April 3, 2013

“I will give you treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places.”  I laughed when I read Isaiah 45:3 during devotions this morning as God’s Words provided the perfect intro for a praise I wanted to share today.  My current “treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places” was the fan hidden in the dark of our dryer that had lost a clip and was in the wrong place – the reason our dryer sounded so horrible, especially upstairs in our coworkers’ flat where it echoed louder than in our flat!  Added reason the word ‘riches’ caught my attention?  The second repairman who visited our home on Monday replaced the clip, without us having to wait for weeks for a new, possibly costly part from the States and now our 32+ year old dryer is purring quieter than in years.

Photos this week are all views of the week which brought us joy,
although this Yellow-vented Bulbul was a little freaky with his stares!

 As Jack often accuses me, I am ‘subconsciously’ always on the lookout for a great NUDGE TO ACTION from our part of the world and later while drying a load of clothes which had just received a ‘rain’ rinse on our clothes line, I realized that our dryer story is a true modern-day parable for God’s children who want to join His Work in His Harvest Field!  So here goes:

Not sure what kind of sunbird this was,
but she entertained me for hours with her songs!

A man arrives to repair a clothes dryer with one tool, which fits none of the screws on the dryer.  Borrowing tools from the home-owner  he refuses to listen to any information about the dryer.  After an hour of fumbling, trying things that do not work and breaking a hinge on the dryer door, he suggests getting a new dryer belt as he eagerly receives payment for services.

Little bugs are on the hibiscus bush outside our cottage window,
likely bad for the leaves and flowers, but the birds love it!

After the new dryer belt is ordered and brought from afar, it is determined that the belt is not the problem, so a new repairman is called.  The second man comes with a bag of tools, asks questions to determine the needs, quickly opens the dryer and  within minutes solves the problem!  He also sees the broken hinge on the door and repairs it – all for the same pay given to the first repairman!

We celebrated Easter with a drama by the kids at
Parklands Baptist Church - the kid in the centre
was one of the 'guards' who put Jesus on the cross,
the other two are angels in African 'designer' outfits!

Story to be learned:  The first repairman is like one of God’s children who chooses to do God’s work, but his focus is on meeting his own needs, not bringing glory to God.  He is interested in carrying out his own plans and purposes.  He is not willing to be flexible or do whatever it takes for all people to believe God’s words in Isaiah 45:21,22.  “There is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Saviour,  there is none but me.   Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth.”   

A special Easter joy, sharing communion with
Peoples from across Africa and our world.

The second repairman took time to prepare himself to do his Father’s work.  He came ready to respond to the needs of those in His Father’s harvest field. He arrived prepared, equipped, seeking God’s will – ready to do whatever it took to display his Father’s glory and accomplish His work. 

No, I’m not a great writer of parables, but I think you get the idea and the nudge to prayer for God’s workers, especially missionaries among Unreached Peoples.  Pray that we will not be so busy meeting our needs and the needs of those around us that we forget to spend quality time with our Father in prayer and in His Word.  Pray that nothing guides our service to Him other than seeking His glory and doing His Work.  Pray that the praise and honor we receive from others, our supporters and those we minister among, will never guide our hearts. Pray that as we face conflicts, difficulties, insecurities and fears we will always rely upon our God, the one who called us by name and created us for His Glory (Isaiah 43:7) for our source of guidance and strengthening. 

Street-side shop spotted not far from our home
in Nairobi as we drove to church last Sunday! 

We know that we can pray for these things because we have seen our Father guide and strengthen in recent weeks as Kenya faced a tense time of elections and court cases.   With only a few exceptions, Kenyans chose to put their personal agendas aside as they sought peace and a bright future for their children and their country, which leads me to another very simple parable comparison. 

Heavy rains began last Saturday afternoon soon after
the Supreme Court of Kenya validated the election of the
4th President of Kenya, followed by a double rainbow.

 Pray that Believers will put their personal desires aside as they seek to fulfill God’s Words in Isaiah 45:6,8: “So that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me.  I am the LORD, and there is no other…. You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down.  Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it” as true peace is found by all in our world.   BERT YATES
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Another view below of the photo used in today's Sub-Saharan African Peoples Nudge to Action.  These daily updates, including great news for baby Grady, an earlier prayer nudge, are shared  at Sub-Saharan African Peoples Nudges to Action and on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sub-Saharan-African-Peoples/100173880060607?ref=hl . Non-Facebook members can visit the Sub-Saharan African Peoples FB page.