Hanging Out with the Lord

Values. Everyone has them, whether they are expressed, or not. In the Old Testament, the word we translate as 'value' means heavy or weighty, referring to precious metals or the heavy wheat being separated from the lighter chaff. It is the important, weighty things; the things that matter.

When we talk about our values at ReachAcross, we are talking about the things that God has built into our work that reflects who He is. Our most important value is prayer. We have a personal God who makes it possible for us to connect with him constantly. To use modern slang, we’re ‘hanging out’ with Him all the time! We get closer to other people by spending time with them. The same is true with God. Because He has promised to be with us always(Matthew 28:20), we can always be spending time with Him in prayer. Through prayer, our relationship with God can grow deeper as we discover what is on His heart for us and other people. We can not only lay out our own burdens before Him, but those of others as well. The work of ReachAcross was born in prayer, and it is prayer that continues to make this service for Muslims possible.

Recently we experienced a very evident answer to prayer—a pretty hopeless visa situation suddenly changed, and only God could have done it. We were reminded again that it is He who opens doors. As the Apostle Paul wrote: 

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. (Col. 4:2-4)

Open doors are always a miracle, even when we don’t realize it. Whether God’s Lordship changes the life of an individual, or a family, or a whole clan—continued prayer is the key. That is where our partners have such a vital role to play.  Just like the men who brought their friend to Jesus, and let him down through the roof when there was no other way to get to Him, so our prayer partners bring Muslims to the Lord through their prayers.

“And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 3:5)

It was not the paralytic’s faith, but the faith of his friends that impressed Jesus so much. Not only that, they wanted their friend to be in the presence of the Lord, so they went to extreme lengths to bring him to Jesus. We can do the same for those we care about, by praying for them. All of us, workers and prayer partners, are in this together.

Let us follow Paul’s advice and “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), continually lifting up our concerns and those of others to the Lord.

If you would like to pray with us for the Lord’s work in the Muslim world, please follow @ReachAcrossPray on Twitter for prayer updates.

ReachAcross U.S. Director

Caring for the Disabled in the Middle East

from the ReachAcross U.S. Director

For some years now, Gene and Rochelle have been working among disabled people in a Middle Eastern country, bringing grace and the Good News to some of the most neglected inhabitants of a largely unreached area. The English language and computer classes have been supplemented in the last two years through a program that provides for physiotherapists and other specialists to visit these people in their homes. Gene and Rochelle were evacuated recently with other personnel—much too soon to be able to turn this work over to nationals. We don’t know what will become of their labor, but we do know that we have a God who cares for the poor, and He will not forget about them.

The neediest patients often come from long distances. One morning a crippled child was brought from a village about two hours drive into the mountains. A caring relative in the city had given the family hope that they might be able to get help from a foreigner who actually loved and cared for handicapped people! Since the birth of their crippled child, the family had struggled in to know how to care for her. In the clinic a doctor did a medical examination and they got advice from a physiotherapist. We could see that it would be very helpful for the family to have a wheelchair to taking the growing child out of the house occasionally.

Thankfully, after a gift from a friend, we arranged a family outing to that village 2 hours away, and were able to deliver the wheelchair to the grateful family! We emphasized to them that God had provided for their need through generous Christian friends. They were so excited!

A qualified occupational therapist came along with us and was asked to look at two physically and mentally disabled boys. In her gentle way she showed the mothers how to do some simple exercises with their sons to help their muscles develop. Now they also felt some hope for their children.

The village is dusty and windswept with very little to employ people. The poverty drives the young men to leave the village to go to the cities in search of work. There are schools in the village and a small but active regional health centre. We long that centers like this will bring Christ's compassion and practical help to more people.

The end of the trip was very encouraging because after a generous lunch I had a good chat with our hosts about the Gospel. Gene