Wes George

Epic Story and Unreached Up Close

Feb 08

Wes GeorgeUncategorized No Comments

I arrived in Southeast Asia this morning 4:40 am (SE Asia time).  I read a great chapter from Piper’s When You Don’t Desire God: Fight for Joy about the five senses and how they contribute to glorifying God.  Great discussion for creative teams to undertake in balancing atmosphere with dependence on the Holy Spirit.  Creative teams might actuallly be encouraged with what Piper writes.  I am chasing a rabbit.  My point is that today I will speak to what might be as many as 200 baptismal candidates then participate in baptism service then speak to the first united gathering of UUPG that FBCR adopted four or five years ago.  Our national partner expects 1000 people to be there.  All that said, to say the potential for me being wiped out physically with my internal time clock saying its time to go to sleep during the time I need to be my best is an understatement.  I have discovered that as I get older, stuff like this along with new cuisine has more of an impact than 10 or 15 years ago.  I do rejoice in the fact that Paul wrote that he can boast in his infirmities.  I am no Paul.  My temporary physical challenge of today does not compare with his challenges on every front.  But we can glean encouragement from such inspired words from God to us.

Despite the physical challenge, I am truly enthusiastic today about what God has allowed me to be a witness.  My prayer is that this will only be the beginning of God doing some “epic” things in this area where over 1.3 billion people live and most have little or no access to the “Epic Story.”  I hope to give regular reports provided internet service, schedule, and my human frailties permit.  I am thankful that Mike Shively is here also.   Sharing and singing as God has gifted him.  I have not seen Mike since we prayed together at XNA Monday morning.  Ramesh picks us up in about an hour to head to an area outside the main city for security reasons for that large of a number of people to be baptized.  I am not excited about a car ride here as some of our friends know, but I am excited to get to share up close how the Epic Story of the gospel has reached the previously unreached.  Until next time. . . .

Epic Story and the Unreached

Feb 07

Wes GeorgeUncategorized No Comments

I begin this entry sitting in an airport in Northwest Arkansas with plans to go to Southeast Asia and make a relatively quick stop in the Middle East.  I am anticipating seeing the impact of the gospel and hopefully having the opportunity to share the gospel in some settings with those who have never heard.  The context in which I will preach, story, pray, listen, etc. reinforces to me the importance of the series that we are engaged in at home at FBCR.    Understanding the entirety of the gospel message magnifies it in the hearts and minds of those who believe.

What a joy to see the gospel unfold in the Old Testament!  What a comfort to know that the gospel was an afterthought after man messed it up in the garden!  God was not caught off guard after His initial plan was thwarted by the serpent.  We see the grand story of God seeking out His fallen in garden while they were covered and hiding.   God’s declaration that has come to be known as the protoeuangelion in Genesis 3:15 looks down the corridor of time although veiled.

In this same way, what a blessing to see the veiled eyes be opened by the Holy Spirit.  When darkness has had its way for centuries, it is only the power of the gospel in its entirety that bursts forth in glorious light.   As I travel, I will arrive greatly humbled with little to offer and lots to learn.  I will share food, time, fellowship, and His Word with people who walk in a much more challenging place and life than I walk.  I have much more to learn than I have to offer.  While I am scheduled to speak very often these next several days, I believe that I should listen, observe, and learn much more than I should speak.   What does exhilarate me though, is the thought of His Epic Story and how it can free those who are in bondage and lift burdens and give hope of a future grace and eternity.    They are calling for the passengers of the first leg of this journey.  May Christ be made known in his fullness in me and in so many others.  Until next time. . . .wg