Heavy Heart

Today, my heart is heavy for many situations...

Myanmar: The tragedy of many killed, injured, left without food, shelter or medical care with a government unable to provide the necessary care and unwilling to accept help... My sister-in-law spent about three months teaching English in an orphanage in Myanmar in 2006. Praise God the orphanage and its occupants were unharmed! She and my brother are terribly burdened for this area and the government's lack of response to the needs of their people.

Joplin and other tornado-hit areas of the weekend: Many tornado victims. One I know of first-hand was reported to me by a friend of mine who attends Forrest Avenue Baptist Church in Joplin. Their interim music minister, his wife, his 12-year-old son, and his mother-in-law were killed when the storm picked up their SUV and flipped it. They have a surviving daughter, a sophomore in college, who was not with the family at the time. Please pray for Kali, who lost her entire immediate family in a single blow.

China: Today's earthquake's death toll is already in the 8,000's. Per my last blog, Josh is heading to China in less than a month. He already knows several people there, and we pray for their safety and for the Chinese Christians and missionaries to minister God's love and grace, praying such tragedy will open hearts that have previously been closed to the Gospel.

In all these tragedies, my heart is heavy for the thousands who have slipped into eternity without so much as hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ. I have to admit my first response to hearing of the China earthquake was fear and a harder grip on my son. But, as I have processed it, though there is still an element of fear and the whole aspect of missing him, I fervently pray that God will use him to show many Chinese the way to Christ while he is there. My friend, we are not guaranteed even one more breath in this life. We do not know what the next moment will bring. Those thoughts that fill our days are largely centered on things that will not matter outside of time. What of the eternal state of those who meet such unexpected death? What of those who have pursued earthly endeavors with fervor, who have perhaps sought out knowledge of things big or small, only to wake up in eternity to find they missed the most important Truth? What about we who have have this Treasure in earthen vessels and somehow don't let the glorious Gospel shine upon this world? Dear God, by your grace alone please burden us and empower us to shine your Light brightly to this lost and dying world! We are completely incapable and powerless to do so without You. You have demonstrated Your power in nature in amazing ways of late! I pray for a demonstration of Your power to save such as we have never experienced before. Use me, God. Use all of your children. Make us willing givers of your glorious Gospel!