on cancer and other afflictions

I had the delight of chatting with my friend, Yu, recently on Facebook's instant message.  Yu has worked with our team since the early years and she has been a faithful servant of the Lord.  I asked her how our other Thai sister, Tang, is doing.  Tang was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in late November.  She did some radiation treatments in December and two weeks ago she was to start her third round of chemo treatments.  Those treatments were never started.  They have said she is too weak to go through with another round and are giving her natural medications to help ease the pain.  We also found out recently that she has bone marrow cancer.  To say that all of this was a shock is a huge understatement.  Tang isn't even 30 years old and she and her husband, Pramot, just had their first baby in early November, her name is Peace.  It's hard when people you love are on the other side of the world, hurting.  It's hard whether I am in Thailand and our American family is hurting or whether I am here and our Thai family is hurting.  It's times like this that you wish you lived A LOT closer!  So, in answer to my question, Yu said that Tang is getting weaker and weaker.  Of course tears rolled down my cheeks thinking about this sister and the pain, both physical and emotional, that she is walking through right now.

I am sure some might think what I am about to say is crazy, but I look at this scene of hardship, affliction and grief and see a child deeply loved by her Savior.  In a day when the Joel Osteens and Joyce Myers of this world are shouting "have more faith and you will be healed!" it's refreshing to be reminded of what the Scriptures teach, that Jesus never promised a rose garden, in fact, quit the opposite.  In our Americanized, Western worldview we have been taught that a pain free life is the one worth living, that's when you're truly blessed.  But, if we compare that to Scripture, it doesn't hold much water.  Over and over again in the Psalms the Psalmist cries out, "why do the wicked prosper?"  Why are they wealthy and healthy while the righteous are poor and needy?  And, if you read those Psalms, you will also notice that each time the Psalmist asks this question, he always comes around to the fact through the Spirit's leading that they will not prosper forever, that God's righteous judgment and wrath will come upon the wicked.  Be sure of it.  So, I see this trial that Tang and Pramot are walking through as a testament to their love and devotion to Christ and more importantly His love and devotion to them.  He loves them so much that He has allowed them to walk through the furnace, to be purified and brought to a greater dependence on their Savior.  The wonderful hope for them is that their Savior knows exactly how they are being tempted as He has walked the same road of affliction.  He can comfort them and grant them strength.  And make no mistake, whether the Lord sees fit to heal Tang's body of this vicious disease that is causing her physically to waste away or whether He sees fit to welcome her into His glorious presence, He is good.  That's the bottom line.  Do you doubt His goodness? Do you doubt that God works all these afflictions out for His glory and for your ultimate good?  If you do, spend some time with your Lord, in the Scriptures, calling out to Him to show you His goodness and to help your unbelief.  He is good, all the time, good or bad, He is good. Trust Him and rest in Him alone.

Pictured from left to right is Pramot, Peace, and Tang. Please keep this sweet family in your prayers.

fighting on your knees

 I am not sure what the actual number is of folks who pray faithfully for us, meaning daily, weekly or monthly, but I think that number, hopefully, is pretty high!  It is humbling to be on the other side of all that prayer and wonder why people we hardly know spend time praying for us, but we are extremely thankful that they (you?) do.  We are trying really hard to be faithful about sending out prayer emails, MTW Thailand is also faithful about sending out monthly prayer emails thanks to Mary Randolph who keeps us accountable!  And, I think it's safe to say that we truly hope that when you commit to praying for us your prayers are not just merely, "Lord, bless the Henry family."  We love the Lord's blessings, and He does hear that prayer, but we really would love for you to be specific in your requests (which is why we send prayer emails) and also to pray for the Thai people to come to see their sin and repent and turn to the Savior.  One of my favorite prayers recorded in Scripture is none other than our Lord's prayer in John 17, the High Priestly Prayer. And, my favorite verse is verse 3, "Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."  This "knowing" is a very intimate knowledge.  So, here we see Jesus praying for His followers to have eternal life and spelling out what eternal life is...knowing God and His Son, Christ. An intimate relationship, likened to that relationship between a husband and wife.  Perhaps you pray this for yourself, for your family members, for the missionaries, for the lost of the world. Perhaps you never thought of it before.  Salvation is not fire insurance from hell, it's knowing Christ.  So, when you pray for us, please pray that we would know our Savior, pray that those we are seeking to share the Gospel with those who would see their need of Him and the sin in their life and repent and return to the Lord and know Him as well. Pray that we, as missionaries, would be faithful to disciple those who do repent and throw themselves on Christ.   Pray for our children to know our Savior and grow in Him as well.  Pray for courage, boldness, humility and wisdom as we go about our days, often in a hostile spiritual climate, and for the Lord to be glorified in our speech, walk and thought.

The one Constant

*disclaimer, when I wrote this post back in November, we had just returned home from a 10 day trip, while staying in an amazing log cabin out in the woods, isolated from all the modern day conveniences...so I was having a bit of a rough day readjusting to "normal-for-us" life.

Okay, so I just introduced this post with a disclaimer...that disclaimer is shared so that if you don't REALLY want to hear my heart today, perhaps you should move on to the next blog you read...or pick one over there on the right on my blogroll and read one of those instead!  We returned home last night around 9:30 from 10 wonderfully spent days in the Upstate of South Carolina.  As I mentioned, we were staying in an 1800s era cabin...however, it does have running water, lights and a flush toilet...and even a shower!  It was gorgeous and simple and I loved every minute of being there.  It was heated by a fire place with a blower and so most mornings were cool until one of us got the fire going. This post isn't about our time there, though.  It's about today.  The heaping piles of laundry (because when you're from Florida, you wear loads of layers to keep from freezing to death), the realization that all that home schooling that was going to be done didn't happen, the fact that I have psych tests to be finished by the end of the week for Mission to the World (timing is not the best with that!), groceries need to be got, and oh yeah, the lingering taste in my mouth of the stability of that country life compared to the ever transient upheavals of what is our life.  That last one there...that is the one that I have been struggling with today.  We met with so many new friends on this trip.  It truly was an immense encouragement to us to fellowship with both old and new friends.  It was beautiful to see our children not want to leave newly met friends and to remind them of how wonderful it is that no matter where we go, if there are Christians there, we are family because of Christ.  And, today, as I struggle with contentment in the transitory nature of our life, I have prayed often for the Lord to remind me of His goodness, how He has cared for and provided our every need and that though those stable country lives are beautiful and bountiful and full of good things, that is not our calling.  It's not bad, it's just not our calling.  I so wanted to pick up the phone this afternoon and call my dear friend, Rhianna, who knows this struggle all too well.  To hear her words of wisdom and to know that she understands.  I just wanted someone who understands.  Instead, I cried out to my Lord in my weakness.  He heard, He is faithful, He listens. He tenderly reminds me of the calling He has given me.  He tenderly assures me of His love for me and that things and houses and superb education don't mean a hill of beans to Him, that I am His and He is mine.  The Bible tells us that Jesus knows our weakness, he knows that we are but dust and it also assures us that He knows how we feel and that He was tempted by everything we are tempted by, except He did not sin.  So, I am comforted in that as well.  Jesus knew his time on earth was somewhat limited.  He also traveled a lot and slept in many different homes and didn't have a place to call home.  He was transient.  He understands, too.  Thankfully, He understands too.  The one great thing about this crazy life we lead is that it ever keeps our eyes on Christ, that we are merely sojourners here, passing through until we get to our eternal home. I think of those of us who are often moving from place to place because of the calling Christ has given us we are forced to hold loosely to the stability of growing roots in a house or city affords and abide in the One in Whom our roots are truly to be rooted.

Of Caves, Monks and the Gospel of Jesus Christ

 We did a lot of driving around Trang Province.  Primarily this was for us to see the area..and the people to whom we hope to share the Light of Christ.  As in the last post, we did stumble upon a few places to enjoy the beauty of creation.  In this post, you will see pictures from inside a cave we happened upon, completely by "accident."  I put accident in quotes because I'm a firm believer in the Lord's sovereignty and I believe NOTHING happens by accident.  This cave was beautiful.  The pictures really don't do it justice.  It was tall enough to walk through, mostly.  There were a few spots where we had to stoop over but all in all, it had open rooms and were comfortable for walking.  As you'll quickly notice in the pictures, this cave also is a place of worship for Buddhists.  Every so many feet were idols of Buddha, with incense burning and places for the monk to kneel in prayer, making merit.  There was a bit of a temple like structure outside the cave.  There was one monk living there and tending to the cave...and I did see one Buddhist nun sitting in her little house.  The monk told us he had been tending the cave for 5 years and that he had been in the monkhood 15 years.  The cave was only found about 20 years ago.  You might also notice the light bulbs in the cave strung every so many feet to give light.

 Pictured above is a tree growing in the cave and Wilson filming.

 Here's a picture of the monk who showed us through the cave.  I know this picture looks like he's in jail, but I assure you, it was a doorway and he walking through.  I guess they had the bars on it to protect the cave from intruders or maybe even animals.

 Even though we were on Buddhist grounds, I found it interesting that this spirit house was also on the property.  Spirit worship actually comes from a pre-Buddhist era when Hinduism was the primary religion of Thailand.  The Thais have simply incorporated it all into their belief system.  So, this spirit house is there to appease the spirits of the property so that they'll protect and guard those who live on the property against evil spirits.

And, here's the last large room we visited at the cave.  It opened up into a huge open room...and the monk told us that the cave went on back but, of course, it was pitch black and told us we couldn't go back there. (Not that we wanted to!)
 As we walked through the cave, the monk mentioned how a family from France or a woman from Australia would come and pray (make merit).  As we were finishing up, he stopped at a place and asked us if we wanted to make merit.  I was at the back of the group so didn't hear his question but I did hear NaamFon answer him in Thai saying that we're Christians and can't do that.  He responded by saying Jesus and Buddha were the same...essentially, we're all good people and all paths lead to the same place.  NaamFon took his statement and corrected him by the Word of God and shared that we believe Christ died for our sins and we no longer have to make merit because Christ did it for us.  She was very clear, using Scripture and speaking to his Buddhism but with much respect and a heart of love.  I loved seeing NaamFon sharing the Gospel.  And the monk, still so gracious with us, led us the rest of the way out.  We prayed for that man, and I have continued to pray for him...for his salvation, for he is a man who has devoted his life to the teachings of Buddha.  He obviously is a seeker of truth, and I pray that the Lord would open his eyes to the Truth of Jesus Christ.  I am thankful that He is mighty to save, even in a remote village in Thailand!  I am praying that the words of Scripture and our assurance in Christ alone will speak to him.
As we left, I wondered how many Christians would have stooped and prayed, thinking it was okay to do that?   Would you have kneeled in prayer to an idol while thinking in your heart of your god?  I think it's good to ponder these questions.   Jesus Christ says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  Our culture tells us on every front that what's true for you is true for you and what's true for me is true for me and that it's all okay.  But this kind of thinking is full of errors.  If we carry that out logically what will result?  What if I think what is true for me is to pull a gun and shoot the person standing next to me?  Is that okay?  Where are the absolutes?  Many claim that there are no absolutes.  But by making that statement, they are still making an absolute statement.  So, I ask you again, you who read this blog regularly, you who may have stumbled upon me here...would you have bowed your head to an idol?  Would you have thought, "there's nothing wrong here as long as I am thinking of my God"?  Christ demands our FULL devotion.  This is why He asks us to count the cost before we bow in worship to Him. In Luke 9:23-26 Christ says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever would save his life, will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

"Be not afraid for little grace..." Samuel Rutherford

In my one score and ten plus one years on this earth there is one fact that becomes increasingly clearer and clearer...and that is the brokeness of people. No matter where we're from, Christian or Buddhist, atheist or Muslim, we're broken, messed up people.
God's grace is needed moment by moment in our lives. It's not just for those who know Him not, it's just as much needed by the believer of 1, 10, 20 or 60 years. When we left for Thailand, I fully expected to see the brokeness of humanity in that dark place. And, I did see it. When we returned to the States I guess I had been gone so long I thought that Americans (mainly Christian Americans) would be just as I left them, or better off somehow than those believers in Thailand. Instead, I've found, once again, broken people, messed up people, people in need of that daily sufficient grace that flows only from Him who can freely give it. And, this, by-the-way, is NOT a bad thing!!! It's freeing and beautiful and I see God's goodness and grace through it all. Mostly, I have grown to see my own weaknesses and messed up ways and brokeness before God. How does grace go beyond an idea or thought in Scripture to daily living it out? I've been struggling to understand how does grace practically apply to daily life. How do I press on to do good works- for God's glory ONLY and by His grace when I have this deep-seeded monster called "works" (a works that is not of God, that is only concerned with making myself be glorified in the eyes of other people and a works that thinks if I do this, then I have arrived) vying for my affections? How do I raise my children to love the Lord of the Scriptures in grace? So often, "you're a good boy/girl" comes out of my mouth. So often I reward them for the good they've done. So often I punish them and pick apart behaviors according to my whims and standards- because I want to look good. How do I instill grace? How do I deal graciously with them? How do I bring works and grace together? One cannot escape the "works" part of our lives. How can we live so that all that we do (works) is the out-flow of our love for God and not out of pride or fear of man? I'm setting out on a journey to hopefully learn some of these practical out-workings of grace in a believers life. Paul recently read for one of his classes a book entitled Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification. At his suggestion I will be beginning to plow through this book. I will try to share what I am learning and how God is using it to bring me to a better understanding of His work in my life.
I haven't been able to fully grasp what it means to live IN grace (MTW has a conference by the name Living in Grace, which I highly recommend). It is all of God in the believer's life...it has to be. We, even as regenerate, have so much sin, nothing good can come from us. So, join me, pray with and for me and perhaps I will yet figure out how to live out this faith we've been given. Perhaps my children will gain an even better understanding of God, His love, grace and mercy and as a result God will be glorified and we may be just a bit closer to living the way God has prescribed for us to live, according to, and governed by and only found in the Scriptures.

And to complete the quote for the title of my post today and give hope that we are Christ's...
"Be not afraid for little grace. Christ soweth his living seed, and he will not lose his seed; if he have the guiding of my stock and state it shall not miscarry. Our spoilt works, losses, deadness, coldness, wretchedness, are the ground which the good Husbandman laboureth."
-Samuel Rutherford, 17th century preacher