Worldwide VEVO

I hear people say they want to be part of something bigger than themselves.  I understand that.  I was inspired when my husband turned on Netflix and watched a VEVO production in another language.  I heard words sounding like levantaré, clamaré, palabra, nunca, and siempre in Spanish and wondered if the language was Portuguese.  I found myself pausing to ponder something I tend to overlook.  This world becomes narrow and self-centered if I let it.  These foreign words I kept hearing represent people who shouldn’t be foreign to me.  These worshipers know my same Jesus.  Because the words resembled what I know in Spanish, I supposed I knew the essence of their song.  Certainly Jesus knows their language.  Those who sang had experienced Him in their land.  He loves them and saves them from the same Satan who torments me.  And if you’re reading this today from outside the United States, just apply the idea in reverse.  Across the ocean from where you sit, there’s a girl named Linda who experiences Jesus saving her daily from Satan, saving her daily from the evil of other humans and from her own independence.  We all wear the same shoes of temptation, yet Jesus resides in the hearts of His children everywhere, and how I'm thankful to be reminded of the size of that "everywhere."  Dialing up this blog, you've been reading recently alongside people from Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, and Venezuela.  That means life is connected.  I kneel to pray at the same time someone kneels in China.  You sing at the same time someone sings in Ukraine.  When someone cries to the Lord in Romania, when someone prays in Sweden, it’s quite possible the Lord has led someone in Japan or Venezuela to do the same, even as He calls us to pray for each other sometimes without ever having met face to face.  Titus 2:11 says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”  Our God is big.  I pray you know Him as your Savior.  Salvation through Him depends not on any government system or any family history.  Jesus Christ saves upon our individual asking, and His door is always open.  I’m blessed to share this site with you, my brothers and sisters.  You’re in my prayers.

Flags of the world

I love seeing the flags of the world.  Sometimes it’s at theme parks or at historical sites where they’re flying in the wind.  Sometimes it’s in a sanctuary where they hang neatly from the ceiling or they’re carried on poles in a processional.  They remind me of how small I am in this world and yet how intimately God loves His creations.  We can be the lone ranger on the remotest of islands, and God knows our exact spot.  We can be one in a million in the most crowded of cities, and He reaches us with ease.  I visited San Francisco one time and saw how every nook and cranny had someone living in it.  Deep into one building, past the apartments visible to the outside, I realized there were layers and layers of living spaces more obscure.  How does a realtor even know what’s available to rent when they’re layered so densely?  But no matter our surroundings, God is there.  And so for the sake of our different territories, we call to God and wait on Him and thank Him for saving us from our own human nature.  To the many in 19 different countries who visited this blog since May, I welcome you.  Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”  To Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, USA, Vietnam—we are in this together.  May you know the Lord's presence today within the uniqueness of where you serve. 

A worldwide bookshelf

Today is introduction day.  In the last month, this blog has hosted visitors from France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey, and the USA.  Most of these are parts of the world to which I’ve never traveled, all in turn making this blog connection extra sweet!  It’s like a worldwide library with all of us walking up to the same bookshelf to check out the same book of stories.  Recently a friend suggested acknowledging the breadth of readership here, and so today I officially welcome you to this blog!  To the readers in all 8 countries this last month, may you take pleasure in knowing each other's company, and I'm so glad you're here!  You are not simply a statistic, nor are you a casual passerby.  You are someone for whom I pray, and you are one whom Jesus Christ loves dearly.  I never know the exact addresses of readers, so don’t worry about privacy issues.  All I know is the name of the country wherein someone’s computer sits.  I think of Mark 16:15, where Jesus is telling the apostles, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”  Each of us today experiences the Lord in our separate parts of the world, yet we come together through Jesus and the Bible and in the reading of this blog.  Your country may send missionaries to my country, and mine may send missionaries to yours.  Yet according to 1 Peter, we are one nation.  As he addresses Believers who are scattered throughout the countries, Peter says in 2:9 that we are a “holy nation, a people belonging to God, that [we] may declare the praises of him who [calls us] out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  I look forward to welcoming next month’s readership too.  How I would be elated as well to hear your stories of the Lord anytime.