In Praise to God

(On the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, we were able to attend our church family’s praise service. It was a wonderful time of hearing individuals give praise to God for His goodness. I decided I would write my testimony out, and I’m including it below as another opportunity to give praise to God.)

Psalm 66 says, “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, ‘How awesome are Your works!’”
Truly, God’s works are awesome as He brings to pass His global purposes, His redemptive purposes, and His purposes for me personally.

I. I praise God for His Sovereign control which unstoppably works out His global purposes.

I praise God that this county, along with all the other democracies, is not meaninglessly controlled by a fickle and unprincipled majority which convulsively flits from one leader to the next selfishly trying to achieve its own desires.
I, with the humbled and enlightened Nebuchadnezzar, bless the Most High and praise and honor Him who lives forever;
[that] His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
[that] His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
And [that] all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But He does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And [that] no one can ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ’What have You done?’” (from Dan. 4)

II. I praise God for His gracious love which faithfully brings to fruition His redemptive purposes.

I praise my God, the sovereign Creator who works all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph. 1:11), that He foresaw the ruin of the race through sin, that He determined to glorify himself by saving His chosen people, and that He appointed His Son to be born of a woman and effect their salvation by His mediatorial ministry

I praise God for preserving the seed through which Christ would come from all the forces that would have destroyed it: not only from the numerous attacks of Satan himself but also from the unprincipled actions of His own Covenant people (the chosen vessel through which the seed was eventually to appear) who repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to risk God’s covenant plan of redemption in order to achieve their own personal gain. I praise God that when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, seed of the woman, subjected to the Law yet faithfully fulfilling it, in order that He might redeem those who miserably failed to keep the Law and thus found themselves in bondage to it.

As a gentile who appeared doomed to always be without God and without hope in this world, I praise God that His goal had been from eternity past, not the salvation of one of the world’s many nations, but the creation of a new nation, the members of which were to be drawn from every nation, receiving their spiritual nationality, not by natural, but by spiritual birth.

I praise God that “after the Son had been raised, exalted and enthroned in His messianic kingdom, He sent the Holy Sprit into the world in order... to bring His people, through faith in Himself, into the possession and enjoyment of the salvation He won for them.”

I praise God for accomplishing His redemptive purposes in His chosen people, not in spite of trials and persecutions, but deliberately bringing about His sanctifying purposes through the trials and tribulations of life, working all things together for their good.

I praise Him that world history has been to date, and will be to the end, nothing more nor less than God’s execution of the plan which He formed in order to achieve His redemptive purposes. (Some of the wording here taken from J. I. Packer’s 1956 article, “Revelation and Inspiration.”)

III. I praise God for His loyal love and faithfulness which providentially brings about His purposes for me personally.

Psalm 66:16 says, “Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul.”

Well, I can’t tell you all that He has done, but I praise Him for loving me and choosing me in Christ before the foundation of the earth (by grace and apart from any good thing in me) to be delivered from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved son; and then to be conformed to the image of that Son. I praise God that He is even now relentlessly working to see that the good work which He has begun in me will be completed at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

When I think back on this past year, I think of the word ‘travel.’ I praise God for my lovely wife and two children, and for preserving my family in our travels through 29 of the United States and one Canadian Province, during 210 days of travel and nearly 30,000 miles of road, sleeping on at least 58 different beds. I praise God for providing the $5,665.96 we spent on gasoline in order to make these trips.

I praise God for the beautiful sights I’ve seen displaying His own creative powers: a sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean, a sunset on the Gulf of Mexico, the snowy forests of Maine, the Ponderosa Pines of Northern Arizona; the purple hues of the Smokey Mountains, the vast and open plains of New Mexico and upper Texas; the cacti and dessert shrub of the southwest, the red rocks of Sedona, the vast and breath-stopping beauty of the Grand Canyon.

I praise God for giving us the privilege to minister to and learn from 65 different local churches, each one unique in its own way yet equally loved and cherished by Christ their Bridegroom. And I praise Him for the 6 churches and 8 families who have partnered with us in order to provide 28% of our needed funds.

Finally, I thank God for this local church. I praise God for the incalculable privilege I had to serve as an undershepherd over this flock for nearly five years. I praise Him for relieving me of that responsibility and of gifting our church body with another undershepherd, more gifted and experienced than I, whom I respect, admire and love for the Gospel’s sake. I praise God for this church’s continued love, care, interest and provision for us in this new ministry of taking the Hope of the Gospel to France.

“O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our Salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God,
And a great King above all gods...
(Ps. 95:1-3)

Final Days in the West

Here are a few pics of our last few weeks in Arizona and New Mexico. We have such wonderful memories of all the new experiences that this trip afforded us. As we sat in our own home church in Spartanburg on Sunday, it was hard to believe that just one week prior we had been worshipping with Christian brothers and sisters in Tucson! Click here to view the pictures in a larger format.

Aound the World in 80 Days

Well, it wasn’t exactly around the world in 80 days, but we did travel through 13 states and drove 8,353.2 miles over the past 8 weeks. Our van, which now has more than 205,000 miles in its history, did not give us a bit of trouble (except for running out of gas in El Paso, Texas). We are very grateful for God’s protection which He gave to us and for the way He provided for us along the way. It was truly a memorable trip.

We have one family in Florida that has already begun supporting us on a monthly basis and several more churches or individuals who mentioned that they will be prayerfully considering partnering with us. Please pray that God will give us the partners we need in order to move to France.

We are excited to be home for five whole days before heading back out again! We are especially grateful to be able to spend the Lord’s Day with our home church family. Our travels between now and the New Year should be much lighter, though we do have three more Sundays away and trips to North Carolina and Pennsylvania on the schedule.

Thank you to each individual and church family who made this last trip such an enjoyable and memorable experience.

Trekking back East

Tomorrow (November 20) we leave Albuquerque, NM, and begin our 1,575-mile, 23-hours-and-30-minutes (according to Google Maps, that is) drive back to South Carolina. Our 56-day-trip to Florida, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico is coming to a close. Please pray that God would grant us safety and allow us to make good time. Please pray that the van would run well and that God would give grace and sanctification to those in the van.

This has been a trip like none other. We have seen so many places that we had only dreamed of up to this point. However, with our sights set on home, we feel like a cow on its way back to the barn--nobody better get in our way! We're excited to be homeward bound!

November/December Prayer Update

November/December 2008

Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,

It is a joy to be able to send out another update in the anticipation that many will be reminded to pray for us. It is difficult, however, to absorb the fact that this is our November/December update!

WHAT DO MOUNTAINS SAY?
If sound waves could be captured and turned into cash, the back seat of our Dodge Caravan would be a gold mine on wheels. While questions exude almost incessantly from the two car seats behind us, every once in a while there is a comment that leaves me wondering whether it was merely the product of a mindless endeavor to fill the void or the genuine outflow of some diligent cerebral activity. Take, for example, this question: What do mountains say? Should you chide the child for being ridiculous or praise him or her for being unusually perceptive and insightful? Before you give your verdict, consider the context: we are driving on one of the top five scenic routes in the United States up from the beautiful red mountains of Sedona, AZ, through the 8,000-foot-high Ponderosa Pine forest and on to the breath-stopping vistas of the Grand Canyon. Regardless of how the question was intended, it immediately brought to my mind the words of Psalm 19. It is a travesty to think that every year millions of people come to gawk at this beautiful scenery, and yet stop their ears as it thunders forth the glory of God.

ON A COVERT VACATION?
Some may wonder if this whole “pre-field ministry” is nothing but a smokescreen to cover for a clandestine, long-term vacation. Well, let me just say, some of it is out-and-out vacationing, pure and simple! Through the generosity of a friend, we were given three free nights in Sedona, AZ (two hours south of the Grand Canyon), that were just fabulous. Our travels have brought their own set of perks (a.k.a. blessings) and challenges (a.k.a. trials). I won’t venture to produce a list for either category, though I will say that Ruth and I often marvel at what a unique (even odd) stage of life we are in. The kids? They think it’s normal to have people take you out to eat in restaurants, sleep in new beds, spend hours in the van and ask, What do mountains say? as they’re scanning the beautiful landscape of northern Arizona.

THE ROAD BEHIND AND AHEAD
We are more than 5,000 miles into our present 8-week-long trip and finally at its most western point—which means we have a long way to go to get home! By the time it is over, we will have been in 17 churches in Florida, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. God has blessed us with good meetings and many new friends. We are especially grateful to the four new individuals/families who have committed to partnering with us, bringing our promised support to 28% of our target. We have been blessed by my Uncle Bacilio and Aunt Eunice Alfaro who have graciously allowed us to use their home as a base in the Phoenix area. We hope to return home to Spartanburg by the end of November. Plans are still in place for us to travel to France next June to replace my parents in Bordeaux through the end of 2009. We still need more support than we have at present to be able to make this short-term trip, and we would love to reach 100% of our goal before then in order to remain in France in 2010. Obviously, this is a major prayer request. Other prayer requests include the health of our van (which has held up well so far) and especially our own growth in grace during this time of transition. While we all pray, prepare and plan for the future, none of us knows where the road ahead will lead. We can, however, relax in an all-wise, good, and powerful God who has promised to make our paths straight. May God help us all to resist self-reliance and anxiety and to trust wholeheartedly in Him.

In Christ,

Tim, Ruth, Micaiah & Miriam


ITINERARY
November 2 (am) - Phoenix, AZ
November 2 (pm) - Avondale, AZ
November 9 - Gilbert, AZ
November 12 - Queen Creek, AZ
November 16 - Tucson, AZ
November 19 - Albuquerque, NM
November 30 - Cary, NC
December 14 - Greenville, SC

Travels in Arizona

Our first trip to Arizona has been a wonderful experience. We've been able to see many new, and before unseen, beauties of God's creation, such as the large Sahuaro cactus, the red rocks of Sedona, and the enormous cliffs of the Grand Canyon. We've also been able to experience many of God's new creations in the churches of this state. Here are a few pictures from our time in the Grand Canyon State. (Click here to view in larger format.)

A visit to the Grand Canyon!

While everybody else was busy watching the election coverage, we were enjoying the Grand Canyon! We were so grateful for the privilege of staying in Sedona, Arizona, for several nights. Click here for more pictures.