Prayer guide for July 2023

Trinity HOPE

Prayer Guide for July – 2023

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

‘Adoration’  

1 Samuel 2:1-2; “Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high.  My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.  “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”

Heavenly Father, this month of July is a special month for those of us living here in the United States of America, as we celebrate our independence from an oppressive foreign country that took place almost 250 years ago.  We too often overlook celebrating the victory that Jesus Christ gave us nearly two thousand years ago.  That really needs to be celebrated to the fullest extent; the Freedom that really matters to all people on this planet took place on Easter when the women found that the tomb was empty.  The grandest fireworks display will be pale compared to the moment we enter Paradise.

  A time of ‘Adoration’ to our Triune God.    

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

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

·       Give thanks for where God has placed you in this land where we have so many freedoms and the gifts that you were given to use for Him along your journey.

·       As we read the news today and sense that some of our everyday ‘freedoms’ are being taken away, may we remain focused on the Freedom found from the Empty Tomb that is forever.

·       Try to grasp the immense work that our Creator is doing in the lives of each Haitian child who attended a Christian school this past year.

 ‘Confession’

John 8:7-11; "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  Again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?"  "No one, sir," she said.  "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared.  "Go now and leave your life of sin."

We are grateful, Father, that Your Son did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; as we are ALL sinful.  By Your grace, You have invited people who are imperfect, who are sinful, who have every reason to be ashamed of themselves, who are failures, who are guilty of every kind of wrong; to come to You and to find in You relief from their burdens, hope beyond the present, and relief from shame.

James 5:16; “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

·       A time of personal confession.

Living in self-condemnation for something we have done wrong, we often forget, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus; there is Freedom found in the darkness of the Empty Tomb.  So, this very moment we pray, Father, that You will bring to Yourself those who have not yet found a way to silence the accusers within them; the thoughts that condemn as judge and jury. The tragedy is, when we hear those thoughts, we believe them as true!  Give us the first of several steps toward relief.  Today, we come to the One who is qualified to judge and condemn but, because of His death and resurrection; has set us free.  May we find ultimately the joy of living by grace because of the finished work of Jesus Christ our Savior.

 ‘Thanksgiving’

Our dearest Heavenly Father, thank You that You never miss one single person; here or there on this side of Paradise.  When it's time for promotion, You won't be late. When it's time for rewards, You won't forget.  So, at this awesome moment, we bow before Your mighty throne.  We acknowledge that You've been so very good to us when we've not deserved it.  You've cared for us when once again, we've been repeatedly careless.  You've loved us when we've been terribly unloving and You've met our needs when we didn't even stop to think about what WE ought to be giving to You and Your work that You have prepared for each of us.  You have faithfully and graciously and constantly poured out Your good blessings upon us.  Thank You for Your deliverance.  Thank You for Your discipline when we have needed it.  Thank You for never leaving us.

Psalm 20:4; “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

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 over 62,400 children who received a daily meal form Trinity HOPE this past school year.

·       We give thanks for our providence; monetary, food, clothing, timely moisture, shelter and our freedom from foreign powers. 

·       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 give You thanks for many volunteers who continue to give of their time, talents and treasures to Trinity HOPE and support the lives of Your children throughout Haiti.

 ‘Supplications’

1 Peter 5:5-6; “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”

Heavenly Father, we all have hopes and aspirations and they don’t always match with Your plans for us.  We all have dreams, and though there is nothing wrong with these, how easy it is to be driven by them because the world tells us ‘everyone is doing it’.  How easy it is to feel that if our dreams don't come true, we've somehow not been loved by You.  Too many times we live as if we doubt Your presence.  On this side of Paradise, we've been trained to take care of ourselves; a fine idea that has too often gone to seed.  It's all about my stuff, my freedom, my rights, my promotion, my salary, my place, my life; how unchristian we can be at times.  We acknowledge before You that this life is not about us or our expectations.  Teach us in these days, about the ongoing challenges in Haiti with vodou, gangs and cholera, the value of genuine humility; it is ALL about You.  You are in Control…we follow You.  We depend on You.  We ask that we and the 62,400 Haitian children might become Your tireless and courageous messengers, whose message makes sense because our lives are like Your Son's life; the One who is gentle and humble of heart.

Heavenly Father, we bring our supplications before You;

·       Heavenly Father, please continue to lead and bless Trinity HOPE with Your loving hand; may our donor base grow this summer.

·       Lord of the Harvest, please bless the efforts of the Haitian farmers, may their gardens and homes be protected from storms this summer.

·       Heavenly Father, please bring calm and an end the gang led violence and unrest in Haiti.  May Godly leaders bring an end to lawlessness and the senseless kidnappings, robberies, rapes and murders.  May the hardened hearts of gang members be changed hearts turned to YOU alone.

·       Lord, as this school year comes to a close in Haiti, please protect the children during their time off until school starts back up.  Bless their families with food and Your guidance.

·       Father, please bless Trinity HOPE with more faithful volunteers to accomplish Your work in Haiti.

·       Lord of comfort, please bring relief to the families who were affected by the earthquake that shook the Jeremie area in June.  Restore lives, buildings and Hope where they were shaken.   

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

Walking with Jesus.

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”  Ephesians 5:1-2

The words of the Apostle Paul from Ephesians encourage us to follow God’s example and to walk and love, in the same manner that Christ Jesus loves us.  The child in the attached photo attends the Lutheran school in Ouanaminthe which is located in the Fort Liberte District in the Northern part of Haiti along the border with the Dominican Republic.  Sometimes a photo just speaks for itself and saying thank you for helping to support this child seems so small of a statement for all the blessings that will come from her life in a land with so many challenges. 

The hymn “Let us ever walk with Jesus” which was written by Sigismund von Birken, 1626-1681 and translated by J. Adam Rimbach, 1871-1941, is such a wonderful way to end this devotion.  

“Let us ever walk with Jesus, follow His example pure, flee the world, which would deceive us and to sin our souls allure.  Ever in His footsteps treading, body here, yet soul above, full of faith and hope and love.  Let us do the Father's bidding. faithful Lord, abide with me; Savior, lead, I follow Thee.  Let us suffer here with Jesus, to His image, e'er conform; Heaven's glory soon will please us, sunshine follow on the storm.  Though we sow in tears of sorrow, we shall reap with heavenly joy; and the fears that now annoy shall be laughter on the morrow.  Christ, I suffer here with Thee; there, oh, share Thy joy with me!  Let us also die with Jesus.  His death from the second death, from our soul's destruction, frees us, quickens us with life's glad breath.  Let us mortify, while living, flesh and blood and die to sin; and the grave that shuts us in shall but prove the gate to heaven.  Jesus, here I die to Thee there to live eternally.  Let us gladly live with Jesus; since He's risen from the dead, death and grave must soon release us.  Jesus, Thou art now our Head, we are truly Thine own members; where Thou livest, there live we.  Take and own us constantly, faithful Friend, as Thy dear brethren.  Jesus, here I live to Thee, also there eternally.”

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

On the other side of here.

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”  1Timothy 6:12

Eternal life; what must that be like?  I know what tomorrow will be like, much like today and when these days are filled with mean spirited people, selfish, spoiled, self-centered, rude and unbelievably demanding; then it seems like an eternity until tomorrow will come.  God placed me here for a purpose; I am evidently in need of yet another lesson in patience.  I am beginning to understand the wisdom of a very bright person in this world who said “I thought I wanted a career, turns out I just wanted pay checks.”

Back in the day when I used to travel around Haiti and see Christian children playing in a school yard, like the ones in the photo taken in Ouanaminthe, it brought a smile to my face and peace in this world filled with its worldly ways that don’t have a clue what these small children are going through living in Haiti.

Seeing them endure their daily hardship, and knowing what awaits them in Haiti brings my world into a proper perspective.  We will have much to talk about in Heaven.  Thank you for helping to make that possible by supporting their Christian education and providing them with a midday meal through Trinity HOPE.  Yes, you will see them one day, count on that.  I heard a song recently written by James M. Black in 1893 titled “When the roll is called up yonder” and it reminded me that you, me and these young souls will be there one day, together on the other side of here.

“When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more and the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair; when the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, and the roll is called up yonder; I’ll be there.  On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise, and the glory of His resurrection share; when His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies, and the roll is called up yonder; I’ll be there.”

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

Have you ever really thirsty?

“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 7:37-39

Have you ever been really thirsty?  You may be living in a place that is experiencing severe drought conditions and your crops and gardens may be really thirsty.  I’m just wondering if you have ever been really thirsty, physically or spiritually; have you ever experienced cotton mouth?  When your body gets so dehydrated the inside of your mouth feels like cotton, there is no moisture lingering on the inside of your mouth or on your lips.  The topic of being thirsty caused me to think about my life in North America and also consider the time that I had lived in Haiti.

Back in the day, while working on a survey crew in the Sandhills of Nebraska our task was to put in a centerline along Hwy. 2 between Bingham and Ashby in Grant County.  On one particularly hot day my duty was to place the range pole in the center of the road, get correct directions from the man with the transit, pull a metal chain tight to measure 100.00 feet and then drive in a nail into the pavement with a hatchet to mark the correct alignment; the center of the highway.  We preformed this task every 100 feet for mile upon mile in the heat of summer.

If you have ever had cotton mouth, you never forget that feeling; you are thirsty.  We carried small water jugs and mine happened to be empty one afternoon.  Our survey crew had come to a stopping point and I noticed a windmill spinning and pumping water into a stock tank not too far from the road.  I jumped over the fence and walked to the tank with my jug and too my surprise the few steers that were there drinking did not spook when I approached.  I knelt down and put my head into the metal tank that was filled with cool, clear, clean water that had been pumped out of the Ogallala aquifer and my face was immersed into that living water that quenched my thirst and healed my cotton mouth.

When I moved to Haiti in the spring of 2001 it became immediately apparent that I would be drinking water from a filtered plastic bottle as long as I was there and it would not be the cool or cold water of North America; it would be warm water.  When I got thirsty there was no stock tank along the road where the cure from cotton mouth could be found.  When visits were made to the rural areas there was typically no water available and I would fill my bottle from a puddle in a ditch or a muddy canal.  Families drank small amounts of fruit juice and water from the closest stream but for the most part they were conditioned to not drink much of anything.

The individuals lacked water, and the majority of the country of Haiti still lacks the living water that is found only in Jesus Christ.  Satan has spread cotton mouth throughout the country through the local vodou priest and has told the lie over and over that Jesus died on the tree and was buried and is no more.  The attached photo is of a well at the Lutheran school at Duclos.  Here the students receive living water, physically and spiritually.  Thank you for inviting the Holy Spirit into your life and supporting the work of Holy Spirit in their lives.  The song ‘Holy Spirit, light divine’ was sung on the Lutheran Hour recently and is one of my favorites.  It was written by Orlando Gibbons and first published in 1817.

“Holy Spirit, light divine, dawn upon this soul of mine; let your word dispel the night, wake my spirit, clear my sight.  Holy Spirit, grace divine, cleanse this sinful heart of mine; in your mercy look on me, from sin’s bondage set me free.  Holy Spirit, truth divine, shine upon these eyes of mine; send your radiance from above, let me know my Savior’s love.  Holy Spirit, power divine, fortify this will of mine; bend it to your own pure will, all my life with graces fill.  Holy Spirit, peace divine, still this restless heart of mine; speak to calm the tossing sea, stayed in your tranquility.  Holy Spirit, all divine, dwell within this self of mine; I your temple pure would be now and for eternity.”

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

Being faithful.

“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.” Revelation 2:10b

One of my morning devotions recently focused on the word ‘faithful’.  The Bing dictionary gives the following meanings for this word, “1.  Unwavering in belief: believing firmly in something or somebody, especially a religion or a political doctrine.  2.  Consistently loyal: consistently trustworthy and loyal, especially to a person, promise, or duty.  3.  Not adulterous or promiscuous: not having sexual relations with somebody other than a spouse or partner.  4.  Conscientious: displaying or resulting from a sense of responsibility or devotion to duty.  5.  Correct: accurate and true; "a faithful account of the events".

To what are you faithful?  I have been faithful to many things in this world, machines, people and a few dogs, but ultimately, they have failed me and I at times failed them as well.  There is really, only one sure thing that will never fail us; our Triune God.  The Holy Trinity never fails us, never will; upon Him we place our trust.

The Haitian word for faithful is ‘Fidel.’  If you asked a child in a Trinity HOPE feeding program who they place their trust in, their initial response would probably, and prayerfully be ‘Bondye’ or God.  Their HOPE is built on nothing less.  Their second answer for what they place their trust in are the cooks at their school as typically when the children get to school in the morning, they usually peek around the corner to see if their cook’s smiling faces are there and the fire has been started.  The vodou followers in their neighborhood continue to plant seeds of unbelief that Bondye does not like them and there will be no food at their school.  And the gangs, they just want the food.  Thanks to you, the fire is lit, their faith is secure and growing stronger and the lies of the vodou people are once again proven wrong.  Steve Green wrote the song ‘Find us Faithful’ and it seemed like a wonderful way to close this devotion.

“We're pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road and those who've gone before us line the way cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary.  Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace.  Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us run the race not only for the prize but as those who've gone before us.  Let us leave to those behind us the heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives.  Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.  May the fire of our devotion light their way.  May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe and the lives we live inspire them to obey.  Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful after all our hopes and dreams have come and gone and our children sift through all we've left behind.  May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover become the light that leads them to the road we each must find.”

Thank you for finishing well through your support of Trinity HOPE; may your blessings leave a legacy for generations to come, here the U.S. and 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

The best translation.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

I think that I recently shared that my daughters and I follow the daily devotion on the Bible app on our phones.  I really struggle with the ASV translation that is used and yesterday was another time of frustration.  It is my thought that the group who chose the American Standard Version for this Bible App did so because it was the alphabetical first choice and nobody bothered to check it out.  Thankfully, most of the presenters in the devotion generally read from the NIV which is quite often, noticeably different.  I’m just wondering, which is the best translation that you like to read?  These girls from the Lutheran school in Chincheron are holding up their own copy of the New Testament in French and it’s probably the King James Version.

What is your favorite version?  I feel that the best translation is the one that you can most easily translate it into your life.  That is what Bible study is all about.  If you are not translating God’s Word into your life, you are not studying the Bible the way God intended.  When I get frustrated reading the ASV, my mind begins to wander to the delight of satan. 

God gave us the Bible to transform us, not simply to inform us.  It should give us a bigger heart, not a bigger head.  The purpose of the Bible is more than just showing us what is wrong in our lives or how we should live.  God gave us His Word to radically transform our lives and the lives of His children living in Haiti.

The Bible is essential to our lives because it gives us life.  God gave each of us the Living Word, Jesus, to be the Author and Perfector of our faith.  And He gave us the written Word, the Bible, to prepare us to live out our faith.  The Bible can transform your life today but you have to open it up and start reading and enjoy being in His Word!

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

Good bye.

“Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings.  All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.”  Philippians 4:21-23

It is Saturday morning.  Good bye to the last full week in June.  On this side of Heaven, saying goodbye can sometimes be difficult.  When you travel with a mission team to visit school children in Haiti there is always perhaps one or two children who will just linger and hold on to your hand, your shirt sleeve, tap your leg with their hand just not wanting the moment to end.

Back in the day when I lived in Haiti, it was me at the airport with the departing mission team, hanging with them at the airport while they stood in line waiting to enter the airport terminal.  It was me standing there in the heat, trying to catch one more fleeting glimpse of their smile, one last hand shake, just one more hug…one last word before they left for North America and I would return to my truck and drive back on a long bumpy street up the mountain to my apartment in Petionville.

After spending a week or two of conversation with English speaking brothers and sisters in Christ, it was hard to return up the long hill on Delmas to a hot and lonely apartment room.  Saying goodbye can be difficult on both ends of the handshake.  There is a song by a Gospel group called ‘The Nelons’ that is titled “Christians Never say Goodbye” and it comes to mind every time I have to say goodbye.  Good bye to children in Haiti, goodbye to a loved one or goodbye to one who was close to death.

“I was standing by the bed side of a dear and precious saint with tear stained eyes I held his hand his life was growing faint.  He looked at me and said; "my child why do you look so sad, I'm going now to my new home you'll see me again.  Christians never say goodbye, we only move to our home on high; free from pain and never die with Jesus we will reign.  A wife may lose her husband or a mother lose her child whatever the case we all can say Christians never say goodbye.  Now he's gone to live in heaven, a life free from pain.  His suffering now has an end and our loss will be their gain.  By Jesus rights he is healed; his pain will be no more, let's release the precious saint to the arms of the Lord.”

On a hot afternoon in Ouanaminthe, two girls stood by the open door of our vehicle waiting to say goodbye.  Good bye is temporary in this world.  These faces will be reunited with us in Heaven one day when our journey has ended.  Thank you for preparing these children for the reunion with Jesus, and with you in Heaven.

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

Keep the trinkets...send Jesus.

“Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.  Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.  Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account.  I have received full payment and have more than enough.  I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.  They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.  And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.  To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”  Philippians 4:14-20

I’ve seen the trinkets come to Haiti.  Being from the U.S., I can tell you it hurt to watch.  Back in the day, there were mission teams that brought gifts, suitcases full of odds and ends that they seemingly thought must have been needed by the recipients in a faraway land.  Our ancestors in North America gave blankets, beads and buttons to the Native inhabitants prior to moving into their land.  When the Apostle Paul went on his journeys, Churches provided for him, not the other way around.

Paul was an ambassador for Christ and his message was the Holy Gospel and the news of the gift of salvation that is found only in Christ.  Sometimes we stray from this direction and return to the ways of our past culture.  Instead of bringing that which is of real value and will last forever, the Gospel, we tote and deliver worthless trinkets that only bring short lived happiness.  The child from Ouanaminthe in the attached photo is giving thanks to God for their daily food, and for your support.  She doesn’t know you or me, but she does know Him who brought this food to her table.  It is not about me, it is about Him.  

I read a pearl of wisdom recently which says “When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them, and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.”  Thank you for continuing to pray for the children in Haiti who receive the true gift of life and the gift of nourishment daily.  Also never forget that you are in their prayers as well.  We recently sang ‘Christ be my leader’ which was written by Timothy Dudley-Smith in the early 1960’s and this song reminds us of the presence of Christ in our lives each and every day.

“Christ be my leader by night as by day; safe through the darkness for he is the way.  Gladly I follow, my future his care, darkness is daylight when Jesus is there.  Christ be my teacher in age as in youth, drifting or doubting, for he is the truth.  Grant me to trust him, though shifting as sand, doubt cannot daunt me; in Jesus I stand.  Christ be my Savior in calm as in strife; death cannot hold me, for he is the life.  Nor darkness nor doubting nor sin and its stain can touch my salvation: with Jesus I reign.”

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

Time passes by.

“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me.  Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”  Philippians 4:10-13

Twenty years ago, I had been living in Haiti for 28 months.  Eight years ago I moved from Lincoln, NE to Normal, IL.  Time passes by.  I began writing these messages sixteen years ago.  Time passes by.  If my experience from being in His Word or living in Haiti and pictures and Holy Scriptures do nothing more than causing you to better understand how blessed your life is and how wonderfully our Triune God continues to provide for you and all His children then all is well.  Glory be to Him who has brought this about.

The attached photo from back in the day, is of Pastor Daniel Paul, his wife Clynie and their daughters in Ouanaminthe.  Clynie gave me a “How to speak Creole” book when I first move to Haiti.  It is on my desk here in Normal.  It helped me to learn their language then and I still open its pages when I am searching for words that have slipped away.

Pastor Daniel received his training at the Lutheran Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN and returned to Haiti in the summer of 2001 with Clynie to begin their ministry first in Port-au-Prince and later in Ouanaminthe.  They have been blessed through a relationship with congregations in Washington State that have been mindful in assisting in ways that promote self-dependency.  There is a Trinity HOPE school feeding program at their school and children in their orphanage are some of the children that attend this school.  The song “Thank you Lord for Your blessings on me” by the Easter Brothers was on my computer Gospel station recently and its words gave me added reason for the smiles from the Paul family.

“As the world looks upon me, as I struggle along.  They say I have nothing, but they are so wrong.  In my heart I'm rejoicing, how I wish they could see.  Thank you Lord, for your blessings on me.  There’s a roof up above me, I’ve a good place to sleep.  There’s food on my table and shoes on my feet.  You gave me your love Lord and a fine family.  Thank you Lord, for your blessings on me.  Now I know I'm not wealthy, and these clothes, they're not new.  I don't have much money, but Lord I have you.  And to me that's all that matters, though the world cannot see.  Thank you Lord, for your blessings on me.”

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

Our life's mission.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable; if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me; put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”  Philippians 4:8-9

I was laying awake recently in my climate-controlled room, and having back in the day thoughts.  Twenty years ago, while living in Haiti, my quiet hours either in the early morning or at night if it was just too hot to sleep were spent searching for Bible verses to insert into Powerpoint programs.  The Apostle Paul provided me with a plethora of verses from which to choose from.  These verses in the 4th chapter of Philippians rank very high on the closing passages that I used.  Before he went to be with Jesus, Pastor Darrell Stuehrenberg would remind me that when he read the above passages, that these were his life verses; Pastor Darrell is richly blessed.

When we consider our mission, His mission for us, and how we can be used to do His mission to assist the believers in Haiti to reach the un-believers in Haiti these passages should be considered before anything is planned.  Too often well-meaning North Americans have gone off to foreign lands with their ‘own’ mission ideas that have en-slaved believers in the mission fields.  These types of ‘assistance’ do not go unseen by the un-believers; schools without a roof, broken trucks sitting idle for years, empty medical clinics and empty concrete block churches.  Where is their God, why doesn’t their God come back and fix these problems?

The attached photo was taken in Ouanaminthe, Haiti.  This school does not need to be fixed.  The clothes that this young girl is wearing are just fine.  The food in the bowl supplied by a Trinity HOPE donor is likely her daily meal.  The smile on her face is genuine.  She has a Savior who gave His life for her and prepared a place for her in Heaven.  She has Jesus! 

The hymn “Beautiful Savior” from the Lutheran Hymnal is such a wonderful reminder of what it is that we truly need and also what we have.  No author was ever given for this hymn that appeared in 1677; but surely they must have been a Lutheran who didn’t want this hymn to be about them, but rather about their Savior.  

“Beautiful Savior, King of Creation, Son of God and Son of Man!  Truly I'd love Thee, truly I'd serve Thee, light of my soul, my Joy, my Crown.  Fair are the meadows, fair are the woodlands, robed in flowers of blooming spring; Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer; He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.  Fair is the sunshine, fair is the moonlight, bright the sparkling stars on high; Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer, than all the angels in the sky.  Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations, Son of God and Son of Man!  Glory and honor, praise, adoration, now and forevermore be Thine!”

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