Update and Psalm 125

Totally last track of time and did not realize it had been so long since I wrote a blog update, I have my sister to thank for reminding me!

Anyway, over the past week the house has come a lot nearer to completion! Almost the entire floor is tiled, with just a few spots left and then the trim/baseboard around the entire floor. We then have to cut and put up the trimming around the doors, hang the doors, finish electrical and plumbing work, and it will be ready to go!

The section of the Bible I am going to write about this time is Psalm 125. The whole Chapter is really good and I encourage you to read it, but I will be focusing on verses 1-2.

“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forever more.

 I really enjoy the comparison of those who trust in the Lord to a mountain, when I think of mountains, I really cannot comprehend just house much rock and strength there is there. They are huge, their roots reach deep, and they are completely, totally and utterly immovable. God is promising us that if we trust in Him, by his strength we will be like mountains. We will not be moved or shaken, and just as we are like mountains, God surrounds us with a love even stronger than that to protect us. This is a great reminder for anyone who is struggling or being attacked in some way, God will protect and provide you the strength to make it through. So take heart and trust in the Lord!

Update and thoughts on Psalm 91

Over the past week, the house out back finally reached its final stages. I spent Monday varnishing all the trim board for around the doors and windows, and we are now tiling the floors as well! One of the rooms is totally finished, Monday I will be cutting the edge tiles to fit into place for the 2^nd room that is being tiled, and so on until the floors are completely tiled. I also have gone into Cap Haitien a couple times to help with getting the mail, as well as going to the market for supplies.

This past week has been somewhat difficult for me. I have not been sleeping well at all as well as feeling sick, and I have had difficulty focusing on God, and drifted away from the reasons he brought me here. This has resulted in me burning out drastically, and not even wanting to be here anymore. Yesterday I was talking to my mentor, and he said I should read Psalm 91 and meditate and pray over it and see what God said to me. While the entire thing was very encouraging, a couple parts of the passage in particular stood out to me, and really spoke to me:

Psalm 91:1-3, 14-15: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

I heard the Lord telling me that I needed to rest in Him, and to trust Him. I was calling out to Him, and he would answer. And because I follow His voice and calling, he will deliver and honor me. This was very encouraging too read and a great reminder. Following God isn’t always the easiest thing in the world to do, and it can wear down on us, especially when we forget Him and draw away from Him, which I had done. In these verses God promises us rest and protection, but how can He do that if we turn our backs on Him? I know for a fact that my parents love me to death and growing up in their house I had every need provided for me, but they couldn’t have done this if I ran away or something like that. It is the same with our relationship with God. If you feel He isn’t responding to you, or that He has abandoned you, see if you have really been pursuing God and developing a relationship with Him. If we don’t take the time to get to know God through His word, which is one of the main ways He speaks to us, we won’t know how to look for or listen for his voice when He wants to speak to us.

In Christ,
David

Halfway!

Today was the halfway point of my journey here in Haiti-5 weeks down, 5 to go.

Over the past 5 weeks God has done a lot of work in my life. I came down here worried about what was going to happen, if God was going to abandon me, and how I was going to survive 10 whole weeks down here. God has shown me that He does NOT lead me somewhere only to abandon me, He will be there side by side with me as I experience it. He has also shown me to a deeper level what it truly means to be a Servant of the King, and that to follow Him will mean sacrifice and changing how I live.

Looking ahead to the next 5 weeks, I anticipate growing to even deeper levels in my faith, as well as seeing God’s work even more here at COTP.

Also, today at a Bible study I lead, I used Romans 8, focusing on verses 9-11:

⁹ You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,he does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

I gave part of my testimony along with this, as an example of how God will free you from the bondage of your sins, and you will die to sin if His spirit is in you. So be encouraged: if you are in a rut of sin, God is there with you, and you just need turn to Him and give your burdens to Him, and He will free you from your bondage.

In Christ,
David

June is gone...I must have blinked.

Wow. Already July…where did June go????

Over the past week we finally finished screening the windows, as well as pretty much cleaning out the house. One of the construction workers here did finishing work on the bathroom and kitchen counters, so those look really nice now. Nick also got back from the states today so we will be starting on tiling in the next day or so. He is hoping to move into the house by the end of July. Yesterday (Sunday July 1^st) some of the other volunteers and I went on a walk with a few of the kids, and that was pretty fun as well.

As I was reading my Bible last night, I came to 1^st Peter Chapter 2. I am going to list of a few verses that spoke to me, and what I hear God saying through them

Verse 9, 11-12: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God…Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us

- When I read this, I was really convicted on whether or not I lived up to this, or even really tried too. When people watch me and my actions, word choices, media choices, and the way I act, can they see God through it? Or do they just see another person who calls himself a Christian, yet is the same as everyone else in the world. Sometimes I think there is a difference, but other times I know there isn’t. And there needs to be, we cannot be strong and true witness to the kingdom of God if when people look at us, they see no difference.

I think one the reasons God brought me on this trip was to see this, the nannies that work here in the baby house are SO on fire for God. Most mornings and evenings, they sing and pray. While they are doing this they are so incredibly passionate for God, and so much fun to watch and join in with, even if I can’t understand what they are singing, I know we are all praising God. One night a couple weeks ago, one of the nannies gave her testimony about her life and what God has done for her. I don’t remember details or specific things, but I do remember that she has a had a very difficult life, a life that we cannot understand with our never ending wealth and such, and yet her trust and faith in God and in seeing how God pulled her through and was with her was amazing. When I listened to her story and saw her passion, I saw a difference.

“Give me all of you!!! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want YOU!!! ALL OF YOU!! I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to KILL IT! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self---in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity