Psalm 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Today, I was invited to a little friend's second birthday celebration. This year, he is old enough to realize we were marking a day that is very special in his life. It was so much fun to see the delight on his face as he blew out the candle on his cake!
Numbering our days is the undergirding theme of the pastors' conference on the end times in Nairobi, Kenya, again this year. Neil is one of several visiting pastors who will be speaking. Each passing year seems to move more quickly until, at our age, the months seem to be whirring by until we can't turn the pages on our calendar fast enough to keep up. We seem to have so many things we want to get done, but as the years go by, there is less energy to get through our "to-do" lists. A phrase from a song comes to mind, "
As long as I have breath,
I will praise You Lord
As long as I can sing,
I will sing Your praise
Wherever You lead me,
I will follow You ...
When I was young, I liked to imagine myself falling in step with Jesus. Now that my steps are beginning to falter, I tend to imagine Jesus offering me a strong arm to lean on. Neil and I often ask the Lord what is at the top of his to-do list. At the top of the Lord's list for Neil is this trip to Kenya. The timing isn't convenient. The garden Neil has worked so hard on is just beginning to produce. The warm summer days will soon slip into fall. But the Lord has his eyes on harvesting people -- preparing them for heaven. As we number our days, we realize how important it is for Neil to travel, not only while he still has strength but also while there is still time.
John 4:34-37 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.
As Neil gets older, he learns to pace himself to restore energy after he arrives at his destination. We are so thankful to our friends, Joe and Karin Medley, who are now living in Nairobi. They offer Neil a place to stay for a few days to adjust to the time change and pace of life. Neil sent an email on Friday that will help you enter into his time in Kenya:
Hi Dear-
Last night we ate at a restaurant offering pizza, Ethiopian, and American food. I shared a plate of Ethiopian food with Karen. Some of it was spicy enough to set my tummy off during the night. The pizza, baked in a wood-fired kiln, was very tasty.
Later, a friend from an isolated Muslim country won both cribbage games, and that was after I won one with Joe. As he departed, their African friend said his heart went out to me.
There is no exciting news today. Yesterday, I walked the 3/4th mile back from the office by myself. I enjoy getting a taste of the local, even if it is just walking on a rugged, ragged sidewalk. It is the kind of sidewalk that American lawyers would love. 😏 Joe's office, located in a neighborhood increasingly populated by Somalians, is the organizational home of a ministry that teaches people how to be culturally sensitive when sharing faith with Muslims. Hospitality and friendship are keys to building heart-to-heart relationships that open doors into each other's lives. A friend from Joe's compound works in a secular job in Somalia.
Because Muslims in Somalia have turned to Jesus by the tens of thousands over the past 6 months, calls are being made by clerics there for a violent pushback. Two weeks ago, a Christian convert from Mohammadism who used to join Joe's staff for prayer returned to Somalia for a visit. There, he was tortured and killed. Those who think that all roads lead to heaven might be surprised that the Muslims do not share that idea, and neither do Biblical Christians. Jesus said:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." --John 14:6
Although Mohammad promoted the idea in the Quran that Muslims should kill all infidels (non-Muslims, especially Jewish people, and Christians), Jesus is the exclusive way to heaven. The Muslim faith and Christianity are mutually incompatible. Mohammadism is a religion of death, advancing death to Israel and death to Christians wherever it is practiced, whether it be Gaza, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, or Turkey. Top on their list of targeted people to kill are the Jews, especially the Jews in Israel. Christianity teaches a life-relationship with Jesus. If Jesus' teachings are followed, we are to love our enemies. Many Muslims in all the above countries are now seeing the difference and leaving the death-culture for the life-culture, which is sometimes at the cost of their lives.
It comes as no surprise that major riots are planned for next Thursday, but don't worry. I will not be on the road on Thursday. The girls are making supper tonight. Waffles are on the menu. Esther asked her mom about mushrooms. It brought to my memory an earlier escapade at our house. 😂
Francis is picking me up in the morning—the time has yet to be determined. I am now pretty much acclimated to the time change. My computer communication may end today. We'll see. I preach in Naivasha, two hours north of Nairobi, on Sunday morning. We will be back in Nairobi on Sunday night. Then, on Monday morning, we head several hours east of Nairobi to Kallalini near Mombasa on the Indian Ocean coast on Monday. It is possible that all communication may end when I get into the bush in those remote villages on Monday night.
Prayer Requests:
- For the Holy Spirit to give Neil gracious words as he preaches, full of Jesus' love drawing people to the Father's heart.
- For Neil's tummy to return to normal as he begins traveling.
- For Neil to be able to sleep well.
- Safety for Neil and Francis.
- For their vehicle to hold together and run well.
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