Grains of Sand

There are so many oddities in life. Years ago the mission organization I worked for sent me to the Urbana conference near Chicago to represent them at, what is, the largest mission conference in the world. It's a gathering of young people from college and university campuses across the States and Canada. Mission agencies make contact with thousands of possible recruits for overseas service. The competition (though I am sure most agencies wouldn't like to think they are "competing" with each other) is fierce. I stood at our display and talked to whoever came by to ask questions. One young lady stopped to talk for a bit and then went on her way. Sometime later she came back and made an odd request. She asked if it was okay if she just stayed with me for a while because I had been the only mission representative who hadn't tried to sign her up to go somewhere and to do something! In the shelter of my display she could rest from the cacophony of voices. I was ...

Google Images There is a story in the book of Judges that describes the choosing of a spiritual leader. These were dark days for the Israelites. Everyone did whatever they chose to do. Judges 17 recounts the story of a man by the name of Micah apparently stole or “borrowed” money from his mother. When he confessed that he had stolen it, she gave it back to him and told him to make an idol with it. Micah set up a worship centre in his house, made a few more idols and appointed one of his sons as priest. Apparently that wasn’t sufficient because a wandering Levite came to his home, and when Micah realized that he was a Levite, one of tribe chosen by God to look after the things consecrated to the service of the Lord, Micah figured there was not much better than “the real deal.” The Levite was looking for someplace to live and Micah offered him a job. “ Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food…Then Micah insta...

“ Then the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ ” (Genesis 4:2, NIV). Photo: stock.xchng Not much. It’s just a stick, old and rough and worn. As long as it stayed in Moses’ hand, that’s all it was—an old stick. Moses was reluctant. Life might be hard in the desert. But herding sheep is a lot easier than herding people. Moses had already learned the hard way that clouting difficult people over the head had consequences that clouting a rebellious sheep didn't have (Genesis 2:11ff). Even the bleating of sheep seemed musical compared to bleating people, complaining and criticizing all the time. To be asked to go back to Egypt and take charge of a herd of humans was not high on Moses’ wish list. He hoped that God would accept his excuses for not going. God also knew that Moses was still hurting from the rejection he had experienced at the hands of his own people, and fearful because he was still wanted for murder in Egypt and could be summarily executed if, even aft...

“ The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor ” —Luke 4:18-19, NIV Nope, can’t do it. Must be strictly a job description for Jesus. They won’t let me preach ‘cause I’m a woman. The last time I tried to break someone out of jail—oh wait, that was someone trying to break me out of jail and it didn’t go well (another story for another time!) and I don’t have the gift of healing. I’M the working stiff so it’s ME someone has to release from oppression! Personally I’m not part of the inner circle and therefore unaware of the date that marks the Lord’s return so I can’t tell anyone about when He might favor us with His physical presence again (though that, from my perspective, is the best favour He could do me). So we’ll just read these verses and pass on by. We won’t? It’s spiritua...

Every so often the soul cries out to God for a word of affirmation. Is this the right direction, Lord? Is this what you want me to do? What should my priorities be in the midst of so many opportunities and options? Last week I was in "retreat," participating with our staff and missionaries in our annual get-away for fellowship, refreshing and teaching. Over my years with Fellowship International I've been to many of these "MI" gatherings but somehow this one was different and special. It was wonderful to see how international the mission has become. Just at MI alone we had Indian, Lebanese and African personnel present along with our more traditionally "Canadian" crew. There was a freedom to share even the most intimate details and some who had carried the burden of deep family pain were able to tell the rest of us and experience the blessing of being prayed for. The retreat center, Crieff Hills Community, is one of those spots where quiet and medi...