Dr. Ralph D. Winter

Dr. Ralph Winter, missions pioneer and founder of U.S. Center for World Mission, William Carey International University (and its publishing arm), Frontier Mission Fellowship, and a host of other Kingdom endeavors, went to be with our Lord and Savior on May 20 after a battle with cancer.

Though he clearly impacted countless people for the cause of Christ, I was personally challenged in the Perspectives class which I finished recently, and of which he also was creator and developer.

This passage from an historical survey of three mission eras kept me awake many nights and on my knees: "Doing lots of good things, or as someone has said, 'Keepin' busy for Jesus' individually may be a case of 'good but not good enough.' Our Evangelical perspective has become so individualized that we may only think of individual good works. Doing good little things wherever convenient may sometimes be merely a way to justify and make credible in our own eyes our minimal personal salvation. Starting with our own talents and interests is common but is the way of the world - it is getting things backwards...We must start with His concerns, whatever our gifts, wants, and abilities....Our obligation is to seek the expansion of the knowledge of the glory of God and His Kingdom, and this would logically require us each to prayerfully seek God about doing the hardest thing we are able to do in the most crucial task we can find."

Clearly Dr. Winter did not choose busy himself with good little tasks but instead chose the long and hard road God required of him. What a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus this man was. His legacy is great, yet I know he's standing in the presence of the King hearing the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." I know Winter's legacy will last globaly as I am sure it will personally. Lord, thank you for this wonderful man. Amen

Flexing the "Children's Lesson" Muscle

It's my regular prayer that our children will grow up knowing and loving Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Yes, there are regular talks about Jesus and God, prayers, bible reading, etc., but today brought one extra special moment as I was getting some one-on-one daddy/daughter time with our 3 1/2 year old, Naomi. As a gift to keep her occupied with new baby around, her Auntie Natalie got her a big book of curriculum-based exercises and activities. So we're on page 2 of the letter identification and coloring activity: 4-boxes with different letters, color in the boxes that match the letter (typically 2 of the 4). Lower-case "b" gets colored orange, but Naomi jumped the gun and colored in the box with lower-case "d". Oops, no big deal. But when I pointed it out to her, I could see her spirit was just crushed! She's a bit of a perfectionist, and so with bottom-lip quivering, just began to weep.
As I comforted her and said it'd be OK, I told her we could try to fix it and erase it with a different color. Clever as she is, she asked if we could use the "white" crayon...
Definitely a super-cute moment, but the Holy Spirit nudged me to go a little deeper with her, sharing with her some insight into God's wonderful character.

Isaiah 1:18-20
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool."

New Baby & Same Fascinating God.

Dear God, thanks for blessing us with our new family addition, Kathryn Hannah. Not only was the process pretty smooth, but she's beautiful and healthy (despite the usual battle with jaundice) and we're glad to be settling in back home. Thanks for answering many prayers. Give us patience and strength to raise this child to love You her entire life and to do great things for you! Amen.

This is our 3rd child, and each time God shows us some particularly unique things about Himself and how He creates us that drive me to awe and praise. I've seen it before but happened to linger a bit this time thinking about the amazing stuff called vernix caseosa. It's the white, cheesy substance that covers a fetus and has many functions, among which are moisturizer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and wound-healer. Dear naturalists, at what point did this multifaceted protective coating come into being? Did it have all these properties at once or did those develop over time? Either way, just how did the all mothers universally & magically "will" this stuff into being?
Romans 1:19-20 gives me comfort, assurance, and reminder in the very creative God of Psalm 119:13-16:

"For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them."

Amen and amen!