LateNight Prayer: Sat.Aug. 7,

Arrive any time between 8pm and 1am.  Backdoor.

 

A quick entry. 

 

Note: by the end of this blog, I got really hot.  so if it's boring, just hold on. 

 

 

So much has happened in the last weeks that I've really had trouble posting.  Our First exchange daughter has arrived.  Her name is Gulzar Haitmuradova, and she's from Turkmenistan.  That's in Central Asia, also known as Eurasia! 

 

We are so honored to have Gulzar as part of our home life for the next ten months and can't wait for her exchange sister, Piyanan, to arrive from Thailand.  We love our work with the students, and It's a privilege to have two in our home for the year! 

 

As many of you know, JP has been in Mexico finishing up his minor in Spanish, but he came back on Saturday night, just in time for Late-Night Prayer (none of us are hardcore enough to make it for the whole night, so we just call it Latenight...).  He was here for about 30 hours, and left for Kenya yesterday afternoon.  He'll be there, helping Pastor Moses and Sylvia Suhr, and our friend Prari, for the next 6 weeks. 

 

Prari and JP will be back in September.  We are all looking forward to their return and the next steps, here in Cinci... 

 

There's been a bit of a storm over the area, lately.  We've had lots of lightning and cloudy/cool weather.  Fitting for some of the stuff that's broken loose in the lives of some of our friends.  Adam and Corrie, whom some of you know, are in a huge transition after being fired and summarily cut off from relationship with their church of over four years. 

 

I have letters, emails and live conversations every year with people who have this happen, and I have yet to be satisfied that it is handled in a Kingdom way.  Even if the ending is the same, the PROCESS is important!  Not to me.  To the Lord. 

 

In this case, the details are pretty typical.  adam got uppity about Godliness and Passion for Christ, among the leadership of his church.  So, while the pastor was on vacation, the elders decided to fire him.  He was given two days to clear out his office.  He was forbidden to phone anyone in the church.  He was given ten minutes to try to say goodbye to the youth group.  Classic. 

 

Well, I know that Jesus will sort it all out.  But until then, I feel grief that this stuff happens this way.  It's like, we know about confronting sin, but often don't do it.  But when someone disagrees, or pokes us in the ribs about righteousness and zeal and devotion to prayer and the Word, we see them out the door... 

 

And being fired means moving!  Selling a house and moving!  Yet I have seen this kind of decision arrived at in haste TWICE with my own eyes!  both times, the leaders admitted that it was a Spur of the moment, or overnight, decision!  These are firsthand accounts.  Think of all the ones I've heard one side of on the phone!! 

 

Most of the time, the leaders regret the decision almost immediately, but feel powerless to do anything about it.  And they do nothing.  They weather it out. 

 

And the community hardens, grows stupid, stays quiet, and lowers its sensitivity to Prayer and the Word... 

 

"because of the increase of wickedness (greek:"scandalon"), the love of many will grow cold." Jesus (Mt.24)

 

SCANDAL.  It's more than prostitutes and cooked books.  It's the refusal to live out obedience to the Word in the way we live as communities of devotion to Jesus...  Firing fairly godly men...  Saints of God who have put in time and shed blood!  Without spending time in trying to work it out.

Without working out a solution! 

One month's severance? 

 

Craziness!  Mercy!!!  Latenight Prayer again on Saturday, Aug. 7!! Jer.8:11