praying for the nations...

first of all, then, i urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. this is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 timothy 2:1-4

these verses have really been on my heart this week. school has started back up, which means that we're back into the tuesday morning before school at tim horton's thing with myself and some students. last school year, we got into the habit of praying for the country of pakistan - being updated by missionary friends that we know there. it was my prayer that the prayer time together would help the students to grow in their prayer life AND to get a bigger view of the world.

it is so often easy to get self-centered and narrow minded. this was definitely reinforced to me by a pastor friend from zambia who emailed me last week. zambia's president died of a stroke last week, and i had heard nothing of it from u.s. news sources! they must now hold elections within 90 days.

so i'm praying for pakistan - as they replace musharref, zambia - as they look to elect a replacement for mwanawasa, zimbabwe - as election turmoil and suffering continues surrounding mugabe, and the united states as we prepare for the november elections. (and for iraq, afghanistan, iran, georgia, russia, sudan, etc.)

i am prompted by God's command to pray for these leaders. (pleasing God is a good thing ;)) i am encouraged that "there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." (rom. 13:1) i am expectant that this is all "for the sake of His name among the nations." (rom. 1:3)

after this i looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" revelation 7:9-10

p.s. a good reminder quote for those of us voting u.s. citizens: "and ye, o peoples, to whom God gave the liberty to choose your own magistrates, see to it, that ye do not forfeit this favor by electing to positions of highest honor, rascals and enemies of God." j. calvin

profound awakenings...

so this morning was one of those mornings when i woke up thinking big... or should i say BIG... (this is not an everyday occurrence)

so it went kinda like this... (remember, my eyes are barely open if at all)

"what is the importance in my knowing God?
to know Him as Creator to the extent that i am His creation
to know Him as Redeemer to the extent that i have been sold as a slave to sin
to know Him as Savior to the extent that i am lost without Him..."

i'm sure that the list could go on... i'd like to embellish it, but i'll just put what i thought... i wonder about the use of the word "extent", but that's what was there... gonna meditate on it awhile and let you know where it goes ;)

begging for fruit and eyes opened to opportunities...

we've been playing tennis as a youth group after sunday evening worship throughout the summer... it is NOT because we are good at tennis. in fact, we could be a traveling comedy act. it is more of a reminder of the lessons that we were learning as we went through the study of 3D evangelism. it became pretty humorous (or amazing) how many opportunities that God opened up for randy pope to share his faith with others through playing tennis.

point is: what do you like? what are you good at? ask God to open doors to be used in those places for His kingdom... ready to share the reason for the hope that you have. it's been interesting the people He's been bringing across my path the last couple weeks. use me God!

joy in heaven

i just came from spendin' an hour or so at the funeral home. one of my grandmother's best friends joined her in heaven the other day. for much of my younger life, phyllis lived in massillon, but i could always tell when she had come to visit gram, 'cause the laughter from the trailer could be heard all the way up at the house... isn't it such a wonderful blessing to have friends that we can share joy with?

i also finished up my 52 week Bible reading plan yesterday... (not bad for starting out in march of '06!) - obviously one of the last things that i read was the end of revelation, and as i was thinking about phyllis and gram in heaven - i was once again meditating on that passage:

"behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." and He who was seated on the throne said, "behold, i am making all things new." also He said, "write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." and He said to me, "it is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. to the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. the one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son." rev. 21:5-7

praise God for those saints that have gone before us, for a sure hope and for His Son who makes it all possible! "precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints." ps. 116:15

so long sweet summer...

got a few minutes of alone time at the park today... matt v. had wanted me to play tennis with him at 9:30, but he didn't show up. so i grabbed my discs and headed for the back 9 where the woods would give me a little time of serenity. i haven't really gotten the chance for any of that since camp. the combo of being behind on sleep, kids excited about memorizing Scripture (3080 verses memorized at camp by the 33 campers - another 100 or so that i've helped with this week), and finding places to watch the olympics in the evening probably explains why i've barely blogged for quite some time.

so as i sit here today and think "WHAT IN THE WORLD DO I HAVE WORTHWHILE TO TYPE?" the thing that strikes me is this: i ran into the park superintendent and his 8 year old son digging a ditch in the middle of the woods. my serenity interrupted by a man who began to pour out his heart to me. wow, God, keep my eyes open! i don't know where the days ahead are headed - summer's leaving, school's about to start, i'm no longer prepping camp messages... but i am excited for what You have in store. bring me opportunities - make me FRUITFUL, O LORD!