And Then Some
Those of us who live lives of prayer know the truth of Jesus' words in Matthew 7 where he says, "which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" The staff at International Friends has been praying that our good Father would give us a good gift as last semester we lost access to the facility we had been using for our Friday Dinners. We solicited prayer support from many of you as well in this matter. We were asking in desperation and our Father gave us a good gift...and then some.
In one of the early stories in Genesis we see a minor and humble hero of the faith whose very name has been lost to history. Abraham is looking for a wife for his miracle son, Isaac. He sends out his anonymous servant to his home country to find a wife for Isaac as he does not want Isaac to marry a Canaanite woman. This servant travels to Nahor and his first step of action is to pray. His instructions were to find a woman from this land and his prayer is that she would show her kindness to him by offering him water and also offering water to his camels. When Rebecca enters the scene it quickly becomes evident that she is the answer to his prayer - and his first response is to bow down in prayerful worship before the LORD. The LORD answered his prayers and then some. She was "very attractive in appearance (Genesis 24:16)" - bonus! She not only offers water to him and his camels, but also offers hospitality at her home. She fits the description by being from Nahor but it is an added benefit that she is from Abraham's clan. And all this happens, "before he finished speaking (praying)." This man's faithfulness is rewarded by him receiving blessings beyond what he even asked.
Last Friday was our first Friday Dinner in our new location - the Chapel of the Cross. Around 70 international students braved the cold and windy Friday night weather and made to the trek to the far side of campus to be treated to Bojangles Chicken and warm fellowship. We went through a spiritual exercise called "Heart Mirror" and began the spiritual conversation with many students and scholars. Multiple times throughout the night I heard someone utter the words, "this place is even better than our last meeting place." It is the truth. It has a much more comfortable vibe compared to the institutional feel of the school of public health building. It is much smaller, but this makes it much cozier. And there is even a kitchen attached! We thought our former meeting place was ideal, we lost it, we sought the LORD, and He answered our prayers...and then some.
The Chapel of the Cross is also very attractive in appearance!
In one of the early stories in Genesis we see a minor and humble hero of the faith whose very name has been lost to history. Abraham is looking for a wife for his miracle son, Isaac. He sends out his anonymous servant to his home country to find a wife for Isaac as he does not want Isaac to marry a Canaanite woman. This servant travels to Nahor and his first step of action is to pray. His instructions were to find a woman from this land and his prayer is that she would show her kindness to him by offering him water and also offering water to his camels. When Rebecca enters the scene it quickly becomes evident that she is the answer to his prayer - and his first response is to bow down in prayerful worship before the LORD. The LORD answered his prayers and then some. She was "very attractive in appearance (Genesis 24:16)" - bonus! She not only offers water to him and his camels, but also offers hospitality at her home. She fits the description by being from Nahor but it is an added benefit that she is from Abraham's clan. And all this happens, "before he finished speaking (praying)." This man's faithfulness is rewarded by him receiving blessings beyond what he even asked.
Last Friday was our first Friday Dinner in our new location - the Chapel of the Cross. Around 70 international students braved the cold and windy Friday night weather and made to the trek to the far side of campus to be treated to Bojangles Chicken and warm fellowship. We went through a spiritual exercise called "Heart Mirror" and began the spiritual conversation with many students and scholars. Multiple times throughout the night I heard someone utter the words, "this place is even better than our last meeting place." It is the truth. It has a much more comfortable vibe compared to the institutional feel of the school of public health building. It is much smaller, but this makes it much cozier. And there is even a kitchen attached! We thought our former meeting place was ideal, we lost it, we sought the LORD, and He answered our prayers...and then some.
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