Create In Me a Clean Heart

“let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:22

          This past month, the Lord has been doing a major work of cleansing my heart.  When I received Jesus into my heart many years ago, I became a new creation according to 2 Corinthians 5:17.  On that Sunday morning of October 21^st 1995, things became new and the old was gone.  When bible says the old is gone and behold all things have become new, what does that actually mean?  Does it mean that all of a sudden I have now been completely cleansed/sanctified?  I don’t think so.  What happened was justification (I received a right standing with God) but the work of sanctification had just begun.  As I was thinking about it, the Lord gave me a picture of a house whose old tenant moves out and a new tenant comes in.  Jesus became the new tenant of my heart but he had a lot of cleaning to do.   When I first moved into the house I live in right now, I did some major cleaning but even at this point there still areas I am yet to clean.  When it comes to cleaning a house, there are areas we clean almost every day like the kitchen.  Then there are others we clean maybe once or twice a week.  Then things like windows get cleaned only after so many months.  And depending on how much dust there is around, some areas get dirty as soon as they are cleaned.  That is the same with our hearts.

At the National Museum
of the Royal Kingdom
of Cambodia

                        

         Salvation (justification, sanctification and glorification) is a work of grace.  It is not by works lest any of us should boast.  Yet Paul tells in Philippians 2:12 to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.  Then he goes on to add that it is God who works in us to will and act according to his good purpose.  That for me has meant that I yield my heart to the Holy Spirit to do the work of cleansing (sanctification).  As I was praying the above scripture this past month, the Lord did more than I had imagined.  He did more than cleanse me from a guilty conscience but went deeper into the recesses of my heart and shed light on things I needed to deal with in his presence – things I would have never thought of on my own.  Here I was concerned about gaining more language vocabulary and learning more about the Khmer culture and never anticipating that the Lord will do a thorough ‘work’ in my heart.  There are issues and burdens and attitudes and hurts and hidden faults, some of which I had carried from childhood, which I had to lay before the Lord.   I know the Lord is not finished with me and I am so humbled even as I write this because I know this could not happen apart from his grace.  I am reminded of David’s prayer in Psalm 51:10-13 where David was praying for a clean heart and in verse 13 he says ‘then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.’  David knew that before he could teach transgressors the ways of the Lord, he needed his heart to be clean and his mind to be made pure and his joy of salvation to be restored. 

•  Pray that I will continue to let the water of his word to cleanse me.  Pray that God himself, the God of peace, will sanctify me through and through. That my whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thes 5:23)

• Pray that God will continue to equip me mentally, spiritually, linguistically, physically and emotionally for that work he has called me to in Cambodia.

• Pray for the Cambodia.  Pray for rain.  They are predicting a drought this year.  Also, pray for the rain of the Holy Spirit, that the knowledge of Lord will cover Cambodia even as the waters cover the sea.

Open Doors; Open Hearts

“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains." Colossians 4:3

Inside a Pagoda (Buddhist Temple)
when we went for a burial of a friend of
my friends' father

As a Daniel learner*, apart from learning language and observing the culture around me, one of the other things I am required to do is to read about the Cambodian history.  In January I started a reading marathon of reading one book a week and it has been heartbreaking to read about the Cambodian history.  When I was reading Killing Fields Living Fields by Don Cormack, there were times I would put the book down and just cry.  The book focuses on the history of the church in Cambodia but also mentions what the whole country went through especially during the Pol Pot regime.  Before Pol Pot in April 1975, the church had grown to about 10,000 believers only to be trimmed down to about 200 believers at the end of that very dark period in Cambodian history in 1979.  And like the terror they went through was not enough, the church underwent another 10 plus years of persecution from the government being denied

freedom of worship and some of them being put into prison because of the name of Jesus.  One thing that encouraged me as I was reading is that God is Sovereign over the nation of Cambodia and He is not blind to what they went through in the hands of the fellow countrymen.  What the devil intended for evil, God turned it for the good of the church in Cambodia and used it to save many people as many of them started to question their Buddhist beliefs and came to find answers only in Christ.

My language teacher and me during a cultural visit  to a school. Unfortunately we went on a day when there  were no pupils.

My language teacher and me during a cultural visit 

to a school. Unfortunately we went on a day when there 

were no pupils.

A typical Cambodian countryside home

         

One thing I thank the Lord for right now, is that the doors for the gospel in this country are open.  That does not mean that the Cambodian Christians still don’t go through persecution in the hands of the fellow countrymen – whether direct or indirect.  The other day I asked my Khmer friends what is one of the challenges in sharing the gospel in Phnom Penh and they said it is closed doors.  They explained that in the countryside, people live in community and there are no gates or high walls.  What that means is that people are accessible unlike here in the City of Phnom Penh.  Also, with the horrific things the country/people of Cambodia have gone through, it is only obvious that their hearts become untrusting and suspicious.  But who can blame them really?

 Therefore: -

• Pray with me that not only an effectual door of ministry be opened but also that the hearts of the Cambodian people be opened to the gospel.  Pray for all who are serving here in Cambodia – ministries and churches.

• Pray that the believers in Cambodia will unite as one and join hands to see the Kingdom of God come to Cambodia.

• Thank God for an open door to my neighbor’s house who has continued to help practice language and even taught me how to make one Khmer dish.  Also thank God for the grace he has continued to give me as I learn the Khmer language and culture.  Pray for more opportunities to interact with Khmer people.

*OMF term for those who are learning language and culture before they launch into their respective ministries.  It was adapted from the book of Daniel.

Counting The Cost Of Following Christ

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life." Mark 10:29-30

           Last year's Christmas was probably the hardest Christmas season I had to go through.  Having left Kenya at the end of October and arriving to Cambodia at the end of November, I had forgotten that Christmas will follow soon after.  Saying goodbye at home was hard and transition and settling into a new country is not easy either.  But adding all that to a holiday season, where everything is about family and loved ones, just tips the scale.  With all my preparations to get here in the prior months, I did not remember that I will be getting here a just few days before Christmas.  That is definitely one cost I had not counted when I told God 'yes, sign me up for missions.'

I knew I would have to leave family behind but I didn't process how holidays would look like in far away country without friends and family.  To make it even more difficult, Cambodian's do not celebrate Christmas. During the Christmas season, it is business as usual here in Cambodia.  Having been caught unawares by the holidays, I decided to spend Christmas alone in my house.  I had invitations to go out and eat in a restaurant with some colleagues but I  turned them down knowing how that will make me miss Christmas at home even more. I was very happy when the season ended and life could go back to 'normal'.

Eating having Khmer Buffer dinner with Khmer friends
on New Years day

When I remember the above words that Jesus spoke to his disciples I know Jesus will give me more than what I have left.  I know this year's Christmas will be different - I will celebrate with the mothers and sisters and the brothers that God will give me here.  And actually, by New Year's, I had some Khmer friends that we went out to eat a buffet (Khmer style - see photo).  In retrospect,  as difficult as that season was, if I had a chance for a do - over, I would not change a thing.  I decided long ago that I would go to the ends of the earth for sake of the Gospel.  Every sacrifice is so worth it.  All that is happening now is experiencing the details of what my 'yes' looks like.

On the language front, I am making progress and my Language Coordinator told me a few days ago that I might start my language lessons in the University in April (this is part of the curriculum).  While that was intended to be good news, it made my stress levels go up a few notches higher.   If you are wondering why, let me explain.   Phnom Penh is a very crowded city with a lot of traffic.  So far, I have manage going for language lessons at the OMF Centre on foot (I live only 10 minutes away).  And even though sometimes it is stressful to cross the streets on foot, I have managed it well thus far.  To get to the University (which is further away),  I would have to ride a bicycle or motorbike.  I am not used to riding either leave alone maneuvering through the crazy traffic.  I had hoped that this part of riding a motorbike will come six months or a year after I have been here.  My other concern is that I am still learning my way around.  But then as I said above, for the sake of the Gospel, I have no choice but to do it.  If it is going to kill me then let it kill me.  The alternative is that it will make me stronger.

As you continue to pray for me/Cambodia:-

• Thank God for his hand on me and the progress I am making in the language.  I can now read a few words (well 3 letter words mostly) and can make my way around in the market and even speak short sentences with people.

• Stress is real.  Homesickness is real. When I was in Orientation in Singapore, I kept hearing from our leaders that Cambodia is high-stress field.  Now I am beginning to understand what they were saying.  Pray that God will give me wisdom on how to take care of myself spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally.  Pray that during these times of stress, I will quickly run and drink from the fountain of Living Water and learn to abide in his presence.

• Pray for salvation and healing of Cambodia.  As I continue to learn about her sad past, my heart breaks a thousand times over.  Pray that the church will arise, unite and pray for this nation according to 2 Chronicles 7:14