We have arrived in Rio

We arrived safe and sound in Rio. Sunday evening we experienced worship at this church for the first time. It was a great! God really works in neat ways when you don't understand all the words in worship. The meaning of Romans 8:26 became new: "...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." The Spirit was interceding yesterday.

Tomorrow is our first reading day. I have four readers scheduled right now, but I will be working to get some of my other readers scheduled once I get a small break. Please pray for my readers hearts. May our conversation be full of grace.

It is such a blessing to be in this country. God is working amazing ways. Hopefully I will be able to let you know about this as I report on the project here. May God continue to guide our conversations.

Nice Teeth Dude, part 2

Well, I went to the dentist. It is kindof embarrassing. Nothing wrong with my tooth. All that was there was a little shell of a kernel from popcorn. I can't believe that this was all there was. The swelling is completely gone. Funny how a small little piece of food sitting where it is not supposed to be can disrupt everything. Gums swell, schedules change, money spent, and altogether not much fun in the end.

Makes me think about how a little sin in your life (somewhere where it is not supposed to be) can disrupt everything. Egos swell, God's plans change, money wasted, and altogether not much fun in the end.

Lord, keep us away from the destructive nature of sin. It does not belong in our life. I finish with Paul's admonition to the Roman church (Rom 6:11-13): "Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him an instruments of righteousness."

Romans 8:28

In an effort to understand the ways of God, one is inevitably forced toward Romans 8:28. I hear this passage quite often being offered as a word of consolation to the those who are in pain, either from the death of a loved one or some physical ailment or sickness.

We need to be careful at how we speak for God in these sensitive times in people's lives. We mean to help when we say, "God will work this for good; just wait and you will see." I wonder what statements like that really mean. Will God really work this out for the good of the one to whom I am speaking? How can I be so sure? When can I finally say, "Okay, now that was good!" and be at peace with it? Did this happen to Job? Was what happened good? Dare I even speak in God's behalf in any situation? I am nervous about doing this.

Consider how the NIV translates this verse: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." What is the difference between "in all things God works" (NIV) and "all things work together" (KJV)? [By the way, both are legitimate translations because the subject could be the implied 'he' meaning God or 'all things'; likewise, 'all things' could be the subject or the object of the sentence. You have to decide just like the translators of the NIV and KJV did for you.]

If God works "in all things," then it seems to follow that he takes the situations as they come and works good out of them. That necessarily implies that the situation itself is not deemed 'good' or even 'bad'; it is just the situation. If "all things work for good," then it seems to follow that one would have to say everything that happens is necessarily good, something I am not willing to comment upon (especially as if I know what is good from God's perspective). Just some food for thought.