The Kingdom of Heaven.

“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

I lived in Haiti for 33 months and after leaving, I took many trips back to Haiti when possible and coupling those many sights and sounds with every minute now spent looking at photos the question arises “what will it be like in Heaven?”  Will it be more like here in Normal or Haiti?  Will I even care?  When that time comes. I will probably not care and probably will not recall all the worldly questions that were asked throughout my lifetime.

The attached photo was taken on Sunday, October 3, 2010 in Bon Berger Lutheran Church in Caredeux, Haiti.  This was about nine months after the deadly earthquake shook their homes, schools and this church.  There were close to 300 dear souls in the sanctuary on this hot morning and at about one hour and fifty minutes into the service the distribution of Holy Communion was taking place.  It was a somber time for me as there were several faces that were not present, as their work on earth was completed and they were with Jesus in Paradise. 

Alexa played a song recently, 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 one day come together in Paradise.

“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.

Continuing with 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, Sudanese, Haitian and 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 believers 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 the other hundreds of schools throughout Haiti with Trinity HOPE feeding programs.

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

What's his name?

“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

For the past few years, well perhaps a decade, it has become more difficult to remember names.  Do any of you happen to recognize the young boy holding the chair in the attached photo?  I know that I have shared his photo before.  He attends one of the several Lutheran schools 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.

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 on this side of Heaven I want to personally thank you for supporting this young missionary through Trinity HOPE.  His name?  I am going to call him ‘redeemed’.

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

Unforgettable people.

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 1:6

There are many unforgettable sights in Haiti that reflect human suffering in unimaginable ways.  There was the man at the Port-au-Prince airport without any legs, dragging himself along a sidewalk, begging for food or money.  The man in Les Cayes without an arm, praying with his left hand to his forehead.  The young man in the Central Plateau with his elderly mother, who was blinded in an accident came up to me with her and asked me to pray for him.  The demon possessed man in Petionville running naked in between four lanes of traffic on Delmas on a busy afternoon.  Four people I won’t forget.

And then there is the man in the attached photo.  Our office had a woman who cleaned and prepared lunch for the office and Seminary staff.  Her name was Odane and she is a member at Bon Berger Lutheran church in Caredeux.  This man is her husband.  He had a job as a construction worker and provided for his family until he was in an auto accident and was then paralyzed from the waist down.

Odane wanted me to meet him and see if there was anything that I could do to help him.  It was hard to understand what kept his wheelchair together, wobbly wheels rolling into their house and back into their small front area.  We prayed, talked about life, his family, his faith and we even laughed a little when he looked at my ankles.  His wife is a strong Christian and she had their children in the Lutheran school and they scratched out an existence.  By the grace of God, a newer wheelchair from Orphan Grain Train found its way from Norfolk Nebraska into this humble home in Caredeux.

I am mindful of the Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians, we need to be confident Christ did begin a good work in each of us, and will continue to do so until He returns and we are taken to our Heavenly home.  That is what is really important here; that we on this side of Heaven continue to call upon our Triune God to do His work through our lives until He comes back to take us home.  It is important that we continue to support children in Christian schools in Haiti as they do their Heavenly Father’s work in Haiti; rescuing the lost souls from the lies of this fallen world and introduce them to our Savior.

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

Bring the 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

When I was a child and attending St. John’s Lutheran school in Seward, NE, we received a plastic reminder to place on our bed stands; it was the words “God is love” in white plastic and they were glued to a brown plastic base.  Before going to bed, I would put this object a few inches from the lamp on my night stand 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 has her finger; her little Gospel light is shining brightly.  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 that struck her community in January 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 ‘Gospel Light’ 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 lost souls of this fallen 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 all of the other brights Lights attending school in Caredeux who are bringing the light of Jesus Christ into the darkness of this world.

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

How much longer?

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Philippians 4:6

Reading devotions is such a wonderful way for me and hopefully you to get closer to our Triune God.  It keeps me immersed in the Word daily and also gives me another person’s perspective on this world.  Seems that recently I have been doing a lot of waiting and this quote from John Ortberg reminded me that “Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want.  Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be.”

When I look through photos of Haitian children, like these young boys from a Christian school in Gonaives in the attached picture, I know that there are young missionaries there and I wonder how long it will take for their lives to rescue a soul from vodou?  At times I grow impatient waiting for news or stories from our feeding program directors to tell me that a soul was rescued from satan and they were baptized and are now free from sin, death and the devil.  That has happened, I have heard wonderful stories of this happening and I just have to stop being a North American for a moment and be patient and wait.  God has a plan.

There is a lot of vodou and gang activity in and around Gonaives and I am eager to wait for news of their mission to proclaim the Holy Gospel but am reminded that I should not miss the opportunity to actually bear fruit while I am waiting.  We all need to continually bear fruit in the Kingdom instead of merely waiting for the Lord to fulfill our desires.  We need to allow our heart to be aligned with Him in active patience through prayer, reading of scripture, and receiving of guidance and wisdom.  These are the ways in which we "rejoice in the Lord always." In this way, we can experience the very best He has for us and for the children in Haiti while we wait for the news of their victories.

Thank you for daily praying for the over 51,000 children who are being fed spiritually and nutritionally in Christian schools with Trinity HOPE feeding programs.  Thank you for continued support and spreading the word to others who are looking for mission opportunities along their journey, looking for ways to bear fruit for the Kingdom

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

Did you wash?

“The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.  (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)  Mark 7:1-4

When were you taught to wash your hands before meal time and say a prayer before you eat?  As a child, I remember getting my fingernails checked by my mom’s hands and eyes after I had ‘washed’ my hands.  Just splashing some water on my hands didn’t suffice.  When my dad came in from the farm chores and scrubbed his hands with Lava soap, I still recall how white they looked and how clean they smelled.

In the attached photo the children attending the Lutheran school in Cap Haitian are washing their hands before they enjoy their Trinity HOPE lunch.  This is one of the ‘lessons’ that is done at every Trinity HOPE lunch program, along with prayers.  Washing of their hands is so important now especially with the cholera epidemic of recent times.  We probably take washing our hands for granted as we have a faucet inside our homes.  Seldom will you find a faucet in a Haitian school or even a home.

Trinity HOPE is not just about feeding body and soul in Haiti, they also teach hygiene and reinforce the importance of turning our thought of giving thanks for all that we receive every day from our Heavenly Father.  Thank you for continuing to be a blessing to each of the over 51,000 souls who are so thankful for your daily touch in their lives.

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

Challenges...

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’  “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’  “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’  Matthew 25:40-45

From time to time someone will ask me about the times when my life in Haiti was brushed by vodou and how that impacted me.  Vodou is estimated to be practiced by over 65% of Haitians and when we ask people to pray for those 51,000 children in Christian schools, we North Americans probably don’t fully imagine or fully comprehend what they are up against in their daily lives.

The attached photo was taken when I was living in Haiti and is of a Vodou Rara band that was marching down the street outside of my apartment building in Petionville on an Easter afternoon.  Rara bands are often led by a vodou priest and this particular group probably numbered between 400 and 500 followers who were chanting and honking on long bamboo horns and some were pounding on drums.  These people are following the liar and are lost.  These are the people that ‘assure’ children in Christian schools that satan defeated Christ on Good Friday.  They will stress that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and is still in the grave.  In vodou temples there are crosses buried up to the cross bar to signify that Christ is still in the tomb.

These bands are really active during Lent as that is when they will do whatever they can to bring doubt into the lives of Christians in Haiti.  They generally march on Saturday night and don’t stop until the middle of Sunday morning; hopeful that will keep people from attending worship service. 

On the first Monday of every month, we ask that you dedicate a prayer time at 10 AM for children in Trinity HOPE feeding programs.  May their lives be protected by a company of angels as they are Spirit driven to proclaim the Gospel of our Risen Lord and Savior to the lost, such as these and the gang members, in their families, neighborhoods and to strangers on their streets throughout 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

Praying and trusting.

“But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.  And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:32

In this passage, Jesus is praying for Simon Peter, what a wonderful reassurance; when we pray in the name of Jesus; He intercedes for us.  This was a time when satan was seeking to separate Peter from Christ; admit it, it does happen to us too.  On this side of Paradise, when we see something more exciting in this world than holding our eyes upon His Cross, we need to be reminded that He is still in our presence; it is us that are turning away.

What is tempting you to turn away?  There are wrongs, there are failures, and there are injustices.  Where is God in the middle of temptations?  We want to escape and find safety.  He is permitting challenges; to draw us closer to Him.   

You and I could mention events in our lifetime that the Lord could have stopped, but He didn't.  In spite of the many, seemingly unjust challenges that we face…we trust Him.  They are a part of His perfect plan for us.  You can't explain it.  We aren't able to understand it, and there will be times you won't like it.  We trust Him anyway.

Living in North America on this side of Paradise, too often we don’t know how much we have been blessed.  How often we have been rescued, gifted, healed or been comforted by our Savior’s prayers.  When the end of our journey arrives and we are brought into our Heavenly home, we will hopefully be able to realize all of the times He has touched our lives and we will have endless times to praise Him.

These children in the attached photo, attend the Lutheran School in St. Marc and they pray for you daily.  They ask their Savior to bless your journey, they give thanks for you and rejoice for the blessings that you have provided for them; a meal at their school every day.  That day when you stand at the feet of your Savior, look around you and see their joy filled faces next to you as they join in praising our Savior.  I would like to close this devotion with the words from the first verse of the hymn ‘While yet the Morn is Breaking’ which was written by Johannes Muehlmann in 1613.

“While yet the morn is breaking, I thank my God once more, beneath whose care awaking, I find the night is o'er, I thank Him that He calls me to life and health anew; I know, whate'er befalls me, His care will still be true.”

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

Refusing to be rescued.

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.  The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.  The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,” 1 Corinthians 2:13-15

I happened to come across a message from Pastor Ken Klaus that was titled “Refusing Rescue” and his message seemed to match with things happening in Haiti today.  He wrote about the construction of the Kariba Dam between Zambia and Zimbabwe and how building of this structure displaced close to 60,000 people from both countries.  The people knew what was happening and even though they might not have liked the project they understood that they would have to move. 

The bigger problem was that the animals didn’t understand what was about to happen, the flood was coming and it would not cease until their territory was under a lot of water.  With the flood gates closed, a team of animal rescuers came together to rescue the antelope, leopard, elephants, the buffalo, the rhinoceros; all the animals from their shrinking islands being overtaken by the coming flood.  The animals didn’t understand the dam, appreciate the rising water and resisted the efforts of their well-meaning rescuers.

The attached photo is of a vodou temple Northwest of St. Marc and sadly these temples are a haven where over 65% of the population of Haiti don’t seek help from the ‘rising waters’; the problems caused by satan, bad government, disease, gangs and angry neighbors in the Dominican Republic.  They seek assistance from the vodou priest to call upon their evil spirits to rescue them from the ‘rising waters’.  The vodou priest insists that Jesus Christ died on the cross and was buried and satan was victorious…period.  The vodou followers march through the cities and rural roads proclaiming victory for satan on Easter.  Refusing to be rescued.

We have the Holy Spirit, and need to share good news, the truth, with those who are sadly following the loser, the liar and the louse of this world.  God sent a rescuer into this world, His Son our Savior, and Christ gave us a commissioning to go and make disciples throughout the world. 

Thank you for following His call to throw the only life preserver to the lost in Haiti that will save, by promoting Christian education through your generous donation to Trinity HOPE.  They will pass the life preserver to the lost, who have been and are continuing to refuse to be rescued.  Thank you for helping them to reach out to the lost, those who have not heard the truth, those who have resisted being rescued because they believed the lies of satan.

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

God's plan.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Philippians 4:4-6

I worship at Our Redeemer Lutheran in Bloomington, IL and we have been in a vacancy since September of 2021.  A week ago, since beginning to go through this vacancy, we sent our 3rd Call to Pastor Andrew Smith who is from Raleigh, NC.  Our congregation has been praying for God’s plan to be revealed and after each of the first two Calls were sent and returned…we waited...and prayed some more.  Here on this side of Paradise, we don't understand why the Call was returned.  But God knows.  What we don’t see is that He is doing something deep and mysterious; beyond our humble understanding.

The attached photo was taken by Lori Wolfe-Beerenstrauch; probably in the summer of 2000 while there with a mission team.  It has always been one of my favorites as the smile on the mother’s face exemplifies the above verses from the fourth chapter of Philippians.  God has a plan for these two. 

Her expression speaks volumes of gentleness...the Lord is near and don’t be anxious about anything.  If you knew where she lived, saw her small dwelling, no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no ample supply of food or clean water…well you just have to ask how can she be so calm, at peace and happy.  These two are a part of God’s plan just where they are.

When you see a group of Haitian school children walking to school down a dirty path in their clean school uniforms, coming from similar living conditions, with broad smiles on their faces…how can this be?  The mother has her child in her arms and is confident that God is taking care of her today and will again tomorrow.  The children walking to school are also delighted that they are heading to school where there is a promise of food, every day, and they too know that God took care of them yesterday, will take care of them today and will again be there tomorrow.  Our congregation is at peace that God has a plan for us and one day we will again have a shepherd to lead us.

How often are we like that mother, at peace and comforted in the knowledge that our Triune God is taking care of us?  We are so self-dependent; we get our food, buy more clothes than we care to look at, buy our cars, home, health insurance and pay no attention to our electricity, indoor plumbing, clean water and heat in the winter and AC in the summer.

God’s plans don’t always seem to fit ‘our plans’.  God doesn't always have a "wonderful plan" for everybody's life, at least not how our eyes view it.  Not on this side of Paradise.  For some lives His plan is Lou Gehrig's disease.  For some, they are living in Haiti running from gang members.  For some lives, His plan is a life of pain.  For others, heartbreak and brokenness, blindness or paralysis, or congenital complications and for many of them, His plan is to answer no to their requests for healing.  But we don't like that and find it difficult to accept.  How well do you accept the unfolding plan of God for your life?

When was the last time you were in a challenging crisis?  When was the last time you were on your knees praying for deliverance from the hole that you dug yourself into?  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Every situation should be brought to our Heavenly Father in prayer.  Today I am asking that you pray for the family of Lee Compton, as she passed away on Saturday.  She followed His plan while giving of her time, talents and treasures to support Haitian school children through Trinity HOPE.  I thank you as well while on this side of Paradise for supporting Christian education in Haiti and for being His servants for His children in Haiti, providing food for them every day and continuing to rejoice in the fact that we are saved because of His Son.

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