Today my mind is on yesterday. I had the honor of speaking in one of my Bible school students' church. We had no idea what it would be like or how many people would be there. The church was located in a very dark (voodoo) village where five other pastors had been run out. My student maintained his ground for the past five years! He was taken to court last year because on trumped up charges because the witch doctors wanted to be rid of him. He won the case and refused to counter sue but chose rather to forgive the man. He's one of the most attentive students in my class and when he was teaching Sunday School, I realized he truly is teaching what he's learning at Bible school.
This church, like so many is nothing more than coconut palms put together to form a roof and sides. The uneven dirt floor with rocks jutting out, make it difficult to keep ones balance. When it came time for the pastor to introduce us, he said, "This is the first time foreigners have been here. I was ashamed to ask my teacher, but when I did, she accepted." Do you know how humbling that is? After the message, he brought us cold cokes and crackers, cokes being a hardship for him to provide, (again very humbling). When the time came for me to speak, I encouraged him never to be ashamed because he's preaching truth and not having a big fancy church didn't mean that the Presence of the Lord was not in his church.
His suit was mismatched and wrinkled. His wife was very outgoing and friendly but her clothes were not what we've seen in other churches on pastors' wives. She was so poorly dressed, I wanted to take off my shoes and give them to her. The only reason I didn't is that we've learned impulsive giving steers them away from trust in God to trust in the missionary. There will be the right time and circumstance to help this pastor and his wife. His five children revealed how desperate they are. After the service he shared that he'd had a toothache, found someone to pull it with pliers and the tooth broke off! OUCH!!! We did give him money to see a dentist and get the job done right.
I preached on Choose the Right Rock. Since this was a peasant church in a dark village, the Lord reminded me of the experience on Russeau when the guy came in with the rocks he was worshipping. There are so many scriptures referring to Jesus as our Rock, and knowing rocks are easily worshipped by those who have for generations been steeped in animism, I used many scriptures and a rock. They were listening as I cried out to a rock (my object lesson) and listened to see if it would answer me. It's not too difficult for any of us to get pulled from believing the Word of God over what we can see or do for ourselves. It might not be a rock, it might be a plan that's totally opposite what God would have us do. We need to be very aware in these days and choose to trust God over all the distractions because He is longing for a people who will never look elsewhere. Pressure situations come to all of us and the way we handle them determines not only the outcome of our future here but also our eternal future. So, I exhort you today to choose the right Rock!
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