Stirred By The Scriptures

My recent trip to Ethiopia has taught me many thing not the least of which the continual need to be a learner. So often we in America think we have so much to teach the rest of the world, especially those countries we refer to as third world. My time in Ethiopia reminded me again that they have much to teach me. First is that prayer is their first option. For me it seldom comes in first and rarely even second. Here is a simple example - when we finished traveling my first impulse was to get out of the van, After all I have a large frame, with long legs that need to be stretched. While I am stretching the Ethiopian believers are in the van praying and thanking God for safety.

Second lesson learned is that joy comes in spite of circumstances, not because of them. For me it goes like this “I will be joyfully if ...” For them it is “I will be joyful, no matter what, because of who Jesus is to me.”

Please don’t think that believers there have reached perfection or don’t struggle with issues of sin - they do. It is just that we have much to learn from them.