Do you remember me?

“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.  They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.  As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.” Luke 24:13-16   Last week I watch the Call from the Concordia Seminary St. Louis on the YouTube as it was virtual for the first time in its history.  I watched Pres. Dale Meyer deliver a wonderful message and wow, did his voice boom in that sparsely filled Sanctuary.  He talked about the road to Emmaus and what a journey that must have been for the two disciples.  After the conclusion of the service, I sat in my recliner thinking about several points in his message that I might use one day in a devotion.  IF you have never heard one of his messages, let me tell you, when Dale speaks; people listen.   

My best story of Dr Dale Meyer took place in 2002, when Dr John Wilch invited me, the LCMS Missionary to Haiti, to speak at an LCC pastor’s conference in St. Catherine, Ontario, Canada.  I assumed it would just be me speaking to a group of pastors but was surprised upon arrival to see the agenda with eight speakers, and I was to follow Dr Dale Meyer in the 11-noon time slot.  Didn’t look like this was going to be a day to remember with much glee.   I was sitting in the back of the auditorium with hundreds of other pastors and guests listening and waiting and Dr Meyer started at 10 and he was smooth, really interesting and I was taking notes.  I looked at my watch and it was 11:15 and it seemed like he was wrapping up and he asked if there were any questions…of course there would be lots of questions.  

Dr Wilch found me in the back and said that they decided to move my presentation to the cafeteria from noon to 1 PM.  I was pretty sure that this was going to be a story that I would never forget as my day was not going to get any better.  As I recall, there were four long rows of tables and chairs in that gymnasium, or cafeteria, as they called it and I was down in the left corner with a six-foot screen, projector, my laptop and no microphone.  

I opened with a mealtime prayer and began my 50-minute presentation as the men and women were getting their food and sitting down in the first long row where I was speaking.  If you have ever heard me speak, my voice carries fairly well but after that second row of tables filled my voice was drowned out by clinking china plates, clanging aluminum food containers, talking, laughing and general commotion.  When I finished, my voice was gone, there wasn’t any food left and a few of the men sitting at the table where I was thanked me and said they felt bad for me.  

I can’t begin to imagine how the two men walking to Emmaus felt after getting to meet the risen Savior, but it must have been a game changer for them.  IF this Monday, your day seems to be headed in a bad direction, I hope that this story from my journey will give you hope, because other’s have a bad day now and then too.  I have had the pleasure to ask Dr Meyer on a few occasions following a service where he has preached, when the pews are empty and its just him shaking my hand; “Dr Meyer, do you remember me?  Pastor Conference, St. Catherine’s, Ontario, 2002.”  He has such a genuine warm smile.  

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.  

May God be with you…Jay

Prayer guidw for 5/4/2020

Prayer Guide for May – 2020  

We begin our prayer time in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. + Amen. Adoration

1 Kings 8:22-24; “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said: “Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below; you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.  You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it; as it is today.”  

The hours of sunshine are increasing each day; nothing from our hands had anything to do with this.  There are an ever-increasing number and variety of birds visiting the feeder on my deck; my thoughts or desires had nothing to do with determining how many of their feathers were brown, red, yellow, blue or white…or if they were going to be male or female.  I just took another breath on this beautiful spring day; it wasn’t something that I thought about doing as it has just become a natural movement to expect as my lungs grow empty. Our eyes gaze upon the beauty of the leaves, flowers and crops beginning to come alive in this springtime and our minds are still in celebration of our Lord’s resurrection from the tomb last month; our mouths give praise to our Heavenly Father for all that He has done since Creation…from the beginning.  It is ALL about HIM.     A time of ‘Adoration’ to our Heavenly Father.    

Please take time to sit quietly and gaze at His creation and feel His presence in your life.

Think about the provisions, protection, hope and love that surround you today, because of His unfailing love for you.

Give thanks for where God has placed you and the gifts that you were given to use for Him along your journey.  

Confession

Acts 3:19-20; “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you; even Jesus.” We were born, sinful and unclean, through no fault of our own, but because of the sins of our parents, grandparents…Adam and Eve. 

God sent His only Son to die for our sins. Jesus did everything right while he was here on this earth. He loves you with a love that cannot be measured.  He gave to the world when no thanks were returned to Him.  He healed when there was no hope, and He died without complaint.  Jesus did nothing wrong and everything right; all this for you.  He lived for you and died for you.  Our sins nailed Him to the cross on Calvary and kept Him there until His life on earth had ended. A time of personal confession. Our sins are placed at the base of the Calvary cross...His cross, and we give thanks that the times we have fallen short in the eyes of our Heavenly Father have been washed clean and we have been forgiven through the Blood of our Risen Savior Jesus Christ.  

Thanksgiving

As you look at life appearing in your garden, on the trees, at your bird feeder and consider what has been left in your senses because of coronavirus, may we be reminded that we live in a broken, sin filled world and stop and give thanks for Who has marked us as His child.  Lives have been challenged and changed; surgeries delayed, schools closed, jobs lost, finances vanished, lives ended, morgues filled and funerals postponed.  As you read this, be assured that He has more work for you to do on this side of Heaven.  Give thanks that your life has been marked by the Cross of Jesus Christ, our resurrected Savior.  You will conquer all of the brokenness in this world because of what Jesus has already done on Calvary for you, me and 30,000 Haitian kids who were in Christian schools before coronavirus invaded their country.  Give thanks that He has more work for you, for me and for them to accomplish in the coming seasons.       

Psalm 30:10-12; “Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.”  You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.  Lord my God, I will praise you forever.”  

Heavenly Father, we come to You now with hearts, minds and words filled with ‘Thanksgiving’.” We give thanks for our Creator, Redeemer and Holy Spirit.

We give thanks for having a Savior who gave His life for our sinfulness; “your sins are forgiven”.  HE is Risen!

We give thanks our providence; monetary, food, clothing, timely moisture and shelter.  As we give of our first fruits may we also give a portion of our best to His children in Haiti who need the assistance we can provide because of You.

We thank you Lord Jesus, for providing guidance to the Trinity/HOPE leadership, who have formulated a plan to provide food to the families of the 30,000 Haitian children using remaining food and resources from this school year.  

Supplications

Ephesians 6:18-20; “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.  Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”  

It has been a difficult challenge that the coronavirus brought into our lives in the past months.  It has left scars for a lifetime.  The same virus began in Port-au-Prince a few weeks before Resurrection Sunday and while our country diligently worked to contain and defeat the virus; the country of Haiti is woefully prepared for this challenge.   T

he US has one ICU bed for every 3,000 Americans and Haiti has one ICU bed for every 100,000 Haitians. The entire country of Haiti with a population of 11 million people has 911 doctors and 64 ventilators.  It is estimated that the death toll could reach 800,000 in Haiti.  And because so many in Haiti generally have respiratory issues in the springtime, they will not know what has hit them until it is too late.  Another factor about the Haitian culture that is of concern is that they are not given to social distancing.  Often, you will see school girls holding hands with girls, boys holding hands with boys and of course boys with girls.   

It is difficult to recall a time in Haiti when children or adults have not desired to stand next to me, much closer than I was accustomed too.  This virus will bring difficult, challenging and sad times to their country.       Heavenly Father, we bring our supplications before You;  

Heavenly Father, protect your servants living in Haiti from the spread of coronavirus.  May Your message be on the lips of Your servants as the words of Hope and life everlasting through Jesus be on their lips.

Lord of the Harvest, please bless the efforts of the Haitian farmers as they plant their gardens that provide for their families; nutritionally and financially.

Lord, please continue to rest Your healing hand upon Mark Gudlin and keep him infection free and may surgeons replace his knee joint and return him to his normal life’s activities.

Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed.  Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith.  May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You sent it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

2 Corinthians 13:11-14; “Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.  Greet one another with a holy kiss.  All the saints send their greetings.  May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  

May God go before you to guide you; may His arms be beneath you to support you, around you to protect you and above you to bless you.  And may the blessings of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you always dear sister and brother in Christ,  

In His love, Jay Brinkmeyer

Why me?

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 5:10  

When was the last time that you were being persecuted that you thought about this passage from Matthew and smiled because you realized you are blessed and await the kingdom of Heaven?  If you are like me, it probably has not been recently…persecution brings complaints and the cry of “why me?” shouted skywards.  Persecution can come in many different forms.  For those of living in North America persecution can simply come from friends; some cause happiness wherever they go and others whenever they go.  Another sample might be attached to the word ‘hospitality’; making your guests feel like they’re at home, even if you wish they were…at their home.   

Persecution, how can we be glad when we are persecuted, spoken about badly, taken advantage of and have evil lies told about us when we are just trying to do good?  Those are generally the forms of persecution we face; hopefully in our lives we will not have to face the persecution others face around this world and have to fear for our very lives.  

The small house in the attached photo doesn’t appear to be very formidable.  It’s a vodou temple about two miles east of St Marc and just after I took this photo an old vodou priestess came running out swinging a broom at me.  She was angry at me because she believed my camera had lifted power from her temple.  I don’t know how many evil spirits she cast on me that day or how long of a period they stay with a person, but two years later I had a van load of people on a mission team from the Kansas City area stop at this same temple and asked that they all took a photo in hopes that her power would be gone forever.  

The children attending Christian schools in Haiti are waging a war with vodou, in Haiti, in their neighborhoods and some in their own families.  They need your daily prayers as they face their persecution and also need your support so their bodies will be nourished with food for strength as they daily do battle with satan.  If these children face persecution each day for doing right, shouldn't we think that we will as well?  Those who suffer to bring a blessing to others have a witness that cannot be silenced.   

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.  

May God be with you…Jay

When is the end?

“Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back; whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.  If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. “  Mark 13:35-36  

It seems that there are two questions that continue to be at the very top of our ‘need to know’ list.  First, what will Heaven be like and second, when will the second coming of Christ take place; in our lifetime?  It is a new month and in Creole this month is ‘ME’ and that in itself is interesting as so much of our time is spent wondering about ‘me’.  With each new month and day, it seems that the news of worldly unrest and a deadly pandemic is drawing us closer to the ending point in time as more and more of what should be ‘right’ is turning ‘wrong’.  There was a program on the History channel that presented an overview of when many ‘learned’ men had determined the world would end and most of them decided that the Mayan calendar has set the ending of time on December 21, 2012; oops.  

That ‘end of time’ date has come and gone and we still don’t know how much time is left to reach out to the lost souls of Haiti through the witness of a young child attending a Lutheran school with a Trinity/HOPE feeding program.  As we read in the thirteenth chapter of Mark, we learn from our Savior that we should not be concerned when the alarm clock or Angelic trumpet will signal the end of time but rather stay focused on what we will be doing when Jesus arrives.      

Pastor Ken Klaus with the Lutheran Hour shared a snippet of American history some time ago, about a Colonel Davenport who was from Connecticut.  The event took place in Hartford in 1789 within the State legislature.  “During the daytime, without warning the sky blackened and their room grew unnaturally and increasingly dark.  Glancing out the windows, some members of the House of Representatives concluded the Day of Judgment had come upon them.  With fears increasing, a motion was made for immediate adjournment.  Just before the vote on that motion was to be taken, Colonel Davenport took the floor.  This is what he said: "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to have the Lord find me doing my duty.  Therefore, I wish that candles be brought."  A great story, stay in the Word and don’t worry about the ending time; stay in the Word and pray.  

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.  

May God be with you…Jay

Just a bend...not the end.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”  Matthew 5:8  

We are sinful humans, repentant sinful humans who truly desire to do our Father’s will in all that we say and do here on this side of Heaven.  It seems that the past decade have been filled with quite a large share of hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, tornadoes, floods and now COVID 19; calamities that we cannot control but just sit back and witness and then pick up the pieces, bury the dead and comfort the hurting.  Some say that the end is near.   A news reporter commented recently at the devastation ‘mother nature’ had unleashed through a powerful tornado.  God created the heavens and earth and this glorious planet does have bumps and rattles from time to time.  Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, our Heavenly Father smiles from above and says, "Relax, it's just a bend, not the end!”  

The attached photo is of what is left from the National Catholic Church in Port-au-Prince following the January 12, 2010 earthquake; you have probably seen it before as many magazines have displayed it from different angles.  It is a vivid reminder that through all the twists and turns in our lives one thing will always be there; our risen Savior.  We are forgiven because of Him.  We continue to exclaim to our Triune God the words of David in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”  

This theme of this verse is woven through Scriptures; whether spoken by the prophets, the psalmists, the wisdom teachers or by the apostles or Jesus.  Much of our human lives is marked by deception and lies of this world.  Children living in Haiti are still being told by those who place their trust in the vodou priest, that Christ died on Calvary and was buried and is still in the tomb.  For the children attending Christian schools in Haiti and for us who strive to be pure in heart, going to be with God is not a far journey, for we’ve sought to live with him every day.  Thank you for praying daily for these children, bringing them peace in uncertain times.  Thank you for supporting them with a daily meal when there is nothing else to eat.  

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.  

May God be with you…Jay

Be merciful.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”  Matthew 5:7  

Jesus must be talking about you and me as God has treated us much, much better than we deserve.  If you doubt my saying so just go and slide open your closet door, set your thermostat to the desired comfortable temperature that you require, open the door to the fridge, stand in a hot shower for ten minutes, get a drink from the faucet or just flush the toilet.  There is a saying “Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.”   

Blessed are the merciful; that fundamental spiritual truth is the reality of grace, God’s grace.  Our Heavenly Father has been a witness to our daily sin and had mercy on us because of His great love for us; He gave us Jesus.  We are quite a lot, as we’ve repeatedly proved to be unfaithful and undependable.  God has been gracious and merciful; He has repeatedly offered forgiveness, redemption, and salvation when we least deserved it.   Mercy; rather than dealing with his children strictly as the law would demand, God has dealt with us as a loving father does with his children.  The mercy He has shown us really must show up in our attitudes.  How can we claim to be His children and not be merciful to those around us; His children?   

The mother and son living in the tent village in Croix de Bouquets in the attached photo know of His mercy, daily they understand His mercy.  In the body of believers, mercy rules; when we turn away from showing mercy to others in His family, then we better be prepared for judgment day.   Thank you for showing mercy, in your daily prayers and the unselfish giving of your abundance to such as these.  

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.  

May God be with you…Jay

Images of home.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”  1 Peter 4:10  

The earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince (PAP) on January 12, 2010 brought death and destruction to hundreds of thousands of people living there; and thousands remain living in tent cities today.  When I’ve been reading news from Haiti about the COVID 19 spreading there; it brings my thoughts back to that earthquake and the challenges that followed.  The attached photo is of my pickup truck parked in front of Bon Barger Evangelique Lutherienne in Caredeux which is a suburb in the eastern part of PAP.  This Church was built with the support of faithful stewards living in Michigan, and the school which is behind was constructed with support of faithful stewards living in Nebraska, South Dakota, Washington and Canada.  

The photo was taken in 2001 and the only damage that was sustained by the earthquake in 2010 was to a portion of the north security wall.  The congregation worshipped outside on the south side of the church for a couple of months until the government allowed them to return as the buildings on this property were determined to be structurally sound.  

Bon Berger was my Church home while living in Haiti and worshipping there always made me think of what Heaven must be like.  The two-hour long services, the joyful music and the hope of a Risen Savior that was etched in the smiles of the members will never fade from my memories.  I heard a Bluegrass song recently on satellite radio ‘EnLighten’ by the Stanley Brothers called “The Prettiest Flowers” and that brought back memories of what it felt like in Haiti and what it might feel like when we all are together in Heaven.   “I know there is a land of beautiful flowers where we’ll meet again when life is over where we’ll while away the endless hours on heaven’s bright eternal shore.  The prettiest beds of flowers will be blooming by the prettiest treats our eyes will ever behold where the beautiful tree of life for us is waiting by the prettiest mansion made with purest gold.  I want to meet you by that beautiful river on that eternal morning in the sky where we’ll live in peace through endless ages where we’ll never say goodbye.  The prettiest robes and crowns we’ll all be wearing in the city four square beyond this world of strife and the prettiest songs of the angels will be singing on the beautiful morning by the river of life.”

Thank you for sharing your prayers and support for the Trinity/HOPE feeding program at Bon Berger as the children attending school are being prepared to go out into the world and share the reason for their hope.  Neither, earthquake, coronavirus, being homeless or hungry will separate them from the love of Jesus Christ.  

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.  

May God be with you…Jay

Four walls and a tin roof.

“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”  1 Corinthians 3:11

 On the past several Sunday’s, I sat in my Lazy Boy watching four different church services via live stream on my iPad; it was a private and very comfortable Sanctuary.  I’m not certain if you are a Lutheran who generally reject changes, but I am growing to enjoy this way of worship; having four different messages to think about during the week.  My church here in Bloomington is unlike any found in Haiti; our pews are not also used for a classroom during the week for school children.   

The attached photo is of the Lutheran church in Los Cacos which is just a few miles from the border with the Dominican Republic in the Plateau Central in Northeast Haiti.  This wooden building with a tin roof is about the size of a Sear’s aluminum shed that stores ‘our prized stuff’ in the backyards of many North Americans; it was about 12’ x 16’ when I stepped off its width by length.   The pews are wood boards nailed onto cut branches dug into the dirt floor and light is provided by opening three wood shutters on the windows and the door.  School children sit in the pews during the week and children and parents worship there on Sunday.  It is God’s house.  Doesn’t matter how small, how plain or simple it may be, it is God’s house and the work of saving soul’s is taking place within the wooden walls.   When I was visiting this church, I was reminded of the song ‘the Church is one Foundation’ that was sung back in the day.  The words for this song were written by Samuel J. Stone in 1866 and it seems like a good time to share them with you today.  

“The church has one foundation, tis Jesus Christ her Lord; She is His new creation, through water by the word.  From heav’n He came and sought her to be His holy bride; with His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.  Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth, Her charter of salvation; one Lord, one faith, one birth.  One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food; and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued.  Long with a scornful wonder men saw her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed.  Yet saints their watch were keeping to hail a brighter day, when God should stop their weeping, take their reproach away.  The evening sun is shining, the cloudy day is past; the time of their repining is at an end at last.  The voice of God is calling to unity again; division walls are falling, with all the creeds of men.  Back to the one foundation, from sects and creeds made free, come saints of every nation to blessed unity.  Once more the ancient glory shines as in days of old, and tells the wondrous story—One God, one faith, one fold.”  

This Church is complete; it was built by Lutheran Haitians on the firm foundation of Christ.  The members constructed this church and school; it is alive preparing the people with hope to share the Gospel with the hopeless.  No walls left unfinished by well intending North Americans, no unfulfilled promises and nothing for the vodou priests in the community of Los Cacos to question why their God did not complete building their church.  Thank you for continuing to add these small Haitian churches to your daily prayers and also the children attending Christian schools in Haiti.

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.  

May God be with you…Jay

Un-finished business.

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect.”  1 Peter 3:15  

This passage from first Peter encourages each of us to always, no matter where we may be, to be prepared to share the reason for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus, and only in Him.  That message holds true for us living in North American and for His people living throughout this world.  I spent a couple of hours yesterday going through CD’s of photos that either I took while living in Haiti or somebody else captured while visiting Haiti with a mission team.   

The three girls in the attached photo attend the Lutheran school at Torbeck which is in the Les Cayes District.  They are standing behind an un-finished wall, something North America began but never did complete.  There are a lot of unfinished walls and buildings in Haiti; the money ran out and the construction halted.  Unfinished business is all over this world.  

You and I and these three girls from Torbeck are all un-finished business.  He has had plans for us from the beginning of time and now the Holy Spirit is working in us to go out into this world and connect with a soul that is waiting to hear the reason for our hope.  I listened to the song ‘Shout to the Lord’ this morning and the lyrics really seem to go well with the message that we are called to share in Haiti and throughout the corners of this world.  

“Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing power and majesty, praise to the King; mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your name.  I sing for joy at the work of Your hands, forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand, nothing compares to the promise I have in You.  My Jesus, My Savior, Lord, there is none like You; all of my days I want to praise the wonders of Your mighty love.  My comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and strength; let every breath, all that I am never cease to worship You.  Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing power and majesty, praise to the King; mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your name.  I sing for joy at the work of Your hands, forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand, nothing compares to the promise I have in You.”  

Thank you for continuing to support the ‘un-finished’ business attending Christian schools in Haiti, may their lives shout to the land their love for their Lord.  

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.  

May God be with you…Jay

Repanti.

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10  

Repentance is defined as follows; a change of thought to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged.  In religious contexts it usually refers to confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law.  It typically includes an admission of guilt, a promise or resolve not to repeat the offense; an attempt to make restitution for the wrong, or in some way to reverse the harmful effects of the wrong where possible.  The Haitian word for repent is “Repanti”  

I read a devotion recently that told of a Pastor receiving a letter that told of the sudden death of a father; a man who years before had drifted away from church and God, but because of unfulfilled intentions and repeated postponements had never made it back into a right relationship.  The last words of the letter from his family were “It’s so easy to get lost from God that sometimes we forget how easy it is to return.”  

It is really easy to get lost if we follow the lies of this world.  These children who attend the Lutheran school at Bois Marchand hear the lies daily from the majority of the people who will intersect their journey each day.  The lies of the vodou priest will tell them that God does not love them.  Day after day family members and friends will try to chip away at their faith with the lies from the vodou priest.  

We know how easy it is to get lost and have seen others separate themselves from their Heavenly Father.  As they become more enmeshed in the daily grind along their journey; obstacles pile up.  It grows harder and harder to find the way back to God and repent of their sins.  Our Heavenly Father is always near; nearer than they think, yearning for them, seeking, searching and calling them back.  That is the picture of God that Jesus places before us in the three stories in Luke 15; the seeking shepherd, the searching housewife and the yearning father.  In each case, the seekers celebrate joyfully when the lost have returned to the fold.  Thank you for continuing to pray for these children, provide for their daily meal and give thanks for their witness in Haiti as they become seekers of the lost.  

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.  

May God be with you…Jay