'Keep Right On'

By Warren
The songwriter Harry Lauder wrote the lyrics to the song with the above title
after the only son John had been killed in France on New Years Day, 1917.  Some
of the lyrics read:
                                Keep right on to the end of the road,
                                Keep right on to the end,
                                Tho' the way be long, let your heart be strong,
Keep right on round the bend.
                                tho' you're tired and weary still journey on,
                                'Till you come to your happy abode,
                                Where all the love you've been dreaming of
                                Will be there at the end of the road.
"…The race indeed is not to the swift or the strong but to those who endure to
the end…"  I am penning this and many of you will read it thinking that we are
making such a great sacrifice for God.  Sometimes in the doing, I have to be
honest, there seems to be no results in the natural, but we are certain that in
the spiritual God is accomplishing a great work.  Can I encourage you that are
struggling today, to hold on and to keep right on trusting and following?  You
are in God's hand and He will keep you on the path.  Joy comes along, you are
not alone; I know the order of the day is to just give up and throw in the
towel.  I have a promise willed to you by Jesus himself and it goes like this,
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I
give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  So
'Keep Right On' my friends, He will see you through to the very end.
 
Song taken from Sandy Millar's ALL I WANT IS YOU p. 113

Propitiation

    Pastor  Reuben preached an AWESOME word at church today.  He quoted 1 John
2:2, where it states that Jesus is our propitiation.  This same word is used for
Mercy Seat.  In Exodus, Moses describes the Arc of the covenant in detail.  What
Pastor did today was help understand what this passage means.  Inside the Arc
were three things, the Ten Commandments, a jar of manna and the rod of Aaron. 
He went on to say that these three items represent our rebellion towards God. 
The Ten Commandments, rebellion against God's law.  The jar of manna, rebellion
against God's provision.  The rod of Aaron, rebellion against God's authority. 
On top of the box, there was to be a cover (lid) made of pure gold, so that
those three items would be covered and not seen.  There were to be two cherubins
on either side of this Mercy Seat.  In John as stated before, Jesus became that
Mercy Seat.  AWESOME!!  He is our covering.  When God sees us, He does not see
our rebellion because Jesus has covered it. 

    As amazing as this truth is, there is a lot of uncovering going around,
Pastor said.  In 1 Sam.6:19 God smote 50,070 Israelites because they looked into
the Arc of the Covenant.  They removed the Mercy Seat and saw what as inside. 
In other words, they went back and remembered their rebellion; their sin against
God.  God did not like that, so he killed them all.  I know this may sound harsh
but in truly is not.  In essence, what these people did, and what we also do, is
remove Christ's covering and discuss our sins with one another.  We may do it
for ourselves, but I truly believe we uncover other people's sin more often than
we do ours.  We look at a brother or sister in Christ and remember where they
came from, what they did, how they offended us, etc…  What God said to me in the
service was that every time wee look at others and only see their faults or
their offences toward us, we are uncovering the Arc.  We are removing Jesus from
them and seeing inside.  We are saying that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was
not enough to cover them.  God so dislikes that, that he can smite us dead. 
However, He gives us His grace.  In Psalms 32:1, 2 David states, "…Blessed is
the man whose sin God remembers no more…"  If God looks at me and my sin and
does not see me nor remember them, but sees Christ alone.  Who am I to say that
it's not enough for my brother and sister in Christ?  I pray God would help me
and you to see Christ in and thru others.
 
Vicky

Back to School

The children and I started this week by beginning school after a three week
break.  It was truly a restful time for all of us.  It was also a time for the
children to have fun with their friends and have many play dates and
sleepovers.  I of course had a 'to do list' of pending projects around the
house, which I did nothing of!  What's a break for but to rest?  That I did! 
Warren continued his work at the farm.  He's been quite busy at the farm helping
with the house, and the daily stocks.  The children and I were able to go and
spend times with the boys a couple of times during the break.  I was also able
to help with the purchasing of stocks as well as on occasion, cooking for the
boys.
On Monday, we got right into "school mode".  With Math, English, Science,
History, Spanish, Latin and Art, our day and week got quite busy but
surprisingly enough, not overwhelmeming.  It was my prayer  at the beginning of
the school year to allow God to help  serve my children and work in and through
me to reach each one of them.  He has been answering those prayers every time we
set up on a new day.

“…The harvest is plenty…”

A new year has brought in a great harvest for us here in our new home.  A bounty of eggplant, mangoes, pumpkin leaves and soon we’ll have broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, guavas and avocados.  The bible says, “…The harvest is plenty…” but the real problem lies with the laborers.  It was so exciting to see the children help Warren as he picked the eggplant and the mangoes.  It would have truly been an overwhelming task for him alone but the little helpers were very willing and available.  My prayer for this year is that we would see the harvest needing immediate picking. 

In Lusaka, we’re experiencing our rainy season.  We’ve already learned this early in the season that we must be quick at getting our fruits and vegetables because we’re not the only ones wanting them.  We have birds and insects that are waiting.  A picture forms in my mind as I reflect on this truth.  The enemy is very aware that the harvest is ready and he too wants to pick.  We have to have this vivid picture in our hearts and minds that if we don’t act quickly, the enemy will get the harvest.  Alternatively, even worse, the harvest will rot in the field. 

Warren was so disappointed to have found a rotting mango on the ground, and wondered how he could’ve overlooked it.  I am truly praying that this year will be a year of harvest, not only of souls but also for our own growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.  My prayer is for God to make me sensitive to His voice and His leading that I would not look over an area in my life that would need harvesting.  I see this personal harvest like a maturing process, coming into a deeper level in Jesus.  Leaving all the past behind and allowing Him to harvest our hearts to Himself, plucking up anything of the world and the flesh.