From dinner to dedication….

When I used to teach, my goal was to help my students discover new truths …to see the light bulbs blink on when students caught the concept that I was teaching…to understand….and use that information to further explore…to observe what was going on around them…

My poor children, as we traveled or going down the road were always, hearing , “ oh look at that_____!”….

So, if you will bear with me…”look at that plane”….

I went to the dinner for MAF this weekend. Yesterday was a plane dedication…”dedication,you say” ….why dedicate a plane?”

When we dedicate our children to the Lord, we ask God to put his hand of blessing on their lives….we ask those around us to pray for them, to be good examples to them and we ask for prayer for us as parents to be the best we can…to help them grow to be the best they can be In whatever God has planned for them…

Dedicating a plane is similar…Ask God to put his hand of blessing on that plane…that it would carry out the mission that it was built for…help it have a long and safe life….that the pilots be safe, that the people it will serve will give God the glory for its help…

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Thank YOU….

“MAKING DISCIPLES … AT THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

Each year, MAF provides aviation services to more than 400 mission agencies, churches, and humanitarian organizations around the world. Without MAF, some of these organizations would be unable to reach the people they serve. Through these partnerships, MAF connects isolated people with vital services and goods while sharing the love of Christ in a tangible way.

This is how we carry out our mission of serving together to bring help, hope, and healing through aviation.”https://maf.org/what-we-do/

“MAF is the world’s largest humanitarian air operator

Mission Aviation Fellowship is the world’s largest humanitarian air operator, flying medical supplies, doctors, and nurses to places no one else can reach and ensuring critical care gets to where it’s needed most.  Your donation means that together, we can bring help, hope and healing to isolated people in need.”https://maf-uk.org

https://idahonews.com/news/local/mission-aviation-fellowship-dedicates-new-airplane-bound-for-congo-charity-africa-drc-cessna-caravan

Send me….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLYKMZE5XL0

 Seek out…

Have you ever been told, “you know you should be________?”

A teacher, a server, a giver, an encourager, a counselor, a researcher………

Over fifty yers ago, two young men were camping, discussing life around the campfire….one said to the other, “ you should be a pastor” to which he retorted, “you are a giver”….

Now these two barely had two dimes to rub together….seminary was out of site and giving was hard to do with a minimal amount of income, in fact no income at the time…but the ideas were planted….

Soon, seminary became available for the first….a job opened up for the second….God had provided both… and as they say, “ the rest is history….”

The first went on to be a pastor of many and even retired, still is…

The second went on to be a successful businessman with a focus on giving and left a legacy of giving to his family to steward in the years to come…

God worked mightily in the little and the large in these two men’s lives because they obeyed  His calling on their lives…they were not perfect and they had tough times, but God carried them through as well as their families….they took the gifts that God had given them and used them for His kingdom….

What gifts and talents has God bestowed on you….?   Use them faithfully….with enthusiasm, a worker in God’s kingdom….

Jeremiah 42: 20b For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says, declare to us and we will do it.’

I Corinthians 12: 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Romans 12:6 we have different gifts

according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with yourfnfaith;

7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;

8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,fn do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

There is such joy in living out obedience….

Thank YOU….

Gifts from God…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfLGfuINnG4

 Stories that glorify God…

Last night I attended a “gala” hosted by Mission Aviation Fellowship…we had a delicious meal followed by speakers telling of the impact MAF has had on their personal lives and those they have been in contact….

“Mission Aviation Fellowship is an Evangelical Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated missionaries and indigenous villagers in the world's most remote areas. “ Wikipedia

Their headquarters is in Nampa, ID…so it is a privilege to visit their facilities every once in awhile, visit with the people there…see their new projects…attend the dedication of the planes as they head in the sky, wending their way to the ends of the earth to help others…

 We heard stories of a few of the exploits…it warms my heart to see the Word spread, people taken care in difficult and normal  circumstances…to see the smiles of, the cultures they are able to service, whether in mountainous areas, rainforests, islands etc…Lesotho, Papua, Mozambique to name a few…places that are dark changed to light…through the gospel of Jesus Christ….

Psalm 48: 10 As your name, O God,

    so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 52: 7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Video..the ends of the earth…

https://flightvue.maf.org/tabs/home/videos/50823

Thank YOU…

People need the Lord…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i93ysKZeR4

 

Third day…

There are over fifty references to “third day”…

One of them is in Exodus 19… when God talks to the Israelites about them being a treasure to Him…and then goes on about him coming down to them on the third day….

It was just a reminder agin about the resurrection…on third day Jesus showed himself, after the resurrection…

Both times it was about God’s glory…

 Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

Exodus 19: 11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” 14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. 15 And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day;do not go near a woman..

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Then Esther goes before the king to save her people…

Esther 5:1 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance.

Or Jonah saved pit of the great fish after three days…

And so many more…

“There are other passages of Scripture, however, that bear upon this subject, and in looking at them, one should remember the words of the great church historian, Philip Schaff, that “The Biblical symbolism of numbers is worthy of more serious attention than it has received in English theology” (in Lange’s Commentary on Matthew, p. 183). Is not the very first occurrence of the word in the Bible—and generally first occurrences of basic words in the Bible have great meaning—relevant to the subject, for it is on “the third day” (Gen 1:9-13) that biological life first appeared. Also in Genesis, in the story of Joseph, there is a release from prison on the third day (40:12, 13), and, actually, when Joseph’s brothers were released from prison after three days, Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and you will live” (42:17, 18). Notice how often this matter of life is vital in these three-day passages. The reference to Jonah’s experience in the belly of the great fish for a period of three days is well-known to all Bible students, because of our Lord’s reference to it (Jonah 1:17).”https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Third-Day

I just found it interesting that so many “third days” there are from the beginning to the end of the Word…showing God’s glory over all, his use of time, his victory…God is a constant in our lives…He is always on time…His purpose…

Thank YOU… 

Three days of glory…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcGLOxFpo9E

 

Just songs for the soul…

God don’t let the light in me die…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb3Sc_sv3ig

Jesus, there’s just something about name…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvd1yLeRWcs

This the day…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A5klnLG2uM

 Organizing people…

Have you ever heard the phrase, “ it’s like herding cats”?

I can imagine that leading the Israelites in the desert may have been like that…people came to Moses everyday asking questions and his father-in-law saw this…it must have been wearying for all…

Exodus 18: 13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; 16 when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, 20 and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. 21 Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

A future king, David, organized his army in a similar way using different numbers of groups. 

Both men, Moses and David, looked for trusted men to lead the various groups…thus taking much of the burden off of the top leaders….

We still use these examples in leadership today…although differently in different cultures….from the total authoritarian to empowering….

We are told to pray for our leaders…they carry a heavy weight of leadership….

1 Timothy 2:1-6

Pray for All Men

2 Therefore I [a]exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, andgiving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in [b]authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and [c]reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there isone God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

Thank YOU…

https://biblehub.com/topical/d/david_organizes_his_troops.htm

https://outline-bible.com/1-chronicles-27-davids-leadership-administration

 Our Father who art in heaven…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSVBm8V79Wc

 Abuse…

One of our dogs was a rescue dog…he was afraid of men, or people in hats, plus he avoided being around feet of anyone.

My husband would take him to his office everyday, where the dog would sleep under the desk, comfortable in the warmth…it took months for the dog to warm up to us…if  one reached out to touch him, he would shrink back…if you wore a hat, he would cower….he watched our feet constantly…trust was a long time in coming…but, finally he was won over reluctantly…he became a great traveling buddy, hiker, and seemed to enjoy life with us….then, one day he turned…he would wait until the person whom he just greeted had passed and then bite them on the ankles for no apparent reason…be it guest or us…

In the end, we found someone who lived alone that wanted the dog…we had grandchildren coming and going and we couldn’t trust the dog around anyone…so with both sadness and relief, we gave him away…that was hard…

What brought this chapter to mind was the Israelites leaving Egypt and their beginning wanderings.  They had been abused for years by the rulers of the land in which they dwelt…along comes their savior, Moses, bringing statements and miracles of God…one after another, miracle after miracle, sign after sign….God showing himself trustworthy, faithful, they obey and leave the land of their abusers to go into the unknown…with promises of a land filled with milk and honey awaiting them…

It had to be hard for them, even though they saw that God proved himself worthy of trust…they were used to cowering, lack of care, abuse…and they fell back on old habits easily, not fully trusting…but, God persevered caring, providing, leading….

A faith journey for each person brought out of Egypt…

Just like us who have turned to Jesus…times we want to turn back to old comfortable ways instead of having faith in our Savior…but he is faithful, kind, filled with goodness….

Thank YOU….

Psalm 9: 9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,

    a stronghold in times of trouble.

10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,

    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

The book of Exodus….

Faithful one…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PjSO5Ihl0M