I ask our Heavenly Father to put me on the minds
of those who have been praying for me to pray for me yesterday and today. I
needed to open a bank account here. One of the documents that I needed is
obtained from a police station. It is a long story but, I went to a police station
where I had a contact through someone I have known for the last three and
one-half years. This friend of mine and I went to that police station yesterday
but that officer was not there. I went again to this police station this
afternoon and in less than 15 minutes I was walking out of that police station
with a signed, stamped, and valid document. I went to the bank, signed the
forms, and later this afternoon Eliz and I went to the Bank, and she signed the
forms so that either one of us can sign checks. The people at the bank
who helped us were professional and kind. What an answer to prayer to
have this bank account opened before I start teaching in four days. I
will not have time for these kinds of time consuming details. I recognize
that God was very gracious to me today.
Perhaps you have read or heard of corruption
in developing countries. Actually there is corruption in every country
and the United States
is experiencing more and more as pagans and some of those who claim to be
Christians disobey the Bible, i.e., what God has instructed His created
people to be and how to live. There is some corruption where I am living
but it is not total. There are some people in authority that are corrupt
but I have met and dealt with some people in authority who were very
professional, honest, just and were instruments of God's grace in
my life. I met three police officers today who were professional, honest
and just in their dealings with me. I need to pray for these and others I
have met here because of the pressure they face every day. I remember
seeing this kind of pressure when we lived in Cote d'Ivoire.
Once again, I am reminded of the sovereignty of God and that He does His work
through people. He could have chosen to work through angles, but He has
chosen to work using people that He created. Some of these people He uses
know Him and some do not yet know Him, and some refuse to know Him, but He
still works His will through them. As I was reminded by my pastor in my
home town this past December, God moved an emperor to call for a census so that
God's Son would be born in Bethlehem.
As my pastor reminded us, that passage in Luke starts out with the emperor of Rome and then moves to the
focus of Joseph and Mary and then moves to the focus and spotlight of the birth
of His son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As God moved an emperor, He met the
needs of His obedient servants, Joseph and Mary, to have His word fulfilled by
having His Son take a human body, being born, so that He could die for
the sins of every man, woman, and child. All these events were examples of
God's sovereignty and grace in action. Today I was again reminded of How
God is at work to accomplish His purposes and meets the needs of His obedient
servants. This officer that he used to help me obtain this important
document crossed the path of my wife four years ago. I was not aware of this
past connection but this officer did not forget this past connection, even
thought this officer was now in a different location. Amazing how God
works. Speaking of God working, our day started by friends taking us out
to a small restaurant for breakfast, which was also sufficient to be our lunch.
For you who have been praying for us, thank you for
praying. Join us in thanking God for His gracious work in our behalf by the
people He used to be His instruments of grace in our lives.- Timothy