The most incredible show on earth

At multiple points along the trip we almost had to pinch ourselves because the opportunity to view the work of God's hand was breathtaking. I wanted to share some of these moments. I look at these almost like God has season tickets to see the work of His hands and he desires to share these tickets with us. On this trip to Uganda we had front row seats to see some of the most incredible things that God was doing and has done anywhere in the world. Step right up to the most incredible show on earth!

1Chronicles 16:23-27
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be held in awe vabove all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.

The beauty of God's creation is on display all around the continent of Africa and there were many stunningly beautiful moments along on this trip. These moments would leave you saying wow God, Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised! There were several of these moments driving through the countryside and when we stayed along the Nile River.But some of the most incredible seats came when we were sitting in little wooden chairs outside of a mud hut sharing. Invited there by God to have the closest seat to witness the changing of a life for eternity. If our credentials were checked at the entrance to the event, none of us would been worthy to sit in these seats that belong to God. But God desires us to walk so close to Him that we get to see up close God working in and through our lives to do the miraculous. There were many of these moments shared each night, but only a few people had the privilege to see the actual event each time.

One of these events I was remembering with a friend last night was when we were going hut to hut sharing the gospel in Sibanga I walked up to a woman that was working. I told her I had wonderful news, could I share it with her. She said, "yes." Then another woman came up with a little baby and listened as well. Right after I began sharing the good news of Jesus Christ a young child walked up and a conversation that I did not understand ensued between the young girl and the first lady. I could tell this was her daughter who had just walked up. There was a harshness in the tone and the young girl went inside the hut.

I felt a burden to have this girl hear the message as well. So I asked my translator to tell the mother it was ok for the girl to join us. The translator just replies back to me that I can continue. But I can't shake the burden to invite the girl and ask my translator again to tell the mother it is ok for the girl to join us. He says something and then says to me it is ok for me to continue. I don't get the sense that my translator is on the same page at all and is wondering why I won't just continue. I say to him again, tell the mother I would like for her to join us. He does and the girl is called out of the hut by the mother and she excitedly comes up and sits down next to her mother.

I was in the middle of sharing the gospel but backed up to recap and enable the girl to hear the whole message. At the end when I asked if anyone would like to ask Jesus into their life and trust in Him for their forgiveness it was only the little girl who responded. The other two mothers didn't seem impacted by the message at all. They just seemed indifferent. The little girl shared with me her name and that she was ten. The same age as my Hannah! It was a sweet moment showing her the picture of my family and my ten year old, knowing that they would meet one day in heaven. It made me just thank God for the gift of salvation, because it truly is a miracle if any of us are ever saved. Seeing this precious child that God had a divine appointment with that day, still makes me say, "Wow God I totally didn't see that one coming. That was so cool!"
(not the picture from the story, but a similar front row seat for Alicia)

Another front row seat came when we were going with the school ministry team. Some times it is easy to think your seat is one place (at the schools) when He actually has a seat for you at the restaurant at lunch as well. That was the case this day. I was sharing some of the 10 different snacks I had packed in my backpack with Godfrey on the school team as we talked about life and the Lord. I grabbed a package of peanut butter crackers that I had forgotten were in my bag. Godfrey and I had eaten plenty and so I motioned for the waitress to come over to give her the crackers. That was the extent of the thought I had. But the moment I looked into her face I was hit with a desire to share the gospel. I asked her if she knew Jesus and she said, "Yes, I am a christian...Hallelujah."

Normally that response would be enough in a restaurant to make me glad to have run into another excited believer. This moment was different, I found myself asking when she had become a christian. She stopped and said, "Actually I lied, I am a muslim" Stunned by the this turn of conversation. I asked her if I could ask her a question. She said, "yes" and I began asking her about how a muslim deals with the issue of sin in her life. It was amazing that she was not willing to admit that she had any sin in her life at first. After sharing that different things wedo that fail to glorify God are sin. Each possible sin I suggested she would say that she hadn't done that. I brought her to agree that if we told a lie it would not glorify God and would be a sin. When asked if she has ever told a lie, she said no. I reminded her of how our conversation began and it was though she was very convicted and even laid her head on the corner of the table.

It was clear to see that God was working on her heart from this point on. One of the remarkable things I saw in sharing Christ with many muslims is that Mohammad didn't die for anyone's sin. And there is no mechanism for payment of sin in Islam other than praying for forgiveness. The forgiveness is all dependant on the sincerity of the prayer. But there is no means of paying for that debt. I felt the Lord prompting me to ask her if we could pay for our meal by saying a sincere prayer. She said, "No." I asked could I borrow money from the bank and pay off my debt with a prayer. She said, "No." I asked her if there were any example in life she could think of where she paid for something with prayer, and she said, "no."

Collosians 2:13-14 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

There was a great segway to sharing why it was that Jesus left heaven to come to earth as a man and humble himself to the point of dieing on the cross, for payment of sin. God opened her eyes to see her need for a savior to actually pay for her sins. The conversation continued as I inquired about whether she prayed for Mohammed. All good muslims pray for Allah to show Mohammad mercy and allow him into paradise. She said she prayed for this as well.

The flow of the conversation then went to show her that if every muslim was praying for Mohammad to receive mercy (not receiving the consequences he did deserve) and be allowed into paradise that muslims believed their prayers moved Allah to do this or why would they all be praying for it. Now if Mohammad has the prayers of millions of muslims praying 5 times a day for him to receive mercy and be allowed into paradise, what confidence should any other muslim have of entering paradise. I asked her if she thought of herself as more holy or righteous than Mohammed. She said she didn't. I told her that if she was the only person praying for her to get into paradise she either thought she was more righteous than Mohammad or she didn't think she was getting in to paradise.

The Lord used all of this to expose islam as a religion of works that led people to actually place their trust completely in their own works, when it was clear by their own admission that it was not enough. There was an eagerness for her to hear how our hope was in Christ and His work on the cross, not trusting in the goodness of our own works. We also had great confidence of an eternity in heaven, because our admission to heaven was again based on the work of Christ and our adoption as children of God.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

After sharing how to have eternal life in Christ Jesus and the forgiveness of her sins. She prayed at the edge of our table to trust in Christ as Lord of her life. She ended her prayer with the words Hallelua! It was truly amazing to have a front row seat to see God working in and through us even at lunch in the restaurant. There were several times of getting to share with muslims these same truths that there is no hope of paradise based on our own works, and Jesus death is the only way to have our sins paid for. But this one young lady was special because of it being such a surprising conversation that only the Lord received the glory.

I later learned that muslims are forbidden from saying Hallelujah unless said mocking a christian. It explained why it seemed a little odd when she said it the first time. The words didn't seem sincere and from the heart. I think those words were what struck my spirit to cause me to ask more questions. When she ended her prayer with Hallelua it seemed as an overflow of her heart and would have been spoken against Islam. Wow, thank you Jesus for these incredible seats to see of your glorious works!

Our God Saves

One of my favorite songs is by Paul Baloche, "Our God Saves." Listen to it as you read this blog about seeing Ugandans trust in Christ.



On the first day that we were going hut to hut sharing the gospel it seemed as though there was a barrier preventing the people from trusting Christ. My interpreters even chided me for spending too much time sharing with individuals who were resistant to the gospel. I don't believe anyone but Alicia really saw any conversions that first day. The rest of us shared again and again only to see people not trusting either the messenger or the message.

We came back at lunch and felt the Lord needed many of us not named Alicia to be in a more humble, prayerful and God dependent mindset before opening our mouths to speak. We needed that reminder that it is not the cleverness of our words that draws people to Christ, but the work of the Holy Spirit. The level of prayer increases when you understand who it is that must convict and lead men's hearts. And we began being much more prayerful throughout our trips into the countryside. We began to see nearly every person we shared the gospel with, trusting in Christ. Whole families, multiple generations, having their eternal destiny changed by the power of Christ.

The second day began with a van ride down a single track in the dirt that veered off the main road. We traveled a good ways down this path until a muddy patch prevented further travel. The mazungu's and their translators piled out from that point. When we stepped out we were greeted by several men who seemed amazed to see all of us pile out of the van right at their huts. The men immediately began talking about their need for money to build a better road. It didn't seem they wanted anything but our money. Every one began walking off including my interpreters to head down the trail. I asked my translator if we could share with these men and an amazing group conversion resulted. Three men sat down on a log and listened to me share the gospel of Jesus Christ. It seemed they were listening intently and readily agreed that they had indeed sinned against God. When the opportunity was given to trust in Christ, you could tell they felt a little awkward with different people around looking at them. These three men had several others at a distance watching them interacting with me.

The initial answer was that they were not ready. It was then that the conviction of seeing them walking down a path that leads to death, and being offered a path that leads to life overcame me. Who would say, "no I want to walk a little while longer down this path of death" if they really understood where the path led. I shared with them why the path they were on was a path that led to death, and that I was offering them a path that leads to life. After I asked them again if there was anything keeping them from trusting in Christ today, they said there wasn't. They said they wanted to receive Christ and life.

I led them in a prayer of salvation and then asked who had really meant the prayer that they had just prayed. All three men said they meant every word and truly desired for Christ to be Lord of their life. Then the most amazing thing happened. A lady stepped out of the doorway of the hut that the men were sitting closest to and said, "I prayed the prayer also and have trusted in Christ as well!" Then another lady came out of the same hut and said the same. Then I looked at the two women who were sitting behind us the whole time and they said they had prayed along and had trusted Christ as well. Another hut and the same thing. There were 9 women in all that said they had heard the gospel message I shared with these men, and that they had prayed to receive Christ. We hadn't taken 20 steps from where the van dropped us off and I was blown away by what God had done. He really is mighty to save!!

Romans 1:16-17 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

Thank you Lord for allowing us to see that the gospel really is the power of God. That there is not a person whose sin cannot be overcome by your grace. Thank you for all of these sweet Ugandan brothers and sisters that we will see in heaven one day because of the power of the gospel to save. Amina!!

The power of the Gospel

It is always such a thrill to get to go to Africa and work with the ministry of Morris and Aida because everything being done has been bathed in prayer long before you ever arrive. You are never sure what God is going to do to you and through you, but with much prayer in Africa you can rest assured God is going to definitely move. And move he did!!

There was an illustration I had seen before, that put a light under a broken pot that had been put back together. The only places that the light shines through is where the pot has been broken. The same thing happens with Christ in our lives, the only area that the light of Christ shines through us is where we have been broken! Often times areas of our lives that we have tried to cover up get exposed in Africa. It happens every year and it happens to every person on the trip. It is amazing! When you go out hut to hut, God lines up person after person that is the perfect person for you to share with. He wants to shine through these broken areas of our lives.

I wondered, "what crack did God want to shine through in my life?" It came as a surprise, but the more I shared the gospel each day the more I was broken by it. How could something so familiar be my area of brokenness? I will tell you how, on this trip I had the privilege to share the gospel a lot of times. And each time it was like a tiny little rock thrown at the glass wall around my heart. Each time I shared and saw the power of the gospel grip and impact a person's life it was as if the rock hitting my glass wall became a little bigger.

I was daily watching the power of God working through the message of the gospel to impact men and women's hearts. I didn't notice it at first, but as the week progressed, the message began to burn inside me. Each day was an attempt to find release of the "heart" burn inside me. I related it to an experience of trying to get a live coal out of your stomach. It burns inside of you and on the way out, and anyone who touches it feels the heat as well. Getting to share the gospel was like fanning a coal that was lit inside of me, but was not burning as hot as it could. Each day I became more broken by not being affected by the gospel, and in so doing it created a bigger crack for the light of Christ to shine through. It also seemed to allow the coal to be fanned hotter and hotter inside me.

The goal of the gospel is that we would be humbled to the point of brokenness by what Christ has done, so much so that we would lay our lives down in response to Him. Yet we so often become hardened to the familiar story of the gospel. If there was an attempt on your life and someone jumped in front of the bullet to save your life, I promise you that you wouldn't ever pass that spot where you saw their blood spilled out on the ground, without being gripped by the sacrifice that was made to save your life. If it was a loved one that sacrificed their life to save yours, your eyes would fill with tears in remembrance of the sacrifice they made for you and the depth of love they showed you. It seemed that I had just traveled away from that spot too far to be gripped the way I would by standing in that place again.

As I shared what Christ did for us, it brought me closer and closer to the place where Christ laid down His life for me. The closer I got, the more I was forced to consider anew what had been done for me. The more I shared the more I was gripped by the reality of the event. On the last morning I preached, I was sharing how we needed to see Christ on the cross in our place. That the Holy Son of God, had been beaten, whipped, tortured, and nailed on the cross for me. That if I was looking up at Christ on the cross in my place, I would have been pleading for Him to let me be the one on the cross. That I did not deserve for Him to take my sin and to face the death that I deserved. The image of Christ on the cross breathing His last breath, burned in my mind and nearly burst my heart! I could not speak the words that now burned in my heart in a way that would convey the intensity that I felt. I pleaded with the audience to look upon the cross and see their need for the forgiveness that Christ purchased for them, and to embrace the brokenness that comes from seeing just how devastating our sin is, while seeing how much greater is the grace of God.

If I struggle to have joy in my day, I need to return to the gospel.
If I struggle with becoming prideful, I need to return to the gospel.
If I struggle to share the gospel, I have great need to return to the gospel. That Jesus Christ left the right hand of God and all of His glory, to come to earth and live as a man. Where he lived a perfect life without sin. Saying and doing everything that God had given Him to do and say, living only to glorify His Father. And evil men having their sin exposed hated Him, because they fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus Christ allowed them to whip, beat, and mutilate Him and nail Him on the cross to pay for your and my sin. He died that we might live. On the third day God raised Him from the dead, that all who trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins will have forgiveness of sins, will have the spirit of God come and dwell in them, and will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ at the end of this life.

Does it burn inside you???? Pray that God would give you the chance today to share with someone what Christ has done for you and fan the flames of the gospel in your life.

Change of Flight Plans

The countdown to launch had begun as I prepared to leave for Uganda again, when an announcement that my dearest friend and partner in ministry would be joining me for this trip. Praise His Holy name only God can open a way when there is not one! The Lord opened the door at the last minute to make it possible for Alicia to go to Uganda in someone's place who could no longer go. All we would have to do is pay for the additional expenses of the trip over the cost of airfare. With the airline ticket being 2,300 dollars this was an incredibly generous gift.

As Alicia was reading her bible this past Saturday morning she felt that she needed to share with the team going to Uganda what the Lord was laying on her heart for each of the team members. After everything was packed and Alicia was waiting to share, she found out she was being offered to step in her place! It has been our desire to go back to Uganda if ever given the opportunity to go again.

The focus of this trip is to strengthen an existing church plant that has struggled after their pastor was asked to resign, and then additional turnover with following pastors. They have a wonderful pastor in place and since several of the team members were used to plant the church originally, it was a great fit. We will do hut to hut sharing the gospel around that church and holding crusades every evening at the church, sharing the gospel in schools and prisons, conducting a soccer camp where we are giving away 80 soccer balls to various schools around the orphanage and tons of jerseys to all the kids. We will also be ministering to the kids at the orphanage through the soccer camp and other ministries. We will also be preaching/teaching in several other church plants that are near by to help strengthen them as well.

We ask that you would keep us in your prayers as we prepare as best we can to walk where God is calling us to walk. There are many details and logistics that need to get taken care of. In addition, while the ticket cost for Alicia has been taken care of, there is still the cost for all of the things that need to be paid for while in Uganda (i.e. lodging, meals, transportation, ministry expenses, translators, etc.). This is where we are stepping out in faith as we have to raise $1,000 of the $3,300 for the cost of the trip.

We cherish and covet your prayers and support. Please pray for us and our children as we prepare for this trip. Please pray for those who will hear the gospel for the first time (the many people in the village, the children in the villages and schools, the men and women in prison). Please also pray for the individual who is unable to make this trip because of family crisis as it must be doubly hard for them to not be going after all of their preparations. If God is leading you to join us financially, you can contact us by phone or e-mail to let us know of your intentions and we will let you know when and where to send the check. Tomball Bible Church will send you a receipt for your tax deductible contributions. If God is leading you to commit to praying for us over the next two weeks, please e-mail us so that we can update you during the trip.

Dear Lord, “Search us, O God, and know our hearts; Try us and know our anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in us, And lead us in the everlasting way” (Psalms 139:23-24). Amen

Simply Gripped by His Grace