Romans 8:16, The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
I once saw a child swatting down and poking a plant with her finger. Moving closer I saw why she was interested in the plant; it was responding to her touch. Her playfulness introduced me to the mimosa pudica. The mimosa pudica is also known as the sensitive plant and also as the bashful plant.
When another organism touches the mimosa pudica its leaves fold in upon themselves and the stems droop. This is supposedly a reaction that is to deter animals or insects from feeding upon it. The rapid folding of the leaves is almost hypnotizing to watch, enough so that I also have often played with the plants when I happened upon them.
Christians, when touched by the Holy Spirit, react with an opening up rather than a closing as the plant does. Only by the touch of the Holy Spirit can the Christian fully open to the potential that is within them; potential that is there because of their encounter with the Spirit.
In some ways people are like blossoms; closed upon themselves due to their need for Christ. Having asked Christ into their lives, and receiving the Holy Spirit, they begin to grow and open their petals of a new life in Him. Empowered with the gifts of the Spirit they are able to then plant seeds of faith in the lives of others for they have become the children of God.
More can be learned about the mimosa pudica, and a slow motion video of their response to touch, can be found at this link.
Matthew 11:28-29 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
We often hear that we should seek a personal relationship with Jesus or God. Have you ever given thought to how Jesus or our Heavenly Father has sought a personal relationship with you or others?
The Bible speaks of a number of personal appearances of God before mankind. God appeared to Moses as a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-4). God spoke to Elijah as a whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13). King Solomon met God in a dream (1 Kings 3:5). Jacob’s encounter with God was as a man with whom he wrestled (Genesis 32:22-32).
After Jesus’ death and resurrection he appeared to numerous men and women as himself but when he appeared to Saul (Paul) on the road to Damascus he appeared as a bright light from heaven (Acts 9).
These, and other, stories speak of a number of ways God has spoken to mankind and the manner of appearance is greatly varied. The common thread through these accounts is that God knew what each person needed for their faith and met them where the people were at in their lives.
Do you recall where you were when Jesus met you? Do you recall the situation you were in at the time? Was there a time of spiritual wandering before you found yourself in a committed relationship with the Savior?
We are blessed to have a Creator and a Savior who wish a personal relationship with us and to want it enough to meet us in a way to fulfill our need to meet Jesus.
Proverbs 3:5,6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
In January of 2010 Meridian Avenue sent a short-term mission team to the community of Malacatoya. Malacatoya is located in the northwest area of the Nicaraguan Department (state) of Boaco and is to the northeast of Managua, the country’s capital.
Boaco is an area of low mountains and the roads twist around, following the valleys, as they do in many mountainous areas. While there the women slept in the medical center and the men bunked in the one room Catholic Church located across the road from the medical center.
Having awakened around two in the morning I strolled outside and noticed the glow of light above a city far to the southwest. We had traveled by truck nearly three hours to get to the community but were only 40 to 50 miles from Managua as the crow flies. The light in the distance, as seen from the mountain community, could only be coming from Managua.
In the morning, as Pastor Jim and I discussed the glow seen in the distance, our interpreter approached and asked what we were talking about. I pointed in the southwest direction and explained that the lights from Managua was visible at night. Our interpreter pointed to the north saying that Managua was that direction. Pastor Jim and I shared a puzzled look as we knew that the entire Department was to the east and northeast of Managua.
Getting back to our interpreter, we said no, Managua is to the southwest. One of the men from the community then approached and our interpreter turned to him and spoke in Spanish. As he responded to her he pointed to the north. Having had two Nicaraguans respond the same way indicated that we had run into a cultural difference in how directions are thought of.
Coming from our United States culture, we view locations in terms of actual physical direction; Newton is to the north of Wichita and El Dorado is to the east. To those of us from the U.S., we accept this as the way to define direction. Our Nicaraguan friends obviously perceived Managua to be in the direction of the only road leaving the community. In order to get to Managua we had to first travel north along the road that would lead us to a roadway going east, then another going south and finally a road that would take us to the west.
As Christians, we accept that salvation is found through repentance and faith. Also as Christians, we have found our salvation in the loving arms of our Lord.
But we all took different directions and roads to arrive in His arms.
Some of us arrived by the short path, accepting Christ at an early age and did little wandering. Some took a path that was a little longer by first heading away from Christ but then finding the marked path to him. Then there is the long path that some have traveled; a path that wound through valleys, over mountain tops, across dark waters but eventually finding Christ at the end of the path.
In the end, it is the destination that matters because Christ loves us equally. He knows the path that we took towards accepting him but cares only that we have found our way.
“Life is a journey, a winding path filled with many unknowns. It’s only possible to navigate because of God’s power and grace.” Brian Houston.
Psalm 51:7,Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
In 2000 our son was in a High School play and was required to wear a pair of black pants. The director wasn’t concerned about the type of pants the actors wore as long as they were black. Our son wasn’t fond of wearing black during his high school days and we didn’t want to spend money on something that he wouldn’t wear. We took a pair of my faded out blue jeans and dyed them black for him to wear. A couple of months later, while packing for a mission trip to Nicaragua, I tossed the dyed jeans into my bag to wear while there.
A few days into our trip we were told that the women of the community would do laundry for us. Our ministry partners paid the laundry women a small amount for their efforts and I felt obligated to provide something for them to wash so they could make some money. As the community was still a disaster area, the only place the women had to wash laundry was to scrub the clothing against a rock along the bank of the river. (They hand washed everything.)
A couple of days later we found our laundered clothing folded and stacked on a couple of chairs where we were staying. I didn’t see my black jeans so I passed on by thinking I would ask about them later. An hour later all of the laundered clothing was gone with the exception of a pair of faded blue jeans. Thinking to myself, “they couldn’t be mine”, I picked them up and checked the size of the jeans; they were indeed mine.
I cannot imagine how long the women worked on that pair of dyed jeans to get all of the black dye out. I wonder what they must have thought as they labored to get all the coloring out of them while wondering what I had gotten myself into to get them that dirty.
Humans are born as slaves to sin and we get ourselves into some pretty nasty stuff from time to time. Many take steps towards moving away from destructive behavior but are unable to clean themselves of their sinful past and continued sinful behaviors. Only through Christ’s sacrifice, the surrender of his body, blood and life on our behalf, and his resurrection from the grave and ascension into heaven, can we be washed clean of our sinfulness.
Ecclesiastes 7:10 – Don’t long for “the good old day.” This is not wise.
As the Baby Boomers entered adulthood in the 1960s, they began questioning the values of the generations that preceded them. Bob Dylan’s 1964 song, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ was a wake up call that the Boomers held different values than their parents. This transition of beliefs and questioning haven’t stopped and every 15 to 20 years since the 60s young adults have had different world views.
As Meridian Avenue moves forward with our goal to make disciples it is necessary to rethink our approach to interacting with Millennial and Generation Z aged people. Most of us at MABC were born in what is now referred to as either the Silent Generation or as Baby Boomers. Our experiences and expectations do not reflect well with the more recent generations. Times are different, the ways of thinking are different and how people relate to their world has changed.
Jolene Erlacher was the keynote speaker for this year’s ABCCR Annual Gathering. Erlacher, a professor at North Carolina University, was raised in Mexico where her parents were missionaries. She has a passion to see future generations thrive as individuals and contribute to healthy families. She is also in interested in helping schools, churches and mission agencies understand, equip and empower the new generation of leaders.
Below is a link to a 40 minute YouTube Podcast where Jolene Erlacher is interviewed by ABWE (Association of Baptist World Evangelism) International. It is particularly focused on reaching out to Generation Z (born between 1996-2010) and how to relate to them. I encourage you to grab something to drink and listen to what Erlacher has to say.
Proverbs 19:17 – Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.
During our Meridian Avenue special business meeting on September 25th I mentioned the concept of micro-loans as a mission outreach to help fund a micro business. Not at that moment having sufficient time to give a proper introduction to the micro-loan ministry, I shall attempt to do so now.
A microloan is a small loan to begin or to re energize a small business. Micro business loans are often granted without requiring collateral and are at a very low interest rate. The concept isn’t specifically a ministry concept; a great number of micro-loans are available for a wide number of business needs in several countries. This writing is concerned only with micro-loans that are mission oriented.
I was in El Salvador when I first heard of a micro-loan being used as a means to raise people out of poverty. While our mission team was visiting with the Federation of Baptist Churches, El Salvador, we were told that micro-loans were being used to help the impoverished to start a small business. One member of our host church had received a small loan, as seed money, to purchase the necessary supplies to begin a candle making business.
On a later trip, while in Nicaragua, our mission team was introduced to a representative of a Nicaraguan micro-loan organization. He had brought several items that had been made by micro-loan recipients to show us and was hopeful that we might purchase them. The items he brought included a number of small paintings and a number of women’s leather purses.
The purses had a success story that the representative shared. A few women of a rural Nicaraguan community had approached the organization about applying for a micro-loan to begin a leather purse business. The organization approached the community as a whole and explained how they would provide the seed money at a very low interest and would also work with the community to help market the products that they produce. Several of the women of the community were interested but the men thought that making purses was ‘women’s work’.
The women produced some very nice leather purses and the lending organization was able to find a buyer for their products. The lending organization returned to the community and again held a community wide meeting. When all had gathered, the lending organization made a considerable effort of praising the women purse makers for their work and then presented each of the women with their share of the money earned. It is worth mentioning that the women, having received their earnings, collectively held more money than had ever been held at any previous time in that community.
The small leather business was transformational. The men quickly began producing leather crafts alongside the women and the sales of their products increased capital in the entire community. The increased capital began to generate spin off businesses. Small stores began appearing to provide household products and other items that were previously unaffordable to those in the community. Over time the entire community prospered.
Here are some 2020 statistics about the impact that Mentors International have posted on their website about the microloans they have made. (Link to their website found further below.)
90% of their loans were to women. (I was once told that women have a better record of repayment of the micro-loans.)
Mentors International has experienced a 96% repayment rate.
The average annual income for the person receiving their micro-loan was an increase of 157%.
The average loan size that Mentors International has provided is $132.
The average cost of helping an individual reach self reliance is $137.
This is a link that speaks of an ABC International Ministries project to create microloans for Hatian women. I am pleased that this project is funded 100%.
