Be Prepared

Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble."John 16:33

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.2 Timothy 3:12

Peter said, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you."1 Peter 4:12

Storms are a certainty of life.

• Twin Towers 9-11-01
• Virginia Tech shootings 4-16-07 and other school shootings
• WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq...
• Broken relationships
• 20 plus years of civil war in Sudan and ongoing conflict in Darfar
• Prodigal children (including God's original children, Adam and Eve)
• Accidents, illness and death
• Read the paper or listen to the news any day
• Christians are still persecuted and killed everyday (visit VOM website)
• Children dying of preventable disease everyday in Third World countries

Lord help me be prepared.

Mike McMahon

"Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into heaven." - Henry Ward Beecher

Prayer Power

Lord, please wrap your arms around me and let me feel your presence in a mighty way. I want to touch you, feel you, see your face. Be with me as I go through life's trials. Only with your strength Lord can I survive. Amen

The Pace of Life

So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.Psalm 90:12

Author Richard Swenson MD talks about overload syndrome, how we pack so much into our daily lives that we have no "margin". The only way to develop our intimate relationship with Jesus (and others) is to spend time with Him. Do you realize that one hour is only 4% of our day? How many of us spend one hour per day seeking the Lord through Bible reading and prayer? I know that I do not.

The pace of life in Africa is much slower than here. During my trips to Africa, it is difficult for me to adapt to the slower pace of life. I get so used to the hurry...hurry...hurry pace here that my internal rhythm is always set on full speed. It is very difficult for most of us to back off the conveyer belt of life and take time to be with Jesus. We need to seek first His kingdom. One way to capture more time is to have planned periods of solitude. Jesus considered time alone with His Father important and so should we. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus often went off by himself to spend time in prayer with His Father.

How much less stress we all would have if we would learn from our African brothers and sisters and slow down our pace of life. At the end of our days when we are before the throne, I am sure we will not wish we had spent more time at work or in committee meetings or even on hobbies or in sports. We will wish we had spent more time deepening our relationship with God and others.

Mike McMahon

"Death is a friend of ours; he that is not ready to entertain him is not at home." - Francis Bacon

Prayer Power

Lord, teach us to valve our time and to use it wisely. Help us to know you in a very real, deep and personal way. Amen

The Return Part II

¹³Then Haggai, the LORD's messenger, spoke the LORD's message to the people, saying, "I am with you, says the LORD." ¹⁴So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, ¹⁵on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.Haggai 1:13-15

As the Jews were rebuilding the city, temple, and walls of Jerusalem they faced great opposition. The environment was harsh and growing crops and taking care of even their basic needs was difficult. The neighboring people were not helpful and even threatened to attack. Despite all the odds the city and temple were rebuilt and Nehemiah rebuilt the wall in 52 days! How did this happen? The people were "stirred up" by God's spirit.

How easy it is to try to rely on our strengths. We need a constant reminder that we need to rely on Christ's strength not our own. We can do all things through Him; without Him we can do nothing. (Philippians 4:13, John 15:5)

The Sudanese are returning to a harsh environment and a country which has been devastated by over 20 years of civil war. The infrastructure is gone. Schools, churches, and hospitals were destroyed in the conflict. Not only do we plan to help by providing medical care, we are reaching out into the community to help in the rebuilding process. Most importantly we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and seek and follow His guidance in the rebuilding process. We are there to share the love of Christ through word and deed. Please join us as we work hand in hand with the Sudanese to help them rebuild their world. Everyone is not called by God to travel to Sudan to rebuild cities, provide medical care, and spread God's Word, but we are all called to devote ourselves to helping our Christian brothers and sisters in whatever ways we can. Ask the Holy Spirit to remove the scales from our eyes and let us see the tremendous needs of the world around us.

Mike McMahon

"In a civil war the firing line is invisible; it passes through the hearts of men." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Prayer Power

Lord, please always remind us that we can do all things only through you and teach us to not rely on our own power. Amen

The Return Part I

³Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, ⁴"Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" ⁵Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways!
⁶"You have sown much, and bring in little;
You eat, but do not have enough;
You drink, but you are not filled with drink;
You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
And he who earns wages,
Earns wages to put into a bag with holes." ⁷Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! ⁸Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified," says the LORD.Haggai 1:3-8

I have been studying the return of the Jews to Jerusalem in 538 BC. The Jewish Diaspora had been living in Babylon for 48 years. Many of the Jews became comfortable in the new culture. Only a small remnant of the Jews who left in the deportations returned home to rebuild Jerusalem, the temple, and their lives. Under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah they made the 300 mile journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. Eighteen years went by as they resettled in Jerusalem. Then the Lord spoke to them through the prophet Haggai and told them it was time to rebuild the temple.

The history of southern Sudan is similar in many ways. During the more than twenty years of civil war, many Sudanese were killed and many left their country to settle in the relative safety of the surrounding countries. Now many of the southern Sudanese are returning home to a country which has been ravaged by civil war. They are now in the process of rebuilding their country just as were the Jew returning to Jerusalem.

How comfortable have we become in our culture? How difficult is it for us to get less involved in our cultural activities and pursue activities for the Kingdom of God? It is easy to criticize the majority of Jews for choosing not to return home to rebuild Jerusalem, but would we have been any different? We need to reconsider our ways and make intentional choices to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). The ways of the world can be subtle and seductive and can appear to be the right way, but we, as God's children, through prayer and with the direction of the Holy Spirit must make choices with God's kingdom in mind.

Mike McMahon

"History is but the unrolled scroll of prophecy." - James Garfield

Prayer Power

Lord, please bring comfort to those who need it and for those of us who are too comfortable use your Spirit to arouse us to awaken and be about Your work.