountiful harvest.

Certainly we should be able to relate to the desperate heart, to the emptiness this world can offer, to the loneliness, to the filthy pit of sinfulness, to the hardness of human pride, for we can never forget that this is exactly where He found us!

 Let us reap in joy because He has been proclaimed and received into needy lives!  He will be exalted and receive all the glory!

 1 Chronicles 16:24, “Declare His glory among the nations, His wonderful works among all peoples.”

Direct me, Lord!  May I have the knowledge of Your Presence and the wisdom to listen.  My Father, may I be saturated with Your love to lavishly give away hour after hour to those who are disappointed and hurting.  You are Life and the clutter of this world is worthless in the light of Your Kingdom.  Walk beside me and dwell within me—that this day can achieve eternal value.

John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches.  The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.”

It is such a blessing that the Lord allows us to meet such wonderful, diverse people in many different countries.  New opportunities and first-time areas are always intriguing.  However, there are moments when I feel totally disappointed in my behavior and reactions contemplating unknown circumstances that this also involves, and sometimes sheer fatigue can sway my opinion as to whether something is going to be seen as “adventurous” or just plain “unacceptable”.  And so it was one of those days….

As we sat in the airport waiting for our flight to a new area (several years ago), Bobby was enjoying conversation with our host, but I was mentally rebelling against the Lord with a negative attitude, questioning Him about this next destination, and, quite honesty, throwing a spiritual tantrum!  The Lord simply pointed my attention down the aisle to a one-year-old child sitting on her mother’s lap and told me to watch.  The mom was chatting with a friend most of the time, but stopped periodically to give the little girl a toy or kiss on the head or a little nibble of food.  The baby was completely happy with whatever the mom did, just content to be there with her.  As the mom scooped her up and carried her off, again, she smiled instead of fussing, never worrying about where her mom was taking her or if that would be what she was ready to do.

The Lord said, “That’s what I want you to do!  Just trust me like that little one, let Me carry you where I want you to go, and just be content with My Presence.  You don’t need to know what’s coming up in this unknown venture, because I already do!”  With this non-negotiable but loving request, it was a relief for me because I definitely know how to curl up in my Savior’s arms and just trust Him!  Before we even boarded the plane, He gave me a brand new spirit of joy, and complete confidence that He was in charge.

We did, indeed, arrive to horrible conditions and very needy people, but the Lord remained faithful every day.  Our circumstances did not limit His ability to use us to encourage the people there, pray for them, and lead them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!

None of us have to be alive very long without encountering the first of our many difficult situations that come along in a lifetime.  We may feel clueless as to what the situation holds, “in the dark” for making a crossroads decision, or out of control in given circumstances.  It is not a comfortable place to be.  But in Matthew 7:11, the Bible says, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”

Only the Lord with His loving patience can reach our self-absorbed hardness and soften us to desire obedience and availability to Him in its place.  It is our prayer that we would renew that decision daily and receive the freedom and victory it brings in our life!

As we go through difficult times in life, sometimes friends will comment that we show such admirable strength.  But, in ourselves, we know differently.  When our efforts become exhausted from circumstances, our precious Lord still abides in us and HIS strength is perfect.  The faithful Father carries us tirelessly with HIS mighty arms—that’s the Strength that others are seeing.  He deserves all the glory!

 Psalm 28:7, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  Therefore, my heart rejoices, and I praise Him with my song.

During the Christmas 2010 season in Cambodia, Musicianaries was able to provide 20 tons of rice to more than 700 families.  This is such a tremendous opportunity to share the love of Christ with the recipients because, as a country, they celebrate Christmas but most do not know its true meaning and are very interested in knowing why they do!  This last Christmas, over 350 understood His saving grace for the first time and invited our Lord into their hearts and lives!  Our host there, Setan Lee, who oversees this rice program was so pleased with the enthusiastic response and could not quit smiling as he told us of the success.  Your prayers for the Cambodian people are being answered by our faithful God! 

In contrast, my heart was truly broken (as will yours) by another story that happened during that same time…  Most of the people who receive rice from our program live far below the Cambodian poverty level of $45 a month.  There was an older gentleman who attended the Christmas distribution and received his bag of rice and departed on foot.  Hours later, he returned back to Setan wanting to return the rice bag because he had realized as he was walking around that he had no where to go—he had no home, no means to cook the rice, and no utensils to eat it.  He requested for Setan to please give it someone else who needed it and could prepare it for their family properly….

Can you even grasp this kindness even in such desperation?  It’s been a while since Setan told me this and it’s no easier to try to imagine this man’s life than the first hundred times I’ve thought about it.  All I can do is react with stinging tears, a hurting heart, and flurries of prayers to our loving Savior who cares for this man deeply. Our Lord totally understands that situation because He experienced the same abandonment by His creation when He was here on earth. 

It could go unsaid after this story, but it is more than an honor and privilege for me and the Musicianaries’ teams to serve these precious people each year to help bring them “a hope and a future”.  We really do see a significant difference in their quality of life and opportunities with each trip.  Your prayers, love, and gifts are a blessing and help make this possible.

Looking over our beautiful landscaping beside the intracoastal waterway today, I watched the incredible gusting winds bouncing the tree limbs in every direction—so powerful!  So it was surprising to also see two birds that were gliding very peacefully, through those same winds, just a short distance away!  How can they do that?  But, the Lord has shown them how to take what could be appalling conditions and direct them into a useful, enjoyable moment.  What a valuable lesson to observe—totally without a spoken word. 

Isaiah 12:2, “I will trust Him and not be afraid, because the Lord is my strength and my song.”

Precious Lord, how sweet to rest in Your Holy Presence minute by minute….to sense the very saturation of Your peace and tenderness, embodied in a totally unworthy servant.  You are an amazing God not only to love me but to spend unlimited time with me.  How foolish I am not to seek You more frequently when my thirst cannot be quenched by any other means.  Linger with me this day….

Isaiah 26:30, “The Lord will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on Him.”

On our first boat trip with Bobby in 1990, there awaited unexpected adventures.  Quietly anchored in a still inlet, the four of us were enjoying a lovely evening.  But very abruptly, a water spout changed our circumstances!  We were fiercely tossed about, thrown off our feet, when the boat bounced back sideways into the sand of shallow water.  Surprised…confused…but safe, and oddly enough, still anchored.  The hours ahead were quite remarkably filled with closeness, concern for each other, cooperation, and even thankfulness.  There were long hours of emergency—adapting to changing tides, winds, strong rains, and shifting sands.  Through it all, the anchor still held.

What a rewarding lesson to have experienced.  By the grace of our Lord, we successfully survived the trauma and eventually were rescued back to the comforts of the harbor.

At some point, we have all entered times of new circumstances and the rocking of outer surroundings can be felt around us.  It is with great comfort and direction by our mighty Lord that again we can make all the necessary changes, adapt to the shifting “sands” and weather another storm with success and grace.  When our Lord is the anchor, there is strength.  When the Lord has determined it to be so, we shall stand and go forward.

Hebrews 6:19,  “We have this hope—like a sure and firm anchor of the soul.”

Bobby and I had the opportunity in April 2008 to minister in a group of Indonesian villages in Toraja that few people will ever see.  Our team of eight traveled by plane from Jakarta to Makassar, then journeyed in vans for ten hours up the mountainous terrain, arriving after dark in heavy, chilly winds and pouring rain.  We were met by smiles and warm ginger drinks from our gentle hosts, whom we grew to love. 

As we navigated over rickety roads the next seven days, we saw Christian churches everywhere!  This was not an expected sight in a nation of 235 million people, of which 86% are Muslim.  Our hosts explained that Dutch missionaries had evangelized this area years ago, leaving behind churches, hospitals, and Christian ethics that have been passed down from generation to generation.  These moral values and Biblical teaching still seem to be a normal part of the Torajan lifestyle; so I was not expecting the impending results in our evangelistic outreaches. 

After musical ministry and the presentation of the Gospel through an interpreter, Bobby gave an invitation for them to accept Christ.  Dozens hurried to the altar without hesitation, service after service, village after village!  We soon realized the response was so great because their beliefs had become a learned lifestyle instead of a personal, intimate relationship with the Savior!  They were learning God has no grandchildren–only children.  THAT was the difference to them, and they were eager to become sons and daughters!  We also saw more than 300 other precious ones rededicate their lives to Christ with tears of repentance.  It was a beautiful sight to watch their open expression of worship and gratitude to their Lord! 

Sadly, I’ve never seen this thirst in American congregations.  It is a true gift for us to witness the spiritual hunger of neglected people in desolate places and consequently watch their undistracted, uncomplicated response to grasp the truth of a loving Father.  You will personally get to meet them in Heaven!