I don’t think so!

Read First Chronicles 29:14

“EVERYTHING COMES FROM YOU, AND WE HAVE GIVEN YOU ONLY WHAT COMES FROM YOUR HAND.”

He did not expect to find his picture in the magazine. But there it was on page fifteen. He was sitting there with three others at the kitchen table peeling apples. The picture was taken more than fifty years ago.

The magazine is a special edition put out by the missionary society called WEC International. The missionary society is celebrating fifty years of existence in Germany.

The missionary society has a headquarter in Eppstein near Frankfurt. Before the missionaries are accepted or not accepted for the so-called foreign field they are invited to Eppstein for a Candidates Course.

The picture mentioned earlier was taken during the candidate time. The goal of those four people pictured was to go and serve the Lord on the mission field somewhere in the world. Those four people had a goal. But in order to achieve a chosen goal one needs to demonstrate courage, passion, determination and commitment. Did the four people have those qualities?

One of them is still in Germany. He did not make it to the so-called foreign field, but is serving the Lord in Germany. The two ladies on the picture are already with the Lord, one served the Lord in Brazil for some time and the other died in a plane crash in  Liberia while serving the Lord there.

The fourth person is mentioned again on page forty-one in the magazine. He was the first missionary from Germany to go to Thailand to join the WEC workers there. He is also listed in the publication with those who worked in Thailand for a good number of years. ( From 1966 – 1979)

Our goal in WEC is to glorify our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To do that it takes courage, passion, determination and commitment.

Today I looked through one of the local papers and two headlined interested me.

One article had the headline:

“KAIKOHE’S FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS”

We used to live in Kaikohe for a long time.

An advertisement started like this:

“THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS”

In Psalm 31:15 David says:

“MY TIMES ARE IN YOUR HANDS.“

“Wenn man an keinem andern Ort etwas merken sollte – unter dem Kreuz von Golgatha kann man es studieren, wie herrlich Gott den Elenden hilft.” –  F.v. Bodelschwingh

I read a sad story about a lighthouse.

The dictionary says that a lighthouse is ” a fixed structure in the form of a tower equipped with a light visible to mariners for warning them of obstructions, etc.”

But this sad lighthouse in Canada (Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia) no longer guides mariners savely to the harbor. It is now a post office and that not even all the time, only during the peak tourist months.

Two local churches here have lighthouse signs near their church buildings. I like that. A church must be a lighthouse ! I have pictures of those lighthouse signs.

The hymn “Let the lower lights be burning” comes to my mind again with force. The hymn is by Philip P. Bliss and the chorus goes like this:

“Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman you may rescue , you may save.”

We want the church to be a powerful Lighthouse. That means that we as members of the body of Christ must ask the Lord to make us powerful Lighthouses. One of the most powerful lighthouses at the present time is Billy Graham. And there are many many more of course.

Let us also ask the Lord that the church will always be a LIGHTHOUSE and not turn into an entertainment centre or a social club.

About this lighthouse in the north of NZ:

“The concrete tower stands 10 metres  high and 165 metres above sea level. The light flashes once every 12 seconds and can be seen for 19 nautical miles (35 kilometres).”

“The operation of the light is now completely automatic and is monitored by a computer and Maritime NZ staff in Wellington.”

It is not a  post office.

It is not a social club.

It is not an entertainment facility.