WOOD THOUGHTS

CHURCH

2011-10-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

Have you ever worshipped in a different culture? My first experience of this was in the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona. I remember the pianist, who was an elderly missionary, saying, “We sing hymns every week. I think they do it for me.” I have also heard many missionaries express a longing for their “church back home”. Some have sought to transplant their American church to their foreign land. I can understand this longing for what is familiar.

At the same time, I have seen missionaries of very different theological persuasions finding deep fellowship and rewarding worship in services that, by American standards, would be quite boring. Despite the off-key singing, poor amplification, overly hot environment, and clumsy sermon, they are thrilled to be together. Their time together actually empowers them to return to their work of leading people to Jesus. They long to get together next week, but they are content to live among the “heathen” for another week, knowing that people need to know Jesus.

In his book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, “Jesus Christ lived in the midst of His enemies…For this cause He had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes.” Bonhoeffer understood that the end goal is not for Christians to meet together but for sinners to be saved. I am afraid that we often forget that.

It seems that we have it a little backwards. On the mission field we are trying to make church more like back home. Back home, church is the goal. We cloister ourselves among Christians at our Christian bookstores, coffee shops, and basketball leagues. The longer someone is a Christian, the fewer non-Christians they have as friends. Christian maturity is often viewed by every moment given to some church activity.

What if we reversed it and tried to make our churches here in America more like churches on the mission field. We would see church as a place in which we are refueled to continue the work of reaching the lost. We would be quick to overlook doctrinal differences in favor of treasuring our mutual love for Jesus. We would focus our Sunday discipleship programs on overcoming our personal obstacles to the gospel—isn’t that what sin, bad marriages, and poor parenting practices really are? We would address these obstacles not so much to make our lives more comfortable but to help us effectively reach a lost and dying world. Most importantly, we might live as though we are on the mission field.

Faith

2011-10-05T02:39:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about how frequently we focus on success. Common sermons will help us have better devotions; show us how to pray more effectively; how to be better parents, employees, employers or witnesses. I think I often miss the point. It is just about trusting Jesus.

I do not mean for an unemployed dad to trust Jesus to provide a job. I mean to trust Jesus even if I do not get a job. Job seemed focused on success. He was so obsessed that he offered sacrifices in case his kids did anything wrong. When his trials came, he desperately wanted to know what he had done wrong. He could not find any error. he was convinced that he had performed his portion of the success formula. When he was crying out to God to know why, God did not answer his question. Instead God reminded him that He was worthy of trusting and was always involved. He invited Job to simply trust.

When I think about the Christian life in this way, it seems so simple. We are going through some hard times and God may not make it better. But that is okay. God never promised to remove all of my suffering. He promises that as I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, He will be with me. And in the end, isn't the nearness of God my good, Psalm 73:28?

Stand Between

2011-07-29T04:40:00.000-07:00

STAND BETWEEN
By Vince Wood

Alone before God, under His wrath I would fall
Jesus please stand between
A homeless man with wife and child, a life of fears
Jesus please stand between
A friend says thank you with his eyes filling with tears
Jesus please stand between
Forgotten by the crowds I’m deserted by all
Jesus please stand between

CHORUS
Jesus please stand between
Me and the air I breathe
Me and the colors I see
Me and the praise I hear
Me and rejection I fear
Lord, I beg, stand between

BRIDGE
The good joins with the bad
The pleasant and the sad
They want to get my heart
To take it as their own
Whom have I in heaven
But You alone my Lord
On earth let there be none
But You who owns my love
Jesus please stand between

CHORUS
Jesus please stand between
Me and the air I breathe
Me and the colors I see
Me and the praise I hear
Me and rejection I fear
Lord, I beg stand between

Alone before God, under His wrath I would fall
Jesus please stand between
A homeless man with wife and child, a life of fears
Jesus please stand between
A friend says thank you with his eyes filling with tears
Jesus please stand between
Forgotten by the crowds I’m deserted by all
Jesus please stand between

CHORUS
Jesus please stand between
Me and the air I breathe
Me and the colors I see
Me and the praise I hear
Me and rejection I fear
Lord, I beg stand between

Desperately Satisfied

2011-07-19T05:15:00.000-07:00

There is a line that I really like from Michael W. Smith’s song, Breathe. He cries out, “I am desperate for you…” The picture of desperation is one that rightly reflects the depth of our dependence on Jesus Christ. I want to live my life with a keen understanding of my utter dependence on God for each breath that I breathe.

This morning, as I was praying, another thought came to me. My picture of desperation is usually one of a drowning man aware of impending peril. This morning I thought of the man in the boat. Both men are equally dependent on the boat but only one has already received what he needs and He is satisfied. Sometimes, I forget that I am desperate for God’s love and acceptance, and I already have it. I am like the man in the boat, thrashing about trying to find something to protect him from the depths.

Asaph said in Psalm 73:28, “The nearness of God is my good.” His struggle came when He thought his needs had been unmet. In the temple, he was reminded that all he needed was God and He had God. Paul in Philippians 4:12-13 puts it this way, “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Both of these men found their desperate needs presently met in the God they loved.

I want to be filled with the knowledge that without God, I will perish and I am never without God. I want the rest in the boat, rejoicing in its sufficiency and thankful for its presence in my life.

Psalms 65:4
How blessed is the one whom Thou dost choose, and bring near to Thee,
To dwell in Thy courts.
We will be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house,
Thy holy temple.

The Wrath of God

2011-05-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

These ideas are still developing in my mind and have been since the 1980s when I listened to a sermon by John MacArthur on Romans 1:18.

The wrath or anger of God is usually considered to be like our wrath and anger. It is viewed as an emotional response to something we hate. What if God's wrath was not like ours? Isn't that what holiness means anyway?

The wrath or anger of God is His natural repulsion to all that is in opposition to Him who is alone good. It is not an emotional reaction intended to protect Himself or His glory (like He needs to be defended. What could possible threaten Him or His glory?) It is not an indignation to defend His honor. It is simply a repulsion expressed with the full and terrible power of His being against that which is outside of His own goodness. Light does not feel anger at darkness. it simply obliterates it!

Return from Malawi

2011-04-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

Dear friends, April 19, 2011

We are back from Malawi and settled into life in Melbourne. Honestly, we left a portion of our hearts in south eastern Africa. Our two weeks were filled with experiences of God’s grace as we each had opportunities to invest in others with the hope of the gospel.
Michael was able to serve in the clinic at African Bible College and found a renewed passion to be a medical doctor serving in Africa. He shadowed the medical staff and worked in the lab learning how to diagnose malaria. He saw Doctor Young unite the spiritual with the physical as she prayed with every patient she saw. Michael also used this time to draw near to Jesus. During this time, Michael was able to consecrate himself anew to Jesus and experience great confidence in God’s call. Even when he faced adversity, he responded in a humble trusting fashion. He also became convinced that the best school for his future call is Covenant College in Chattanooga, TN.
Michael spent a lot of time with Shea Dehnert. (Michael’s brother is married to Shea’s sister.) Michael and Shea knew each other before but on this trip they began to build a closer bond. It was good to watch their friendship grow. One day, they chose to watch a basketball game on campus. African Bible College Christian Academy, where Shea attends school, was playing their cross town rival. Only one referee was available. It was soon discovered that Michael is a certified referee in Florida and he was asked to officiate. So he is now an internationally experienced referee. He loved serving in this capacity.
Robin’s task was to help Julia, the teenage girl from our church who came with us on the trip. Robin and Julia served at the Academy each morning. They helped in a first grade class and the preschool. Robin also joined Julia on our trips to the Ministry of Hope Crisis Nursery where they played with and fed orphaned infants. It was beautiful to watch Robin exemplify Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves: do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Robin cared for Julia, encouraged our team members, spent time helping Connie Dehnert, and found every opportunity available to serve those around her.
Vince mostly just preached. He preached fourteen sermons from Monday morning through Friday morning. He spoke on the topic of being “Set Free to Love.” We know that God calls us to love but we do not always love. Vince is convinced that our own desire to be loved and valued prevents us from giving ourselves in love to others. He discussed this dilemma and provided a call to live out Psalm 23:5, “my cup overflows.” God has given us more love than we need so that we can love others for Him. He also preached at Maula Prison from Matthew 11:28-30, inviting the inmates to find rest in Jesus.
On our first Sunday in Malawi we visited a Presbyterian Church in the city where a student from African Bible College was being installed as the new pastor. Pastor (Abusa) Tembo had served for nine years in the villages before receiving this call. Pastors from all over the central region of Malawi gathered for this celebration along with many of their members. Twenty or more pastors gathered around Abusa Tembo to bless him and offer him words of encouragement. He was challenged to keep the focus of his ministry on the gospel of Jesus. Choirs from each of the visiting congregations sang, several men preached, and every congregation was individually welcomed. The building was filled to capacity and several hundred gathered outside, sitting in the grass or peeking in through the windows to rejoice for Kafita Church and Abusa Tembo. The service lasted over five hours. Vince had more occasions that week to spend with Abusa Tembo. He is a very humble and dignified man who loves Jesus and the flock he has been called to serve. Please pray for pastor Tembo.
God blessed our trip. Now we are seeking to minister at Cornerstone Fellowship. The struggles of ministry continue to face us. The power of the gospel is still revealed as people trust God. We are grateful that God has honored us by calling us into service. There is a possibility that Vince could return to Malawi for two weeks in January to teach a block course at the college and maybe provide some counseling. Please pray about this opportunity.
How can we say thank you enough. You invested in a culture in desperate need of hope. Throughout Malawi you see ministries with hope in the name, Ministry of Hope, Hope of the Nations, Partners in Hope, etc. Malawi needs hope. By your support of us, we were able to enflame the hope of the future leaders in Malawi. Through the work of African Bible College men and women are prepared to lead this impoverished nation. We saw graduates of ABC who are now serving as leaders of the church, leaders of NGOs, and even in the government. God is using African Bible College to change Malawi. Your prayers and financial gifts helped to affect that change. Thank you!
In Jesus’ love,

Vince, Robin and Michael

The Heart (an excerpt from Napkin Chats: Counsleing over Coffee)

2011-03-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13
For years I have been afraid to work on an engine. Whether the engine is in my car or a lawn mower, I am nervous. I have discovered that my reticence is tied to my ignorance. I simply do not know how a combustion engine works. I do not know what its parts are or what they do. My ignorance leaves me unwilling to try to repair my engines.
In my years of pastoral ministry, I have found that a similar ignorance leaves God’s people in a state of disrepair. Many Christians, and even ministers, do not really understand how God has designed the human heart. We cannot articulate its parts and we do not really grasp how each part works. Therefore when faced with a significant struggle in our own life or the life of a friend, we do not know how to bring real change in their lives. Those who are aware of their ignorance refer the struggling friend to a ‘professional’ who may or may not know how to help.
As I think of my fear of working on an engine, I suppose it is good that I let someone else work on my engines. I could do some real damage if I tried to repair an engine while remaining ignorant of its proper working. In the same way, some Christians try to help people when they themselves do not know how the heart works. They offer counsel to hurting people but their counsel is based on an inadequate understanding of How God has made us. With this errant perspective, their counsel is doomed to failure. This leaves many Christians with the conclusion that counseling is of no use. They continue in their struggles, never finding the relief that God provides.
Ephesians 4:14-16 tells us:
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
When God’s gifted leaders speak the truth in love, Christian individuals are empowered to stand firm and affect the world as salt and light. I am convinced by the scripture and my experience of seeing many Christians transformed, that we need to understand how God has made us. As we understand what the Bible says about the heart, we will be better able to impact this world.

The Heart:
Proverbs 4:23 says, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life." Notice how important the heart is to God. He says, from it flow “springs of life”, literally the issues of life. The word translated as “springs” comes from a root meaning “to go out.” The idea of a spring is that the spring is where the water goes out of the earth. The heart is the spring from which life flows out of us. Thus, it is of great importance to guard our heart. The Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament says, “before all that one has to guard…guard it [the heart] as the most precious of possessions committed to thy trust.”
The Scripture refers to the heart as man's mind, will, and emotions. It may refer to any one of these individually or any combination of the three.
In John 16:22, Jesus says to His disciples, “Therefore you too now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you.” Jesus says that the emotion of joy occurs in the heart. In Psalm 19:8 we read, “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart…” Again it is the heart that experiences joy. Because the Lord is with him, David's heart is glad in Psalm 16:9. The king noticed Nehemiah's sadness of heart in Nehemiah 2:2. In Romans 9:2 Paul describes the grief in his heart concerning the lostness of his countrymen. The Bible places the emotions firmly in the arena of the heart.
The heart is also the place where the will resides. The Bible, somewhat frequently uses the phrase “hardened heart.” 1 Samuel 6:6 says, “Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, did they not allow the people to go, and they departed?” Pharaoh hardened his heart when he refused to allow Israel to leave Egypt. Pharaoh saw the signs demonstrating God’s power and yet he chose to resist God. This purposeful choice is called a hardened heart. Look at Psalm 119:112, “I have inclined my heart to perform Thy statutes forever, even to the end.” David inclines his heart to obedience. He makes the choice to obey God. That choice is an act of his heart. The heart involves both the emotions and the will.
The heart also refers to the mind. Luke 9:47 says, “But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart…” God brought the flood upon the world because He saw that in man, “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” Genesis 6:5. In Psalm 119:10, David hides God's word in his heart so that he will not sin against God.
From these passages we can see that the Bible places the mind, the will, and the emotions in the realm of the heart. The greatest commandment, which is found in Deuteronomy 6:5, says, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." Mind, will, and emotions united in exclusive love for our God is the greatest objective of our existence. This is the whole-hearted love that we will learn to express during this study.

The Mind
Let’s begin with the mind. Ayn Rand was fond of saying that the mind is man's only tool for survival. Man lacks any instinct that would provide for his life. A lion has such a strong predation instinct that it will sometimes kill more than it can eat. Its instinct to hunt and kill is stronger than hunger. This predation instinct helps the lion to survive and thrive in this world. Man has no such instinct. Man is too small and slow to hunt. He can not run down a rabbit, let alone a deer. Even if he could catch the deer, he lacks the physical power to overwhelm and kill it. He can outsmart his prey. He invents ways of killing the deer from a great distance. By his mind he discovers how to find water and safe foods to consume. He learns how to plant and harvest crops by using his mind. God has given man a mind to enable him to survive in this world. Therefore, as we begin our close study of the heart, we begin by discussing the mind.
We have already discussed the fact that each of us is driven by our need for unconditional love and purpose. Abraham Maslow explained that man operates on a hierarchy of needs. Before we can begin to love or care for others, we must first meet our own personal needs. Every time we fly on an airplane we are reminded of the rightness of this apparently selfish tendency. On each flight the flight attendant reminds us that if the cabin pressure drops we must put on the air mask. We must first secure our own mask before helping others. The reason is that if we fail to secure our own, we become useless to others. Maslow saw the basic needs of man to be food, shelter, and clothing. We are trying to look a little deeper than Maslow looked when we see our ultimate needs as love and purpose. Even though we see different ultimate needs, the fact that these needs must be met in ourselves, before we can help others, is still true. Our mind continually analyzes our current situation and strategizes to assure that our needs are met.
We are designed by God to be needy, dependent creatures. Man's first sin was an effort to live independent of God. The devil introduced to Eve the idea that something she needed could be found outside of God and His commands. He even intimated that God was a boundary preventing her from finding fulfillment. When Adam and Eve believed the Devil and sought fulfillment outside of God, they brought sin to the whole human race. One of the effects of this sin is that now we all have a bent toward seeking love and purpose outside of God. Although we know God, we suppress that truth and seek to meet our needs through creation rather than the creator, see Romans 1:18-23.
The mind is where we think. We receive information, analyze that information, process that information in relation to other ideas we possess, and then we strategize about what to do with it. We may reject it as false, store it as potentially helpful, ignore it as irrelevant, or find ways to implement it for our benefit. All of this happens in our mind. Every day we are flooded with information. Some of it is so familiar that we process it instantaneously. We hear a quiet beep and immediately reach out to touch our alarm clock. We step into the kitchen and see our spouse or child and we respond instantly with “Good morning!” Sometimes we face new information. We step into the kitchen and there is a stranger standing at the counter wearing a black mask. This information is shocking and at first we do not know what to do. Quickly, our mind races to process this information. Instead of greeting the newcomer with “Good morning!” we may run away, or attack-whichever option we decide is more likely to provide for our need of safety. Our mind quickly devises a strategy and our body must then implement that strategy.
Every day we receive information that is false. The world around us is committed to personal safety and the accumulation of wealth. These become the counterfeit of being loved and valued. Unless we are ever vigilant we begin to adopt these values. When we do, we find it more difficult to account for God in our world. Surely the wicked succeed and many righteous are in grave need. We find ourselves in the same dilemma as Asaph in Psalm 73:25. Asaph was perplexed when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. The solution came when he entered the house of God and considered the end of the wicked. They would ultimately be destroyed. You see, Asaph was slowly seduced by his society to believe that personal safety and wealth were signs of success. When he took the time to contemplate His God, truth began to overcome the lies. He saw that, “the nearness of God is my good,” verse 28.
Just as Asaph had to fill his mind with truth in order to resolve the apparent injustice around him, we must actively fill our minds with truth. Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Transformation occurs through our thoughts. Jesus says in John 8:32, “and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” Truth sets us free; truth that we purposefully put into our minds which frees us from failure and destruction.

The Will:
This freedom is not automatic. To experience it we must exercise our will. The will is the second element of our heart that we need to consider. After we have received information, analyzed it, and processed it in our minds, we strategize about what we should do. Then the will takes over. We choose the strategy that we think will be most successful and we act in faith on that strategy. We never act without our mind. I like to use the illustration that you cannot accidentally stand up. You may stand up when you should have laid down or stayed seated, but standing up requires a decision. In the same way, you cannot accidentally speak a coherent sentence. It may be possible for an accidental word to come out of our mouth. But communication requires the engagement of your mind and the determination of your will. You may speak falsely but you cannot speak accidentally.
Let’s look a little closer at the example of standing up to see the connection between the mind and the will. We may ask someone, “Why did you stand up in the middle of the movie?” “Because I thought it was over.” The mind processed the information based on the movie. It drew the conclusion that the movie was over. The mind established a strategy to leave the theater which required standing up. The will acted. This action was an act of faith that the mind had processed the information accurately and the strategy to leave the theatre was a sound strategy. So the embarrassed movie buff stood up.
The will believed certain propositions which were in error, but it is not the will’s place to analyze, but to believe. It is vital to remember that faith resides in the will-not in the mind. James tells us in 2:26, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” What he is pointing out is that what we really believe, we live out in our life.
If I were to sit in your living room and tell you, “I believe that I am a chicken.” You would not believe me. You would rightly conclude, “Then why are your seated in my living room carrying on a conversation with me? If you really believe that you are a chicken, you should act like a chicken. You should cluck and search for food with your beak, all the while avoiding people.” You see, you would compare my words with my actions. You would base your conclusion on my actions. You know that we live what we believe.
How do you know that? Each of us believes that water comes from the faucet. We demonstrate that faith every time we place a cup under the faucet and turn the handle. We each believe in gravity. We demonstrate our faith by placing our spoon underneath our Cheerios. Faith resides in our will. What we believe directs our life. What we believe is guided by our mind. We do not arbitrarily choose to act. We act in faith on what our mind has concluded is truth. Our mind may be wrong but our action proves our belief.

The Emotions:
The third area of our heart is the emotions. Probably the greatest confusion about our heart revolves around the emotions. For many, emotions are like sensors that discover hidden dangers in the situations around them. Others refer to being led by their emotions. Both of these concepts are inconsistent with the Biblical teaching about emotions. Emotions are not an active element of our heart that can sense problems, discover danger, or drive our thinking. Emotions are always a passive response to our thinking and the success of our volitional strategies.
Imagine placing a rattlesnake next to an infant. Will the newborn experience the emotion of fear? Of course not! Why not? Because the child does not know that the snake is dangerous. I have asked hundreds of people this question. All of them recognize immediately that the mind produces the emotion of fear regarding the rattlesnake. The emotion is a response to the thinking.
Let’s allow the infant to grow up. The infant is now a herpetologist who specializes in rattlesnakes. Will he be afraid? He will be cautious, but his years of experience with snakes will help him to anticipate the snake’s behavior and avoid a painful strike. He will carefully move away, fully aware that if he moves slowly, the snake will not sense danger and will therefore not strike.
On the other hand, if you put the snake next to me, I will be filled with terror. I am convinced that all snakes are malicious creatures that exist to sneak up on people and kill them with either their venomous bite or their creepy touch. My wrong thinking leads me to fear. My snake-loving friends assist me to overcome my fear of snakes by instructing me about snakes. They explain which snakes are venomous and the fact that even venomous snakes do not want to waste their venom on me since I am too big to eat. To the extent that I learn what they are teaching me (the mind) and believe it to be true, putting it into practice (the will), I am freed from the emotion of fear.

Summary:
The greatest commandment is found in Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might.” The heart includes our mind, our will, and our emotions. With our mind we process information and develop strategies to meet our deepest needs to be loved and valued. With our will we implement the strategies. And our emotions respond to our success in meeting our needs. When we remember that God is all that we need, and we choose to rest in Him by demonstrating love to those around us, we find real peace and joy. And that is a good thing!

Religion

2010-08-11T05:27:00.000-07:00

Jesus told a story about the final judgment In Matthew 25:31-46.
"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. "And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' "Then they themselves also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

We are probably familiar with the imagery he gave of sheep and goats. He rewarded the sheep for doing good deeds to Him, while the goats were destroyed for failing in these same deeds. This morning I saw this in a new light.

It is a strong temptation to see the list of things done by the sheep and then engage in those activities. We may even work hard to remember while doing it, “I am serving Jesus.” However, the sheep had no idea at all that they were doing these deeds for Jesus. I wonder if Jesus’ point is that they did these things without the slightest inclination that they were religious activities. The goats seem to be flabbergasted that Jesus points to a religious failure. They ask, “When did we see You, and fail to serve?” The sheep, on the other hand, thought that they had not done anything religiously. They ask, “When did we see You and serve You?”

The difference between the sheep and the goats seems to be found in the fact that the sheep have joined the secular and the spiritual in a simple life. The goats, still trapped in their ritualism, seek to get the religious elements of life right. It may be that the Christian is not the person who smiles at the homeless man as a witness to the love of Christ. Instead, the Christian may be the man who smiles at the homeless man just because he loves people. He isn’t trying to live the Christian life, he is just living. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20-21

Podcast

2009-09-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

Cornerstone Fellowship is trying to podcast our sermons. If you are interested you can subscribe at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=333036720 .

I would love to hear your thoughts.

WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY?

2009-08-31T06:55:00.000-07:00

What is Christianity? I mean at the very center of our faith what is there? Maybe I am talking about what C.S. Lewis called, “Mere Christianity” and Chesterton referred to simply as “Orthodoxy”. If we were to compare the faith of Adam, Abraham, Peter, Augustine, Calvin, Sproul, Miquel in Belize, Don Michael in Scotland and Thokosani in Malawi, what would they have in common? The expression of their faiths is vastly different but surely the central characteristics would be the same.

I am firmly convinced of Covenant Theology. Covenant Theology believes that the unifying idea of all of Scripture is the covenant of God. The covenant is, simply put, the terms of man’s relationship with God. We can use lots of words to describe it but the central concept of a covenant is a relationship. I think that relationship with the one true God is the heart of Christianity. God initiated a relationship with His image in creation. That relationship was broken by sin but restored through Jesus. This relationship was at the heart of the Old Testament worship which included sacrifices and feasts. In the New Testament it is central to the sacraments of baptism (in which one enters a relationship with God and His church) and Communion. For this reason Jesus describes the greatest commandments as loving God and loving our neighbor. That is to say, maintaining right relationships.

I am sad that too often relationship with God has been replaced with a reliance on religious rites. The rites are good but not as replacements for knowing Jesus, John 17:3. We read and study our Bibles confident that this is the way to eternal life all the while missing Jesus say to us, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” We list our prayer requests in bulletins and web-pages. We read the list to God expecting Him to heal our diseases and make us prosperous all the while missing that God’s plan for us includes suffering and hardship which enable us to trust Him more tenaciously. Our hope is to be His presence through the difficulties rather than the removal of hardship, Psalm 23:4. And yet we go on in our superstitious religion while God still invites us to more, Isaiah 1:14-18, 29:13; Revelation 2:4, 3:18-20.

A friend recently asked me, “How is Jesus exalted in The Shack?” At first I wanted to write about the truths found in The Shack but I hate being an apologist for men and I do not think he really wanted an answer. Non-the-less, my answer to him is this short observation. Jesus is exalted in The Shack as William Young tries to direct people away for the superstitious elements of Christianity and back to the heart of our faith, a relationship with the one true God.

The Shack: Review of a Review

2009-08-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Recently I had two different people refer me to Tim Challies review of The Shack. I am not a polemicist. Although I loved The Shack, I do not want to defend William P. Young. What i do want to do is encourage God's people to meet the real God who loves us so much that he took on human flesh, died for us, rose again and continues to relate to us through His Spirit. The Shack points us to that goal.

You can access Tim Challies' critique at http://www.challies.com/archives/book-reviews/the-shack-by-william-p-young.php

In the following paragraphs I will respond to some of the comments that Challies makes in his critique. Challies breaks down several flaws he sees in The Shack.

THE TRINITY
“Young teaches that the Trinity exists entirely without hierarchy and that any kind of hierarchy is the result of sin. The Trinity, he says, “are in a circle of relationship, not a chain of command or ‘great chain of being’… Hierarchy would make no sense among us.” Now it’s possible that he is referring to a kind of dominance or grade or command structure that may well be foreign to the godhead.” That is exactly what William Young says he is referring to. The section quoted above begins on page 121 with a question from Mack, “Isn’t one of you more the boss than the other two?” The issue that Young is addressing in his statements about hierarchy in the Godhead is the issue of “command structure.” It is too bad that Challies missed that part of the story and therefore the point. Apparently he actually agrees with Wiliam Young on this point.

Challies continues, “And the Bible makes it clear that there is some kind of hierarchy even within the Trinity. The Spirit and the Son have submitted themselves to the Father. The task of the Spirit is to lead people to the Son who in turn brings glory to the Father. Never do we find the Father submitting to the Spirit or to the Son.” Does not the Father submit to the Son when the Father answers Jesus prayers, particularly the prayer that He glorify the Son, John 17:1. In this the Father shows the mutuality of submission by giving glory to Jesus. The economic unity of the Godhead as displayed in Ephesians 1:3-14 is clear that the members of the Trinity work in concert with one another, all united in purpose all in absolute agreement with one another mutually submitting to each other in the given arenas of their work in salvation.

Challies writes,“There are other teachings about the Trinity that concerned me. For example, Papa says “I am truly human, in Jesus.” This simply cannot be true. God [the Father—a term that the author avoids] is not fully human in Jesus.” Jesus Himself said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” How is Young’s statement any different? Is it possible that when Papa made the statement he was referring to the unity of the Godhead?

Challies himself stumbles over the concept of the Trinity when he refers to the Father as God and Jesus and the Spirit as distinct from God. “but otherwise God is this woman. Jesus is a young to middle-aged man of Middle-Eastern (i.e. Jewish) descent with a big nose and rather plain looks while the Holy Spirit is played by Sarayu, a small, delicate and eclectic woman of Asian descent. By this point many people will choose to close the book and be done with it. But for the purposes of this review, let’s just assume you are able to get past seeing God and the Holy Spirit portrayed in this way and let’s press on.” Obviously when Challies refers to God here he means the Father. Young avoids this rather common error. He always refers to the members of the Godhead according to their titles, Father, Son and Spirit while together they are God. In fact on page 87 Mack asks, “which one of you is God? I am said all three in unison.”

FORGIVENESS
Challies writes, “Nowhere in Scripture will we find the idea that we can or should forgive an unrepentant person for this kind of crime. Rather, Scripture makes it clear that repentance must precede forgiveness. Without repentance there can be no forgiveness.” Actually the opposite is true. Romans 5:7 indicates that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. Ephesians 4:32 calls us to forgive just like God in Christ forgave us. In addition, if repentance precedes forgiveness, have we not made our work a requirement for salvation. Another problem with Challies’ assertion is that it would be possible for someone to be regenerated but not forgiven in that he may not have repented yet. Add to this the difficulty of which sins need repentance before forgiveness? It would be possible, if not probable, that a man has unknown sins that he never repents of doing. By Challies’ statement, he is not forgiven. In fact, no one could be and grace is now removed.

SCRIPTURE AND REVELATION
“’In seminary [Mac] had been taught that God had completely stopped any overt communication with moderns, preferring to have them only listen to and follow sacred Scripture, properly interpreted, of course. God’s voice had been reduced to paper, and even that paper had to be moderated and deciphered by the proper authorities and intellects… Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book. Especially an expensive one bound in leather with gilt edges, or was that guilt edges?’” Here we see Young pointing away from Scripture rather than towards it. Through Mack he scoffs at the idea that God has spoken authoritatively and sufficiently through the Bible. The point that Young is making is the exact same point made by Jesus in John 5:39-40, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life”. God is not silent. Psalm 19 tells us that He screams through creation. John 13 and 16 both have lengthy sections referring to the work of the Spirit in leading and guiding us. Psalm 37:4 speaks of God subjectively giving us desires. A major point of the Shack is to move believers away from formalism and into a vital relationship with Jesus Christ.

SALVATION
Challies states, “He denies that all roads lead to him (since most roads lead nowhere) but says instead, ‘I will travel any road to find you,’ Whether Young holds to universalism or not, and whether he believes that all faiths can lead a person to God, the book neither affirms nor refutes." The contradiction presented by Challies here is mind-boggling. He asserts that the book neither affirms or refutes whether all faiths lead to God one sentence after he observed that Young “denies that all roads lead to him…but says instead, “I will travel any road to find you.” Young is a little Arminian at best on this point but for Challies to refer to the clear statement that Young makes denying universalism and then assert that Young never affirms or refutes it is intellectually dishonest.

CONCLUSION
Challies frequently opines that Young does not give biblical proof. It seems to me that Challies is asking this novel to be an exegetical work. That is not the point. The book is a novel and is held to different literary standards than a systematic theology textbook.

I think that The Shack is an excellent book. It has weaknesses. Young is fuzzy in some of his theology. The book is also kind of preachy; but most of it is supposed to be God speaking. The Shack challenges the formalistic tradition laden Church to think about her practices. For too long we have treated our faith like a superstitious practice rather than a real relationship with the living God. I for one want to worship a real God; one who is able to be utterl transcendant and yet reach into my life. How about you?

LIES

2009-07-28T10:32:00.001-07:00

LIES

I was watching August Rush tonight and was deeply moved by the wonder of innocence. It was not the innocence of never sinning but the innocence of believing the truth. I wept as I thought of my own efforts to make my sons strong by teaching them the lie that pain is natural. Somehow during my life I gave up on hoping that happiness is my natural state. And I have worked to kill that innocence in my own sons. God forgive me and overcome the lies.

We are fed lies throughout our lives. These lies lead us to settle for mediocrity instead of the godish existence that we were designed to experience. I want to consider some of these.

We are told that this is all there is. The idea of heaven is an escape from reality. It is a convenient delusion that makes the pain of our existence bearable. We hear people talk about recently deceased people by saying, "They are better off...” even when these people were truly mean and nasty in their lives. Honest people begin to wonder if all this talk about it being better later is just a smokescreen to hide the pain.

The truth is that there is more than we see. Reality includes things that we simply cannot experience with our five senses. Every child knows it. He expects a Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and a loving God. The failure of the first two brings doubt as to the third. But God is real. Look at the stars, consider a blade of grass, a butterfly and your ability to consider them and then try to doubt. Romans says that God has written in our hearts, the child says, "Well duh!"

The alternate lie occurs shortly after a person believes. When we return to childlike faith in the existence of a loving God we are told that is all that matters. The body is just a prison for the soul. We must endure our sentence on Earth and wait for the day when we will be released to our 'spiritual' existence.

And yet when I look into my wife's eyes and see her loving smile at me I know better. When I hold my child in my arms and feel them release themselves completely to my protection, I know that moment is important. When I listen to a woman explain how she was raped by her step-father every day for eight years, and yet she wants to be a good mother to her daughters, I am convinced that the actions we take in this life matter intensely. Life is now not just later.

Every child knows it. They do not dream of survival but of thriving, succeeding and changing this world. Why would a child ever endure 12 years of school if the future here had no value?

Life is wonderful. It really fills me with wonder. We can see green. We can smell cookies baking; hear music and the waves rolling onto the beach. We can touch skin; that warm soft smooth wonder that covers every one of us. We can think, imagine and dream. We can create wonderful things for our pleasure and use. We have friends and family who show us that we are important. We can love so deeply that we would die to bring good to our loved one's life. In this we can feel as God feels. And that matters.

We have heard that we are small, insignificant and even evil creatures who are repulsive to a transcendent God. When we say the wrong thing as children our parents yell at us. "What is wrong with you?, they ask when we act out in public. We are not sure what the answer is but eventually we assume there must be something wrong with us or why would we make people mad.

We go to church and sing, "Would He devote that sacred head for such a worm as I." and "that saved a wretch like me." The Church buildings are designed to make me feel small. When we do something very well and feel a sense of pride at our accomplishment, well meaning people tell us to be humble and say, "It wasn't me."

A child is born at ease with the world revolving around him. He expects to be cared for. It is right to the new-born that others should meet his needs without question or thanks. As she grows the child thinks that looking at her twirl will give other people joy. She expects others to delight in her because she knows that she is a wonder to behold. And she is right.

I read in the Bible that every human being is the image of God. God says that He loves men and is not ashamed to call them his brethren or children. He takes joy in us. He bragged about Moses' humility and Job's integrity. He was proud of Abraham's faith, David's heart and Daniel's purity. I think that He may be right. There is no question that we sin in heinous ways but that is not the whole story of who we are.

I really love me. I look in the mirror and see a man that I can trust. He will look out for my well being. He is kind and gentle, sometimes impatient but that isn't his heart. He really loves people and wants them to know Jesus. I see people around me who can calculate pi, create from nothing a useful tool, solve an enormous problem or explain to me ideas about God that fill my heart with joy.

No man can take my choice to live and my choice to love life. I can choose, regardless of the punishment, to enjoy this magnificent life that God has given me. Therefore I will not be afraid. If God is for me, who can be against me?

I think that I am tired of these lies. I am not going to believe them anymore. I am going to tell everyone I meet the truth. I hope that some will believe it.

THE MOVE

2009-06-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well we are "settled" in. Most of the empty boxes are stored and all we need to do is place pictures on walls, along with our map of the UK.

We packed up the truck on Friday May 22. We had some good help from some dear friends in Mesa. I appreciate the willingness of these people to help us. I left Saturday around 9:00 while Mike went to a Karate seminar until noon when he and Robin headed East. We met up outside of Albuquerque where we stayed the night. Vince preached at Providence PCA and we said good bye to the Steels.

We arrived in Chattanooga on Wednesday evening and had a great time with Pat, Brit and Britney's brother, Joel. Patrick surprised us with his latest addition, a piece of metal piercing his left ear lobe. It looks very good on him. We ate TGIFridays so that Vince could have some fried green beans. Then we hung out at the river and simply enjoyed each other.

Thursday was a long drive to Melbourne. We left at 4:00 am so that we could take Joel to the airport in Atlanta. We arrived in Melbourne around 6:00 pm and crashed for the night. Friday was moving day in which lots of folks from Cornerstone showed up to help us into the second story apartment. These folks even helped take some of our stuff up to the loft.

Our apartment is wonderful. It is very roomy with a great area for the office. Mike and I spent many hours assembling bookcases and a desk but it almost finished. Maybe one more bookcase. Our complex has a pool table which accommodated Mike and Jamie for a quick game. We have all played a few times. Our building has eight units with one currently empty. We have met all of the neighbors except one. Please pray for us to build relationship with our neighbors.

We discovered that Disney lets you get in for free on your birthday. Robin's birthday was June 1 so we decided to celebrate at Epcot. A lady from Cornerstone had a free pass so for the price of one we got three of us into Epcot. It was a great day. We got to see replications of the UK, Morocco, China and France. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and did not even get sun burned. It was a great time to remember just how perfect Robin is. I love her so very much and thank God that I get to spend my life with her.

We have been at Cornerstone for three Sundays. We are getting to know the folks and can almost recall all of their names. This week was my first in the pulpit. Cornerstone has chosen to do a program called 40 days of love through Saddleback Community Church in California. Each of the families read a chapter a day from "The Relationship Principles of Jesus"We meet on Wednesday, share a meal discuss our readings and watch a video expounding 1 Corinthians 13. In conjunction with this I am preaching on some of the "reciprocal" commands in the New Testament. Today, I opened up John 13:34-35 and Jesus new commandment to love one another. I plan to look at serve one another, submit to one another, honor one another and forgive one another. We hope that this will help Cornerstone move forward after the devastating last couple of years.

We would love to hear from you. And begin to make plans to come visit. We are only 10 minutes from the soft and and warm waters of the Florida coast.

Farewell to Scotland

2009-04-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

Acts 16:6-10
6 They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 7 and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Dear friends,
I recently took some time to meditate on Paul's experiences that led him to Philippi. His first desire was to go to Asia. Vast multitudes of unsaved people lived without the gospel and yet he was forbidden by the Spirit of God to preach in Asia. How would Paul respond to this prohibition? Obviously he would obey but was he as perplexed by it as I am? I can see Paul wrestling with God, reminding Him of the great commission to make disciples of ALL THE NATIONS. And yet God resolutely said, "no".

He then turned his attention to Bithynia; another land in great need of the gospel. Once again the Spirit opposes him. How did the Spirit "prevent" Paul? Was there a voice? A vision? Or were the circumstances orchestrated in such a way that Paul understood the movement of God in His life? It would be easy to be discouraged at this point but instead Paul went on to Philippi where he would hear the beautiful question, "What must I do to be saved?"

I find this passage very instructive. First it teaches me that God is actively involved in my life. He has not given a command and then left me alone to figure it out. He leads and directs sometimes in very confusing ways.

We have sensed His call to Scotland. Mostly because we long to reach the world for Jesus and we were invited to serve in Scotland. Over the last year, we have found a deep passion to bring the gospel to the unbelievers in Scotland. This passion has guided us to work diligently in recruiting and leading our team. It has also sustained us as we traveled around the world trying to raise the necessary financial support. Everyone involved expected this to take about two years.

After one year we are still at around 25% of our needed funds. We know that our job is to make contacts and then present the vision and the need. It is up to God to move the hearts of His people to send us to Scotland. He has not so moved them. People see the need, acknowledge our unique giftedness to reach the need and yet not enough people and churches are able to support us. The best conclusion that we can draw from this is that God will not permit us to go into Scotland. We, like Paul, do not want to fight God.

After Paul was prevented from entering Bithynia, God gave him a vision of a man in Macedonia pleading with him to come over and help them. Paul wisely chose to follow the vision.

Just when we were considering if God was blocking our path to Scotland through the lack of support, we received an email from one of our supporters asking if I would be interested in serving as the pastor of their Church. After much prayer, many discussions and seeking counsel, we decided to send a resume to the Church and ask God to reveal His will through the process. In the end, Cornerstone Fellowship has called me to serve as their pastor. They have a deep desire to reach their community and the world with the good news of Jesus. We have therefore concluded that God has not only closed the door for us to go to Scotland but that He is opening a field of rich service in Florida.

We will begin our work with Cornerstone in mid-June. Until then we will still receive our salary from MTW. Thank you for your gifts over the last year. We have seen God bear fruit through our labors. Our vision for the Church has grown and we are again ready to enter the pastoral ministry. Please pray for our labors as we seek to help Cornerstone develop and implement an outreach strategy for their neighborhood. We will likewise work to find how we can impact the world through cross-cultural missions.

You have been God's instruments to care for our family for the last year. Your prayer has kept us strong against the many temptations that we have faced. Your financial gifts have driven away our discouragement and met our needs allowing us to reach out beyond ourselves. We thank you and we thank God for you.

In Jesus' love,

Vince

Michael

2009-03-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

I guess it is appropriate for a Father to be proud of his sons. The Father expressed His pride in Jesus when he said, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him!" Here is a video of Michael hitting a buzzer beater. Not only did Michael show athletic prowess this season, he demonstrated a great character, extending grace to those who did not deserve it. I am so very proud of him!

MTW Scotland

2009-02-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

MTW SCOTLAND
The Goal of MTW Scotland
is to establish
Church Planting
movements
in the 5 major
population centers of Scotland.

Once the Church in Scotland was a city on a hill; sending missionaries throughout the world. Scotland produced such shining lights as David Livingstone and Eric Liddell who carried the message of salvation by God’s grace to the uttermost parts of the world. Today less than 3 percent of Scotland’s population is Evangelical Christian. It is heartbreaking to see the light slowly covered up by the darkness.

MTW Scotland is a team of church-planters and resource workers working to reap a harvest among the Scottish people. It is their plan to work with various Scottish denominations to establish church-planting movements in all five major population centers in Scotland. They will be involved in churches that are strongly committed to growth through evangelism; believing that Jesus will build His Church, Matthew 16:18, by the power of the Gospel, Romans 1:16.
MTW Scotland intends to help reach Scotland through the following areas of ministry.

Church planting
The goal of Mission to the World is to build church-planting movements, whose energy continues to grow far into the future, long after MTW workers are gone. In keeping with this goal, MTW Scotland will help plant Churches that focus on reaching Scottish communities with the life transforming message of the gospel.

Church Revitalization
MTW Scotland will seek to place workers in her partner Denominations in order to help facilitate revitalizing strategic congregations. These workers will be involved in a wide variety of ministries designed to rebuild the Church in Scotland and help her effectively reach her nation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Family Support Scotland
Family Support Scotland is a charity-based counselling service that offers support to individuals, couples and families as they deal with a wide range of issues including: depression, marital problems, anxiety and child-parent problems.

Evangelism and Discipleship
MTW Scotland team members will all be involved in sharing the gospel in their neighborhoods and through the various ministry fields in which they serve. Her members will actively serve in local congregations to strengthen the faith of believers in Scotland.

Youth and University
God is moving among the youth in Scotland. MTW Scotland will seek to educate young people about the work of Jesus Christ and its implications for their lives.

Short-term teams
Many American Churches have a great interest in the work in Scotland. This interest will find expression through one and two week mission trips. MTW Scotland will help to connect US and Scottish churches of similar convictions to work together in the expansion of the gospel throughout Scotland.

We need people to pray for our success, support us financially or join us in Scotland. Is God calling you to join in our effort to reclaim Scotland for Jesus Christ? Join us in praying like John Knox “God, give me Scotland or I die!”

For more information about MTW Scotland contact
Vince Wood
vrwood@live.com

February

2009-02-03T13:24:00.001-08:00

The Wood Family
vrwood@live.com

February 2009

Dear friends,

Recently we had the opportunity to speak at a Mission's Conference. The theme of the conference was The Gospel Under Attack. The keynote speaker gave a stirring presentation of the attack on believers in Muslim countries. It was eye-opening to consider the dangers faced by those who give their life to Jesus.

In one of the 'break-out' sessions, Vince was asked to describe how the gospel is being opposed in Scotland. This provided us the opportunity to seriously consider the warfare being waged for souls in Scotland. In addition we realized that as we seek to take the Gospel to people who are perishing, we face opposition from a demonically cruel and angelically powerful enemy. Peter describes our enemy as a roaring lion. We have seen and heard a roaring lion. We grasp the seriousness of Peter's warning.

One of the difficulties we face is that we are here in the US and our work is in Scotland. As we are in the States, the need to build trust with our Scottish partners remains. Satan tirelessly tries to drive wedges between those committed to reaching the world for Jesus. Distance is a great tool that Satan uses to breed distrust. We have seen some of this develop recently with our brothers in Scotland. We need to be on site to sit face to face and reassure our coworkers in Christ.

Our separation from the field also brings difficulty to our team. Some of our members are struggling and we cannot assist them. Others will be moving to Scotland unaided, trying to begin a ministry without the leadership they need. Recruits need to visit Scotland to get a feel for the ministry to discern God's call. Vince, as Team Leader, needs to be there to provide the necessary leadership.

In addition to these difficulties, we also face personal attacks. As Vince was away traveling recently, he experienced great waves of discouragement. While we are raising support we are limited in the amount of service we can render to our local church. We love Christ's church. We love to serve her. And yet, as we are frequently gone, our involvement is greatly limited. On a positive note, recently at our apartment complex, the three of us were able to share the gospel with two couples, one of whom admitted that Vince was the first pastor she had ever met. Please pray for these couples and for more ministry opportunities to our neighbors.

Will you please pray for us? As we face such attacks from that roaring lion, please ask God to place a hedge of protection around us keeping us strong against the temptation for discouragement. As the armies of Joshua were strengthened while Moses prayed, may God empower us to resist the devil through your intercession on our behalf.

Will you join our team? Our monthly support is currently about 25% of our total need but we draw close to 40% from our account each month to cover living expenses and travel costs. We also need to have 80% pledged by June if we are to meet our January 2010 goal to move to Scotland.

• Have you planned to support us but you haven't gotten around to it yet? Have you forgotten or lost our pledge information? We understand how that happens!

• Will you jump on board now? Will you give monthly or a one time gift?

• Please contact MTW at the address below and commit yourself to sending us to Scotland.

Let us know if you or your church would like us to visit and share more specifics about our work. We are open to speak at any gathering in which we can promote the work of Jesus around the world.

We are very confident that you pray for us regularly. We are very thankful for those who are faithfully supporting us financially as well. Thank you! We thank God for you and your participation in the gospel.

In Jesus’ love,

Vince, Robin and Michael

please send support or pledges to
MTW
PO Box 116284
Atlanta, GA 30368-6284
Account #18279

Christmas letter

2008-12-10T10:40:00.000-08:00

The Woods

December 2008

Dear family and friends,
Merry Christmas! We hope that you are well and enjoying the holiday season.
Our lives have been filled with some significant changes during 2008. Change involves mourning the lost past and looking with hope to the opportunities that the future holds. Here is a quick recap on these changes in our lives.
The beginning of 2008 was filled with much prayer and deliberation in our home as we decided on a career change. This was not a mid-life crisis type of change but an opportunity to reach further out in our passion to see people embrace the love of Jesus. March marked our acceptance as Missionaries to Scotland. On the last Sunday of April, Vince resigned as the Pastor of Immanuel Presbyterian Church after 14 and a half years of service. We had seen much change in this congregation during our tenure and we pray that she will keep her focus on reaching the world for Christ.
In April, we also sold our house. We are so thankful that the house sold quickly in the midst of a declining market. We moved into a friend’s vacant home as a temporary measure. We needed time to get our bearings in the midst of the myriad of changes we were facing and our friends needed help remodeling the house. It was a match made in heaven. On December 12 we will move into our new apartment. (Please note our new address.)
In August, we packed up a small U-Haul trailer and drove to Chattanooga, Tennessee where Patrick began his Junior year at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Pat is majoring in Music Theory and Composition. He found jobs at a local music store and working on the stage crew at UTC. This change has been dramatic and good in his life.
Back in Mesa, Michael began his Sophomore/Junior year at a charter school named Heritage Academy. After 10 years of homeschooling, Michael is excelling in this new environment. He is the starting point guard on the JV basketball team. He loves making new friends and finding opportunities to talk about Jesus in this new venue.
Robin is adjusting to an empty house during the days along with the pleasure of running Mike to and from school. She has been diligent to run the administrative aspects of our mission as she prepares our home for an overseas move. In addition, she is trying to build relationships with some of the women on our Scotland team while she also meets with several ladies here in Mesa. Hopefully the next few months will find Robin with brush, paint and canvas expressing herself with artistic flair.
Vince is trying to raise a support team in the States while recruiting members to join us in Scotland. In addition, he is overseeing the current members in Scotland. He
travels a lot just now but enjoys promoting missions in the churches where he is privileged to speak. He has developed a basic strategy for the work of MTW Scotland. Of course this will be adjusted somewhat when we discover more of the needs of Scotland.
We find that the past has taken from us much that we mourn losing. We loved our time with small sons whom we could direct as they discovered their call from God. We have left behind the wonderful experience of leading a congregation to reach out in the name of Jesus with love to a dying world. We no longer rest in the house we called home for six years. Truly the past swallows many joyous times.
And yet the future is filled with such bright hope. Patrick has heard the Lord whisper his name. He is busy pursuing that high calling with great confidence that God will be with him. Mike is listening to God and preparing himself to follow exactly where Jesus calls him to go. We have left a rich ministry and full baskets of fruit in Mesa with full assurance that even greater fruit awaits the picking in Scotland. The future is filled with hope because Jesus said, “All authority is given unto me in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples…”
On the first Christmas God was so thrilled with the birth of His Son that He sent an angelic choir to Earth to sing. Remember their words which describe Jesus’ will for His creation, “Peace on the Earth and good will to men with whom He is pleased.” We truly want all of us to experience the hope that those words convey.
We hope you have a very happy Christmas and a New Year filled with hope.
In Jesus’ love,

Vince, Robin, Pat and Mike

And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. Isaiah 58:12