3rd Quarter Update-2023

Hi Friends & Family!

And we are already into the last quarter of another year.  We were blessed with another grandchild in August.  Eleanor Faye made her debut into the world and is healthy and well. 

3 teams from the U.S. visited us this last quarter.   Ps Eliut Alicea brought a team from Bridge of Life Church in St Augustine. They were of great help to our teams in a number of areas, including helping to fence in our fish ponds in Pumula South.

Dr David Wyns brought a team from Barnaba Ministries to encourage not only our pastors but also a great number from in and around Bulawayo.

Paul Wilbur Ministries also visted in September to help continue well drilling for the Lemba Tribe in Mberenga. The Lembas are one of the last tribes of Jewish people who were recently discovered right here in Zimbabwe

Our Celebration Church building for conducting Celebration School of Ministry is 90%+ comple. .  We will be able to  restart these classes this month with 29 new students.  

Please keep the following in your prayers:

Economy of Zim, as inflation continues and the job market remains minimal.

Provision, faith, focus on God for the people here.  Hope is easy to lose in dire circumstances.

Open eyes for God to point us where He can use us, patience and compassion in the daily opportunities He gives us, revelation and understanding when things don’t make sense in the natural.

Please keep us lifted in prayer whenever you think of us. It makes a huge difference!

As the needs grow around us, so does our need for support.  Please consider joining our support team.  It can be a one time gift, monthly support, quarterly, annually – whatever works best for your budget! If you have any questions about supporting, or have something specific in mind, just send an email – we would love to chat!!!

The easiest and quickest way to help is through our website   www.mikepier.org  Click on the DONATE tab at the top. Other methods listed below.  Thanks again for your love and support.

FOR TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS:

  1. DONATE ONLINE!

WorldOutreach.org/068 

  • MAIL CHECKS:
    World Outreach Ministries, Inc.
    P.O. Box B
    Marietta, GA 30061
    (designate for our account)

FIRST QUARTER-2023

Welcome to the first update of 2023.

Praying this finds you all well so far this year.  We think about you all often – scanning social media for glimpses of your lives.  Know that we share in your joys and sorrows and pray for you all.  Please let us know if there are specific prayer requests you would like us to agree with as we all pray.

2023 is off to a busy start.  We have seen an increase in teams this year – some have been here already and quite a few are yet to come.   While the basic setup of each team is similar (airport welcome, ground logistics, etc.), it is absolutely amazing to see the ministry opportunities that God has set up for each one of them – they are vastly different.  It is a privilege and blessing to be part of and to watch as each person on each team carries out their purpose for being here.  We have seen people make lifelong friends, meet their sponsored children in person (always emotional!), some have even bonded with a child here that is in need of a sponsor and filled that need while they are here!  Teams are an awesome part of what we do here.

With April comes a month long break from school for most kids here.  They start in January, attend for 3 months (term 1) then have a month break.  This is repeated 2 more times (April, August & December are the holiday months) to complete the school year.  It is much easier to think of a new school year starting with the new calendar year.  It’s a little hard explaining the US school year/system sometimes.  In addition to assisting with mission teams as they come, we also sponsor kids here.  We currently have 13 kids we help.  They range from elementary age up through college.  We help with things from school fees, school supplies, transportation to and from school (no school buses here), food, uniforms, extra lessons (tutoring), shoes and fees for their exams.  I don’t think we will ever get accustomed to the reactions when we help a student continue on with school.  It means the difference between being able to go to school and having to drop out.  Several have been the first in their family to ever attend university. 

We would like to thank each and every one of you for your support – both prayers and financial.  Without them, we would not be able to do what we do.  In addition to the 13 kids we sponsor, your support also helps us: assist with medications and physician visits, register patients for hospice, provide a warm blanket to new moms and a number of people without any blanket at all during winter; food for those who have lost a loved one and are grieving, transportation – most people rely on public transportation and have no way to get to events, services, etc.; transporting teachers to/from a reading program; helping with reading practice; and many more!

Please continue to pray for not only us, but the country of Zimbabwe, our leaders, provision for the people, the right words to encourage each other and those we meet daily.   If you haven’t already, please consider becoming a financial sponsor in addition to a prayer partner.  Any gift helps us and all we do here.  The recurring gifts help us not only to budget but to plan ahead.

Thank you all for your love, prayers, and financial support.

Mike & Jennifer

The easiest and quickest way to help is through our website   www.mikepier.org  Click on the DONATE tab at the top. Other methods listed below.  Thanks again for your love and support.

FOR TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS:

  1. DONATE ONLINE!

WorldOutreach.org/068 

  • MAIL CHECKS:
    World Outreach Ministries, Inc.
    P.O. Box B
    Marietta, GA 30061
    (designate for our account)

ZIMBABWE HAPPENINGS

Hi Friends & Family!

September is quickly coming to a close – I feel like it just started!!!

Stateside, my brain goes to changing leaves and the first of cool evenings marking Fall.  Here in Zim, Spring has started – the Amaryllis are in full show, the purple blossoms of the Jacarandas are already showing off, and I am eagerly anticipating the oranges flowers of the Flamboyant tree and the beautiful displays of the Plumerias. 

The kids here are one month into their last term of the year – school year here starts in January and follows 3 months on, one month off terms.  They very much look forward to December for the end of the school year and holidays.

July saw us hosting a couple of teams from our home church, Celebration in Jacksonville.  I give all the credit to Mike for the hard work, as I was stateside at the time.

We were able to have the women’s conference – Shine – while one of the Jax teams was on the ground here in July.  This was the first gathering for a conference in 2 years!!!!  It was perfect that we had speakers from our home church to celebrate being able to gather together again!  And just for fun – Please go on Instagram and check out Anthony Crespo’s video eating fried mopani worms!!  Yes, you can go into the market at any time and buy dried mopani worms (caterpillars) to bring home and cook.  As long as they are cooked well, they aren’t bad.  A little leggy, but not bad.  I just don’t prefer the lesser done (squishy center) ones. 

August was busy with resting/regroupingafter the Shine conference, starting the planning for our 15th Anniversary conference, continued work on a literacy effort with one of our friends’organization, and making sure all our kids here have their school fees paid and are ready to start school again.

Once kids go back to school in September, if their fees are not paid – they are asked to not attend classes until everything is paid, and they are sent home.  I can’t imagine what that feels like, to be called up by the teacher and told to go home.  Unfortunately, it happens regularly.

As a church, we hosted our 15th Anniversary celebration conference from September 15 – 18 at the Cowdray Park location.  We had people coming from all over Zimbabwe, Canada, and the United States to attend – some to speak.  Two cows were bought and butchered and cooked outside over the fire for meals (along with sadza, of course!). 

The teams coming to Zim have picked up a little this year, but nothing like pre-Covid yet. 

Please keep the following in your prayers:

Economy of Zim, as inflation continues and the job market remains minimal.

Provision, faith, focus on God for the people here.  Hope is easy to lose in dire circumstances.

Open eyes for God to point us where He can use us, patience and compassion in the daily opportunities He gives us, revelation and understanding when things don’t make sense in the natural.

Please keep us lifted in prayer whenever you think of us. It makes a huge difference!

As the needs grow around us, so does our need for support.  Please consider joining our support team.  It can be a one time gift, monthly support, quarterly, annually – whatever works best for your budget! If you have any questions about supporting, or have something specific in mind, just send an email – we would love to chat!!!

The easiest and quickest way to help is through our website   www.mikepier.org  Click on the DONATE tab at the top. Other methods listed below.  Thanks again for your love and support.

FOR TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS:

  1. DONATE ONLINE!

WorldOutreach.org/068 

  • MAIL CHECKS:
    World Outreach Ministries, Inc.
    P.O. Box B
    Marietta, GA 30061
    (designate for our account)

GODS’ WILL IS……..

What’s Gods will for MY life???  Seems like I hear that question a lot. Here’s a few rambling thoughts I’ve heard on the subject that really freed me up. Hope they can be of some help to you….if not maybe I can entertain you. We have Gods will, and we have God’s ways.  Gods ways are pretty easy.   Yes…God calls us to be holy…set apart…to be  peacemakers, to be pure and loving and humble and forgiving and generous and to reach out to others and to be selfless.  (I didn’t say they were easy but they are pretty clear in Scripture. 

It’s like this…Thou shalt not commit adultery….or whatever other “ thou shalt not”…….its true…EVERY time…whether we like it or not…whether its easy or not…its CLEAR what God wants us to do.  Keep your clothes ON with everyone who is not your wife…or husband.   One wife…or one husband…that’s IT!!!

So the ways of God are pretty clear from the Bible aren’t they? They are not always convenient, but you have to admit they are pretty clear.

THEN….there’s the mysterious part , what’s Gods will?  We are always  looking for a sense of spiritual guidance, of .personal guidance. For example, so the Bible says “children are a blessing from the Lord”.  

 ( I’m guessing for you parents out there,  your children may not help you to believe this sometimes) Nevertheless.  The Bible says that but it DOESNT say how many to have. Are we just supposed to have one? The world’s  getting too populated you know. Or should we have 2, so we replace ourselves?  But maybe the 3rd will change the world. We have so many questions…God show me!!!!!

We talk about and we worry about what is Gods will for us personally. We want to know when, where, what and why….Every single one of us wants answers to these questions….When should we have kids…Where should we live….what house should we live in….what am I supposed to do with my life.

We get all freaked out about it, and it’s easy to do. There are SOOO may options….and I wanna get it right….and I don’t want to miss what God has for me….it’s a terrible thing to think about….in one brief moment…one bad decision….you could MISS the will of God for your life!!!!!

I want to help you get free today…YES…Gods will is the best possible pathway for our lives…but just maybe  its not necessarily what we thought it was.  

We many times think there is ONE certain thing God wants us to do….if you don’t do that….you missed it…

Yes there are specific things God wants us to do…but there’s also a sense I have learned that Gods will is something completely different than what we have been taught

Look at this verse…Paul is winding up his letter….coming to some practical conclusions…here’s what he says…

Col 3:17

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.   

We agonize…we deliberate over everything….do I take that job….do I work in that department….do I go to this school….do I study this….or that??

Read it again…Whatever you do….word or deed….WHATEVER you do??  We have been thinking…the most important thing to God is that we know exactly what he wants us to do in the specific details of our lives…..WHAT IF……

THE CENTER OF WHAT IT MEANS TO KNOW GODS WILL IS TO KNOW HIS WAYS? 

  Read that again

And what if…when I know his ways…he will lead me into his will??

What if God, in everything I do, is not as concerned with when and where and what….as he is with HOW I live my life???

Here’s the takeaway of what I’m trying to say…I believe the will of God is very simple…

WHEN I WALK IN HIS WAYS, I WILL ALWAYS BE IN HIS WILL. .

If you just know his ways, .you will know his will.

   King David says it best…..

2 Sam 22:31-33

31 “As for God, his way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

32 For who is God besides the LORD?

And who is the Rock except our God?

33 It is God who arms me with strength

and makes my way perfect.

NIV

We are forever grateful to our prayer partners and financial supporters.  We only get to do what we do with your help.

Online donations for our account:

http:/www.worldoutreach.org

Click donate and select our name

USA and International cards accepted

Or Mail Checks to:

               World Outreach Ministries

P.O. Box B

Marietta, GA 30061

Or simply click on the DONATE link at the top of this page. 

FIRST QUARTER-2022 UPDATE

1st quarter-2022

Happy Spring! In the Northern hemisphere anyway.  Here in Zim, it’s fall.  It’s hard to get my brain to think April is fall.  April brings tulips, cherry blossoms, and weeping willows showing their green before all the other trees. This is the thoughts I have when I see April on the calendar.  When I see it out the window, I see the corn (mealies) with full ears and the stalks starting to brown, the evenings are a little cooler and I am seeing more people wearing jackets (jersies) and hats in the mornings.

It’s also time for the kids to be on a break from school here.  They usually go for 3 months at a time and then have one month off.  They also start their new school year in January – which makes sense in a lot of ways.  Who wouldn’t love having December off and marking that as the end of the school year?!

School here has been challenging for the past few years – COVID has kept the kids out of the classroom for quite a while.  The government (public) schools are now attending in person, but 3 days one week and 2 days the next week & the students are split up into two groups and they attend opposite schedules.  This is to keep the number of kids in the classes down for social distancing.   This gives us quite a bit of room for prayer – please pray for the kids, as they have come off of minimal attendance in person and now it’s just half time.  It’s difficult for retention of material, focus, and the ability to remain on grade level.  Another thing to pray for is the teachers.  Pray for commitment level, hope, regular paychecks, the vision to see their work as important and impacting a generation.   Hope is hard to maintain with many of the situations here.  Lack of: rain, jobs, food, money, medical care & the ability to even afford it, believing that one person matters and can make a difference.  To the natural eye, it seems like a bleak picture.  But God.   So what have we been up to in the midst of all of this?

January brought us in to the new year by helping 15 kids (not sponsored on any programs) get back to school by providing funds to buy books, uniforms, school fees, transportation fees to get to school (no school bus here).    Some of the students are doing lessons/homework online.  Which means on their family cell phone.  Most homes do not have a laptop, some have a small tablet.  Can you imagine doing your homework on a phone??  No phone, no school work.  This translates to falling behind in school. Once they do have access to a phone or tablet, they need data to be able to access their assignments.  We also help with purchasing data so they can get their school work done – there is no free wifi here.  

 There are an additional group of students – young adults – who are enrolled in a leadership academy out of South Africa.  He helps this group stay on track as well.  This group was nominated and recognized for their leadership potential.  We see a lot of potential everywhere we look, but there is not a lot to nurture/foster them.  We are very thankful this opportunity exists.  The students attend online for now, but we are praying they will be able to travel to South Africa and join the rest of their classmates at Reaching a Generation Leadership Academy (https://ragla.org/) for the periodic in person portion.  

February was a busy and eventful month!  I headed back to the states as we gained a new son-in-law and grandson!  Rachel and David were married on February 22, 2022!   

  While I was traveling, Mike was busy with some details in a few building that are going up around the country.  He has made a few trips out to the Kwekwe campus, as their new church building as getting started.  The boarding house is also under construction in Sauerstown.  This building will allow the School of Ministry students to come and attend in person without having to find lodging.  These students come from all 20 campuses throughout the country.  The boarding house will have a kitchen, laundry, living room, dining room, showers, toilets, and sleeping quarters for both the men and the women.  There is also a room for the matron of the house to stay in.  It is coming along nicely – thanks to the builders and everyone else who attended a work day to fill in the foundation so the slab could be poured.  We did not need to do any extra workouts on that day!!!  Buckets and empty cement bags were filled with rocks, broken bricks, dirt and sand; then passed hand to hand down a human chain to dump them into the base of the foundation.  This fills up the middle portions and allows for less cement to be used for the slab.

March brought the first first missions teams to Zim in quite a while.  We had the honor of meeting and spending time with Tom McLane from Convoy of Hope as he got a first hand look at the programs Convoy is helping with here in Zim.  We were also blessed to spend time with Don and Marsha Champion as they came to review the projects they are pioneering and helping with as their non-profit Champion for Africa.  One of these projects will keep me very busy in the near future.  We are anticipating the arrival of a mobile clinic!  Please pray for this to come to pass physically, as well as the resources to keep it going on a monthly basis, the staff to assist, my registration with the Zimbabwe Nursing Council to be approved, and the wisdom/direction as we venture out to areas that do not have access to medical care. Zimbabwe trains up amazing medical personnel, but most of them leave the country in pursuit of a good paying job.  As a result, the hospitals are understaffed, the staff that remains is overworked and lacks resources.   With the mobile clinic, we hope to take some of the PCP type care burden off of the hospitals.

Thanks so much to our current prayer  financial partners for allowing us to stay here.  None of this happens without prayer and finances.   We are always in need of regular monthly support, one time gifts, annual gifts, etc.   The needs are many, and we pray for wisdom, direction and guidance as God gives us new direction in 2022.

We love you guys & hope to see you all in Zim soon!

The easiest and quickest way to help is through the DONATE link at the top of this page.   www.mikepier.org   Other methods listed below.  Thanks again for your love and support. We can only do what we do with you prayers and support.

FOR TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS:

DONATE ONLINE!

WorldOutreach.org/068 

MAIL CHECKS:
World Outreach Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box B
Marietta, GA 30061
(designate for our account)

GOODBYE 2021- HELLO 2022

Ready to bake
All Done
The Boss

Happy New Year!!

We are praying the New Year finds you all doing well, wherever you may be.

2021 was definitely an interesting year for us.

Lockdowns continue intermittently, as the new variants arise. 

Even with all the travel restrictions, we managed to get Jennifer back to Zimbabwe in November.  We are doing well and getting used to being in the same space again.

God is good, regardless of any pandemic.  Here are a few highlights from the mission field for 2021.

We continue to sponsor quite a few kids here locally (13 at last count) What does that mean?  We pay school fees, help with uniform costs, pay any extra fees that arise during the school year, book fees & supplies, airtime for the older kids, as a lot of their schooling is now distance learning(data is pay as you go here, no unlimited data packages!!).  When they get their report cards, they have the pleasure of not only showing their family their grades/marks – they bring them to us to review as well.  Sometimes the resulting conversation will bring a little more input than they might like, depending on how much effort they put forth.  Accountability is good, and that is not something some of them have been exposed to very much.  We are all a work in progress, and it’s a blessing to be able to assist, develop relationships and pour into them from a young age – not just financially, but to let them know they are important, smart, and they matter – to God and to man.

We have an amazing support story to share – I think you will love it and be so encouraged – I know we were and continue to be, as it is ongoing as of today!!!

We have a friend who lives out in a pretty remote location of Zimbabwe. There is no store that sold bread where they live – they would have to walk 10 kilometers (just over 6 miles) to the closest place that sold bread.  She came up with a solution – an NGODA oven – so she could bake bread/rolls and sell them right there where they live.  That would supply her with supplemental income, and the community with fresh bread.  Definitely a win-win!!  We were able to bless her with the money to purchase the oven. What an awesome thought process on her part! The NGODA oven uses wood, charcoal, cow dung, or corn cobs as a fuel source – so there is no cost for fuel!

On New Years Eve, we received a few pictures of a new venture she and her family had taken on.  With the earnings from her bread business, she was able to build a store!!!!!! (Tuckshop). It is made out of bricks, has windows, a door, roof and shelving already. She just needs to get the shop stocked.  What a blessing to be able to help not only her and her family, but indirectly it helps the community.  And not just by providing them with bread or goods from her shop – but it provides hope!  Others in her community can see it is possible to build a business and not only survive, but thrive and help others!  And she gives all the glory and honor to God for everything that has happened!

 These are only a few examples of how we are able to help in Zimbabwe – because of your support.  Please consider supporting us again, in prayer or financially.   We are always in need of regular monthly support, one time gifts, annual gifts, etc. 

Thank you so much for keeping us here.  The needs are many, and we pray for wisdom, direction and guidance as God gives us new direction in 2022.

We love you guys & hope to see you all in Zim soon!

The easiest and quickest way to help is through our website   www.mikepier.org  Click on the DONATE tab at the top. Other methods listed below.  Thanks again for your love and support.

FOR TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS:

  1. DONATE ONLINE!

WorldOutreach.org/068 

  • MAIL CHECKS:
    World Outreach Ministries, Inc.
    P.O. Box B
    Marietta, GA 30061
    (designate for our account)

BILL PAY: free & easy option via your online banking
 

PRAYER THOUGHTS

1 Thess 5:16-18

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Random thoughts on prayer today. So why do we pray? We pray to connect to something beyond ourselves and beyond our human limitations. We pray because we know what it is to be in a foxhole, or face-to-face with terror or too close to tragedy. We pray because we have known heartbreak, grief, failure, and pain. We pray because when we are up against a wall we reach out to God because we somehow know He is there. Prayer gives us “breathing space”. There is no end to how fruitful and productive we can be when we have breathing space. Jesus knew this. That is why he so frequently went off by himself to pray.

Bill Hybels says that “prayer flies in the face of our American culture and work ethic”. We have learned to be strong, independent, and self-sufficient. Turning to God in prayer seems like an assault on the idea that we should pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and make our own success.

Prayer allows God’s power to be unleashed in our lives. We have to continue in a posture of prayer for God’s power to continue to be at work in our lives. God iswilling and ableto answer our prayers. God wants us to pray without ceasing and then wait and watch for him to give us more abundantly than all we could ever ask or pray.

It REALLY works. Why not give it a try today?

Online Donations for our account –
       
http://www.WorldOutreach.org
        Click Donate & select my name

        USA & International Cards accepted

Or Mail Checks to –
        World Outreach Ministries
        P.O. Box B
        Marietta, GA  30061
        (designate for Pier, Fund Code #68)

Or simply click on the “DONATE” link on this page. 

WHY GOD WHY???

Had some heart wrenching moments this week. Stumbled across this today. I wrote this about a decade ago. God never changes. On some days He still reminds me why I am here. And I still wouldn’t have it any other way.

That’s how I feel today.  Seems like the last 2 days Africa has been hard on me. Some of those times  where  every  thing within me screams, WHY GOD WHY!!!!!  Yes there is injustice everywhere in the world….but when it has a face….and a name….and a tear stained face it takes on a whole new dimension.

Yesterday it was the story of a child, a homeless child, a throwaway street kid who had been victimized the night before.  Specifically he was sodomized by a grown man, not once but repeatedly during the night. Forced me to sit back and think, to really internalize the terror and pain he must have felt, not to mention the shame and embarrassment.  The evil and depravity that accompanies such an act just blows me away, that a small child would have to endure this kind of unspeakable horror, with no one to help him, to comfort him or to love him…..no one but me.

Today it was a grown man, sobbing as I held on to him and prayed for him. He recently discovered that his wife had been carrying on for years a love  affair with another family member, that of the 7 children that called him daddy…..the last 4 in fact belonged to this other man. His wife had confessed all this, leaving the family home, leaving him with not only a broken heart but also a deadly disease…he was HIV positive.   

Yes I see these type of “things” all the time, for some reason these last 2 days have been over the top. I suppose God is reminding me of my prayer….”break my heart for what breaks yours”  It’s a dangerous prayer if you don’t sincerely mean it. Maybe sometimes my heart gets a little hard and calloused to the suffering I see on a daily basis. This is His way of drawing me back closer to Him, to realize that in Jesus lies my peace and my joy. And it’s a great reminder of just why I am here, why I do what I do. 

Job says it well in chapter 19:

 Job 19:23-25

3 “Oh, that my words were recorded,

that they were written on a scroll,

24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,

or engraved in rock forever!

25 I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 

I KNOW that my Redeemer lives.  That’s all I have to stand on today, but you know what? It’s all I need!!!

FOR TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS:

  1. WorldOutreach.org/068  You can use the link at the top of the page.
  • Send checks to:
    World Outreach Ministries, Inc.
    P.O. Box B
    Marietta, GA 30061
    (designate for our account)
  •  free & easy option via your online banking
    (use the same info for checks)

wom@WorldOutreach.org

BEEN THINKIN’ ABOUT GRACE

So I came across this from Eugene O’Neill and it started me thinking…imagine that!!
“Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue” How simple yet profoundly true. Why is it that this notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no “strings attached” seems to go against all of our human instincts? The eight fold path of Buddism, the Hindu karma, Jewish covenant and the Muslim code of law all offer a pathway to EARN approval. Christianity is the only path that dares to make the love of God unconditional.
I think Jesus knew we would have a problem with grace. He talked about it very often in describing the world covered in God’s grace as a place where the sun shines on everyone regardless of good or bad and birds can gather seeds to eat without plowing or harvest. Jesus saw grace everywhere yet he never tried to define or analyze it. I can only find one place where He ever used the word in speaking to the apostle Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” 2 Cor 12:9
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
I’m thinking that’s all He really needed to say on the subject. Think about the prodigal son, grace does for you what you cannot do for yourself. We are sons (or daughters) by BIRTH, never by worth. We will never be worthy…that’s a word reserved for the only one that is worthy, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I can work, I can worship, I can worry, I can pray and read my Bible but that will never make me worthy. Think about it…the prodigal son never even made it home, daddy brought home to him!!! All he did was turn around and head back in the direction of home. He was given the best robe, the imputed righteousness that can only come thru the Fathers grace.
Be strong in that grace, we have no need (or right) to apologize for something we never earned. Trying to earn that grace will only cripple the plan and purpose God has for you. EMBRACE THE GRACE!!!! We are who we are only by the grace of God, and we will only ever become what He intends for us to become by that same grace.

New one time and monthly partners are always welcome.

Online Donations for our account –
http://www.WorldOutreach.org
Click Donate & select my name

        USA & International Cards accepted

 Or Mail Checks to –
World Outreach Ministries
P.O. Box B
        Marietta, GA  30061
        (designate for Pier, Fund Code #68)

 Or you may simply click on the “DONATE” link at the top of this page.

SLAUGHTER THE OXEN

So here is a verse I read a while back during one of  those random “I got a few minutes” so I grabbed  my Bible, played, the Bible roulette game (yes, I do that every now and then) and read the chapter I opened to.

1 Kings 19:19-21

19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother good-by,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”

“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”

21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant. NIV

It was just one of those “WOW” moments….especially verse 21. I’m sure I have read that passage before but it never jumped out at me quite like it did on this day. Read it again if you haven’t already….I mean “he did what?????”   Talk about burning the bridge behind you, talk about commitment…..and Elisha surely didn’t have to think about it and he didn’t say “well, let me pray about this” He essentially threw himself a going away party!!

This actually turned into a message I was able to preach at a couple of our locations, here’s some of my random thoughts that came up while researching.

I. God’s Call Forces Us to Make Difficult Choices.

I’m not surprised that Elisha responded as he did. John Eldredge (author of Wild at Heart) says that God has placed inside every man a desire to find an adventure to live. That’s why men love fast cars, football, and movies like Braveheart and The Dirty Dozen. It’s also why we don’t watch Sleepless in Seattle unless there’s a woman involved. Men were born for adventure, we were hard-wired by God to take risks, we were made to glance at our cards, look around the table, take a deep breath and say, “All in.” I’m not saying women don’t do that because they do, but it’s different because men and women are different. Elisha chose the hard path of risk instead of playing it safe. It’s not like Elijah gave him a job description with fancy perks. The job description for a prophet in those days was pretty much long hours, hard work and low pay. Elisha knew that going in, and he didn’t hesitate.

II. God’s Call Leads to Painful Separation.

This has always been part of the high cost of the Great Commission. Following Jesus always leads to a cross where our dreams are crucified. The only thing I can tell you on this is that when we do crucify OUR dreams, God always has a much better plan and purpose for us in the long run…..ALWAYS!!!

III. God’s Call Requires Decisive Action.

When God calls, you will always have to make a decision. The burning of the plow takes on an interesting twist if we look at the words of Jesus words in Luke 9:62, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

It’s not wrong to plow a field, but if your plowing keeps you from Jesus, you’d better burn the plow. Anything good can become a hindrance if it keeps you from following the Lord.

Elisha was saying, “I’m following God’s call and no matter what happens, I’m not going back. The old life is over forever. A new day has come for me.”

At the end of the day here is the question we need to answer, “who and what is the source of my faith?” Is it Jesus? Do I truly believe He will be all I need? Or is my faith in reality anchored in the details of life–pleasure, position, power, prestige, possession? Elisha, like Elijah, was an ordinary man, but he became extra-ordinary because he was available to the Lord, because he turned his life over to the Lord, lock, stock, and barrel, and God was able to use him in tremendous ways.

 If you would like to help us continue to feed, educate and provide clean drinking water to these precious children we always welcome new partners, either one time or monthly supporters. Please pray for your missionaries, COVID19 has had quite an impact here also. You can use the DONATE link at the top of the page or the options below.  Thanks to our current financial and prayer partners. Together we are making a difference.  

FOR TAX DEDUCTIBLE GIFTS:

DONATE ONLINE!

WorldOutreach.org/068

MAIL CHECKS:
World Outreach Ministries, Inc.
PO. Box B
Marietta, GA 30061
(designate for our account- 068)

BILL PAY:free & easy option via your online banking
(use the same info for checks)