...too small a thing...

Looking At My Computer

There are some things we look at great deal. We see ourselves in the mirror. This is kind of tough for me. I am not really blessed with good looks and there is the nose hair issue. Other things we look at are things that we wait on. For instance the coffee pot. We are waiting for the coffee to finish. Hurry Please! We look at television some, although I do not look at it too much anymore. I look at my cell phone a good deal to see who is calling, texting or emailing. And then of course I look at this lap top I am typing on now a good deal. The interesting thing about a lap top is that the images change as we click on different things or visit different web sites. But, I wanted to share with you this morning my desktop. The desktop of course is what comes up when you turn on the computer and when you return to your sort of home base. I have changed it from time to time and have been guiltiy of leaving the manufacturers default there for some time. But I do have the choice of what to look at.

 Recently I have a new face on there. The face is one that brings a smile to my face. It is of course my grand daughter Vera. As I look at her when I start to do things on the computer she gives me joy, and makes me think about the future. She is beautiful and I love her even though she doe not know that her Pappy loves her and wants to spend time with her. She will one day. I will be watching her to see her as she grows an learns and develops into a beautiful child. She will be worth watching.

I look at a lot of things. I spend a good deal of time looking at black lines in patterns (letters) on papers and I have to know what these letters mean as they combine into words, sentences, and paragraphs. This means I interpet what I see. When I look at the face of a child that is so little what is there to interpet. She has so little experiance. So little of a history. She is innocent. She is dependent on her mommy and daddy. I am proud of them so I look at her and think of them. I look at my computer and think of how I am blessed.

You look at your computer a good deal too. Thanks for looking at my words. I hope they mean something to  you. I write funny things sometimes, serious things sometimes, and often things to challenge you to a deeper faith. I share my heart in this blog. Here on the last day of July in 2011 I share an image that I see so often when I start to write you. But in the words I write I share a dream and a hope. She is beautiful isn't she.

 

Home - My Trip Was _______

Coming home is always good. A great night's sleep and a bunch of good hugs from our daughter Brittany and the dogs were crazy happy to see us. We are glad to be home.

Home also means back to the things that we normally do. Grass needs to be cut. Other chores are waiting too. I have 3 on my list that need to be seen today. I have a Life Group lesson to prepare today and a sermon to get ready to preach tomorrow. But praise the Lord we are Home.

Now the question will come from friends and family alike.... "How was your trip?" Near the end of most mission trips I will tell the participants to be ready for this questions with a good 30 second prepared answer to glorify God. What you do not want to do is say, "You should have been there." or something like, "we had a great time and I want to go back." Now those may be wishful thoughts but you have missed the point. When someone ask you how a mission trip was there is an opportunity. The opportunity of the mission trip was to glorify and serve the Lord not self.

Kathy and I had sort of debated about this trip was it a mission trip or a vacation? The answer to that question might determine your answer on "how was your trip?" See life is a mission to serve God. Everywhere you go and everything you do is a mission. We were on mission as far as I was concerned. The trip had several mission highlights. The teaching for two days with the Alaska Baptist Convention is going to result in a new pastoral training program starting right away. The renewal with Alan and Babs is already opening up into new opportunity to return for ministry in Alaska. People were met in Law Enforcement and new opportunity will possibly be forthcoming in this area. The last night there we went to a site where Global Partnerships Ministry was hard at work in a trailer park in Anchorage. Alan and Babs Dial are working with GPM and teaching a Bible study in the Trailer Park on Tuesdays. We even truly found opportunity here as the founder of this organization is a name very familiar to many around West Cobb county, Scott Kirby who was a pastor at the West Cobb Church at one time.

So, How was may trip? One word .... Successful. A sentence ...... God is at work in Alaska and I praise Him he let me be a little part of the work and if Possible I will be going back to support the new BTCP partnership at the ABC and to work with new partners in Alaska.

On Our Final Flight Home

Goodbye Alaska ...See You Next Time

I hope there is a next time. The Lord has a way of sending me back some places. There are a few I have only been once but many times when I go somewhere it becomes a habit. I sure hope it does here. The last day was a good one with a visit to Thunder Bird Falls and Kathy did what she does best made more pictures. Then on to the Fraternal Order of Alaska State Troopers Museum and a walk of the downtown areas. We were disappointed with a couple of things we tried to visit off of the internet that were not real or closed, but we had fun because we were with each other.We did meet a few people along the way and I did tell Sarah we would be coming back soon. (Kathy knows I gave her a peck on the cheek .... she took the photo.)

All in all, a fantastic mission trip / vacation. I am serious about coming back with a team or two. If the Lord wants us here I am ready. The work with indiginous tribes could take us hundreds of miles out from where we have been this time. If the Lord says come I will be ready will you be ready to come with me?

We will be back in Atlanta hopefully at 10:02 pm  tonight.

Next trip? Three weeks from today I leave for Africa.

Photos of Alaska

If you are interested here is a link to our Smugmug photo page which has about 444 photos of our trip this week.  http://scottydavisfamily.smugmug.com/Travel/Alaska-Pictures-July-2011

My wife is so good at photography the photos are fantastic.

Alaska Can Help You to Think of God

Our trip to Alaska is starting our last day. Tomorrow we will spend a day in the metal bird and will be back home. But today we have one more chance to see some of the most spectacular views and beautiful country in the world. There are a lot of things here to make you think of God. I have not seen all of them, but I have seen some.

The size of the mountains is breathtaking. How did they come to be? What force could make a mountain so big? Not a work of man. So something else. We went to the botanical gardens and saw thousands of different plants, each unique and each with a special way of life. Designed by someone who had knowledge, plan and purpose, or just random development of cells trying to survive? We saw at the zoo animals, some local, some from other places, but all alive and breathing, moving, with a way of life to themselves. They were all in cages. Sad in some ways but all servants to man.  We saw the inlet where the forces of tide is very powerful and the water was rushing out in great force. This goes on day and night in a regular rhythm that is like the breath of the earth. We did not get to see the Northern Lights so we went to movie about this fascinating phenomena that is in the northern and southern extremities of this world. The film contained fantastic images showing the displays of light. They said in the film that scientist have a hard time explaining this phenomena and talked a little about solar particles and solar wind. I would love to actually see this occur I think it would add to the mix in my mind.

Where is God in all of this? He is there and if you look you see Him. He is loving and He is patient. He is providing to those who seek Him ...Truth. In reality it is a choice to have faith that He created it all or make up your own theory.

I see the story of the world in the book of Genesis. Consider all of this and read a few verses from Genesis.....

9Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

13And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.

14Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.

20Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 22Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”  Genesis  1: 9-21

I believe that God made this old world and you can see it real plain from the perspective of Alaska. Thank you Lord for letting me have a few days here.

Warm Today?

Sort of Like Africa But it is Alaska

We are having a good week up here in Alaska and we have two days of looking at the opportunity to become involved in this work in a great way. This is sort of strange but coming to Alaska is really making me think so much about Africa. There are a lot of similarities especially for me.

• The words Africa and Alaska both start and end with the Letter A. It seems I write these words a lot.
• The same man met me at the airport. Missionary Alan Dial.
• It is a really beautiful place.
• There are animals (dangerous ones too) that live here and we always want to see them.
• There are people who need Jesus who have different customs, and ways, and look different than me.
• It is a long, long, long, way to get here.
• It is expensive to get here.
• People are needed to come here to work on mission for the Lord.

The big differences are: first you do not need a passport to get here because this is the USA. Second there is most anything you would like availible (at least in Anchorage) but it is a little expensive.

Our training sessions at the Alaskan Baptist Convention went very well and I think that the ABC will be signing up as a BTCP partner and begin to teach the curriculum soon. This is another big similarity between Africa and Alaska at least for me.

There is one more aspect that most people would not think of as a similarity but most people do not think like I do. Contextualization is not a word you may use everyday but it is an important word if you are trying to do cross cultural mission work. I picked up a Gospel tract to show you what I am talking about. To enable a person to understand their need for Jesus Christ they have to be able to see how it relates to them. If they see religion as a thing that is important but not real relevant to them they are interested but it is not life changing. To see lives transformed by understanding the love and grace and mercy of God Almighty we have to contextualize the message of Jesus. For Eskimos and Native Americans who are making a living still hunting and fishing in remote areas of Alaska a Baptist Church is not really important to them. Survival is. I picked up a simple Gospel track at the ABC to show you what I mean. To be stranded on an ice flow would a horrible slow painful way to die. This is a fear and a reality that a hunter in this part of the world could face and certainly can identify with. To write a track for the indigenous people using this thought is to contextualize the message. They titled the tack, I Hope Someone Comes for Me. It is the message that we use to share the simple Gospel message that without Christ we are lost and hopeless. But Jesus came for us and this truth is the greatest message of all time. They made an interesting point in the tract. The first clue that they might be rescued if stranded on an iceburg is the sound of the water hitting the side of the boat. I know this sound from growing up on the lake. It can be loud. They mentioned another sound in the track Here I quote:

"One-day man heard the pounding sound made by a hammer driving he nails into the Son of God's hands and feet onto the cross. Christ had to die so man, who had no hope, might have hope. The Good news of the Gospel is that God sent his Son to die in our place, so that we could live."

Yes, this is a place that is beatiful with beautiful people who need the Gospel. The Native Americans have many problems that are hard to overcome to reach them with the Gospel. It will take people who care to make it happen. We have a training program with BTCP. But we will need people to come and to help. Help to build, help to train, help to love. Think about the name of the track.... I Hope Someone Comes for Me.

Will you? Thank you for helping me to come.

 

Missions In Their Heart

Kathy and I are in Alaska this week teaching at the Alaska Baptist convention. While we are here we of course have to sleep somewhere and that could come in the form of a bedroom in someone's home or a hotel but we are fortunate enough this week we are in a mission house of the First Baptist Church of Anchorage. It is an older but very nicely furnished older home. We have a large bedroom with a sofa, and a recliner. It has two bathrooms and a nice desk for blog writing just outside the bedroom so when Kathy is still asleep I can get up study and write blogs. In the picture you can see the top of the First Baptist Church over the house.

We also have to be able to get where ever it is we need to go. So we have been given a older but a good little red Ford Truck. It was in use when we first got here by a couple of other missionaries but now we have use of it until we leave.

I am very thankful that the Lord put missionaries in the heart of someone who knew that not only I but many others would beneifit from these thoughtful donations. We are staying in downtown Ancorage rooms can go for as much as 200.00 per night. Houses go for as much as 2 to 3 thousand dollars a week. We are here this week blessed in a great way by the donations of good people several years ago. This is of course saving the Alaska Baptist Convention a large amount of money this week. I had checked on a car and very few were availible this time of year and they were very expensive again someones gift to missionaries is still paying off.

Your support for me enables me to be here this week. Missions in the heart of people makes things happen. I am in awe of a God who allows me to do what I do. I am thankful to Our Lord but I am also thankful to the people who have missions in their hearts and give so others can know. I am teaching a Workshop on how to use the Bible Training for Pastors Concepts and Curriculum and while I only have a few they will be in turn teaching others. Pastors will be educated and the Lord's work will continue. Thank you to all of you who have missions in your heart.

Alaska Law Enforcement

The ministry that The Lord has given me is of course in several areas. Sometimes it seems they all run together for me. The Lord always reminds me of what things I have been taught and it seems that no matter what there are opportunities. Yesterday Kathy and I went to Wasilla which is of course the home of Sara Palin. We made a few photos and I really wanted to stop and visit the Police but our timing was not right to do so. At least we got the photo.

I did have a great chance on Saturday to share with A few Alaska State Troopers and met and talked with Terry Vrabec the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety for the State of Alaska. We talked a good bit about Chaplaincy and the state has an extensive program for the Troopers to provide Chaplains. I was very impressed.

Alaska is good to it's law enforcement officers but they have a formidable task and have to take huge risk with their lives. Often back up is hours away when they are in remote areas dealing with a population that almost all armed in some way or another.

The work of Law Enforcement is of course everywhere there are people. And while the people may be kind of spread out in Alaska they are here and they will need the help of an officer when someone is out of control or violates the rights of another person.

The need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ is here also. The lack of quality pastors is something that I have heard about since we arrived. This morning we will begin teaching at the Alaska Baptist Convention offices the BTCP program and how it can help to train a new generation of pastors. Pray for us as we begin this work that we will be able to convey the beauty of a trained pastor to bring the good news of the Gospel.

Pastors and Law Enforcement are both needed whever there are people. Sometimes the people do not think they need them. Both need to be well trained and encouraged. I thank the Lord he lets me work with both.