God's Hourglass

Dionysius (a Greek tyrant who lived several hundred years B.C.)  had sentenced one of his subjects to death, and none of the latter's tears or pleas could move the heart of stone.

  According to the story, the condemned man finally asked the ruler to concede him one last request.  "Anything you want, except your life," was the answer.

"I have a family that will be left in a hopeless state unless I personally go and take care of winding up all my business and financial affairs."

"Impossible!" thundered Dionysius.

"Please listen.  I am an upright man, and I always keep my word.  Give me ten days to put all my affairs in order.  I will try to find a friend to come here and take my place in prison until I return, taking on my sentence if I should fail to do so. If you allow this, I will return before the ten days are over."

"If you find such a friend, I'll give you 20 days," replied the ruler.

One of the man's best friends volunteered to take his place in prison.  Things got more and more tense as the days went by and the man did not appear.  Dionysius went to see the hostage in prison and asked him, "Today is the last day.  How can you be so relaxed and in such a good mood?"

"Well, it's just that I know that he will arrive in time," was the confident reply.

The execution procedure began, the hostage was taken to the block, the axe was lifted...when someone shouted, "Hold it!  Stop!"  It was the original prisoner, who presented himself before the ruler and said to the executioner, "Here I am; here is my head."

Dionysius exclaimed, "No!  I absolve you! And...let us make your friendship of two...a friendship of three!"
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Inspiring!  We sometimes wonder if God is going to "show up on time", and don't always understand why things don't happen when we think they should!  But that should never worry us.

In numerous places the Bible says, "at the appointed time...", or "in due time...", or "in His own time..."

"For the revelation waits an appointed time...though it linger, wait for it, because it will surely come."  (Habakkuk 2:3)

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 Psalm 27:14 tells us to "Wait for the LORD.  Be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD."

Why "take courage" when we can't see how things are going to end?  Because, like the best friend in the story, God always keeps his word and always arrives on time.

 We don't need to know WHEN. Sometimes He lets us know, sometimes He tells us, as Jesus said to the disciples, "It is not for you to know the times and dates the Father has set by his own authority."  (Acts 1:7)
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                                "God is not a man, that He should lie,
                        nor a son of man, that He should change his mind. 
                                  Has He said, and will He not do it? 
                             Or has He spoken and will He not fulfill it?"   (Numbers 23:19)
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Everybody's birthday! (Tsachi church visit)

I have always made cakes to share when we visit the Tsachi church, but this time I was not feeling very well before the trip, so Germán suggested we buy a couple of cakes, and celebrate everyone's birthday! It didn't matter when one was born, he/she deserved to be honored!

The short lady in the middle of the photo is Carán, a special friend, and I am right beside her - amusingly, the only one wearing a native skirt! My husband is beside me, and Primitivo (church leader) and his wife Tserere are on the other side of Carán.
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Sorry, I started at the end again...so let me change gears to the pre-cake events.

Very few attended the service - and none of the bunch of little children were there - but there was a great atmosphere, once more proving that "where one or two are gathered together", God is there and will bless. The pictures show only a few people...but the room was full! 

After singing in Spanish, I was invited to lead them in a few songs in Tsáfiki!  A surprise, but a pleasant one, as I firmly believe they should sing praises in their own language.

 Germán gave the message, and it was heartening to see the obvious attention in their faces...even when he had to raise his voice a bit because it started to pour rain!

In the picture, he is closing the devotional time with prayer.

I was grateful to feel better than usual during the after-service, and could enjoy talking with the ladies with more energy than any previous visit!

These are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and reflect Revelation 15:4:  "ADONAI, who will not hear and glorify your name?  because You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for your righteous deeds have been revealed."

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This church is very close to where we had our house when my family first came among them 61 years ago (when I was 3!).  We cross over the little river  that provided us with so much fun as young children, and can see across to the area we lived in, now grown over with trees and bushes.   The wildlife we knew, like ocelots, jaguars, agoutis, armadillos, deer, monkeys...has pretty much disappeared with the advance of roads and construction.  But in a special place in my heart, this is still "home".

These dear people will be among those John refers to in Revelation 7:9:

"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands."
                                                     
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Father...what can I say?  You are awesome, and your amazing love - that reaches out to every single person - brings tears to my eyes again...

                                                      Thank You!