I'm good to go. I got home from Kenya yesterday and started my nap around 2:30pm. I told Karen to wake me up and she tried but I pretty much slept through until 4:30am. I guess I'm back on Eastern Time Zone quick enough.
There are three things for which I want you to pray with me. #1 is we pray for rain from heaven. When I went to Kenya I was told how dry it was so I prayed for rain to fall from the sky. It rained a little bit or a lot every day we were there. I pray the government and people of Kenya will prepare for the expected downpours to come next month so they can save and store as much water as they can. Kenya has the least amount of potable (drinkable) water of any country per person in the world.
But, more than water from the sky, pray for rain from heaven to fall on Kenya and us in the United States. Kenya is 80% Christian, yet pray for revival there. The pastors we met these last two weeks need your prayers. They are obedient to God's call even though they receive no salary. 3/4 of the pastors and their families have no electricity. Yet even carrying those burdens for their families they were filled with joy and worshiped the Lord with great energy and passion.
#2 pray for productivity to be turned into profit. Pray for their labors to bear fruit, fruit that will last and be a blessing to them and others. Kenya has three planting and growing cycles. Pray they can retain their agrarian lifestyles while still developing processes that take advantage of the productivity of the climate and soil. Pray for our ministry in the same way. Pray we can live a simple life of grace while reproducing The Colors of Grace, and producing Moving at the Speed of Grace, Life at Godspeed, and other resources these next few months.
#3 pray we can always introduce everything so that it gives praise and glory to God. That's what I enjoyed the most from our brothers and sisters in Kenya. As we introduced ourselves we started with our names, where we were from, and what our responsibilities were during our trip. As they introduced themselves, they started with "Praise the Lord, I am saved." "Bless his name, I love the Lord." Then we find out who they were. We only heard their names after we "Amen"-ed their praise!
Let us learn from their example. When we move forward let our praise arise first instead of third. Let our productivity become what is profitable to us and others. Finally let the rain from heaven be poured out upon us. Let us worship the Lord today with energy and passion - even if it takes a 14 hour nap to get us going!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
An Update Before I Travel
This afternoon, I'll be driving up to Herndon, VA preparing to fly out tomorrow morning from Dulles to Kenya. I will be a part of a team that will be leading the Course of Study for the Nakuru District Pastors. My primary area of teaching is "How Do We Interpret the Scriptures? The lense through which I will teach will be the Pathway of Grace.
A big thank you to everyone filling in for me while I'm gone. For Mike Day and Kent Wise who are the on-call pastors; for Giani Manieri for preaching at the hospital for me; for Jim Hoffler and Gary Creamer for leading the Sunday service; for Anna Workman and Delano Douglas for preaching on Sundays; for Kaitlin Reese taking care of Children's time; for all the members of South Hill UMC for their support of my trip and their care of Karen while I'm gone; and for anyone else who I can't remember right now.
Thank you to Karen who will be serving the Lord and me while I'm away. I love you!
Thank Dr. Jim and Avis Lavender and the folks at Discovery UMC for having us come to supper and service last night. We were blessed greatly by your welcome and appreciation of our ministry. I look forward to going back October 18th for their revival.
Praise the Lord for Robert's soon retirement from the Army. We're thankful as Mama and Daddy for the way everything has worked out.
Well, I've still got to preach this morning, make some calls, run some errands, and PACK so I better leave off and get to it. Thank you for reading this blog. May the Lord Jesus encourage you today and encourage yourself in the Lord.
Grace and peace,
Norman Ramsey
A big thank you to everyone filling in for me while I'm gone. For Mike Day and Kent Wise who are the on-call pastors; for Giani Manieri for preaching at the hospital for me; for Jim Hoffler and Gary Creamer for leading the Sunday service; for Anna Workman and Delano Douglas for preaching on Sundays; for Kaitlin Reese taking care of Children's time; for all the members of South Hill UMC for their support of my trip and their care of Karen while I'm gone; and for anyone else who I can't remember right now.
Thank you to Karen who will be serving the Lord and me while I'm away. I love you!
Thank Dr. Jim and Avis Lavender and the folks at Discovery UMC for having us come to supper and service last night. We were blessed greatly by your welcome and appreciation of our ministry. I look forward to going back October 18th for their revival.
Praise the Lord for Robert's soon retirement from the Army. We're thankful as Mama and Daddy for the way everything has worked out.
Well, I've still got to preach this morning, make some calls, run some errands, and PACK so I better leave off and get to it. Thank you for reading this blog. May the Lord Jesus encourage you today and encourage yourself in the Lord.
Grace and peace,
Norman Ramsey
Friday, August 7, 2009
Fear of the Unknown
How many of us have a fear of the unknown? I'm not sure that's what I would call my fear. I would call my biggest fear - the fear of what I know or have known about myself. Romans 3: 23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
That's real. I have had opportunities for which I've fallen short. We have had our disappointments and even been disappointments for others. We fear what has happened before can happen again.
It's fear of the known in the face of the unknown that really messes us up. So, I want to challenge you and challenge myself to actively allow the perfect love of God to overshadow and overrule our fear today and from this day forward.
For that, let's see what Romans 3: 24 says. "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." God has set forth Jesus to be our 'sacrifice of atonement' (NIV), our 'propitiation (KJV). In other words, we are set upright and made able to stand in the face of both the known and unknown by the presence and passion of Jesus.
That's real. We will have opportunities for which we will stand tall. We will come through in Jesus' name. People will count on us and be glad they did. We will believe in Jesus being our very, present help in time of trouble over and over again.
Every new thing God is doing in our lives, God has covered. Every time we are confronted with a new challenge or opportunity, we can trust God and ourselves to be good. Every new thing that drops into our lap we can express the "bounty" of God's love and be "the quicker-picker-upper".
Every obstacle that comes against us we can approach with our heads up. Do not fear God is on our in-side! We will work that out together.
That's real. I have had opportunities for which I've fallen short. We have had our disappointments and even been disappointments for others. We fear what has happened before can happen again.
It's fear of the known in the face of the unknown that really messes us up. So, I want to challenge you and challenge myself to actively allow the perfect love of God to overshadow and overrule our fear today and from this day forward.
For that, let's see what Romans 3: 24 says. "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." God has set forth Jesus to be our 'sacrifice of atonement' (NIV), our 'propitiation (KJV). In other words, we are set upright and made able to stand in the face of both the known and unknown by the presence and passion of Jesus.
That's real. We will have opportunities for which we will stand tall. We will come through in Jesus' name. People will count on us and be glad they did. We will believe in Jesus being our very, present help in time of trouble over and over again.
Every new thing God is doing in our lives, God has covered. Every time we are confronted with a new challenge or opportunity, we can trust God and ourselves to be good. Every new thing that drops into our lap we can express the "bounty" of God's love and be "the quicker-picker-upper".
Every obstacle that comes against us we can approach with our heads up. Do not fear God is on our in-side! We will work that out together.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Pinball and the Final Judgment
One of my favorite pastimes during my days at Greensboro College was playing pinball in the student center. I would come from the cafeteria right after lunch or even skip lunch to play. There was food in the student center but my food plan didn’t include it.
Two incidents I remember the most from those days. One was the day I played better than ever. I had accumulated 32 extra balls. Is there such a thing as playing forever? About the time I congratulated myself at how well I was doing, I realized if I didn’t stop I would be late for my one o’clock class.
Thirty-two extra plays and I had to surrender my game to someone else. An interested freshman walked by and suddenly my game became his. I rushed back after class but he had lost.
The second distinct thing I recall was the voice of my distinguished history professor Dr. Grayson thundering over the student center. “Mr. Ramsey, quit throwing your time away,” or “Mr. Ramsey, why are you wasting your life playing that game?”
The worst thing, even more wasteful than playing pinball – throwing time and life away according to Dr. Grayson, was playing along and having someone in the crowded student center accidentally bump the machine while you were playing and see the 4-letter word that ended everything – TILT!
Tilt meant you really had wasted your time. One little slide in the wrong direction and no matter how well you had been doing, it was all for nothing. Your game was over.
The Bible says, “It is appointed unto men- once to die, and after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) This is why the shadow of destruction extends beyond death. Some will not see, until death comes knocking, the TILT sign over their life.
The game is over. Shut down. It is deemed a waste. You can’t start over. That would be playing a new and different game.
TILT nullifies the extra balls you thought you had. Spiritually, TILT requires the cost to play the game be paid again. Yet, at this point, there are spiritually no more quarters, no more tokens.
TILT means you sidestepped the cross of Jesus. His passion was offered to pay the price for your redemption. Even the TILT sign would have been overridden by the promise of Jesus. “Whosoever believes in me – I will raise them up on the last day.” But, unless you repent and align yourself with Jesus, the wrong 4-letter word will reign over your life.
Today, choose the right 4-letter word. Choose LOVE instead of TILT. Choose Jesus!
Two incidents I remember the most from those days. One was the day I played better than ever. I had accumulated 32 extra balls. Is there such a thing as playing forever? About the time I congratulated myself at how well I was doing, I realized if I didn’t stop I would be late for my one o’clock class.
Thirty-two extra plays and I had to surrender my game to someone else. An interested freshman walked by and suddenly my game became his. I rushed back after class but he had lost.
The second distinct thing I recall was the voice of my distinguished history professor Dr. Grayson thundering over the student center. “Mr. Ramsey, quit throwing your time away,” or “Mr. Ramsey, why are you wasting your life playing that game?”
The worst thing, even more wasteful than playing pinball – throwing time and life away according to Dr. Grayson, was playing along and having someone in the crowded student center accidentally bump the machine while you were playing and see the 4-letter word that ended everything – TILT!
Tilt meant you really had wasted your time. One little slide in the wrong direction and no matter how well you had been doing, it was all for nothing. Your game was over.
The Bible says, “It is appointed unto men- once to die, and after this the judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) This is why the shadow of destruction extends beyond death. Some will not see, until death comes knocking, the TILT sign over their life.
The game is over. Shut down. It is deemed a waste. You can’t start over. That would be playing a new and different game.
TILT nullifies the extra balls you thought you had. Spiritually, TILT requires the cost to play the game be paid again. Yet, at this point, there are spiritually no more quarters, no more tokens.
TILT means you sidestepped the cross of Jesus. His passion was offered to pay the price for your redemption. Even the TILT sign would have been overridden by the promise of Jesus. “Whosoever believes in me – I will raise them up on the last day.” But, unless you repent and align yourself with Jesus, the wrong 4-letter word will reign over your life.
Today, choose the right 4-letter word. Choose LOVE instead of TILT. Choose Jesus!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Repentance Is Required
Dr. Edwin Louis Cole once taught, "All we do in life is enter and leave." The real question is, are you upheld by grace as you go? How else can we fulfill the Great Commission given to us by Jesus? - "As you go, make disciples of all nations, by baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28: 19-20)
This is why repentance is required. You can't move without repentance. We're stuck in between entering and leaving without repentance.
To repent comes from the Greek word metanoia amd means 'with mind'. In other words, everytime you move you are literally repenting. When you got out of the bed to take a shower this morning, you repented of being in the bed. When you stepped out of the shower to towel off, you repented of staying in the shower. On and on we go through each day, filling it up, as God intended, with repentance.
When we turned to put our trust in Jesus Christ we repented. We decided to move our trust from ourselves or something else and move it into Jesus. Jesus commissions us to continue to fill up each day with repentance.
How do you need to move through this day? What familiar reaction has you snared? What feeling or fear has you bogged down? How will Jesus draw you forward into a free and full expression of life today? One thing is sure - repentance is required.
This is why repentance is required. You can't move without repentance. We're stuck in between entering and leaving without repentance.
To repent comes from the Greek word metanoia amd means 'with mind'. In other words, everytime you move you are literally repenting. When you got out of the bed to take a shower this morning, you repented of being in the bed. When you stepped out of the shower to towel off, you repented of staying in the shower. On and on we go through each day, filling it up, as God intended, with repentance.
When we turned to put our trust in Jesus Christ we repented. We decided to move our trust from ourselves or something else and move it into Jesus. Jesus commissions us to continue to fill up each day with repentance.
How do you need to move through this day? What familiar reaction has you snared? What feeling or fear has you bogged down? How will Jesus draw you forward into a free and full expression of life today? One thing is sure - repentance is required.
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