Settling down "above the clouds"

We see the decision to retire from full time mission was the wise thing. Some of our friends have already gone on the be with the Lord and others are having health problems. Kent is approaching eighty years old and has the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation well controlled with medication and Peggy will soon be seventy-four with arthritis and macular degeneration in one eye. In our front room overlooking Franklin, NC, we have a lighted tree which turns on after dark to celebrate God’s faithfulness to us over the previous seven years in Tanzania and Uganda. We call it our “celebration tree” which commemorates our deliverance from being killed in a car wreck, survival through the first wave of covid 19 which passed through Tanzania six months before the US pandemic and finishing the last eight months in Uganda preparing the Rafiki village for new long-term missionaries. Both of us view the remaining time as the final sprint before going home to be with the Lord. This does not mean we have any divine revelation for our personal future but it does indicate we want to finish well and remain fruitful in Christ to the end. Then for all of you who are aging, I commend to your attention the little ninety-nine page monograph by J. I. Packer Finishing Our Course With Joy (or Guidance from God for Engaging with our Aging). Reading through the turgid contents is not easy and it is not digestible in one pass. I have already been through it three times and am still finding new personal applications. With a perspective on the final sprint, our focus include those have already finished the race. Another reason for reading J. I. Packer is his best seller Knowing God and his contribution to the ESV study bible as the theological editor. The notes, charts, maps and diagrams in this study bible are so valuable, I constantly use it as a resource. So what is left in our hands as the final sprint unfolds? We left behind a discipleship network in Tanzania which hopefully will be self-replicating. Peggy and I are planning a trip back to Tanzania to check on the network and encourage those in charge from Apr 21 to May 18. We intend also to help in the teacher training institute and school. John and Cathy Sill, an artist writer duo in our Franklin home church, have donated twenty-two lavishly illustrated children’s books to grace one of the libraries in the Rafiki School which now has about 400 students. Some of you know I have written a manuscript for a book which has been favorably received by those reviewing it including an editor at Tyndale and Crossway. Why would I add one more book to the volumes already in existence? This one is a monument to the fabulous grace of God or how Christ changed my life by transforming the worst thing ever happening to me into the best thing and, in the process, learning that there are some things in life worse than death. Getting a book published now-a-days is a major accomplishment. I am not looking to make money or a reputation but to serve as a modern illustration of the great principle: when convinced of reaching the absolute limit in tolerating the worst challenges of life, God’s amazing grace takes us above and beyond even that. The present title of the manuscript is Kilimanjaro…Through the Abyss. The manuscript is not in final form, for this reason I am offering a digital copy to anyone desiring to review what has been done so far. Individuals who have reviewed the document say it is compelling and difficult to put down. I am constantly looking for suggestions which will make the story more readable and have even hired a writing coach. Last month I attended a Christian writer’s conference in Asheville as my first major step in learning how to be a successful writer. I learned a lot and had an invite from Bob Hostetler, who has written more than fifty books, to send him a copy of the manuscript. If you decide to do a review just send me an email. The only requirement will be offering some feedback. More recently, the Lord has challenged me to review some verses from Paul’s letter to the Colossians. What is the grand goal of our redemption and sanctification? “In order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Col 1:22 ESV). “Holy” has the connotation of being set apart by God for a special purpose which always reflects His character. And so we are told to be holy for He is holy. “Blameless” means absence of condemnation before God and men. This is reflected in Paul’s admonition to Titus, “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned.” (Tit 2:7,8). “Above reproach”, as it applies to men, means absence of any mannerisms, speech or behavior which causes offense to jews, gentiles or the church of God. Obviously, this is a hard requirement for any saint to fulfill in walking through this world. But as to God, “above reproach” includes no failure is responding to conviction of the Holy Spirit in performing an action pertinent to the will of God. Hudson Taylor observed that most Christians estimate difficulties based on their own resources and thus attempt little or fail in what they attempt but all God’s giants have been weak men who accomplished great things for God because they reckoned on His power and presence with them. Has God put in your spirit a specific conviction? Then we must respond because we love our Master and seek to please Him in every way. Let us not be among those who resist a conviction from our Lord for any reason. The life of Gladys Aylward is an excellent illustration of acting on a conviction from the Lord despite difficulties and discouragement even from other Christians. Look her up on the internet, you will be blessed! Those of us who have been walking with the Lord and are now on the final sprint should be especially sensitive to act on spiritual convictions (meaning they come from the Holy Spirit and not from carnal sources). In addition to all this we are grateful to the Lord for giving us just the right house, not too big, not too small and making it comfortable for guests. The house needed work which is almost completed and ready for you. The property included a medium sized workshop and a large garage to receive all my tools. We have only had snow on two occasions, never have lost power but do have a propane powered generator. Let us all follow Paul as he wrote to the Colossians, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Col 1:29) Your fellow servants, Kent and Peggy