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Living The Solution – Online Newsletter |
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April 3, 2008 ISSUE |
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Opening Thoughts:
We are now in the Easter season. We should be alive with
joy and gratitude that the Risen Lord promises us a resurrection.
We, too, must first die to our self so that we can be born
again to a life that is about living and loving.
A great call for any Christian is to share your faith.
How we do that varies, for we all have different styles
and personalities. I prefer the “reach” rather
than “preach” method. This means being kind
and open-minded and willing to let Jesus’ message
be attractive. His life, teachings and insight into God
are indeed attractive, so we don’t need to force
it on anyone.
Missionary work is a special vocation and there are good
and loving Christians around the world spreading the Gospel message, often
under difficult circumstances and many persecutions. They need our support
and prayer. This issue has a book review of a real life missionary’s
experience and in the spotlight an organization dedicated to work in the
United States urban mission field.
Peace and joy,
Tom Gilbert
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IN THIS ISSUE
Feature Article: Wild Indians and Other Common Misconceptions
In The Spotlight: Mission Year
Daily Thoughts: Against Spiritual Forces of Evil
Prayer & Sharing Requests
Quotable: Accept Vulnerability |
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| FEATURED
ARTICLE |
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Book
Review – Wild Indians and Other Common Misconceptions
A Real Life on the Mission Field
Author — Carol
Martin
VMI
Publishers
Publicity through The
B & B Media Group, Inc
Review by Tom Gilbert — © April,
2008
 Some
people think missionary work is a special and holy calling that only very devout
people are capable of doing. Others think it is an incredible sacrifice with
painful primitive living conditions. And some think of the vocation as a wild
and amazing adventure. There is some truth in any of these observations, but
the real experiences revealed in Wild
Indians and Other Common Misconceptions gives us a powerful
insight into missionary life.
Carol Martin grew up in Michigan, in a Christian home. In fact, her grandfather
was a minister. But by the time she was in college she was living a wild lifestyle
full of partying. She might have considered herself a Christian, but she knew
in her heart she wasn’t living like one.
She met and fell in love with Jack, an intelligent and mischievous man who also
had no interest in being a missionary, although he considered himself a true
Christian. He even agreed once to accompany some friends on a missionary trip
to South America in order to provide companionship and to seek adventure. The
trip further convinced him that missionary work was not for him. He even made
a private deal with God that he’d become an architect, make lots of money
and support missionary work. But he wasn’t going to be one. If God wanted
him to do that he’d have to send him a wife who wanted to be a missionary.
He was very relieved to discover Carol had no interest in such work.
It is often said God has a sense of humor. Through a series of events Carol eventually
felt a strong call to be a missionary and Jack agreed to join her in the endeavor.
Together they spent 17 years in Columbia, South America living among the primitive
Guayaberos. There goal was to work with Wycliffe as missionaries and translate
the Bible into the tribe’s native language. At the time they had no idea
what an arduous task that would be, as well as the challenges of preaching the
Gospel of Jesus Christ to these people.
Over the years they discovered that life can be beautiful as well as tragic,
funny and sad, and that God moves in mysterious ways to spread His message of
love. Carol and Jack raised four girls of their own and also grew to love the
Guayaberos. The book tells of many harrowing experiences, and some very funny
ones, too. Bats, snakes, monkeys, parasites, dry and rainy seasons, primitive
conditions, communication barriers and an overall stretching and growing of their
spiritual lives make for a riveting story.
I really enjoyed this book for the honest look at what foreign missionary life
is like. In the end there was success and heartbreak, both for the natives and
for Carol Martin and her family. The author is now retired and travels the United
States in an RV as part of another ministry. But she continues to support missionary
efforts. While she and her family lived with the Guayaberos they never had one
convert and they only scratched the surface in translating the scriptures. Years
later their planting has borne fruit and there are now believers among this tribe.
As Carol discloses, being obedient to God’s call and continuing the efforts
is all He asks. We must leave the results up to our loving Creator.
One of the great insights I received from this book is that missionary work is
as much about transforming the lives of the missionaries as it is about the people
the message of the Gospels is brought to. The author has given us the gift of
revealing her spiritual journey through her accounts of missionary work, dispelling
misconceptions and offering evidence of God’s love through it all.
More reviews here here.
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| IN THE SPOTLIGHT |
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Mission Year
Love God, love people, nothing
else matters. So states the banner across
the top of the Mission Year website.
Theire purpose is a year long urban ministry program
focused on Christian service and discipleship in inner
city urban areas. This is missionary work here in our
America. They take teams of young people, place them
in an area of need, and help them to serve people and
create community.
| more
here |
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Specials page for other special resources and causes.
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has resources to help you grow spiritually. It’s
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Visit our
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There is something for everyone. When you shop with us,
you support our ministry – thank you!
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DAILY THOUGHTS & REFLECTIONS |
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Against Spiritual Forces of Evil
For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers
of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms. (Ephesians 6:12 — New International Version)
C. S. Lewis says in his book, “The
Screwtape Letters”, there are two equal and opposite
errors into which our race can fall about the devils.
One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to
believe and have an unhealthy interest in them. They themselves
are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist
or a magician with the same delight. We are to acknowledge
their existence and deal with them as needed, but they
are not to be our focus. We are not to go hunting for
them.
Another misconception, when it comes to today’s verse, is that “rulers
and authorities” refers to ungodly human structures of authority instead
of the hierarchy of the enemy. But it is clear that Paul is referring to the
spiritual realm because he starts by saying our struggle is not against flesh
and blood. Any human ruler and authority that stands against God and godly things
does not fall into this category. However, they can be influenced by evil spirits
and it is those spirits that we must take a stand against, not the people themselves
for they are no different than we are. They are just people who have been deceived
and are in need of rescuing and being enlightened by the Truth of God. Our enemy
is not of this world and when we encounter him our focus is not on him, but on
freeing the one who is under his influence.
It is a balance; we do not want to deny the existence of the enemy and his forces
and at the same time we do not want them to become our focus. When we find evil
rearing its ugly head we must be careful not to fight against the person being
used by the enemy, for that person is not the enemy. Instead we focus our attention
on their freedom from the enemy, binding the strong man (the enemy) and setting
the captive free.
Live intentionally, purposely, free and with passion,
Pete Reinbold
Get daily inspiration with a Scripture verse and commentary
at
Daily Thought
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PRAYER REQUESTS & RESULTS |
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Prayer works. It really does.Submit your prayer
requests and we will pray for them.
Of course, we keep your information confidential.
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My thoughts are shared regularly on the pages of
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the Journal pages.
We welcome and appreciate your feedback. If you would
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It is our hope that the content of Living The Solution will
stimulate you to deepen your faith. That is certainly a result for us in both
our writing and reading. If you would like to see articles on a particular topic
or you have comments please let us know.
Send an email
Quotable: Accept Vulnerability
“'When we were children, we used to think
that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable. But to
grow up is to accept vulnerability...To be alive is to be vulnerable.”
— Madeleine L'Engle
Copyright 2008 Living the Solution, all rights reserved.
Tom Gilbert
Editor/Web-servant
Living The Solution
www.livingthesolution.com
P O Box 25584
Albuquerque, NM 87125-5584
Toll free 1-800-399-2564 (US only) or 505-247-3232
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