It has been the story of our lives over the last couple years. Delays. Disruptions. Redirection. Waiting. And Waiting. And Waiting some more!
Just like Jesus’ triple repeat to Peter of, “Do you love me?” we could easily see how God might be asking us:
“Do you TRUST me?”
“Do you trust ME?”
“No. Really. DO YOU TRUST ME right now. And for your future?”
God’s glory is displayed through transformation. This is quite plain to understand as it relates to spiritual things. For 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” There is nothing more exciting that to see a person have a dramatic change in their lives, with “the (only) thing that happened in between” being Him, as beautifully depicted in The Chosen series.
This transformation causes believers to pass from (eternal) death to (eternal) life. Earlier in 2 Corinthians 3 we read that “the letter (of the Law) kills, but the Spirit gives life.” This is not simply a matter of “cleaning up our act,” or a self-help regiment if you will. No! It is a complete transformation. We need a new heart and a new spirit. We are new creatures in Christ, able to become all God created us to be.
God never intended us to separate our spiritual lives from our natural lives to the extent that we fail to apply biblical truths in our everyday lives and work. One might consider engineering to simply be an application of scientific principles and thus outside the scope of spiritual work and principles. Lest we forget that this world is His creation, we must remind ourselves that God can (and does) direct us, oftentimes by His Word, in any line of work. Recently, through a technical project, God directed Doug to transform an existing antenna system into one that works in alignment with its original design and goals. The solution to the antenna’s issue was identified through technical experimentation and study and then directionally reinforced while reading in 2 Corinthians one morning. Studying the transformation of our life in Christ prompted Doug to look at using a transformer to transform the existing antenna to better match the AM / Shortwave input of the RF chip in the radio and capture more RF signal. Additionally, insights were made while reading Hebrews 12:1 which talks about removing the things that weigh us down. This reminder from the spiritual world helped Doug to complete the project in the physical world. The project required the removal of unnecessary, noisy components that were corrupting the signal. To complete the transformation required removing components that amplified noise.
What a great lesson for spiritual life! We must remove what amplifies the noise (our sin) and allow ourselves to be transformed by the Holy Spirit who transfers His power to us, so we can then be used to communicate God’s Word to others!
“Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” (William Carey, missionary to India) Is it okay to dream big dreams for ministry? Where does faith end and personal imagination begin? Or are they intertwined? When we walk closely with God will He not put His desires in our hearts? Psalm 37: 4 reads, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
I have to admit we have had recurring, “what ifs” over these last few years. We hold them loosely, our goal being to not run ahead of the Lord. At the same time, we won’t give up on these “what ifs” until the Lord redirects and closes the doors. He is able to do “abundantly more than all we can ask or think.”
There are some lessons that can only be learned through challenging times. Through a cancer diagnosis we were given the chance to trust God more. We learned how God makes a special place for those who are going through painful circumstances. A place of intimacy to know Him more deeply. Rest and peace in the midst of difficulty. In reflection, we can also see the way He provided in advance for us to ensure the diagnosis was made, the best healthcare was provided, stellar insurance covered the care, and the best outcome resulted. Covid, while making life more difficult for all of us, had prompted the two of us to get into a regular habit of walking together (including praying and processing of life’s challenges). We believe this helped with stamina for the treatments and the constant disruptions and challenges we would face. On top of all of that, God’s people stepped up to support and encourage through prayer and practical support, resulting in deepening connection and new relationships. To God be the glory!
“Receive” by Louis Muggleton, BSc(Eng), PhD, FIEE (London), 1993.
(abridged by Denise Gregson; 8/16/2020)
Louis Miles Muggleton, BSc(Eng), PhD, FIET(London) (8 July 1922 – 5 April 2015) was a South African-born British ionospheric physicist and electrical engineer. Building on the work of Sir Edward Appleton in 1975, Muggleton’s seminal work provided the international standard ITU model[7] of radio wave absorption and reflection of the Heaviside layer (or E-layer) of the Ionosphere. This model was based on jointly published work with Stamatis Kouris from the early 1970s. (see online wikipedia for more)
in 1993, Dr Muggleton wrote a paper that bridged the technical and spiritual worlds using the illustration of radio receivers to express how both science and spirituality not only co-exist, but are both part of an incredible design. Read on for an abridged version of his writing.
In his paper “Receive” he wrote, “I do not know what kind of radio you have. But I am sure it is a wonderful instrument…The more you know about its inner workings, the more amazing it seems…[I]t has features that illustrate some of the most profound truths about life.
Before that receiver of yours came into existence its designer would have had various considerations in mind, and among his more important aims he would have wanted it to possess: good sensitivity, sharp selectivity, and dependable stability. “
Concerning sensitivity, Muggleton wrote, “Even when the incoming signal is weak, a receiver with good sensitivity will respond meaningfully. When we consider how small is the power picked up from the radio wave by the antenna of your receiver, we marvel at its ability to amplify that input signal enough for comfortable listening.”
He continues by discussing selectivity: “Not only is the power tiny, it is also mixed up with hundreds of other broadcasts. If your receiver has good selectivity it will respond clearly to only one of them, the selected broadcast.”Further, he describes the importance of both the broadcasting station and the receiver staying well-tuned to the frequency [remaining stable] to avoid distraction and to make for an enjoyable experience.
Like Muggleton, I hope your receiver is the type that produces these benefits. However, as Louis noted, without turning on the receiver none of these features can be appreciated. He expands, “movement in one direction switches the receiver ON, and movement in the opposite direction switches it OFF.” He compares the receiver’s “life” with our own lives: “When you switch ON your receiver the Power Supply pushes millions of electrons per second through the circuit. They are the lifeblood of the receiver. They flow down the “arteries”, and back through the “veins”, passing easily along the conductors, then pulsing through capacitors and inductors, and struggling through the resistors and semi-conductors. With all this activity the set ‘springs to life.’ Before that ON switch was operated the receiver had been ‘dead.’ ”
Muggleton explains: “Like your radio set, you and I are composed of three basic parts: 1) physical, 2) emotional, and 3) spiritual. And all three are intimately bound together in the one individual. We are balanced people only when all three parts are alive and well.
The physical and emotional parts of your being were switched ON before you were born.
But what of the spiritual component? [T]he Bible tells us authoritatively that the spiritual part is dead unless and until God has switched it ON. For example, Ephesians 2 verse 1 speaks of us being ‘… dead in transgressions and sins …’ But our Maker intended otherwise. Jesus said, ‘I’ have come that they might have life, and have it to the full’, (John 10:10). Saint Paul summarized it when he wrote, ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord’.” (Romans 6 :23). In other words, Jesus paid the wages for our sin by dying on the cross in our place.
What this means for us is that without God, “the default-setting [of our lives] is at ‘OFF’, and if this describes your spiritual condition, it is of the utmost urgency that it should be switched ON. The procedure for switching ON your spiritual life is something like the operation of your radio receiver.
Change Direction
We saw earlier that moving the ON/OFF switch of the receiver in one direction had made the radio dead; but movement the opposite way had brought it to life. Now bear in mind that [the bible says] ‘… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ (Romans 3:23). We need to change direction (the Bible calls it ‘repent’), following Christ’s Way instead of our own. That Way leads to spiritual life; the opposite way leads to spiritual death.
RECEIVE
As soon as the radio is switched ON, life rushes into the circuit from the power supply. Only then can it receive, or become sensitive to, the radio waves surrounding it. Similarly: ‘… to all who RECEIVED him (Jesus), to those who believed on his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, … but born of God.’ (John 1:12). Receiving Jesus, you receive LIFE.
Eternal life in Christ is the gift of God, [offered to] all who receive him [in] His way. Because it is a gift, you cannot earn it. Learn again from your radio: if, after being switched ON, the radio is to perform as its maker intended, all it can do is to open its input to the energy surrounding it, and RECEIVE the broadcast to which it is tuned. And you, dear reader, having turned from the spiritual rebellion common to the human race, can RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Saviour from spiritual death. RECEIVE him who is Life.
Maybe you are asking: ‘How do I do that?’ Let Christ himself tell you how. He says ‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in and eat with him, and he with Me’ (Revelation 3:20). Graciously, through his Holy Spirit, he takes you over after you have invited him in, and gives you spiritual life in place of spiritual death.
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world.’ “(John 3:16, 17)
We can only be SENSITIVE [to the things of God], and have spiritual LIFE when we have been switched ON in Christ…’God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life’. (1 John 5:11,12)
We saw earlier that a receiver needs not only good sensitivity and selectivity, but also good STABILITY. Once tuned, it needs to STAY TUNED. And your Maker ….wants you to maintain a stable relationship with him. In the Bible he has promised that he will help you to STAY TUNED, through the gracious work of his Holy Spirit, who not only gives you spiritual life when you invite Jesus in, but also is willing to help you live day by day…
Bear in mind also that receiving him entails having him enter your life, not only as Guest, but also as Master of every department of it: you become his slave, but you also become his child, with all the joy and security that entails… Consider carefully. The choice is yours.”
I have set before you life and death… Now choose life. [Deuteronomy 30:19]
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Dr. Muggleton contributed not only to the world of radio, propagation and science, but also assisted TWR in its antenna and propagation systems that continue until today.
When we rely on organization, we get what organization can do. When we rely upon education, we get what education can do. When we rely on eloquence, we get what eloquence can do. But when we rely on the Holy Spirit, we get what God can do.
A. C. Dixon
We are learning the lesson of waiting on God, which isn’t easy for “doers,” but, nevertheless is essential for successful ministry. May we not run ahead of God, or lag behind Him. As we walk in pace with Him we see how the Holy Spirit links people, experiences and opportunities together with precise timing. This shows us that He leading us, and is weaving together pieces of the tapestry that we never could have conceived of nor orchestrated on our own.
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
Zephaniah 4:6
From time to time I have had people tell me, “ I could never do what you do.” Whether the obstacle for that person is leaving family, travelling by plane for over 24 hours, doing so with young kids, living in a place without “such and such,” evangelism, or something else, the point is well taken. I can’t do those things either, apart from the grace of God. To think I can is dangerous and is folly.
You may have heard it said that “when God calls He enables.” He provides physically, financially, spiritually, emotionally and mentally. This truth is taken from various Scripture teachings and examples including this verse in Hebrews.
“Now may the God of peace, …equip you with everything good for doing his will,” (Hebrews 13;20-21)
Our vision and calling may take us to places others don’t feel comfortable for themselves, or even for us. And, that’s okay. They may catch up to the vision and support it, or even join in. They may not. What is important, though, is that each of us is certain of our own calling and of the One who will equip us to fulfil that calling.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)
I know many of you enjoy The Chosen series as I do. The scene depicted below is one I love because it weaves all the characters together. This is one of my favorite bible stories because it teaches us that there is often a way around obstacles stopping us from introducing people to Jesus! Nothing God is calling us to do is “too hard” for us, for He Himself helps us with creative solutions!
Another word (besides “technoclete”) has been coined under Para Tech! Except in this case, it all took place in the dream of one of our close friends. So, in actuality, it is really her word.
The word? Re-biding! In my friend’s dream she was asking what I am doing upon leaving Guam. Apparently, I cleverly responded that I was working on “re-biding.” Biding again. Settling again. Yes, I grew up in the States, and spent months here on and off, every so often. And, it’s true that Guam is a US territory. However, there are many things that are done quite differently. Values differ. Procedures differ. Food, shopping, cultural norms, conversation, weather and dress, they all differ.
As believers, this place is not our home. As we departed Guam and walked away from so much that was familiar and as we seek to “re-bide” in the States, I remember the words that Albert E. Brumley wrote,
This world is not my home
I’m just a-passing through
My treasures are laid up
Somewhere beyond the blue
As it turns out, this friend will also be re-biding soon after decades on the island. However, since the thought already ruminated in her mind as she slept a few months back, and as “I” had such an insightful word to introduce her to, I suspect she will not be taken by surprise at how much she needs to readjust to new ways of doing things!
Rebide (verb)
\ ri-ˈbīd \ re-bode\ \ ri-ˈbōd \ or re-bided; re-biding
1 To live or dwell somewhere again.
2 (as in missionaries): To learn to live in the continental US again after a long time away.
“I will need to rebide in the continental US when I move back next month.”
I am happy to share a few resources for missionaries that have been very helpful to us over the last year! Maybe you, or someone you know, can benefit from one of these ministries:
There wouldn’t be adequate words to share how helpful the Alongside retreat center (Richland, MI) is for those who are processing big changes or disruptions, or those suffering from burnout. The staff are first rate and the whole atmosphere and environment is intentionally designed such that grace and peace pervades the retreat center and each of its activities. Visit https://www.alongsidecares.net/ for more information.
Righteous Rides (https://righteousrides.org/) is more than just a place for missionaries to rent reasonable wheels. It is a ministry with caring staff who take care to provide reliable, clean (spotless!) and affordable van rentals. They go over and above with extras such as variety of gifts for families to send them on their way, Blessings Boutique (free clothing), World Brew Coffee shop, and prayer with the missionaries. Their mission is “to provide care and cars to missionaries on home assignment… in a manner worthy of God.” Yes, indeed! Based in St. Louis, but with other hubs around the country, Righteous Rides ministry also sells donated vehicles and uses the proceeds towards the purchase of their missionary loaner vans.
Edenridge is a missionary-focused retreat and vacation destination located in eastern Tennessee. It is a lovely place, and our family was able stay there on our way through the area. Motivated by the recognition that missionaries are often worn out from busy furlough schedules and struggle to afford vacations, Oliver Dossman founded the ministry and the center opened in 2012. Oliver grew up on the mission field and remembers well what it was like. You can read and watch a video about Eden Ridge’s history and vision on their website: https://www.edenridge.org/. Edenridge also welcomes non-missionaries whose stay helps subsidize the reduced fees for missionaries. Check it out!