There’s a hope when our time is up on this world that we know that we’ve been good and faithful servants to the Lord. At some time in our lives we have to choose God or the false gods of this world. We may have to be faithful even when everyone around us has lost their faith in God.
There’s many false gods that we follow today such as money, prestige, pride, hate and even political correctness that makes us afraid to admit that we are God’s people. I heard a woman on the radio who firmly believed that there was no god. She stated that she was too smart to be fooled into believing the theory of a god. She is a scientist with too much knowledge to even start with the theory that a god is possible.
I was saddened to hear her talk and to realize that for her there is no god. She will not reach out for the love of Jesus Christ. She will not feel the power of the Holy Spirit, because she is not willing to have the faith of a mustard seed. For this woman, her mind or self pride are her false gods.
Baal is the name of a false god mentioned in the Old Testament. Baal was the god of people of Palestine. Baal was also worshipped by many Jews during the life of the prophet Elijah. Elijah is an amazing prophet in the Old Testament. He performed many miracles. I love the story when Elijah went he went up alone against the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. He challenged those who worshiped Baal with a burnt offering on a stone altar as the way to demonstrate the power of God versus Baal.
In 1 Kings 18 (NKJV), Elijah asked the people “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. Then Elijah said to the people, I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it into pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”
Elijah had them soak the wood and the burnt offering that were placed on the altar. Elijah called on God. God answered Elijah. The “fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!
Elijah served God when it wasn’t easy to be a prophet. He was tested in so many ways. The hardest way is when most of your friends, family, and neighbors don’t believe in God anymore. The test for Elijah was whether he would remain true to God even if he was the last person who still believed and had faith in God. Would we be willing to claim our belief in public if we were the last person who believed in God? Would we follow the false gods because “everyone else is doing it?”
I also love Elijah because has was a great prophet, but he was also human. He faced all of the false prophets who were worshiping Baal. Later, he ran from Jezebel when she threatened to kill him. Jezebel was a queen of the Jews, but she worshiped the false gods. Elijah ran into a cave and hid. Elijah knew that God was behind him, but he choose to run instead of stand and fight. There are times in our lives that we don’t stand firm for God just like Elijah did it this case. There’s hope for us that one day we will be able to be faithful and strong again.
Elijah raised a child from the dead. There’s a story about oil and flour not running out for a widow and her family. Elijah also has a strong relationship with his disciple, Elisha. If you have a problem keeping these two prophets apart, remember Elijah has a “J” and Elisha has a “S”. “J” comes before “S” in the alphabet. Elijah was the mentor and teacher for Elisha.
Now, we come to the end of the story for Elijah. The scripture from 2 Kings 2:1 reads: When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.
Gilgal is on the Jordan River at the exact spot with the tribes of Israel crossed over the Jordan into the promised land of milk and honey. As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the Jordan River at that spot, the river parted so that the people of Israel could walk in the Jordan River without getting wet. God had one man from each tribe carry a rock from the river bottom and stack the rocks near Gilgal where the tribes of Israel camped after crossing the river. God had them do this so that they would never forget God. Elijah and Elisha were remembering Joshua’s story of God delivering the twelve tribes of Israel into the Promised Land. Gilgal was also on the outskirts of Jericho.
Elijah went to key places to remember God’s work on earth. His next stop was a town called Bethel where many priests lived. It was also a place where Abraham built an altar after God made his promise in Genesis 12:7 “To your descendants I will give this land. And there Abraham built an altar to the Lord; who had appeared to him.” In just a few sentences, Elijah is remembering God’s promise to Abraham and God’s deliverance of the people by parting the Red Sea when the Israelites left Egypt. Elijah is also remembering God’s faithfulness to his people when they crossed the Jordan River.
In 2 Kings 2:2-5 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today? Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."
Elisha told Elijah that he would stay by Elijah’s side until the time that Elijah was taken up into heaven by God. Jericho is the town where the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant and the Jewish people walked around Jericho for seven days and the walls of the city fell. God delivered the town of Jericho to the tribes of Israel. The story is told in the book of Joshua. Elijah’s story is telling the history of God’s love for his people just by where they go on this last day.
Now, Elijah is reenacting Moses parting of the Red Sea and the parting of the Jordan River for the twelve tribes of Israel. The difference is that Elijah is using a rolled up cloak while Moses stretched out his hand “and the Lord caused the Red Sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea into dry land and the waters were divided” (Exodus 14:21). Many times in the Bible the current story is woven into God’s promises and God’s covenant with his people.
In 2 Kings 2:6-10 the scripture continues Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." The two of them walked on. Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied. "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not."
Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elisha is actually asking for his inheritance. A father usually gave a double portion of the inheritance to the first born son. Elisha is claiming that Elijah is his father. Elijah explains that God gives the gift of the Holy Spirit. Elijah can’t give a double portion of the Holy Spirit. Elijah tells Elisha to watch for a sign. The sign is if God allows Elisha to see Elijah taken up to heaven then Elisha will receive a double portion of the Holy Spirit.
The 2 Kings 2:11-15 scripture continues: As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. He also took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, the water was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over. Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.
There are only two men who were taken up to Heaven without dying. The first was Enoch and the second was Elijah. Enoch’s story is told very briefly in Genesis 5:24 (NIV) “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Hebrews 11:5 NIV tells “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, Enoch was commended as one who pleased God.”
Elijah and Enoch both were praised for their faith. Both also pleased God because they were true to God. Elijah had faith in God when everyone around him did not. Elijah had faith even with his King and Queen worshiped other gods. It is easy to have faith when everyone around us is faithful. It is hard to have faith in God when we are alone. Elijah is our role model to have faith in God even when everyone around us has lost faith in God. This story of Elijah also helps us remember God’s promise to Abraham, God’s deliverance of His people out of Egypt, and the parting of the Jordan River so that the Israelites could finally enter into the Promised Land.
Let’s us go out today to be inspired to keep our faith in God and follow in the path of Elijah and Enoch.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Visions of Ghana
I remember looking down from the airplane on my first trip to Ghana. I saw small shacks crammed together in many sections of each city. I saw a lot of homes that were unfinished. The construction is usually concrete block and a tin roof if you’ve got the money. Otherwise, the construction is usually discarded plywood, cardboard, newspaper, and anything else that can be put together.
The first thing I noticed going into a third world country is the rush of people as we left the airport doors. The next sensation is the smell from cooking fires and open sewers. The poverty that is everywhere is overwhelming. Women and children are selling toilet paper, peanuts, maps, and almost anything else imaginable on the side of the road.
I’ve seen the daily wage for a skilled laborer increase from $1 a day in 2003 to $3 a day in 2005. Now, the wages are close to $7 to $9 a day. This sounds like a great improvement until you realize that the cost of food and gas is same as here in the USA. It’s at that point that it is a wonder how it is possible to feed a family. The per capita income is around $600 per year. The goal is to reach $1,000 per year by 2010. College tuition is about $5,000 per year for your best universities in the major cities with in Ghana. It costs about $50 per year to pay for one year of high school.
Ghana has several benefits to help people survive the poverty. Ghana has a tight family structure which helps people through many hardships. The tribes of Ghana are the social fabric that ties the families together. Most of all, people have to rely on God when there’s no other answer to how to survive.
I have a theory based on the countries described in the Old Testament. The countries put all of their hope in God when there was no other place to go to get help. As the country prospered, the people were faithful and worshiped God. They put all of their hope and trust in God. Amazing things would happen. The people gave all of the credit and glory to God. The impossible became possible. The unseen became visible. The people prospered.
At some point in the life of the nation, the people forgot about God and his blessings. The people became prideful. The faithful generations are replaced with a generation who does not know God. They believed that their prosperity was the result of their abilities and their strength. The people forgot that God provided for their every need. In fact, their abilities and their strength were from God.
Today, the capital city of Accra appears affluent compared to the rest of the country of Ghana. Accra has a few modern highways and a lot of cars. The construction is getting better and stronger. Ghana is still a cash based society. The currency is the Cedi. The cedi used to be valued 10,000 Cedis to $1.00. They divided the currency by 10,000 last year which really helped. It used to require a shopping bag to carry money to buy your groceries. Cash is required before starting any project. The idea of credit basically does not exist. America is learning what life is like to operate under a cash-based society.
Ghana gained its independence from Great Britain in 1957. The country struggled and a dictator brutally held power in Ghana until he decided to write a constitution which stated that a president could be elected to two four-year terms. The dictator won both terms and later he peacefully allowed for a peaceful transition from a dictatorship to a democracy with an elected president and congress.
Ghana has experienced a renewal since the dictator was voted out of power about eight years ago. The second peaceful change of power just happened in Ghana in December when a new president was elected. I saw the first shopping mall in Ghana in November 2008. I was amazed that I was in Ghana and could have a pizza and buy electronics in a regular store. Ghana is beginning to have a middle class.
The country has a lot of public works projects. There’s a major hydroelectric dam in Ghana which the British used to generate power that was sold out of Ghana. The dictator continued the same practice. It has only been the last five years that the country started to build power lines throughout the country. Now, some of the power lines are being extended to smaller towns and villages. In fact, it is almost commonplace for a grass hut to have electricity in some places.
The other main public work project being done is the building of open sewers. The open sewer is just a concrete ditch which collects all of the sewage from the homes and businesses. The open sewer carries the human waste to the nearest river or stream. The concept of waste water treatment plants or septic systems is still only a dream. In front of every home and business is the open sewer. We have to walk over the sewer to get into a store or home.
The unemployment rate in Ghana is very high. There’s very little industry and commerce in Ghana. Most jobs are farming. Mining and fishing are big in certain regions of the country. Ghana still has children who are sold into slavery to untangle the fishing nets on the Volta Lake. There are also child laborers in the gold mines in Ghana. I’ve been asked to help the children, but I haven’t figured out how to help eliminate slavery yet. Most of the slavery is in parts of Ghana where I haven’t worked yet. The parents sell their children so that they can feed the rest of their children. The slavers promise to put the kids into school and give the kids a better life. The slavers lie. They don’t keep the promise.
I saw the face of HIV/AIDS on my trip to Zambia last year. Ghana doesn’t have nearly the problem with AIDS as Zambia. I worked to build an orphanage in the copper mining region of northern Zambia in a town called Ndola. The orphanage educates kids that are orphans due to war, AIDS, and poverty. Zambia is next door to the long-term war in the Congo. Parents have to choose which children they can feed and which child will have to starve to death. The child who is selected to starve to death is considered an economic orphan. The children whose parents died of AIDS are also educated and fed at the orphanage and school. Most of the children at the orphanage get their only meal at the school.
I went to Zambia in January 2007 to be on a medical and orphan mission trip. I realized in Zambia that the country had children and grandparents, but that the parent’s generation had died of HIV/AIDS. It hit me hard. That is my generation. I can’t imagine not being there to raise my family. It was hard for a very elderly man. He was sick and the only family for his grandchildren. The parents had died of AIDS and he was worried what would happen to his grandchildren when he died. The economic hardship of AIDS can be felt in a country like Zambia.
I went to Ndola Baptist Church while I was in Zambia. They were having a college outreach service for all of the local universities. Their core message was to watch out for the “sugar daddies” roaming the edges of the colleges to share their gift of death with them. The church was preaching abstinence so that the college students could finish school and avoid the impact that HIV/AIDS had on their parent’s generation. The church was starting home and dorm churches to reach the college students in their town. The renewal and growth at that church was very impressive.
Healthcare is very poor in Ghana. Ghana has nationalized healthcare where health insurance can be purchased for $20 per year. The hospitals and clinics in Ghana have very little to care for patients. The medical care has to be paid in cash at the time that care is given. Most hospitals have to go out to buy prescriptions after money is paid. The families of the patients usually bring food and medicine into the hospital for the patient.
I met an ophthalmologist when he came to Virginia. Dr. Seth Wanye is the only eye doctor for 8 million people. He asked for help for his eye clinic. He needed newer medical equipment. I was in Dr. Wanye’s eye clinic when an ear, nose, and throat doctor grabbed me by the collar to tell me that I needed to help the hospital as well. Dr. Jim Murphy retired from his practice in Kearny, New Jersey so that he could move to the bush of Ghana to help people in need.
Dr. Murphy told me that there were two Rotary clubs in Texas and New Jersey that needed help to send medical equipment to Africa. It took about a year and one half to write a grant, raise the money, conduct a needs assessment, work with Project C.U.R.E. to obtain the medical equipment and finally ship the two containers to Africa from Denver, Colorado and Phoenix, Arizona.
I received two phone calls on Friday, February 11, 2009 that the last of the two containers had arrived at the Tamale Teaching Hospital and Tamale Eye Clinic. The hospital is in the Northern Region of Ghana. The two containers arrived in Ghana around December 18, 2008. I had hoped that the container would arrive for Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years, and finally for Valentine’s Day. It took a lot of phone calls to the shippers, the Ghana Ministry of Health, the shipping companies, and to the hospital before all of the red tape was finally cut. Some of the medical supplies were taken out of the containers because the bandages and gauze had “expiration dates.” The medical supplies will probably end up on the black market.
I received about eight shots to go to West Africa the first time for polio, malaria, yellow fever, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, and many other diseases. The average person in Ghana doesn’t have protection against these diseases. I’ve learned about malaria. Everyone in Ghana gets malaria like we get the common cold. Malaria is life threatening the first time and it is a lot like pneumonia each time someone gets malaria again. I met a sixteen year old girl with tuberculosis (TB) at the Tamale Hospital. Tuberculosis has completely destroyed her lungs. She had the lungs of an eighty year old woman. She will probably die in a few years.
I was speaking at a church in Stewart, Virginia a few years ago about building schools and churches in Ghana. A man came up to me after the service and asked me if I knew how to dig a well in Africa. I told him that I didn’t know. He told me that he thought there were a few Rotary Clubs in southwestern Virginia who might be willing to raise enough money to dig ONE well. On my next trip to Ghana I opened my eyes to see the polluted rivers, streams, and water in Ghana. I came home determined to raise the money to dig that well. Our goal was to raise $15,000 to drill a borehole. A borehole is what we think of as a drilled well. A hand dug well is usually a shallow well. Both a hand dug well and borehole usually have a hand pump to pump the water into a bucket which is carried several miles to the family home.
I learned about water borne diseases. Many of the illnesses in Ghana are caused by drinking bad water. We focused on two of them. People go blind because they do not have clean water to wash their hands and face. That disease is called trachoma. The other disease is caused by a parasite called the guinea worm. The guinea worm infects a water flea. People drink the infected water containing the water flea. The water flea dies, but the parasite grows to be three feet long in the body over the course of a year. The guinea worm parasite comes out of the body one inch at a time over several weeks to two months. The place where the guinea worm is coming out of the body feels like a hot iron burned the skin.
The Jimmy Carter Center started in 1987 to eliminate the guinea worm parasite. Now, the parasite only exists in Ghana, Nigeria, and the Sudan. We hope that the parasite will be eradicated from Ghana by 2010. We had over 3,000 cases in 2007 and less than 500 cases in 2008. There are only 100 cases so far in 2009.
We’ve written four clean water Rotary grants so far. The first grant was for $75,000. The second grant was for $150,000. The third and fourth grants equal $250,000. That is almost $500,000 since 2007. The money was raised in California, Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts. We have support in the countries of Switzerland, Canada and Great Britain. We partnered with the Methodist Church, Rotary, the Jimmy Carter Center, and Ghana Guinea Worm Eradication Program. I’m getting known as the water guy.
My first passion in Ghana was for the schools run by Come Preach Christ Church in the slums of Kumasi. The first time in Ghana in 2003, I saw school buildings that would be condemned in America. I was amazed that the kids really studied hard. They asked for prayers. They didn’t ask for me to pray for an “A.” They asked me to pray for them to be able to study hard. I didn’t see a way to help. In fact, I didn’t think about the schools again until two years later.
I began to get word from God that I was to take my first mission team to Ghana. I had all kinds of excuses why I couldn’t go. I was supporting a local mission project. I have four kids. I didn’t have a team. It took time and money to get a team together. God kept telling me that I needed to go. The team came together quickly. We were in Ghana within about two months from that first push from God.
I found out that the chief of the village of Amanfrom near Kumasi had told the students and the teachers that they needed to find another school. The high school students went to the principal to ask if there was a rich man in Kumasi who could save their school. The principal told the students that there was not a rich man who could save the school. The principal suggested that the high school students should fast and pray to save their school. The students fasted and prayed for their school.
The chief secretly sued to steal the school, the clinic, and the church. The court case was held the day that our mission team landed in the country. The female judge asked the chief why a chief would try to close the only school and clinic in his village. The chief claimed that the school did not have any hope. The school didn’t have working bathrooms, running water, or electricity. The chief stated that it would be better if the school was closed. The judge ruled in favor of the school and against the chief.
The next day, our mission team was at the school. Building supplies were delivered. The men and women of Amanfrom were hired to build the school. Our team did not know about the chief’s lawsuit or the high school students who were fasting or praying. I just know that God began to move on my heart at the exact same time that the high school students started to fast and pray!
We grew the elementary, middle, and high school from 200 students to over 500 students. We built a second story onto the high school. We built a dormitory and a kitchen and cooking area. The school received water outside of the school, working bathroom, and new classrooms the first year. We added electricity the next year. The following year, the school opened up its computer lab.
I’ve seen the students grow up and become leaders. I admire the cook at the school. Her name is called Sister Dora. She cooks for all of those kids every day. The school was damaged last year in a wind storm similar to a hurricane. A lot of the computers and books were damaged in the storm.
I hope to be able to go to the school this year near Kumasi. I’ve had to spend a lot of time in northern Ghana where the water needs are so great. I explained that the church and school in Kumasi needed to share me with the rest of Ghana. The Come Preach Christ Church roof is still off. They are praying to find the money to replace the roof.
The first thing I noticed going into a third world country is the rush of people as we left the airport doors. The next sensation is the smell from cooking fires and open sewers. The poverty that is everywhere is overwhelming. Women and children are selling toilet paper, peanuts, maps, and almost anything else imaginable on the side of the road.
I’ve seen the daily wage for a skilled laborer increase from $1 a day in 2003 to $3 a day in 2005. Now, the wages are close to $7 to $9 a day. This sounds like a great improvement until you realize that the cost of food and gas is same as here in the USA. It’s at that point that it is a wonder how it is possible to feed a family. The per capita income is around $600 per year. The goal is to reach $1,000 per year by 2010. College tuition is about $5,000 per year for your best universities in the major cities with in Ghana. It costs about $50 per year to pay for one year of high school.
Ghana has several benefits to help people survive the poverty. Ghana has a tight family structure which helps people through many hardships. The tribes of Ghana are the social fabric that ties the families together. Most of all, people have to rely on God when there’s no other answer to how to survive.
I have a theory based on the countries described in the Old Testament. The countries put all of their hope in God when there was no other place to go to get help. As the country prospered, the people were faithful and worshiped God. They put all of their hope and trust in God. Amazing things would happen. The people gave all of the credit and glory to God. The impossible became possible. The unseen became visible. The people prospered.
At some point in the life of the nation, the people forgot about God and his blessings. The people became prideful. The faithful generations are replaced with a generation who does not know God. They believed that their prosperity was the result of their abilities and their strength. The people forgot that God provided for their every need. In fact, their abilities and their strength were from God.
Today, the capital city of Accra appears affluent compared to the rest of the country of Ghana. Accra has a few modern highways and a lot of cars. The construction is getting better and stronger. Ghana is still a cash based society. The currency is the Cedi. The cedi used to be valued 10,000 Cedis to $1.00. They divided the currency by 10,000 last year which really helped. It used to require a shopping bag to carry money to buy your groceries. Cash is required before starting any project. The idea of credit basically does not exist. America is learning what life is like to operate under a cash-based society.
Ghana gained its independence from Great Britain in 1957. The country struggled and a dictator brutally held power in Ghana until he decided to write a constitution which stated that a president could be elected to two four-year terms. The dictator won both terms and later he peacefully allowed for a peaceful transition from a dictatorship to a democracy with an elected president and congress.
Ghana has experienced a renewal since the dictator was voted out of power about eight years ago. The second peaceful change of power just happened in Ghana in December when a new president was elected. I saw the first shopping mall in Ghana in November 2008. I was amazed that I was in Ghana and could have a pizza and buy electronics in a regular store. Ghana is beginning to have a middle class.
The country has a lot of public works projects. There’s a major hydroelectric dam in Ghana which the British used to generate power that was sold out of Ghana. The dictator continued the same practice. It has only been the last five years that the country started to build power lines throughout the country. Now, some of the power lines are being extended to smaller towns and villages. In fact, it is almost commonplace for a grass hut to have electricity in some places.
The other main public work project being done is the building of open sewers. The open sewer is just a concrete ditch which collects all of the sewage from the homes and businesses. The open sewer carries the human waste to the nearest river or stream. The concept of waste water treatment plants or septic systems is still only a dream. In front of every home and business is the open sewer. We have to walk over the sewer to get into a store or home.
The unemployment rate in Ghana is very high. There’s very little industry and commerce in Ghana. Most jobs are farming. Mining and fishing are big in certain regions of the country. Ghana still has children who are sold into slavery to untangle the fishing nets on the Volta Lake. There are also child laborers in the gold mines in Ghana. I’ve been asked to help the children, but I haven’t figured out how to help eliminate slavery yet. Most of the slavery is in parts of Ghana where I haven’t worked yet. The parents sell their children so that they can feed the rest of their children. The slavers promise to put the kids into school and give the kids a better life. The slavers lie. They don’t keep the promise.
I saw the face of HIV/AIDS on my trip to Zambia last year. Ghana doesn’t have nearly the problem with AIDS as Zambia. I worked to build an orphanage in the copper mining region of northern Zambia in a town called Ndola. The orphanage educates kids that are orphans due to war, AIDS, and poverty. Zambia is next door to the long-term war in the Congo. Parents have to choose which children they can feed and which child will have to starve to death. The child who is selected to starve to death is considered an economic orphan. The children whose parents died of AIDS are also educated and fed at the orphanage and school. Most of the children at the orphanage get their only meal at the school.
I went to Zambia in January 2007 to be on a medical and orphan mission trip. I realized in Zambia that the country had children and grandparents, but that the parent’s generation had died of HIV/AIDS. It hit me hard. That is my generation. I can’t imagine not being there to raise my family. It was hard for a very elderly man. He was sick and the only family for his grandchildren. The parents had died of AIDS and he was worried what would happen to his grandchildren when he died. The economic hardship of AIDS can be felt in a country like Zambia.
I went to Ndola Baptist Church while I was in Zambia. They were having a college outreach service for all of the local universities. Their core message was to watch out for the “sugar daddies” roaming the edges of the colleges to share their gift of death with them. The church was preaching abstinence so that the college students could finish school and avoid the impact that HIV/AIDS had on their parent’s generation. The church was starting home and dorm churches to reach the college students in their town. The renewal and growth at that church was very impressive.
Healthcare is very poor in Ghana. Ghana has nationalized healthcare where health insurance can be purchased for $20 per year. The hospitals and clinics in Ghana have very little to care for patients. The medical care has to be paid in cash at the time that care is given. Most hospitals have to go out to buy prescriptions after money is paid. The families of the patients usually bring food and medicine into the hospital for the patient.
I met an ophthalmologist when he came to Virginia. Dr. Seth Wanye is the only eye doctor for 8 million people. He asked for help for his eye clinic. He needed newer medical equipment. I was in Dr. Wanye’s eye clinic when an ear, nose, and throat doctor grabbed me by the collar to tell me that I needed to help the hospital as well. Dr. Jim Murphy retired from his practice in Kearny, New Jersey so that he could move to the bush of Ghana to help people in need.
Dr. Murphy told me that there were two Rotary clubs in Texas and New Jersey that needed help to send medical equipment to Africa. It took about a year and one half to write a grant, raise the money, conduct a needs assessment, work with Project C.U.R.E. to obtain the medical equipment and finally ship the two containers to Africa from Denver, Colorado and Phoenix, Arizona.
I received two phone calls on Friday, February 11, 2009 that the last of the two containers had arrived at the Tamale Teaching Hospital and Tamale Eye Clinic. The hospital is in the Northern Region of Ghana. The two containers arrived in Ghana around December 18, 2008. I had hoped that the container would arrive for Thanksgiving, then Christmas, then New Years, and finally for Valentine’s Day. It took a lot of phone calls to the shippers, the Ghana Ministry of Health, the shipping companies, and to the hospital before all of the red tape was finally cut. Some of the medical supplies were taken out of the containers because the bandages and gauze had “expiration dates.” The medical supplies will probably end up on the black market.
I received about eight shots to go to West Africa the first time for polio, malaria, yellow fever, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, and many other diseases. The average person in Ghana doesn’t have protection against these diseases. I’ve learned about malaria. Everyone in Ghana gets malaria like we get the common cold. Malaria is life threatening the first time and it is a lot like pneumonia each time someone gets malaria again. I met a sixteen year old girl with tuberculosis (TB) at the Tamale Hospital. Tuberculosis has completely destroyed her lungs. She had the lungs of an eighty year old woman. She will probably die in a few years.
I was speaking at a church in Stewart, Virginia a few years ago about building schools and churches in Ghana. A man came up to me after the service and asked me if I knew how to dig a well in Africa. I told him that I didn’t know. He told me that he thought there were a few Rotary Clubs in southwestern Virginia who might be willing to raise enough money to dig ONE well. On my next trip to Ghana I opened my eyes to see the polluted rivers, streams, and water in Ghana. I came home determined to raise the money to dig that well. Our goal was to raise $15,000 to drill a borehole. A borehole is what we think of as a drilled well. A hand dug well is usually a shallow well. Both a hand dug well and borehole usually have a hand pump to pump the water into a bucket which is carried several miles to the family home.
I learned about water borne diseases. Many of the illnesses in Ghana are caused by drinking bad water. We focused on two of them. People go blind because they do not have clean water to wash their hands and face. That disease is called trachoma. The other disease is caused by a parasite called the guinea worm. The guinea worm infects a water flea. People drink the infected water containing the water flea. The water flea dies, but the parasite grows to be three feet long in the body over the course of a year. The guinea worm parasite comes out of the body one inch at a time over several weeks to two months. The place where the guinea worm is coming out of the body feels like a hot iron burned the skin.
The Jimmy Carter Center started in 1987 to eliminate the guinea worm parasite. Now, the parasite only exists in Ghana, Nigeria, and the Sudan. We hope that the parasite will be eradicated from Ghana by 2010. We had over 3,000 cases in 2007 and less than 500 cases in 2008. There are only 100 cases so far in 2009.
We’ve written four clean water Rotary grants so far. The first grant was for $75,000. The second grant was for $150,000. The third and fourth grants equal $250,000. That is almost $500,000 since 2007. The money was raised in California, Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts. We have support in the countries of Switzerland, Canada and Great Britain. We partnered with the Methodist Church, Rotary, the Jimmy Carter Center, and Ghana Guinea Worm Eradication Program. I’m getting known as the water guy.
My first passion in Ghana was for the schools run by Come Preach Christ Church in the slums of Kumasi. The first time in Ghana in 2003, I saw school buildings that would be condemned in America. I was amazed that the kids really studied hard. They asked for prayers. They didn’t ask for me to pray for an “A.” They asked me to pray for them to be able to study hard. I didn’t see a way to help. In fact, I didn’t think about the schools again until two years later.
I began to get word from God that I was to take my first mission team to Ghana. I had all kinds of excuses why I couldn’t go. I was supporting a local mission project. I have four kids. I didn’t have a team. It took time and money to get a team together. God kept telling me that I needed to go. The team came together quickly. We were in Ghana within about two months from that first push from God.
I found out that the chief of the village of Amanfrom near Kumasi had told the students and the teachers that they needed to find another school. The high school students went to the principal to ask if there was a rich man in Kumasi who could save their school. The principal told the students that there was not a rich man who could save the school. The principal suggested that the high school students should fast and pray to save their school. The students fasted and prayed for their school.
The chief secretly sued to steal the school, the clinic, and the church. The court case was held the day that our mission team landed in the country. The female judge asked the chief why a chief would try to close the only school and clinic in his village. The chief claimed that the school did not have any hope. The school didn’t have working bathrooms, running water, or electricity. The chief stated that it would be better if the school was closed. The judge ruled in favor of the school and against the chief.
The next day, our mission team was at the school. Building supplies were delivered. The men and women of Amanfrom were hired to build the school. Our team did not know about the chief’s lawsuit or the high school students who were fasting or praying. I just know that God began to move on my heart at the exact same time that the high school students started to fast and pray!
We grew the elementary, middle, and high school from 200 students to over 500 students. We built a second story onto the high school. We built a dormitory and a kitchen and cooking area. The school received water outside of the school, working bathroom, and new classrooms the first year. We added electricity the next year. The following year, the school opened up its computer lab.
I’ve seen the students grow up and become leaders. I admire the cook at the school. Her name is called Sister Dora. She cooks for all of those kids every day. The school was damaged last year in a wind storm similar to a hurricane. A lot of the computers and books were damaged in the storm.
I hope to be able to go to the school this year near Kumasi. I’ve had to spend a lot of time in northern Ghana where the water needs are so great. I explained that the church and school in Kumasi needed to share me with the rest of Ghana. The Come Preach Christ Church roof is still off. They are praying to find the money to replace the roof.
Focus on the Little Things
There’s a time in our lives when God asks us to do something. We think that if God asked us to do the impossible that it must be worthy of God. Sometimes, God wants us to focus on the little things in our lives to serve him better. There’s a time in our lives when we ask God to do something for us. It is called a prayer.
The challenge is that we tell God when and how to answer our prayer. We don’t give God leeway to answer our prayer in his time. We don’t give God leeway to answer our prayer in His way. It’s got to be our way or the highway. In fact, when God answer’s in his way and in his time, we sometimes don’t realize that God is there at all. Usually, God has a better answer to our prayers if only we were open to seeing God’s grace in our lives.
Naaman was a very important commander for a foreign country. He was loved by his king because he won many wars for his country. His country of Aram is near modern day Syria. He had leprosy. Leprosy is a disease that still exists in this world. I prayed for a young girl with leprosy in Ghana a few years ago. Parts of her toes had fallen off her foot and her skin was very fragile. I thought leprosy was an ancient disease, but it still exists.
Naaman’s wife had a Jewish slave who said that God could heal Naaman. Naaman was told to go to Samaria to find the prophet Elisha. In the case of Naaman it was something easy that he had to do. The prophet Elisha asked Naaman to go wash in the Jordan River seven times to cure his leprosy. Naaman’s instinct was anger because it wasn’t dramatic. I think Naaman imagined a scene from a Hollywood movie where Elisha would come, raise his arms, and declare to God to heal Naaman. He thought God should be like something from “Ben Hur” or the “Ten Commandments” movie.
Let’s hear the story in 2 Kings 5:1-14 (NIV): “Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." … Elisha said “Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."
“But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.”
Naaman received clear instructions from Elisha what he had to do to be healed from leprosy. It was easy to do. Was he thankful or happy about the news? No. He was angry. He let his pride get in the way of having a relationship with God. Naaman’s pride overwhelmed his ability to listen to God. He thought that a rich and powerful man should have a rich and powerful answer from God. He was looking for the red carpet treatment from Elisha. Naaman wanted the pomp and circumstance that he thought was worthy of his position in life.
Naaman didn’t realize that one doesn’t have to be someone special or important to receive the gift of God’s grace in our lives. We just have to believe that God loves us. In fact, Naaman was in a rage. His first thought was that the rivers back home were cleaner than the muddy Jordan River. He just didn’t understand how taking a bath seven times would cure his leprosy. The number seven represents God’s covenant with mankind. God was offering to give Naaman the answer to his prayers. God was also offering to give his covenant with Naaman.
The scripture from 2 Kings continue: “Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.”
Naaman was fortunate that he had faithful and wise servants who were willing to tell him to listen to God. Today, we need to be fortunate enough to have friends and family who are willing to tell us to listen to God. Once we are reminded to listen to God, then we have to do what God wants to do. For Naaman, he had to listen and then he had to act. It wasn’t something that he had to do. In fact, we’ve probably been told at some point in our lives to go jump “in a lake.” For Naaman jumping into the Jordan River healed his skin of the horrible disease of leprosy.
Our New Testament story is from Mark 1:40-42. This story is about another man with leprosy. This man was open to meeting Jesus without pride and pretense. “Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.”
The believed in the power of Jesus Christ to heal, but he doubted that he was worthy of the love of Jesus Christ to heal. That is why the leper asked Jesus if he was willing. He was looking for God’s grace to heal even those of us who are not worthy of God’s grace and forgiveness. Jesus told the leper that he was willing to heal. Jesus laid his hand on the leper. Jesus gave the power to heal with his touch. The leper experienced a powerful touch from Jesus that allowed the leper to feel the love of God.
I had wonderful news this week about a man who had wonderful news. Franklin Furrow has lung cancer in both of his lungs. The doctors told him that the tumors were larger than the size of a grapefruit or softballs. The tumors were different types. I spent a few hours with Franklin Furrow at the hospital. We read a lot of the scriptures in Luke that describe the healing experiences that are told in the Gospel of Luke. Franklin and I prayed in the hospital about a month ago.
This week, the doctor did tests on Franklin’s lungs. The x-rays showed that one of the tumors had decreased in size by 33%. The other tumor can’t be found. It completely disappeared. Franklin has gone through eight rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. We prayed together. Franklin experienced the power of God’s grace when we prayed. It was so wonderful to feel the power of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way when we prayed. Franklin felt that he deserved cancer because he smoked for so many years.
The fact about grace is simple. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. God’s grace was paid because Jesus Christ died on the cross so that we could be saved from our sin and to live life abundantly on earth and to have eternal salvation.
Let’s open our eyes to God’s answer to our prayers. Let’s be willing to allow God to work in our lives according to his plan and his timing. First, we need to let go of our pride, our anger, or whatever we hold onto that keeps us from having a relationship with God. Second, we need to focus on the little things in our lives to serve God better. We need to believe that if we pray to God he will answer our prayers. Third, we need to be willing to allow God to answer our prayers according to his plan and his timing. God has a better answer to our prayers if we are open to see God’s grace in our lives.
The challenge is that we tell God when and how to answer our prayer. We don’t give God leeway to answer our prayer in his time. We don’t give God leeway to answer our prayer in His way. It’s got to be our way or the highway. In fact, when God answer’s in his way and in his time, we sometimes don’t realize that God is there at all. Usually, God has a better answer to our prayers if only we were open to seeing God’s grace in our lives.
Naaman was a very important commander for a foreign country. He was loved by his king because he won many wars for his country. His country of Aram is near modern day Syria. He had leprosy. Leprosy is a disease that still exists in this world. I prayed for a young girl with leprosy in Ghana a few years ago. Parts of her toes had fallen off her foot and her skin was very fragile. I thought leprosy was an ancient disease, but it still exists.
Naaman’s wife had a Jewish slave who said that God could heal Naaman. Naaman was told to go to Samaria to find the prophet Elisha. In the case of Naaman it was something easy that he had to do. The prophet Elisha asked Naaman to go wash in the Jordan River seven times to cure his leprosy. Naaman’s instinct was anger because it wasn’t dramatic. I think Naaman imagined a scene from a Hollywood movie where Elisha would come, raise his arms, and declare to God to heal Naaman. He thought God should be like something from “Ben Hur” or the “Ten Commandments” movie.
Let’s hear the story in 2 Kings 5:1-14 (NIV): “Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." … Elisha said “Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."
“But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.”
Naaman received clear instructions from Elisha what he had to do to be healed from leprosy. It was easy to do. Was he thankful or happy about the news? No. He was angry. He let his pride get in the way of having a relationship with God. Naaman’s pride overwhelmed his ability to listen to God. He thought that a rich and powerful man should have a rich and powerful answer from God. He was looking for the red carpet treatment from Elisha. Naaman wanted the pomp and circumstance that he thought was worthy of his position in life.
Naaman didn’t realize that one doesn’t have to be someone special or important to receive the gift of God’s grace in our lives. We just have to believe that God loves us. In fact, Naaman was in a rage. His first thought was that the rivers back home were cleaner than the muddy Jordan River. He just didn’t understand how taking a bath seven times would cure his leprosy. The number seven represents God’s covenant with mankind. God was offering to give Naaman the answer to his prayers. God was also offering to give his covenant with Naaman.
The scripture from 2 Kings continue: “Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.”
Naaman was fortunate that he had faithful and wise servants who were willing to tell him to listen to God. Today, we need to be fortunate enough to have friends and family who are willing to tell us to listen to God. Once we are reminded to listen to God, then we have to do what God wants to do. For Naaman, he had to listen and then he had to act. It wasn’t something that he had to do. In fact, we’ve probably been told at some point in our lives to go jump “in a lake.” For Naaman jumping into the Jordan River healed his skin of the horrible disease of leprosy.
Our New Testament story is from Mark 1:40-42. This story is about another man with leprosy. This man was open to meeting Jesus without pride and pretense. “Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.”
The believed in the power of Jesus Christ to heal, but he doubted that he was worthy of the love of Jesus Christ to heal. That is why the leper asked Jesus if he was willing. He was looking for God’s grace to heal even those of us who are not worthy of God’s grace and forgiveness. Jesus told the leper that he was willing to heal. Jesus laid his hand on the leper. Jesus gave the power to heal with his touch. The leper experienced a powerful touch from Jesus that allowed the leper to feel the love of God.
I had wonderful news this week about a man who had wonderful news. Franklin Furrow has lung cancer in both of his lungs. The doctors told him that the tumors were larger than the size of a grapefruit or softballs. The tumors were different types. I spent a few hours with Franklin Furrow at the hospital. We read a lot of the scriptures in Luke that describe the healing experiences that are told in the Gospel of Luke. Franklin and I prayed in the hospital about a month ago.
This week, the doctor did tests on Franklin’s lungs. The x-rays showed that one of the tumors had decreased in size by 33%. The other tumor can’t be found. It completely disappeared. Franklin has gone through eight rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. We prayed together. Franklin experienced the power of God’s grace when we prayed. It was so wonderful to feel the power of the Holy Spirit in a powerful way when we prayed. Franklin felt that he deserved cancer because he smoked for so many years.
The fact about grace is simple. Grace is getting what we do not deserve. God’s grace was paid because Jesus Christ died on the cross so that we could be saved from our sin and to live life abundantly on earth and to have eternal salvation.
Let’s open our eyes to God’s answer to our prayers. Let’s be willing to allow God to work in our lives according to his plan and his timing. First, we need to let go of our pride, our anger, or whatever we hold onto that keeps us from having a relationship with God. Second, we need to focus on the little things in our lives to serve God better. We need to believe that if we pray to God he will answer our prayers. Third, we need to be willing to allow God to answer our prayers according to his plan and his timing. God has a better answer to our prayers if we are open to see God’s grace in our lives.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Serving and Healing
Our natural instinct after God has touched us is to find a way to serve God by serving others. God can touch our lives in many ways. Healing is just one of the ways that God can touch us.
Today’s scripture from the gospel of Mark is about being a servant. The story is told in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is interesting that all of the scriptures talk about what happened after the synagogue. The scriptures start when Jesus and the disciples are leaving church. There’s a message here that God’s work starts when we walk out the church doors into the world.
The scripture from Mark 1:29-39 reads “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.”
Luke 4: 38-41 tells us that “Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.”
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus was asked to help Simon’s mother-in-law. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus touched her hand and he rebuked the fever. Each one emphasized a special part of the story. The disciples saw a woman with a high fever and asked Jesus for help. Jesus touched her hand. He rebuked the fever. She was healed. She immediately felt that she should serve Jesus and those who had compassion for her.
Service is one of the spiritual gifts. Simon’s mother-in-law had the gift of service. We overlook the gift of service because it is not flashy, but it is so important. In fact, Jesus taught us about being a servant. He led by example. At his last supper, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Simon’s mother-in-law felt gratitude for being healed. Her natural response was to serve Jesus and the disciples.
We need to be ready and willing to serve. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. Ephesians 6:7 tells us to “serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.” 1 Peter 4:11 says “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”
We show people that we love them when we are willing to be a servant in their time of need. We are showing God’s love to them. We are being the hands and face of Jesus Christ to them because God is using us to serve our family, friends, and even strangers. God appoints us to his service. In the case of Simon’s mother-in-law by serving she “is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:12) We give our time, our talents, and our tithes to God. We serve God by serving those in need and those who need God’s love.
According to Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. …
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
We are all on body of Christ when we use the gifts that God has given us. Some of us will be teachers or preachers. Some of us will serve silently those that are in need, but we are all equal in our service. We are all one body of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12 it says that we can’t all be eyes or ears or hands. Our physical body is made up of many parts. We need the ears to hear, the eyes to see, the tongue to taste, and the hands to touch. If we only had eyes, how would we walk? If we only had ears, how would we feel? All parts of our physical body are equal. All parts of Christ’s spiritual body are equal. A person visiting a shut-in is just as important as the person preaching the gospel. A person bringing food to the sick is as critical to God’s kingdom as the teacher. Each one is showing God’s love in a critical and important way.
The scripture continues in Mark 1:32 “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.”
People were drawn to Jesus because of the stories of healing of the sick. In fact, the whole town gathered to see Jesus heal all kinds of diseases. Jesus wanted people to stay on the message about the gospel of peace and love. It is natural for people to be attracted to the signs, miracles, and wonders, but they need to believe without seeing the miracles.
I love seeing people in need, praying for them, having Jesus hear the prayer, Jesus healing the sick, and rejoicing when the sick are healed. I believe in the gifts of healing. The gifts of healing are one of the Spiritual Gifts just like the gifts of serving, teaching, or preaching. The gift of serving is just as vital a gift and equal to the gifts of healing.
Acts 28:27b-28 states “We pray you will see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and understand in your heart, and in turn, God will heal you. Therefore, I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to you and you will listen.”
I visited a friend at Franklin Memorial last week. He has cancer in both lungs. We studied a lot of the healing scriptures in Luke. We read about the woman touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak. She reached out for Jesus in faith. Jesus felt the power of the Holy Spirit leave him when she touched him. Luke 7:7-10 tells about a Roman Centurion who was concerned about his servant who was about to die. The Roman Centurion asked Jesus to “But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
In the story of the Roman Centurion, Jesus was not near the servant, but the servant was healed. I believe unity of faith is critical to praying for healing. The woman who touched the cloak of Jesus was unified in her faith with Jesus. The Roman Centurion was unified in his faith with Jesus for a servant who was at a distance. We don’t know if the servant had faith. We just know that the Roman Centurion believed that if Jesus spoke the words of healing, that the servant would be healed.
In Luke 5, we have the familiar story of the four men cutting a hole in the roof to lower their paralyzed friend down to Jesus. The scripture tells us that “the power of the Lord was present for Jesus to heal the sick.” It was the unity of faith of the four men who carried their friend to be healed. The four men had the unity of faith to have a common purpose. They believed that if they could get the paralyzed man to Jesus that their friend would be healed. They were right.
In each of these stories, the situation was different, but the results were the same. The person who needed healing came to Jesus in one, the person was carried to Jesus in another by his friends, the person who needed healing was at a distance, and in the case of Simon’s mother-in-law, Jesus and his disciples came to her to heal. The common threads in these stories are faith, love, hope, and compassion.
Mark 1:35-39 the story continues “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues…”
Jesus needed to pray to regain his spiritual strength after healing so many people. He also set the example for us that we need to find time to pray to get closer to God and regain our spiritual strength so we can go out and serve God using our spiritual gifts. Jesus also wanted to go to the nearby villages to preach the gospel. He states that preaching the gospel is the reason that he has come.
Each of us needs to find what it takes to renew ourselves spiritually. Praying to God, singing praise songs, worshiping together are just a few of the ways to renew ourselves spiritually. Also, when we are using the spiritual gifts God has given we are energized in a wonderful way. I’d like to close with these words from Isaiah 40:31 “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Let us hope in the Lord and soar on wings like eagles as we go out into the world to serve our fellow man. Amen.
Today’s scripture from the gospel of Mark is about being a servant. The story is told in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is interesting that all of the scriptures talk about what happened after the synagogue. The scriptures start when Jesus and the disciples are leaving church. There’s a message here that God’s work starts when we walk out the church doors into the world.
The scripture from Mark 1:29-39 reads “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.”
Luke 4: 38-41 tells us that “Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.”
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus was asked to help Simon’s mother-in-law. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus touched her hand and he rebuked the fever. Each one emphasized a special part of the story. The disciples saw a woman with a high fever and asked Jesus for help. Jesus touched her hand. He rebuked the fever. She was healed. She immediately felt that she should serve Jesus and those who had compassion for her.
Service is one of the spiritual gifts. Simon’s mother-in-law had the gift of service. We overlook the gift of service because it is not flashy, but it is so important. In fact, Jesus taught us about being a servant. He led by example. At his last supper, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Simon’s mother-in-law felt gratitude for being healed. Her natural response was to serve Jesus and the disciples.
We need to be ready and willing to serve. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. Ephesians 6:7 tells us to “serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.” 1 Peter 4:11 says “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”
We show people that we love them when we are willing to be a servant in their time of need. We are showing God’s love to them. We are being the hands and face of Jesus Christ to them because God is using us to serve our family, friends, and even strangers. God appoints us to his service. In the case of Simon’s mother-in-law by serving she “is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:12) We give our time, our talents, and our tithes to God. We serve God by serving those in need and those who need God’s love.
According to Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. …
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
We are all on body of Christ when we use the gifts that God has given us. Some of us will be teachers or preachers. Some of us will serve silently those that are in need, but we are all equal in our service. We are all one body of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12 it says that we can’t all be eyes or ears or hands. Our physical body is made up of many parts. We need the ears to hear, the eyes to see, the tongue to taste, and the hands to touch. If we only had eyes, how would we walk? If we only had ears, how would we feel? All parts of our physical body are equal. All parts of Christ’s spiritual body are equal. A person visiting a shut-in is just as important as the person preaching the gospel. A person bringing food to the sick is as critical to God’s kingdom as the teacher. Each one is showing God’s love in a critical and important way.
The scripture continues in Mark 1:32 “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.”
People were drawn to Jesus because of the stories of healing of the sick. In fact, the whole town gathered to see Jesus heal all kinds of diseases. Jesus wanted people to stay on the message about the gospel of peace and love. It is natural for people to be attracted to the signs, miracles, and wonders, but they need to believe without seeing the miracles.
I love seeing people in need, praying for them, having Jesus hear the prayer, Jesus healing the sick, and rejoicing when the sick are healed. I believe in the gifts of healing. The gifts of healing are one of the Spiritual Gifts just like the gifts of serving, teaching, or preaching. The gift of serving is just as vital a gift and equal to the gifts of healing.
Acts 28:27b-28 states “We pray you will see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and understand in your heart, and in turn, God will heal you. Therefore, I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to you and you will listen.”
I visited a friend at Franklin Memorial last week. He has cancer in both lungs. We studied a lot of the healing scriptures in Luke. We read about the woman touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak. She reached out for Jesus in faith. Jesus felt the power of the Holy Spirit leave him when she touched him. Luke 7:7-10 tells about a Roman Centurion who was concerned about his servant who was about to die. The Roman Centurion asked Jesus to “But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
In the story of the Roman Centurion, Jesus was not near the servant, but the servant was healed. I believe unity of faith is critical to praying for healing. The woman who touched the cloak of Jesus was unified in her faith with Jesus. The Roman Centurion was unified in his faith with Jesus for a servant who was at a distance. We don’t know if the servant had faith. We just know that the Roman Centurion believed that if Jesus spoke the words of healing, that the servant would be healed.
In Luke 5, we have the familiar story of the four men cutting a hole in the roof to lower their paralyzed friend down to Jesus. The scripture tells us that “the power of the Lord was present for Jesus to heal the sick.” It was the unity of faith of the four men who carried their friend to be healed. The four men had the unity of faith to have a common purpose. They believed that if they could get the paralyzed man to Jesus that their friend would be healed. They were right.
In each of these stories, the situation was different, but the results were the same. The person who needed healing came to Jesus in one, the person was carried to Jesus in another by his friends, the person who needed healing was at a distance, and in the case of Simon’s mother-in-law, Jesus and his disciples came to her to heal. The common threads in these stories are faith, love, hope, and compassion.
Mark 1:35-39 the story continues “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues…”
Jesus needed to pray to regain his spiritual strength after healing so many people. He also set the example for us that we need to find time to pray to get closer to God and regain our spiritual strength so we can go out and serve God using our spiritual gifts. Jesus also wanted to go to the nearby villages to preach the gospel. He states that preaching the gospel is the reason that he has come.
Each of us needs to find what it takes to renew ourselves spiritually. Praying to God, singing praise songs, worshiping together are just a few of the ways to renew ourselves spiritually. Also, when we are using the spiritual gifts God has given we are energized in a wonderful way. I’d like to close with these words from Isaiah 40:31 “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Let us hope in the Lord and soar on wings like eagles as we go out into the world to serve our fellow man. Amen.
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