Monday, October 19, 2009

Work in Richmond, family updates.

Greetings all,

I felt that the time I have been forced to spend out of commission due to illness has given me much time to reflect on the work here in Richmond, Kentucky. The entire family, to varying degrees, has been ill this past week. Nathaniel started the whole thing with a headache, fever, and a terrible cough. He then passed it on to me. I ended up with the worst of it, but am healing more and more each day. I am still battling a sinus infection resulting from 4 days battling the flu. Sara is doing better, but still needs to rest, as she has herself and a baby to be healthy for. The girls did catch the bug, but seem to have pretty decent immune systems and are now playing and running around.

Looking out the window, I wonder how it is possible that it was 29 degrees last night! The sun is shining, and temperatures are expected to be in the 60's and 70's in the next 3 days. We are very glad to see that forecast, as we were not planning on having to heat the camper this much already. We do have a great propane furnace and a backup electric heater, and surely can endure much harsher climate than this. Still, it is nice to be outside and able to knock on doors with the Gospel message without the cold being the reason folks won't open the doors.

On that note, I wanted to give a bit of an update of sorts of the work so far with Bluegrass Bible Fellowship.
The first few weeks, we worked on reaching the contacts that were hard to find, either due to scheduling problems, folks changing jobs, or some that moved or no longer have a phone or other ways to contact them. This has been a major challenge, and sadly some have not been able to be reached with a follow up visit. To me, this underscores the great importance of giving a solid Gospel message when the opportunity first arrives, not expecting another chance. None of us are promised tomorrow, the urgency of the message grows with each passing day.

As for the 314 contacts that were made during the surge of Gospel proclamation here in May/June, some folks lose interest quickly, some move away and simply forget about what they heard, so many times we see the truth in the parable of the sower. These lessons are hard to learn, and we know God is in control, yet it is not the Lord's desire that we be flippant in our role as ambassadors for Christ. We strive to make each conversation all it can be, seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit rather than any contrived speech or popular program.

Even knowing that not all will heed God's warning of judgement to come, there is still much to thank God for. Men and women, and also children have received eternal life! Many of the folks here at BBF have stayed the course, and are doing in home and group Bible studies with many of these people. Last count, I believe there are 16 involved in personal or group Bible studies. Some have been in fellowship for some time now and have been baptized. Another area of continued outreach and fruit from previous labor is kids clubs. Club has been going well, and last week we had 23 children under 14 that came to learn more about God, the Bible, and most of all, salvation through Jesus Christ. We help the folks here shuttle children to the clubs and home again. Sara teaches the Bible lessons, and helps with keeping the kids in line, too. That can be quite a challenge, believe me!

I have been asked to share on two Wednesday evenings. This is such a privilege to share what God is doing in our hearts, and what He has shown us about Himself through His Word. I have also been taking time to continue to work on "one anothering" projects, coordinate ongoing door to door Gospel efforts here, and taking a few Bible studies a week myself. I recently took a rainy day and worked through a "Christianity Explored" video series, assessing it and working on how to implement the course in continued outreach here.

The door to door effort is taking back off this week, now that we are headed back to health. We are using the mapping and documenting process that Justin Humes put together. I believe that this intensive, detail oriented approach to reaching a neighborhood is the most effective means of reaching every person with the Gospel that I have seen. If you are interested in learning more about the method (which is simple) please email me. I would be happy to share with you the paper Justin wrote about how we do what we do.

On the home front, we continue in school during the week. The children are learning Bible verses, each one usually targeted toward a certain attribute of Christ that we are trying to work on in the children. We have noticed that most of the time, all the kids can recite each other's verses. I think Naomi can recite upwards of 30 verses including references. They are little sponges at this age, and it is great to see them soaking up the right kind of information. We have some great examples in raising children in our lives, and we are so blessed to have folks from multiple generations as examples and encouragers as we seek to serve the Lord in the stewardship of His children in the time they are given to us.

Of course, an update just wouldn't be an update without a baby update. Well, Sara is 22 weeks along now, and we are due to have an ultrasound in Ohio on our monthly trip there October 26, which is a week from today. Baby is kicking often, and with increasing strength that can be felt outside the belly. Naomi often comes and "gives the baby hugs" before saying good night. I often wonder what she is thinking, as she never really understood the loss of Joshua. Naomi is really bright, and understanding more concepts by the hour it seems, yet maybe the Lord was again gracious in sparing her the sorrow of losing a sibling.

A divine wiping of the memory or some such thing would explain why women have more than one baby, as I was told, they seem to forget the pain and trials in light of the wonderful gift of life. We should see our lives on this earth in this way. It is painful for a time, but in the end (for those who repent and are saved) it will be worth it all just to see our Savior's face. Babies certainly make me think about my mortality, and remind me that life itself is such a blessing from God.

Back to the baby, we have had names picked out for months and are excited to find out whether this baby will be Rachel Joanna Cowperthwaite "she is the grace of the Lord" or Samuel David "well beloved one, asked of God" Cowperthwaite. Both these names were picked quite on purpose due to the Biblical definitions. After the death of our son Joshua, we prayed that the Lord would give us peace about whether or not we would be blessed with more children. We asked for patience and peace to accept what God would show to be His will. God's grace shown to us in the loss of Joshua, and the granting of our request for another baby are so much the theme of our lives this past 6 months, even our whole lives.

I am sorry, to some extent, for going on so long, but I am just so excited to see God at work. We see Christ's commands and love shown in the lives of children, parents, grandparents, fellow believers, and many more. We have seen the true sacrificial love of Jesus lived out in the lives of those who are hurt and weak, as Christians give selflessly of those things they have been blessed with. So often we see true Christianity, reaching the lost, praying through trials, and leaning on the Word of God for our comfort. I know this is not the picture we tend to see when we watch the news, or listen about town, yet this is what I see. God is changing us day by day, molding us more into the image of His Son Jesus. Often, this has had to start with breaking the old pot. Pottery is messy business, you know. Yet, with the skilled hands of the Master Creator, we will see and live His way. It is nothing of ourselves that will accomplish this transformation, but just life through God's spirit. I pray that we continue to be shaped more into His image until what is left of the old man is totally done away with. There will be a day, and it is coming soon.

Even so, come Lord Jesus,
Mark for the Cowperthwaites

PS, for those wanting to see our children in video (mostly Naomi uploaded right now) go to http://www.youtube.com/user/cowperthwaitefamily

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The work of the Holy Spirit-

I posted this earlier with all the verse text, but it seemed to long, if you would prefer to have it in that format, click here
It would be profitable to read the passages below and consider how they
bring out the point more clearly as to how the Holy Spirit works in our
lives. Also be considering how our lives and our actions should declare the
glory of God and not boast in the flesh.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31-
The flesh and its limited understanding is nothing but foolishness when compared with the wisdom of God. As believers, we still use our natural talents and abilities, to be sure. God has granted them to us for a purpose. Having said that, it is not the talents or natural gifts that we use to bring about the miraculous works of God. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts for the edification, or building up, of the body of Christ, the church. I have not yet fully understood why God would use the weak, base, foolish things in human comprehension to accomplish His goals, but it seems self evident that when God provides, beyond the natural realm, supernatural spiritual gifts, we are forced to rely only on God for the accomplishments that come in the Christian walk.

We can give ourselves no credit, for we deserve none. A faithful servant does not claim ownership of his Master's crops or goods. In the same way, what God does through His servants, by the power of His Holy Spirit, is not to be credited to us, but as in all things to give glory to God. That is why we were created, to give glory to God, for His pleasure. Let us live each moment of every day in view of this truth.

Matthew 5:38-48
The next portion deals more with how we ought to act. Surely, as physically strong and healthy Americans, we ought to demand our rights and fight for what we believe in. Well, we are told to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and that we are soldiers for Christ(2 Timothy 2:3-4). In reading the context of the previous passages, we see that this idea is often either misrepresented or just taken to extremes. That is a whole different topic, sorry to get off on a rabbit trail.

We are to not resist evil people, we are to give to those who ask, submit to even harsh treatment in order to proclaim the love of God, to be a peculiar people by living these commands. Verses 46-48 remind us that we are not just to love those who love us, this is not accomplished through the flesh, but only by asking the Lord to give us His heart. After all, is Jesus not the ultimate example of loving those who persecute you? Stephen took this teaching literally it would seem. While being stoned to death, Stephen asked God not to hold his death to their charge. May we all see the power of a Spirit filled life through this example.

Romans 12:3-5
Our call in this passage,giving all credit to the Holy Spirit of God, is to be humble, as we know all our accomplishments only point to God. We are one body, not to be tearing one another down or being in competition, but rather spurring one another to love and to do good deeds. We have different jobs, different gifts, all from God and for His purposes, none of which will be accomplished by our own strength or will. When we give up ourselves, submitting to making Jesus the Lord of our lives, we will see the fruit of our labor that only He can supply. We cannot save anyone, grow anyone, or build up the body of Christ in our own strength. All human attempts will fail, but even the weakest and most humble servant relying on the Holy Spirit will accomplish great things, and therefore glorify the Father. (Matt 5:16)

1 Peter 4:10-11
This passage reminds us again that we are to use gifts to serve one another, to build up the body. We are only stewards, chosen servants, who are to do as God commands, not just decide what we think is best. I challenge every one, including myself, to rely on God's strength when things are tough. When we are persecuted for living a godly life, know that it is the price we pay for following Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:12-18 reminds us that Paul was a persecutor of the church, and then became persecuted for his life of service to Jesus Christ. What a miraculous example for us. We were dead in the flesh, and now alive in Christ. It is all the work of God, through the blood of Jesus the Son, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:4-10
Do you see the pattern? (4)God's mercy, God's love, (5)our death, life in Christ, grace, (6)raised up with Jesus, seated in Christ Jesus,(7)He, riches of His grace, in Christ Jesus, (8) grace, not of ourselves, God's gift,(9) not works, not boasting, (10) His work, created in Christ, God prepared.

I don't see much of our work here. I see the earlier part of the chapter where we are dead in our trespasses and sins. I see even earlier that the whole point of this letter is to point them to the character of Jesus Christ, that our life and hope and everything is in Him. The examples later on of family, marriage, children, all point to Christ as the example. If we were to delve deeply into the character of Christ, we would see the shame and base nature of the human flesh. Yet in all this, God chooses to work all things to gain the glory, and allows us to take part. Note here that our part never gives us glory. God will not share His glory, a point that was brought out to me in a time when I was being prideful. This hard lesson reminds me of the glory of our King, Creator, God and Father of life and eternity. What a blessing this passage is.

Acts 1:7-8
It all comes back to this passage. Jesus had died, risen from the dead, and was giving His final marching orders for His followers. Immediately after this speech, Jesus was caught up in the clouds and promised to return when the time was right. We still await His second coming, when all the earth will bow, even those who will be judged and sent to eternal punishment in Hell. Those who anxiously await the return of our King, our Savior, Jesus Christ know that the power of the Holy Spirit that was promised is a reality in our lives. We know that the radical transformation of a man passing from death to life in Christ is evidenced by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We have been looking at the power of God's Holy Spirit, but we must not forget the other side of the coin. Eternal life was accomplished for man through Jesus' death on a cross. We talked in the beginning about the foolishness of preaching, the shame of the cross. We now look back to what Jesus did for us, and what He is still doing through the Holy Spirit. This power, this life is available to all, but not all have laid hold of it. To gain the power of God, one must repent of their sin and submit to the Lord, believing on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is offensive to someone trying to live their own life, their own desires. What a waste of a life that was created for God's glory. Speaking of the foolishness of preaching and the offense of the cross, Charles Spurgeon said:
"The most terrible thing to impenitent man in all the world is the death of Christ. For if God spared not His only Son, on whom was only laid imputed sin, will He spare sinners whose sins are their own?"

Those who die in their sin, who have not been washed by the blood of Christ, will stand in judgement with no defense. The offer of salvation is only valid during our time on earth, in which there are no guarantees of even another day. How much the sinner who shuns God's grace and His beloved Son grieves the heart of God. My heart is broken as day after day, I am blessed to tell the love of God, of eternal life through Christ, and yet how many spit in the face of Almighty God as they reject His Son, desiring to do it their own way. How saddened is the heart of our Lord and Master when we try to rely on our power, our talents, and ourselves to accomplish His work. He has given us the source of power, the Holy Spirit. Ours is but to surrender ourselves and obey His command to preach the Gospel through the power of His Spirit which dwells in us.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Updates- more info on the work, family, baby...

Greetings all,
I know when we are parked for a longer period of time, I tend not to send updates as often. There is still much going on, but the bigger picture often takes time to develop. We are just getting done sorting through old contacts from the surge of Gospel work here in May-June. Mark took the hard-to-find contacts and worked on those to attempt to lighten the load for the saints here that have been working so hard to reach each contact personally. This is a pretty big task to show up at the door of 300+ people. Finding them home is even harder. Schedules differ from family to family, and often folks if home are busy when we arrive. Thankfully, the list of those who seriously desire to hear more is working itself out and the task is now much more manageable.
Truly, the saints here have put many hours into the work. We hope we are helping lighten the load and allow local believers to concentrate on other areas, such as continue Gospel work, follow up, teaching, discipleship, kids clubs, raising their families, work, and a list of other things that are vitally important to the local church work. We are reminded that every believer has a great responsibility to the local church, and how much work the elders must put in to keep a local body functioning properly. Truly a task only accomplished by the Spirit of God, and with spiritual gifts. The flesh could never accomplish what is done each day through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The follow up work will continue but on a smaller scale as initial contact has now been established. On the kids club front, Mark will be helping pick up kids across the city for kids club, Sara is teaching the Bible lesson, and helping in whatever ways are needed. The family recently had a kids meeting during Kentucky Fellowship Day. This was a great day getting to meet Christians from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinios, and West Virginia, if I recall properly.
We are now beginning to shift from a majority of time in follow up, to continued door to door witnessing. There are still some areas of the city that were not reached with a personal conversation about salvation through Jesus Christ, and Mark is working on getting that ready to start Sat, Oct. 3. We will be changing approaches in the door to door effort. In the past, Justin and Mark have taken time to not just sweep a neighborhood to see who is home, but to make note of each house. Our desire is not only to get through a series of streets, but rather to talk to someone at each house if possible. Justin Humes devised a system that makes this more effective, organized, and is much more manageable for follow up in future efforts also.
Mark will continue working on "one anothering" (if you don't know, just ask) and other teaching. There is discussion with the elders here at Bluegrass Bible Fellowship of a men's study group. Still working on the details, but I am excited to get together and study God's Word with faithful men here at the chapel. I know I have much to learn, and I am excited to have this opportunity to glean wisdom and knowledge from the brothers at BBF.

Sara has been hard at work, too. While schooling the children, hosting visitors for meals, preparing lessons for kids clubs, helping Mark with mapping, and all her other duties, she is also growing a little baby human inside. Quite a feat when one thinks about it. Sara is enjoying here time getting to know the ladies here, who have been a great encouragement to her. We are blessed to have the fellowship of such godly families. We miss the folks at our home church, and family that is not near, but the burden is much lighter knowing that folks are praying for us, keeping busy in the work here. God gives us the strength and encouragement we need each day as we keep Him priority #1. What a blessing to know that no matter where we are, He is with us and we have family through Christ everywhere we go.
Sara had an appointment with her doctor in Lima, Ohio this week. Everything is going well, and we will be having an ultrasound October 26, she will be 23 weeks along at that point. It was a great trip, spending time with friends and family. Along with the Bluffton crowd of Grandma and Grandpa, Seth and Carol, Alaina, and Norm and Mary Lou, we also had Sara's mom, Kay with us for our time in Bluffton. It was great to see Grandma(Kay) as we will not see her again most likely until December or January. We had a great time and look forward to our scheduled visits to see folks there each month.
Nathaniel has been busy with school, riding his bike around the farm with the boys next door, and other such activities. He did get a new experience while we were in Ohio, though. Seth took Mark and Nathaniel for a ride in the combine while he was harvesting soybeans. Our next trip to Bluffton, we should be able to ride along with corn harvesting. Nathaniel loves to hang out with Seth and I think Seth is happy to have a young man that will work(or ride) alongside. Again, we have been blessed with such exciting educational experiences as we travel.
Virginia and Naomi have been busy memorizing Bible verses and doing their school work, along with helping Mommy, and playing with their friends next door. They are getting pretty good with memorizing and I think catching up with Daddy on verses. Mommy and Daddy have been blessed to not only teach all the children parts of Scripture, but learn the verses along with the children. At BBF, they allow the children to go up front and recite their memory verses. The girls all look forward to this part of the service.
We have posted many videos and pictures lately. I will post all the links to our blog, "one anothering" video, pictures, and other web based items for the family. The internet (thanks to Jesse Everling) is available to us at home, and helps immensely with the work. The church has an online database for helping organize all contacts. This is a huge help, a tool that I use every day to plan. We are truly blessed with many conveniences, and the Lord has continued to provide for all our needs. I find it important to remember often that all we have and all we do is because of God and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. What a joy it is to serve Him!
There is so much more to tell, and those of FaceBook get more info, I suppose as it is so easy to just shoot off a note on there, so if you are not on FaceBook, you might consider it. Truly a great tool (when used properly) for communication and sharing daily prayer requests.
Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite