The Gift of God

Giving gifts to others brings joy to the giver, more so than being the one on the receiving end. So naturally, it hurts when a gift is refused. Such has happened to my husband and I, and it does not feel nice to have a gift refused, especially knowing it was much needed by the recipient and would have benefited them greatly.

God has given a gift to all. 

Not all will receive this gift.

It's kind of like the old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink." You can give a gift, but it's up to the recipient to receive it.

God offers us the gift of eternal life. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 5 talks about how death came to all men through the sin of one man (Adam), but the gift of eternal life comes from Christ and Christ alone. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Romans 5:19

The verses go on to say these great words that offer hope to all regarding our sin problem: "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: "That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:20-21

So the gift is offered to all:

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13

But not all will receive:

"But they have not all obeyed the gospel..." Romans 10:16

I can picture Christ with extended arms, inviting the unsaved to receive the gift of eternal life and instead of receiving, they reject Him. If we can be saddened over gifts bestowed and rejected, how much greater His sadness must be to be turned down the greatest gift ever!

I pray all who read this blog post know Christ as their Saviour already. If you don't please don't reject His gift another day. Receive Him and eternal life.

Success Found in Obedience

The 2016 Reaching Hungary team flew over June 20- July 1 to pass out John & Romans provided by Bearing Precious Seed, a ministry of First Baptist Church in Milford, OH. Our team, consisting of two boys from Indiana and three individuals from Florida, passed out somewhere around 6,000 John & Romans into the hands and into the mailboxes of people in both Debrecen and Budapest. Much time by those who could not walk through the town was spent helping the cause by placing labels bearing the church address on these Bibles. Personal invitations to the church services were placed inside the front cover as well. The weather was extremely hot, the miles long, and the backpacks weighed down with God's precious Word were heavy, but thousands of lost souls were on the line so onward we pressed.

In the weeks following the trip, the churches have not seen a rush of new converts flooding the building, desiring to learn more about the Saviour who died for them. Even the English speaking waiter who we met at one restaurant expressing an interest to learn more, has yet to come to church as he promised. Only one man has come as a result of receiving a John & Romans in his mailbox. That's it. 6,000 J&R. One man. 

Should we throw our hands up in the air and say, "Lord, how come we the church is not full with people wanting to get saved?" We tried so hard! We really really tried! "

In the book of Isaiah chapter 6, we see the commissioning of Isaiah and his willingness to answer the call to serve. In verse 8, we see the call and the surrender.

But ... 

After the call , "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" 

After the surrender, "Then said I,  Here am I; send me."

Comes to the people who reject the message. It says in Isaiah 6:9, "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but not understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. "

The people heard the message but chose to reject it. 

So what do we do? 

Well, we keep on keeping on. That's what we do. 

Because ... 

Success is not in the numbers. Success is in the obedience.  

We are not called to a product but to a process. 

And we praise the Lord for the one that did come to church, because Christ died for even him!

Heart Language

June 8, 2016 was the day my family arrived in Hungary. Prior to arriving, I spent my free moments trying to memorize some of the language, so upon arrival, I would at least know how to greet people, tell them “please”, “thank you” and other polite phrases. I became quite comfortable with the greeting, “Jó napot kivánok,” and “Viszontlátásra,” when parting ways. I had “Tessék,” down while placing John and Romans Bibles into the hands of the people our second week when the Reaching Hungary team showed up. During the bilingual church services, I listened carefully to the Hungarian words followed by the English translation, trying to recognize at least one Hungarian word per sentence before the English translation was revealed to me. I could quickly recognize God, “Isten”, and family, “csalad” in the morning announcements. During the song service, I opened up the Hungarian hymnal and followed along, doing my best to mimic the Hungarian singers around me in their pronunciation of the words. I patted myself on the shoulder at my efforts to learning the language. 

Then we sat in an English service translated into Hungarian.

One verse of the song “Rock of Ages Cleft for Me,” was sung in English.

And I started bawling like that was the first time I had heard the song.

Then I realized, the language the Lord speaks to me in is English. If He pricks at my heart to do something, He says to me of the lady in the store, “Go give her a tract,” and not “Menj, adj neki egy traktátust.” 

I realized how these words do not speak to my heart:

Óh, csodás kegy, amely engem

Megmentett, mint roncsot!

Egykor én el voltam veszve

S vak is, de már látok.

The way these words do:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

And then I realized if I understand best in my first language, English, how much more important is it to learn Hungarian so I can share Christ with the Hungarians in their first language, because that is the language that speaks to their hearts.

So I will spend my days studying Hungarian but must not forget to also spend time with the Lord in the language that He reaches my own heart with.

Thirsting For God

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." 

Psalm 42:1

I know what it's like to be thirsty. I mean really thirsty.

     In 2000, I started to drink water constantly but never seemed to find relieve for the thirst that nagged at me. I can recall sitting in Bible class just after Christmas break. The classroom was across in another building and required a trek through the snow-covered path to reach it. As I sat listening to my teacher, I remember watching snow drip off a classmates boots, longing for a drop of that water. 

Yeah, it was that bad.

A month later, I discovered I had diabetes. As soon as I had injected insulin running through my body, the thirst dissipated and I finally had relief from it.

I can picture the deer in the verse, thirsty and longing for it to be quenched. In the same way are we to long for God, like we just can't live without Him. How I long to have such a deep desire for him, and only can this happen by talking to Him in prayer and reading what He has to say through His Word.

So Much the More

Often the children and I get asked to sing in churches during the services, and this song is one we frequently choose. It's called "So Much the More" and it gives churches a charge to stand faithful to the end.

So  much  the  more  as  you  see  the  day  approaching.

So  much  the  more  when  His  coming  is  at  hand. 

We need  the  church,  and  the  saints,  and  the  worship  of  the  Lord 

To  stand  faithful  to  the  end,  so  much  the  more. 

There's  a  famine  in  the  land,  not  for  food  or  for  water, 

But  for  the  hearing  of  the  precious  Word  of  God. 

And  this  world  can't  understand  why  we  build  our  lives  around  it. 

As  for  me  and  my  house:  We'll  serve  the  LORD! 

So  much  the  more  as  you  see  the  day  approaching. 

So  much  the  more  when  His  coming  is  at  hand. 

We need  the  church,  and  the  saints,  and  the  worship  of  the  Lord 

To  stand  faithful  to  the  end,  so  much  the  more.

The title comes from Hebrews 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

The section about famine in the land comes from Amos 8:11: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:" Let us ever have a hunger and a thirst for God's  precious Word!

The charge continues with this well-known phrase from Joshua 24:15. "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

See the video of the kids and I singing it here:

https://vimeo.com/164129898

The Fool Hath Said in his Heart

As a child, I can very well recall looking forward to April first when it was acceptable to pull jokes on family and friends. 

You know what I'm talking about:

"Hey, Mom, your shoe is untied." My mom would proceed to look at her shoes. "Ha! April Fools!"

"Hey, Sis, someone went into your room and took your favorite doll!" My sister would run to her room to find her doll exactly where she left it. "Gotcha! April Fools!" 

"Hey, Dad..." Oh, never mind. Smart kids don't pull April Fools jokes on Dad.

Now, I am mature and have not pulled a single April Fools joke on anyone in years. 

Webster's dictionary defines a fool as a person who lacks good sense or judgement.

The Bible defines a fool a bit differently:

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. " Psalm 14:1

I've heard it said a time or two that believing in God is for people who are weak and use God as a crutch. Well, the Bible says it is foolish to believe there is no God. I often wonder how these people go through life seeing the beauty of creation all around them and not believe in the God that created it all.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Happy Resurrection Sunday to all! He is Risen! 

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:55-57