Time is in the Lord's hands

Psalms 37:3 -5
"Trust in the Lord, and do good;dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and He will act."

From the moment we believe til the moment we die we live in Him. But often I do not recognize His immediate presence. Does the Lord hear? Does He know my situation? Is He really for Me? All of these are questions that have come to my mind because of the recent situation. As many of you know I was planning to leave for Japan in late August early September. The Lord has not given me that request. Why? Is it not His will for Japan, one of the nations, to hear of His Glorious Gospel? Currently I still need about 40% more to be free to minister. There are several conclusions that I could make. The Lord is disciplining me to be more diligent servant and trust Him more; He wants to grow the partnership ministry He has committed to me; He has some secret design that He is at work to accomplish through this. I would suggest that it is not one of the above but all three.
First, as the verse suggests the Lord has been at work to teach me how to be more diligent and trusting in my service. It is easy to fear man and circumstances. But God is in control. The verse suggests a very peaceful tone with the words, "dwell in the land". We abide in Christ's love and in that place he teaches us to befriend(cultivate) faithfulness. This is certainly a challenge for me and a blessing.
Second, He wants to grow the partnership ministry He has committed to me. This has to do with stewardship but more fundamentally with partnership ministry. Certainly the financial partnership is one aspect. If that was completely satisfied I would be buying my plane ticket right now. But the prayer aspect of partnership is not quite as quantifiable. I am convinced it is because the Lord wants to grow the prayer ministry that He has not brought in all the finances.
Lastly, He has some secret design that He is at work to accomplish through this. I say that the design is a secret because sometimes the best answer requires no more knowledge. The sweetest answers don't come simply from more information but from an experiential knowledge. Do I trust that God has brought this difficulty into my life for a good AND redemptive reason. A reason that is both for His Glory and My good. Should I believe that when believer's suffer it is always because they are sinners and are simply getting less than they deserve? This is not the answer that God gives to Job. If you notice God doesn't answer Job's why question. He extols His own power, wisdom, and creatorhood over all creation. In this knowledge Job understand that the Lord is worthy of His Trust. Even if the normal proverbial benefits of a Godly life, health and prosperity, are not there. Even so I don't need to always have an answer because I have it in who God is for me. He is wise for me! There is deep satisfaction in knowing this.
I am now praying and putting before the Lord a date in early January. This will actually work very well with the college ministry. I will be able to do three months of language school and be ready for the beginnings of their semester in April.

Time is in the Lords Hands

This weekend I was able visit my brother up in Ohio. For those of you who have been praying for me I can see answers to your prayers for me. My ambition is to develop the relationships that I have here so that they will be at a place to continue to grow even though I am out of country. My brother and I were able to connect on a level which displayed a growing trust in one another and the Lord. Some of the most enjoyable times for me over the weekend though was the time I spend with Michael's whole family. This is a picture of my brother and His son Eli. Isn't he Cute!

The trip was about six and a half hours. Such a trip could dampen someones spirits. However, if you notice myself and my older brother Paul, do our spirits look dampend by the prospect of the trip. No!