You may be wondering what is going on with the other work that I do… the work with the children in the church. In short, the last few months have been great. I am very pleased to see how our children’s ministry has developed over the last few years. I still need more hands to help, especially men, but the groups that we formed are truly developing and taking on the character of the individuals that take part in the groups. The children are learning, growing, and developing, and I am very happy.
However I spent most of the last few months observing and scheming (the good kind) for the future. In a dream in May of 2007 God gave me a glimpse of what these children can and will become for Haiti and the world, and I am aiming for that mark, a mark that is much higher than most would imagine when they imagine the purpose and depth of a children’s ministry. Without going into the dream, it would be very hard to explain, so I will say (with faith) that if you watch and read for long enough, you will see it for yourself (and I believe soon). So that you can get a glimpse, read the following entry from my journal from a Bible Study that I did with a group of children yesterday. This group is a group of hand-selected, 10-14 year-old “disciples” that I will have with me for the next four months, pouring into them everything that I know.
Yesterday was quite possibly the most important moment of my ministry so far. I had my first Bible Study with my kids. What I showed them was nothing “cute” or “childish.” I shared with them deep spiritual truth. The best part is that they really seemed to get it. They really, really did… and they LOVED it.
We talked about the Purpose of Man within the scheme of creation. (Light subject, I know…). I showed them how each day of creation prepared the earth for what would come next. Light was created first because nothing can exist without light. Land and sea separated in preparation for a diversity of vegetation and creatures. Vegetation came forth in preparation for creatures. Seasons were created to prepare for creatures whose navigation and behaviors change in response to the seasons and times of the month. Then came birds, fish, and creatures on the ground… and on the sixth day: MAN.
I had the children reflect for a moment. They meditated on the scriptures and each came up with their own questions about it. Most of their questions were answered by other children, not myself. They were on a roll with these questions and answers, but I stopped them in order to ask my own question and open their eyes to something deep and wondrous. My question: If everything that is created on a given day is a preparation for the days that would follow, then for what was man created? All of the rest of creation was a preparation for something else… What was man a preparation for?
We chewed on that one for quite awhile, talking about how man was created to rule over the earth with God’s character (Gen 1:26), but I told them to think along the same logic that we applied for the rest of creation. Day six was the creation of man, day seven was God’s day of rest… What are we here for? We started to talk about God’s rest. I pushed them on to debate amongst themselves “where can God rest comfortably?” To GOD, what is so special about the heavens? What is so special about the earth? He created them both. Can there ever be a place that is really good enough for him to rest in? Then one of them made a comment that made me think of Isaiah 66:1-2:
“Thus says the LORD: Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”
They were on the right track, so I told them to listen closely and I let them have it… “Man was created on the sixth day so that God could find a place to rest on the seventh. Man was created for God’s pleasure and to experience the pleasure of God.” Their eyes lit up. They smiled… their mouths opened wide, yet they were speechless. They Got it… God opened up their spirits and deposited the first of many treasures into their hearts. It was suddenly real to them that they were created to KNOW the God of all creation.
We didn’t talk much afterward. There wasn’t much else to say. It was a time to reflect. I had them each pull out their notebooks and had them do their first Journal entry. They wrote down their revelations and reflections for more than 15 minutes, filling entire pages, and their reflections were beautiful and so very sincere. I told them that their journals were for their eyes only, unless they chose to share. Two decided to share what they wrote, and suddenly I became the student (just as God promised in my dream).
“After what I just learned I can see clearly that God’s desire is to be at home in my heart. That is why I ask that he forgives me of all of the wrong that I do. I ask him for strength so that I can walk straight, and I ask for wisdom so that I can continue to go deeper into his word and learn what is pleasing to him. I know that if I stay at his feet I will find all that I need, desire, and ask for…”
“After learning how much God did to prepare a place for me to find all that I need so that I can live well and to be comfortable, what else could I do but make my heart a comfortable and beautiful place for him to live? It’s the least that I could do for a God that is so good to me. I want to do all that I can to prepare my heart to be a home for him. I know that with his help, I can and will arrive at my goal to please Him…”
At this, Brian Clark (a ZHOP prayer warrior who is here with me this week) congratulated them on “knowing more than 99% of the American Church.” After they shared their reflections, we worshiped and prayed, just as we did before we began. The first time was great, but this time as we sang “Lord, I give you my heart…” there was a deep, solemn sincerity that can only come from a revelation of the goodness of God.
So if you are wondering what I am really up to in Haiti… there you have it… yet somehow in all actually, only a small part of it… Please pray for me and pray for my little ones.
I’m praying for you. What a wonderful story — thank you so much for this great insight into what you are doing and what God gave you in the dream! I would love to hear more about the dream, as I have dreams that have spiritual meaning at times, too. Blessings on you and all those precious young kids.
Wow, I caught a revelation from this entry and the words of your children. Thank you for being such a blessing to these children and an inspiration to so many others. I’ll be praying for you. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings God has ordained power, and I am excited for our generation and the ones coming after us. As we welcome the presence of God in our hearts and abide in Him, I believe we are going to see an unleashing of His grace to new levels. God bless you and the kids.
That’s really good. I was actually thinking about this topic about 2 nights ago. There were a couple scriptures that came to mind then, and maybe you’ll get something out of them too (assuming you haven’t thought of these yourself).
Matthew 8:19-20 (New International Version)
19Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Genesis 8:8-9 (NIV)
8 Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark.
Matthew 3:16 (NIV)
16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.
God is looking for a resting place, just like the dove was looking for a resting place. Jesus was a man on whom the Spirit of God was able to rest, but Jesus himself did not find a place to rest on the earth. I think this is a big deal, to live in such a way that you don’t strive against the Lord (Gen 6:3), so that you can be a resting place for him. You can also throw in the traditional resting place verse, 1 Cor 6:19. The whole point of being the temple of God is being a resting place for him, like it says; He is enthroned between the cherubim in the most holy place.
Etc, I’m not gonna preach a message.
Blessings,
Daniel.
My soul lit up while reading this entry. You are doing a beautiful thing in the lives of these children.
Just thinking and praying for you.