The Wingey City

It's pretty cold here in Chicago, not really what I was expecting, in the 30s when the sun goes down.  Seattle was green, blossoming, and pushing 70 on Sunday when I left and I was optimistic that spring was here and the temperatures would be on the rise.  Not so.  We drove through snow flurries from the airport to the hotel and I have had frozen ear lobes every night from walking to and from restaurants.  Wah wah wah, says the local, and they're right, I'm just whining.

In 2Cor. 1:8-11 Paul and his traveling mates have been all over modern day Turkey and Greece and have come up against increasing persecution, discrimination, and flat out hardship.  As he writes to the Believers in the worldly, pagan city of Corinth, he does not hesitate to inform them of their perilous experiences. This really struck me as I studied because at times, I shy away from writing in much detail of mine or my family’s struggles as we prayerfully wait for our next step in missions.  Partly because I feel it’s a personal struggle and not one to burden others with. I don’t want to be seen as “winge”-ing.  But it’s clear that there is great blessing in sharing our struggles as well as our triumphs. Paul is our example by sharing his experiences and then also points out the blessing that they received by the church’s prayer (verse 11).  As a result, there are blessings to share and multiply and the body of Christ functions as a healthy unit.  Pride plays a big part in what we do and do not share.  When we keep it all in, we not only miss out but we rob others of serving Christ by using their gifts.  Also, it’s clear that Paul makes a distinction between whining and honestly sharing a trial or concern, his letter is inspired by the Spirit and is written with real purpose and design, not one word is wasted or out of place. 

So, to start, would you pray for us to continue to hear from the Lord regarding Australia.  Almost every day and sometimes multiple times through the day, He gets our attention and draws us to pray for the nation and the brothers and sisters in the faith who are serving Down Under and I want our hearts to be soft and receptive to hear His voice.  Please pray for consistent and growing faith.  We have days when our faith and confidence in Christ and His promises is enough to feel our feet walking on the steamy sidewalk of some Aussie city and other times when we can’t see past our front door.  Would you pray for Cameron and the kids as they persevere in home schooling and generally keeping up the house while I’m working?  As many of you know I’ve been in training in my new job since January and am having to learn a new career from scratch.  This is a huge challenge and I am jumping in with both feet and often feel over my head.  I am confident though, that in time, it will get easier as I get more training and experience in the field.  I am very thankful for the income and for the potential this job has in opening possible doors in ministry, I just need prayer to keep at it and to stay balanced with my relationship with God, my wife, family, and friends.  As always, thank you for your prayers and support.     Jeremy 

Notes from the Windy City

So, I’m in Chicago for a couple of weeks to get trained by Sears in refrigeration repair.  I am super excited to get some intensive training and I am enjoying getting to know some new people from various parts of the U.S.  I miss the family and am kind of bummed about not getting to properly celebrate Easter but I know there are a lot of people who have it a lot worse, especially those serving in our armed forces.  As I settled into my four hour flight to Chicago from Seattle, I buried my nose into what has turned out to be a very interesting and sobering account of soldiers’ lives on the front lines of war against the Taliban in the craggy, rugged mountains and valleys of Afghanistan.  I managed to get through half of the book before we landed awkwardly on one of the many runways of O’Hare airport.  Though I have never served in the military, I enjoy reading about others who have, especially regarding training and leadership under the chaotic horror of combat.  While in Townsville, I found an old copy of the book, Band of Brothers and devoured it in short order.  It too was a great read with important lessons.  A story that really epitomizes what Jesus said in John 15: 13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  I am thankful also, for the many stories in the scripture that focus on leadership and many of them depict warfare or have some relation to military service.  In my devotional time today, I was in 2Corinthians 1: 1-11 and saw some of these leadership principles described by Paul as he wrote to this adolescent church.  He related the recent persecutions and trials that he and his traveling companions had experienced as opportunities to encourage the Corinthian Believers to endure the same things.  As I read, it is clear that Paul has lead the way through the battle and is showing courage and fortitude, much like the “Captain of our salvation”, our Lord Jesus.  He says in verse 6-7, by following in his footsteps they are affirming their faith thereby showing the fruit of their salvation.  The battle is certain, when the heat is turned up and the enemy engages us, the true Believers fight to hold their spiritual ground and the leaders rise to the forefront and boldly press forward while firmly but lovingly prodding others along.  May we find our strength in Christ to have victory against our adversary as Paul says in verse 9b, "...that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, who delivers us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us..."    Blessings, Jeremy