Category Archives: Devotion

Streets of Danger

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In our Week of Prayer for International Missions, we are looking into the life situation of missionaries serving around the globe—today we are going to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Eric Reese is a missionary who serves in the slums of Rio.  In 1992 I personally spent two months serving in one of the slums just outside Rio.  The Favelas (slums) in Brazil are unlike anything you have ever seen in the United States, so any missionary who lives and serves in these areas is in need of our prayers.  Here is Eric’s story from the IMB website:

It’s late at night and missionary Eric Reese can hear gunshots in the streets behind him. He’s heading home to his wife, Ramona, and two daughters, thanking God that he’s able to. Eric’s mission field, the urban poor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is often a dangerous one. “In these communities, it’s an ugly evil you’ve got to deal with,” Eric says, “but you’ve just got to deal with it. We can’t stand here and just let these people shoot and kill each other without the Gospel being preached.”

 A police officer from a church in Texas gave Eric a gift he still uses today—a bullet-proof vest. This isn’t a common tool for missionaries, but Eric and his family are thankful that someone cared enough to offer an extra measure of protection, especially during night ministry. “It’s important to note that I cannot use a bullet-proof jacket when ministering in slums run by drug dealers because they would see me as a snitch. In these settings, Jesus has been my covering,” Eric says.

 When we give to Lottie Moon, we provide for expected needs of our missionaries, like homes, cars and medical needs. But Southern Baptists are also dedicated to providing extra measures of protection for those who are willing to risk it all for the sake of Christ.

If you would like to follow all of the testimonies from the International Mission Board you can click here.

If you would like to contribute to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering to help support missionaries all around the world, please send a check to:  Living Oaks Baptist Church, 8855 East 91st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74133.  Please write “Lottie Moon” on the memo line. One hundred percent of all the gifts we receive will go to help missionaries share the good news of Jesus.

Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart (Part 4)

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Yesterday I shared that I began praying for my wife when I was sixteen years old.  At that same time I began praying for my future son. I remember my prayers were for a healthy child that would grow to love the Lord and become a Christian at an early age.  As time went on I began to pray for a young man who wouldn’t make the same mistakes I had.  I prayed that he wouldn’t shipwreck his faith, abandon the church, or live a life caring only for himself.

In 1985 Christian artist Wayne Watson recorded a song that forever changed the way I prayed for my future wife and son.  The song was “Somewhere in World,” and talked about a father praying for a godly wife for his son.  As I listened to the song, my prayers for William grew to include his future wife.  Even though I was only twenty, I knew that I needed to keep praying for my son. 

In 2001 Shirley and I were told we wouldn’t be able to have children without God’s intervention. We never experienced a miscarriage or the loss of a child, but I remember hurting more that day than any other in my life. As word spread through the church, many of our friends stopped by to pray with us, cry with us, and encourage us.  My parents came over that evening and I will never forget what my mom said, “Bobby, you have been praying for your kids for over twenty years.  God knows what is best and His timing is perfect. You trust Him and everything will work out just fine.” Those words of faith continued to ring in my ears for the days, weeks, months, and even years to come. Then came June 2004 when they rang loud and clear as the nurse said to us, “Mr. and Mrs. Pittenger, you have a healthy baby boy!”  After twenty-four years, God answered my prayer.

Now over seven years later, I still find myself not only praying for my son but also thanking God for blessing me with a child.  I am so grateful for God’s wonderful gift. There are so many things I never understood about God’s love me until after William was born. I never knew watching a child grow could teach me about God’s love for His creation. I am over-joyed when he is so excited that I have come home from work.  I am broken when we’ve spent the whole day together, he looks up at me and says, “Dad, wasn’t this a great day getting to be together without any interruptions!” I am humbled when I see him trying so hard to be “just like daddy.” And I am thankful that he has a hunger to learn about Jesus and His Word.  When I think how my boy energizes my heart I wonder how my longing for a loving relationship with God affects His heart.

So, this Thanksgiving season I am thankful to Almighty God who gave to me the wonderful gift of a son.  I pray that I will be equal to the task to raise him in the ways of the Lord and that he will never turn from those ways as I once did.  I pray that the little girl who will one day become his bride will come to know Jesus and pursue Him with all her heart.

Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart (Part 3)

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In order to help you understand why I am so thankful for the next person on my list I need to take you back to 1980.  I was sixteen years old, working at McDonalds, never missed a Sunday or Wednesday of church, and was already thinking about my future.  In particular, I was thinking about my wife!  I grew up in such a wonderful home with my parents that I couldn’t wait to have a family of my own.  So, at the age of sixteen I started praying for my wife.

At first, my prayers were as shallow as most boys my age, you know, I wanted her to be pretty, have blonde hair, blue eyes, and head over heals in love with me.  As the years began to add up and I was still single, my prayers began to change.  Oh, I still prayed for everything as before but I added that she needed to love Jesus, have a wonderful testimony, want to be on mission for the Lord, and once again be crazy about me. 

I would like to say I patiently waited for the woman who perfectly matched up to my prayers, unfortunately my fear of being alone was greater than my trust in God’s timing.  In spite of my impatience, God was faithful and continued to prepare the perfect wife for me. I had to wait thirteen years to finally meet her in my first New Testament class, but it was well worth the previous heart-break, loneliness, sadness, and seemingly unanswered prayers. I am so grateful for God’s wonderful gift of my wife Shirley. 

Because we were both college students and poorer than a church mouse we went to Subway for our first date.  We sat at a table drinking a soft-drink, eating chocolate chip cookies, and sharing our personal testimonies.  As she shared about her life before and after meeting Jesus I was stunned at how she was listing off all that I had prayed for over the last thirteen years.  It was during the time I had been praying for her that she became a Christian.  She had already been on two mission trips, one to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and the other to Trinidad and Tobago. It was quite clear that night just how in love she was with Jesus.  It was so clear I convinced her marry me six months later.

Since we have been married she has taught me so much about God’s love.  Shirley loves me unconditionally in spite of all my idiosyncrasies.  I don’t have to perform, serve, or love her in any special way.  She just loves me!  She has a great desire to demonstrate her love of God by teaching others about Jesus.  She has taught toddlers, children, and youth Sunday School.  She has taught and led Children’s Choir, and has even been willing to do secretarial work for me as long as it wasn’t a permanent job.  Without a doubt I am the second man in her life; which is exactly what I was praying for all the way back in 1980.

So, today I wanted you to know how thankful I am for my wife.  She truly is an answer to prayer and a gift from my Father in heaven.  I love you Shirley!

God and the “Age of Accountability”

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Recently, I was visiting with a few parents of infants and smaller children about the topic “Age of Accountability.”  For obvious reasons they were concerned about where their little ones would go should the unspeakable happen.  As  parent of a seven-year-old, I have spent a great deal of time in the Bible looking for answers.

I firmly believe that any answer to this question must start with God.  The Bible makes it clear, God is love and desires that all people be saved (admit their sin, believe Jesus died and rose again for their forgiveness, and commit their lives to Him).  A God who goes to such great lengths to make a way to save all who will believe would have made a way for those who die before birth or at an early age to know Him.

In the following video John Piper does a wonderful job of explaining His Scriptural view of the Age of Accountability.  By no means does this excuse us as parents from teaching our children to commit their lives to Jesus and live for Him, but it does help us knowing that God cares for the little children, and they are under His watch-care.  Let me know how you enjoyed the video.

 

Looking for a Dependable Friend?

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If you are tired Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV).

If you are thirsty Jesus says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7.37 ESV).

If you are lonely Jesus promises “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28.20 ESV).

There is no other friend like Jesus! Won’t you run to Him today?