Owerri 19

How often do we really listen to the voice of God?  What is He saying to us right now?  Is He trying to get our attention about what is going on in the world?  And just what is happening in the world?  What should I be doing about it?

I thought about all these things while I was in Africa this time.  I left the news cycles in the US that were reporting all the unrest in Northern Africa and the Middle East.  In the part of Nigeria that I spent most of my time, there was no mention of world events.  That’s a luxury of information that people may have who are not worried about tomorrow’s meal, safety for their children, and basic health needs.  Please don’t misunderstand me.  I am not denigrating the importance of any of the things that are happening in the world.  I am simply adding to our awareness.  The simplicity of this was a welcome distraction.  Sometimes I am so plugged into world events and the onslaught of their effect on my daily life that I fail to recognize the obvious: God is at work and He is inviting me to join Him.

While I have been blogging about this trip to Nigeria, God has been working on me overtime.  The blog is good spiritual therapy because it forces me to verbalize my impressions and capture them in words.  Sometimes I am surprised by what comes out.

I have lived most of my life thinking that my horizon is the end of the world.  No one on earth can afford to think like that anymore.  Our brothers and sisters in Nigeria need us.  Our world needs us to be engaged in the process of what God is doing at this time in history.  We cannot afford to reduce this to “either/or” thinking.  It must be a “both/and” thinking.  We must engage in both evangelizing our world and preparing God’s people for all that God is doing in the earth at this time in history.  “For such a time as this God has brought us to the Kingdom.”  God chose that we would be the ones born at this time.  What a privilege it is!

D

Owerri 18

I have prayed and pondered what this trip meant in the final analysis.  To say that it was a smashing success in every way you could measure is a decided understatement.  God had His Hand upon what we did.  I don’t think He was blessing what we were doing.  I think we were doing what He was blessing.  There is a huge difference!

I miss my brothers and sisters in Nigeria.  They have become part of the narrative of my life.  They are my history now.  I will never be the same person.  God has used them to chisel my soul and make me a better man than I was.  I pray that I will continue to let Him do His work in me.

God is at work in the world right now.  I do not understand all that He is up to nor will I until I can see it in the rear view mirror.  I am at peace in the hollow of His hand knowing that He is in control and not me.  As I left Nigeria this time, I left with the confidence that God will continue His work.  It is, after all, His work that He allows us the privilege of participating in.  At last, only one opinion matters: HIS!  So, I trust that my Nigerian family is in His grasp and that nothing can separate them from the love of Christ – nothing can separate them from our love either.  We are bound together for all eternity.  It’s more than good – it’s God!

D

Owerri 17

We shared the report of the trip with the church body yesterday.  This was a daunting task since there is so much to share.  It was great to see a packed house.  I wonder what Paul felt like when he returned from a missionary journey.  How could you remember it all in one sitting?    Again, let me thank all of you for your prayers, support, help and encouragement.  As Dr. Okere says “All of us are on the team and some of us get to go.”  Some of you sacrificed greatly in order for us to go to Nigeria.  May God bless you abundantly!

I am sure that I know why we went to Nigeria this time.  It was evident every day we were there.  I did not share the Gospel in one place that someone did not receive Christ.  Diseases and sickness were healed.  Deliverance from the grip of demons was accomplished.  The power of darkness was pushed back.  Relationships were renewed and new ones begun.  Investments were made in people, in education, in church planting, in relieving suffering and in general good will between Americans and Nigerians.  The excellent diagnoses and treatment by our medical team will be talked about for months to come.  They treated some people who had never seen a doctor.  Some of these people had never taken medication before.  Something as simple as ibuprofen can relieve a chronic ailment on the spot.  It is difficult for us to grasp this since we can buy the best medications in the world almost at will and never have to worry about its quality.

So, why did we go?  It was all the above and more.  But here’s the thing: you can’t tell God “no” and expect peace in your life.  When He sends you out, you had better go and go with a joyful spirit.

But here is the question that has perplexed me: what did He teach me about my own culture while I was in another culture?  The resistance to the Gospel is palpable in our culture.  One good friend has suggested to me that God wanted make us “stronger soldiers” as He threw us back into our own culture.  I am not the same man that left here.  You can’t be.

I look at the American church.  We view church growth as some sort of competition at building a better mousetrap to capture the static number of mice that are willing to jump from one vessel to another.  This disturbs me.  I fear that we are far too interested in what’s in it for me.  Our definition of success has taken on the American corporate image rather than the image of Jesus.  What impact are we leaving?  What will be our legacy?  Whose opinion really matters?

As I take inventory of my own life, I look at the ways I complicate the Gospel message by my own sin.  I feel that my own ego gets involved too often in living out the Gospel in Savannah.  I have doubted the power of God to change a life or set a soul free from demonic bondage.  I must trust in the One Who has the words of life.  I have seen Him change people and do the miraculous.  The situation of our world today demands from me a faithfulness that can not be deterred.  The only way I can do it is through the power of the Holy Spirit and the gifts He has distributed to me.

Let’s pray with Jesus “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Owerri 16

I spoke with the Rev. Dr. Clement Amadi yesterday.  He said that the people were still in a buzz about our visit.  He thanked me again said to be sure to convey the depth of his thanks to our church.  He is a great man of God.  He is a humble man of God.  We are the richer for having the privilege of knowing him.  He never seems to forget the main thing – that’s right, he keeps the main thing the main thing!  He is always looking for a way to see the Name of Jesus glorified.  Even at the Chieftancy ceremony he told me I would be called on to say something at the reception following.  What should I say?  He said clearly “Just make sure you talk about Jesus!”

Clement has become a good friend to me.  I never tire of talking to him.  He has much wisdom and is attempting to give himself away to his people that they may hear the Good News.  He is a very well respected man and leader.  Truly he has had all the jobs and done all the stuff.  But now he has reached a point in his life that he can do what he chooses and what he chooses is Jesus!  I have told him repeatedly that I pray a long life for him as long as Jesus tarries.  Please join me in that prayer.  This man has much more to give in the Kingdom.  And one other thing: he has a sense of humor.  He knows how to laugh at himself and not take himself too seriously.  I know that I must have entertained him often as I put my foot in my mouth.  I think he is going to be on the fun side of heaven too.