Perhaps this is why that first sip of coffee in the morning is often surrounded by angels singing the Hallelujah chorus.
The Pope was brought a steaming mug of java and he took a sip. He was immediately delighted, and according to legend, he declared, “This devil’s drink is delicious. We should cheat the devil by baptizing it.”
Read the whole story by clicking here.
This morning I was reading Acts 9, and I came across something I’ve read many times, but something new caught my attention (isn’t that the way it is with the Bible?).
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”
Ananias had no idea what the Lord was going to ask him to do in verse 10, but he was simply obedient. There are many other stories of people responding to God with a willing spirit before knowing the task ahead (Abraham, Samuel, Isaiah, etc). Ananias is one of these who simply let his willingness lead him on a daily basis.
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Youth Ministry International trains youth workers formally and informally around the world. We just finished a Master’s program in Mexico in June. Two new programs are starting the final months of this year in countries with huge potential, one program will finish in Africa next January, and a few other programs are likely to start in the next year or two.
Today, as I was thinking about the newest programs and reflecting on the time that I spent in Mexico training youth workers in the classroom, a passage in Philippians 4 jumped off the page of my Bible and really challenged me to pray specifically for practical application of the principles we work so hard to get into the minds of these youth pastors around the world.
For one of my Seminary classes, I read the book Religious Education in the Family by Henry Frederick Cope. The book was written in 1917 but has a lot of insight for today’s families. Here’s my summary of the book and some of the quotes I highlighted.
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In case you’re wondering what we were doing in California for the last two weeks, we were at the biennial YMI Summit. One of my responsibilities in the office now is to do most of the logistics for the Summit…so I was really working during our time out there in northern California (I promise).
I wrote up a report on it for the YMI website.
Here’s an excerpt:
YMI missionaries from around the globe gathered at Lassen Pines Christian Camp near Redding, California, for six days of meeting, training, fellowship, and strategic planning. The biennial Summit was the fifth time in the history of Youth Ministry International that the worldwide team met for such a gathering. Past summits have taken place in California, South Dakota, France, and Athens.
One of the highlights of the Summit is hearing the reports from various regions in which YMI is working. Each missionary tells of what God has done during the past two years in their family and ministry and shares about their hopes for the next two years. This year there were reports from Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, Eurasia, and Africa. We also heard from our Missionary Care representatives and the Adolescent Orphan Initiative directors. God is certainly doing wonderful things through the ministry of YMI around the world!
