2 sides...

great reminder...

this seems to be the theme from the Lord for today... :-)

How to Not Grow Weary in Doing Good

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. GA 6.9

You would not think that we who believe in Jesus would grow weary of doing good. He’s been so good to us. When we do good it brings him joy and he rewards us. Yet Paul warned the Galatians not to grow weary in well-doing. Why?

It often feels like nothing happens when we do good.

We usually don’t reap immediately. We can be tempted to ask, Why am I denying myself and doing all this work? We keep giving to the church, yet we’re constantly financially tight. We keep asking God to save our teen, yet he shows little interest in God. We can think, I’ve served in Children’s ministry 15 years and no one has thanked me once. Or, I constantly try to bless my husband, yet he never appreciates me.

Sometimes when we do good things get worse.

Jesus healed and taught and his reward was torture and death on a cross. Joseph faithfully served his Egyptian master who tossed him unjustly into prison. It seems the more Moses obeyed God the worse he was treated. His own people said this to him:

“The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” EX 5.21

After God used Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt, they turned on him again:

They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?” EX 14.11

Moses’ reward for helping his people was their constant grumbling:

And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” EX 16.2-3

Talk about doing good and things getting worse and worse—the more Moses served God, the more Israel grumbled against him. He must have felt like quitting so many times.

We can be tempted to grow weary of doing good because our seeds seem

 small and powerless.

We can think, what good will it do to give $5.00 to missions? We pray, then think, what good did that do? I have prayed for suffering people and felt like my prayer went up in the air about two feet then fell to the floor.

God assures us our prayers are powerful even though they don’t feel like it.

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. JA 5.16-18

Our prayers may not feel like they have great power, but God assures us they do. Then God mentions Elijah the prophet, who prayed it might not rain for 3 ½ years and boom—no rain. He prayed again and it rained and the earth was fruitful. Talk about power. Elijah is a super hero. But here’s the point: Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. He was no different than us, a mere human. But he prayed fervently and God answered because the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

The good news is we don’t have to do monumental works. We just need to plant seeds—a simple prayer, a word of encouragement, work on memorizing one scripture. A small gift to missions. Our faith is not in our power or the size of our seeds but in God’s character:

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? NU 23.19

We must leave the timing to him—in “due season” we shall reap. It is often in this life, but often in the next.

Those who sow in tears SHALL reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, SHALL come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. PS 126.5-6

So don’t grow weary in doing good. Remember, the seeds we sow are powerful. Something good really is happening even if we suffer initially. Our seeds will bear fruit in God’s timing. We WILL reap a harvest in God’s perfect timing, in his “due season.”

Mark Altrogge

Mark Altrogge is the original triple threat: singer, songwriter, pastor. He has been the senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, PA for over 25 years, and is the author of many well known worship songs such as “I Stand In Awe” and “In The Presence.” When not pastoring or writing songs, Mark can be found consuming vast quantities of coffee. Unfortunately, Mark is not particularly gifted in the area of athletics.

every now and then...

...the Lord surprises me with a reminder that our work for Him -- no matter how small -- is NOT in vain. this was sent to me on FB by Dan's cousin, Rod Bigueta, who now lives in Vancouver...

"Won't forget you and KDan. You are my first & best choir director ever and because of that singing in the choir is always my ministry."

FEAR NOT for August 6, 2016: Psalm 56:3-4

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me."

BACKGROUND/COMMENTARY from Matthew Henry (blueletterbible.org): In this psalm, David "encourages himself in God, and in his promises, power, and providence, v. 3, 4. In the midst of his complaints, and before he has said what he has to say of his enemies, he triumphs in the divine protection.
1. He resolves to make God his confidence, then when dangers were most threatening and all other confidences failed: "What time I am afraid, in the day of my fear, when I am most terrified from without and most timorous within, then I will trust in thee, and thereby my fears shall be silenced.' Note, There are some times which are, in a special manner, times of fear with God's people; in these times it is their duty and interest to trust in God as their God, and to know whom they have trusted. This will fix the heart and keep it in peace.
2. He resolves to make God's promises the matter of his praises, and so we have reason to make them (v. 4): "In God I will praise, not only his work which he has done, but his word which he has spoken; I will give him thanks for a promise, though not yet performed. In God (in his strength and by his assistance) I will both glory in his word and give him the glory of it.' Some understand by his word his providences, every event that he orders and appoints: "When I speak well of God I will with him speak well of every thing that he does.'
3. Thus supported, he will bid defiance to all adverse powers: "When in God I have put my trust, I am safe, I am easy, and I will not fear what flesh can do unto me; it is but flesh, and cannot do much; nay, it can do nothing but by divine permission.' As we must not trust to an arm of flesh when it is engaged for us, so we must not be afraid of an arm of flesh when it is stretched out against us.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE: Psalm 56:3 was one of the first verses I learned as a child. It's easy to remember because it's only 10 words!! I do remember that it was such a comfort to me back then with all my childish fears. Now, as an adult, and having had many experiences where fear was the main component, this verse contains even more meaning because the GOD who has told me to trust in Him has proven to be trustworthy down through the years. Because that is the reality I have lived with all these years -- that God CAN be trusted to take my fears away and/or give me the strength to deal with and overcome those fears -- I have no reason to fear what mere man can do to me!

from September 2012: Sharing my heart...

I shared this with the Ladies at EL Church-Forest Hills, Cebu City, during our monthly Ladies meeting in September. A month later, Dan and I left for the States. At the time, I didn't realize that that would be the LAST time I would have the chance to share with those ladies who had become my friends and dear sisters in the Lord. So, reading through this the other day made me sad that things have changed so drastically since then and most of those ladies I will never see again this side of heaven. But, at the same time, I'm glad that I was able to share with them the things that were weighing heavy on my heart and mind at that time, especially about my Mom. I know that all of them looked up to her and I pray that her influence continues through them to be passed down to the younger generations in their families, especially the example she showed and lived as a truly virtuous Proverbs 31 woman!

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On Tuesday, October 30th, Dan and I will be leaving for the States. To say that we are looking forward to being with our kids and grandkids is an understatement. But, before we leave, we wanted to just share our hearts with you. Dan is going to speak with the men today and he felt I should speak to the women.

Just a little bit of background for those of you who weren't here in 2008. Dan and I retired from our well-paying and often satisfying jobs in the States to come to Cebu to help my parents in the ministry. We also left behind our children and grandchildren. Many of our friends and family--on both sides--told us we were NUTS to leave behind our good life in the States. We knew what we were giving up but, at the time, we felt the Lord calling us here because my Dad had been very sick (2005 and 2006) and almost died and my Mom wasn't getting any younger and she was always asking us, "When are you coming?" So, we really did feel like this is where the Lord wanted us to be.

Of course, life never turns out the way you'd like it to. We arrived in June 2008 and by January 2010--18 months later--my Mom passed away. I really did not expect my Mom to die so soon. There are still times when I think about what would have happened if we were here when she had had that final asthma attack in December 2009. Would she still be alive? Could an inhaler have saved her and given her those precious 10 minutes that would have allowed her to reach the hospital in time and not lose precious oxygen? We'll never know, but I still ask myself those questions and it makes me very sad that we weren't here to maybe make a difference during that time.

We know that God has His reasons for allowing things to happen. We know that our birth and our death have been ordained and planned from the very beginning. But, that doesn't make it any easier to accept when it happens to us!

I think that, in many ways, my Mom was the ultimate Proverbs 31 woman. Let's take a look at some of those characteristics:
* Her husband can trust her (vs. 11-12). She will do him good for life (v. 22)--I know this to be true of my Mom and my Dad.
* She is enterprising and industrious. My Mom worked with her hands. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She loved to garden and work with plants.
* She is an early riser (v. 15). My Mom was usually up before the maids! She managed the kitchen wisely.
* She is hard working (vs. 16-19). She has artistic hands (v. 19). She weaves and sews. She didn't complain about her heavy workload.
* She is an honor to her husband (v. 23). To "sit in the gates" means to be in a position of leadership (Gen 19:1; Prov 12:4). An honorable wife enhances the honor of her husband. This is where my Mom excelled! She took great care of my Dad. She made my Dad look good. She was his best adviser who helped him see the other (more human) side of a situation or a decision. She was my Dad's strong moral compass. I firmly believe that this is the greatest influence we have on our husband--being their strong moral compass.
* She has integrity (vs. 25-28). From my Dad's annotation on this passage, we read: 
  >  Strength and honor are her clothing (v. 25). “Strength” is from oz which means “inner power” (Ps. 63:2). “Honor” is from hadar which could mean "majesty" (Ps. 29:4) or "beauty" (Prov. 20:29). The Hebrew construction should be more literally translated, “honor of strength.” Her honor is her strength.
  >  Her words are words of wisdom and she is bound by the law of kindness (v. 26).
  >  She is not lazy, but is diligent in taking care of the needs of her family (v. 27).
  >  The children have deep admiration for her and her husband has nothing but praise for her (v. 28).
* She excels in all areas of life (vs 29-31). The reason she excels is because she fears the Lord. When favour and beauty are undergirded by the fear of the Lord, then that wife is truly a virtuous woman.

When we leave in October, it's uncertain when we will return. First of all, we have to take care of Dan's physical problems. We don't know what the doctors over there will find out about his condition. So, that's the biggest factor.

Another is the condition of our kids and grandkids. Maybe we need to do our apostolic ministry for awhile... Whatever happens, we want you to know--straight from our lips and our hearts--that we love all of you. We are extremely concerned about what's happening in the church right now We know things are very different now and not necessarily in a good way. We will be praying for you while we're away. Although we feel that we need to go away for awhile, we also want you to know that our absence doesn't mean that we don't care about what's happening here or that we're abandoning you. For now, we just want to be open to God's leading. After all,

He does know what's best for us! 

FEAR NOT for July 27, 2016: Psalm 49:16-17

"Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him."

BACKGROUND/COMMENTARY (Jamieson, Fausset & Brown @ blueletterbible.org): "Be not anxious since death cuts off the prosperous wicked whom you dread." Chuck Smith also from blueletterbible.org agrees: "the rich with their riches cannot redeem their souls, nor can they take it with ...them."

PERSONAL APPLICATION: This is probably one of the Scripture verses where the expression, "you can't take it with you," came from… We all know that, when we die, we "carry nothing away" with us. Even more clear from this passage is the fact that one's riches cannot save a person. When we die, our riches stay behind here on earth for others to either enjoy or squander away. Like my parents always reminded us:  what will count for eternity will be the lives we have impacted for the Lord, especially those to whom we have witnessed and who gave their lives to Him as a result of our witness.