Posts Tagged ‘Isaiah’
Viva Las Vegas
Last week we were privileged to be a part of the mission conference at Liberty Baptist Church in Las Vegas, NV. Throughout the week we felt genuinely loved as missionaries by the staff and we were overwhelmed by the generosity of the congregation. There are several things that stand out in my mind that made the week special – I would like to share one of them with you that involved my son…
We had the opportunity to pass out gospel tracts door-to-door on two separate occasions. As Isaiah took his place beside me after ringing the door bell at one particular house a middle-aged woman opened the door. I greeted her with, “Good morning, we’re from Liberty Baptist Church and we’re out meeting folks in the neighborhood.” She replied in an angry tone, “I don’t peddle religion at your door so don’t peddle your religion at mine.” I said, “Ma’am I’m not peddling religion, I just want to introduce people to Jesus Christ. If people don’t hear the gospel of Jesus Christ they’ll die and go to hell.” Her voice grew louder as she said, “There is no hell and there is no God. You’re messing up that little boy with what you’re doing.” Then she looked at Isaiah and said, “Young man, your father is brainwashing you and telling you lies. There is no hell and there is no God.” I said, “My son knows the Lord and he knows he is going to heaven. Have a good day.” I tried to keep my testimony but inwardly I was seething over what she had said to my son.
As we walked down the street towards the next house I told Isaiah I probably should have quoted a verse of scripture because there is power in the word of God. After a moment he broke the silence and said, “If we ever see that lady again I know what verse I’ll say. The Lord just put it on my heart.” I smiled at him and said, “We’ll I doubt you’ll get that opportunity today.” Little did I know what lay ahead.
About 15 minutes after our encounter with the woman a car pulled quickly up to the curb beside us. The driver asked us what church we were from so I told him. He then jumped out of the car and stood directly in front of me. He heatedly said, “Did you tell my wife she’s going to hell?” I said, “No. That’s not what I said nor is it how I would have said it.” He then called me a liar and said I had a lot of nerve to go around the neighborhood spewing my hate and telling people garbage they didn’t want to hear. Then in his furious diatribe he began using the foulest language imaginable. I told him not to use that language in front of my son but by this time he seemed like a man possessed and incapable of reason. My heart was racing, not out of fear, but more so out of the shock of the encounter. He then looked down at my seven year old son and said, “Your Dad is a liar. There is no #@!% God! There is no #@!% hell! You’re brain washed boy! Someday you’ll see he is lying to you and manipulating you!” At this point I looked down at Isaiah who would occasionally look up at the man and then back down at his own feet. Even though the man was still irate and loud he no longer had my attention. I reached out and touched my son’s shoulder. I wondered what he was thinking and I wanted to let him know everything was going to be okay. Isaiah then opened his mouth and quoted the following scripture to the devilish man that stood before us, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” The man continued to yell and Isaiah would stop quoting the verse and then restart due to the intensity of the situation but he eventually quoted the entire verse. The man then got in his car. I quoted Hebrews 9:27 and the man yelled out one more time, “There is no God and there is no hell!”
I was proud of my son. I was proud of my wife for having him memorize so many verses. I am thankful that from a child he has known the scriptures which are able to make him wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:15). As we walked on down the sidewalk I thought of our Saviour in the wilderness as the Devil stood before him, He simply quoted scripture. There is power in the words of that Book!
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” - 3 John 1:4
Guitar Lessons
Isaiah began guitar lessons earlier this month. We bought him a used Yamaha acoustic at a second-hand guitar store. I’ve been impressed with his ability to recall the chords that he has learned so far. We usually practice together in the evening before our devotion as a family. I played rhythm guitar in college (albeit not very well) but I haven’t picked it up in over ten years. We really enjoy this part of our evening as Isaiah and I work on chord progression and Pearl plays with her instruments (rhythm sticks, tambourine, toy piano, etc.) that Sandy sets out for her on the floor. Hopefully soon we will be able to play some hymns that we currently sing a cappella at the end of our devotion.
Although preaching and teaching the Bible will be our primary focus in Italy, music will play a vital role in ministry. Our desire in Italy is to play music that will tune the hearer’s heart for worship and set their mind to dwell on the love and power of God, the true condition of the unsaved, God’s mercy and kindness towards them, and the person and work of Jesus Christ. We will sing to the Lord in our home, as the Lord allows us to organize a church, in nursing homes, and any other opportunity we have to incorporate music in conveying the message of the cross.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” – Colossians 3:16
Magic Kingdom
Isaiah was recently talking to his cousin Evan on the phone and I heard him say dolefully, “I don’t have any friends to play with in Florida.” Isaiah has always been gregarious and the weight of his words lay heavy upon my heart. Uprooting my family from the normalcy of life at home has been one of the more difficult aspects of deputation. The instability that life on the road brings makes the bonds of family all that more important. To ensure this family connection is strong and healthy we take great care in spending quality time together. Of course to build a family bond does not require anything extravagant. Besides our regular family devotion we enjoy such simple things as walks together, playing games and watching videos. The upside of deputation is experiencing things together as a family we might otherwise not have the opportunity to do. My hope is that these special experiences will make deputation a little easier for Isaiah to bear and be happy memories that we can look back on as a family.
Thanks to the generosity and sacrifice of Victory Baptist Temple in Elyria, Ohio, we were recently able to experience Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. As part of their mission conference last October VBT had Christmas for the missionaries. Each missionary was taken to a separate part of the church which was decorated by a team assigned to a specific missionary family. They had sold pizzas in order to raise the funds to purchase gifts for our entire family. The effort they made to make our family feel loved and appreciated was humbling. One of the gifts they presented to us was tickets to Disney World.
Two weeks ago while in Florida we were able to spend a day at Disney World. Magic Kingdom theme park is designed like a wheel with the hub in front of Cinderella Castle; pathways spoke out from this hub into seven fairy tale lands. We began the day with one of the most well-known of Disney rides Pirates of the Caribbean, Isaiah then rode his first roller coaster Big Thunder Mountain, he then opted for something a little more tame as he and Sandy rode Dumbo the Flying Elephant, his favorite ride was driving a race car at Tomorrowland Speedway, the last ride of the night was a bird’s eye view of the park high atop the Astro Orbiter. Pearl sat patiently in her stroller by mamma most of the day watching all the people go by. We had a great time together and we will cherish the memories we made.
Magic Kingdom is advertised as a world of fantasy and adventure that allows you to step through the turnstiles to enter a storybook filled with Disney characters and enchantment. It is one of the top vacation destinations for people all over the world. As we waited in line after line and walked among the masses of humanity I couldn’t help but think of the day when nations the world over will travel to Jerusalem to a kingdom not based on make-believe and a mouse but one foretold of in scripture and ruled by the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
Most contemporary Christians assume the Bible’s theme is John 3:16 – this is highly inaccurate. The theme of scripture is the Kingdom. From a human standpoint the most wonderful event in history is the day Jesus Christ suffered, bled and died for our sins. From the standpoint of God the Father, the thing He is most interested in is not the day that His Son came to earth to be mocked, spit upon, cursed, and killed by sinful men. The great day on God the Father’s “calendar” is the day that His Son comes back to this earth as KING OF KINGS to take over and posses what rightfully belongs to Him. You know this is true because there are five times as many verses in the Bible concerning the Second Advent of Christ reigning as King from a literal, physical, visible throne in Jerusalem than there are about the First Advent and His suffering on the cross at Calvary. Therefore, the greatest event referred to in the scriptures is the “day of the LORD” when the “kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). This won’t be a magic kingdom but it will be a miraculous one.
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” – Isaiah 2:2-4