A Far Off Neighbor...

Sometimes I get discouraged in trying to reach out to my neighbors. One obstacle is time--although I do have a a heart to develop and then deepen relationships with neighbors, it seems that months slip by between our conversations and the level of our relationship stays stagnant and immature.

But, God is a creative God and faithful to honor the intent of our hearts! I love that about Him. So, I have been telling Him about my heart for my neighbors and how frustrated I've been with my own time and energy limitations. I've been asking Him to work something out for me, to put neighbors in my path, to even bring them to me!

There is this one new neighbor in particular who just moved in three doors down. She's friendly and I probably have a good bit in common with her. I think they are Jewish. Anyway, we can't seem to make even a short visit happen.

Well, she sent me an email a few weeks ago asking me if I might be willing to correspond with a friend of hers who lives in Hong Kong. Her friend, Michelle, is pulling her daughter out of school and needs help getting started with homeschool.

I love the way God uses the unexpected, as it turns out that I'm having some really thoughtful email conversations with Michelle, which keep touching upon Him. Of course, we are talking a lot about homeschool, but I can see the Lord gently guiding us down some deeper roads as well, as we talk about what I teach our children and why. Interestingly enough, her daughter's allergist (she's having all kinds of health/allergy problems) is a Christian as well! I can see the wheels turning in her mind trying to figure out "what is up" with these "Christians" popping up in her life suddenly! Both Michelle and her husband are very new age in their perspective, though I can sense she's confused and frustrated trying to figure out exactly what she does believe.

It's bizarre and encouraging to think that the Lord is using me and some allergist in Hong Kong to put Michelle in touch with Him! I can't wait to see how He'll use the relationship in her life, though I may never know all of it until Heaven.

Praise God for His faithfulness in opening unexpected doors and "bringing" people right to my email box to talk with about Him! Who would guess that my efforts to know a neighbor would turn into an ongoing conversation with a woman who lives in Hong Kong? I love His creative Spirit!

Also, please pray for Michelle and for our email conversations--that His Spirit would be at work across the miles and that her heart would be open to Him.

Oh...and pray that I would finally get to sit down and share a coffee with my new "local" neighbor too!

This is Christmas

Hello,

I am curious to learn if anyone had family/friends who attended "This is Christmas" at the Civic Center last Sunday. Is there anyone in your "circle" who attended and who you'd like us to pray for?

The Christmas Eve service next Monday is another great opportunity to bring family and friends. Last year, we had several family members who came along with us--it was great to bring them to a service where I knew the truth would be preached clearly!

These next few weeks are full of opportunities when we'll be around family and friends who need the Lord in their lives. May we be faithful in keeping Him front and center of our focus and conversations:

"Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity." -Colossians 4:5

His Own Brother

Thinking about the concept of Andrew Partners, it’s good to remember that the first person Andrew brought to Jesus was his own brother.

“One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, `We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.’” -John 1:40-41

I’m sure all of us have sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins, along with children and spouses that need the Lord. We know them intimately—for better or worse, and they know us intimately—for better or worse.

Who else has such strong motivation to pray for them regularly? Who better knows many of their fears and hurts? If we don’t lift up our family members who will?

Do you struggle to share your faith with family? What are some ways that we can move beyond the struggles and press on in prayer and action? Surely He has created us and equipped us for just such a purpose in the lives of our loved ones.

His Mercy and Faithfulness

“A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps." –Proverbs 16:9

This post is a follow-up to my previous entry “Neighbors” where I wrote about how we never know how the Lord might use us to touch the life of a neighbor. Little did I suspect that the Lord would indeed use me in such a way---just a few minutes after I wrote those words.

Monday morning, I went to take some flowers to my neighbor, a mother of two young children, suffering from cancer. I had no intention of “intruding” upon them as I had heard that she was in her final days and in great pain. I don’t know her very well, as we’ve only had a few conversations. I planned to drop the flowers and card off on their front porch, but the Lord had different plans.

Without getting into too much detail, I’ll just say that when I approached the home, their dog started barking, their front door happened to be open, I was invited in, and the next thing I knew I was escorted back to her bedroom to visit with her. My neighbor was in such a weakened condition that she could barely speak. This whole turn of events was so unexpected and her condition so frail—it has humbled me to the core and made me poignantly re-aware of how fragile life is, how weak we really are apart from Him. I asked if I could pray for her and she said “yes,” so I held her hands and prayed for her and her family.

This all sounds so “spiritual,” but I struggle to sufficiently convey how awkward I felt, how inadequate my words seemed--I fumbled over them and my mind raced to keep up. Thank the Lord He is adequate! I am so glad that He cares for the intent of our hearts and not the eloquence of our speech.

Afterwards, things were even more awkward—she couldn’t speak and was so tired. I will always remember the haunting look of her huge eyes, so big in her thin face, as I said goodbye and closed the bedroom door.

Perhaps this is way “too much information” for an Andrew Partners post. It really is. But I want to be faithful to how good God was in that situation—how He took a common little thing like bringing flowers and turned it into an opportunity to pray with someone so sick and helpless. I feel as if I was given such a precious gift—to pray with this woman that I do not know well, to be a light in her life on a very dark day.

I found her obituary in the paper yesterday. Unbelievably, she died that same day. I thank God for the opportunity He gave me—for me, it is a testimony to His tremendous mercy and continual grace in all of our lives. Who can fathom the greatness of His love—the depths of His faithfulness, and the mysterious nature of His ways?

Please pray for this family as they grieve their loss.

Neighbors

My heart is heavy this morning because of a neighbor--she lives a stone's throw from my front door--two down. Yesterday I sat on our front steps and listened to her boys play (they are almost the same ages as our children...4 and 7)--their voices carry to our yard.

She is in the final stages of cancer and will likely pass any day. I don't know her very well, as we've only had a few conversations during the time they've lived here (only a year). But, we've talked enough for me to know that they don't attend church and are uncomfortable talking about spiritual things. The last time I saw her was a few months ago--we ran across each other in the children's section of the library. We were both looking for picture books for our kids and we exchanged greetings and news. Sadly, I watched her choose a book on Buddha off the display rack.

Often, I feel humbled and helpless in such circumstances. I know that He longs to draw us all to Him and that He uses all things for good. Even (and perhaps particularly) tragic things. My father came to the Lord through his leukemia and although I hate that disease, I am so grateful that God used it for good.

Who knows how God will use our acts of kindness? Who knows how far our reach extends? I think of my grandfather, who was a proud and seemingly unreachable man. After his death, we found a New Testament Bible among his things. To our surprise, key passages were underlined throughout the gospels--passages about believing in Christ and eternal life. We found out later that a young neighbor had been talking with him about the Lord. Thank God for the faithfulness of such neighbors--neighbors who may never know the fruit of their efforts in this world.

So, please pray for Melissa and her family. I will bring her flowers and a card this morning. It feels like such a tiny light in such a dark place. Pray that the words will touch her heart (part of it is a psalm written out) and for His light to shine in her darkness.

Where is His Wind Blowing Today?

Lately I have been thinking about the story of Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a wise man, a thinker, and curious about Jesus. He took pains to seek Jesus out and question Him about eternal things. I love Jesus’ reply:

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, `Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’

Nicodemus saith unto him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?’

Jesus answered, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.’ “

-John 3:3-8

What an amazing gift it is to be born again! It’s no wonder that Nicodemus “marveled.” I still marvel at my own second birth. I also marvel to think that He allows me to be a part of His incredible grace to another. For me, this is what Andrew Partners is all about—encouraging each other to actively seek something that transcends our own interests and our everyday lives. I long to see others born and to marvel alongside them—don’t you?

Like the wind, God’s Spirit moves mysteriously through this world, opening the spiritual eyes of those who cannot see. As the direction, speed and force of the physical wind is mysterious, so are the exact workings of His Spirit. I love His unpredictability! Often, He chooses to work in unlikely places, at unlikely times, through unlikely people. He works with my best efforts and thankfully, at times, despite my “best” efforts!

This is a great source of comfort to me—I’m so glad things don’t hinge upon the eloquence of my words or my ability to do precisely the right thing. And, although I need to be prepared, I don’t have to have every answer neatly packaged and ready to dispense. Thankfully, sharing Christ doesn’t require me to have it “all together.” It only requires my willingness--to be willing to go and testify to what He’s done and continues to do--to watch for signs of His wind and to faithfully pray for wind in the lives of those around me. How freeing! And what a privilege!

Where is His wind blowing today? Where do you see Him working in the lives of your neighbors, friends, or family? Do you know anyone “curious” like Nicodemus, who is asking questions and wanting to know more?

How Can We Pray for Each Other?

The best way to start anything is with prayer! What are some ways that can we pray for each other and for those we'd like to reach out to?

Terry has requested prayer for a Bible study she will begin leading August 30th (see the comments under the very first post).

I would like prayer for my relationship with my neighbor Jill. She has recently come to know the Lord, and I would love the opportunity to talk with her more deeply about spiritual things. Please pray for discernment and boldness with regard to "bridging the gap" between the every day and the spiritual. Pray that the Lord would grow our relationship for His glory.

How can we pray for you and those you'd like to reach for Christ?