When the DRIME team was here on their mission trip, I met a woman named Malee at one of our ministry times. She had many questions about God, and I decided that I would visit her once a week to continue to share about God, read the Bible, and pray with her. My friend Anun comes with me and together we are getting to know her and her family, as well as teaching them about who God is.

The last time we visited her, Anun shared from Acts 17:22-28 and taught Malee about how God is the creator of the world. Malee admitted that she always used to wonder why things are the way they are. Why it takes a man and a woman to have a child, why we are born the way we are, why there is male and female, why there is marriage, where life comes from, etc. She said she stopped asking those questions a while ago because she could not find any answers. She really liked learning about God as creator.

Malee also shared with us that the night before we came to visit she had a very bad stomach pain; it wouldn’t go away and it was keeping her from sleeping. Her husband and children were all sick so she was the one taking care of them, and so she couldn’t afford to be sick herself. So she decided to pray to Jesus and ask him to take away her stomach pain. She had no idea where that thought came from, because it never crossed her mind to pray to Jesus before. But she was desperate for help, so she did. A few minutes after she prayed, her stomach pain went away! She told us this, still a little bit in awe of the whole situation! We were so excited to hear that she was praying, and that God was answering her prayers.  We were encouraged by her story and in turn, we encouraged her to keep praying to Jesus. We assured her that he wants to hear from her!

I’m so excited to keep visiting with her, praying for her and teaching her more about the God who loves her so much! Would you pray for Malee with me? She is getting closer each day to knowing God as her personal Lord and Saviour.

Janna is serving as a base planter in Thailand until December 2011, and has been on staff with DRIME since 2009.

Please open your Bible and read Mark 4:35-41.

When we read the story of Jesus calming the waves, there are a lot of things we could focus on, but I’d like to focus on how the disciples responded. After “the wind died down and it was completely calm,” Jesus asks the disciples “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples’ recorded response tells us something about them: “They were terrified.”

These disciples were not supermen. Simon Peter and his brother Andrew were fishermen, while Matthew was a hated tax collector. They were regular people, selected not for their great knowledge of the scriptures, nor for their political acumen or even for their exuberant faith … mostly because they possessed none of these qualities.

Imagine a company conducting interviews to hire someone for an important job position. Then imagine the company selecting a woefully underqualified person instead of a someone who’s much more experienced. Unlike the other applicants, the chosen person didn’t have a resume full of impressive achievements. Would you wonder what the HR department was up to?

When we read the gospels, we don’t discover disciples who are described in piously unbelievable tones; they are described as authentic (and authentically flawed) human beings. If they were at a job interview, they wouldn’t have much previous experience. But Paul notes that “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) And God, able to know the depths of your heart, is more concerned about you than your resume.

God is patient, and God is kind, because God is love. (1 Corinthians 13:4, 1 John 4:16) Whenever you feel inadequate, like you want to ask “Who am I, Lord, to be chosen for this task?” just remember the disciples, terrified on a boat in the middle of the lake. In reality they were always secure because they were with their Lord. Embrace your role as an everyday disciple in your daily journey with Jesus, who is with you always!

Question: How can you be an “everyday disciple” today through your daily activities?

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“And I am sure the God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns” (Philippians 1:6)

Howard was adamant in his conviction. “I would never lead anyone to Christ that I could not personally follow up to be sure he matures and grows and becomes all that God wants him to be.”

“Since when did you assume the responsibility of the Holy Spirit?” I asked.

Obviously, we are to do everything we can to help a new believer grow to maturity in Christ – by teaching him to trust God, study His word, pray, live a holy life, and share his faith with others. But no matter how much we do, it is the Holy Spirit who helps the new believer come to Christ, and who illumines his heart with the Word. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to pray and empowers us to witness. In fact, there would be no supernatural life apart from the Holy Spirit.

Paradoxically, you and I can be confident, yet humble, when we think of all that we are, and all that we have in Christ, and realize that we are not responsible for any of it, but it is something which God has given us according to His grace. My only boast is in God, His Son Jesus Christ and His indwelling Holy Spirit. How can I boast of my abilities and achievements, when it is the Giver alone who is worthy of all honor and praise? The apostle Paul had the strong conviction that the work God had begun in the believer would be permanent. All events that transpire in our lives, all influences, heartaches, testings and sorrows, as well as all of the blessings, are designed to conform us to the image of Christ.

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Today’s Action Point: God, who saved me, continues to work in my life, conforming me to the image of Christ. Therefore, I will continue to trust and obey Him, as I draw upon His supernatural resources.

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for September 5th, AM.
Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2009.

“Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!” Psalm 120:5

As a Christian you presently live in an ungodly world, and it’s little use to cry “Woe is me.” Jesus did not pray that you would be taken out of the world, and what He did not pray for you do not need. It’s far better to, in the Lord’s strength, meet the difficulty, and glorify Him through it.

Satan is always watching to detect any flaws in your actions. Therefore, be holy. Remember too that the eyes of all non-Christians are also watching you, and more is expected from you than from other people. Strive to give them no reason to accuse you. Let your goodness be the only “fault” they can discover in you. Like Daniel, make them to say about you, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” (Daniel 6:5)

Seek to serve God as well as to have ethical conduct. Perhaps you might think, “If I were in a more favorable position I might serve the Lord, but I can’t do any good where I am.” But the worse the people are around you, the more they need you to share God’s love with them. Those who are near yet not with God, and those who are far from Him, all need someone like you to turn their proud hearts to the truth.

A doctor should be where there are many who are sick. (Mark 2:17) Likewise, the place for a soldier is in the midst of the battle. And when you are tired of all the sin and struggle that seems to meet you at every turn, consider that all God’s saints through the ages have endured the trials too. They were not carried on soft beds to heaven, and you must not expect to travel any more easily. They risked their lives, and you will not be crowned until you have endured hardship as a valiant servant of Jesus Christ. Therefore, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13, TNIV)

Question: How does holiness affect your witness to others?

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