Scripture

Remember… few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy…Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 

~I Corinthians 1:26-17, NLT

Quote

God can humble the great or make great the humble.

~Russ Resnik

Most churches would not call a near sighted monotone preacher who reads his entire sermon and at times struggled to read his own writing. Jonathan Edwards was all those things and yet God used him to begin a great awakening. Actually Edwards was a brilliant man. Like the Apostle Paul, his bodily presence may not have been impressive but he had a brilliant mind. Paul and Edwards are some of the rare exceptions: most of us in the ministry do not have brilliant minds. When I was a younger, the truth stated above offended me. Today, I am not offended, I am thankful. As our resident Missionary Ken Blackwood says, “Most of the ministry that goes on in this world in inconspicuous.” In other words, it is done quietly and many times in secret. Of course, we and the world, are attracted by the big splash but it is the little things that no one notices that makes the big difference. A text, a call, a card, a gift, a meal or a visit. These small things that no one notices. You may be young and very active which means you are busy, busy, busy; the last thing you want is company or a visitor. Imagine yourself confined to a room or a building. You spend hours alone and you cannot go or come. Trust me, you would want a visit; you would lone for a visit. It would make your day if someone cared enough to come and see you.

I sat in a meeting Monday with two reps from Wycliff Bible. According to Wycliff, there are over 1,200 language communities in the world that do not have one verse translated into their language. Even more unbelievable is that two of those groups are here in the United States. The good news is that things are on the increase: we have translators at work as we speak and just a few years ago the number was 3,500 instead of 1,200 today so we are thankful for the progress. I sat at the table with a group of bible translators some twenty-five years ago. The meeting was at Woodstock in Atlanta. I don’t remember how I got invited to the meeting but when we broke into small groups and I sat with five or six linguist, I realized immediately that I could not take part in the conversation. Their conversation was way above me. Thank goodness, no one asked me a question. I did ask one at the end of the session and they gave me an answer. All these guys could speak multiple languages and I struggle with English. Matter of fact, there are folks in Great Britain who would cast doubt on whether or not I am speaking English. I didn’t ask but I am relatively sure all of them made 32 plus on the ACT.

I came to the conclusion Monday that to be a MISSIONARY or a bible translator, you need more intellect than I possess and I am OK with that; it does not bother me. In my thirties, I thought I was going to be a MISSIONARY but God used my oldest daughter to sink that ship. It was in December 1985 that we met with the IMB rep in Huntsville and after interviewing both June and Hannah he said, “Jack, I am not recommending you.” I took that as a personal insult. I was upset with both him and the IMB. Looking back I can only say thank YOU Jesus. I realize now more than ever, I was not Missionary material. There is no way that I can learn another language and I sure can’t do what the Bible translators do but I thank God for them. I also thank Him for allowing me to be a shepherd. It is a despised trade by many, but it has been very rewarding foe me: thank YOU JESUS!

Extra

Bill Nelson, Ken’s son has been sending me updates and so for Ken is doing great. If I understand correctly, Margaret Prater is having some type of surgery today. I don’t have any details. I apologize for being late this morning, woke up about 5:00 with a bad headache and I’ve been slow starting. I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.

Grace Point family tonight we are on Chapter 10, HOPE!