Josh1Eight

As the jet lag is finally wearing off, I wanted to share a few reflections from my recent trip to Africa. First of all, without God’s miraculous provision there’s no way we could have pulled it off so to those of you who helped make it happen for Stella and I we are so grateful for your support that made it all possible.  We were unsure at first about going but God first laid it on my daughter’s heart to pray and ask God to provide- and as expected He answered by paying for her entire trip via an anonymous sponsor! Faith like a child is still a very real thing. That same day the ministry I work for provided a huge scholarship for me and we knew God was leading us to go.  As always, God was faithful to supply the rest and on June 24th we left DFW for a 24 hour series of plane rides all the way to Nairobi. The first day was a blur but it was surreal to see how incredibly beautiful Africa really is and how welcoming the people are, not to mention the exotic a...

Scripture: “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1:5-8 Observation: James draws the line in the sand when it comes to faith. Either you trust God or you don’t. Those that need His help and wisdom will get it when they ask in faith. But what about those straggling the line of faith? James is clear- believers can’t ride the fence. There is no dual citizenship for Christians. We are either all in or not at all. James pulls no punches in one of the clearest teachings on prayer in the entire Bible- basically by picking a side you reap the consequences, for better or f...

“When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas  ‭‭Acts‬ ‭14:11, 18-20 Life comes at you quick. In vs. 11 Paul and Baranbas entered the town of Lystra and preached Jesus as was their custom. Little did they know the response they would get would result in the crowd of pagans who saw the miracle performed by Paul prompt them to practically worship them as gods. The apostles who appalled to say the least and in humility pointed the attention back to Christ as quickly as possible but to no avail by vs. 19.  Literally one verse later the unbelieving...