Joy in the Journey

I want to share some comments by Chris Bower, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Tallassee, Alabama. Chris was Jenny's youth pastor when she was a teenager. When Jenny and I started dating I met with Chris for several long theological conversations. I didn't know much about Presbyterians at the time and I was making sure he was biblical just as he was checking me out to make sure I was orthodox enough to date Jenny :-) I guess we both passed the test because I eventually married Jenny and Chris and I have been good friends over the years. He recently wrote:

"So much of our lives are lived from one goal to the next. When I was in high school I couldn't wait to get out of high school. When I was in college I couldn't wait to graduate. When I graduated from college I couldn't wait to get a job. Once I got a job I couldn't wait to get married. And so on and so forth. C.S. Lewis discovered that the only real destination is not a goal or a place or a dream. It's a person. In his book "Surprised by Joy" he explains that we all seek joy (or happiness). However, once the thing we thought would bring it to us is finally in our grasp the joy is gone. He finally realized that he could not find joy or happiness by seeking it. But in seeking God through Christ, he found the very thing he had been seeking all along... joy. Joy is not a goal. It is a by-product. Life is for journeys... journeys that continually lead us to our Lord. And the destination is far beyond this life. It is the hope of heaven. "Instead, they (people of faith) were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:16)"

Jenny and I really resonate with these comments. We have been on the move from one goal and degree to another since we were married over 10 years ago. The fulfillment of each stage of the journey brings a sense of accomplishment, but not joy. Joy is found in and through Christ each step along the road. May you find joy in Christ and his presence this week!

The "Aha" moment

Leave it to good ol' Mater to inspire a blog post!  Mater who you say?  Well, let me tell you he's the tow truck from the CARS movie.  Yeah, I know of all things to inspire a moment of "aha".  The line I was thinking of is when he talks about his rear view mirrors and how "I don't need to know where I'm going, I just need to know where I been". 


So where "you been" this time last year?  I know where I was!  I was 2 days into a ten day stay at the Wake Medical Children's Hospital with a very sick 12 day old baby Micah.

I remember standing in the Emergency Room and thinking how I wanted to go home, I wanted a healthy baby, I wanted to enjoy my little family all together and I really wanted some sleep!  Obviously the key word in the above sentence is "I" and God had other plans.  One of those plans where you know there is a lesson in it you just can not (at the time) figure it out or even have the energy to think about it.  Enter the statement from good ol' Mater: "don't need to know where I'm going, just need to know where I been."  God is always faithful!

It was during this time that we were reminded of how very blessed we are.  Our family was amazing!  My Mom drove down to stay with Micah and I at the hospital.  Alex's Mom and a very dear friend "Aunt" Linda came down from CT to help with the boys at home while Alex was working and going to school and driving to and from the hospital when he could.  Our Church family was awesome!  They were faithful prayer warriors, brought meals, came to visit, called, gave us gas money (the hospital was a 2 hour round trip from our home) and loved us!

I was so weary through all of this, we all were.  At the same time I remember feeling sad and almost angry that I was missing out on time at home.  We were set to move in a matter of weeks; the adventure of where God was calling us next was soon upon us!  While I knew (and know) beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Netherlands is where God wants our family to be I loved, loved, loved where He had us.  I loved our home in the soy bean field (or maybe they had planted tobacco that year I can't remember) I loved our Church family, neighbors, friends, kids friends and the list could go on...and I did not want to miss a moment of it.  Now for the "aha" (you've been holding out for the point of this right? Me too).  The good that came from the hard times of Micah being sick was that we got a mega sized dose of the love of those around us, of God's love for us and how He is with us even when we are feeling like slipping into the depths of despair. 

I guess you could kinda' say we sorta know where we are going...we are going to the Netherlands.  As for what the future holds we have no idea (hey, and guess what!?  Neither do you!)  We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or next week or next year or if we will even make it until then!  But the good news is we don't need to know the future, the Bible says so!  We need to know where we have been, remember how faithful God has been in the past and rest in the fact that He is unchanging, all powerful, all knowing and doesn't need rear view mirrors!

Our February Newsletter

Feb. Stewart Chronicles 2013 by

Missions and the Timing of Christ's Return

I have read a good deal about the end times and am convinced that the clearest statement about the timing of  Jesus' return to set things right in his world comes in Matthew 24:14. "And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." The end will come when the Gospel has been proclaimed throughout the world. We should look less for the beginning of the so-called Great Tribulation and appearance of the Anti-Christ and look more to global missions!

Dr. Black, my major professor at Southeastern, recently alerted me to a brief but relevant discussion about unreached people groups by John Piper entitled "How Much Is Left to Do in the Great Commission?" Definitely check it out. More than at any other point in history the job is doable in our lifetimes! It will of course require intense sacrifice since many of the remaining unreached people groups are located in places where there is direct and violent opposition to the Gospel. Man's opposition, however, has never been able to stop the advance of God's kingdom and Jesus made it quite clear that sacrifice will accompany discipleship.

                             Dr. Black and I during a recent visit. Who is taller? :-)

Sharing God's Global Vision

God is at work in his world today in powerful ways! This is one of the main messages we try to communicate every time we get a chance to share with a church, small group, or Sunday School about missions. We try to help our hearers gain a vision for God's global work. Through the witness of his people among every nation he re-establishes his rule in the midst of a rebellious humanity, transforming individual believers in Christ to again reflect his glory. To be sure, local ministry is vital and is the foundation for global missions, but God's work is not limited to local ministry--his mission encompasses the entire globe! All of creation will one day be reclaimed and is in the process of  reclamation right now through the work of global witness: i.e. missions. How can you participate today in God's global mission?

Certainty, Uncertainty, and Faith in 2013

I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas season and that 2013 is filled with hope for what God will do in and through you this year. We have had a wonderful few weeks of relative rest over Christmas and are now preparing for the many changes we anticipate coming our way in 2013.

-The spring will be filled with continued travel and support raising (Jan.-March in NC and SC and April in CT and ME).

-If we have enough financial support we will move to the Netherlands and begin teaching at Tyndale Theological Seminary in June.

As I think about the massive changes ahead for 2013, particularly the uncertainty and complication of support raising and an international move, I have been reflecting anew on what it means to live a life of faith—a life completely and unreservedly dependent upon God to such an extent that if God doesn't provide there is no good back-up plan. Abraham would have been in this situation when God first called him to leave his homeland and travel to an unknown destination.

As I consider how Jenny and I are in this situation (along with other missionaries) I have realized that all Christians are really in the same situation. Nothing is certain in life, as they say, except death and taxes. Every Christian shares the same situation. Our jobs aren't certain, our health isn't certain, our safety isn't certain. So little in life is certain. As Christians however, we know an incredible truth—God as revealed in and through Jesus is certain. God’s purposes and plans are certain. This has forced me, more than ever before, to put away the false façade of certainty (that never really exists for anyone anyway) and look more and more to the one true certainty in the universe—God. May you find increased certainty and security in the one true and only source of both in 2013!  

The Approaching Whirlwind

Between now (Oct. 12) and Dec. 4 we will be speaking or sharing 16 different times at 7 different churches across SC, NC, and CT. This includes two different mission conferences. We anticipate that these next seven weeks will be amazing, wonderful, and crazy all at the same time.  We love sharing about the growth of God’s kingdom throughout the world, particularly His work in and through Tyndale Theological Seminary. We especially look forward to reconnecting with many friends we have not seen for years.

   

Please join us in prayer for the following requests.

1. That God would give us and our boys emotional, physical, and spiritual stamina throughout all of the traveling. It can be especially difficult on the boys to constantly be on the move and visiting different churches.
2. That God would enable us to effectively communicate exactly what needs to be said in each situation. Our goal is to pass on a vision and passion for God’s global kingdom.
3. That God would raise up the remaining financial support we need to be able to move to the Netherlands and begin training pastors at Tyndale full-time. We need 30 more friends to join our support team at $100.00 a month (or 60 people at $50.00 a month) to be able to move.

We will continue to post updates as we are able. Thank you for your prayers!