Update: 4/21 - 4/27

     So we’ve officially been in El Salvador for two weeks and are continuing to make friends; learn Spanish; and of course, serve God. Jesse, Shaquanah, and I have been continuing to serve in the Campos Blancos ministry on Sunday mornings, and we’ve started to help out in the church’s Sunday school which we do during the second service after we do Campos Blancos.

     During the week, although Shaquanah’s no longer watching the 2 ½ year old boy Rozel in the afternoons, she’s still continuing to help out in the school. There’s a young boy from the San Martin orphanage (La Casa) named Alexis who attends the school. He loves Shaquanah and she has completely fallen in love with him; and if adoptions weren’t next to impossible here in El Salvador, I’m sure she would have already adopted him by now.

     Jesse, Randy, Trevor, and I have been continuing the projects at the San Martin orphanage to prepare for the mission teams that will be coming to visit in a week or so. We’ve almost completed the concrete steps we’ve been making and have begun to prepare the foundation for the water tanks that will help increase the water pressure in the bungalows where the teams will be staying. Please keep Jesse in your prayers because he’s been sick with something for the past few days (possibly Strep Throat) and pray that the rest of us won’t get sick.

     That’s about it for now. Thanks for all your faithful prayers and God bless.

What's In A Name?

Sunday 4/22/12

                                                                                  What’s In A Name?

     “What’s in a name?” In perhaps his most famous work, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare raises the question of the importance of a name. The next line of the play gives a profound response to the question: “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." It might seem that if Juliet’s words reflected the author’s thoughts, Shakespeare would argue that a name has little – if any – importance at all. Or does it?

     …I was thinking and praying about him Saturday night. Would he be there? Would he be as sad and quiet as before or would he be as happy and outgoing as any of the other kids this time? Was the problem he was having last week something that would arise again this week, or was I blowing everything way out of proportion? (I was probably doing the latter.) But with all these questions, one question still intrigued me: What was the boy’s name?

    My ankle which I had hurt last week was feeling much better; and, unlike last time, once we got to the court where we held our Campos Blancos Sunday school, I jumped right in there and was playing soccer with the kids. Even as I was playing, I would still keep an eye out, glancing every now and then to the entrance of the court as a kid or two would walk in – seeing if one of them was the boy who wouldn’t tell me his name last week. I guess I must have been more engrossed in the game than I thought because after everyone was tired from playing and the game started winding down, I noticed that even though I somehow didn’t see him walk in, the boy had come after all.

     Of course, I went over and said hi to him and immediately asked him if he was going to tell me his name this week? But he still didn’t tell me his name. It was time for singing and the kids stood up and made a circle – except for a couple girls and, of course, the boy without a name. The teacher and some other kids tried getting him to join, but he didn’t want to. We sang a few songs before I went over to him and asked him if he wanted to sing. I told him that I needed help because I didn’t know the words (which I didn’t since they were in Spanish). He still refused to join. I noticed that he didn’t seem as sad as last week, but still pretty quiet and closed off. I wondered if it was just his personality and if he would be closed off this week too.

     The previous week, the teacher had asked me to lead a game next time. I had prepared a game and after the kids sang, I explained the game to them. When we started the game, the boy joined and played along. He even seemed to be enjoying it.

     After the game, we had the Bible lesson, and after the lesson, I attempted to ask the boy his name once again. Even though he wouldn’t tell me his name any of the other times, I knew this time would be different. I knew I was going to get his name. If he wouldn’t tell me, I would guess it until I got it right. Even though it might sound like guessing his name would be a challenge for me, the truth is, it would have only taken me one guess because by now, I had heard the other teachers and some of the kids use his name. However, even though I was ready to guess his name, I didn’t have to – this time he actually told me! I had finally learned this boy’s name! I asked him if he was sad last week and he nodded. Then, I asked him why, but he wouldn’t respond right away. Seeing that he was hesitating, I asked him if maybe he didn’t remember and he nodded. Later on, I asked him if he was feeling better today and he was. After the lesson, the boy even participated in the coloring and word search paper like the other kids.

     So although he was still very quiet (which is probably just his personality), the boy without a name that was so sad last week, now talked, participated, and interacted more with others. But as thrilling as those changes were, there was one change this week that was particularly special. And that is, this week, the boy had opened up enough to share something with me that he had refused to share with me the previous  week – his name.

     At first glance, it might seem as though Shakespeare believed that a name is pointless, but then again maybe that wasn’t the point he was trying to make at all; for the fact remains that even if you call a rose by any other name, it at least still has one – you just have to figure out what that name is. Perhaps Shakespeare’s words could better be understood in light of 1 Samuel 16:7 when God tells Samuel that the things man holds important such as outward appearances and perhaps even names is not the same as what God deems important. While man may stop at the appearance or at a name, God looks beyond – He looks at the heart. So whatever your answer might be to Shakespeare’s question of “What’s in a name?” or whatever your view is on the importance of a name, that’s up to you. But whatever the case, it’s indisputable that Shakespeare definitely raised an interesting question. But for me, I personally think that the point Shakespeare was trying to make was that a name in and of itself has little importance, especially when you don't take the heart and soul of the poerson or thing behind it into account. And as I look back at this story, I have to say that it isn’t, nor was it ever, about getting the boy’s name. The name itself wasn’t important; it was always about the boy behind the name. So while many may ponder with Shakespeare over what’s in a name, I know for me, that the name Anderson will always have importance – not because of the name itself, but because of the boy behind it for whom I will continue to pray as I did before – the only difference being that now I can pray for him by name.

(Thanks to all of you who have prayed for this boy and please continue to pray for him. Also, thanks to those of you who have been praying for my ankle. It feels fine now and I can run and play soccer again – YAY!)

Update 4/13/12 - 4/20/12

     Hola mis amigos. Jesse, Shaquanah, and I have officially been here in El Salvador for one week and we’ve been up to a lot. So below is a summary of the week.

     We safely arrived here Friday night on April 13^th and met the Gilbert family. There’s  Randy, Karen, and their boys – Noah whose 8 and Ben whose 5. They’re the missionary family that we will be staying with for the next six months while we’re here in San Salvador.

     On Sunday’s the central church that we help out here in El Salvador has a program called Campos Blancos which is translated “White Fields” in English. This program takes Sunday school to the kids in the surrounding community and the three of us have been able to help out with that program and will continue to help out with it for the six months that we’re here. We go to different neighborhoods and play games with the kids there, give them a snack, do arts and crafts, and of course give them a Bible lesson. It’s a great way to bring Sunday school to kids who otherwise wouldn’t be there.

    Besides campos blancos, Shaquanah’s also been helping out at the Christian school at the central church in San Salvador. She helps with three grades with the kids’ ages ranging from 2-5. There’s also a missionary couple from Honduras here who have a young 2 ½ year old son named Rozell. In the afternoons Shaquanah has been helping to watch Rozell so that his parents can attend classes for training and get some things done that they wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.

     Jesse and I have been working with Randy and another missionary named Trevor over in San Martin at the boy’s orphanage which they call “La Casa” (which means “The House”). We’ve been working on some construction projects to prepare for some mission teams that will be staying there in San Martin throughout the summer. There are two bungalows on the orphanage property where the teams will be staying. One of the projects that Jesse and I have been doing with Randy is building some concrete steps outside one of the bungalows. It’s been hard working in the hot humid weather here in El Salvador, but we’ve been accomplishing a lot – which is good because the mission teams will be here in just a few weeks.

      In a nutshell, that’s what we’ve been up to so far for our first full week here in El Salvador. It’s been great being able to serve God and doing all this for His glory. We all look forward to the next six months. Please continue to keep us and the work God is doing here in your prayers. Dios Les Bendiga. God bless you all. Adios!

El Nino Sin Un Nombre (The Boy Without a Name)

El Nino Sin Un Nombre (The Boy Without a Name) - Sun. 4/14/12

     He came much later than the other kids and unlike most of the kids who came with friends or siblings, he came alone. He didn’t play the games, and he barely said a word. On the way home I was thinking about him, and I didn’t even know his name.

     It was Sunday morning and Jesse, Shaquanah and I got to help out with the Campos Blancos (White Fields) program with the local church here in San Salvador. Campos Blancos is an outreach program where the church brings Sunday school to the kids. They go into the surrounding communities and have Sunday school, singing songs, playing games, having a snack, and of course teaching God’s Word. There are a few different places throughout the area where we go. I think I was told there are about nine different Campos Blancos groups. While Jesse and Shaquanah went to one area with a few people from the church, I went with another group to a different area. And talk about jumping right into the fire – my Spanish was tested a lot since everyone else in the group spoke only Spanish (or at most, a minimal amount of English).

     Leading the Campos Blancos group I was in was Sonya with a young man named Elga and another young man helping. Elga and I arrived at the soccer court where we were holding the Sunday school. The other teachers and the kids drifted in, many of them with siblings, cousins, or friends. They were playing games, we sang some songs, and then we played another game. I sat and watched the game because I had twisted my ankle the previous day and didn’t want to get it any worse than it already was. There were a few kids sitting and watching too, and I would talk with them sometimes – or at least try.

     Then I saw him. A boy ten years old entered the court area, walked over to the seats, and sat down. I said hi to him and asked him what his name was – no answer. He just sat there. One of the helpers came over and tried to get him to talk to me, but he still wouldn’t. I figured that maybe a gringo (foreigner) like me might have been intimidating to him. I tried joking around with him, asking him if maybe he didn’t have a name. No effect. I asked him if he wanted to play the game. Still no response. So we just sat there. Some girls came over and I started talking with them and shortly the Bible lesson started. As the lesson was beginning, I noticed that the boy looked upset. I asked him why he was sad, but to no surprise, he still wouldn’t respond.

     Despite the lack of verbal communication, the interesting thing that I did notice just before the Bible lesson and during it is that this boy that seemed so upset and so closed off would often scoot closer to me and turn his body toward me as if he enjoyed my company and found some comfort in sitting next to me. My heart went out to the boy and I offered up a prayer for him. I knew I didn’t know what was bothering him or why he was so quiet; even if he did speak to me I wondered how much I would really help him with my limited amount of Spanish. But there was no doubt there was something bothering this kid. After the Bible lesson, we passed out a snack to the kids and as they ate many of the kids were asking me how to say certain words in English. I also tried to talk to the ten year old boy again and tried multiple more times in vain to try to get him to at least tell me his name.

     After snack, Sunday school was over. I tried asking Elga if he knew the name of the boy, but I think my question got lost in my poor Spanish because he seemed confused by the way I worded the question and couldn’t answer me. As we were walking through the neighborhood back to the car, many of the kids were still around us, saying goodbye. The path we were walking down was narrow and I felt small hands push me aside to try to get by. It was the boy without the name again, and he hurried off. I don’t know where he was going and I don’t know where he went (probably back home) but that was the last time I saw him – but it was far from the last time I would think about him. I thought about him on the ride back home and I’m still thinking about him as I’m writing this. The good news is that I’m going to be working with that group of kids each Sunday and I’m sure I’ll see him next week.

     I still wonder what the boy’s name is, but I wonder even more why he seemed so quiet, sad, and closed off. Perhaps I’m reading too much into it. I realize that chances are the boy was just having a bad morning; maybe his parents forced him to come to Campos Blancos; maybe he was just tired. But even as I realize that whatever was bothering the boy could have been quite trivial, I also realize that it might not be. Either way, this nameless kid made quite the impression on me and God has put him on my heart. So until next Sunday when I’ll hopefully see him again, the boy without a name will be in my prayers.

(For those of you who are praying for me, if you want something specific to be praying for, you could be praying for this boy, that he'd know Christ if he doesn't already, that he'd experience the love and joy of the Lord, and that whatever was bothering him, that the Lord would use it in his life to bring him closer to Him. The boy's in the picture above.)

So Guess Who Already Got Hurt? – First Full Day In El Salvador

So Guess Who Already Got Hurt? – First Full Day In El Salvador (Sat. 4/14/12)

     Jesse, Shaquanah, and I arrived safely Friday night. We walked off the plane and immediately we could feel the humidity and heat. After going through customs and getting our luggage, we met Randy and Karen Gilbert, the missionaries that we’ll be living with. We got dinner and then went to their house. They gave us a tour and then, being as late as it was, we unpacked and went to bed.

     In the morning, I walked out of my room and there in a little play area playing with legos was Noah, Randy and Karen’s eight year old son. Noah and his five year old brother Ben were asleep by the time we arrived at the house the night before, but Karen had told us that the two of them were so excited to meet us. And boy was she right. After I introduced myself, Noah dropped everything he was doing, came downstairs with me, and the two of us talked. It wasn’t long until Ben woke up, and joined us. As I talked with Noah and Ben, it was so obvious how excited Noah was – I don’t think you would be able to get him to stop talking for anything, he was so excited to have new interns in his house. He told me all about El Salvador, all about him and his family, and all about the other interns that were here last.

     Later we went to the park and played soccer, and let me tell you, it took me all of 15 hours for me to get hurt in El Salvador! I twisted my ankle while playing (hey, you can’t fault me for not being willing to give it my all) and was foolish enough to still walk on it throughout the day as if the pain would just go away. By evening, when the pain actually felt like it was getting a little worse, I was upset that my stupidity of walking on it would probably affect the next few days of my ability to serve here in San Salvador. (It’s Sunday afternoon when I’m writing this and praise God that in spite of my stupidity God is healing my ankle and it’s feeling much better and I’m still able to serve.)

     Anyway, it was an eventful first day and I can see that trials are bound to come, especially with being here for six months. But praise God that He is always sovereign and in control. I can’t wait to see what He has planned for these six months. Thank you so much to all those back in the states who are so faithful to be lifting me up in prayer. Please continue to keep me, Jesse, Shaquanah, and the Gilbert family in your prayers. Although it already sounds like we’ll be quite busy, I’ll be trying to keep my blog updated with stories and specific prayer requests (for those of you who have been asking for specific things to pray for – right now, I suppose a specific prayer request would be that my ankle would completely get healed and praise that it’s already feeling better). God Bless.

Jonah 1:3 - The Price of Disobedience (Part I)

Wednesday 4/11/12 – The Price of Disobedience (Part I)

Jonah 1:3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Devotional:

     Ah, obedience! We come to that classic topic which, as any scholar of the Bible already knows, can be found multiple places throughout God’s Word. When we approach a certain area of Scripture that talks about obedience, we get to see a little more of God’s perspective of obedience unfold before us as He shows us His attitude about obeying. For instance, we learn that God values obedience more than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22); that if we love Him, we should keep His commandments (John 14:15); and that keeping His commandments should not be burdensome (1 John 5:3). But as we approach this verse, there is yet another lesson we can learn in the area of obeying – and that is, the price of disobedience.

     When God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah chose instead to flee to Tarshish. Having made up his mind to disobey, Jonah went to Joppa to find a ship to run away from God. Interestingly enough, Joppa means “beautiful.” As it says in Romans 10:15, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” God had called Jonah to go and preach to a whole city who would repent and turn to God. Yet, instead of obeying God, Jonah goes to Joppa and runs away as he turns down the beautiful opportunity God gave him to have an impact on so many lives.

     Although the Bible teaches that obedience to God brings beautiful blessing, it must also be noted that disobedience, on the other hand, will always come with a price. Choosing to disobey, Jonah would have to pay a fare for the ship. But the fare was such a minimal price for disobedience compared to what he would pay. He was in for quite a bit of trouble that could have easily been avoided. Even the words picked out for this verse seem to cast a gloomy shadow over Jonah’s decision: “down to Joppa,” “paid the fare,” “went down into it.” But there’s one phrase in this verse that sticks out. It’s repeated twice, and it’s almost as if God is trying to emphasize one general consequence of disobedience. By disobeying God, Jonah was fleeing “from the presence of the Lord.” That’s what disobedience will always do – when you choose to disobey, you’re fleeing from the presence of the Lord. Among the other consequences of disobedience, one big price you pay for disobeying is you forfeit the wonderful fellowship of God in your life. Granted, God says in Hebrews 13:5 that He’ll never leave us nor forsake us, but when we disobey, we’re the ones that are forsaking Him and resisting His presence. Some verses in the Bible even seem to imply that we can set up a type of wall in our relationship with God when we hold on to sin: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:18) and “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). God loves us and desires a relationship with us so much that after seeing how disobedience messes with our relationship with Him by eclipsing His presence in our lives, there’s no wonder why God compares the sin of disobedience and rebellion to witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23).

     Especially in ministry, however, it is so important that our own hearts are always right with God and that we are obeying anything and everything He’s telling us to do. If not, how then are we to show God’s presence to others when we ourselves have fled from it through disobedience? How are we to be used by God, when we’re not right with Him ourselves? Granted, God can (and many times does) use us when we’re not right with Him, but that’s in spite of ourselves and in keeping with His magnificent grace and mercy.

     So in light of any other specific consequence that our disobedience brings, willful disobedience will always make us lose the presence of the Lord in our lives –  that rich fellowship that we could be sharing with Him. And when the presence of the Lord is lost, our lives, relationships, and ministries inevitably suffer. So tell me, is the price of disobedience really worth it?

Prayer:

     Lord, please give me an obedient heart that is willing to obey anything and everything You call me to do. I thank You for the close fellowship I can have with You every day and I pray that I’d never jeopardize Your presence in my life by choosing not to obey You. I thank You that You are slow to anger, abounding in mercy, and willing to forgive my disobedience and rebellion when I mess up. May Your presence and the relationship I share with You shine through my life as I minister to others today that they may see You and give You all the glory. Amen.

Jonah 1:2 - A Fourth Strike

Thursday 4/5/12 - A Fourth Strike

Jonah 1:2: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”

Devotional:

     World Series – game seven. It’s the bottom of the ninth with bases loaded, two strikes and two outs. Your team’s up to bat trailing by one point. There’s the wind-up, and the pitch! It’s a drive right down the middle. The batter swings and….“Strike three!” the umpire yells. “You’re….still in. That’s okay, I’ll give you another chance. There’s too much to lose here. Have the pitcher pitch you another one.” The pitcher gets the ball again, but before anything else can happen, the crowd’s in an uproar. Some are enraged, knowing that it should have been over with that pitch and their team should have won. Others in the stands are relieved – as astonished as they might be at the umpire’s unprecedented call – it would mean that their team would have one more chance to bring home the trophy. But regardless of whose team people were rooting for, there definitely would have been a sense of injustice present in the crowd. Did the umpire have the right to make this call? Is it really fair?

     Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was an evil city with wicked practices. They definitely exceeded their three strikes and in this verse, God says that Nineveh’s wickedness had come up before Him. “Here we go,” we might think. “Now they’re out; now God’s going to get them.” They were enemies of God’s chosen people, and if God was going to punish any city, it would definitely be Nineveh with all their wickedness. But surprisingly, when Nineveh’s wickedness came up before God, instead of immediately punishing them, God instead calls on one of His prophets to go minister to them. Why? Ezekiel 33:11a has the answer: "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” God’s patient with others and their failures for the very same reason He’s patient with us – His love.

     “Well, that’s it for me!” you might have thought at one point in your life. “That was my third strike, if not my fourth or fifth.” You’ve messed up so badly in your life, making decisions that you knew were wrong and doing things that you knew you shouldn’t have done. “Now God’s going to get me,” you think. Or maybe worse – maybe you remember a time in your life when you were just doing things your own way and didn’t even care if you were striking out or what God thought. Maybe you feel like Nineveh and know that your wickedness has gone up before God. And now you’re sure He’s ready to hit you over the head with a bolt of lightning. But for some reason, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We were enemies with God at one time but He saved us, nonetheless. And if He did that for us while we were still sinners, He’ll be more than merciful with our shortcomings and failures if we just come to Him – even if we already struck out three times. “So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm” (Joel 2:13). (However, it must also be noted that although God is kind and longsuffering, we are not to use his grace as an excuse to sin as the Bible makes clear in Deuteronomy 6:13-19 and Romans 6:1-2.)

     Now concerning ministry, this is such an important lesson to keep in mind. God has had compassion on each and every one of us at some time in our lives. When we deserved His judgment, He gave us mercy – He gave us another chance. As we minister to others, there will be those people who we will be tempted to judge as “beyond help” or as someone who has completely given up on God and therefore we might assume God has given up on them and marked them for judgment when in fact He hasn’t. If we look at Nebuchadnezzar in the Old Testament, we see there an example of a man who, by human standards, would never turn to God. And yet, in Daniel 4, we see God opening his eyes. We don’t know what’s going on in the lives of the people we minister to, and we need only be obedient to God as He calls us to minister to these people.

     Let’s learn a lesson from Jonah. When God called him to minister to the people of Nineveh, he didn’t want to because he didn’t think God should give His mercy and kindness to such a wicked, evil people (Jonah 4:2). Maybe he thought Israel was the only one who deserved God’s goodness. But while Ezekiel 33:11a (as mentioned above) talks about how God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, Ezekiel 33:11b shows us the context of the verse and who the “wicked” ones were that God was referring to at that time: “Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” It was Israel! And although the book of Ezekiel was written after Jonah, Jonah still forgot about Israel’s history in the desert and how merciful God had been with them even as wicked and rebellious as they were.

     So God’s merciful to us when we are rebellious and disobedient. He doesn’t write us off. He doesn’t call the game after the third strike although He has every right to. Likewise, if the judge of the world doesn’t do that, who are we to do that to others? After our third strike, God may give us or someone else a fourth, fifth, or sixth strike. I know there’s something in the heart of every human being that calls for justice, that calls for the umpire to uphold the rules of the game, especially in such a game as the seventh game of the World Series at the bottom of the ninth with two outs and two strikes. But before we start reprimanding God for not being a fair umpire, before we start calling on God to uphold His reputation of justice, let’s remember that when He makes His call, He sees what’s at stake. And what’s at stake is something more than the World’s Series: it’s the lives of those whom God loved and gave Himself to die for, as well as the reputation of His goodness, kindness, and longsuffering in light of His justice. So God’s an umpire who often decides to give a fourth strike to whomever He wills. And if He gives us a fourth strike when we need it; shouldn’t we also be willing to give it to others as well?

Matthew 18:33: “Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?”

Prayer:

     Lord, thank You so much for having mercy and compassion on me not only when You saved me, but since then, when I’ve been rebellious and disobedient. Thank You that Your loving-kindness is new every morning. I pray that I’d be a vessel of Yours to show Your forgiveness, patience, and kindness to those You bring in my path today – especially those who seem like they don’t deserve it the most. Please give me the eyes to see them like You do, and give me the patience to interact with them as You would. Through Your mercy and longsuffering, may You bring many more souls into Your kingdom. Amen.

Related Verses:

Lamentations 3:21-23

Matthew 18:21-22

2 Peter 3:9

Jonah 1:1 - Digging into God’s Word – The Beginning of Ministry

Monday 4/2/12 – Digging into God’s Word – The Beginning of Ministry

Jonah 1:1: Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

Devotional:

    Ministry is something that God calls and expects His kids to do. It can be defined as “divine resources meeting human needs through willing vessels.” The willing vessels mentioned in this definition refer to us Christians whom God uses to meet the needs of others, and through studying the book of Jonah, we can find out so much about ministry and what it means for the Christian life.

     Looking at the very first verse in the book of Jonah, we see the first thing in ministry – hearing God’s voice. The first thing that happened in this book is that the “word of the Lord came to Jonah.” For those of us wanting to be used by God in some way in ministry in some person’s life, it is vital that we stay in God’s Word; for that is what God often uses to speak to His children. Through His Word, He can reveal so much to us.

     First, His Word reveals to us His truth. John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” Not only does He reveal His truth, but He reveals Himself to us through His Word. Reading the Bible, we can see God’s character and personality, what He loves and what He hates, His passions and His grievances. We see the heart of our Lord through His Word. So this would be the first reason why anyone who wants to be a vessel used by God for His work in ministering to others would need to start in His Word. How can we minister to others and share with them God’s divine resources if we ourselves don’t know it?

     However, there is also a second reason why we should daily be in God’s Word. Through His Word, He doesn’t just reveal His truth and Himself, but He also shows us our own hearts, motives, problems, and self-deceptions. Hebrews 4:12-13 says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” God’s Word then goes from revealing to us our own self to showing us how we personally should live. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So just like it’s so difficult for us to minister God’s divine resources to others when we ourselves don’t know it, likewise, how can we minister His resources when we
ourselves don’t have it? How can we give somebody something we aren’t living ourselves?

     It’s interesting to note that Jonah came from a town called Gath Hepher (2 Kings 14:25). Gath Hepher is translated “winepress of the pit” or “winepress of the digger,” with “Gath” meaning “a winepress” and “Hepher” meaning “a digger.” Just like Jonah was from the “winepress of the digger” before the word of the Lord came to him, so we must be digging into the Bible and pressing into God’s Word as we meditate on the Scriptures and let the Holy Spirit extract the precious juice out of His Word and into our lives. Ministry can be tough – life alone can be tough! But as you dig into God’s Word each day, He can give you the strength to press on in your life and in your ministry He’s called you to.

     This is where ministry starts. We don’t need to frantically get up each day looking for it. Jonah wasn’t. Trust me, he wasn’t! If you know the story of Jonah, you know that he definitely wasn’t looking for the ministry God called him to. But, nonetheless, the story of Jonah starts out in chapter one verse one saying “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah…” The Word of the Lord has come to us. He’s given us the Bible. When’s the time to read it? Jonah 1:1 first word, “Now”! Read it now; read it each day, and expect to hear the word of the Lord and be prepared for any ministry He calls you to today. Will you open up His Word, dig in, and press on?

 

Prayer:

     God, help me to be faithful every day to read Your Word You’ve given me so that You can show me more of my own heart, Your heart, and what I need to do each day. Through Your Spirit and Your Word, prepare me today for any form of ministry You desire to use me in. May I be a vessel of Yours willing to share Your divine resources with anyone who is in need of it today. Thank You for Your Word and for wanting to use me to accomplish Your purposes. Amen.