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In the Footsteps of Phebe "I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea." Roman 16:1
Devotions/Testimonies from our Missionary Wives
Holly McLean - Missionary to Scotland
Joan Watson - Missionary Helper
Holly McLean - Missionary to Scotland
Over the past ten years, John and I have ministered in three different
countries: the U.S., Trinidad and Scotland. Did we plan it that
way? I would have to say, *no*. However, we did surrender to
go where ever the Lord would send us. I think of Trinidad as our
training field. We learned how to reach people and how to build
relationships with those we were working with. Never did I feel
homesick. I loved learning the new culture, eating the spicy food
and opening my mind to think of things in new ways. The people
were just as I had hoped they would be. I could have lived there
till my dying day; but God had other plans. It was through the
illness of my husband that my eyes were opened. We had to
leave*leave the people that I loved. This was not an easy decision
even though I had surrendered to go where ever the Lord led. I had
always thought of myself as a third world country missionary.
Never did I consider Europe as a place I would go. I then found myself in Scotland. All the freedoms of outreach in the U.S. and Trinidad were now illegal. No one speaks about their spiritual condition. They have more faith in their soccer players than they do in God. This was not the place I had imagined I would be when I surrendered my life to God as a teenager. Homesickness finally got to me. Instead of wanting America though, I missed Trinidad. It seemed more like home to me, because it was in my comfort zone. God had to stretch that zone a little bit more to include Scotland. I knew how to reach people in a third world country; however, I now have found myself in an over civilized place; a place where people are blinded by socialism. Most Scots are atheists at heart. How could I reach them? I am still learning the answer to this question. I have also learned not to compare the two countries but to see them both as a step forward to what God has in store for me. He is definitely molding me into what He wants and teaching me that whatever is accomplished is by His power and not my own. It is not always easy following God. He may bring you to places you thought you would never go; but I have learned to look forward to the surprises He has in store. No matter what country I find myself in, He has always been faithful to me.
Joan Watson - Missionary Helper Does Jesus Care? Sometimes we can get so caught up in our own problems we fail to remember that God is in the midst of them. We may even say, “Where is God?” Remember Heb 13:5 tells us that Jesus says, “I will never leave thee.” God cares about our physical needs as we can see in Mt 14:21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. We see in John 4:4-26 that he cared about the Spiritual needs of the woman at the well. In John 20:1-17 we see that God was deeply concerned about Mary’s emotional needs. He appeared to her in her sorrow even before He ascended unto His Father. Vs. 17 We need to keep Mt 6:26 in mind,” Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? “ There is nothing too hard for God. Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Sometimes we pick and choose what we will take care of ourselves and what we will ask God to help us with. However, remember what 1Pe 5:7 says, “Casting ALL your care upon him; for he careth for you. As I was crocheting one day I realized crocheting is nothing more than different types of knots put together in a pattern. God has a pattern for your life. There may be some knots (trials) along the way, but God can make something beautiful out of them if we will let Him.
Joan Watson - Missionary Helper Peek-A-Boo
God Sees YOU Did you ever see a little child place their hands over their eyes thinking because they can’t see you you can’t see them? I think sometimes as Christians we do the same thing when we ignore what the Lord’s plan is for our lives. We cannot hide from God. Psalms 139:2-12 tells us that he knows where we are at all times. Moses was on the backside of the desert when the Lord spoke to him. Exodus 3:1-2 Gideon was threshing wheat by the winepress, to hiding from the Midianites. Gideon was able to hide from the Midianites but not from God. Judges 6:11- 12 Adam and Eve could not hide from God after they sinned as much as they tried. When God came into the garden and said to Adam,” Where art thou?” God already knew where they were and what they had done. Genesis 3:9 God saves us for a purpose. God has a plan for our lives. God knows where we are. Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Are we trying to hide from God? Are we ignoring His call on our lives. Are we missing God’s blessings on our lives because we are not willing to yield to His plan for our lives? Remember Baalams donkey! Numbers 22:21-33. If we are not willing to yield to God’s will for our lives we may be in for a rough ride.
Joan Watson - Missionary Helper
Into The World, Highways and Hedges God Commands Us To Go Into All The World Mark 16:15 says, “ And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” GOD
COMMANDS US TO GO OUT INTO THE HIGHWAYS AND HEDGES
God does not call everyone to
a foreign field. However, in
Luke 14:23 He does say to, Luke
14:23 “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways
and hedges, and compel them to come
in, that my house may be filled. “ We are to witness to those we come in contact with in our daily lives. On the road or across the hedges to a neighbor. GOD COMMANDS US TO WITNESS WHEREVER WE ARE We are to witness where we are or wherever we are called to go as it says in Acts
1:8 :“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth.” There is not a place on this earth that we are not commanded to be witnesses.
Who should witness? EVERYONE All of us can do something: speak to someone, leave a tract, invite to services or live a Christian life before the unsaved. The Bible says GO YE and that means everyone. Proverbs 11:30 tells us winning souls is a smart thing to do,” The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. HAPPY WITNESSING :)
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