eyes at the window

One afternoon early last year, as I brushed my hair in preparation for a meeting at the office,  I sensed something was not quite right.  I turned around to find,  two feet away through the always-open window, an unfamiliar old Filipina woman watching me, her eyes pressed up to the window screen.  

photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thelightningman/5609066984/

She was on her way to visit my neighbor just behind our home, and she saw nothing strange in stopping to watch me brush my hair.  She was, after all, intensely interested in who I was and how I lived.

We talked for a few minutes, and as she left, I found myself wondering,  

“Are my eyes on Christ in that kind of focused way? 

 Do I long that much to know Him?   

Do I take any opportunity I can to gaze on Him, 

and focus on His Words?”  

Hebrews 12 tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”  What better way to grow our faith than by peering closely into the window of the Word, observing the life of Christ, seeing His promises to us, hearing His commands and His warnings?

“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.”

Heb.  2:1

inner sweetness

Kenyan street vendor selling fresh sugar cane

How sweet are your words to my taste, 

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Psalm 119:103

The Bible is not an end in itself, 

but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, 

that they may enter into Him, 

that they may delight in His Presence, 

may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself 

in the core and center of their hearts.

A. W. Tozer

onehundred-fold

Abegail sent the photo via Face book to Amy,

a picture of herself posed with the group of Compassion children 

who she now serves in Luzon, Philippines.

Abegail above, circled in yellow!

Abegail, who was once a little Compassion girl herself,

is grown up, graduated from college,
and living a life devoted to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ
with children from her own tribe through Compassion International,

just as the Gospel was shared with her.

This is the kind of story we love to hear,

as the Word of God transforms lives,

giving a hope that spreads hope to others!

I have no greater joy 
than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

the other side of the world

As I write this, Mark is getting ready to wake up and begin his day in Nairobi, Kenya.

He's been in Africa almost two weeks now

at a translation conference. 

In his Skype message to me this morning, he wrote: 

What a great group of guys. It's such a privilege to be doing this work, 

and to be serving with men like this.

I've loved some of the photos he's shared with us, and thought you might enjoy them, too...

Of course, Mark is exploring this new surroundings on his morning runs, 

and he came across this sign one morning.

It's a little different than the signs in our neighborhood.

 Mark's enjoyed how friendly the children are, and how surprised to see him running by their homes!

 Yes, he's really on the other side of the world...

 ...and the personalized Coke bottles look a little different than the ones at Kroger.

 Mark wondered if the chickens were part of the payment,

or part of the cure?

 

 Thanks for your prayers for Mark, and for the others he's working with during this conference.

We'll share more in the near future about the trip!

"Reading the scripture in another language is like eating a banana with the skin on. 

Now the scripture in my language is satisfying . . . 

like a sweet banana. I can't get enough of it!"

-recipient of a newly-translated NT...