One more beautiful flower

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” – Psalm 16:11

THE CROSS

“How long,

Psalm 13:1-3

Intr.:

O LORD?

a.  Will you forget me forever?

b.  How long will you hide your face from me?

c.  How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?

d.  How long will my enemy triumph over me?

End:

Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.”

A beautiful flower

“I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.” – Psalm 16:7

RAINBOW OVER KAITAIA

“Spreading the Gospel where it’s thinnest,” it says on the front page of the WEC International magazine called “GO INTO” Winter 2016.

WEC International is a Missionary Society and I joined WEC in the year 1965.

WEC International stands for:

“REACHING PEOPLE  

PLANTING CHURCHES

MOBILISING FOR MISSION”

I am still a member of WEC International, but at the moment I am certainly not “Spreading the Gospel where it’s thinnest”. (I have given up counting the many churches here in Kaitaia, in the north of New Zealand)

Thailand, where I worked as a missionary for 13 years was different of course.

PREACHING THE GOSPEL IN THAILAND

Picture/Alan Collingwood

Notes taken from the book “Lass dein Heil uns schauen” by Pastor Wilhelm Busch.

”HOW WILL THIS BE?'” Luke 1:34

A.  MARY  Luke 1:34

Mary asked, “‘How will this be?'” when the Angel Gabriel told her that she was chosen to be the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ.

B. ABRAHAM  Genesis 17:17 and Genesis 21:5

When God promised a son to Abraham, “Abraham fell facedown; he laughed  and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?'”

What did God answer? “‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, …'”

C.  MOSES Numbers 11:21

They were in the desert and God promised that there would be meat for the people in the desert.

Moses said, “‘Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?'”

The LORD answered, “‘Is the LORD’S arm too short?'”

Pastor W. Busch tells this story:

When a missionary with his fellow worker was standing in China on a hill beside a place where idols were worshipped he asked, “Do you think that we will ever have a Christian Church at this place?” His fellow worker shook his head and said, “No, I cannot, but God can.”

Reading in a column in our local paper, The Northland Age, Tuesday, May 24, 2016, that “many people have just given up on getting help from government agencies,” makes me ask again the question:

“WHERE DO WE GO FOR HELP?”

The Psalmist asks in Psalm 121:1 “I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?” His answer is, “My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

If my help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth, there is no need any more for me to worry.

a.  In Psalm 18:6 David tells us that in his distress he not only called, but he cried to his God for help. And what happened? His cry came before the ears of the LORD.

But remember also that David says “my God”. Can you say “my God?”

b.  In Psalm 30:2 David called again for help to the LORD, his God, and we read that the LORD healed him.

What does it say in Exodus 15:26? “‘ … , for I am the LORD, who heals you.'”

c.  In Psalm 33:20 the Psalmist says that he is waiting in hope for the LORD. Why? Because the LORD is not only his help, but also his shield.

d. In Psalm 46:1 the Sons of Korah say three things about God:

aa.  He is their refuge.

bb.  He is their strength.

cc.  He is their ever-present help in trouble.

That’s why there is no fear in their hearts.

In Psalm 108:12 David says, “Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.”

David had also given up on getting help from people (government agencies).

What about us?