As a pastor who has travelled to Africa and Haiti, and as a father who has a daughter-in-law serving in an orphanage in Haiti and three sons that travel worldwide as musicians and advocates for the poor with Food for the Hungry, I have been trying to gain perspective on the recent tragedy in Haiti.
After the 2nd major quake hit the island earlier this week, a friend and prayer warrior, Matt, sent me an email with some statistics that helped me grasp the magnitude of this event.
Matt is from Harford County, Md. which has a population of around 233,000. The closest city limit to my home has around 6,300 people. Recent death toll has risen in Haiti to 110,00 with numbers expected to be around 200,000+. Imagine waking up one morning and Harford County is gone. imagine for us Carroll County, Md. people that Westminster and Taneytown are now wiped out.
Here's another one Matt passed onto. the population of Baltimore City and Baltimore County is close to 1.3 million people. It has been reported that there are now approximately 1.5 million homeless people in Haiti.
I recently stayed up all night with some dear brothers feeding and clothing around 50-60 homeless people in Baltimore City Friday night. I know we made a difference, but it gave me a new persective on the amount of ministry that is needed in Haiti. Can you picture what it looks like to see 1.5 million people without a home?
God help the people of Haiti rebuild and may God hear the cry of His people as we pray and worship the Lord Almighty.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Hello from Haiti
Ever since the Tuesday earthquake rocked the Haiti community, all my family and church longed to hear was 'Hello from Haiti'. My daughter-in-law Kathleen is a missionary at an orhanage there about 100 miles SW of Part-au-Prince.
We saw first hand the power of prayer and the love of the Body of Christ through the anxious days of waiting.
With my sons (WILLET) touring in New Zealand, and Kat in Haiti, my wife and I began to pray. Two nights I prayed into the early hours of the night. The church prayed, old friends contacted us on FBook saying they were praying. I participated in an all-night prayer gathering in which hands were laid on me while praying for my family and the people of Haiti.
Special thanks to Geoff in New Zealand who called me with phone numbers to reach my sons and to all who have been great hosts for them while touring. Thanks to my many brothers and sisters down under who prayed and supported my sons during this waiting period.
Thanks to Pam and Fern from Mission Haiti, and to our freinds at Food for the Hungry for supplying any information they received.
Well its now Sunday, we still haven't heard "Hello from Haiti" by telephone yet because of communication lines, but we have recieved text messages, emails and seen FBook entries assuring us that Kathleen is OK and the other members of the orphanage, especially the children are all accounted for.
We experienced the comfort, strength and peace that only comes from Christ our Lord. Where does your strength and peace come from in unstable, troubled times? Who is it that holds you up when you feel like collapsing? If you are a believer in Jesus, do you praise Him in the storm as well as in the sunshine?
We do not hold our own destiny in this life-our lives are fragile and held in the loving hands of our Heavenly Father. Do you know Him?
We saw first hand the power of prayer and the love of the Body of Christ through the anxious days of waiting.
With my sons (WILLET) touring in New Zealand, and Kat in Haiti, my wife and I began to pray. Two nights I prayed into the early hours of the night. The church prayed, old friends contacted us on FBook saying they were praying. I participated in an all-night prayer gathering in which hands were laid on me while praying for my family and the people of Haiti.
Special thanks to Geoff in New Zealand who called me with phone numbers to reach my sons and to all who have been great hosts for them while touring. Thanks to my many brothers and sisters down under who prayed and supported my sons during this waiting period.
Thanks to Pam and Fern from Mission Haiti, and to our freinds at Food for the Hungry for supplying any information they received.
Well its now Sunday, we still haven't heard "Hello from Haiti" by telephone yet because of communication lines, but we have recieved text messages, emails and seen FBook entries assuring us that Kathleen is OK and the other members of the orphanage, especially the children are all accounted for.
We experienced the comfort, strength and peace that only comes from Christ our Lord. Where does your strength and peace come from in unstable, troubled times? Who is it that holds you up when you feel like collapsing? If you are a believer in Jesus, do you praise Him in the storm as well as in the sunshine?
We do not hold our own destiny in this life-our lives are fragile and held in the loving hands of our Heavenly Father. Do you know Him?
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Call to Consecration
Consecration is a word we don't hear too much anymore in our culture, but it is a word we desperately need to pay attention to. Consecration is more than service or duty. It is living a life of personal holiness. It is a life submitted to the power of prayer. It is through prayer that we can shake off the entanglements of this world and receive the power to endure. It is through habitual and effective prayer that we become more set apart in holiness. Perfect? No, but moving towards holiness? Yes!
It is a life of making right decisions and choices no matter what the circumstance and regardless of who is involved.
E.M. Bounds wrote, "Consecration is the setting apart of all we are, all we have, and all we expect to have or be, to God first of all."
Are you giving your all to God? Is your life one of consecration and separation? Do your goals for 2010 reflect a consecrated life?
It is a life of making right decisions and choices no matter what the circumstance and regardless of who is involved.
E.M. Bounds wrote, "Consecration is the setting apart of all we are, all we have, and all we expect to have or be, to God first of all."
Are you giving your all to God? Is your life one of consecration and separation? Do your goals for 2010 reflect a consecrated life?
Monday, January 4, 2010
By Faith
I have been slowly reading through Hebrews 11 and learning so much about faith. Almost every verse begins with "by faith..." What great stories of courage and willingness to be stretched beyond measure. But I was really challenged when I got to verses 17-40.
When Abraham was tested by God to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice, Abraham remained faithful, reasoning that God could raise the dead.
In verse 25, Moses chose to be mistreated rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin. It says 'he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.' Then in vs. 35-40, men and women remained faithful even in spite of torture, of jeers, of floggings, of imprisonment. Some were stoned, others were sawn in two!
But vs. 39-40 blew me away when we read that "they were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned somethng better..." You see it wasn't about the reward or the prize they may or may not receive here on earth.
So I ask you the same question I asked myself after reading this-How strong is your faith? Are you obedient when God asks you to do something? Are you willing to be tortured, flogged, imprisoned or will you compromise your faith for convenience, favors, and affirmation?
These men and women were "looking of a better country-a heavenly one"(v.16). What are you looking for? Is this life all you need or want, or is there something much better ahead waiting for you after this life? If you believe we are merely aliens or strangers in this land, than our lives should reflect that. There is nothing here to keep us if God has a better place for us. How about living 2010 'by faith'? Because faith is about holding fast to Jesus-no matter what! Instead of telling others you have faith, let them see it in you this year.
When Abraham was tested by God to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice, Abraham remained faithful, reasoning that God could raise the dead.
In verse 25, Moses chose to be mistreated rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin. It says 'he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.' Then in vs. 35-40, men and women remained faithful even in spite of torture, of jeers, of floggings, of imprisonment. Some were stoned, others were sawn in two!
But vs. 39-40 blew me away when we read that "they were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned somethng better..." You see it wasn't about the reward or the prize they may or may not receive here on earth.
So I ask you the same question I asked myself after reading this-How strong is your faith? Are you obedient when God asks you to do something? Are you willing to be tortured, flogged, imprisoned or will you compromise your faith for convenience, favors, and affirmation?
These men and women were "looking of a better country-a heavenly one"(v.16). What are you looking for? Is this life all you need or want, or is there something much better ahead waiting for you after this life? If you believe we are merely aliens or strangers in this land, than our lives should reflect that. There is nothing here to keep us if God has a better place for us. How about living 2010 'by faith'? Because faith is about holding fast to Jesus-no matter what! Instead of telling others you have faith, let them see it in you this year.
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