Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers Of Team MissionAccess! Hey I believe our Awesome Lord can hardly wait to share a little secret with you His FAB Fam of Peeps Like Us Dealing with Disabilities worldwide.
Philippians 4:11-13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Oh Precious Peeps! I pray that you grab hold of this simple yet truly transformational truth! If you can Learn To Be Content with what Our Awesome Lord allows you are FREE to devote your ALL to becoming more like Him both now and in the future.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of TEAM MissionAccess! Meet Leonard Knight, creator of Salvation Mountain. Located in the California Desert, Leonard literally with his bare hands, adobe clay and straw built a monument to his Core Beliefs: #1 Repent And Be Saved, and #2 God Is Love.
Leonard so perfectly embodies the spirit penned by the Apostle Paul:
1 Corinthians 1:27 NASB says 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.” Rather than delve into the commentaries let’s just take a closer look at these mind-boggling stats about Leonard:
-During his lifetime he was the most-visited man on earth with 500,000+ visitors (sans slick advertising or PR campaigns)
-Salvation Mountain was featured on album covers by Third Day and others
-In fact Salvation Mountain is now a protected national monument like Mount Rushmore!
So Peeps let our most powerful prayer be simply this: Lord allow me the honor to be a Fool for Your Glory Indeed!
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access!
This Fall marks 15 years since I began my first semester at Dallas Theological Seminary. Taking quite literally a Leap Of Faith out of my “If It’s To Be It’s Up To Me” Comfort Zone, I embarked on my pursuit of a Master’s Degree in Christian Education (MACE). Amidst the chaos I took great comfort in the daily requirement to attend Chapel.
But of the countless Chapels I would attend over the next four years this one in particular I shall never forget:
I share it with you now precious Peeps in the sincere hope that these timeless truths bring you a renewed sense of Peace & Purpose as we continue to press forward together for His Glory.
In 1952 the late great Ethel Waters first recorded her iconic hymn “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” Based on Matthew 10: 29-31, this classic has since been covered extensively by both Christian and secular artists from Mahalia Jackson to Whitney Houston.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (MT 10: 29-31 NASB)
So I did a little digging and am delighted to share my “Disability Connection” Discovery about this song here from Wikipedia:
“Civilla Martin, who wrote the lyrics, said about her inspiration to write the song based on the scriptures:
Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, NY. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair.
Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s reply was simple: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” was the outcome of that experience.”1
What an awesome testimony of how Our Awesome Lord can use People & Families Affected by Disability to expand His Legacy Of Love for ALL People Worldwide!
So take heart, Peeps! His Eye Is On The Sparrow & I KNOW He Watches *WE*! 🙂
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access! This month we honor the Life & Legacy of former First (& Second!) Lady Barbara Bush who went Home to be with Our Lord earlier this year.
Rarely do we have the joy to witness someone who so graciously embodied The Wife of Noble Character found in Proverbs 31:10-31!
Yeah verily was Barbara Bush that & so much more for our generation! And in Washington DC no less!
Enjoy my podcast to celebrate her Good & Godly legacy.
Well Done Thou Good & Faithful Servant! Godspeed To Your Richly-Deserved Reward.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess! Today marks the 500th Anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Chapel and transforming the Church forever.
If Martln Luther had a Life Verse it would be:
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
” For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Suffice to say that in the 1500 years since its birth the Church had wandered far from the Gospel. “Indulgences” were sold to pay down time spent in purgatory as the price for earthly sin. But Lo & Behold! A humble monk named Martin Luther could remain silent no longer, releasing the power of The Word still resounding throughout our world today.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess!
This month our Legacy Series features a closer look at what happens when Legacy is thrust upon us. Every year on September 11 we reopen our surprisingly still-tender emotional wounds to relive—-yet again—what happens when our Faith collides with cold, hard, tower-toppling reality. Scriptures abound for comfort & peace if only to help us drag ourselves through another day. And doubtless millions found Jesus in the smoldering aftermath that fateful day.
But what happens over time?
How does a loving yet Sovereign God relentlessly press forward with our never-ending Sanctification this side of Heaven to reshape us into the image of His Son & Our Savior Jesus Christ?
Lisa Beamer, widow of 9-11 Hero Todd Beamer, now 15 years beyond that unthinkable day, reflects on how His Glory burns ever-brighter even as our collective memory fades.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access! Delighted am I to welcome back Larry Thacker as our distinguished Guest Blogger yet again this month with his timely message entitled All Things.
Our home state of Texas is still reeling from devastating floods unleashed after Hurricane Harvey. Tens of thousands of Texans have been forced to flee with just what they can carry. Especially hard-hit are People & Families affected by Disability, many of whom are trapped in their homes waiting for help to arrive.
Thankfully an Army of Volunteers with boats, bungees and brave bare hands is helping to Seek, Snatch & Save tens of thousands of families all along the battered coast. Praise God for them!
So how are we as Christians supposed to explain this ‘Act of God”? Especially to those who lost everything? I pray that Pastor Larry’s thoughtful message emboldens you to turn hearts to Jesus…even in the midst of the storm.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess! So lemme ask you: Are You Suffering? Or Sanctifying? Today’s Blog is based on my recent Bible Study at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple entitled: “Suffering 2.0–The Sanctification Upgrade.”
John Piper’s excellent book Acting the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification defines Sanctification as “the modest theological term we Christians use to refer to the process of being Holy.” [i] Books, Bible Studies, Sermons and Seminars abound exceeding abundantly on this thorny theological imperative.
Bottom Line? It’s TOUGH! So I’ve got Good News…and Other News. Let’s start with that:
There Are No Points If You Caused It
1 Peter 2:20 NASU says: “For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.”
But Good News! God Will Help You Through It!
Isaiah 41:10 NASU says:
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely, I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Thankfully Our Awesome Lord shows us it’s not only possible, He’s given us clear evidence in the Believers like David Brainerdwho have gone on before. Though we have ample evidence of David’s sanctification from his personal diaries, it is this humble postscript penned by Jonathan Edwards (who published them after David’s death) whose own 18-year-old daughter Jerusha also died of TB after caring faithfully for the dying missionary:
“She had not seen one minute for several years wherein she desired to live one minute longer, for the sake of any other good in life, but doing good, living for God, and doing what she might for His Glory.” [ii]
May Her Humble Example Serve To Redefine Sanctification As A Suffering 2.0 Upgrade For His Glory!
In His Accessible Grace,
Linda
[i]1 John Piper & David Mathis, “Acting the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification” (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), Kindle Edition.
[ii]2 “The Life And Diary of the Rev. David Brainerd” (with Notes & Reflections by Jonathan Edwards) 1749, Kindle Edition.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team MissionAccess! This month we continue our focus on the concept of Leaving a Legacy with a closer look at the Life & Legacy of Evangelist Billy Graham.
Perhaps one of the most well-known Evangelists of all time, this early You Tube Vid Clipcaptures a fiery young preacher leading a classic Crusade 60 Years ago in Madison Square Garden. But by that time he’d already been saving souls for a decade!
And during a steamy Summer 1972 Billy Graham Crusade in Cleveland, OH I too heeded The Call to come “Just As I Am” and gave my life to The Lord.
“According to his staff, more than 3.2 million people have responded to the invitation at Billy Graham Crusades to ‘accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior’. As of 2008, Graham’s estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. Because of his crusades, Graham has preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity.”[1]
Suffice to say Billy Graham has been a powerful force for Christianity worldwide. But according to the World Population Clock, there are roughly 7.5 Billion people in the world today. So though God has used Billy Graham in a mighty way there are still more than 2.5X that many people who STILL need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Hard to believe but Billy Graham turns 99 this year! And while he eagerly anticipates hearing a richly-deserved “Well Done!” it is now up to You…to Me…to US to pick up our Crosses, Share Our Faith and help lead a whole new generation into a Personal Relationship with Our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
[1]“Billy Graham” in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia (Wikipedia Foundation Inc., page was last modified on 21 March 2017, at 03:48.), [encyclopedia on-line], available on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Graham, retrieved 14 March 2017.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access!
