Archive for March, 2023

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”

He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 1 Kings 19:1-7

“Once again Elijah had to run for his life. This time he headed south, over a hundred miles, past Beersheba and into the desert. After traveling all day in the desert he was tired and cried to the Lord. Take my life. Life had become meaningless.

He had expected that the victory on Carmel would lead to religious reforms in Israel, but Jezebel was determined that it would not. Elijah is not alone in feeling this way, for it is not uncommon for a period of depression to follow a very uplifting religious experience.

Th Lord graciously did not rebuke Elijah for his fear, exhaustion, and depression, but instead sent an angel to provide for his physical needs.”

Musa Gotom (Nigeria) in “1 Kings” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 439.

I am nearly halfway through one of the most stretching trips of my life. Like Elijah, I feel like it’s running a marathon with highs and lows. His high was defeating 450 prophets of Baal.

My experiences have been indescribably good and stretching. God’s opening the eyes of people in Togo like He did in Benin. They express joy and resolve to grow as faithful stewards who follow God-honoring standards.

And the best part is the the Benin and Togo country teams we have formed will aim to maintain the momentum created by our visit. And yet, I can relate to the feeling of fear right after a huge victory of faith.

Sometimes the journey is too much for a person. I shot the new header photo while waiting for my ride this morning. What struck me were the coconuts in the trees.

Seeing them reminded how God can supply food. That’s the generosity of our God. He knows that often we cannot make it on our own. We need help. We need a good meal. We need him to send an angel.

This is where this post relates to every person reading this. Ask God how He might want you to be an angel. For Elijah the angel gave him a meal. Is there anyone for whom you might provide a meal?

The act of kindness just might save their life. Or at least, as was the case with Elijah, it might save them from despair which can happen to anyone. Follow God’s leading. And keep Samson and I in your prayers.

We facilitate “Stations of Generosity” for a group of around 30 people in Lomé, Togo, today. Prayer that it will impact their lives and inspire them to replicate it with their networks.

“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’” 1 Kings 17:12-14

“On arriving in Zarephath, Elijah met a widow near the town gate. Just as Eliezer had asked Rebecca for a drink outside the town of Nahor, so Elijah requested a drink from the widow, as well as something to eat. The widow told him of her poverty and that she and her son were down to the last of their food. But the prophet reassured her, Don’t be afraid, and promised that the Lord would sustain her till the end of the drought. The widow did as she was told. She believed the word of God and was obedient to it. Many years later, Jesus would mention her as an example of someone with faith. Her supply of oil and flour lasted to the end of the famine.”

Musa Gotom (Nigeria) in “1 Kings” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 437.

On my transition day traveling from Cotonou, Benin to Lome, Togo was long, hot, and hard.

It had been a short night. I only got 2.5 hours sleep. My airport ride collected me at 3:00 am. I had to fly to Douala, Cameroon first. Upon arrival I had to enter the country through customs to get a boarding pass for my connecting flight. When I finally made it to the counter on a muggy morning (actually it was really sweltering hot), I learned my checked bag was left on the plane and continued to another city. This was bad.

In my daily office yesterday, the Lord had powerful revealed to me that “the Lord took charge” for Elijah and He would doing the same for me.

I sighed and spent another hour in a hot room crammed with people waiting for my turn to file a lost bag claim. Then, when the baggage people sent me back to the ticket counter. Upon arrival the attendant said, “Over there. That’s the manager of Air Senegal who lost your bag. Go to him.” That’s all she said. I obeyed and said not one word (I don’t know French so any conversation would have been pointless anyway).

He saw the claim in my hand. Grabbed it and took a picture then did something on his phone, handed it back to me and gave me a positive signal. Neither of us said a word.

The attendant watched everything and said that I would get my bag. He has seen to it. Somehow I felt that “the Lord took charge” and everything would be alright.

Then the attendant told me that the flight that took my bag to another city was immediately returning to Douala. But it would return after my flight was departing. Then, you guessed it, the Lord delayed my departing flight. This gave sufficient time for the plane which took my bag to another city to return and load it on my plane thanks to that manager’s intervention. By the time I arrived in Lome over 10 hours after waking up, my bag was with me.

When I got to my hotel, which was not far from the ocean, I walked there and shot this new header photo.

The waves were pounding on the rocks. I thought of how I felt pounded. Right by the water, with Koffi Nyamadi, a trainer who had collected me at the airport, I read Psalm 93. It was a powerful moment for him and me reflecting on the fact that our God is greater than the mighty breaking waves of the sea. And I went to my room and collapsed. After a three hour nap, Samson, his wife, Ines, and I, had amazing prayer time and dinner with the Togo team.

In the midst of this whole ordeal, I had a God moment walking through this long hot corridor of the airport in Douala. I stopped, sat down, and cried out to God and said, “This is too hard. I can’t do this.” And yet, I felt God reminding me, “You’ve got this. I am with you and I have taken charge.” Remember, Zarephath means place of refining and testing. Is God testing you? Hear the words of today’s post. Don’t be afraid.

When we pass through the fire, God’s refines us. Job 23:10 came to mind: “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” He uses the fires of testing for our growth and His glory. When we feel pounded by the waves, we must remember that God is shaping and molding us. He cared for the widow and the prophet and can take charge for us. We need not fear, only obey.

Pray for Samson and me and the program work that begins today in Lome, Togo. Teaching on “Stewardship and Standards – Two Keys to Strengthen Sustainable Ministries in Togo” with 45 influential pastors and ministry administrators.

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 2 Kings 17:1-6

“The closing words of Elijah’s prophecy, except at my word, left some hope that if the king and the people repented, the situation might change. But they did not, and Elijah had to leave and settle east of the Jordan River. By doing this he escaped death with the other prophets and had a supply of water from the Brook Kerith, which continued to flow for some time despite drought. The Lord took charge of meeting his need for food.”

Musa Gotom (Nigeria) in “1 Kings” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 437.

I have resonated with Elijah and Elisha the prophet this week.

I give thanks for God’s provision and protection. Where the Lord guides, the Lord provides. He takes charge of meeting our needs. We can be in dry and barren places and find contentment.

The key is to do what the Lord tells us to do. That’s what Elijah did.

How are you doing so far this Lent? Are you doing what the Lord has told you to do? I feel like I am in my sweet spot of service to Him. I have been very uncomfortable at times but feel His care in profound ways.

For example, few things in Benin went on time or according to schedule and yet God showed up in power. We had to make many adjustments to our schedules due to unforeseen circumstances.

Reply if you want a copy of the trip report. Samson and I head to Togo today. It seems like spiritual forces were hindering my going there, as did not get my visa until yesterday.

That’s how God works. As I ponder and wait and trust in Him, I find He is more than good. He’s unimaginably faithful, and just like He looked after the prophets, He cares for me.

Go wherever the Lord leads you. He will work for your good and His glory. And enjoy whatever food He supplies. Every meal seems to be a surprise for me when I travel.

And I must conclude by wishing my son. Sammy, a happy birthday.

And I thought to myself, if God leads you to a brook, bring your fly rod. That’s what Sammy would do. He’d catch fish. I pray your adventure following the Lord’s leading includes days by a river. Few things are better.

“Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 1 Kings 17:9

“We are now told of some other miracles associated with Elisha that resemble those worked by Elijah. The miraculous supply of oil is similar to the supply of flour for the widow of Zarephath that did not run out till the end of the famine. The raising of the dead child of the Shunammite woman resembles that of the child of the widow in Zarephath. One thing that should be noted about all these miracles is the faith and obedience of those who benefited. None of them doubted the ability of the prophet. They did as the prophet told them and they saw the power of the Lord working to meet their needs.”

Musa Gotom (Nigeria) in “2 Kings” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 445.

Yesterday I reflected on a miracle in the Elisha narrative, so I went back to look at parallels in the life and ministry of Elijah. There is so much in this little verse.

Here God sent Elijah to Zarephath. In biblical terms, that was known as a “place of refinement.” Is God refining you at this time? That was the case for Elijah and the widow both.

And God directed heer to care for him. Maybe this is where you fit in the story? Maybe God has nudged you to care for a man of God or someone in ministry?

If your answer to God is, “Who me?” then consider that perhaps the widow asked herself the same question. The key is that both Elijah and the widow had to have faith and obey.

God took care of the rest. He always does, and with instruments like oil and flour in response to humble faith and obedience.

I am in West Africa out of faith and obedience. God has supplied the resources to serve here and is working in power. Samson and I will facilitate Stations of Generosity today.

I am processing all God is doing in Benin right now with a thankful heart. He’s stretching me and allowing me to see Him work in power. Let Him stretch you too. It’s for your good and His glory.

A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said. “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked. But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord. 2 Kings 4:42-44

“When Elisha told the man to use this food to feed a hundred people, he knew it would not be enough. But he obeyed and his small gift fed so many people that they had enough and there was some left over. This story resembles the Lord’s feeding of the multitude and may explain whey the people were so ready to hail Jesus as a prophet.”

Musa Gotom (Nigeria) in “2 Kings” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 447.

Notice the prophet said the instructions two times: “Give it to the people to eat.” In between, the man had a question. And with the reply the prophet gave him assurance from the Lord. We too might have had the same doubts. It’s okay to ask questions of the Lord. But in the end, the key is to obey.

As Gotom writes, “he obeyed and his small gift fed so many people that they had enough and there was some left over.” What can we make of these giving instructions? We must obey God’s voice and give, not because we think we have the funds to solve a problem, but in obedience to the call of God.

Yesterday we focused on prayer and fellowship together. Today we “feed” 50 influential pastors, ministry administrators, and other professionals. Pray that like the 100, that they leave well fed and satisfied by the spiritual food we will offer.

We will provide biblical teaching and practical tools on this topic: “Stewardship and Standards – Two Keys to Strengthen Sustainable Ministries.” I see the sacrifices of core workers in Benin and confident that God sees and will honor them. He will “feed” the people of Benin with their small gift of service.

As Paul served with Silas and Timothy, I am serving with Samson Adoungbe (GTP Regional Facilitator for Francophone Africa) and Sylvie Bekoun (GTP Benin Country Coordinator). I appreciate your prayers for us and for my French translator, Pastor Roguy Barboza.

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:19-26

“Nothing is heavier than one’s head when one is struggling; raising one’s eyes requires great effort. Yet such effort is exactly what is called for here. The man takes himself in hand. He makes a decision. voluntarily affirming his faith, and acts with resolution and determination. Lifting up his eyes, he looks beyond the current situation and focuses his thought on God, whose goodness and compassion have not failed. More than that, they are new every morning. Circumstance have changed but God has not! The more the author thinks about it, the more he recognizes that the Lord is His real treasure, more precious than the riches of the temple and the city that he loves. He decides, I will wait for Him, and reminds himself that it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Issiaka Coulibaly (Côte d’Ivoire) in “Lamentations” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 955. I am safely in Cotonou, Benin (pictured above).

God’s goodness, another word for His generosity, and His compassion are unfailing. We discover them afresh each morning. They are the real treasure we possess in this life.

I needed to hear this having just arrived in West Africa, with a full schedule in four countries that starts today. And I am thankful for the word picture of the heavy head.

Many Christian workers in this part of the world have a heavy head. I pray that in pointing them to Jesus and His design for sustainable ministry that it will lift up their eyes.

I pray each person Samson and I serve will embrace a new mindset looking beyond their circumstances to experience the salvation of the Lord. And the idea of waiting quietly also struck me.

Nothing happens fast in Africa. Nothing. As a matter of fact, most things take longer than you think. So, I am waiting on the LORD and relying on His power to transform minds and hearts.

If you have a heavy head, do this today. Look beyond your circumstances and focus on the unfailing generosity and compassion of God. Perhaps fast, pray, and lift your eyes. See what happens.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

“The Pharisee in this parable has many positive characteristics: he is portrayed as a very religious and spiritual man, and should be commended for his spirituality and commitment to his religious tradition. He fasts twice a week and gives a tenth of all his income to the ministry and work of God…

The problem is that instead of being content to give thanks and observe his religious tradition, the Pharisee feeds on his own virtues and makes sinful comparisons. He is typical of those religious people who look upon themselves as more holy… His sin is self-glorification at the expense of someone else.

The tax collector, too, stands and addresses God directly. But where the Pharisee offers a prayer of thanksgiving, the other offers a petition for mercy… Standing before God the tax collector describes himself as a sinner, deeply in need of justification and sanctification…

In his unconditional admission of his sinfulness before God, he beats his breast. He has come to true repentance and casts himself unreserved confession of sin before the feet of God… Which of these two do we identify with? I suggest we should see ourselves in both.

The good in the character of the Pharisee is his religious commitment; the bad is his self-righteousness. The negative soide of the sinner was his sinful exploitation of his neighbors. But he is not content to remain sinful but confesses…”

Paul John Isaak (Namibia) in “Luke” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 1265.

When this posts I will be en route to Cotonou, Benin in West Africa, to meet up with Samson Adoungbe. I have my Africa Bible Commentary with me to read texts through African eyes.

On the first day in each of the four countries that we will visit (Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal) we block time for prayer and couple it with fasting and confession.

At GTP we have learned that to grow stewards who help ministries follow standards and turn brokenness to blessing in their context requires these three spiritual practices.

Join us in taking a posture of prayer, fasting, and confession to ask God to turn brokenness to blessing wherever you are. For a good example of this, read Nehemiah 1.

Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:10-11

“God will supply and multiply the seed and increase the fruits of righteousness for those who give generously. God gives to us so that we can share what He gives with others, and our harvest of righteousness is an increasing closeness to God that expresses itself in prayer and fasting, which remind us that he alone is the source of the blessings we enjoy.”

Issiaka Coulibaly (Côte d’Ivoire) in “2 Corinthians” in Africa Bible Commentary, Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) 1433.

I decided to pack my Africa Bible Commentary and explore Bible verses and themes of Lent with African scholars as I travel to Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal this month.

Today Coulibaly shares a profound idea about the harvest we reap when we give generously. It takes the form of an “increasing closeness to God that expresses itself in prayer and fasting.” Did you catch that?

Our prayer and fasting during Lent come into view as the fruits of the increasing closeness we enjoy through the practice of giving. We find our purpose in enjoying and sharing God’s blessings.

And we pray and fast to discern the ongoing role He wants us to play. This rings true for all of us. We experience it during Lent. For my part, after prayer and fasting, I discerned that it was time to travel to Francophone Africa.

God has raised up a regional facilitator, Samson Adoungbe. Now it’s time to bring biblical teaching and training. And we have the GTP Diagnostic Tool and Templates contextualized and translated for the French context.

Appreciate your prayers for me as I fly from Denver to Chicago to Brussels today. Tomorrow I connect in Brussels for Cotonou, Benin, where I will serve from 5-9 March 2023. Reply if you want my itinerary with prayer points.

And keep giving, praying and fasting. In so doing, I hope you enjoy increasing closeness with God, which strengthens your faith to serve as a conduit of blessing wherever He leads you.

Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments. Exodus 34:28

“And indeed that which I am about to say is wonderful, yea it is of those things which are very miraculous; yet not far from the truth, as you may be able to learn from the sacred writings. That great man Moses, when fasting, conversed with God, and received the law. The great and holy Elijah, when fasting, was thought worthy of divine visions, and at last was taken up like Him who ascended into heaven. And Daniel, when fasting, although a very young man, was entrusted with the mystery, and he alone understood the secret things of the king, and was thought worthy of divine visions. But because the length of the fast of these men was wonderful, and the days prolonged, let no man lightly fall into unbelief; but rather let him believe and know, that the contemplation of God, and the word which is from Him, suffice to nourish those who hear, and stand to them in place of all food. For the angels are no otherwise sustained than by beholding at all times the face of the Father, and of the Saviour who is in heaven. And thus Moses, as long as he talked with God, fasted indeed bodily, but was nourished by divine words. When he descended among men, and God had gone up from him, he suffered hunger like other men. For it is not said that he fasted longer than forty days— those in which he was conversing with God. And, generally, each one of the saints has been thought worthy of similar transcendent nourishment.”

Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 297-373) in Festal Letter 1.6. Athanasius is the fourth of the four doctors of the Eastern Church. We heard from John Chyrsostom, Basil of Caesarea, and Gregory of Nazianzus.

I pray your Lenten fast is going well. We are nearly 10 days into the 40 day fast. I find myself feeling less distracted and able to focus on the things God has in front of me daily. I feel I am tasting transcendent nourishment.

Athanasius reminds us that characters like Moses, Elijah, and Daniel fasted before having significant times of service. Let’s approach our fast with the same expectation. Let’s set aside our desires and see what God has for us.

I’d appreciate your prayers as I head to West Africa to minister in four countries. I’ve been fasting and praying and asking God to nourish me with divine words and cary me with His strength.

What do you have ahead of you this month? How might fasting, confession, and prayer position you for fruitful service? Let’s trust God together to nourish and sustain us for whatever He sets before us.

Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” Joel 2:13-17

“With these words I invoke mercy… Possess your souls in tears, and stay His wrath by amending your way of life. Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, as blessed Joel with us charges you: gather the elders, and the babes that suck the breasts, whose tender age wins our pity, and is specially worthy of the loving-kindness of God.

I know also what he enjoins both upon me, the minister of God, and upon you, who have been thought worthy of the same honour, that we should enter His house in sackcloth and lament night and day between the porch and the altar, in piteous array, and with more piteous voices, crying aloud without ceasing on behalf of ourselves and the people, sparing nothing, either toil or word, which may propitiate God: saying, “Spare, O Lord, Your people, and give not Your heritage to reproach”…

Come then, all of you, my brethren, let us worship and fall down, and weep before the Lord our Maker… let us raise the voice of supplication… Let us anticipate His anger by confession; let us desire to see Him appeased, after He was angry. Who knows, he says, if He will turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him? … Let us sow in tears, that we may reap in joy…”

Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390) in Oration 16.13-14. Gregory is the third of the four doctors of the Eastern Church. We heard from John Chyrsostom and Basil of Caesarea. Tomorrow Athanasius of Alexandria will follow.

In today’s Scripture we see God’s servants declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly, and cry out for mercy. Think about it. Ponder this. The first step in addressing the brokenness in this world is prayer, fasting, and confession. These spiritual priorities must precede any strategic work for us.

I head to West Africa this Saturday, but before I depart, to ask God to spare His people in needy places, I am taking time for fasting, prayer, and confession. And upon arrival in Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal, I will do this with Samson Adoungbe on day one of the three days in each country.

Consider your own situation. The call for a fast and a sacred assembly includes everyone down to little babies and it should stop everyone in their tracks, including those preparing for grand occasions like weddings. The point here is that we deserve judgment and want mercy instead.

Want to turn brokenness around you into blessing? Gregory would echo the prophet Joel saying, and call you to fast, collectively set aside your desires and seek God’s heart. When we do this, when we change our ways, He changes what we get in reply. He turns brokenness into blessing.

Because He does not want our sacrifices, He wants our souls. Be God’s person for your family, for your community, for your people. Worship and weep before God. Sow in tears and reap in joy. Rather than asking Him to bless your plans, ask Him to restore your people for His glory.

Pray this with me for West Africa in Jesus name.