Hidden Sins--March 2019

                                         What a cute guy!  How precious to be here with he and Sienna

With a bittersweet spirit in many ways, Dave and I have decided, as we have once again prayed and sought the Lord, that our time here is finished.  It was a difficult decision.  We have grown attached to many of the people in our Gathering Church, we have been edified and encouraged in this multi-cultural environment--our horizons have definitely been broadened.  In addition, we have a love for Thailand and the lovely, gracious Thai people.  Lastly, it will be one of the most difficult things in the world to leave our precious grandchildren 8,000 miles away.  We have loved being so close, enjoying weekly private time with Ezra, family dinners together each week, and little Sienna is imprinting her sweet personality on our lives already.  We will miss watching her continue to grow and develop--close-up as we have enjoyed watching Ezra.   But once again, how our hearts can be pulled. We return to our precious granddaughters in the states whom we have greatly missed these last few years.  How I wish... However, Dave and I both have some medical issues we prefer to address in the states; and we sense it is time to leave this chapter behind.  We have been encouraged and supported by your prayers.  We ask for prayer as we accomplish a multitude of tasks in the next 2 months.  We will complete our time at the church the last Sunday of April. Here then is one of the last devotional thoughts I will share via this blog--possibly one more.   

"Forgive my hidden faults.  Keep your servant also from willful sins.  May they not rule over me.  Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression."  (Psalm 19:14) As I have been reading and studying, the Lord has been pressing on me this whole idea of hidden sins.  How often we forget that everything is open and laid bare before our heavenly Father.  But, we can be good at hiding--or trying to cover up relational sins such as anger, pride,jealousy, envy, bitterness and so on.  We can be good at rationalizing, excusing, blaming, or burying such sins.  But to God, they are sins--there is no such thing to God as little sins or big sins.  To Him, sin is sin, period.  We can even go through our prayer list without pausing to hear God's still voice of conviction--the same with the reading of the Scriptures.  We can faithfully be in the Word and yet not allow our heavenly Father to convict us through that Word.
Hebrews 4:12 "For the Word of God speaks and is alive.  It strikes through to the place where soul and spirit meet--to the intermost intimacies of a man's being.   It exposes the very thoughts and motives of a man's heart."  This the Word of God can and will do this--if we allow it.  But while we can quickly condemn criminals of the big and unable to be concealed sins, we can gloss over those daily relational sins in our own lives such as impatience and resentment---as if they weren't worthy of God's time--or simply as unimportant.  However, they are not unimportant to God--they are still sins.

                                          Bible study group--we are all a "piece" of the whole
One of the things I will miss the most is this wonderful group of ladies from many different cultures who love the Lord and the study of His Word.  They have so enriched my life.  I absolutely love doing Bible study with women.  Women's Bible studies has been a big, important part of my life, and I believe always will be.  I have been engaged in women's Bible study for about 45 years or more.  Knowing the women are in the Word themselves and doing their Bible study homework, encourages me and together we grow as we study and discuss truths found in the Word.  We are each, Lord willing, sharpened in the faith.  This living, active Word of God penetrates our very being and helps to live and walk in the footsteps of faith. (Romans 4:12)

                                                    Sienna Faye Pound--getting cuter every day!

Psalm 15 asks this question: "Who may live on your holy mountain?"  And the answer is, "He whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous."  I just learned in one of our recent studies how blameless and righteous do not equal perfect--but rather a tender hearts to confess and repent openly to the Lord as we become aware of our sin.  We, who are "blameless" cannot stay in that "sin" mode.  David provides a checklist for the blameless or pure in heart.  

• Speaks with sincerity and honesty
• Does not indulge in slander and insults
• Doesn't harm his neighbors
• Honors all God's people
• Keeps his Word
• Is generous in his dealings

  Too often the opposite of the above list are what we seek to hide.  What we label as "little sins." Yet these relational sins can be very hurtful--can cause great harm to the people we love and care about and can hinder our intimacy with God.  Facing our sins is difficult, confessing is humbling and risky.  It is much easier to seek to conceal or disregard as minor.  May we examine our hearts for hidden sins and allow God's Word to prick our conscience and reveal what needs to be confessed and repented.  

                                              Dave and I sharing with young couples at Thai Church

We had the opportunity to share with a group of young couples at the Thai church here.  It was an enjoyable time.  We shared about conflicts in marriage, how to strengten marriage relationships--and interpersonal relationships in general as well as the disciplining of children. In terms of the effectiveness of corporal punishment, I could point to Matthew as exhibit A. 😃

                               Here is a picture of our K-2nd Sunday school class--in one of the hotel rooms

                                        The hotel removes the beds in a regular room--it works pretty well

Prayer Requests"

• I asked prayer for a young man to give his heart to Christ. We knew he was close to making the decision--well he did--praise God!  Please be in prayer for him as he develops in his faith to remain strong in the Lord and in His Word.  There are many obstacles for him.
• Another lady shared with us that she committed (totally non-church background) her life to Christ after Dave shared at a meal in a restaurant how to commit her life to Christ.  The seeds had been planted, and she was ready.  Not our favorite spot or time--but the Lord knows all this.  
• Then recently after a message on John 11 and Jesus' words "I am the resurrection and the life,"  another woman also committed her life to Christ.  The friend she came with assured us that he would follow up with discipling her.  Praise God He is in control and knows all these things--and the timing of them.  We praise Him for His Spirit speaking despite our human fralities and limitations.  To God be the glory!
• I already mentioned the monumental task of packing everything up and totally taking our house apart and getting rid of all the furnishings since it was completely empty when we rented it--except for curtains--and a sink.  We are excited about blessing others with this opportunity, but even that isn't always easy.  For example, we desire to give our car to FHF, but there will be paperwork involved plus trips to whatever office we need to go to.  We are currently checking as to whether we need to cancel our visa--more paperwork and checking in to immigration to do this.  
• Please pray as we both share at FHF's annual retreat in May.  Please be in prayer for the whole retreat and especially our parts--that God will speak through us and use us.
•  For Matthew as he now leads FHF ministry here.  Dave and Shirley have returned stateside.  Thankfully, Dave will still be chairman of the board but he will not be physically here.  Again, God knows all of this and we are assured of his continuing provision in this very important ministry.  We praise God for a family that has recently joined the team--Andy, Cherish, and Claire.  They are a lovely family and so excited about serving the Lord here.  Please be in prayer for their continued transition to this part of the world.