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

Context/Text: The Triumphal Provision

Context: I work in the worship ministry at our church, and every Tuesday morning we have a meeting reviewing the services from the previous weekend.  So this past Tuesday, I walk in to the meeting room, and as I'm getting situated, Andi Rozier, our resident worship leader and ministry director asks the rest of the group as they're trickling in if they have their scripture ready to share.  I ask, "Scripture?"  Andi says, "Yeah, I sent out an email last week asking everybody to bring scripture to share with the rest of the group, on the topic of "trusting the Lord."

...Steve opens email archive to check... yep, there it is; how'd I miss that one?

Well, I love the idea of starting the meeting off with mutual encouragement and upbuilding before we dissect our craft.  OK, Lord; I'm trusting you NOW to bring to mind some passage that I've been going through so I can at least share something...

The great thing about reading the Bible is that I can engage it on many levels:  I can search its pages for wisdom on particular issues, pour over it for group study application or personal edification, meditate on it to relate to my creator, etc.  I can count on it to feed the soul.

Anyway, I've been taking a class this semester on World Christian Missions, so much of my deep study time has been used hitting the books.  Additionally, my men's group just wrapped up a study on Colossians.  Squeezing these endeavors around family & work has been challenging, so this season of personal bible study has been of the casual daily-feeding nature; no deep-sea diving going on here.

As such, when Tuesday's meeting rolled around, I felt particularly vulnerable as I didn't think I had anything substantial to share.  The group had begun going around the table sharing, and I'm scrambling to think through what I've read in the past week that would speak to the topic at hand.  "Trusting the Lord?"  Yeah, I could really use to trust the Lord right now to recall something or calm my heart to hold my tongue this time around.

...enter Jehovah Jireh!

I'd been reading through the Gospel of Mark, just keeping up on the ways of Jesus.  What of all I've read could fall under the category of "trusting the Lord"?  Really, that?  No way.  I'm just grasping at straws.  There's no way that passage would apply... Or, OK, maybe.  Let's see.

I can think of countless situations wherein we trust the Lord and seek his provision, favor, wisdom, peace, patience, etc., and the passages that have encouraged me through those times and afterward share and rejoice and pray about how He was faithful.

Yet as I sat listening to the group, stewing over whether I should share or not, it really started to bubble over.  So, here we go.  I'm doing this just to document the thoughts God brought to mind and also maybe to encourage you, too!

Text: Mark 11:1-10.  

For reference, I'm reading out of the English Standard Version.  

The passage is familiar; almost too familiar.  I'd encourage you to slowly read through the passage before proceeding.  It's the Palm Sunday passage where Jesus and the disciples were heading to Jerusalem.  He sends a couple of them into the town ahead to find an unused colt and bring it back to him.  They obediently go and find it just as he said and bring it back.

Now at this point, if I were one of the disciples, I'm thinking "Wow!  What great miracle is Jesus going to perform now?  Or what great insight will he show us using this little pony?  

He's been healing people left and right; a few of us saw his transfiguration; he's been prophesying about his death and resurrection... Stand back friends, what's this gonna' be?"

Or worse, like most times I've read this passage, we breeze through it as just an historical snapshot of a moment in the life of Jesus in the week leading up to his death, replete with memories of Sunday School teachers handing out palm leaves for us to wave around.

And as they enter Jerusalem, Jesus sitting on the colt, we read '"And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!  Hosanna in the highest!'" (v.9-10 ESV)

Friends, most often when we think of "trusting the Lord" it's throughout a crisis or trial or some spectacular challenge.  How about for once just trusting the Lord in, what appears, the obscure or mundane requests he places in our lives that it's for no other reason than to bring Him pure glory.  This is a worship passage through and through.  "Hey guys, I need you to go run this errand for me.  Why?  Trust me.  It's so that my people can worship me."