Saturday Devotions

I Peter 3:3-4

     Do not let your adornment be merely outward – arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel – rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 

     Once again we are reminded to always maintain a heart to please God and not men.  If a woman’s goal is to catch a man’s eye, she can do that by making herself look attractive.  Hair and jewelry and clothes, adjusted just so can often have their desired effect on a man.  But what catches a man’s eye does not impress God in the least.  The eyes of the Lord are indeed roaming to and fro across the whole earth (II Chronicles 16:9)” but He is not looking for pretty people.  He is looking for those with “a gentle and quiet spirit” which He finds “very precious.”  For those of us blessed with a boisterous personality or the tendency to bellow like the sons of Boanerges (Luke 9:54), it may seem daunting to become “gentle and quiet.”  But we cannot dismiss this verse just because our natural tendencies go against it any more than a timid person can dismiss scripture’s calls to be bold.  Let us all seek to be gentle and of a quiet spirit – but it is reasonable to say, based on these verses, that women especially ought to seek to be gentle and of a quiet spirit – because this trait is very pleasing to our Lord.  In Psalm 18:35, David credits God with blessing him with success, and remarkably David says, “Your gentleness has made me great.”  May the women of today seek to imitate God and make their sons and husbands great through their own gentle spirit.  And may those who do so find that “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her (Proverbs 31:28).” 

Warmed to the Gospel by the Common Cold

Warmed to the Gospel by the Common Cold

 I saw Mr. P, a 30 year old factory worker, in the clinic on Friday.  He came to see me for a cold.  Soon we were talking about his need for a relationship with God.  He said, “I need to study this some more.”

      “Great idea!”  I exuberantly agreed.  How about we meet Monday evening?  He agreed to come meet me after he (and I) finished work on the following Monday.  He showed up as promised and he and I then talked through who God is and what His expectations for man include.  After our evening talk, I asked him if he was ready to make the leap and place his trust in God.  He said yes!  Right there he prayed wonderfully, confessing sin and promising to follow God and bring Him honor.  It was a joy to see! 

     Please pray for him.  He works long hours and often works evenings and Sundays.  Pray that the Lord will call Mr. P to study his Bible and seek all opportunity to grow in his new faith.

 

Every Missionary’s Plight

  I can’t count how many times I have been told over the years how much I must love Thailand and how adventurous I must be to live so far away in a strange foreign land.  If those people only knew how much I am challenged every day and the struggles I face to be content to stay, they would be shocked.  In reality, all missionaries are just a breath away from going home.  We all need your prayers to keep us where we are.  It is a wonderful gift of God each day that we get up from our slumber and walk into the day before us with the Presence of God leading our steps, our encounters, and our decisions.  It is a glorious feeling to know you are right where God wants you to be for the time being.  When I put my head down on my pillow at night I understand Psalm 4:8 better and better.  “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

 Lately the needs of my family in the States have been before me.  I don’t want to worry or try to step in for God, but it does get hard sometimes.  When my daughter-in-law just needs a mom nearby to offer a helping hand with those precious babies… when my youngest daughter is sick and needs her mom for just a day… when my parents just need someone to stop by and play some dominos or pull their weeds.  I am a fixer and I want to fix all their problems.  Then I look at the needs before me here in Thailand.  200+ women who work from their home and not only depend on my wisdom to keep providing income for their families but need me  and my staff to share Christ with them in all our ways.  My husband who needs me to have a peaceful home to come to and good meals to eat after seeing 80 patients a day, and to help pick up the slack of his daily grind, and to work alongside him when our ministries intersect.  My full time staff who need me to be a good example and a wise counsellor.  So much to do, so many lives who I want to be a part of.  The great work of our Lord and Savior sustains me and I cling to the verses He gives me all the time:  “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. ² Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body (II Corinthians 4:1-10).

 

I Peter 2:25

     For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

     Peter compares us to sheep.  Sheep are not smart.  They roam about looking to eat having little ability at all to look out for their own safety.  People are supposed to be smart, but we tend to live on the same shallow plane as dumb sheep and just live for forage and fun, frolic and food, having no ability at all to look out for our own eternal safety.  People came to Jesus by the thousand, but often they only came to Him for food (John 6:26), and when they did, He pitied them, because they looked like sheep (Mark 6:34).  When we as men and women live only for fun and food, we act “like sheep going astray.”  We miss the high calling that God has placed on our lives and live with our face to the ground like ignorant sheep.  But oh the joy that is ours when we come to our senses and “have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer” of our souls.  Look!  Our Shepherd calls us and keeps us!  He leads us in the way that protects our soul forever!  We could hardly hope for a more comforting thought to cheer us in hard times than David’s reminder that, “The Lord is my Shepherd (Psalm 23:1).”  How do we respond to the love and protection and guidance of our Shepherd?   David shows us what good sheep do: “Come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.  For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand (Psalm 95:6-7).”  We are sheep and the Creator of the universe is our Shepherd!  He is ever near us, tender with us, protects us, and watches over our souls.  Let us then return to Him!  Let us turn from merely filling our bellies and return our attention to the Shepherd.  We will find that His attention has always been on us.    As we worship Him we will lose all desire to ever go astray again.  We are sheep, but we need not live like foolish sheep.  We can lift our eyes to our Shepherd, kneel and bow down before Him and worship, rejoicing that He is the Overseer of our souls.                                    

The Needs of the Few

  We have now been back in Thailand for 3 weeks.  Since our return I have been met with many different needs and challenges at my work at Thai Country Trim.  I am constantly reminded how much I need God's eyes, heart, and compassion.  His wisdom, knowledge, and unconditional love need to lead my every step.  Left on my own, I would fail miserably.  I am often overwhelmed with the feeling that I don't know enough, have enough, or do enough.  So, I ask you to pray for me in these matters.  They are before me daily and I don't want to mess up.

  1. A young mom named Jane who is one of our piece workers.  Her husband just abandoned her and their little 6 month old.  My production manager came to me to tell me about her situation just a few days ago.  She was worried that the mom was not able to feed her baby properly.  So my manager has been allowing her to bring her work in daily instead of weekly so she can have a little money each day to buy formula for the baby because she was unable to breast feed.  She found out that she has been giving the baby regular milk because she hasn't had enough money to buy formula.  (formula is 10 times the price of regular milk here)  I saw the baby yesterday and he looked very undernourished. I bought formula for them today but I need wisdom on how to proceed.  Today she stayed at the center all day and many of my staff witnessed to her.   All my girls are concerned and all have been helping her in some small way.  Pray that God will guide us.  Pray for her baby. 

  2.  A group of refugees from a nearby country came to see if our center might give them some work.  They will take anything we can give them.  This particular group of refugees are Christians who were persecuted and had to flee their country.  They are here waiting for their passage to the country who will repatriate them.  We want to help them but we must do it legally.  Pray for us as we see what God will have us do in this situation.  

3.  My mom and dad have reached the stage in their life where they need more attention and care.  They are in their early 80's and my dad has many health challenges.  My mom cares for him as best she can but the daily needs are wearing on her.  They are hoping to sell their home and move into an independent living apartment where mom will have some help with meals and house cleaning.  I want to be there for them when the time comes for them to move.  Pray for the timing of things so that I can be there for them.  My mom and dad are retired Salvation Army Majors.  They have served and helped people all their lives.  It's now time for them to be helped.  I want to be a part of that.  

4. Starting in May we will have a volunteer team from America every month until November.  We grateful so many teams want to come and help with our work here.  Doug and I want to do a good job picking the sites for our English camp and Mobile clinics as well as give our volunteers a wonderful ministry experience to share in.  Pray the Lord will guide us as we plan these times.  Pray the Lord will go before us and prepare the hearts of those who will hear the Gospel this year from the efforts of Thai Country Trim and Bangkla Baptist Clinic.  May His Word go out and his name be glorified.