Church

 

Church is defined as “a house of worship.” I have seen all types of churches in my life, from very elaborate St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow to Abadia de Monterserrat in Spain to little country churches near home. And everything in between. What is the one thing that they have in common? They are all places of worship.

So, if a place of worship is a church, then I have been in a multitude of churches in my life. I worship and praise my Lord and God everywhere. I especially like to pray to him when I am in nature. So, if I am praising God in the forest, the forest is my church at that time. If I am next to a lake or a stream, then they are my church. I praise God on my deck in the morning. That to me, is church. And, I praise Him when I’m driving, so my car becomes my church. I praise Him at work. My desk area is my church. I praise Him when in the shower, doing dishes, making cards. All of those areas become church at that time. 

God is there, wherever I am. He is with me. He is with you. And He deserves our praise, no matter what your “church” looks like at the time. After all, a church is a place of worship. And we should worship Him everywhere we go.

Morning Worship

I had one of those mornings. You know the kind….I’m up, trying to get ready for the day and I just couldn’t get the shower temperature right. It was too hot. So, I adjusted it a bit. It was too cold. I tried again. Too hot, too cold. And again. The same thing happened. Finally, I got it right. In the big picture, it’s nothing to fuss about. But, that morning I couldn’t get it right on the first try. When I eventually was standing under the stream of perfect temperature water, my mind began to wander.

I was thinking about my shower in Ghana. First of all, it was a blessing that I even had running water. Most people did not. There was no hot and cold running water like here in the USA. Yes, I had hot water if I took a shower in the afternoon of a 95° day. And, I had cold running water during the Harmattan season when the outside temperatures were much cooler. I quickly learned not to take a long shower during Harmattan, and definitely learned not to take a morning shower Harmattan season. Brr!

So, my morning shower turned into a time to praise and thank the Lord. I praised Him for hot and cold running water. I praised Him for giving people knowledge on how to make the plumbing system in my apartment so I can adjust water temperatures. I thanked Him for the water pressure. And, I was grateful to Him because I didn’t have to be concerned about my water tank emptying before the next time it would be filled. 

Lord, thank You for morning showers that are the perfect temperature!

A Most Difficult Weekend

This past weekend was most difficult for me. Friday morning, I received word that my dear friend and colleague, the Very Rev. Ernest K. Baiden, ad died earlier that morning. How could this be true? I just saw him last week. Yet, I knew it was true. I couldn't accept it. I walked around the house like a zombie, not really focusing on anything. Doing something for a bit. Crying for a bit. Staring into space for a bit. Rev. Baiden was more than my pastor, more than my boss. Oh, how I will miss him.

I was scheduled to preach in Kalsagri on Sunday, yesterday. I am very grateful that for once I stayed up late on Thursday, not to color, but to finish my sermon. I knew on Friday, after hearing the news, writing a sermon would be useless. 

The theme of the day was to be, "Listen to the Lord and Live." What a perfect theme for the day! Two days earlier, I wasn't too sure as to what direction the sermon would go. Yes, it was written, but, still... And then, at church, before I preached, I announced Rev. Baiden's death. Most people knew already. Plus, I was wearing funeral cloth. Then, I began. After a few minutes, I put my notes down, and continued. It was truly the Lord who gave me yesterday's message. And, the untimely death of Rev. Baiden was a real life example that people understood.

I am not fond of having people repeat the "Sinner's Prayer." I want people to pray on their own, to mean it when they ask Jesus into their heats. Yesterday, we didn't have an altar call, per se. But, I definitely gave the invitation and had people pray on their own. I asked people to pray and ask Jesus to be Lord of their lives. Or, if they had already done that, which many have, what are the areas of your life where Jesus isn't Lord? Give those to Him. We prayed. And prayed. Surely, the Lord was in this place. This service was the perfect end to a most difficult weekend. Praise the Lord!

The Latest Dery Update

Yesterday, I had some visitors...a lot of them, actually. But, the visitors I want to talk about are Rev. Raymond Dery and his wife, Vida. On Sunday, March 16, 2014, Dery was in a very serious motorcycle accident. He was fighting for his life. Vida and I cried on each others shoulders at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. Now look at him! Now, 14 months later, he is visiting me in Lawra, where his family house is located.

Dery attended the annual Synod of the Northern Ghana Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana. So, I wasn't surprised to see him doing so well at my house. We had a lovely conversation while he was here. He is able to do many of the things that he did before his accident. He has many of the same mannerisms that he had before the accident. He still has a strong faith in God and is grateful for his life. Yet, you only have to spend a couple of minutes with him to know that he is still not the same as he was before the accident. Oh, the conversation was good, please don't get me wrong. But,there is still healing to take place. Even though, we are all grateful to God for Dery's healing up to this point, we continue to pray that God will touch him even more and restore Dery to the place where he will once again be preaching and teaching the Word of God, traveling to the villages where people are hungering for God's Words. We pray that he will be restored to the place where he is the husband and father he used to be. We pray that his brain will be fully recovered from the intense injury it suffered. Won't you pray with us?

Desert Song

This is my prayer in the desert, and all that is within me feels dry.

This is my prayer in the hunger in me, my God is a God who provides.

 

And this is my prayer in the fire, in weakness or trial or pain

There is a faith proved of more worth than gold

So, refine me, Lord, through the flames.

 

And I will bring praise. I will bring praise,

 No weapon forged against me shall remain.

I will rejoice. I will declare:

God is my victory and He is here.

 

And this is my prayer in the battle and triumph is still on it's way.

I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ, so firm on his promise I'll stand.

 

All of my life, in every season, You are still God.

I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship.

 

This is my prayer in the harvest, when favor and providence flow,

I know I'm filled to be emptied again.

The seed I've received I will sow.

 

~ by Hillsong

 

 

 

 

Celebrations

 

The people of Lawra Methodist Church can teach us all something about celebration and praising God! Last Sunday was Palm Sunday. Most everyone came to church with palm leaves or other types of leaves to wave during the "official" Palm Sunday type of song. Palm branches were in a variety of shapes and sizes, some branches came "as is," others were woven into numerous intricate designs. At the end of the service, when the "Hosanna" song was sung, the church really came alive with singing, dancing, jumping and praising King Jesus.It was definitely a "party" type atmosphere. Yes, Friday was coming, but this day, celebrating our King was in order.





 

Today is Easter Sunday. We remember that Jesus conquered sin and death and that "up from the grave He arose." As part of remembering the first Easter, our church went "looking for Jesus," just as the three women did so many years ago. The good news is that the tomb is empty! We met at 5 am at the community center and began a trek of singing praises (complete with drums) and preaching. Along our 1 1/2 hour route, we stopped five times for the word of God to be proclaimed to the nearby residents. The final sermon was at the center of town, at the traffic circle. There was preaching, singing, dancing, drumming, praying and proclaiming that our God is ALIVE. Three and a half hours later, we met for our regular Easter morning service. It has been a day of celebration and gratefulness to our Heavenly Father for His great love and mercy.

 

1 Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord! Praise him in his Temple and in the heavens he made with mighty power. 2 Praise him for his mighty works. Praise his unequaled greatness. 3 Praise him with the trumpet and with lute and harp. 4 Praise him with the drums and dancing. Praise him with stringed instruments and horns. 5 Praise him with the cymbals, yes, loud clanging cymbals. 6 Let everything alive give praises to the Lord! You praise him! Hallelujah!

Psalms 150:1-6 (TLB)

I Will Praise Him in the Morning

The last several mornings I found myself singing praises to the LORD all morning long. Won't you sing with me?

O Lord, our Lord

How majestic is Your name in all the earth.

O Lord, our Lord

How majestic is Your name in all the earth.

O Lord, we praise Your name!
O Lord, we magnify Your name;

Prince of Peace, Mighty God,
O Lord God Almighty.

How Majestic is Thy Name

~written by Michael W. Smith

Rejoicing

God is good...all the time! All the time...God is good! It was so good to say these words in Ghana and hear the Ghanaian people respond in their Brittish English. I smile just thinking about it.

I am rejoicing today because God loves me and His mercy endures forever. I am rejoicing, too, that my medical tests came back negative. Rejoice and thank God with me!