The 'Come' Prayer.

“Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed.”  Martin Luther, 16th Century.

Did your school have a hot lunch program?  What are your memories of that noon meal?  I remember sitting down at the big table and reciting the “Come” prayer together.  Our Lutheran school had smiling cooks who placed the food, we didn’t get to choose the food, onto our partitioned plastic trays and then we picked up our milk bottles at the end of the line.  There were several children in my school that didn’t like their food to ‘touch’ one another, the green beans should not ‘touch’ the mashed potatoes; I was a ‘mixer’ and enjoyed the blending of the flavors.

We had five different items each day, always something different.  I don’t have any fond memories of the food that I liked, only the stuff that didn’t hit my taste buds with a pleasant note; canned spinach or peas always struck a sour note in the back of my throat.  They were always a magnet for my gag reflex because of their texture, not their flavor.

I don’t recall ever noticing kids in my school ever going to lunch “hungry” but rather it was just another activity of our day.  The majority of us had breakfast and would eat dinner when we got home and probably another something before we went to bed.  Giving thanks for my lunch didn’t really seem that important, it was always there, just like all the other meals.

There are 24 plates of rice and beans on the serving table at Bois Marchand which is on the outskirts on the Northern edge of Gonaives.  These plates are ready to be served to one class of children who didn’t have breakfast and when they get home, there won’t be dinner waiting for them and nothing before they go to bed.

When these kids say their prayer before receiving this blessing, you can tell that this is something that really is important to them.  They will eat every grain of rice and every single bean on their plate this day, tomorrow, next week and next month. 

Is there anything in your North American life that brings you to your knees to give thanks for in these challenging days?  A little under ten dollars will feed the twenty-four children who received this blessing at their Lutheran school in Bois Marchand.  Ten dollars probably won’t even get you into the door of a Pizza buffet to eat food that you probably don’t need, but will provide each of these precious lives with the sustenance that they have been waiting for this day and every day.  The board of directors for Trinity HOPE and the children of Bois Marchand thank you for your continued prayers and financial support.

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

Bright smiles and Hope.

Bright smiles and Hope.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

I can’t begin to count the number of times people have commented on the bright smiles on the faces of the children in the Trinity HOPE photos.  The smiles are real and too bad you cannot hear their giggling, feel their hugs and fully embrace their appreciation for your gift that provides a pot of food outside their school.

Perhaps their hope is what we really can’t comprehend.  They have a new found hope in Jesus Christ that has conquered the neighborhood gangs and the vodou priest on the Calvary cross and they know that they are saved.  They come to school hungry as they typically have little or nothing to eat for dinner or breakfast and when we take their photo sitting at their desk, they can smell the food and the smiles tell you that there is a special blessing waiting for them.

We have known Jesus for some time, some of us were baptized as infants and have walked with him all our lives and probably take way too much for granted.  We have food, in our cupboards, in our fridge, freezer, pantry, desk, nightstand, automobile and probably even something stashed in a coat pocket.  The wild birds and pesky squirrels here in Bloomington, IL eat better every day than the children in the attached photo attending a school in Les Cayes.

It is hard to imagine how something so small from us can mean so much to them.  Just a little over six dollars will feed these sixteen children in the Southwest corner of Haiti a meal of beans and rice for a day.  There are many more children in their area that receives funding from an LWML Grant to Trinity HOPE.  Our Triune God feeds His sheep through people like you in His world.  Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support.

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 will provide.

“Some time later God tested Abraham.  He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.  Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah.  Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”  Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey.  He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac.  When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.  On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.  He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there.  We will worship and then we will come back to you.”  Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.  As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”  “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.  “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”  Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”  And the two of them went on together.  When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.  He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.  Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.  But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”  “Here I am,” he replied.  “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said.  “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”  Genesis 22:1-12 When time allows please read on thru verse 19.

This lesson struck me this morning.  While it is so hard to imagine being willing to sacrifice one’s own child to obey God, I think that Abraham knew that God would never ask him to do that.  Even before the 10 commandments, we know that the people of God knew that murder was wrong.  Abraham demonstrates his absolute trust in God’s loving nature when he follows his command and expects God to deliver and protect his son’s life.  Abraham also knew that God had promised that he would make his descendants as plentiful as the stars in the sky.  We can trust God to deliver on his promises.  Always.  

This story also foreshadows the amazing sacrifice that God the father made for each and every one of us who call him Lord.  He indeed did sacrifice his one and only son for us.  He allowed him to suffer a vary painful death and be mocked by us sinners and ultimately die to reestablish a relationship with us.  I think all of us who are parents cringe when we read this story because he wonder, I would never sacrifice my son or daughter.  I don’t think God ever planned to follow through on that, but he was setting us up to appreciate at a more personal level the amazing gift that he gave to us through the death of his one and only son, Jesus. 

Friends, be blessed today knowing that Our God loves us SO MUCH!  Every gift that we have comes from Him!  We are to follow in Abraham’s footsteps and TRUST GOD with even our most cherished blessings knowing that God has a good plan and his plan never fails. 

Father God, forgive us when we fall short and cling too tightly to the things of this world.  Renew our faith and trust in you today that we may be willing to offer up everything you give us back to you for your use and service knowing that your will is good and you are amazing. We love you.  In Jesus’s precious name we pray, AMEN. 

Deidre Brinkmeyer Larson

February Prayer Guide

Prayer Guide for February – 2026

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

“I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.”  Martin Luther

‘Adoration’

Exodus 15:1-2; “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted.  Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.  “The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.  He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

As you sit reading this, the cold of winter is upon us and we have endured at least one major winter storm thus far here in the Midwest of the U.S.  Our temperatures have been like a roller coaster that reminds us of Who is in charge.  There will always be a tomorrow, as that is how our Creator planned it.  Tomorrow; either here in the temporary shelter on this side of Heaven or tomorrow, rejoicing inside our permanent home in Heaven; He is always daily providing for our well-being here and has prepared a place for us in His home on the ‘other side’ of here. 

  A time of ‘Adoration’ to our Heavenly Father.    

·        Please take time to sit and consider how our Triune God comes to us through His ‘WORD’ every day and how He has impacted your life.

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

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

 ‘Confession’

Psalm 32:5; “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”  And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

We were born, sinful and unclean, through no fault of our own, but because of the sins of our parents, grandparents…Adam and Eve. 

God sent His only Son to die for our sins. Jesus did everything right while he was here on this earth. He loves you with a love that cannot be measured.  He gave to the world when no thanks were returned to Him.  He healed when there was no hope, and He died without complaint.  Jesus did nothing wrong and everything right; all this for you.  He lived for you and died for you.  Our sins nailed Him to the cross on Calvary and kept Him there until His life on earth had ended.

·        A time of personal confession.

John 3:16-17, 36; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

Our sins are placed at the base of the cross...His cross, and we give thanks that the times we have fallen short in the eyes of our Heavenly Father have been washed clean and we have been forgiven through the Blood of our Risen Savior Jesus Christ.

 ‘Thanksgiving’

Psalm 107:1-3; “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.  Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story; those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.”

As my earthly age increases and my health decreases, there are an increased number of times when I get a smack of Lutheran Guilt for not giving thanks to my Heavenly Father for all the blessings He continues to pour into and along my journey.  There are times when I have sat and counted my fingers, one by one to help me count those blessings.  And I am blessed that I can still count five toes on my remaining foot.  Today, will you please indulge me for a moment, and using just your mind and fingers, please do a mental inventory of your kitchen and pantry and count them one by one on your fingers?  Is there an empty shelf in your cupboards to be found?  While being given a ‘tour’ of many rural homes in Haiti that question would have been; are there any shelves in the cupboards with food?  Sadly, we tend to ‘overlook’ God’s providence in our lives each and every day; the devil reminds us that ‘we’ bought the food.  Take just a moment to give thanks for what we have today, what was left in the refrigerator from yesterday and what will be coming into your belly tomorrow.  Give thanks for the Trinity HOPE meal that will be served to a child in a Christian school in Haiti today and tomorrow.

Ephesians 5:1-3; “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.  But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” 

Heavenly Father, we come to You now with hearts, minds and words filled with ‘Thanksgiving’.”

·        We give thanks for our Creator, Redeemer and Holy Spirit.

·        We give thanks for having a Savior.

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

·        We give You thanks for the Haitian children who are not only the prime purpose of Trinity HOPE but also Your missionaries for the present and future generations in Haiti who will bring the true message of Salvation to lives who have never known.

·        We give You thanks for making it possible for us to bringing additional funds into our programs so we can now be feeding over 65,000 children in Christian schools throughout Haiti.

 ‘Supplications’

Our Triune God created everything for us to use for His Glory and we continue to daily receive from His Hand; meeting our needs and sharing with others who are living in challenging and chaos filled times; taking His Light into the darkness of their neighborhoods. 

Genesis 1:29-31; “Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.  They will be yours for food.  And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground; everything that has the breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food.”  And it was so.  God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.  And there was evening, and there was morning; the sixth day.”

During this month, we begin the season of Lent, and recall the passion of our Savior enduring the challenge of taking upon Himself the sins of our world.  Jesus came down from Heaven and gave us His ultimate sacrifice so that we might enjoy eternity with Him in Paradise.  Please spend each and every day before Ash Wednesday to prepare for the reason and importance of the season of Lent.

Heavenly Father, we bring our supplications before You;

·        Heavenly Father, please continue to lead and bless Trinity HOPE with Your loving hand; may we always strive to accomplish Your will.

·        Bless the workers here in the U.S. and in Haiti and give them courage as they face challenges from the evil foe.  Provide them with courage, endurance and love.

·        Heavenly Father, please protect and direct your children to bring peace and stability to the Haitian government and wherever there is unrest in your world.  May the changes in Venezuela lessen the criminal activity within Haiti and also stabilize and improve the fuel situation that affects the school feeding programs. 

·        Eternal Father, may we see the signs of Your mighty hands and sense the beginning of the end to the gang led chaos throughout Haiti.

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.”

“I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.  Amen.” Martin Luther

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

Spirit of the Living God.

“Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 4:10-11

I recently heard an arrangement by Vickie Winans on the Gospel Internet that was called ‘Spirit of the Living God’ and like usually happens to me, the words continue to encourage me.  They initially brought me to consider how God has been working on my life for over seven decades and then it began to impress upon me how our Triune God is working through the lives of the children attending Christian schools in Haiti.

The words to this song are “Spirit of the living God fall fresh on me; Spirit of the living God fall fresh on me.  Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me; Spirit of the living God fall fresh on me.”  Consider how these words describe the work of our Triune God is impacting these two young lives walking along the road to Les Cayes.

“Melt me.”  There is a point in their lives and in our life when we need to be melted down.  There comes a time in our lives when we are like an unused candle that has accumulated the dirt of this sinful world, and we need to be melted down and once again be purified; Christ accomplished this for us on the cross of Calvary.  These young lives have been under the weight of lies from the vodou priest; lies that are being retold to them by members of their family and playmates.

“Mold me.”  When our being was being shaped in our mother’s womb, we were given specific qualities and abilities by our Creator.  Some of us sing, some of us write, some of us are encouragers, some of us are builders; and the list of abilities is endless as He gave each of us special things to accomplish in this world.  These two young lives are being molded through Christian education at their School.  They are being molded to use their special gifts to accomplish His will for their lives while bringing more into the Kingdom.

“Fill me.”  I could interpret this as meaning their bodies were being filled daily with a meal of rice and beans from Trinity HOPE but that would not be correct; even though they are daily receiving such a blessing.  These two young lives and our lives too need to daily be fed the Word; we need to immerse ourselves in His Word daily to accomplish His will.  Our tanks need to be connected to our Heavenly Father each and every day to stay focused along our journey.

“Use me.”  May our work be His work and not ours.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will descend upon us and use us to do His work in this sinful world.  Our work should be all about Him and not about us, because without Him we cannot accomplish the work that He created for us to do.  Thank you for continuing to support these children attending Christian schools in Haiti.

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

May God be with you,

Jay

Are you still hungry?

“Give us today our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11

Okay, think back, what did you have for dinner last night?  Here at the facility, I had a tossed salad, meatloaf and a small pile of yams.  Did you have enough to eat?  Did you go to bed hungry?  Did you have something to eat before you came to school this morning?  Those are a sample of the questions that a Trinity HOPE mission team member will ask about a dozen or so children while visiting their school in Haiti.  Answers don’t very too much, seventy percent generally answer ‘no’ to eating questions and ‘yes’ to the question about going to bed hungry.

When was that last time that you would have answered ‘no’ eating before bed or before you left for school or work?  In North America we might ‘skip’  a meal if we are in a hurry to get somewhere.  Our children come home after school and open the fridge door and stand for moments, considering all the options for a snack before dinner.

A dietitian from Vanderbilt University was asked to put together a good meal for Haitian children considering the ingredients available.  The photo is what a child in Haiti has for lunch at school, if there is a Trinity HOPE feeding program; many schools have no such program.  A bowl of beans, rice, vegetable oil, tomato paste, onions, maggi and little bit of smoked red herring for seasoning; the children absolutely love it.

This bowl is for a medium sized child, costs around thirty-five cents for their meal for the day.  What a bargain.  When they pray the Lord’s prayer and come to the “Give us this day our daily bread” their heads nod as the words leave their lips.  Sadly, we take that petition for granted too often as our cupboard and fridge are generally full of food.  Next time you pray before your meal, pause and think about a child in Haiti and their noon meal, praying over that bowl of beans and rice and consider how blessed you are and how you could be a blessing to one of them with your abundance.

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

Every perfect gift.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  James 1:17

The attached photo captured just a few of the children attending school at Font Baptiste that is located high in the mountains in the Arcahaie District.  The journey up the mountain is an adventure as the dirt and rocky road is steep and narrow and there are occasions when you need to get out of the vehicle and move rocks that have tumbled down out of the path so you can continue onward.

Font Baptiste is a rural community that stretches out along a dirt road in the rolling plains on top of the mountain that is nearly 4,500 feet above sea level.  Almost every child in this school walks several miles to school every day.  The small home of every child will typically have two rooms, one is their family bedroom and one is their living room, where they cook, eat, study and have fellowship.

Back in the day while living in Haiti, on my very first visit to Font Baptiste, Pastor Romulus, Joey and me left Merrotte before sunrise and arrived early in the morning and were invited to have breakfast with the Pastor there.  In their small two room house each of us were given a cup of coffee, a warm boiled egg, a small piece of bread and a banana.  My breakfast was a daily meal for the Pastor and his family, for the children at the school a plate of rice and beans was their daily meal.

Probably the most important lesson that I learned on that day in 2002 was that these children, whom our Heavenly Father created to do His work, fully realize how important you are to them.  They recognize that “every good and perfect gift is from above from their Heavenly Father…and that NEVER changes.”

You have been helping to complete His work in these precious lights that are being shaped, molded and energized to go throughout the neighborhoods around Font Baptiste to share the Gospel message.  Our work with Trinity HOPE is nothing to brag about or be boastful about the numbers of children in feeding programs.  Rather it is all about Him who is accomplishing this good work through us and them, one life at a time, one bowl of beans and rice at a time.   

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

We are a chosen people.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  1 Peter 2:9

The attached photo is of just a handful of the children who attend a school called Mannou which is located in a suburb of Port-au-Prince.  Here the children are praying before they receive their lunch which is truly a special possession to them.  Their school suffered physical damage during the earthquake 1/12/10 and these children most likely suffered the loss of friends and possibly family members when the earth shook on that late afternoon hours after school had been dismissed.

We are a chosen people, you, I and these souls are truly some of God’s special possessions.  The Holy Spirit moves each of us to give of our bounty every day to bring them physical strength as they go out into a world of darkness and bring the Hope of Him who called you, and I and them.

There are those in this world that will say “look at me, look at what I have done!”  To me it is important that we say “Look at these children, look at what God has done through them and through me.”  As the Apostle Paul often wrote, “boast in the Lord.”  It is all about what He has accomplished and if my blindness has in any way been used to further the sharing of the Gospel message to the lost, then praise the Lord for what He has accomplished…through me, through you…through these children.  Thank you for continuing to support Trinity HOPE feeding programs that are such an important part of their lives as they go out into a world of darkness and let their brilliant lights shine.

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

I brought you to Jesus.

“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

Now days, here at the assisted living facility, my Sunday begins at 3:30 AM; eye drops, listen to 3 devotions, assisted shower, taking a small handful of pills a doctor thinks will provide me with a longer life, turn on my PC and make a cup of coffee while I am being ‘connected’ and then come back and listen to the Lutheran Hour and then read the E-Mail and check the ‘news’ and listen to a Southern Gospel internet station a read 2 more devotions before heading to the dining hall with other residents.  Today Alexa played the song “I brought you to Jesus” by the Isaacs and the Holy Spirit once again nudged me.

The school in the attached photo was taken on one of Keith Logan’s mission trips and this school is located at Acquier in the Les Cayes District.  I was there in 2002 and this photo was taken in 2010 and the red dirt and school building appear to have not changed in 8 years; only the faces of these children have changed.  At the time of my visit, I was told by Pastor Isidor that I was the first blan (Caucasian) Lutheran to have visited this school.

Getting back to the lyrics of the song, the chorus goes something like this; “I brought you to Jesus but you brought a blessing to me.  I brought you to Jesus and you showed me how a willing heart should be.  You taught me how a little child has the kind of faith that everybody needs, I brought you to Jesus but you brought a blessing to me.”

It always seems that when a mission team from North America goes to Haiti the members feel that they are ‘bringing Jesus’ to the school children or at least that is what I often thought when I visited schools such as this.  The most recent Trinity HOPE teams that have gone to Haiti, visiting children have been more about ‘sharing’ their love of Jesus Christ with these young lights, together celebrating our relationship with our Savior.

We bring tools, such as multi-colored bracelets to assist these young missionaries in their outreach to eyes that have not seen and ears that have not heard the message.  The children at Acquier are letting their Gospel lights shine brightly before others in their neighborhoods and you have been an important part of their journey with your continued support of their school feeding program.

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

Visiting all nations.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28-19-20
Back in the day, while living in Haiti, visiting congregation in the rural areas, it was not unusual to see this type of structure in the attached photo; there were a few that did not have the palm branches covering the walls but did have sturdy wood poles or concrete pillars supporting a roof.

When you get into your vehicle on Sunday and drive a dozen blocks to your home congregation, take a few moments to consider where most of the Christians living in Haiti are worshipping on Sunday.  They either ride in a taptap or walk to church and their pew is generally a small wooden bench that is used for a school desk during the week.  No hymnals, no organ, no indoor plumbing, no electricity and their service will not be over in an hour or less.  The best way to describe why their worship services last for up to three hours is because they have so much to be thankful for…a risen Savior who is Christ the Lord.

When Jesus gave each of us the great commission, He closed by saying that “He is with us always, to the very end of the age.”  Imagine that He is with you always and with them always…to the very end of the age.  Comforting, isn’t it?  He delights in our opulent filled sanctuary and also enjoys their simplicity.  Not interested in our surroundings, that is worldly, He is interested in our souls and tells us to go and win more souls and save them from the burning lake of hell.  Thank you for helping to prepare thousands of His children to answer His call.

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