CARMEN'S PICTURE

While deep in the Peruvian Andes last week our medical missions team experienced the majestic handiwork of God. We slept at about 11,000 feet in the mountain town of San Marcos, but made daily trips to villages as high as 14,000 feet. The mountainous terrain, complete with snow capped peaks and glaciers, was awesome to behold.

The most beautiful work of God, however, was seen in the faces of the precious Peruvians we were there to serve. Most of these dear people are of direct Inca descent and have inhabited the Andes for millennium. Although many live in significant poverty, it is stunning to witness their ability to raise crops on the sides of steep mountains through the ancient practice of terraced farming. These little lots dot the mountain sides like postage stamps with soft colors of yellow, green, and light brown.

Carmen is a little girl that lives in the local orphanage in San Marcos. She is probably nine or ten years old, but because of the language barrier, I know little of her story. What I do know is Carmen did something that has forever changed my view of short-term mission journeys.

Our team had visited this orphanage one year earlier. We played games, gave gifts, replaced around 50 mattresses, and took lots of pictures of the children. I lost my camera on that trip and all my pictures with it. Which makes what Carmen did last week even more incredible. She walked up to me and pulled what looked like an old frayed piece of paper from her pocket. It was folded in quarters. As she opened it, the picture inside was revealed. Unbelievably it was a picture someone had taken the year before of this sweet child sitting on a bench next to me. She had kept it with her for an entire year!

The tears flowed. I swept her up and gave her a big hug, then walked her to several other team members to show them the picture. They all cried too (which made me feel a little less wimpy).

The little time we spent with Carmen meant enough to her to hang on to a picture for over a year! She said it was her way of "remembering" us. Sometimes it feels like spending a week or two in some foreign land, fighting cultural and linguistic barriers, in an attempt to take Christ's love to people is low impact at best. Honestly, what difference can a few days make to someone who is in desperate need? Carmen proved to me that this investment of time and energy does make a difference! Jesus can indeed work through us to touch hearts and lives like Carmen's!

Every day Carmen wakes up she sees the awsome peaks of the Andes Mountains surrounding San Marcos. I'm not sure how the natural beauty of those mountains impact her. But now I know that the beauty of Christ goes beyond the mountains of that place and even beyond the dear faces of that place. At least one little girl saw the beauty of Christ in the faces of a few Gringos who loved her and her fellow orphans enough to go to that place and share God's love with them.

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

Romans 10:14b

THE QUARRY YOU CAME FROM

"Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry

from which you were hewn..." (Isaiah 51:1)

This week I'm preaching for a "Revival" at a great little country church in Corinth, KY called Antioch Church of Christ. A cemetery surrounds the small brick church building which stretches all the way back to the early 1800's. My dad, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-great grandfather are all buried there. One day I'll be buried there as well.

It's meaningful at a deeply personal level to stand among the dear people at Antioch, encompassed by such hallowed ground, and preach the gospel of Christ. It's even emotional at times. It certainly takes me to that passage in Isaiah in which God says, "Look to the roch from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn."

Have you touched your "roots" lately? There's something about "looking to the rock from which you were cut" that is intensely challenging. It can be humbling and inspiring, sobering and stimulating all at the same time.

God had a reason for telling His people in Israel to do this. He wanted them to look back to their forefather Abraham and remember that though he had a humble beginning, God ultimately blessed him greatly. Isaiah 51:2 says, "look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many."

The Lord wanted the remnant in Israel to be reminded that even though they felt small and alone, that God could bless them if they stayed faithful to Him. When I look back to the "quarry from which I was hewn" it certainly reminds me of God's faithfulness through hard, lean, troublesome times. How about you?

The "rock" I'm cut from is made up of a lot of farmers and soldiers. So when I look back to my "quarry" it reminds me of Paul's challenge to Timothy to serve Christ like a "good soldier" and a "hardworking farmer" (2 Tim. 2:3-7).

So, this week what encouragement and insight can you take away from looking back to the rock from which you were cut and the quarry from which you were hewn?

GOD & GOVERNMENT

As we celebrate America's 234th birthday this weekend, let's remember to give God thanks for His provision of the land, resources, and freedom we enjoy. Freedom does not come free, it has cost many thousands of brave men and women their lives. Thank a defender of freedom this weekend, whether they serve on the battle field or in government, in city halls or in voting booths, or do battle on their knees in prayer.

Franklin D. Roosevelt offered a prayer on a national radio on June 6, 1944, as our troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. He prayed, "Almighty God... with Thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogance. Lead us to the saving of our country. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen."

May God once again lead us to the "saving of our country." Our primary enemy is the notion that "separation of church and state" (whatever you may think of this statement found not in the Constitution but in a letter from Thomas Jefferson) means "seperation of God and government." The downfall of mankind (and government) will come whenever we choose not to "think it worthwhile to retain God in our knowledge." (Romans 1:28).

Whatever one may believe about the interpretation of Jefferson's statement about the "separation of church and state" no one can argue with the overwhelming evidence that neither our founding fathers wanted to remove the reverence and awe of God from our government. Even presidents from the last century communicated this unequivocally.

President Gerald Ford once quoted a 1955 speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower which articulates the belief of our founding fathers: "Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first - the most basic - expression of Americanism. Thus the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God’s help, it will continue to be." And Ronald Reagan captured this reality by saying, "If we ever forget that we are ’One nation, under God’, then we will be one nation gone under."

May Almighty God always be the Primary Influencer on every government leader's heart! And may the followers of Christ pray fervently for their leaders, their nation, and the work of Christ to permeate this world!