Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. Acts 16:1-5
“This game is not a grim duty. Nobody need play it unless he seeks richer life. It is a delightful privilege. If you forget to play it for minutes or hours or days, do not groan or repent, but begin anew with a smile. It is a thrilling joy—don’t turn it into a sour faced penance. With God, every minute can be a fresh beginning.”
Frank C. Laubach (1884-1970) in Letters By A Modern Mystic (Feedbooks: 2009) letter entitled, “Radiant Religion.”
I was sitting with Travis Shelton on his last day in Colombia (yesterday). He drew a chart that had a gradual incline and then a sharp rise. He proceeded to say, that sharp rise, marked the day we met.
Using the language of Laubach, Travis basically testified that he has enjoyed a “richer life” since the day we met. The best part was, that basically, my interpreter. Carlita Archila, echoed the same thing.
What’s the point here? It’s not about me, for sure. It’s not about Travis or Carlita either. It’s about you. Do you want a richer life? Think about what I am asking you.
I am really asking you if you want to grow in generosity or if you want to stay on your current trajectory. The choice is yours.
One more story. Today’s Scripture shows Paul and Silas meeting Timothy and inviting him to join the team. One meeting, shaped the future of his life.
When departing for this trip, Paula Mendoza and I prayed for God to bring a person that was bilingual who could champion the Palmful of Coffee vision. He did.
Eliana Ramírez walked in the room on the first day. She said, “I am not sure why I am here. I was the third choice from my ministry. It sounded interesting so I said, Yes.”
Eliana is 29, recently married, bilingual, and represented a ministry in a key city in the central part of the Coffee Triangle. Oh, and she expressed, that she had told her boss she felt led to look for a new job.
By the third day she testified, “The last three days have been life-changing for me. I have experience mindset change (from dependency to discipleship) and want to advance the Palmful of Coffee vision coupled with Orden, the peer accountability group (like ECFA in ECFA) established in Colombia with help from GTP.
Further discussion has revealed that she represents the answer to our prayers to the dollar. She prayed for a new job at the exact salary we put in the budget.
She wants a richer life and she found it with the way GTP encourages people to connect with and serve God. I praise God we exhibited radiant religion, and she wants more than grim duty. What about you?