Sunday, December 1, 2013

Grace Perspectives ..... Morgan in Asia


My dear friend Morgan is serving the Tai Lue people in Asia.  I met her on a prayer trip in Laos almost four years ago.  It was just the two of us on the trip - she was leading me as part of the group she serves with - and we discovered that we were actually both from the Seattle area and had mutual friends!  She is devoted to God's call on her life and genuinely cares for the Tai Lue.  Here are Morgan's thoughts on grace.  I hope you find encouragement here.



I'm learning about trusting God when things don't turn out the way you hope (serving without teammates with me), believing in His goodness and faithfulness to His promises (that HE is with me! and that He will exalted among all nations and He has given us power to be His witnesses and that He will complete the good work He started in me). That my life and peace is from knowing Him, not based on whether I lead people to the Lord, whether I am married, whether I am healthy, or whether I look great. Really my peace, security, acceptance and love are in Christ."you have been given fullness (completeness) in Christ" Col. 2:10  Knowing this frees me up from myself and my issues so I can just praise Him, love Him.

God's grace, His undeserved gift is astounding to me. That through Christ's sacrifice He reconciled me to Himself, giving me the greatest gift- Himself is incredible. Recently, I've been thinking how His Spirit helping me change to be more like Him, help me know Him more, and work with Him to help others come to know Him is all His grace. Being able to live where I do and share the Gospel of grace with people who have never heard it is such a gift!

Thank you for praying for the Tai Lue people who live in China, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and the USA! Please cry out to Father that Tai Lue people's hearts will be opened and softened. Pray that they will turn from their idols to serve the Living God and wait for His Son from heaven.
May God will make his light shine in their heart to give them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2Cor.4:6).





Monday, November 18, 2013

Grace Perspectives ..... Lyle in Uganda



Now it's time to hear from Lyle:

What am I learning about God or from God in this season of my life?
As I think on this two things immediately come to my mind that apply both to what I am learning about God and from God. They would be His sovereignty and his faithfulness. As I look back at my life I can see how much of it I lived as if I had sovereign control over it and only involved God when I needed Him. The reality is that He IS sovereign and I need Him continually. 

What does grace mean to you and how has it shown up in my life over the yers or in my life as a married couple?
Grace means so much more to me now than it used to. I used to think of grace only as "God's unmerited favor," which it is, but I see now that it is so much more dimensional. Just one example might help explain. If I am living in sin, I used to see grace only as God forgiving my sin and life moves forward as if nothing had happened. Now I understand that God exposing that sin is grace. If I continue in my sin it will bring destruction. His grace in exposing my sin saves me from that destruction and brings me to repentance and right relationship with Him. 

Pray for Uganda:
I read Ingrid's response on this and I would very much agree. I would add that as a society that claims to be predominately Christian, that the Truth of the gospel is lived out in its fullness and not diluted in syncretism. I pray this same thing for the U.S. as well.