Amy Carmichael
(1867-1951)
From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher—
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.
From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings, [click to continue…]
With translator Antonio Rodríguez [L] and Superintendent Javier Cruz [R]
When I visit these Latin American countries, the initial invitations center around teaching hermeneutics, a fancy word that can be boiled down to this: learning how to read, study, preach, and teach the Scriptures in context. We spend time in the first seminar defining and demonstrating many aspects of context — text, history, language, culture. But my overriding goal is to have the pastors and leaders remember two things: [click to continue…]
Carl Garve
(1763-1841)
translated by Catherine Winkworth
(1827-1878)
Thy Word, O Lord, like gentle dews,
Falls soft on hearts that pine;
Lord, to Thy garden ne’er refuse
This heavenly balm of Thine.
Watered by Thee, let every tree
Then blossom to Thy praise,
By grace of Thine bear fruit divine
Through all the coming days.
Thy Word is like a flaming sword, [click to continue…]
Where in the world is Honduras? (Map courtesy of Operation World)
Almost two months ago, once the dates were set for my first trip to Honduras, I asked missionary friend Bobby Hoyle of LendAHand Mission Teams if he had pointers about how to prepare for for my journey. “Yes,” said Bobby, who has been there. “Wear a bulletproof vest!” He was only partially in jest.
Yes, you can buy them on Amazon…
Now I don’t own, nor am I going to buy, a bulletproof vest. But it was Bobby’s way of saying that Honduras is a violent place. The United Nations ranks the country as having one of the highest murder rates in the world — 91.4 homicides per 100,000 people. (For comparison, the same report places the USA at 3.00-4.99 per 100,000 and Canada in the 0.00-2.99 range.)
“So why are you going? Are you crazy?” Well, yes, of course I’m “crazy” — I’m a follower of the Lord Jesus! I’m not brave or bold or macho; I’m going because the King is at work in Honduras, and He has called me to help His Church. I’m going in order to train pastors and leaders, men and women who are making a difference in the world, ministers who are part of the Kingdom advance that has raised the percentage of evangelicals in Honduras from around 10% of the population in 1975 to a projected 30% by 2025. I’m going to a country where half the population of over 8 million is under the age of 18. [click to continue…]
TOOLS. If you forced me to distill my recent ministry trip to Nicaragua into a single word, that would be the one I'd choose — tools. Let me explain.
Shortly after I was born again (July 31, 1968 – almost 49 years ago!) at age 16, I became an avid Bible reader. I learned that the words of Edwin Hodder's hymn were true:
One of my new Christian friends pointed me to Sacred Treasure House, a small Christian bookstore in the town where I lived.
My old stomping grounds — Sacred Treasure House —
where I purchased all of my early Bible-study tools.
(Source: Costa Mesa Historical Society. Used by permission.)
Many of my part-time-job paychecks were spent [click to continue…]
Edwin Hodder
(1837-1904)
Thy Word is like a garden, Lord,
With flowers bright and fair;
And everyone who seeks may pluck
A lovely cluster there.
Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine;
And jewels rich and rare
Are hidden in [click to continue…]
Those of you who read our last newsletter (The Elvenking's Blessing) will remember Jim's request, “Please pray that what we teach in our upcoming teaching and discipling time in Nicaragua and Guatemala will be what's “most needed,” and, in the sense of deep heart needs, “least expected.”
National Palace, Managua, Nicaragua
The urgency of the needed prayer is now upon us. As this arrives in your inbox (May 5th) Jim is en route to Nicaragua. There he will be part of a team ministering to pastors in two out-of-the way locations, Quilali and Ocotal. But before the rest of the team even arrives, Jim will be making some strategic connections, solo, in Managua. Please pray with us for divine appointments, for facility in Spanish, for sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and for ministry in and of the Lord – He is the one who touches hearts and lives with the reality of His empowering and life-giving Holy Spirit.
Map of Guatemala
Nicaragua is a fruitful field with many new friends, yet it isn't quite “home.” But in two weeks, we can say, “Estamos en casa” (“We're home”) — in Guatemala. [click to continue…]
My tattered copy of The Hobbit
It’s surprising the multitude of sources of inspiration the Holy Spirit can use. An unusual quote has guided a lot of my praying for ministry, especially over the last eight years of missions trips.
After the climactic battle in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the victorious survivors (including, thank goodness, our hero Bilbo Baggins) journey together to their respective homes. Coming to a place where the Elven host turns off for the palace in Mirkwood, the Elvenking's farewell to Gandalf, like a benediction, has always captured my imagination. Here are his words as they are underlined in my delapidated, fifty-year-old hardback copy of the classic:
“May you ever appear where you are most needed and least expected! The oftener you appear in my halls, the better shall I be pleased!”
Thus I often find my heart expressing itself before the Throne in almost those exact words: “Lord, please [click to continue…]
We changed web hosting providers over the weekend, so if you could not access our sites for a few hours, the change is probably the reason.
George H. Bourne
(1840-1925)
Lord, enthroned in heav’nly splendor,
First begotten from the dead,
Thou alone, our strong Defender,
Liftest up Thy people’s head.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Jesus, true and living Bread!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Jesus, true and living Bread!
Here our humblest homage pay we,
Here in loving rev’rence bow;
Here for faith’s discernment pray we, [click to continue…]
Burn, fire of God! my ransomed soul possessing;
Pure fire Thou art, and I would dwell in Thee.
Light of my life, true source of every blessing,
Grant all my days one holy flame to be.
Burn, fire of God! Thy grace and glory knowing,
My cleansèd heart shall be all fire within—
Love all constraining, tenderness o'erflowing,
One kindling passion other lives to win.
Burn, fire of God! Thy cloven tongue bestowing,
Baptizing me with heavenly energy. [click to continue…]
Guatemala to Peru: What's the link between the two?
What were those strange noises coming from Denise in the kitchen? At first, I couldn’t make it out. Was she muttering to herself? Speaking in a tongue? Having a breakdown? Well, yes, yes… and yes, sort of, if you count “breaking down” sentence structure as a “break down.”
It turns out that she was beginning to practice Spanish, using a conversational Spanish book that’s been in our library for a long time. I was thrilled because it shows her level of commitment to our upcoming Perú trip (10/26-11/9), and Spanish practice bodes well for her return visit to Guatemala in 2017, Lord willing.
Our upcoming Perú trip will be exciting, no doubt, but perhaps not as exciting to me as another recent Peruvian training trip. Why? Because that recent 2 Timothy 2:2 training trip was the work of Guatemalan leaders!
Pastor Victor teaching in Palacagüina, Nicaragua
I’ll tell you a bit about my April ministry in Guatemala in the next “postcard.” But here’s the thing about these guatemaltecos (Guatemalans) – they not only hear, but they do! Guatemala has the potential to be a full-fledged Latin American “Antioch,” sending missionaries and trainers across Latin American borders and even overseas. Consider some of their recent activity: [click to continue…]
A Nicaraguan postcard. Of what? No clue!
There must be a Nicaragua for tourists, but I have yet to see it. (That postcard cathedral image you see — I have no idea what or where it is in Nicaragua!)
That's not a complaint, mind you. It's just that these teaching trips I take usually require going “full speed ahead,” even on anticipated days off. Schedules and venues change on the fly. The ability to follow the Spirit's leading, and “go with the flow” adaptability, are the key survival tools. The Lord works out all the details. The report in this “postcard” is a good example.
April 9-10, 2016
UML President Rojas-Talaveras
A weekend off. You're kidding, right?
Bobby Hoyle had set up an early Saturday morning breakfast with Dr. José Moisés Rojas Talavera, president of UML / Universidad Martín Lutero (Martin Luther University), a Pentecostal undergrad school in Managua. Later that morning, I introduced the subject of hermeneutics to 79 UML students in a packed classroom on campus. (Oh, by the way — you only have 90 minutes to give your five-hour presentation. Adapt!)
A portion of my class at UML
Over lunch (from the school kitchen) several of the young leaders picked my brain for two hours. What other subjects could I come back to teach? Since I have a master's degree in Biblical Studies, what grad-school courses could I lead?
Leila Naylor Morris
(Mrs. C. H. Morris)
(1862-1929)
“Called unto holiness,” church of our God,
Purchase of Jesus, redeemed by His blood;
Called from the world and its idols to flee,
Called from the bondage of sin to be free.
Chorus:
“Holiness unto the Lord” is our watchword and song,
“Holiness unto the Lord” as we’re marching along;
Sing it, shout it, loud and long,
“Holiness unto the Lord,” now and forever.
“Called unto holiness,” children of light,
Walking with Jesus in garments of white;
Raiment unsullied, nor tarnished with sin;
God’s Holy Spirit abiding within. [click to continue…]
Click for Jim Kerwin's itinerary