"Job, where were you?"

As I get further downriver and God gives me some perspective on reality, I have found it so healthy to read the book of Job. It checks me, it calls me back to identify myself as dust... fearfully and wonderfully made, yet created and by definition of this I am fragile and small. In Job chapter 38 God responds to Job's offense against Him... Job questioned God because He was "righteous in his own eyes" (32:1):

4 “ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?

6 To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

7 When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

When I read this, it helps me get grounded in this truth: big God, little bitty Greg; wise God, blind Greg; compassionate God, selfish Greg; loving God, greatly beloved Greg.

VOM News and Prayer Update: August 28, 2007

"But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear."(Philippians 1:12-14)

ERITREA
Pastor Disappears, 10 Believers Arrested - Compass Direct News
On August 22, Christians in Eritrea confirmed Pastor Leule Gebreab, of Asmara's Apostolic Church, is still missing. He disappeared on August 12. According to Compass Direct News, the pastor's whereabouts are not known, despite inquiries with local authorities. Sources told Compass, "His wife is greatly distressed about his disappearance." In an unrelated incident, Compass reported that on August 19, police arrested 10 members of the Full Gospel Church in the Kahawata suburb of Asmara, who had gathered in a home for worship. Compass added, "The four women and six men accused of worshipping together were put into detention at Police Station No.2 in Asmara." Pray for God's protection and provision for Christians in Eritrea. Pray Pastor Leule Gebreab will be found safe, and for the Holy Spirit to minister to those believers in prison. Revelation 12:11, Romans 8:28

INDIA
Hindu Radicals Turn Church into Hindu Temple - VOM Sources
On August 19, members from the Hindu radical group, Hindu Ikyavedi, attacked a congregation gathered for prayer and vandalized their church building in Bangalore, India. According to The Voice of the Martyrs' contacts in India, prior to the attack, Pastor Koshy Thomas and his family were threatened and told to stop conducting worship services. VOM contacts report, "On August 18, two members of the Hindu radical organization, Hindu Ikyavedi, threatened to burn Pastor Thomas and his family to death if they did not vacate their home and stop worship services. The next day they barged into a prayer meeting, abused the believers using filthy language and assaulted the pastor's wife and another believer. They snatched a Bible from another man's hand and threw it out of the building." After the believers were evicted from the church, the attackers vandalized the building. VOM contacts added, "The radicals vandalized the church building by drawing Hindu symbols, the trishul, swastika, Sanskritic Om and slogans such as 'Jai Shri Ram and Hindu Dharma is ours, who is Yesu?' They also conducted a Hindu religious rite inside the church and locked it." Pastor Thomas has been pastoring the 50-member Indian Pentecostal Church for about a year. Pray God protects and provides for the pastor and believers in this area. Ask God to use the testimonies of Christians in India to draw non-believers into fellowship with Himself. Joshua 1:9; 2Timothy 1:7

AFGHANISTAN
Continued Prayer for Kidnapped South Korean Christians - VOM Sources
The Voice of the Martyrs is calling on believers around the world to continue praying for the protection and release of the 19 remaining Korean aid workers still held by the Taliban. Pray God protects the kidnapped aid workers and their families. Ask that the Holy Spirit convict the hearts of the Taliban, and the testimony of these believers draws others into fellowship with Christ. Pray for the two young women who were released a few weeks ago. Psalm 91

CHINA
Chinese Government Intensifies Campaign against Christians - China Aid Association

• SHANXI PROVINCE - On July 14, Chinese authorities interrupted Bible reading and prayer in the home of Sister Kong Lingrong. While Sister Kong and several children from 10 to 15 years of age were reading the Bible and praying, the authorities stopped the "illegal meeting" and said that children were not allowed to believe in Jesus. As a result of the incident, Sister Kong is being harassed by authorities and the electricity and water to her home has been turned off.
  On August 3, prominent Christian businessman, Zhou Heng, was arrested when he attempted to pick up two tons of Bibles at a bus station in Xinjiang. The Bibles were to be distributed to local believers. According to detention papers, Heng was placed on "criminal detention on suspicion of illegal business operations." He could face up to 15 years imprisonment.
• SHANDONG PROVINCE - On August 9, Pastors Du Dafeng, Cheng Zhenan and Yue Ying, were detained for more than 5 days for holding a worship meeting in Yutai Town.
• INNER MONGOLIA - Seven house church leaders have been in prison since August 21. The leaders were arrested when they were worshiping in Kouhe Town. They are currently detained at the Public Security Bureau office. Pray for Christians in China as persecution intensifies.
Isaiah 5

Iceland - dogs = GoOn

Ministry associates Eric and Katie made the Charlotte paper today:

Eric and Katie St. Clair are moving to Iceland. That's a long way away especially for someone like Eric who has lived in the Stallings area most of his life.

The St. Clairs plan to be missionaries. Eric formed his own mission board, called T.E.A.M. International (teaching, evangelism, arts, missions). He explained, "We pattern ourselves after St. Patrick. We plug in through the arts." Eric, who worked as a band promoter, spent a month in Iceland while helping a band with recording. He said, "My heart was broken when I left."

Read more here.

Whew

It was a year ago today that we left our home in north Charlotte, getting everything out in a moving truck and turning the keys over to the new owners of our former home. What a remarkable year it has been... we have definitely gained ground and we are grateful to Jesus for being so amazing in how He leads, opening doors and closing others. That day was hard, labor-wise. We were short manned and the clock was ticking but we got out with lampshades and bookends under each arm (so to speak). Then the word of the Lord came so unexpectedly the next day.

North winds

Had an interesting experience Sunday evening:

I took my daughter, Ellen the elegant, to the pool. We scurried over, not sure what time the life guard closed the park, and found it open at about 6:40PM. No one was in the park but the four of us: the lifeguard, Ellen, God and me. That I could see, anyway. I sat down to read while Ellen jumped into the water, which made me wish I had brought my swimsuit also. As I sat down I faced north, the wind was at my back blowing gently yet consistently. The skies were overcast, a menacing grey and we did not know how long the pool would be available since they close it when they obrserve lightning. I was reading about the exploits of Anselm and his struggles with King Henry I of England. A short while later I felt a sudden shift: the wind had turned around 180 degrees in less than a minute. As consistent as it had been before: a steady, unwavering yet gentle force. I looked at my watch and it was exactly 7PM. I called Ellen out of the pool a short while later and we headed home. Less than 10 minutes after getting inside, the heavens opened and it brought rain that we've needed so badly in this area.

North in the scriptures can represent the governing hand of the Lord, (Ez. 1:4, Job 26:7). Song of Solomon 4:16 -

"Awake, north wind! Come, south wind! Blow on my garden! Let its spices flow from it. Let my beloved come to his garden, and let him eat his own precious fruit."

MorningStar word for the week

I think this week's MorningStar word for the week by Rick Joyner is outstanding:

Last week we discussed how the habitations of God in Scripture, the tabernacles, had three compartments, and how we applied this to our Katrina relief efforts, breaking it down into three phases, which were:

Phase I: Rescue. The main goal in this phase is simply saving lives and getting people to safety.

Phase II: Stabilization. The main goal of this phase is to establish PODs for sustaining the people with the basic needs of food, medicine, shelter, clothing, etc.

Phase III: Restoration. The goal of this phase is to restore people's lives, including the infrastructure of the community, homes, businesses, etc.

All of these phases overlapped each other in some area. In some areas it was possible for all three phases to be occurring at the same time. In church, we probably would not title these phases the same way, but it can help to discern and manage the times by using a grid of three phases in almost everything. We will cover some of the practical aspects, but first let's go back to Katrina to address a very foundational and important aspect of this.

Last week we briefly discussed how the kind of person that seems to thrive in Phase I would languish in Phase II or III. The kind of person who would do well in Phase II would not do as well in Phase I and III, and the kind of person needed for Phase III will almost certainly get in the way of Phases I and II. If we do not discern the gifts and callings that people have, they will not be led well. Everyone who came down for the relief efforts sincerely wanted to help, but if they did not come at the right time and get involved in the right place or phase, they usually became a liability instead of helping. Many of our church members are low impact, high maintenance people because they are not in the right place, either the right church, or the right ministry within the church.

Read the rest here.

Sabbath