Transforming Power.

"If God is almighty, there can be no evil so great as to be beyond his power to transform. That transforming power brings light out of darkness, joy out of sorrow, gain out of loss, life out of death.

Sometimes we boggle at the evil in the world and especially in ourselves, feeling that this sin, this tragedy, this offense cannot possibly fit into a pattern for good. Let us remember Joseph's imprisonment, David's sin, Paul's violent persecution of Christians, Peter's denial of his Master. None of it was beyond the power of grace to redeem and turn into something productive. The God who establishes the shoreline for the sea also decides the limits of the great mystery which is evil. He is "the Blessed Controller of all things." God will finally be God, Satan's best efforts notwithstanding."

Finding Jesus, My All in All

The words,"I hear the Savior say, thy strength indeed is small; child of weakness, watch and pray, find in Me thine all in all," have come to mind quite often these past few weeks.

As the month of July is coming close to an end, anxiety begins to creep in.
Lord, will I be able to raise up all the support I need? Will all the money come in? Is this really what You want me to do? Me, Lord, Texas?

I find myself crying in the shower due to long overwhelming days at work and busy evenings; feeling like there's just not enough hours in a day. Repenting of my unloving actions of frustration and disrespect towards those I love the most. Then and there, broken and wet, I hear my Savior say, "child of weakness, watch and pray, find in Me thine all in all."

Overwhelmed by all the things that need to be done (website, fundraiser, handing out support letters, contacting pastors, figuring out living expenses and tuition, packing, moving, road-trip plans, looking at flights for Christmas...not mention all the things I need to worry about at work). The word surrender comes to mind. Utterly surrender everything to Him who is sovereign over everything.

Countless times I find myself in this dilemma, worrying about financial need, and countless times God has proven to me that He is my provider and He owns everything! He knows exactly what I need and when I need it. I've learned to trust Him. Tis' so sweet to trust in Jesus. He provides through His people, He provides through babysitting gigs, He provides through work, He provides through sales, He provides through Zumbathons, He provides in great and mighty ways!

Jehovah Jireh, the LORD will provide. It's amazing to see how just one of His names brings comfort to our weary hearts.

A part of me giggles at the fact that I am not afraid being persecuted or martyred for the sake of the Gospel, but worry about money and I am afraid of lizards, frogs, and wasting my life. I know this burden that God has placed in my heart for unreached and unengaged people groups in the world, and I don't want to waste my life doing nothing about it! I pray that He would send me to the unreached and unengaged people groups to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His glory, my reward.


This week the Lord has been teaching me to rejoice in Him and His glory. In the words of Jonathan Edwards, "God is glorified not only by His glory’s being seen, but by it being rejoiced in." I've been overwhelmed with joy that Christ is being known amongst the nations! I look around and see so many missionaries rising up and going out! Taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth! A dear friend of mine, Cristina Danies, is moving to Italy as a missionary to witness to prostitutes and  human trafficked victims. The Lord has been stirring up my friend, Christine Dominguez, to go to El Salvador to reach out to gangs members that need Christ! I've had 3 young girls at my church come to me for advice and have shared with me their heart for Jesus and their desire to go overseas as missionaries. Not to mention countless other brothers and sisters in Christ that are going out, locally and globally, to spread the Good News of Christ Jesus our Lord! Let us never forget out brothers and sisters in Christ that are being persecuted and tortured for the sake of the Gospel. The cost of discipleship...and remembering that Jesus is worth it! All of this brings tears of joy to my soul.

A denial to self, to our social status, to our selfish desires, to our comfort, and picking up our cross and following Jesus! David Brainerd, an American missionary to Native Americans, once said, "It is sweet to be nothing and less than nothing that Christ may be all in all."
I've been learning to find Jesus, my all in all, my everything, and that is something to rejoice in! Less of me and more of Jesus. Like John said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30)

Raising Support

Dear Readers,

After graduating high school and moving to Kaptagat, Kenya this past year, I’ve found myself praying and seeking God’s will for my life, his guidance concerning my future. I’ve been asking that He would lavish me with His peace and clarity concerning what this “next step” in my life would be. My thoughts and questions were much like that of every other high school graduate. What college should I attend? What classes should I take? What should I major in?
All I was certain of was the passion and burden the Lord has placed in my heart for the unreached and unengaged people groups in the world. I applied for financial aid for this upcoming semester and began looking into different degrees (overwhelmed and at times crying in front of the computer screen). I was pleading that God would give me clarity and peace.
In April my family and I attended The Gospel Coalition 2013 National Conference in Orlando, FL. During the pre-conference, I reconnected with the author of Reckless Abandon, David Sitton and his wife Tommi.

This couple were missionaries in remote regions of Papua New Guinea for about 10 years, but after a government problem with visa renewals in 1990, they returned to live in the States and felt God calling them to train the next generation of missionaries to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those hard-to-get-to places where the name of Jesus has never been heard. They founded To Every Tribe Ministries and The Center of Pioneer Church Planting where David currently serves as president. This missionary training program is dedicated to recruiting, training and launching pioneer church planters into the far-flung regions where Christ is still unknown.  
After sharing with David what I was going through in life and seeking for his godly advice, he encouraged me to pray and fill out an application for CPCP.  By the grace of God, I have been accepted into the 2 year program at To Every Tribe’s CPCP (The Center of Pioneer Church Planting). Lord willing, I’ll be moving to Los Fresnos, TX this August!

     I write this letter to inform you of what Christ is doing in my life and to ask you to support me in two ways:

1)Prayer.                                         
This is the most important way you could support this endeavor. Pray for me, that I would be obedient and willing to prepare myself to what is to come. In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest sends out laborers into His harvest.” Above all, pray that His will may be done, His name glorified and magnified, and His glory… to be my reward.

2) Support and Donate.                                                                            
In order to complete this 2 year program, I must raise enough support to cover my tuition and expenses. I rest in knowing my Lord will supply for all my needs, and He will lift up brothers and sisters in Christ who will be willing to donate and partake in this wonderful ministry. If God places the desire in your heart to be a part of my preparation, please go to https://toeverytribe.com/donations/donate.aspx and look for Perez, Nati under "Gift Designation Preference". You can email me to nati.perez@toeverytribe.com if you wish to contribute or if you have any other questions.

Thank you for your love and support.

Sincerely,
Nati Perez

Death is a Gateway to the Palace

6-6-13
Elisabeth Elliot writes,"To be a Christian is to be a subject--subject to a king--that is, to welcome the rule of God in one's life. Jesus Himself became subject to the Father--"Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God" (Heb 10:7 AV). This meant that He had come to this world, not to gain, but to lose; not to get, but to give; not to be served, but to serve; not to obtain bread but to be bread, the Bread of heaven, broken for the life of the world.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus...He humbled Himself" (Phil 2:5-8 AV).

That puts it in very simple terms. If you want to be a Christian, see that your mind is made up as his was: be humble, be subject, be obedient--even to death. It will mean death. Be sure of that. Death to some of your desires and plans at least. Death to yourself. But never forget--Jesus' death was what opened the way for his own exaltation and our everlasting Life. Our death to selfishness is the shining gateway into the glories of the palace of the King. Is it so hard to be his subject? Is the price too high?"

Remember June 5th.

6-3-13

Elisabeth Elliot's Daily Devotional

Title: The Right Clothes


Only certain costumes suit Christians. To be otherwise dressed is inappropriate.

"Put on the garments that suit God's chosen people, his own, his beloved: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience" (Col 3:12 NEB).

"Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom 13:14 RSV)

"You have all put on Christ as a garment." (Gal 3:27 NEB)

"You must put on the new nature of God's creating." (Eph 4:24 NEB)

"You have discarded the old nature with its deeds and have put on the new nature." (Col 3:10 NEB)

"Put on love." (Col 3:14 RSV)

The clothes we wear are what people see. Only God can look on the heart. The outward signs are important. They reveal something of what is inside. If charity is there, it will become visible outwardly, but if you have no charitable feelings, you can still obey the command. Put it on as simply and consciously as you put on a coat. You choose it; you pick it up; you put it on. This is what you want to wear.

Do you want to dress like a Christian? Put on Christ. The act of honest obedience--the fruit of love for Christ--is your part. Making you Christlike through and through is his part.

A Chance To Die

"To be transformed into the image of Christ I must learn his character, love his obedience to the will of the Father, and begin, step by step, to walk the same pathway. For Christ the pathway of obedience began with emptying Himself. I must begin at the same place.

He "made Himself nothing." (Phil 2:7 NEB)

"You must arm yourselves with a temper of mind like His." (l Pt 4:1 NEB)

"If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, he must leave self behind." (Mt 16:24 NEB)

What does this mean? Is it mere words? How can one leave self behind, make himself nothing? The answer will not come in a vacuum. If a man or woman honestly wishes to be a follower, the opportunity will present itself. Christ will say, "Here is your chance. Now, in this situation, you must make your choice. Will it be self? Or will you choose Me?"

An older missionary said something to Amy Carmichael when she was a young missionary that stayed with her for life. She had spoken of something which was not to her liking. His reply was, "See in it a chance to die."
Elisabeth Elliot.

5-27-13

Elisabeth Elliot writes, "The order of the Christian's assignment is: hear, do, know. If we hear the commandments and obey them, the Father will make Himself known to us. It is no use trying to know Him without doing what He says. To listen to one word and go out and obey it is better than having the most exalted "religious experience," for it puts us in touch with God Himself--it is a willed response.

"If you really love me you will keep the commandments I have given you." It is perilously easy to imagine that we love God because we like the idea of God, or because we feel drawn to Him. The only valid test of love is obedience. Take one thing commanded and start doing it. Take one thing forbidden and stop doing it. Then we are on the sure road to knowing God. There is no other.

"You are my friends, if you do what I command you" (Jn 15:14 NEB).

"The man who has received my commands and obeys them--he it is who loves me: and he who loves me will be loved by my Father; and I will love him and disclose myself to him" (Jn 14:21). There is the order: hear, do, know."

Does Prayer Work?

The answer to that depends on one's definition of work. It is necessary to know what a thing is for in order to judge whether it works. It would be senseless, for example, to say that if a screwdriver fails to drive nails into a board it doesn't "work." A screwdriver works very well for driving screws. Often we expect to arrange things according to our whims by praying about them, and when the arrangement fails to materialize we conclude that prayer doesn't work. God wants our willing cooperation in the bringing in of his kingdom. If "Thy kingdom come" is an honest prayer, we will seek to ask for whatever contributes to that end. What, after all is said and done, do you want above all? Is it "Thy will be done"? If so, leave it to Him.

Is it "My will be done"? Don't waste your time and God's by praying. Have it your way.

Elisabeth Elliot's Notes On Prayers.

People who ski, I suppose, are people who happen to like skiing, who have time for skiing, who can afford to ski, and who are good at skiing. Recently I found that I often treat prayer as though it were a sport like skiing--something you do if you like it, something you do in your spare time, something you do if you can afford the trouble, something you do if you're good at it. Otherwise you do without it most of the time. When you get in a pinch you try it and then you call an expert.

But prayer isn't a sport. It's work. As soon as I've said that I'm in trouble because so many sports have become professional and as such are almost wholly indistinguishable from work. I could say that work is something you have to decide to do, you have to allow time for, you have to go at with energy, skill and concentration. But all those things could be said of the big business which is sports. Competition is deadly, equipment highly technical and expensive, salaries absurdly high.

But prayer is no game. Even if you are part of a "team," as when others join you in prayer, you are not cheered on by spectators or coached by any experts. You won't get any trophies--not on this side of the Jordan, anyway. It's not likely you'll get any credit at all. For some people prayer might fall into the category of "fun," but that's not usually the reason we pray. It's a matter of need and responsibility.

Prayer is work because a Christian simply can't "make a living" without it. He can't live a Christian life at all if he doesn't pray.

Prayer is the opposite of leisure. It's something to be engaged in, not indulged in. It's a job you give first priority to, performing not when you have energy left for nothing else. "Pray when you feel like praying," somebody has said. "Pray when you don't feel like praying. Pray until you do feel like praying." If we pray only "at our leisure"--that is, at our own convenience--can we be true disciples? Jesus said, "Anyone who wants to follow me must put aside his own desires and conveniences" (Luke 9:23 LB).

The apostle Paul did use an analogy from sports to describe prayer. He said we "wrestle." In the wrestling of a Christian in prayer, "our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil" (Eph. 6:12, Phillips). Seldom do we consider the nature of our opponent, and that is to his advantage. When we do recognize him for what he is, however, we have an inkling as to why prayer is never easy. It's the weapon that Unseen Power dreads most, and if he can get us to treat it as casually as we treat a pair of skis or a tennis racquet he can keep his hold.

If we're going to ask, "Is prayer work?" somebody will want to ask, "Does prayer work?" That question assumes that results ought to be measurable. The trouble is they are not by any means always measurable or predictable because the One to whom we address our prayers is infinite and incomprehensible, "and all that is comprehensible about him" (wrote John of Damascus) "is his infinity and incomprehensibility." His thoughts are as much higher than our thoughts as the heavens are higher than the earth.

And he is Love. Infinite Love will never give a stone when bread is asked for, or a scorpion in place of an egg. But what will Infinite Love give if our prayer is for a scorpion?

Prayer is compared in the Bible to incense. "Let my prayer be counted as incense before thee," wrote the Psalmist, and the angel who stood before the altar with the golden censer in Revelation 8 was given incense to mingle with the prayers of the saints. Incense was very expensive, blended by a perfumer according to a strict formula. It appears to serve no particularly useful purpose. Its smoke and fragrance soon dissipate. Couldn't incense be done without?

Prayer is like incense. It costs a great deal. It doesn't seem to accomplish much (as we mortals assess things). It soon dissipates. But God likes the smell. It was God's idea to arrange the work of the tabernacle to include a special altar for incense. We can be pretty sure he included all that was necessary and nothing that was unnecessary.

Christ prayed. He offered thanksgiving, he interceded for others, he made petitions. That the Son--co-equal, co-eternal, consubstantial with the Father--should come to the Father in prayer is a mystery. That we, God's children, should be not only permitted but commanded also to come is a mystery. How can we change things by prayer? How "move" a sovereign and omnipotent God? We do not understand. We simply obey because it is a law of the universe, as we obey other laws of the universe, knowing only that this is how things have been arranged: the book falls to the floor in obedience to the law of gravity if I let go of it. Spiritual power is released through prayer.

I could say, "God can make my hands clean if he wants to," or I could wash them myself. Chances are God won't make my hands clean. That's a job he leaves up to me. His omnipotence is not impaired by his having ordained my participation, whether it be in the washing of hands with soap or the helping of a friend with prayer. Christ redeemed the world by the laying down of his life, a perfect sacrifice, once for all. Yet he is in the business, as David Redding says, of "maintenance and repair." He lets us participate with him in that business by the laying down of our own lives.

One way of laying down our lives is by praying for somebody. In prayer I am saying, in effect, "my life for yours." My time, my energy, my thought, my concern, my concentration, my faith--here they are, for you. So it is that I participate in the work of Christ. So it is that no work of faith, no labor of love, no smallest prayer is ever lost, but, like the smoke of the incense on the golden altar, rises from the hand of the angel before God.

4/28/13

Elisabeth Elliot's Daily Devotional

Title: Prayer is Conflict

Author: Elisabeth Elliot

Prayer is no easy pastime. As I grow old I find that I am more conscious than ever of my need to pray, but it seems at the same time to become more of a struggle. It is harder to concentrate, for one thing. I was greatly helped by some private notes Amy Carmichael wrote to her "Family" (hundreds of children and their helpers, both Indian and European) in Dohnavur, South India, to help them prepare for a special day of prayer.

She quoted Paul's letter to the Colossians (2:1, KJV): "I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you." He is referring at least in part to the conflict of prayer. The same verse is translated "how greatly I strive" in the Revised Version; "how deep is my anxiety" in J.B. Phillips; and, in the Jerusalem Bible, "Yes, I want you to know that I do have to struggle hard for you... to bind you together in love and to stir your minds, so that your understanding may come to full development, until you really know God's secret in which all the jewels of wisdom and knowledge are hidden."

Here are Amy's notes:

WITH WHAT DID I STRUGGLE?

1. With all that says to me, what is the use of your praying? So many others, who know more of prayer than you do, are praying. What difference does it make whether you pray or not? Are you sure that your Lord is listening? Of course He is listening to the other prayers but yours are of such small account, are you really sure He is "bending His ear" to you?

2. With all that suggests that we are asked to give too much time to prayer. There is so much to do. Why set aside so much time just to pray?

3. With all that discourages me personally--perhaps the remembrance of past sin, perhaps spiritual or physical tiredness; with anything and everything that keeps me back from what occupied St. Paul so often--vital prayer.

WHAT WILL HELP ME MOST IN THIS WRESTLE?

1. The certain knowledge that our insignificance does not matter at all, for we do not come to the Father in our own name but in the Name of His beloved Son. His ear is always open to that Name. Of this we can be certain.

2. The certain knowledge that this is Satan's lie; he is much more afraid of our prayer than our work. (This is proved by the immense difficulties we always find when we set ourselves to pray. They are much greater than those we meet when we set ourselves to work.)

3. Isaiah 44:22 and kindred words, with 1 John 1:9, meet all distress about sin. Isaiah 40:29-31 with 2 Corinthians 12:9,10 meets everything that spiritual or physical weariness can do to hinder. Psalm 27:8 with Isaiah 45:19 meets all other difficulties. And the moment we say to our God, "Thy face, Lord, will I seek," His mighty energies come to the rescue. (See Colossians 1:2,9.) Greater, far greater, is He that is in us than he that is against us. Count on the greatness of God. But are we to go on wrestling to the end?

No, there is a point to which we come, when, utterly trusting the promise of our Father, we rest our hearts upon Him. It is then we are given what St. Paul calls access with confidence (Ephesians 3:12). But don't forget that this access is by faith, not by feeling, faith in Him our living Lord; He who says "Come unto Me" does not push us away when we come. As we go on, led by the Holy Spirit who so kindly helps our infirmities, we find ourselves in 1 John 5:14,15 and lastly in Philippians 4:6, . It is good to remember that immediate answer to prayer is not always something seen, but it is always inward peace.

And if the day ends otherwise and we are discouraged? Then tell Him so, "nothing ashamed of tears upon His feet" [here she is quoting from F.W.H. Meyers's poem "St. Paul"]. Lord, Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love Thee. "Yes, my child, I know." But don't settle down into an "it will never be different" attitude. It will be different if only in earnest we follow on to know the Lord.

The Weapon of Prayer.

"News came one day which indicated that a matter I had been praying about had deteriorated rather than improved. "What good are my prayers, anyway?" I was tempted to ask. "Why bother? It's becoming a mere charade." But the words of Jesus occurred in my Bible reading that very morning (and wasn't it a good thing I'd taken time to hear Him?): "If you, bad as you are, know how to give your children what is good for them, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him?" (Matthew 7:11, NEB).

Are you as often tempted as I am to doubt the effectiveness of prayer? But Jesus prayed. He told us to pray. We can be sure that the answer will come, and it will be good. If it is not exactly what we expected, chances are we were not asking for quite the right thing. Our heavenly Father hears the prayer, but wants to give us bread rather than stones.

Prayer is a weapon. Paul speaks of the "weapons we wield" in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. They are "not merely human, but divinely potent to demolish strongholds" (NEB). The source of my doubts about its potency that morning was certainly not the Holy Spirit. It was the unholy spirit, the Destroyer himself, urging me to quit using the weapon he fears so intensely."-Elisabeth Elliot

A Strange Godsend

Elisabeth Elliot:

"King Saul was tormented in a strange way from time to time by an evil spirit from God (1 Sam 16:14). His servants suggested that harp music might drive it away. One of them told the king about Jesse's son David of Bethlehem who could play, and who was also a brave man, a good fighter, wise in speech, and handsome. Furthermore, the Lord was with him. David was sent for, and besides these God-given gifts, he brought with him a homer of bread, a skin of wine, and a kid. The king loved him and made him his armor-bearer. Whenever the evil spirit came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play so that Saul found relief, recovered, and the spirit left him alone.

This story shows us that among the baffling intricacies of the sovereign plan of God there is often evil which is not only permitted but sometimes actually sent by God. We wonder why. Surely part of the reason is that we may learn our own helplessness and need of Him. Saul was a powerful king, but it took his servants, who happened to know of a small-town boy, to suggest a remedy for the king's trouble. God sent the trouble. God sent the boy. That boy had been prepared by God, equipped with gifts which the king needed. Picture the boy, idly strumming his lyre as he passed the time of day in the pasture with the sheep. He could not have dreamed of the use God would some day make of that skill--to comfort a king's tormented spirit and later to become the "sweet singer of Israel."

Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Give me a trust big enough to embrace the baffling intricacies and to find in times of helplessness that You are a very present Help."

Amen.

So Send I You

So send I you to labour unrewarded
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown
To bear rebuke, ot suffer scorn and scoffing
So send I you to toil for Me alone

So send I you to bind the bruised and broken
Over wandering souls to work, to weep, to wake
To bear the burdens of a world a-weary
So send I you to suffer for My sake

So send I you to loneliness and longing
With hart a-hungering for tthe loved and known
Forsaking kin and kindred, friend and dear one
So send I you to know My love alone

So send I you to leave your life's ambition
To die to dear desire, self-will resign
To labour long, and love where men revile you
So send I you to lsoe you life in Mine

So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred
To eyes made blind because they will not see
To spend, though it be blood to spend and spare not
So send I you to taste of Calvary

"As the Father hath sent me, so send I you"

What Was The Question?

Elisabeth Elliot:

"Christ is the Answer" has been a wall motto, and, more recently, a bumper sticker. Somebody added, in small print, "What was the question?"

In the final analysis, it does not matter what question we are asking. All questions come under one of three headings:

1. Way--we need guidance
2. Truth--we need a norm
3. Life--we need sustenance.
Jesus said, "I am" all of these things. Let us bring everything that baffles us into his presence, holding it up before Him by faith. In that Light, the look of things will slowly begin to change, and as we humble ourselves to receive the true answer, our eyes will be opened. We learn to know Christ, then, as we walk in his way, obey his truth, and live his life. He Himself, a living, loving Person, is our answer.

What Fits Us For Service

My mentor, Elisabeth Elliot, one wrote, "Is there any Christian who does not long for some special experience, vision, or feeling of the presence of God? This morning it seemed to me that unless I could claim such I was merely going through motions of prayer, meditation, reading; that the book I am writing on discipline will prove to be nothing but vanity and a striving after wind. The Lord brought yesterday's word to mind again with this emphasis: it is not any experience, no matter how exciting, not any vision, however vivid and dazzling, not any feeling, be it ever so deep that fits me for service. It is the power of the blood of Christ. I am "made holy by the single unique offering of the body of Jesus Christ" (Heb 10:10), and by his blood "fit for the service of the living God." My spiritual numbness cannot cancel that--the blood will never lose its power."


 

The Answer Is Always Enough

Elisabeth Elliot's Daily Devotional

3/6/13

We often hope to be spared trouble or suffering, and surely it is legitimate to pray that we may be ("Lead us not into temptation" is a prayer Jesus taught us to pray). Jesus Himself asked the Father to take away the "cup"; Paul prayed for the removal of his "thorn." In both cases, the answer was no. But God did not give a mere no--He sent what had not been asked: strength to endure. An angel was immediately dispatched to Gethsemane, "bringing him strength" (Lk 22:43 NEB). His suffering did not cease--in fact, "in anguish of spirit He prayed the more urgently and his sweat was like clots of blood" {Lk 22:44).

The apostle was suffering in some physical way, it seems. The thing was called "a messenger of Satan," and he did well to ask for its removal. The answer was no--but something unasked was given: grace. There was plenteous grace to enable Paul to endure. What God gives in answer to our prayers will always be the thing we most urgently need, and it will always be sufficient.