Christmas beauty...


The past several days, Deanna and I have been in Odessa, Texas, where we helped marry two or our friends from the mission field.

Deanna sang two songs during their ceremony, and I delivered a message, just prior to their vows. It was a beautiful wedding.

These are two people that the Lord brought together at training for their respective mission trips. They live in different parts of the country, and have spent the majority of their missions experiences on different continents. However, the Lord has brought them together in unity and now they seek Him and where He would have them serve together.

What I find so compelling is, had they not been obedient to God's call, they would never have met.

He grew up in Alabama, and she in west Texas. He served in Eastern Europe and South America. She served in Central America and Africa. There was no way their paths were going to cross without the intervention of the Lord.

Many times we seek what the Lord would have for us, and yet fail to walk out simple obedience. We do not know what blessings we are missing when we serve ourselves.

This young man called me a month before our summer trips, two summers back. He knew nothing about our ministry, but found us on the internet as he was seeking who the Lord would have him partner with in missions. As we spoke, the Holy Spirit did a work in his heart and he knew he was supposed to be on our team.

A month later we were on a plane together heading to Peru (well, Ecuador then Peru).

This experience was life changing for him. He came in with a past. He had many frustrations...even anger. He shared very openly with our team as the mounting hurts were attempting to consume his life.

Early in the trip, we talked together and the Lord ministered in such a deep way that it became a benchmark in his walk. He turned a corner in life. The man who came with us on that trip, went home changed.

Because of past difficulties, he was ready to serve the Lord as a single man for life. He did not know it then, but the Lord had him on a journey and had other plans for him. "Plans to prosper him and not to harm him." (Jer 29:11)

That same summer, he would meet the woman he would eventually fall in love with and marry. She was not on his team, but he met her at training.

Months later, they would serve on a 10 day trip together, and the desire was awakened in them both.

Strict polices do not allow them to act on their interests on the field, but once they were home, things began to happen. This included several trips from Alabama to Texas, and from Texas to Alabama.

This past summer, they would follow God's call to different continents. They would spend their summer apart, praying for the other, and wondering what the others experience was like.

Today, because they followed the Lord in the obedience He called them to, they walk together united in Christ!

I love how the Lord does these things. I am in awe of how He brings us to blessing.

Blessings come to each of us in our lives. We just never know whether or not our obedience will bring us into such relationship. If we are walking consistently with Him, it really doesn't matter.

What matters is our love relationship with Him. If we are following Him, He will handle such details, if we are paying attention!

I praise God for how He works in our lives!

BJ longed for a relationship with a godly woman. However, he did not seek that out as his primary objective. He sought the Lord and would never know the intimacy that most of us experience. He wrote of his hope for the same, but longed more to be found obedient.

When we walk in obedience, the Lord handles the details. We may not always get what we think we want, but He sees that our needs are met, and we get to bring Him glory in the process!


dad