Relief from a burdened soul.

“He restoreth my soul…” Psalm 23:3

We all need our soul restored.  We have all been hurt, not just emotionally, but spiritually, as well.  We have all been beaten up by life.  We all have hidden the pain, the emptiness and the guilt of our past sins.  We have all carried around with us these wounds and battle scars.  All of this truly burdens our soul, and we need it restored.

The good news here is that God wants nothing more than to restore our soul as David tells us in this Psalm; “He restoreth my soul” (v3).  In the Hebrew, the word for “restore” (shûwb) is a verb that can mean many different things.  It can mean to return to go back, to do again, to withdraw, to bring back, to restore, as well as other meanings.  This verb is used over one thousand times in Scripture with various meanings.  In the context of Psalm 23, it means to restore or to bring back the soul as if it had flown away.  It can then come to itself again, there by imparting or giving the soul new life.

The soul (nephesh) that David speaks of here, can also have different meanings, such as a breathing creature.  However, in this context this noun is speaking of the inner being, with all its thoughts and emotions.

David is saying here that it is the Lord, our Good Shepherd, who brings back (restores) our inner being (soul) from the dryness, the emptiness, the heat of temptation and sin, so that we may taste the very essence of life in His presence, which refreshes us, strengthens us, and gives us a new life.

So, how does God do all of this?  He does it through Christ Jesus.  Whether we are dealing with the guilt of our own sins, the pain and hurt that comes from others who have sinned against us, or the grief of losing a loved one, our Good Shepherd is always right there to restore our soul and bring that new life in Him into our hearts.

The most basic truth of Christianity is that Jesus Christ has already paid for all our sins.  Everything that was wrong between God and us, Jesus has made right through His saving work on the cross.  His resurrection is absolute proof that this is true.  No psychologist, counselor or therapist has the power to wipe the slate clean and bring us back into a right relationship with our God.  Only the Lord can do that.  Only the Good Shepherd has the power to restore our soul.

It is through faith in Christ that we are brought back into this very real and loving relationship with the Almighty God.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can let go of ourselves and place our whole life and complete trust in Christ Jesus, our Good Shepherd.

What is so freeing for us is when God forgives, it is immediate, it is complete, it is unconditional.  So when we take hold of how our Good Shepherd has brought this restoration into our life, it actually affects so many other areas of our life.  This is what enables us to forgive those who have hurt us, instead of holding on to that anger and hard heartedness.  This is what enables us to move beyond the emptiness of grieving when a love one dies, and see things with “eternity eyes”, eyes that see that the story has not ended, it has just moved on to a different chapter.  This is the reality of having our soul restored by our Good Shepherd.  He truly is the One who restores all things, including our soul and makes all things new.  This is why we must cling to this amazing grace of God and trust not in ourselves or this world, but in the life-changing, life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd.  This is where we find restoration for our souls.

Dear 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,

Keith Enko

Combating busyness.

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.” Psalm 23:2

“Busyness” is a way of life for us.  I mean, how many families today actually sit down together for dinner?  According to a recent poll, almost 60% of Americans say that they would like to slow down and relax more.

Well, Psalm 23 has the answer to busyness.  “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.” (v2)

Look at the first three words, “He maketh me”.  When we trust that “The Lord is my Shepherd,” that means that He is the One who is at the controls in our life.  He is the One who is ruling in us.  As our Shepherd, we know Him and we know His voice (John 10:18).  So we follow our Shepherd, because we know He loves us and wants what is best for us.

It is from this love, care and compassion that our Shepherd makes us to lie down in green pastures and leads us beside still waters.  He knows that those green pastures and still waters are places of rest and feeding.  They are safe places where we can be refreshed and relax.  This is what our Shepherd wants for us.

When we are rested in the Lord, we receive the energy and the strength to make it through each day and to enjoy this life so much more.  This is the way God has designed us.  In fact, this is so important to the Lord that He even gave us the command to rest.  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex 20:8).  He is speaking of a Sabbath rest, where for six days we are to work, but on the Sabbath day, we are to stop and rest.  This is to be a “holy” day, a day “set apart” for the Lord.  Our God knows that we need to rest, to recharge, to revitalize, so that we can be healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  This is God’s command to us!

For us as Christians, this is really a call for us to answer the invitation that Jesus extends to us in Matthew’s Gospel; “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

Please understand, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is the only One who can offer us a true Sabbath rest.  When we are yoked to Jesus, we are yoked to the person of Jesus Christ. Yoked to His love, to His death and resurrection, and to the forgiveness, freedom, and release from the power that sin, death, hell and Satan had over us.  Because we are yoked to Jesus, none of that can touch us anymore!

This means that when we are yoked to Jesus we are no longer burdened by our guilt, fears, regrets, doubts, worries, anxieties, or stress.  This is what Jesus means when He says, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (V30).

Simply put, this is another way of saying, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside still waters.” (Ps 23:2).  This is where we find rest from all that busyness in our life. And this is why it’s absolutely imperative that we let go of ourselves and seek the peace and rest that is only found in the presence of our Good Shepherd.

Dear 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,

Keith Enko

Combatting worry.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

At one time or another, all of us have been overcome by worry.  We’ve worried about our finances, our job, our children, our relationships, our health, etc.  But if you think about it, there are three reasons why it is so senseless for us to worry.

First, Worry is unhelpful.  It never accomplishes anything, nor does it solve any problems.  It cannot change the past, nor can it control the future.

Second, Worry is unreasonable.  It only magnifies the problem and make it seem bigger than it really is.

And third, Worry is unhealthy.  Statistics show that roughly 75% of all visits to primary care physicians are stress-related complaints and disorders, which includes worry.

So, what is God’s antidote for worry?  To Trust That The Lord Will Take Care Of You.  Verse 1 of Psalm 23 states, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  If you truly believe that the Lord is your Shepherd, are you going to worry?  Of course not!  Instead, you will trust that God will provide for all your needs, because this is what shepherds do.

A shepherd “provides” for his sheep.  That includes food, shelter, and the basic needs.  A shepherd “protects” his sheep from anything that threatens them.  A shepherd “guides” his sheep.  Even though sheep truly are dumb, most of the time they follow their shepherd, trusting that he knows what is best for them.  And a shepherd “gathers” his sheep.  When his sheep are going in the wrong direction, he gathers them up and brings them back.

Isn’t this exactly what the Lord promises us?  “He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:11)

So, the antidote for all this worry is to make the Lord God your Shepherd.  This happens by letting go of that control that you want in your life and actually placing your trust in the Lord.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to open your heart, to open your whole life to the Lord.  What this does is it makes you so much more aware of God’s presence in your life, His love for you, and all that He has done and continues to do out of that love.  When you see your Lord in this light, it really does enable you to trust that all that was wrong between you and God, Jesus has made right.

This is when Jesus really becomes so much more a part of your life.  As He put it, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:18)

Three things happen here: first you hear His voice.  Second you have a real relationship with Him and truly know Him.  And third, you follow Him because you trust in Him.  What all of this is saying is that you need to put the Lord God in control of your life.

This brings me back to the topic of “worry”.  Worry is a control issue.  It comes from you trying to take control of what you cannot control.  So ask yourself, who do you really want to have control in your life?

Overcoming worry is a day-by-day choice.  There is no pill you can take to stop worrying.  Nor is there any seminar or book or sermons that will make you stop worrying.  The antidote for worry is simple, put the Lord in control of your life as your Shepherd.  After that you will want for nothing.

Dear 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,

Keith Enko

The best water.

“,,,but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  John 4:14 NIV.

A few more thoughts about water made their way into my upper processor after yesterday.  The quality and quantity of water in Haiti is some of the poorest in the world according to a recent article in the National Geographic.  It is no wonder why a river or canal near a Haitian village is such a public meeting place.  As seen in the attached photo near Gonaives, people bathe, do their laundry, gather water for drinking and cooking and also water their goats, pigs and cattle in the same area.

Jesus Christ is the Living Water and that is something that all of us need to survive.  A lack of living water can cause symptoms of “spiritual deadness.”  If you’re feeling spiritually dead, God offers hope to restore your supply channels to his living water.  Our spirits are like streams branching off God’s river.  His river keeps life flowing through our spiritual veins and washes away impurities.  His water satisfies each of us in a special way.  Drinking the living water brings contentment; it nourishes and heals us, enabling us to be fruitful for God and it in turn causes new springs of living water to well up in us, flowing into the lives of people around us. 

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38 NKJV.  How many of the people in this canal know about living water?  How many are still caught in the lies of the local vodou priest and caught in the drought of satan?  Thank you for supporting Christian education in the Gonaives area, for supplying the young missionaries attending school there with a noon meal that will provide them with physical strength as they share their river of life with the lost in Haiti.

Dear 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

Living water.

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.  Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”  John 7:37-37.

While in my kitchen last night, refilling my glass with ice cubes and water from the faucet, I thought about how often, we take the quality and availability of our water for granted here in Normal, North America.  As a child living in Nebraska, I remember being able to drink out of the water hand pump near the barn.  While working on a survey team in the Nebraska Sandhills, I would go and fill my empty thermos bottle with water directly from the cattle tank on the prairie.  Water is so precious, and that gift of water should always remind us of how truly precious is the gift of living water that Jesus shared with us.

The attached photo was taken at one of the Lutheran schools in Cap Haitian, where they are blessed to have a well.  The children at this school and the people in the neighborhood can come and drink freely of this water.  Our mission team members could also drink of this water, but only through a filtered water bottle lest they become ill from the shallow well.

There are some schools in Haiti that have a cistern that holds water that has either been brought in or was filled with rain water.  There is a huge difference between a cistern and a well.  A cistern is labor intensive and has to be filled with water from the outside.  It is not self-renewing and can run dry.  The wells in the Sandhills, and the one in the photo in Haiti are artesian wells and they have flowing water that bubbles up with its cool and refreshing blessing.

This same difference exists between a person trying to ‘be spiritual’ and a Spirit-filled person. When we become Christians, Jesus blesses us with his Spirit.  That presence and power in our lives makes all the difference in the world.  It is his Living Water inside of us, renewing us, refreshing us, empowering us, slaking our thirst, and giving us life.  Living for Jesus is more than just a spiritual commitment on our part requiring our effort; it is also the gift and blessing of Jesus enabled by his Spirit.

Like the two girls and the missionary at this well in Haiti, we too are filled with Living Water inside of us, flowing through us as we share the news of our risen Savior Jesus Christ with the lost.  Thank you for being a blessing to the children in Cap Haitian who share their living water and message of Hope with the lost and thirsty souls in their neighborhoods.

Dear 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

Saying goodbye.

“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”  Acts 1:9-11

Throughout the past decades, Mission team members from many countries that have been to Haiti, seeing children, sharing their medical skills with people of all ages, photographers who have captured images and people like me who were blessed to have lived there, have shook their hands, hugged them, patted their heads, laughed with them, prayed with them and experienced their joy and suffering; we all share the same sorrow when it is time to leave and board the airplane and leave for our homeland.

Being separated from their smiles is hard; their faces in photographs bring comfort when memories of that short term relationship come to mind.  There are photographs on the walls in my home and my laptop is filled with many faces.  Do you have special things that you hold on to; cherishing the memories?  The attached photo is a nameless memory for me.  Somebody’s mother, wife, sister and perhaps a grandmother from Port-au-Prince.   This is a memorable ‘goodbye’ photo, a woman at the airport with a handkerchief to wipe the tears as new friends leave.

There is a Michael W. Smith song that Alexa played recently and it puts these feelings into words.  “Tell me when the time we had slipped away; tomorrow turned to yesterday and I don’t know how.  Tell me what can stop this river of tears; it’s been building up for years for this moment now.  Here I stand arms open wide.  I’ve held you close, kept you safe till you could fly.  Tell me where the road ahead is gonna bend and how to harness up the wind and how to say goodbye.  Tell me why, why does following your dreams take you far away from me and I knew that it would.  Tell me how to fill the space you left behind; how to laugh instead of cry and how to say goodbye.”

Saying goodbye to Haiti, saying goodbye to Jesus; don’t be sad, you will see them again soon.  Jesus left us with His Spirit and Word.  Haiti has left you with their love and images.  And you can continually remind them of you through your generous gift to Trinity HOPE; as there are now 62,400 children who daily receive a bowl of beans and rice as they share their love and your love of Jesus Christ with their neighbors in the streets of Haiti.

Dear 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

New numbers.

“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.”  Matthew 13:47

March 1, new numbers.  The Trinity HOPE Board had a Zoom meeting a week ago and it opened with a devotion from Chad, updates from Keith Logan and Candi and closing prayer from Pastor Keith Enko.  If you have been reading or hearing any news coming from Haiti these days it is hard to watch as more challenges are crushing that country.  Gangs, inflation, cholera and vodou continue to torment families.  I wasn’t really expecting much good news but our Triune God continues to bless His children in Haiti.  Starting this month, the new number of children being fed is 62,400 in 277 schools.  Beni soit L’Eternal!!! 

More young missionaries are being prepared to share the Good News to those without HOPE in a country full of challenges.  More souls saved for the Kingdom.  Heaven is gaining many new faces.  Do you ever imagine “what will it be like in Heaven?”  Will it be more like Normal or Haiti?  Will I even care when my foot takes that first step into Eternity?  When that last grain of sand drops in my hourglass, I will probably not care and probably will not recall all the worldly questions that I had recorded on this side of Paradise.  

The attached photo was taken on Sunday, October 3, 2010 in Bon Berger Lutheran Church in Caredeux, Haiti.  There were close to 300 souls in the sanctuary on that hot Sunday morning and at about one hour and fifty minutes into the service the distribution of Holy Communion was taking place.  This is a normal occurrence in Haiti; if a service would always last this long in North America the pews would probably be empty at the 90 minute mark. 

Alexa shared a song recently that I hadn’t heard in a while; an old Gospel song titled ‘Never grow old.”  The words brought me to think about what Heaven will be like for the souls in Haiti and in Normal who will come together in Haiti.  Verses one and two.

“I have heard of a land on a faraway strand, tis a beautiful home of the soul; build by Jesus on high where we never shall die.  Tis a land where we shall never grow old.  In that beautiful home where we’ll never more roam, we shall be in the sweet by and by; happy praise to the King through eternity sings.  Tis a land where we shall never die.”

Considering what Heaven might be like through these words, it sounds like it will be an improvement to everyone on this planet, no matter where we are now living or in whatever our present situation may be; rich, poor, healthy, sick, hungry or starving.

Verse three; “When our work here is done and the life-crown is won, and troubles and trials are o’er; all our sorrows will and our voices will blend with the loved ones who’ve gone on before.”

All of God’s children will be in Heaven, yellow, black, white, doesn’t matter; they will all be there.  American, Canadian, Mexican, Sudanese, Haitian, Indian…doesn’t matter; they will all be there.  What a shame if the lost didn’t hear the message of salvation.  Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."  That is the call to the people in Caredeux and to you and to me…”seek and save the lost.”  Thank you for supporting the children in Caredeux, Cap Haitian, Jacmel, Jeremie, Gonaives and all of the 277 schools throughout Haiti with Trinity HOPE feeding programs.

Dear 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

Getting a shoulder tap.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  John 10:10

There is a thief that comes to steal our time, steal our resources and rob us of our energy.  Satan wants all of our attention, all of our time, all of our resources and all of our energy to be used by him in this sinful world where he roams daily; seeking to devour and claim lost souls for an eternity in hell.

While writing a devotion yesterday I was listening to the radio and a Pastor happened to be talking about being tapped on the shoulder and asked what our reaction is when somebody taps on our shoulder.  We generally turn around to see what the person tapping wants to either tell us or ask of us; that would be a normal reaction.

Throughout the Old Testament God tapped on the shoulders of people He had chosen to do His work.  Their replies were varied.  Some said “Here am I” and some said “Please don’t send me there” and too often free will came upon them and they turned away and tried to hide.

In his explanation of the third article of the Apostle’s Creed Martin Luther wrote “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel and enlightened me with His gifts.”  The Holy Spirit comes into our lives, tapping on our shoulders every day; wherever we may be.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit finds us in the kitchen peering into the refrigerator, lounging in the recliner, in the garage admiring our stuff, at the computer, at the store or out on the deck watching and smelling the feast in my Oklahoma Joe smoker.  He taps on our shoulder and nudges us in a direction that this world would say “you fool.”  He taps on our shoulder and asks “what are you doing with your time?”  Often the replies of this world are “this is too much fun, it is my time, it is my money” or “I will get to your business later, perhaps for a couple of hours on Sunday.”

The Holy Spirit calls, gathers and enlightens us with His gifts.  As we occasionally drift into the alluring ways of this world the Holy Spirit taps on our shoulder and reminds us that there is work to do, more children to feed in Haiti; thousands more children to feed in Haiti; thousands more lost souls to save in Haiti, here in my city, here to the ends of this earth. 

Each of us was given specific gifts, talents and treasures to use for His work.  I listened to the song “three wooden crosses” by Randy Travis yesterday on Alexa and it reminded me of how important it is to always be attentive to the nudging from the Holy Spirit.  I’m not going to share the whole song but just the first couple of verses.

“A farmer and a teacher, a hooker and a preacher, ridin' on a midnight bus bound for Mexico.  One's headed for vacation, one for higher education, an' two of them were searchin' for lost souls.  That driver never ever saw the stop sign.  An' eighteen wheelers can't stop on a dime.  There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway,  why there's not four of them, Heaven only knows.  I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go.”

I have seen wooden crosses along highways.  There is one cross just outside of York, NE where my dad died in an car accident a week before Christmas in 1957.  I have seen them in Haiti where there had been bus accidents and Christians lost their lives and gained their Eternal Glory.  This simple song not only makes me think about how many lives in Haiti that are needing to hear the Gospel message from a child in a Trinity HOPE feeding program, and receive their wooden cross when their journey is complete.

The last from the verse of the song, “I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go” reminds me of what am I leaving behind.  How have I finished the work He gave me to accomplish?  How many tasks have I left undone or turned away from?  I am sinful and I know fully well that I have not always turned around when I was tapped on the shoulder, but too often have turned away.

We need to invite the Holy Spirit into our lives, to come and tap on our shoulder and finish well the work that He has for us to accomplish.  If it doesn’t seem like there is anything for us to do, our Savior tells us to knock on the door and ask; and be patient and wait for His directions.

Dear 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

The boy with a chair on his head.

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:12-13

During the past few years, it has become increasingly difficult for me to remember names.  Do any of you happen to recognize the young boy holding the chair in the attached photo?  He attends the Lutheran school in Cap Haitian and your gift to Trinity HOPE might be providing his noon meal.  Do you remember his name?

When I look at his photo the words “I love you” seem to be in his eyes.  "I love you" is a phrase that everyone longs to hear...often.  Looking at this boy might make one imagine that real love is evident without a word needing to be said.  His eyes are saying “I love you” and thank you for your attention to his needs, affection for his school and sacrifice that you have shown for the other people they care about.  Wish I knew his name.

If you ever wondered about how much God loves you and him, just look at what He's done for all of us.  When Jesus arms were stretched wide on the cross, He was saying "I love you" more beautifully than it's ever been said before.  But God's love didn't stop there as He daily listens to your prayers and his prayers as if the two of you were the only people in His world.  He brings good things into your life and then seemingly out of nowhere He brings blessings to this nameless boy in Cap Haitian.  God's love for you will not end nor will His love for children in Haiti end.

I recently came across a saying by an ‘unknown author’ that said “Jesus did not come to make God's love possible, but to make God's love visible.”  Have you seen any of His love visible in the world around you recently?  Dear friends, there won’t be any nametags in Heaven and you will know his name and he will certainly remember you.  On behalf of this little guy with a chair o his head on this side of Heaven I want to personally thank you for supporting this young missionary through Trinity HOPE.

Dear 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

The Gospel Light.

“You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:14-16

Back in the day, when I was a child and attending St. John’s Lutheran School in Seward, the AAL provided each student with a plastic knickknack to place on our bed stand; it was the words “God is love” in greenish-white plastic and they were glued to a brown plastic base.  Before going to bed, I would put this object a few inches from my bedside lamp for a few minutes and then turn out the light and it would glow in the dark…”God is love.”

It was a reminder to me, as I was praying and then looking at it before I fell asleep that God loved me.  I had that piece of plastic to remind me and the young girl in the attached photo who has her finger, her little Gospel light shining.  She attends Bon Berger Lutheran school in Caredeux which is a suburb of Port-au-Prince.

She learned the “This little Gospel Light of Mine” from a mission team that visited the school and she no doubt still had that light on following the earthquake in 2010.  Jesus is the light of the world but He also said to us, “You are the light of the world.”  Our lights continue to shine His light into this dark world.

We have the ‘light of this world’ and prayerfully we are not hiding it, under a bowl, in a closet or in a hectic life pursuing the ways of this world.  Satan would desire us to keep our light under a box and out of sight of others.  One of the verses of the song is; “Don’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine, Let it shine, Let it shine.”

Satan may not be able to blow out our light but the world can tell us that our light will offend others; therefore, we should never put it on display.  The sin filled world can also tell us that our light will cause others to laugh; therefore, we should always keep it hidden.  This young girl knows that we can’t put it under or a basket or let Satan blow it out.  This little light of mine, I have to let it shine.  Thank you for supporting her and the other 568 light houses attending school in Caredeux who are bringing the light of Jesus Christ into the darkness of this world.

Dear 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