Wrong Plane…Right Person

Many of you have met our friends Alejandro and Flora Pommier who are serving with CAM International in Leadership Development among the Hispanic churches in New Orleans and Houston. Alejandro is the one responsible for keeping our grounds so beautiful as he volunteers here during the week and ministers on weekends in New Orleans and Houston.

Their youngest son, Esteban and his wife Karen, had their second child and Flora traveled to Chicago to spend some time helping with the new grandbaby. Leaving Houston for a connection in Dallas, she, somehow got on the wrong plane and instead of landing in Chicago, she landed elsewhere. Thinking she was in Chicago, she de-boarded the plane and went to retrieve her luggage when she noticed, “this isn’t Chicago!” She was able to make another flight that took her there and it was on this particular flight that she “happened” to sit next to an 83 year old lady who also spoke Spanish. As the flight and their conversation continued, Flora began sharing the gospel with her and the dear lady placed her faith in Jesus! Now I don’t know about you, but with all the delays and getting on wrong planes and not getting to where I was going on time…I am not sure if I would have been in a mood to share the “good news of Jesus Christ”, but that is exactly what Flora did and God honored her desire to “plow and pursue” in her conversation with this lady.

Could it be that God, knowing this lady was ready to trust Christ, and knowing she needed someone who spoke Spanish, had Flora’s plane diverted just so she could sit next to this 83 year old lady? I am thankful Flora had an attitude which understood that, with God, there are no “wrong planes” that lead us in the wrong direction, but rather leads us to the “right person” who just may need to hear the good news of Jesus.

Do you look at “mishaps” as opportunities for God to use you? Your “wrong plane” may be a situation gone bad or a plan that didn’t work out or an interruption for which you did not prepare. Rather than viewing these as disappointing accidents try seeing them as divine appointments. Flora did and this 83 year old lady is thankful for that…and so am I!

Hazardous Human Heart

“…and he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.” 2 Chronicles 12:14

Rehoboam should have known better; actually he did know better. It really wasn’t a question of him “knowing” but rather of him “loving.” Look at his heritage! Son of Solomon (9:31) Grandson of David. Don’t tell me he didn’t know better. His rich family history providing the knowledge of the God of Israel was shunned in favor of his own interest. And the result? Evil. The reason? Because he did not prepare his heart to seek the LORD.

Christians today have more information available on “spiritual things” than at any time in the history of Christianity. And the availability of it is increasing! You can listen to a sermon on your ipod while jogging or mowing grass! We are in an interesting informational age. You are reading this collection of thoughts put down on electronic paper and sent to the informational highway via our website. Yet look at the church. With all the biblical information “floating” around out there, where is the heart of the church? I’m convinced it isn’t a “knowledge” issue but rather a “heart” issue.

Are you preparing your heart to seek the Lord? Are you in love with Him? We are to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It is obvious by the oblivious attitude many Christians have towards Jesus that something is wrong with our human heart. Is He a common topic of conversation with others with whom you have contact? Is He foremost in your thinking? Does He have priority in your activities? Do others who know you well really have to ask if you are a Christian because they would never know it by the way you live? It was the church at Ephesus that lost their first love (Revelation 2:4) Is that a picture of your heart relationship with Jesus as a member of His church? Could Jude’s admonition to “keep yourself in the love of God” (Jude 21) be needed in your life?

Rehoboam might have known better, but he didn’t love better. Is it possible that if he loved better, he would have prepared his heart to seek Him? I want to love Him more. I want my heart to seek the Lord. I don’t want it said of me… “Don did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek the Lord!”

Loving Him Today,

The Weight of Wait

How hard it is to wait! Check out newly installed, King Saul, for an example of what the consequences can be for those who go against what God clearly establishes! In I Samuel 10:8, Samuel told Saul to go to Gilgal and wait seven days for Samuel to come and offer sacrifices. Sounds easy enough…how difficult can that be? Waiting doesn’t require effort, just wait. But when the circumstances around you suggest you should get up and do something, even if it is wrong, then waiting can be extremely difficult. Such was the case with Saul. When he saw his own army shaking at the sight of the Philistine army and some began to leave, (I Samuel 13:7-8) the logical thing to do was to proceed with the sacrifice WITHOUT Samuel. But that wasn’t what Samuel instructed him to do. And the consequences? Well, he lost his kingship. He sealed his fate by not waiting. I’ll admit, I would be shaking in my sandals at the sight of the Philistine army, but in reality whom should we fear the most; God or man? Who has the final say? Whose word is surest? Whose strength is greatest? The weight of wait can, at times, be a heavy burden. Why not just do something! But the consequences of not waiting on the Lord can be weightier! Waiting on Him to come through with badly needed employment when you have exhausted all your resources. Waiting on Him to provide that perfect marriage partner when you sense the potential partakers are “thinning” out! Waiting on Him for health related issues to be resolved when you don’t know what the future holds. You see, God can be waited upon. He can be trusted. He always, and I do mean always, comes through with the ultimate right answer and way. Even though we may not understand; He does. And that’s really all that matters, right? He has it all figured out whether you do or not. Wait on Him…don’t let the weight of wait get you down. Waiting on Him is always the best thing to do!

Waiting With You!

Attractive Attitudes

Attitudes are attractive…and often magnetic.  They can spread to those close by and can either cause greater good or harm.  I find it interesting that whenever Israel was faced with difficulty of any kind, God wanted them to have an attitude of confidence…in Him; not in themselves.  Moses instructed the new generation of Israelites going into the land which God had already given them, to not fear when they saw horses and chariots greater than theirs.  The reason not to fear?  Only one…God would be with them.  (Deuteronomy 20:1)  I love how he exhorted them not to be faint-hearted or afraid (vs.3) and the potential danger of being that way; not simply for themselves, but also for those close to them.  In fact, those who were faint-hearted were asked simply to go home “so that his brothers will not become disheartened too.”  (vs. 8)  You see, attitudes can be attractive; not necessarily in a good way either.  Can you imagine a cowardly army instead of a confident army going into battle?  God wants my confidence to be in Him which enables my attitude to be one which makes Him look good and brings Him the most glory!  Is your attitude attractive?  Is it attracting the cowardly or confident?  Are those around you noticing the confidence you have in the very presence of God in your life that is making a difference?  I hope so…and if so, I would love to be around you, for that is one of my goals in life; to enjoy the confidence of His presence!

New Things

I like new things.  But sometimes figuring out how new things work can be frustrating for me.  As you visit our web site, if you visted before, you will notice something new…and our new site features a blog section which is also new.  We are very thankful for Heather Duff, a friend of Camp Pearl Ministries for setting up our new site.  And we are equally thankful for our friend, Nathan Ingram, who first started our web site years ago.  Over the next few months you will notice some new features and we encourage you to browse around.  One note of interest is our calendar section which will allow you to keep up with what is going on at Camp Pearl.  Visit often…and invite others to as well!  Speaking of new things, the best new thing that has ever been created or re-created is one who has placed their faith in Jesus to make them completely ready for heaven.  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away, beh0ld all things are become new.  2 Corinthians 5:17.  Now that is newness that doesn’t frustrate me!  I hope you have experienced this new life found in Jesus Christ!