Pastor Jesse

The Greatest Tool

I love tools. I like to use them, I like to feel them in my hand. Hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers all make me feel good.. Saws are a little bit different because if you don't take the proper time you end up cutting the wrong piece or cut the piece the wrong length. You have to really watch what you do with a saw. But other tools are much easier to use and the danger of misusing them is significantly less.

Let me give you some examples. The hammer is a great tool. You can drive  a nail with it .You can tap things into place or even beat things into place. The choice is yours according to the skill level you have. Of course you could use a rock but it just doesn't have the same balance as the hammer does or project the same aura of craftsmanship or power. Do you want to be Fred Flintstone, a rock pounder, or John Henry, a steel driving man.

Screwdrivers are fun because they are so vesatile. You can pry with it or clean gradoo (crud that builds or collects on things) even tighten or loosen screws. The whole world of appliance repair is at your fingertips when you hold a screwdriver. Wives go crazy over a husband who can fix their blow dryer.(she doesn't need to know that you have no idea how you fixed it).

Wrenches are great, too! Give a man a cheap wrench set and an hour to play with it and he can have your automobile reduced to a pile of nuts, bolts and strange, wonderous parts that do who knows what. Great advancements in scientific discovery have been brought aboutt from wrenches.The whole medical field of psyhcology began when Sigmund Freud dismanteled his wife's Buick. Working on the car's rearend he told her, "Vhat difference does it make? Now that it is taken apart we can't go back." Thus bringing about the term Freudian slip, or more precisely, Freudian nonslip differential.

But seriously the greatest tool I have ever had in my hand is the word of God. It fits perfectly in my hand. It has great balance when used properly. It can gently tap and align the wayward soul back to Christ or beat into rubble those strongholds that stand against Him. It can cut to the heart of the most defiant sinner or cutoff  the legs of the worst false teachers leaving them no place to stand.

It can pry into the heart to uncover sin and then clean up all the crud that has accumulated in our lives. It can dismantle all the strongholds of the evil one and put us on the rock where our feet do not slip.When we carry and use God's word we are fully equipped to meet all the challenges and problems in life. No other tool can make this claim.

How much would you pay for one tool that could handle every job, that is easy to use because it comes with a full set of instructions It even has a built in support line, the Holy Spirit! All you have to do is get a copy and read it. What is there that you can't love about this offer? Nothing.

That is a tool I can love and use daily. Can you?  

What Defines Us?

Monday, March 25, 2013

I was talking with a dear brother in Christ this week and our conversation ended up with a question. Where do we find our identity? What makes me, me? Unique to myself but still connected to the rest of mankind.

One person might answer "I find myself in what I feel." The problem with this thought is that emotions and feelings are tricky things that can change like the weather. If I only find myself whenever I "feel" alive then my life would only be a series of emotional highs and lows and at the very bottom I may wish to give it all up. There is no guarantee that I'll ever have another emotional high so I might want to quit while I am ahead. Go out on top! But then life would be something of a high stakes craps game. But like the dice game, either a pair of ones, the lowest, or a pair of sixes, the highest, still put you out of the game. That forces us to live to the most average median number or emotional state. Hardly how we want to be defined, Mr. Average.

Another man might say that what defines me is my work. Western men in general define themselves this way. I'm Bob-accountant. Phil-mechanic. Larry-cook.  If our passion is our work, it starts well but when you cannot do what defines you anymore then why go on living. This is why so many men soon die after their retirement. They are totally lost without the definition of worth that work gives them.

Still others find their definition in relationships. Marriage can bring definition. Bev and I once took a trip to Kenya and since she booked everything the name was under Beverly. So everyone we met called me Mr. Beaverly. That name stuck with me for five years! I don't mind being connected with my wife and I hope she feels the same. But will we only be described as, "He's the guy that has the great wife." "She's the one who has that quiet husband."

Some find their definition in their physical ability, what I can do. I am a runner, a tennis player, a cripple, a Parkinson's patient or whatever else ails us. Too often we end up here. Defining our existence by the strength and abilities of our bodies. When we do this, degenerative diseases or cancer or whatever else we face becomes our label. It is constant struggle for me not to define myself by my disease. I am more than that.

Some insist it is their reputation that defines them. How others see them. Sin or righteousness that will define us. "He is such an evil man." Or "Such a good man." This too has its drawbacks as the good man or evil man will often be labeled according to his latest act. Good or evil. By what standard do we measure it. Who of us is objective enough to apply the standard of good or evil, in a fair and timely manner?

Is it our sin that defines us? Is it our drunkenness, our uncontrolled tongue. Is it our sexual immorality, whether heterosexual or homosexual, that says who we are? We must be more than the things that hold us in bondage.

Of all the ways we can find ourselves the only true way is in Jesus Christ. Our relationship with God through His son Jesus is the only accurate definition we will ever have of ourselves. That is because of God's unchanging nature. The best definition we can have is "child of God". And we define ourselves not with pride 
but true humility.

When we allow our lives to be defined by Jesus we now find our true worth. Ephesians 1:5 says we are  adopted sons of Jesus, or through Jesus adopted as sons of God the Father. Here is where I am really defined. And this should be what is said about all of us. we are holy and blameless; redeemed by His blood; our sins forgiven, having wisdom and understanding, together with God under heaven.

Now what defines me will not change. The immutable God has put His definition on me by means of His true son, Jesus. I am predestined to bring God glory. That is His will for my life and all men's lives. Living  to know our Creator, our Savior, our God. Living to show Him holy, full of grace and love. Patient and abounding in love.

What defines me? Not what I feel, not what I do, not who I married. My true definition is I am me because God loves me. What makes me, me is Jesus Christ in me.  Any other answer misses God's purpose for why we were created. Find yourself today!

Pastor Jesse Part12

Good, great or Christian?

This morning I was sharing about a good man. He was a good friend, a good husband, a good family man and an active man of faith. His name was Philemon and he was a friend of the Apostle Paul. He was all the above things plus he refreshed the hearts of the saints.

I would like to think that we all could be that kind of good man or woman. It just requires us to love our friends and families and the saints. That should be easy enough. After all Jesus told us that the world would know we are His disciples when we love one another. The making of a good is right here.

But Paul encouraged his friend to be more, to go farther. He prayed for him to have an active faith so that he would have an understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. I was reminded that the more we tell the world about Jesus the more we see Him and know Him and ultimately are conformed to His image. This is what makes a great man! Paul encourages Philemon to be a great man in Christ.

If that was all to learn from this epistle it could be enough but Paul says there is more. Paul wants Philemon to be a Christian man! Apparently Philemon owned a slave named Onesimus who had escaped after stealing from his his master. Paul wants Philemon to forgive Onesimus who has gotten saved while with Paul in Rome. And take him back. And to treat him like a brother not a slave or a thief.

In my self confident, self righteous flesh I always thought this would be easy for Philemon or any Christian but then the Lord started to remind me of how many I had "forgiven."

Philemon was being told not just to forgive but to take this slave, who defied his authority, who had stolen from him and embarassed him, and put him back inside his home! To set him free and treat him like family. Who could do that? A Christian that's who!

The Lord was showing me that I have the talk down but the walk still needs work. I easily say "You're forgiven" but do I let them back into fellowship with me or even to be part of my family?
That's what Jesus did for me. He has forgiven me, brought me into His family as a brother and is even building me a place to live.

I tell you that I have no idea what that kind of forgiveness is like on the giving side. I know it on the receiving end but I still struggle on the giving end. But I will keep trying because Jesus didn't quit doing the Godly thing and I need to do the Christian thing.

Until this morning I was willing to settle for the good man and possibly hoping for the great. But now Jesus challenges me to be the Christian man.

Lord I need to learn to live an active faith by forgiving like you do. I have to admit I'm a little nervous to teach the last 18 verses of this letter next Sunday. But with God all things are possible!

from here

Pastor Jesse Part 11

You Are The God Who Protects Us 

I thank you Father for protecting Bev's life and the lives of our staff today.

Bev could have died when that gunshot shattered her window but You made the bullet divert through the roof of the car.

Steven or Davis or Rogers or Joseph could have been shot and killed when they chased the robbers but You made them miss and none of us got shot.

Thank you Lord for putting such a bond of love between us that my brothers would chase down two armed robbers in a dense banana plantation and capturing one because they had tried to harm Bev.

God you are so good to us that we cannot say thank you enough.

Lord thank you for giving me more time with my wife.

You indeed are the God who saves. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Pastor Jesse Part 10

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Heat and the Siren's Song

It cannot be January. It is just too hot! My brain still has trouble with the idea that this is the hot season. What happened to Walking in a Winter Wonderland? Two weeks ago I heard the song. I could almost feel the chill on my face. But not now. The grass is dying and the plants are shriveling. Even the clear sunny days are getting hazy from the smoke produced by the dead fields being burnt off.

You'd think Bev and I would get used to this but no. We are as stricken by the heat as when we first arrived from the cold of Leadville in '98. And I still approach the heat like a mzungu. Today at youth group I took the kids next door to do a game and I turned around and no one was behind me. Why? Because as a mzungu I still race from one place to another as if there was air conditioning. You limit your outdoor exposure time. But to the kids here, when it is hot you move as slowly as possible so as not to break a sweat. No point in getting hotter! These kids can and are teaching me a lot. But do we have to do it standing in the sun?

Of course the kids are in the shade, only the pastor stands in the sun. Why is that? My personal theory is that those of us who come from cooler climates don't deal with the bugs of Africa as well as those from the tropics. The shade is where the bugs (who are more intelligent than I) hang out. They know that if they fly out in the afternoon sun they will likely explode in a fireball when the intense sun magnifies as it passes through their wings and ignites their bodies. (Some heat stricken scientists claim these self-igniting insects are the cause of all the fires and haze.) So these clever little insects of Africa congregate under the shade trees to annoy and attack people who seek the cool. But I have outwitted them. I stand in the sun. Even the insects are teaching me. I am beginning to suspect that the sound I hear is not the hum of their wings but the roar of their laughter.

But now in the cool of the evening as the power has been cut again and fans don't work I hear their laughter again. "Come out into the cool. We won't bite" they seem to say. My mind responds "Do I look stupid to you?" And the laughter increases. It is the Siren's song of Africa.

Pastor Jesse Part 9

Monday, October 24, 2011

Pressure

Yesterday started with a hunt for pressure, air pressure. Since Monday is the ministry's "official" day off (the sign that hangs on the gate says "Please we do not work on Monday") we had decided to go to Kampala just to run some errands and enjoy the day together. As we were loading into the car Tom informed me that the left rear tire was low. No problem! We'll get pressure on the way. I should have known better.

You see the power company Umeme, which means power in Kiswahili, can't make enough of their product to meet the demand. So every third night we are without umeme, I mean power, from 7:00pm to 7:00am or until whenever Umeme, the power company, restores umeme the product. Sunday night was Jinja's night! We went to no less than 12 fuel stations but none had pressure because they had no power. I offered to go back to the house and use our air compressor but that idea was vetoed by the others as an unneeded delay. So we drove to Kampala on the low tire. The trip was uneventful with the exception of one large puddle (it was raining and had rained all night) that nearly dragged us off the road but Bev, the designated driver for the day, handled it beautifully. Eventually we found a station with pressure in Kampala and filled our tire. All the people were happy as well as the tire.

But the search for pressure got me thinking about the pressure in our lives. We face all types of pressure. This week I spoke to someone who had just been informed of their status. That means they are HIV positive. And so is their spouse. The pressure on them is so great to accuse and blame each other. "You did this to me!" "How could you?" The pressure to keep this news secret is great. Don't let anyone know, pretend it is not there, don't let the kids know. Deny, deny, deny. The external pressure that the world exerts on people can crush them if we don't have the internal pressure that comes from Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

The world says we, like the tire, need to run at full pressure and cannot be useful if we are anything less than full. The tire showed me that this idea isn't true. We serve God with all our lives. Some days we have it all, full pressure, but other times we have only a third of what we should have. We can still continue though.

Illness, whether HIV or Parkinson's or a common cold, might make us feel unable to be useful but we can still serve our Lord, Jesus. To our minds it is better to serve when we are full of health and vigor but we forget that God's strength is displayed in our weakness. The underinflated tire is in danger of failing and needs to have more air put into it. When it is filled properly it can conquer the road with its potholes and puddles and carry the load with ease. Even when underinflated it can still perform well. It just needs to keep the air it has and wait to be fully inflated when the power returns.

We too must keep serving even when we feel deflated by the world and wait until God the Almighty Father, the real Umeme, fills us to the proper pressure. Just as the tire has a warning, "Do not overinflate" we too must not over inflate ourselves and become swelled up with pride. Let God decide how much we need in order to follow and serve Him. Carrying the load He has called you and I to bear. It is the cross that we pick up daily.

Pastor Jesse Part 8

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Trouble in Paradise

The trouble started when the serpent said to Eve, "Did God really say...?" That doubt the devil raised in Eve's mind is still there and has caused many people to doubt God's goodness and His word.

I have a similar problem to Eve. Satan comes at me with, "Did God really mean...?"
I can be so adept at twisting God's word so that it just misses convicting me by using that one little question. I know what he said, but did he mean it literally? Does Jesus really want ust to cut off our hand and gouge out my eye so that I stop sinning? Surely this must be figurative. So I allow myself to change it so that I don't cut off my hand. Phew! But sadly I don't get rid of the sin either! So now I don't do anything right.

I have been struggling with Matthew 5:38-42. Do I resist an evil person? My sense (notice it is MY sense) of justice says no one does an evil thing to me and gets away with it. But why do I react that way? What right do I have to say I am better or of more value to God than anyone else? Better than the evil person I resist? Do I turn the other cheek? When someone sues me for my tunic do I give him my cloak as well? Where are my rights?

This is where the struggle begins. We wrongly claim to have our rights. But we gave those rights to Jesus years ago. But are we slowly been taking them back. I asked Jesus to live in me and take control of my life and I sincerely meant it but now I somehow want to renege on my promises. After opening my heart to Him am I now looking for a way to close it to Him again. I must let go of me and hang on to Jesus. I must find a way to willingly go the second mile after being forced to go the first. I have to do this to be free of me. Then I will just be in Him!

Yes! Jesus really did say it! Now I really must do it!

from Here

Pastor Jesse Part 7

Monitors and radar dryers

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the trials of traveling the highways of Uganda. I have come across a new trial to face. HIGHWAY MONITORS!

No, this is not a traffic officer with a radar gun or even a blow dryer. Here is a true story. A friend was stopped in Kenya by a traffic officer with a blow dryer who claimed it was a radar gun. The officer even pointed out the “proof” of overspeeding when he showed how the radar gun/blow dryer had switched itself from low to high. A definite indicator of speeding! My friend escaped a fine when he pointed out that the radar gun/ blow dryer wasn’t plugged in and there was no place for batteries. Can’t beat that logic.

No, the highway monitor I refer to is a five foot monitor lizard. (that’s five feet long not five footed) As we were returning home on the Lira-Soroti highway this monitor lizard came out of the swamp and started to cross the road in front of us. Since he stood about nine inches tall and weighed about 50 pounds which is big enough to do great damage to the car, I swerved to the right to avoid him but he kept coming.

Now you should know the only previous run in I have had with a monitor lizard was quite literal. I was upstairs in the apartment reading in my favorite chair when I noticed movement in the doorway. A two foot long monitor had come onto the porch and was eyeballing me. I looked at him and said “NO!” Evidently “NO” to a monitor does not mean the same thing as “NO” to a person. He charged straight at me so that I had to lift my feet up as he lunged for me with razor sharp fangs slashing the air mere millimeters from my heels. (Well that’s what it felt like anyway.) I avoided his charge which carried him into the spare room. Thinking quickly I closed the door behind him and did what any brave man would do. I called for my wife to come kill it.

Bev, being a Texas farm girl, is not frightened by any animal or lizard. She is a bit put off by spiders so our wedding vows included strict sections about who kills what in the house. I kill any eight legged creature in the house she kills all the rest. Since monitors are four footed (with exceptions to the five footed variety) I sent her into the room to kill it. After a momentous battle she emerged some 20 minutes later with a 3 inch gecko. I insisted there was a monitor and with a victorious smile and a nod toward the corner she said “Oh, that one” and told me to remove the intruder.

But now out on the highway without Bev I had to choose. Hit the lizard or run off the road into the swamp. Recalling Bev’s words of wisdom, “Always attack lizards, never retreat”, I attacked. The monitor, sensing my mood change, gave way. I missed him by ½ inch. It is the first time I can ever recall seeing a lizard walk backwards. But he did. A wise move.

The rest of the trip was uneventful with the exception of the usual potholes in Mbale.

The Serious side of malaria

But seriously, malaria is nothing to laugh at. When the parasites get into your blood they attack the red blood cells. When the parasites reproduce they explode the red blood cells. This causes many of the symptoms: aching joints, headache, fatigue etc. The overall weakness and fatigue makes the desire to go and get treatment be replaced by the desire to sleep and rest. This gives malaria the opportunity to get the upper hand on the system. The fever comes as the body battles against the increase in parasites. So you get this cycle of fever spikes which get closer together as more and more parasites breed and the body gets too weak to fight.

Malaria takes it greatest toll on kids. They are fine, running around and playing and then in a matter of a couple of hours they are on death’s door. They lie down to nap or go to sleep at night and then they are too sick to get up. If you live in the village where there is no transport how do you get a sick 2-5 year old someplace for treatment. Most villagers can’t afford the frontline medicines that I get to take. So they give their child chloroquine or fansidar which are now less then 20% and 40 % effective. And the child worsens until it has to go to a hospital or clinic for intravenous treatment with quinine.

It is malaria’s ability to resist drugs that makes this disease the number one killer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Parents can’t afford the proper medicine let alone a blood test to confirm that it is malaria so at any sign of fever the malaria medicine that is cheapest or most easily available is given, usually in less than full dosage and that builds the drug resistance in the parasites. The government here tries it’s best to keep effective medicines in stock but it takes so much of its funding that it can’t possibly keep up.

Malaria also mimics many others diseases and often gets ignored as a cold or flu until it gets too advanced to treat and cure easily. That is why many doctors take the position treat for malaria first then, if there is no response, treat for another disease. This also leads to drug resistant strains of malaria.

It is estimated that 95% of malaria can be prevented by sleeping under a mosquito net. But getting nets out to the rural people is not easy. When the government can give away nets many sell the nets to get income for other needs.

It all needs God’s intervention. He is where our hope lies. He is the healer and divine planner. Pray for the kids of Africa. Pray that God’s mighty hand of protection will cause malaria to end. Pray for medicines that are effective and cheap. Pray for a vaccine. Pray for good officials to distribute what God provides. Our hope is in Jesus. He is the answer to all our prayers.

From here

Pastor Jesse Part 6

Monday, June 25, 2012

The Pain and Joy of Prayer

This past week I was able to minister to others with a team from Believers World Outreach at two free clinics. I was challenged and blessed. My brother Jeremiah and I shared the gospel and prayed with all those standing in the queue waiting to be seen by the medical personnel. It was painful and joyful at the same time.

The pain comes with praying for others one by one. To see so many sick, hurting and needy people makes the task seem hopeless. Thoughts of "How can I help these people?" overwhelm you. You see your own inadequacies and can even begin to wonder if God is listening. Am I qualified spiritually to intercede for all these? The answer is "Yes" and "Yes".

"Yes" is the first answer that pops into your mind. God is listening!

The next answer is "Yes" as well. I don't know these folks so how can I seek God's will on their behalf? The solution is simple, find common ground. Begin to relate to them as people and not a ministry. Ask them what hurts, what doesn't feel right, what do they need. Where does their hope lie? As you begin to get answers you now find the strength to pray. These are people who need God's help. So you now approach the throne of grace with confidence. This is not a vague prayer but it is a plea for Loyce and her bad back. It is a plea to our loving God for Beatrice and her dislocated wrist.

The pain of feeling worthless is slowly replaced by joy. The more you talk with God the more you feel His presence. You pray more confidently knowing that God is listening and has chosen you to bring their needs to Him. And you get the peace in your heart that God has you right where He wants you doing just what He wants you to do!

The hospital prayer ministry is more of the same. How do you pray fur a 58 year old woman who was hit by a car losing her left arm, both legs and is in a coma with a drain tube in her skull being treated by her daughter who lost her son in the same accident? All you know is that this wounded family needs Jesus' help, so you pray! By now you are confident that God is listening. Every word, every breath draws you closer to Him who saves and heals. Now the pain is fully turned to joy. The doubts are gone and the Holy Spirit causes us to go beyond words and pray in Him. Not in tongues but in heart with a passion that far exceeds our best verbal prayers. The family receives comfort and so do you.

I have been humbled and blessed this week by praying for others. Take time to pray and you will be blessed too!
Jesse Blog

Pastor Jesse Part 5

Monday, March 26, 2012

How To Arrange a Meeting part two

As I said we are still working on my getting back . But the good news is that everyone eventually got to where they were supposed to be. And God knew what he was doing when He killed our car.

As Sam was leaving with Bev for Jinja she gave me a hug and said “Sorry about the car and leaving you here.” But I told her that God obviously wanted me to have the meetings and the only way He could get me to hear Him say “Stop” was to stop the car and He did!

We towed the car to the Toyota dealer (don’t be too impressed) and after waiting for thirty minutes to push a car out from the gravel drive way we pushed ours through the gate. As I signed the form (now be impressed) the shop manager said “We will work on it straight away on Monday.” WHOA! Monday? I can’t wait until Monday! As we struggled to push the Landcruiser back up the gravel drive that it had so easily rolled down moments before, I briefly thought that Mbale would be a good place to spend the weekend. But pride won out over reason and we got the car towed to Mr. Patel’s. Who promptly told me he’d get to it first thing Monday morning. But this was obviously a much better garage because I didn’t have to sign a form to leave my car there.

Going back to the inn, the lost travelers finally arrived from Kenya. They were so dirty and dusty I didn’t recognize them. After glancing at these filthy people coming up the drive I went the other way looking for the lost team. Then they hollered at me by name and I recognized them. Poor guys were exhausted but they had great tans only that it turned out to be dust. They looked much better but paler after they had showered. We agreed that the next morning we would meet for worship, the word and communion in the garden and off we went to our rooms.

I got up early Sunday to prepare a message for our team and decided to check email. As yahoo came up it opened to Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead on a live webcast concert. I listened for 20 minutes and it was if my past had come back to life. As if the “Dead” had resurrected. Then that still small voice that comes only from the master said, “ I have resurrected but these have not. Where is the praise due me?” Off went the webcast. But then the Lord pointed out that the concert was called “The Bridge.” Jesus is the bridge between God and man. He has risen from the dead. And as we serve Him we too become the connections to the bridge that is Jesus Christ. That became the message that was shared from John 13. It actually was a very blessed time and I am ever thankful that God stopped me from going back to Jinja.

I got to have great meetings with the KKAB team. It was a real blessing to hear their hearts for Jesus and their zeal for the work that they are called to do. So the meetings are over, the team has left but here I sit in Mbale with a smile on my face as I look at our dead Toyota. I’m trying to remind myself to listen and hear. I am blessed when I remember.

Jesse Blog

Pastor Jesse Part 4

Sunday, March 25, 2012

How To Arrange a meeting In Africa

I have never been known for my ability to hear. One of Bev’s favorite quotes is from the movie “Christmas Vacation.” "You couldn’t hear a cement truck driving through a nitroglycerine factory! And she is right. My ears are not what they used to be.

But the good news is that God can always speak louder than my inability to hear. As is being demonstrated to me this week in Mbale.

I traveled east to the town of Mbale to meet with three team members of KKAB (Karamoja, Kaboong and Beyond) who are under our NGO, when they returned from a seminar in Kenya. The other three KKAB members were driving down from Nabilatuk. Since Ryan was down for the earlier Pastor Conference, he decided to give me a ride and return by way of Mbale where Bev and our visiting friend Sam after their road their road trip out west would meet me and the KKAB team . We didn’t want to pay the fuel costs of taking a third vehicle since we were all going to the same place. Now with two headed southeast (Bev & Sam), two east (Ryan and I), three coming south (Miriam, Jean and Carina) and three pointing northwest (Tom, Simon and Summer) we would all arrive at about the same time in Mbale. This was going to be easy. Seldom had any travel plans for a coordinated rendezvous that I had engineered seemed so simple and perfect.

The first sign of trouble came when Ryan & I were delayed 1 ½ hours. Couldn’t be helped, we were waiting for some equipment for Ryan. Plenty of time. We still reached before noon. Meanwhile Bev and Sam left right on time. Their snag came when they shredded a belt in Soroti, 105 kilometers away. But God in his mercy put two mechanics who know me right on Bev’s path and got them on the road in an hour. God also didn’t let the belt tear on the 118 K stretch where there are no service stations. Thank you, Lord!

The south bounders were delayed when they assisted a friend whose car had broken down in the middle of nowhere. But they still made it.

However the same could not be said for the Kenya travelers. The bus company canceled the day bus and put them on the night bus instead. Only problem was that the night bus never came. The team finally showed up 24 hours late.

The next day Sam needed to catch the plane in Entebbe 6 hours to the west. We sent a message, actually dozens, to Tom and it was agreed that he would come to Jinja to meet Bev, Jean and I after we returned from Entebbe and the rest of Tom‘s group would meet in Mbale. As we headed out of Mbale at noon the car died. Now what? After several prayers Jean found a friend to get a special hire car to take Bev and Sam back to Jinja to catch another special hire to Entebbe. Jean and I would stay in Mbale to get the car fixed and wait with the rest for our Kenya compatriots to arrive. But God definitely said “No!” to letting the car run.

But God did allow Sam to make her flight, and let Bev get home late but safe.

As for me … well we are still working on that!

Jesse Blog

Pastor Jesse Part 3

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Warning Labels

Warning labels are put on all kinds of stuff these days. Cigarettes(Warning: The Surgeon General has determined that smoking may be hazardous to your health). Did he actually do surgery to discover this? Wouldn't it be simpler to just tell the truth? Like this. Warning: only a fool would set dry leaves on fire and put them in his mouth, and think he looks cool and intelligent.

Alcohol (Warning: Consuming alcohol may affect your unborn child.) Hey try some real truth. Warning: The contents of this bottle will not make you better looking, richer or more popular. It may cause you to run your pickup into a bridge abutment or shoot your friend but hey that's what Saturday nights are for. And your kids ain't bailing you out!

Prescription medicines,(Warning: This medicine may cause drowsiness.) That was on a bottle of sleeping pills. Hey, if it doesn't can I get my money back at the all night pharmacy?

Plastic bags, (Warning: Suffocation hazard. Do not put over your head.) Face it the people who would put a plastic bag over their heads are women trying to keep their hair dry and kids who don't know how to read yet. Women lose all sense when it comes to hair styles anyway and kids would better understand if the bag read Warning: Do not place over your head because I said so!

Blogs should come with warnings as well.

Warning: The following material may be of an offensive nature to somebody.

Warning: The following material may or may not contain humor or any sign of intelligent thought.

But the real warning for life should be written on our hearts.

Sin. Warning: Sin kills. 100% effective. Kills the soul on contact. It may also kill within a radius of acquaintances or blood relatives. Only known antidote is Jesus Christ. Jesus must be taken internally. External application of Jesus may prolong life but will not save.

Have you taken Jesus to save you from the poison of sin?

For immediate relief call 537 877 2837 (Jesus Saves)Tell the operator the poison you taken and accept the cure. Do it now!

Jesses Blog

Pastor Jesse Part 2

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Team Building African style

So there I am in a dark 20 foot storage container trying to enlarge an 8mm hole on a piece of steel plate with a round rat tail file. It's 11:00 ast night, my hand hurts from the incision I made while cutting the sidewall out a used truck tire to mount bull horns on an old landrover. That's when Dr. Jean starts to tell me how we're the intelligent ones on this crew. The humor of it all gets us to laughing and soon the entire team is cutting up and it is just another gorgeous full moon night in Africa.

Dr. Jean and her hubby Tom are setting out on Sunday, the next morning, along with Ryan to scope out their new ministry location in Karamoja. As a precaution we are mounting Ankole cattle horns on the front of the landrover to assure the people of the area that this is the vet who can heal their cattle. That explains the bull horns. The filing is to enlarge the hole on the steel mounting plate that supports the horns. As hard headed as the bull's skull may be it seems that when you drill into it, it may wander a bit, the hole not the bull. Although the bull would probably wonder what you're doing. Anyway the filing works and we get the bolts in place.

Now comes the rubber from the tire. I had sliced my hand about 2 inches long and 3/16 inch deep cutting the sidewall to make a mounting cushion for the horns. I must admit that this was the sharpest I had ever gotten a knife blade to be and when I sliced it I felt no pain. Kelli started to worry about the amount of blood seeping out of the wound and went and got a rag from Bev to wipe up the spill before someone slipped on the slick spot. However Bev picked up on the implications of Kelli's question and asked "How badly did my husband cut himself?" That's when Bev came outside to join Ryan, Jean, Tom, Kelli and I in this team building moonlight adventure. We had already decided to use the soles of Ryan's sandals instead of the tire rubber since the smell of the shoes might be greater than the smell of the bull horns, so I had cut myself for nothing but it still was funny.

Anyway we finally finished about midnight and the horns look great! Not very loud but they do make a statement.

It is hard for all of us to think about Ryan not being here in Jinja full time but God has opened a great door of opportunity for the team to minister in an unreached area. The mood is a bit somber at the thought of Ryan, Tom and Jean leaving but we are resilient in Christ and He makes changes as He sees fit. The travelers will be back for Ryan's farewell party on Saturday the 3rd.

Lord give us strength to rejoice in what You will accomplish through our friends even though we will miss them so much.

And thanks Lord for healing my hand.

Jesse Blog

Pastor Jesse Part 1

Monday, June 14, 2010

The Stress Factor

What is stress? To me it is that pressure behind the eyeballs when you're not quite sure what's about to take place or even what has just happened. I am lucky as I have a built in stressometer. My left hand! When I'm stressing it flaps around like a free range chicken that's been hit by a truck. Sort of like now. Actually anytime I have to speak or write something it stresses me. At least that's what my hand tells me! But the amazing thing is when I get my words right on paper or in speech it stops shaking completely. So I know when to shut up or what not to say. I still get my foot stuck in my mouth alot but thats more stupidity than stress.

Others exhibit stress in their own way. Some cry, others get beligerent. Some get sarcastic while others get apologetic. Some get hyper and can't sleep but others become lethargic and can't wake up.

So what do we do with stress? My solution is to STRESS. Stop Taking Relatively Everything So Seriously! When I stress its because I don't think I can say the right things at the right time. And you know what, I'm right. I'll never be good enough by myself to say the right things but if I just let Jesus have control of my mind and heart the right words will come from him. And then the arm grows blissfully still.

If I follow the STRESS principle I won't have to control everything or worry about every detail becase Jesus wants me looking at Him work through me. When I don't follow the STRESS principle Jesus has to work in spite of me.

If I follow the STRESS principle I won't have to know everything since Jesus wants me to take every thought captive to Him. And since He knows everything I don't have to. Then I can live by faith being sure of the outcome I hope for.

If I follow the STRESS principle I will get the needed things accomplished for they will be a joy for me to complete. I'll have a smile on my face doing every task because Jesus is letting me help! Ever watch a child help his Dad? He can be serious but still have so much fun. That's what Jesus desires for us. To be serious but to also enjoy the work.

Next time you are stressed take a deep breath and take a close look at yourself. How funny we must look to God when we are so serious and God is saying "Lighten up already!" Sorry that's my paraphrase. God says be "Joyful Always".

Hey the arm stopped flapping!

Jesse Blog