AS YOU GO ...

At the Taj Mahal

Pastors at the Training Centre in Nepal

1st International Speak in 113 years

As You Go…

I have long believed that when Jesus spoke to His disciples before He returned to the Father He said, "As you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey all the commandments I have given you.”

Well, I found out today that that is a controversial view! It isn't "AS you go,” it's just "GO!"

I understand that we ARE to GO INTO ALL THE WORLD. That is clear. Jesus sent the disciples out and told them to go to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So YES! We are to GO! But it isn't an "either/or". It's a "both/and".

While we are waiting "to go" to some faraway place to which the Lord might send us, we are to live our daily lives, AS WE GO, in such a way that it is evident to all that there is something different about us. We should shine like stars in the universe and bring light to the darkness.

We don't have to wait to go on a mission trip before we live out the great commission.

I have taken that to mean that I am to be "a Christian" in everything that I do and live as though Jesus was standing beside me every minute of the day - because He is! I check my change and if they gave me too much, or didn't charge enough for something, I will point that out. If I find something I make every effort to get it back to its rightful owner. I do what I know is right, not because I want to look good but because I represent Jesus here on earth and that is what He would do.

I don't do it perfectly, by far, but that is my goal. In all areas of life, I am to live as Jesus would. But that is easier said than done.

Jesus’ original command to “Go make disciples” still stands. We are to make disciples, here, overseas, within our own families and everywhere we go. That is not always comfortable for me. I have taught and led people into deeper understanding of their faith and have served a lot in the Church. But as far as evangelizing, it has been more of a hit-and-miss venture. But it has been "as I go".

There have been a few instances of Jesus giving me what I would call "divine encounters" with people and they have come to the Lord. I was very excited about that because it doesn't happen very often. And there have been times when I have had the opportunity to witness to people, and they have not come to the Lord at that point in their journey.There are lots of times when I wonder if I spend too much time "in the Church" and not out in the world evangelizing and winning people to the Lord.

I have actually beaten myself up a lot about this, but I have to believe that if I am to go OUT, the Lord will make a way and let me know that that is what He is calling me to do. In fact, I have just returned from a mission trip to India, Nepal and Singapore. It was wonderful to be "back in the field" sharing about Jesus and the Holy Spirit with believers and a few people who did not know Jesus. I tried to live so that they would see something different in me. I think they did because at least one Muslim tour guide still writes to me.

I know there is a spiritual hunger in the world today. So many, especially young people, do not know who He is and have not even heard basic Bible stories or Jesus' name except as a swear word. They are looking for something though.

I want to speak to people about Jesus, but I don’t always know how to start a conversation about Him. Maybe I just have to start practicing: “Have you ever heard about Jesus of Nazareth? May I tell you about Him?”

There is work to be done here in my Jerusalem "as I go" about my daily life, I can bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth and be an ambassador for the King. Maybe I just need to be more aware of what is happening around me “as I go”, and be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within me. Jesus can usually find a way to use those who are willing and available.

What do you think? How do you live out the Great Commission that Jesus gave us? I’d love to hear about it!

Peace & Love,

Holly M. <><

The Lord is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want.

                                                                                       

I was complaining one day to the Lord. Silly me! And I said, "If the Lord is my Shepherd, how come I have so many wants and needs right now?"

It didn't take long before the Lord answered. "Say it again," He challenged.

So I did, "The LORD is my shepherd I shall not want."

"Am I your Shepherd?" He asked. I had to think about that. Who was really in charge of my life? I realized that I was. I had asked Jesus to step back and stop speaking into my life because I had lost faith in Him (a long story for another time!!). I knew it was crazy, but I had asked Him to back off.

"Again," He requested.

"The Lord IS my shepherd..."

I call Him my Shepherd, but am I really following everywhere He leads? Am I letting Him lead me beside still waters? No, I wasn't, not fully. How could He be when I had asked Him to give me space and not make demands on me while I "figured it out" on my own?

I continued, "The Lord is MY shepherd..."

He certainly wanted to be my shepherd. He paid a huge price to become my shepherd. He hadn't abandoned me when I asked Him to step back, Maybe I should reconsider what I was doing in keeping Him at arm's length.

"The Lord is my SHEPHERD..."

What does a shepherd do? He makes sure the sheep are safe and fed and in a place where they can be still and rest. He rescues them from danger and brings them back when they stray.

Even though I had asked Jesus to step back, He really didn't take His hands off. I was cared for and loved and protected. He was there watching over me because He promised He would never leave me or forsake me. He is faithful to His Word and to His sheep!

"The Lord is my shepherd 'I' shall not want..."

Jesus knows me. He knows my name - in fact, He shut down the whole city of Halifax the day I was born so that I would be named "Holly" - "holy, set apart for God". He chose me. So why would He not care for me?

"The Lord is my shepherd I SHALL NOT want.."

No, if I was honest, didn't I have everything I needed? I have a home and a wonderful family, clothes to wear, food to eat, I get to travel the world on "nothing" (I don't know how He manages, but He does!), I have a car and money in the bank. I am richer than 95% of the people on the planet according to one survey. I SHOULD NOT want!

"The Lord is my shepherd I shall not WANT."

There are a lot of things in this life that I would LIKE to have and THINK I need, but I really do not WANT for anything! Except for an attitude change!!!

Jesus,

Thank You for being my Shepherd. Thank You for the love and care that You pour out on me every single day. Please forgive my arrogance that allows me to think that You, or the world, owe me anything! You are a GOOD SHEPHERD. You look after me and make sure that I have everything I need.

Please help me to see what I DO have and trust You with what I don't have. Help me to trust that I have everything I need to become who You want me to be and do what You have written in Your book of my life before the beginning of time. You HAVE given me everything I need. You have given me The Good Shepherd. You have given me YOURSELF.

Thank You! I love You. 

<>< xo💕 xo💕 xo 💕

Do You Want to be Adopted?

I was fortunate to grow up in a home with both my father and mother.

Although it started out kind of rough for them — my dad was black and my mom is white — they hung in there through prejudice against them, and made it work! That was unusual 60 years ago.

That they stayed together has been a real gift and glowing example to me when things got rough in my own marriage.

As great as my parents were, though, there was always something in me that wanted to be adopted! There was something glamorous about it in my mind. I remember searching the attic for “adoption papers” to prove I was adopted. There were none (smile).

I realize a lot of people don’t know the security of seeing parents walk through the good and the bad for over 50 years, and actually fulfill their vows of: “til death do us part.” But one of the greatest joys of my heart has been to see friends and strangers come to know the love of a Father who will never leave them nor forsake them, who promised to be there for eternity.

God, our Heavenly Father, loved us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to make a way for us to be adopted into His family. When I believed that Jesus was God’s Son, the Heavenly Father adopted me as His own child. “He came into the world — the world he had created — and the world failed to recognize him. He came to his own creation, and his own people would not accept him. Yet wherever men did accept him he gave them the power to become sons of God.”

(John 1:11, 12 JB Phillips) We are not “all God’s children” until we accept what Jesus did for us on the cross. So, it turns out, I was adopted after all!

Have you ever wanted to be adopted into a caring family and know the security of a loving Father who wants only the best for you? One who will spend time with you and encourage you to be all He created you to be? Well, Jesus made a way for you, just like He did for me.

Your life does not have to be all together or perfect to be part of God’s family.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost and orphaned. By accepting Jesus’ gift, bought for you on the cross, you can know the love of the Heavenly Father. He formed and created you. He has an amazing plan to prosper and bless you. It’s as simple as asking, and believing that Jesus has made it possible.

When you are truly a child of God, you will discover that you have brothers and sisters of all shapes and sizes, colours and persuasions, because God accepts us all when we come to Him. Why not come to the Father today and join the family?

Oh, and Happy Father’s Day!

Seek the Lord, not experiences

I believe in angels. I even believe I know the names of some of the angels who have been assigned to me. I also believe that some, including Saint Paul, have been caught up to Heaven and have seen Jesus and God the Father there. I believe there are many spiritual experiences that are possible in the here and now.

But I am concerned about the huge preoccupation with this kind of thing right now. People get distracted by these extraneous experiences to the exclusion of their relationship with Jesus. I want, and need all the help I can get! And I do believe we are supposed to be walking in miracles NOW and there isn’t a whole lot of that in the Church.

I asked the Lord what He thought about all this, and I would like to share what I believe He told me, for your consideration.

“Holly, I do send My angels to minister to you, and it is not wrong to be aware of them or look for them. But it is not to take away from our relationship, nor are you to put them ahead of Me or seek them instead of Me. SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM, then all these things will be added unto you.

You have been asking Me to open your eyes and to show you Heavenly things. I will. You just have to seek Me first and you will see My Kingdom. Be aware, like you are the signs of the times. Ask Me for My power to be manifest through My Spirit, and if angels are needed, I will send them. But YOU TOO can walk in these things because My Spirit is within you. I have given you the tools that you need, and I will send My angels to help you.

There is a lot of emphasis on going to Heaven and seeing angels and things that are not bad in and of themselves, but as soon as they become the focus, they become idols. Do NOT have any other gods before Me. It will not produce the fruit you want. Guard your heart and mind, or you will pay the price. Keep your eyes on Me, your hands clean and your heart pure. Then you will walk in power and be able to rise up into Heavenly places and see what you need to see.

I have shown you who you are. I will train your hands for battle and your arms will bend a bow of bronze against the enemy. You will prevail and win against him if you stay close to Me and follow close behind Me. I will give you what you need, when you need it.

If you are hungry for more, all you have to do is ask. I have given you the power to obey My call. Ask Me and I will send angels to go minister and even fight for you. But it is more important to seek Me while I may be found. Call on Me while I Am near."

Isaiah 55 can guide us in discerning the way we should go.

1 “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free! 2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
3 “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David…

6 Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts….

11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 12 You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! …

One Warm Line -

Crossing Canada’s Northwest Passage on Hwy 16 

John and I are traveling across Canada from Seattle, WA to Halifax, NS. We decided to take the “high road” this time from British Columbia to Alberta along Hwy 16 and through Jasper National Park. (for more pictures, check my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155067469637489&set=pcb.10155067550457489&type=3&theater)

While leaving BC, we had introduced a couple of people to Stan Rogers, a Cape Bretoner, who wrote a song about going through the Northwest Passage (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIjFpwsXhuI). It is a powerful song. Once it gets started in my head, it does NOT go away easily (not that I’m complaining ☺️).

All of that to say, I was very aware of the trek we were taking along Hwy 16 on beautifully maintained 2 and 4 lane paved highways. Any of the vistas at any given point would take your breath away. I couldn’t help thinking about the prisoners who came through for the first time. The imposing mountains, the vastness of the rugged terrain, the brutal forces of nature, all through land that had never before been seen let alone mapped. How did they survive the severity of it all?

And the backdrop to it all, running over and over again in my mind, was Stan Roger’s “One Warm Line”.

I truly felt like we were travelling the “one warm line on land”. Franklin and his men did it by sea, but we were following in the footsteps of those who had conquered that quest by land. And what a privilege it is to be able to follow where they plowed through.

Canada is a big empty country in so many ways, but it is not because there is nothing there. There are parts of this nation that may never be seen by human eyes, but the Creator of it all looks down with delight, I am convinced, because He knows all the little animals and plants and rivers and lakes that are hidden away and are there just for Him to enjoy. I am thankful though, that He has put it in the hearts of men and women to seek out these treasures, and then gives them the fortitude, the strength of character and conviction to follow their dreams.

It has been my pleasure and delight to be able to cross the North American Continent 6 times now. Sometimes through the US and sometimes through Canada. It shows me parts of God that I would never have seen. His extravagant use of color and hue, multitudes of texture, the unending variety of birds and plants and flowers, His love of open spaces and peace.

I love Canada and the US and am grateful that God has planted me here. I see myself as Bi-Coastal (Eastern Canada and West Coast BC and Washington), and Bi-polar - of the north and south persuasion :) allowing me to embrace two of my native countries - Canada and the United States.

As I trek back and forth across this awesome land, my prayer is that I can encourage those I meet, as I have been encouraged and inspired by those who have opened the way for me. If I could show the way for those coming behind me and leave a warm line for them to travel, my hope is that it would lead to the Maker of all this beauty and majesty, for He is more impressive than all of it put together.

Northwest Passage
By Stan Rogers

Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
   
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea;
   
Tracing one warm line through a land so wide and savage
   
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea.

Westward from the Davis Strait 'tis there 'twas said to lie

The sea route to the Orient for which so many died;

Seeking gold and glory, leaving weathered, broken bones

And a long-forgotten lonely cairn of stones.

Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
   
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea;
   
Tracing one warm line through a land so wide and savage
   
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea.

Three centuries thereafter, I take passage overland

In the footsteps of brave Kelso, where his "sea of flowers" began

Watching cities rise before me, then behind me sink again

This tardiest explorer, driving hard across the plain.

Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
   
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea;
   
Tracing one warm line through a land so wide and savage
   
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea.

And through the night, behind the wheel, the mileage clicking west

I think upon Mackenzie, David Thompson and the rest

Who cracked the mountain ramparts and did show a path for me

To race the roaring Fraser to the sea.

Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
   
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea;
   
Tracing one warm line through a land so wide and savage
   
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea.

How then am I so different from the first men through this way?
Like them, I left a settled life, I threw it all away.

To seek a Northwest Passage at the call of many men

To find there but the road back home again.

Ah, for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
   
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea;
   
Tracing one warm line through a land so wide and savage
   

And make a Northwest Passage to the sea.

A Slave or Not A Slave? That is the question!

A Slave or Not A Slave? That is the question!

By Holly M. Roddam

The story of the first American missionaries to Burma* got me thinking about how slavery has been part of man’s history since the beginning. Time magazine reported in January 2010 that despite more than a dozen international bans on slavery in the past 150 years, there are more slaves today than any other time in human history.

Being only three generations out of slavery myself, I can’t comprehend people thinking they can own others, and treat them with such brutality. And yet, I don't always treat people the way I should. Maybe it shouldn't be so hard to understand!

It was with curiosity and interest that I read Pulitzer Prize winner, Alex Tizon's final story for The Atlantic magazine, “My Family’s Slave” **, a moving story about how Alex’s family came to America in 1964 from the Philippines, and brought Lola, a Filipino slave, with them. She served the family for 56 years until she died.

I was struck by the power of Lola’s love and ability to put a family who often mistreated her, before herself. Obviously, I don't believe in slavery, but I admire how Lola demonstrated what St Paul said, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Phil 4:12-13 NIV

I wonder if Lola knew Jesus. She certainly lived like Jesus! There was nothing to say that she even knew Him, but I wonder too, that there aren’t many who meet Jesus in a way that our Evangelical model would never consider or believe! Scripture says that creation witnesses to the love of God, and Jesus is a friend to the outcast and sinner. There is no excuse for not knowing Him.

My hope is that I too will know the secret of being content in my situation. I have been privileged in so many ways, and yet, mostly I have seen what I haven't had, or what the Lord hasn't done for me. But I am learning. You can be free on the outside but a slave inside, and you can be a slave on the outside, but truly free on the inside.

I don't understand suffering, especially when people are pouring their lives out for God. Adoniram Judson and all the first American Overseas missionaries, willingly, and painfully, gave up their lives for the sake of the gospel. Today hundreds of thousands of Christians are tortured and martyred for their faith. But I do know that God's ways are higher. I trust that He is good and what He does is good, whether I understand it or not. I am thankful for the lives of those who have lived this truth for the rest of us to see.

Please, Jesus, may my life encourage those coming behind me.

 *http://christianaudio.com/adoniram-judson-janet-benge-geoff-benge-audiobook-download
** https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/lolas-story/524490/

IT MIGHT BE FRIDAY...

I saw a sign that said, give blood on Friday. 
I read it twice, then I realized, 
“This is Good Friday! I don’t have to give blood. 
Jesus already did!” 

 




 
I know the sign was about a blood drive, and I believe in them, but it hit me that Jesus was a blood donor of a rare sort. The gift of His blood saved the entire world. It wasn’t because it was going to be infused into someone’s veins in a hospital, but because it has the power to wash away our sins forever. Jesus’ blood was enough to cover all our sins for all time, over and over again.

Today is the Saturday between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. I read a post on Facebook by Greg Goebel http://anglicanpastor.com/im-not-an-anglican/ and he made me think of something I had never considered in all the years of celebrating Easter. What was it like on Saturday??
                                
Jesus was dead. So many people were in shock and mourning. So many more weren’t even aware of the significance of all that had happened the day before. Even the disciples didn’t realize what really happened! Jesus was gone and now what were they going to do? Their whole world had crumbled around them. And yet, their countrymen went on as if nothing had changed.

Greg had a great perspective.

“On Holy Saturday I’m always torn between the routines of family life and the utter silence of all creation while Christ lies in the tomb. How can things go on as normal? Why did the earth continue to revolve and people to eat, drink, and be merry as Christ lay in the tomb, dead. Death is silent to the living. He was not moving. He was not there. When will God answer? We had hoped for more. This hope is not just an Anglican hope, its a human hope.”

Yesterday, was also the 9th anniversary of my Dad’s passing. I remember sensing Heaven being much closer now that Dad was there too. I didn’t feel an emptiness because, unlike the disciples, I knew Dad was alive and with the Living Saviour. The disciples didn’t know what was going on. But God had a plan and was working everything together for their good.

Death is not my problem 😇. It’s living each day before that graduation day. And like the disciples, I am often bewildered by “what the heck” is going on and “where is God when I need Him most?” But this Easter, I take away a new lesson.

On this Easter Saturday, I am going to “Be still and know that He is God” because God still has a plan. He is still working everything together for my good. Now I just need to remember, it might be Friday... it might be Saturday... but Sunday’s coming! And I think we all know what that means!

The Lord is Risen!!!
He is Risen Indeed!!!
HALLELUJAH!!! 🎉💕😇


HAPPY EASTER!