He took to himself what He was not,
while remaining what he was.
He came to us in a man
without ever departing from the Father.
He continued to be what he is
while appearing to us as what we are.
His divine power was confined in the body of an infant
without (his presence) being withdrawn from the (entire) universe.
– Augustine’s Christmas Sermon, AD 396
Passing our ‘One Wish’ truck at the New Hope’s Church Fall Festival, Terre, Rachel and I asked dozens of people, “If you had one wish from God for you today, what would that be?”
Some of the people we prayed for their one wish:
– A man contemplating suicide because out of work so long.
– A woman realizing her need forgive her father and be back in church this Sunday.
– A couple looking for a church home with good children’s ministry.
– A woman grieving over the loss of her mom one year ago.
– A young man wanting God’s will for his life, not his own will.
3 people wanting God to forgive sins or to be sure they were going to heaven – we shared the gospel.
Each person received a ‘Steps to Peace with God’ tract and their children ‘The ABC’ gospel booklet and candy.
What a night.
Someone said, ‘Don’t curse the darkness, light a candle.
If you see 10 birds on a wire and 5 decide to fly,
how many are left?
The answer is 10.
Deciding and doing are note the same.
Dr. Oz
said a young person who joined a youth group from a neighboring town
to be a part of “One Wish,”
an outreach I led into the city center of Carlisle on the Scottish border.
“It was my first time to share my faith.”
Today I am recording all the days I have spent outside the USA in the last 5 years as part of the process of finally applying for US citizenship after 28 years of marriage to Rachel, my amazing American wife, as I can have dual citizenship with Great Britain. WOW! I did not realize how many mission trips I have taken.
Praise for $550 in gifts I have received towards the $680 fees.
One perk of US citizenship will be getting a 10 year visa for India at the same price of a single entry visa I can only obtain presently with a UK passport while residing in the US.
Pray for a quick process and $130 for payment.
We ran to Termini, the main train station in Rome, to meet up the other 29 teams out all day seeing the sights of Italy’s capital and sharing Christ to make sure we caught the 9:07 back to our base, for the final day of our Transform training week — readying 300 to move out in mission that weekend around the Mediterranean.
We found hundreds watching our African brothers and sisters sing and dance. Then “Amazing Grace” broke out. Smiling, taking pictures and videoing — people were loving it.
All day I had carried a gospel illustration in my back pack looking for an opportunity to preach Christ in the “Eternal City” and now the opportunity found me as I stood in their midst, showing people how they also could begin a friendship with God. Grabbing tracts, gospels and CD’s — the people seemed eager to know.
The next morning I heard that our 9:07 had been pushed back to 9:27. I guess God had wanted people to catch more than the train that night.
And for our teams! To catch a glimpse of how he to about to use them from one end of the Mediterranean in Portugal to the other end in Lebanon.