He couldn't have been more than seven years old.  And yet his "amen!" was just as loud as anyone in the church.  and his singing just as passionate.  He sat across from us every night in worship.  It wasn't just cute or adorable.  There was something about it.  Something I had to feel was more than a child emulating the adults around him.  This little guy seemed to display a genuine joy in what he was doing.  And when I preached at night he was focused.  And it seemed more than just wanting to look at the "feringe" on stage.  He seemed eager to listen

Later in the week, I grabbed one of our translators and talked with him.  I asked him if he wanted to be a preacher one day.  He said he hoped so.  I do to.  I prayed with him, asking God to raise him up as a godly man who is bold and filled with a love for Christ.

This little guy and the believers who gather around him live in a village that is predominantly Muslim.  Every evening during worship, the call to pray at the local mosque penetrated the air as we spoke of the one true hope of every person on earth.  Though ninety percent of their village do not worship Jesus, they do.  And they do it with a passion.  We didn't understand the words or know the songs.  We mostly stood and watched.  Yet what I saw was a people who love Jesus even though so many around them do not.

Sunday morning I shared with them from Philippians chapter one about the joy we have in Christ.  I quickly found I wasn't telling them anything new.  We weren't learning; we were celebrating together.  All of us.  Even my little preacher boy.

Thirty two hours on a plane. That's a lot of time to think.  Half of it in eager anticipation and the other half in mind-blown exhaustion.  Yet that's neither enough time to prepare or absorb the seven days we spent in a place I have grown to love.  I have spent the past several days trying to reflect on what transpired over the course of our journey.  My wife has begun to recount the various events and encounters we had on each day.  Because of that, I almost pointed any readers to her site without writing anything. (She is doing an outstanding job!  You can read it here.)  Yet you can't go somewhere this powerful and not at least reflect on what happened.  And that is what I decided to do.

I hope to reflect on what I learned, the people I met, and the experiences I had.  I hope you like them.

In my last post, I reflected on the theme of God's sovereignty in the first four chapters of Daniel.  This is one of the concepts I think we often know, but the implications escape us. Yet as we seek to understand scripture we must seek both meaning and application.  Application in many cases may be understanding how a bedrock truth should effect the way we think about common areas of our lives as followers of Christ. For example, as I was reading these chapters, I felt that there are some powerful implications for missions found in Daniel's presentation of God's sovereignty.

The fact that God is sovereign over every nation, means that He is the rightful King of all peoples.  He is the King of those who recognize Him and He is King of those who have never heard of Him.  As I have heard it said, He is not merely a tribal deity.  He is the one and only God of the Universe.  The proper response of His subjects is humble and joyful submission to His loving and gracious rule.  In fact, this is what Daniel pleaded with Nebuchadnezzar to do:

"Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity." Daniel 4:27

True missions is not a mere making of converts.  Missions is calling rebellious citizens to the King's palace that they might experience and live in the fullness of life and joy found in Him.

This same idea hit me this summer as I attended the World Changers project in Savannah.  I was praying with Carrie and the summer staff one night when Keyla, who is from Puerto Rico, began to pray in Spanish.  As she was praying, God showed me a blindness I didn't realize I had.  I knew He was God over the earth.  At that time, He reminded me that when I go on mission, I am not introducing them to a foreign King, I am telling them of their God.  He already is God of the nations whether they know Him or serve Him.  My role is to be an ambassador of the King and call them to recognize Him.

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20

In my personal study time, I have been reading the book of Daniel.  I have finished the first four chapters and there is a powerful recurring theme I have noticed: the sovereignty of God in all things.  After reading chapter four, I went back and looked over the previous chapters and reflected on how God's sovereignty is seen up to that point.  Here is what I found:

Today marks nine years that my precious wife and I have been married.  I could ask for no better helpmate, encourager, friend, partner, and mother for my children.  I am blessed in more ways than I can count.  I thank God for Carrie.  Love you Lu!