HIGHER OBEDIENCE IS MOVING

Hi there, this is the last entry I'm writting here. I've been looking at wordpress for bloging and I've found it easier to work with and nicer as well. So I'm moving! I'll continue to think and wonder on:

www.higherobedience.wordpress.com

It's not so hard to remember.
Thanks Jason for "introducing" me to wrodpress.

See you there maybe.

Passing By

The earth is the Lord’s,
And everything in it,
The world,
And all who live in it;

For He founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?
Who may stand in His holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart
(Psalm 24:1-4a)

Show me your ways, O Lord,
Teach me your paths;
Guide me in your truth and teach me,

For you are God my Savior,

And my hope is in you all day long.
(Psalm 25:4-5)


BANK FOR NATIVE MISSIONARIES: 0$ as of August 5, 2006.
www.banknm.blogspot.com

a Well

"You cannot bring this foreign religion and corrupt the minds of our people," screamed the angry villagers. "If you don't stop, we'll kill you."

Prabahulal, a Gospel for Asia native missionary, received this dire threat when he first started his church-planting work in rural Rajasthan, India. And things didn't exactly improve when the first villgers received Christ as Savior. They were hated, branded as low castes and treated as dirt.

The believers were not even allowed to draw water from the public well. This was an enormous harship for the Christians, especially the women, during the hot summer months. They had to walk long distances to ger water and carry heavy pots home on their heads.

In spite of the animosity and opposition, however, their number grew. Some 75 to 80 people gathered for worship each Sunday...

Then, last October, God rewared the faithfulness of these dear brothers and sisters through one of Gospel for Asia friends who sponsored the drilling of a Jesus Well in their village.

Imagine the joy of the Christians when they received their own well as a gift from the Lord and from the Body of Christ! And just try to picture the amazement of their "enemies" when the believers invited them to draw water freely from the Jesus Well!

Within a month, the hostile attitude of the villagers began to change. They became friendlier and started to intereact with the believers as they drew water for themselves and their cattle. Most of all, the Jesus Well opened the door for Prabhulal and the other believers to build relationships and share the Gospel with those who formely refused to listen.

You see, each Jesus Well as has inscription that encourages those who draw water to ask the missionaries for an explanation. The inscription reads: Jesus Christ says: "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. (John 4:13-14)

Consider this: Jesus promised a reward to those who give a cup f water to one of His followers (Mark 9:41). Today, through a Jesus Well, you have the opportunity to provided a river of life to an entire village in His name!

The average cost to drill one of these wells is 1000$. With this month's moneys, we'll sponsor one. I know we won't get 1000$, but please, as you seek to help our brothers and sisters outside our America to bring the Gospel to people who never heard about Jesus, please give. Send Gospel for Asia your few bucks, send me your few bucks so we can add everybody's bucks to this bank and send a little more together a the end of this month.

By the way, our 18$ was sent for June & July, just today.

Thank you!

The Circle & The Parable of the Sower

How to spend an evening: let’s watch a movie. But there’s nothing interesting on tv. What shall we do? Let’s look at the movies we own. How about The Circle. You haven’t seen it mom? Well it’s sort of weird and scary. Fine, will watch it.
While I was waiting for my mom to get ready for the movie, I went to the/my room and one of the first thing I saw on my bed was a book entitled “The Rest of God” by Mark Buchanan. I felt so strange. We were about to watch this weird, scary to a certain level, a movie a bit, well there’s no language or sex or stuff like that, but watching it won’t give you good feelings, it’s not going to lift you up.
When I was waiting for my mom I was obviously thinking about the movie we were about to watch and try to remember what it was and it just seemed to be a bit dark. When I looked at the book, my mind shifted to something so peaceful. I remembered the time I had spent earlier that day reading the book by the lake, feeling the fresh wind over my face, hearing the sound of the endless waves, it was just so good, so peaceful, so restful. I struck me how quickly my mind could be lifted up simply by seeing something. The contrast was just huge.
Then I thought I shouldn’t watch it. But I did.
I remember a time in my life (maybe 3-4 years ago) claiming that God hadn’t created us so we would scare ourselves “on purpose” or have feelings that aren’t true. Movies produces in us feelings that… I don’t know. When these feelings are negative, then I thought it was obvious we shouldn’t be desiring them.
But it seems as if my views have changed. Or maybe I have forgotten.
I’m not trying to set the line here between the kinds of movies we should watch and those we shouldn’t watch. I’m just wondering what’s the worth. Especially when the simple sight of a good book lifts me, cheers me up.
There’s good and there’s best eh?

The parable of the Sower

« A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell…” (Mark 4:3-4)

I read that passage this morning. Now I wonder: The farmer sows the seed, the farmer scatters the seed. He does it. The seed doesn’t say a thing, the seed doesn’t choose to move from one soil to the other. The seed fall to the ground and that’s it. Looking at this parable this way makes me think as if God (the farmer) is to blame if the seed aren’t all in the good soil. And as if the seed have no choice in becoming a great big plant bearing fruit or to be scorched by the sun. Doesn’t it sound strange? Well, I don’t know but maybe this is not the point of the parable at all. Maybe I was never supposed to look at it this way. Who knows.

Bank for Native Missionaries: 18$ as of July 28 2006

Mamon

So yesterday I spent pretty much my day going from one place to another around Montréal. I got my license renewed (I was supposed to do that about 5 months ago…)! So I can drive now, beware though, it’s been more than 7 months since I drove a car. Anyways, I was a bit sick in the afternoon: Doggy here broke a big flower vase that stood in a stand and now my mom and I (unfortunately) were shopping for a new one. It was just sick because for them, spending 200$ on a decorative vase is like buying a hamburger at Mc Donald’s.
To me it’s just sick to think that people get discouraged because they have to choose between these 35 different 200$-flower-pots while so many children can’t even sleep because they worry about the food they’ll eat in the morning, knowing that it won’t be there. To me that doesn’t make sense at all, it makes me sick, so sick.

What do we do with our money? I am not rich and probably most people reading this blog aren’t rich and would even think they’d need a little help here and there to pay for studies and rent and so on. We usually don’t purchase expensive stuff just for fun or because we feel like it. But still, I am challenged with the way I spend my money. Because there are ways to help those who go hungry, or without clothes, or without means to bring the Gospel to people around them, there are ways. But I guess I care about myself first and I think I need this cd, this book, this shirt, before I think of those around me who’d need my help much more. Isn’t it the way Jesus lived and taught us to live? To put our own self aside and care for others. And caring for others isn’t only about “encouraging” or “being there for them” or etc. it’s about giving of our resources, our time, our belongings, our money to help those in need and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” – Luke 9:23

''... and Egypt's scepter will pass away.'' - Zechariah 10:11b

I just got back from camp. Thanks to all of you who prayed for my time at camp, I've ahd a great time and I was able to stay three weeks instead of one, I thank God for this open door.

The other morning I read in Zechariah, I haven't been noticing much since a while in my readings, so I was encouraged to read verse 11b. When life's tough, when we're suffering in our bodies or because of Christ, when this world is unjustm it's good to be reminded that ''Egypt's scepter will pass away''.
Sin's strong grip on us shall leave us. Our ''enemies'' shall be captured for good. Disease and pain and sorrow shall go away. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, even when we can't see it yet.
I see it this way: God is full control of this universe, under Him are angels, Satan and demons, working for or against God and then, there's us -human beings. Bad stuff can happen and life can be harsh at times, this world is unfair and the way governments work in different countries and etc. isn't ''lovely'' at all all the time, and we might feel like our lives are horrible and nothing works properly, maybe we're longing for justice and peace, for healing and health, for love and understanding, but these things aren't always part of our lives, or the lives of our brothers and sisters around this world. But we must take courage. Because God, who is supreme and and thw Head of all, always has the last word. And He says to His people that Egypt's scepter will pass away.
You know the book of Revelation and the many promises in the Word about God's people, they shall be fulfilled, at one point in history. Maybe not right now, but our hope cannot fade away only because we can't see with our eyes today the fulfillment of God's promises in our lives. I'd say that it's rather selfish from us to think that way. Let us love and hope. These two are free anyways.

By the way, I know I haven't writen much about the Bank for Native Missionaries, but it's still going on. We're at 18$ right now. Giving money to our brothers and sisters overseas who are struggling to feed themselves and their families and to bring the Gospel to people who never heard the Name of Jesus Christ is obviously part of God's will for us who live in such a great abundance! Please think of ways to save a few bucks here and there and give them right to Gospel for Asia, or myself for this bank or to any Christian organization that's truly bringing the Gospel to unreached people.
By the way, I'm no longer living in Saskatchewan, so forget about my Sask. address. You can send your buck or two to:
Gabrielle
973 Principale
Riv.Beaudette, QC
J0P 1R0

Love

I am sitting on my bed, in a rather warm, humid cabin at camp. I am not doing anything with camp this week, I’m giving a hand in the Bible School office for little things that need to be done, but I’m still living in a cabin with a few camp staff. Today was a really hot day and went I say hot, I mean cookin’ hot. It’s not just about the heat, it’s a lot about humidity, so let’s say, it was about 40 degree Celsius today. It was a blessing for me to be working in the basement because it was almost cool down there. People leaving the building would tell me that they were entering a furnace. Anyways, it’s hot here and I’m not feeling so well, I’m coughing from my cold and I’ve got a headache because of it and I’m sweating, I feel like sleeping but who wants to sleep in a humid cabin? I shall wait a bit. On top of all these little things that make me feel a bit sick and tired, I’m an a thinking mood. And I don’t like to be wanting to think when I don’t feel well enough to think because it’s hard on myself. Anyways I probably don’t make much sense to the reader.

I’ve been thinking a bit about something rather tough. Why is it that we, as Christians in North America, look so much like the rest of the world around us, act pretty much the same way and love the same stuff? We are all sinners it’s true, but why isn’t there a bigger gap in between those who follow Christ and those who don’t? I’m not saying we should live secluded from the world, but I’m saying that we should be different from the unbelievers, shouldn’t we? Shouldn’t we be appalled at sin, shouldn’t we be caring for the hurting, the hungry and our brothers and sisters around us and the world before our own selves? That means the way we use money should change, radically, for some of us.

How are we going to be recognized as followers of Jesus (not because we want to be cool because we are), it is by the love we have for one another.