Under the Cross

Lately, many people have asked, "So, I noticed there are Buddhist idols at your school, why is that?" While my mouth gives the black and white answer in my mind I think about what those idols represent. They are symbols of a lie of the devil that we daily fight against. How daily we live and work under the loving eyes of our all-seeing Father as well as in front of the unseeing work of man's hands.

On the surface, we are just a school. Underneath there is so much more.

I have Buddhist children who during FUN reading when they get to pick anything they want choose my English Children's Bible. When they've looked in that Bible they get the Thai Children's Bible and read about the stories. My boy from the mountains who has trouble speaking Thai sits next to this boy and tells him the Bible stories that he knows. When the daughter of an woman suffering from cancer who is also an ex-prostitute comes to join my class I'm thankful I get to speak into her life. I have a little girl who was just taken from her father and his girlfriend (who is a man who has decided to become a woman) because of abuse and other illegal activity. I have a boy whose parents abandoned him, and one whose parents are in jail.

Everyday our team speaks into their lives. In all the languages we speak we tell them they can overcome. With all our efforts we show them they are worth it. With every ounce of His energy we pour His love on them.

For many of them we are their only hope. Their only hope of coming to know Christ Jesus as Savior. Their only hope of receiving a good education and not being left behind. Their only hope of a better future and a life different from their parent's.

Everyday we fight to be light in the darkness. We pray that the entrenched tradition of Buddhism and the unseeing, unhearing, unknowing statues which represent it will one day be cast down. That its influence will no longer blind our children or their families to the truth of Christ.

So at times when it seems like we live under the darkness of the idols and the lies of the devil which pervade this country, we have to remember that really we live under the cross, the victorious and gracious cross of Christ. That Christ on the cross ransomed and redeemed all who will come to Him. That He is the light in this darkness, the hope for these precious ones, and the Savior of every nation.

Jealous Kind

When we share this land with visitors we always show them temples. Why? Because they are an integral part of this culture, because there is one on nearly every corner, and because they make it real. Real that these are people, real people, who pray to a god who cannot hear and plead forgiveness from a god who is not able to redeem. Every time I see hands clutching lotus blossoms for an offering or eyes closed with heads bowed to the floor I know this person doesn't know. They don't know the truth, the hope of Christ and the salvation bought for them through His blood. Please pray that this country would be released from the power of the deception of the enemy. Please pray that they would know the truth and that the truth would set them free.

As I daily pass these temples the words play repeatedly in my mind, "Built another temple to a stranger." The song by Jars of Clay depicts a person (even a Christian) who allows idols in their life, who sets their course to run into danger, who is unfaithful to the Lord. All the while the Lord is jealous in His love for that person...waiting for them to come to Him. The heart of so many cries, "I'd rather feel the pain all too familiar than be broken by a lover I don't understand." Sometimes, it is just too scary to step into the unknown love of the Lord and sometimes we choose to stay seeped in our pain because it is inside of our comfort zone.

We often allow even establish idols in our lives "one hundred other lovers one hundred other alters, if I should slow my pace and finally subject myself to grace and love that shames the wise, betrays the heart's deceit and lies and breaks the back of foolish pride." While we stray and set various things in our lives higher than the Lord, He jealously desires us to come back to Him. No matter how many times we dangerously set up idols or walk away, He is always ready to receive us with grace and love that mortal men just can't understand. To receive His grace and love means that we have to admit we have been deceived and believed lies and that our pride has separated us from Christ. But He is always ready to receive us...when we turn away from our idols, when they turn away, He is waiting.



P.S. If you watch this video on the small screen the quality is okay, but if you watch it on the large screen the quality is pretty poor. I apologize for that. Hope you get a glimpse anyway.

The Steadfast Love

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,

His mercies never come to an end,

They are new every morning,

New every morning,

Great is thy faithfulness oh Lord,

Great is thy faithfulness.

On several recent occasions this song has brought tears to my eyes. One being when five Thai children who had been through some of the worst situations I can think of sang this song in Thai as a farewell to their English teacher. I can't even convey in words the sweetness of their voices proclaiming the steadfast love and faithfulness of their God in light of the circumstances of their lives.

The second time this song has caused tears was earlier this week. The last two weeks have been awful, words cannot describe the pain and frustration that overcame virtually our whole team. It was as though we were knocked down in a fight and as we struggled to get up we were hit again and again. Almost all of our deepest hopes were met with painful disappointment. Everyday was a new circumstance that just caused us to say "WHY?"

The battle I have struggled with is believing in who God is more than in what I can see. I can clearly see pain, disappointment, doubts, and fear. But I can not clearly see God as my loving Father and the giver of good gifts. I was reading James 1:2-3 where it is written that we must consider it all joy when we face various trials because the testing of our faith produces endurance. I was thinking about faith as the conviction of truth, the truth that all I am is dependant on Christ. In the midst of these trials that threaten to tear me apart...do I believe that Jesus Christ is good? Do I believe that His love is unending and unfailing? Do I believe that He is faithful to accomplish His good purpose?

In stormy circumstances truth is not always seen and certainly not always felt. However, I am reminded and choose to believe...

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
His mercies never come to an end,
They are new every morning,

New every morning,
Great is thy faithfulness oh Lord,

Great is thy faithfulness.