05272023 Strong Bonds

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the great Father who has taken us into His family. Not only do we have a wonderful heavenly Father, but we also have a wonderful heavenly family that is spread all around this world.

The letters to the Thessalonians, especially First, have always impressed me with the great love and special bond that Paul had for that church. His desire for them is expressed quite strongly. “But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire” (I Thes. 2:17). In heart, he was with them, and he strongly desired to see them again in person.

This desire – to see other believers who are in a different location – is true to some extent for almost all Christians. It is especially true for those who serve in missions. As I think about all of you, I realize numerous possibilities for this strong desire to be able to visit other believers. Of course, you have your family, friends, sending church, and supporting churches “back home.” Some of you are at the point of having your children leave the nest. Many of you have visited other fields for surveys, conferences, or other short-term ministries. Some of your ministries involve regular travel to various parts of the world, where you make bonds with other missionaries, pastors, and believers. Some of you are involved in international training of leaders. Some have remote connections that are possible only through technology. Some of you have had to leave fields of service and move to new fields. Many of you have dear coworkers that have moved on. Some of you are involved with mission boards where you have only sporadic face-to-face contact with coworkers that have a special place in your hearts. Some of you live in countries where you encounter refugees that may be around for a short time or in countries where people are transient, moving frequently as life situations change. You have formed bonds with pastors or supporters who have come to visit your field.

Wow! That’s a lot of possibilities, and you likely have several of those components. Like Paul, you have the natural strong desire to see those people face to face. Like Paul, you may also be thwarted in those desires (2:18).

As I considered this concept, I pondered four relevant truths. First, the bond in Christ is special and real. Paul refers to these believers as “our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing” (2:19) and “our glory and joy” (2:20). It isn’t wrong or weird to have these desires to see others. It is a very appropriate result of the type of ministry that you have. After all the investment in them, the labor in prayer, the mutual shouldering of burdens, and so forth, there really is a strong and special bond. What a blessing it is to have such a strong bond in Christ.

Second, the timing and frequency of those visits is determined by God. Paul speaks of wanting to visit the Thessalonians “once and again; but Satan hindered us” (2:18). We know, of course, that what is attributed to Satan and what is attributed to God are often reverse sides of the same coin. God is ultimately in control, and Satan will only hinder as far as God allows him to hinder. Other passages speak clearly of God’s hindering Paul from visiting certain areas (Acts 16:6-7; Romans 15:22). The Romans were another group that Paul longed to visit and planned to visit (Romans 15:23-28), but he was dependent on God to bless and allow those plans to come to fruition. Thank God that He often does orchestrate visits at just the right time.

Third, even when an actual visit is not possible, God sometimes gives encouragement by providing news about those whose presence is desired. Timothy was sent to comfort and encourage the Thessalonians (3:2), and then he returned and brought a report of those beloved believers. “But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you: therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith” (3:6-7). We don’t have to actually see the person to rejoice in what God is doing in the life. Thank God that He sometimes provides an encouraging report even when a personal visit is not possible.

Fourth, the day is coming when we will have the best visit ever with those we long to see. The day is coming when “the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (4:16-17). We will be together forever with our Lord and with those who are so dear to us! Thank God for the blessed reunion that is sure to happen.

Certainly, we can pray as Paul did. “Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you” (3:11). God will often answer those prayers – sometimes with an actual visit, sometimes with a report. Sometimes such a reunion will not be possible on this earth, but it will happen in heaven. I trust that God will provide you with just the right contacts that you need, the grace to bear the separations, and joy in the reality of the strong shared bond and the sure eternal reunion. God bless.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

05202023 Pursuing While Waiting

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our loving God. He truly does care about us, and He is always watching over us, guiding us, comforting us, and providing what we need.

I was recently reading Psalm 119, and I noticed the troubled spirit of the psalmist in the stanza Caph (vs. 81-88). I also noticed what anchored him.

Notice where he starts. “My soul fainteth for thy salvation” (v. 81). This man was struggling. He desperately needed help. Most of the stanza is filled with an enumeration both of his internal condition and his external circumstances. He is “like a bottle in the smoke” (v. 83).  His oppression by his persecutors was prolonged (v. 84). They “digged pits” for him, persecuted him wrongfully, and almost consumed him (vs. 85-87).

In the midst of this trouble, the psalmist knew he needed God, and he knew he needed God’s words. He knew he needed quickening (revival) (v. 88). He hoped in God’s word (v. 81).

But God’s response was not immediate, either to the internal condition or to the external circumstances. Notice how the psalmist refers to the continued position of waiting and seeking. “Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?” (v. 82).

Here is where there is precious truth and encouraging instruction from this psalmist. Even though days were dark, even though his heart was fragile, even though deliverance was delayed, even though he was not finding the comfort he sought – he KEPT seeking!

The psalmist doggedly persisted in seeking help in the place where he knew it must be found. He kept hoping (waiting) in God’s word (v. 81). Even though he didn’t feel the comfort, he kept looking to the word (v. 82). Even though he was dried up inside, he kept remembering God’s word (v. 83). He insisted in the faithfulness of God’s word (v. 86). He would not forsake the word (v. 87).

This is exactly how life sometimes is. Things don’t get better. We are looking as faithfully as we can to the right Source, and still life is hard. We are determined not to give up on God and His Word even when “it’s not working.” And that’s what we have to do. There is no other option. There is no other hope for deliverance and relief.

So even if all our devotion and reliance seem vain, we must persist. Every desert has an edge – eventually. Every swamp breaks out into a clearing – in the end. Every storm gives way to calm – in time. Every night turns to day – finally. In the meanwhile, we can’t stop walking forward, and we can’t stop following the map. The only way out is to get to the other side, and the only way to keep walking is with God’s help and with dependence on the truth of His Word.

The end will come. God will deliver, and He will comfort. While we wait, we can’t give up on what will help us. Even if the help does not seem evident at the time, it is happening! And it will happen! Cling to the Word!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA 

05132023 Circumstances

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God who does all things well. We don’t always see how that is true at the moment. Nevertheless, it is always true.

Paul wrote, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11). He is talking about circumstances - good circumstances or bad circumstances, abundance or poverty. I’m sure Paul wasn’t happy about being poor or hungry, abased or beaten. Those negative circumstances didn’t make him happy in themselves, but he was able to be content. He could rest peacefully, willing to remain in those conditions for as long as God deemed them appropriate.

Paul shared some thoughts in chapter 1 that shed light on his statement in chapter 4. “But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me” (1:12). Let’s stop there for a minute. What is he talking about?

“The things which happened unto me” – that’s his circumstances. These particular circumstances were that he was in jail. He tells us in chapter 4 that he can be content in any circumstances, so how does that play out when those circumstances include jail? How can he be content there?

“The things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel” (1:12). Paul was perceptive enough to see what God was doing through his circumstances. This is the summary statement: "the furtherance of the gospel," but Paul breaks it down into three components. How did God use Paul’s circumstances?

First, his imprisonment was well-known. He was something of a celebrity prisoner. He was on display – “manifest in all the palace” (1:13). Paul is talking about the governor’s palace and by implication the praetorian guard. People in Rome were being saved because of Paul’s imprisonment. (See 4:22).

Second, “many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (1:14). Paul’s testimony was encouraging others to share the gospel. Christians were growing in their boldness, and the Word was going forth in power.

Third, sadly, others were preaching Christ “of envy and strife … of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to [Paul’s] bonds” (1:15-16). Their motives were totally wrong. Their hearts were wrong. But the end result was good, in spite of them. “Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached” (1:18). The gospel was getting exposure.

Those first two aspects of the negative circumstance are easier to swallow – Romans being saved, and believers being emboldened. The third one, not so much. But even that negative aspect within the negative circumstance was viewed positively by Paul. He was content with that.

Paul wasn’t the only one facing negative circumstances. Many of his fellow believers were also facing suffering. They were sharing in Paul’s experience (1:7), and they were facing adversaries of their own (1:28). They were suffering for Christ’s sake (1:29). They were “having the same conflict” as Paul (1:30). What did Paul tell the Philippians about that? “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ … to suffer for his sake” (1:29). This suffering was given, granted to them, like a gift, a favor or kindness.

What!!! How can suffering be a gift? The answer that Paul seems to have in mind is that the unpleasant circumstance was a means of furthering the work of the gospel. The circumstance was allowing them to be partakers in the gospel, and it gave them the setting and the window through which they could see results for the sake of Christ.

God allowed Paul to perceive the good that was happening through his unpleasant circumstance. Sometimes we also get to see the good. But sometimes we don’t. What then? We just have to take God’s word for it. We have to trust Him, knowing that He really does orchestrate all things for good purposes. We have to cling to the known reality that God does not waste anything and that He never allows His children to suffer in vain.

I’ll be honest. I’m not always content in my circumstances. Even if I “know” mentally that God is doing good through them, my heart doesn’t always enthusiastically embrace that knowledge. I would rather be done with the circumstances. Where does that leave me? Hopefully, reminders like this one from Paul help me to at least realize that God is using the circumstances. At the very least, that knowledge should impel me to say, “Okay, God. If this is what You choose, I will submit.” Hopefully, my heart can find hope to trust that there will be good from this, even if I don’t see it now. (Or don’t really care even if I do see it.) I should be willing to accept whatever role or circumstance God deems appropriate within His plan.

Contentment is all about submitting to God. It is allowing Him to choose the circumstances. It is clinging to faith that He has a reason for them. It is choosing to believe that God knows exactly what He is doing and why. It is resting in the reality of good outcomes even when those outcomes are not yet revealed to me.

I pray that God will help your hearts also to have this confidence, that He will help you to rest in His choice of circumstances, even as you perhaps remain in darkness about what He is doing through them. Because He is doing something through them. Praise God, that in spite of our weakness, God can use our lives for the furtherance of the gospel. May we be willing channels.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

05062023 A Rock So Big

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God who has all power. Nothing is too hard for Him. I’m sure you have all heard the contradictory question, “If God can do anything, can He make a rock so big He can’t lift it?” Such a fallacious question doesn’t really warrant an answer, but if we were to give an answer, it would be, “Yes, He can … and then He can lift the rock.”

I have discovered a parallel question, and it involves leviathan. Job 41 describes this fearsome creature. No one can catch this creature (v. 1). No one can subjugate this creature (v. 2). No one can tame this creature (v. 3). No one can domesticate this creature (v. 4). No one can make a pet of this creature (v. 5). No one can harvest this creature for food (v. 6). No one can successfully attack this creature (v. 7). In fact, those who try it once will forever remember and will learn the folly of the attempt (v. 8). No one even hopes to conquer leviathan, and those who might have aspirations give up when they see him (v. 9). No one even dares to stir him up (v. 10).

God describes leviathan’s powerful physique (vs. 12-24) – his fierce teeth, his tightly scaled armor, his fiery breath, his strong neck, his firm muscles, and his stout heart. Even the bravest and strongest men fear him (v. 25). No weapons are sufficient to bring him down (vs. 26-29). He even impacts the earth and water through which he moves (vs. 30-32). There is no other beast like him, and he fears absolutely nothing (vs. 33-34).

So here’s the question. Can God make a beast so fierce that it cannot be controlled? The answer is “Yes … and then He can control it.” Psalm 74:14 declares, “Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.” God can conquer this impossible-to-conquer beast. Imagine being the people in this verse. After God subjugates the beast, the people get to eat its meat. “Hmm,” they say. “I wonder what this meat tastes like. No one has ever eaten it before.”

This concept leads to all sorts of other similar questions. Can God make a situation that is too difficult to bear? Yes … and then He can give us the strength to bear it. “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee” (II Corinthians 12:9). Can God present a difficulty too complex to figure out? Yes … and then He can clarify it with His wisdom. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given to him” (James 1:5). Can God raise up a challenge that is beyond reason? Yes … and then He can reveal the purposes. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Genesis 50:20). Can God allow a situation that can lead to no possible good? Yes … and then He can orchestrate it for good. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Can God oversee a situation with absolutely no hope? Yes … and then He can provide the hope. “All hope that we should be saved was then taken away. … Be of good cheer: for I believe God. … They escaped all safe to land” (Acts 27:20, 25, 44).

Are there situations too hard for us? All the time! But not one of them is too hard for God. “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). All things are under His power and control, and none of them will extend any further than He determines or allows. In the end, God makes all things right – often on this earth and surely in eternity. Certainly, not one of life’s impossibilities can negate our eternal salvation. “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (I Peter 1:4-5). Furthermore, the horrific temporal impact of the difficulties will melt into oblivion when we see Him. “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

Is the unconquerable leviathan rearing his powerful head in your life? Fear not. God can conquer him. Look forward to the rare delicacy of that delicious steak.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA