What is a Single Rain Drop's Worth?

Perhaps the most difficult part of life is the waiting.  Into our periods of living inevitably come those spaces  between when we see not even a hint of progress, either in our own lives or in the lives of those around us. 

Whatever the situation, it seems as barren as the winter, where we plant seed after seed, eternally watching and waiting for the first sprout.  Each day finds us swinging wide like a pendulum between greatest joy when we think we see signs of new life and deepest despair when those hopes are dashed in the light of the next dawn.

We want to rush every process, to do whatever it takes to ram our future into our yesterday.  But that's not how it works.

The past two weeks, we have looked into the Shema of Deuteronomy 6, first focusing on how we must love what we teach about the Lord in order for it to be effectively communicated to those around us and then focusing on how we must rest in the comfort that our teaching moments are empowered by the Holy Spirit instead of by our own feeble abilities.

This week fast forwards us to the last day of Moses' life when Scripture says he "spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel" (Deut. 31:30).

After Moses had written down the entire law of the Lord, all Israel gathered 'round to hear his parting words.  Not surprisingly, they began with a message about faith, patience, and love.

Moses sang,  "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.  For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God!" (Deut. 32:1-3).

In two short verses, Moses gives four different similes concerning rain to symbolize what the teaching of God's Word should look like.  The choice of water is intentional, since for the Israelites, water from heaven was the difference between life and death in the desert.  Without rain, even the deepest of wells and cisterns would run dry, and all would perish.

The message here is quite simple--the Word of the Lord is life giving for all whom it falls upon.

The way that life-giving water falls on individuals, however, is not always the same.

In the first instance--"drop as the rain"--the Hebrew word translated here as "drop" means "to drop, drip...trickle."*  The image here is of what my children call "a sprinkle," not even enough water falling from the skies to call it a "shower." 

In the second example, Moses compares his teaching to the "dew," the gentle mist that falls silently at night to coat everything like a damp quilt.

The third example is of "gentle rain."  The Hebrew word here meaning "raindrops, rain showers"* implies the drops are large enough and consistent enough to take notice so that we could actually call it a "shower"; yet, it is by no means a storm that will result in a great rain. In fact, the KJV refers to it as "small rain." 

The fourth example--"like showers"--in Hebrew is defined as "copious showers, heavy showers"*  The Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon says this word indicates "showers, from the multitude of drops....plenty of water"**  This is a heavy rain.

The last example of a heavy rain is what we like to hear when we speak of sharing God's Word--we want His Word to be a flood, making such a big impression on those we're sharing with that their lives are instantly transformed in a huge way.  And, as Moses shows, that kind of eternal-life-giving transformation is possible.

But also notice that Moses only symbolizes teaching as a heavy rain after giving three examples of light showers and watery mist.  Somehow, I don't think that is a coincidence.  Instead, it seems he is communicating what we should anticipate in our routine sharing and teaching of God's Word....and how we should alter our expectations about "results" in light of this.

In three of the four above Hebrew words for "rain," the amount of water that falls is so insignificant that often, our listener may not even know he got wet!  And yet, that gentle rain or morning dew is so very important, as ever so slowly, it gives life.  Given time, it can accumulate drop by drop until our cup literally runneth over.

This should be an encouragement to those of us who may not get the chance to have a whole conversation with someone concerning the gospel.  Perhaps we only have the opportunity to share a sentence at a time.  Or perhaps, it's not even that much.  Maybe it's just an act of loving kindness done in Jesus' name for another. 

Mother.  Father.  Sister.  Friend.  Neighbor.  Co-worker.  Whoever it is that you're trying to teach about Jesus--don't give up.  Keep planting those seeds of the gospel with your very life.  Keep offering His life-giving water found in the Word, even if all you do today is coat them in the gentle morning dew of God's love shining through you.

We must be faithful to share His Word in sprinkles, dew, and light showers, trusting in God's perfect timing that one day, He will give someone--maybe even us!--the opportunity to speak the heavy rains upon their hearts and see them born into the kingdom.

Now that would be a flood worth celebrating.





* Strong's Concordance--Blue Letter Bible.org

**Hebrew Word "rabiyb"  http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H7241&t=KJV

jessica.pfaff@pearson.com“Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
² “Let my teaching drop as the rain,
My speech distill as the dew,
As the droplets on the fresh grass
And as the showers on the herb.
³ “For I proclaim the name of the Lord;
Ascribe greatness to our God!

jessica.pfaff@pearson.com

jessica.pfaff@pearson.com"

Choosing to Live as "Dust Pans"

In the early 1900s, an American missionary named Raymond Bush went to South Africa to spread the gospel to the natives.  While there, he took a young African boy named Tisese under his wing, allowing the boy to leave his village and come to live at the mission station with him and his wife.  There, the boy learned to love Jesus and God's Word.  

At one point after hearing of Saul's conversion to become Paul, Tisese said, "'Now that I am a Christian, my name shall be 'Dust Pan' forever!'"  When Raymond asked why he had chosen the name, Tisese replied, "I was just passing your house and saw your wife sweeping, with that tool called a dust pan in her hand. She carried all the dirt out of your hut with it. I want to be a dust pan, too, so that when I go home I may carry out the dirt from the lives of my father, my family, and all my friends. I want to be a Dust Pan for Jesus!" 

And a "dust pan" he would be.  

When Raymond prepared another journey to the boy's village, Dust Pan insisted on going: "There is no time to lose! Even now my family could be dying without Jesus. My father could be killed in a tribal fight. My mother may be eaten by lions while working in the garden! My brothers and sisters may die and never hear of Jesus in time."

Reluctantly, Raymond relented, allowing the boy to accompany his caravan.  After several nights, the boy's feet were covered in blisters, but still, young Dust Pan refused to turn back.  Instead, he walked for days on bandaged feet until his blisters burst.  His feet bled with each step until, at last, he reached his home village. 

One year later, missionary Raymond returned to Dust Pan's village.  There, he found 364 new Christians all waiting to be baptized, including the boy's former-witch-doctor father, his mother, his three sisters, and his five brothers.  

The witness of one small boy had brought so much light to the dark heart of the African jungle.*

*****

My children and I read this story over a week ago and still, it remains in my heart and mind what one little boy could accomplish for the kingdom of  God.  It makes me look at my young children differently, wondering what they could accomplish for Jesus, what I could accomplish for Him, if not weighed down with self doubt.

Even in my late thirties, I am still guilty of thinking myself too unknowledgeable, too insignificant to make a difference for Jesus.  But the apostle Paul cautioned against such a defeatist attitude, telling Timothy:

"Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you" (1 Tim. 4:12-16).

In other words, it isn't our physical age that determines our usefulness but rather our spiritual age. Maturity, in these verses, seems to come from three things: (1) being "absorbed" with the reading and teaching of the Word of God, (2) ensuring our daily conduct always reflects Christ, and (3) using our spiritual gifts.  

Although they seem independent qualities, the three are connected.  In order to properly teach Scripture, I'm going to need to be absorbed in reading/studying Scripture in my private time, which will naturally spill over into my speech and direct my conduct.  Another byproduct of being absorbed in Scripture is that I will be seeking to use my spiritual gifts to exhort and edify others.  My public life is merely a reflection of my private life with Christ.

The end result is that my "progress will be evident to all." 

As Christians, we simply must stop thinking in terms of "I can't" or "I don't know enough" and start seeking to use whatever spiritual gift God has endowed us with.  Then, just let God take care of the rest.

It is in this way that we can all be little Dust Pans for Jesus.  





*The story of Dust Pan can be found in Mildred A. Martin's book Missionary Stories with the Millers.  (pp. 153-159).

If I Die Without Ever Knowing

It has been the same routine every Thursday morning for almost three years now.  The alarm brings a frown much earlier than usual, no matter how late my work the night before.  Except for those mornings that find the temperatures below freezing or rain pouring down hard upon the earth, I obediently rise to lace up my well-worn tennis shoes, load up whatever children are in the house, then drive to my local church house.  There, I gather with a handful of heavenly brothers and sisters to pray before driving together to one of dozens of neighborhoods within a ten mile radius of our church. 

Unlike three years ago, I no longer have to lug out the stroller and push two year old twins down the asphalt or maneuver them up and over the concrete curbs.  My now five-year-old children bounce, run, and leap as we walk, pray, speak God's love to any neighbors we come in contact with, and leave Scripture on every door in each subdivision. 

When I first felt God's call to commit myself to this ministry, I hoped I would make a difference.  I trusted in the words of Isaiah 55:11: "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

My heart clings to these words, that God will accomplish what He desires from our giving others His Word, no matter what.


But even the gentle wind manages to wear solid rock down to mere sand.  Year after year, I have not seen much fruit as a result of my obedience.  What's more, it has sometimes been difficult to find fellow laborers to walk with me on this journey to fulfill the command that "you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

My feet continue to pound the pavement in my Jerusalem.  Every time I even think about calling it quits, that gentle voice within reminds me of this fact and spurs me onward once more. 

I remember my first voyage through the winding roads and cookie cutter houses that looked all the same.  More than once, we got "lost" while walking.  Now, though, I don't see my Jerusalem the same way.  Instead, I see the nuanced differences.  I pass by the yards a second, third, fourth time and remember them from before, praying for my Jerusalem not as an unknown place with unknown people but as somewhere familiar and filled with individuals. 

I know the house with the large dog whose paws reach the top of the fence, the house where the man asked me to pray for his cancer and who was cancer free when I knocked a year later.  There's the house with the pet potbellied pig, the one with the new mother of twins, the one whose occupant grew up in an orphanage.  I remember the house whose driveway was torn out last year, the one with the creepy pretend graveyard on the front lawn, and the one with cigarette butts strewn down the tiny front porch.  

This may not seem like a big deal, but it is a giant step in coming to see people as God does--individuals, all in need of a Savior, not just identical house after another in an endless line of nothing that I can ignore as meaningless and unimportant. 

A few weeks ago, I read an article I haven't been able to get out of my mind:

Missionary Died Thinking He Was a Failure: 84 Years Later Thriving Churches Found Hidden in the Jungle.

The article begins, "In 1912, medical missionary Dr. William Leslie went to live and minister to tribal people in a remote corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After 17 years he returned to the U.S. a discouraged man – believing he failed to make an impact for Christ. He died nine years after his return."

Meanwhile, Christian natives who had heard the gospel from Leslie began a network of small churches that began spreading the gospel throughout the jungles.  Not till 2010 did someone re-enter those jungles to share Jesus only to find He was already there and quite alive in the hearts of many.

Wow. 

The question is the same as always--are we willing to serve the Lord for nothing?  Are we willing to serve Him, however He commands...even if we die thinking ourselves a failure?

For the sake of a world full of the hopeless and lost, I can only hope our answer continues to be yes.



Image: Dr. Leslie's Vanga mission from 1912.

Is Anybody Listening?

Every now and again, I get that feeling that I'm wasting my time.

These blog articles?  Few people ever post or email me comments.  As far as I know, no one has ever accepted Christ as his or her Savior based on my presentation of the Word in this space. 

The folded tracts I leave on door after door every Thursday morning?  Few people ever come to our church and mention those orange, Scripture-filled papers.  And again, I know of no one who has been saved by my labors.

The ESL students I teach once a week?  Last week, we got hung up on the word dessert.  With such a language barrier, how can I ever successfully communicate the gospel to these people?

In these areas of my life, I feel like I'm shouting with my everything; yet, all around me, everyone is tuned out, quite literally.  In the parking lot, on the street, in the elevator, in the mall--a sea of ears plugged with headphones successfully seal out the world, incubating these individual islands from contact and relationship.

This past week, I was brought back to the prophet Isaiah's calling.

In his infamous vision of God enthroned, Isaiah heard the Lord ask, "'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?'" (Is. 6:8).  Here, the "Us" demonstrates that whoever answered this call to be sent would do so on behalf of the triune God--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Isaiah chose to respond to this call, at which time the Lord described his calling further: "Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull,And their eyes dim" (Is. 6:9-10).

From these three verses, we see Isaiah being required to do two things--go and tell.  Yet, even before Isaiah takes one step or speaks one word in obedience to his calling, God warns him that no one will listen.  And those who do listen will not understand because their hearts are not tender to God.  His efforts will have no success as men understand that term.

Isaiah's response is understandable as he asks, "'Lord, how long?'" (v. 11a).  How long must I speak to these people who do not hear, who do not listen.  How long?

The Lord responds, "Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate" (v. 11b).

Isaiah was being told to preach until the walls came down, until the cities were no more...until there was no one left to hear his words.  In short, as long as there was one person left in the land, his job wasn't finished.

Compare Isaiah's calling to Christ's commissioning (or "calling") of His disciples at the end of Matthew: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19-20).

Just like with Isaiah, the disciples (and, thus, we, as Christ's disciples of today) were called to go and tell, a calling that was empowered after Jesus' death when on the Day of Pentecost He said, "you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).  While Isaiah was merely sent to Israel, Christ opened this calling to all the nations.  Likewise, unlike Isaiah, our calling this side of the cross is a bit different in that it also includes making disciples and baptizing.  Still, though, the essential command is much the same, just a broader target audience.

Here, as well, is mention of the "who" behind our calling--the trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We, too, go on behalf of God in all three persons.

And lastly, just as with Isaiah, we are also called to go and tell "to the end of the age"--until the whole world hears.  Until there is not one person left.

What is interesting is that in this calling of His disciples, Jesus doesn't add a "but they won't listen to you" warning as Isaiah received, even though such warnings are found elsewhere in the New Testament.  Still, the two callings are so similar that one cannot help but understand that if the prophet Isaiah preached the Word of God and no one would listen, the same will be true of us as well.

It is discouraging to sow and not reap.  In one way, it keeps us humble and reminds us that we save no one; that is the Spirit's job to convict.  Yet, still, it can be discouraging in our results-driven society.

No matter what, though, we must believe in our calling--to go, to continue to sow the Word of God--even if no one listens--until the cities are devastated and there is no one left. 

This is our responsibility.  This is our calling as children of the Most High God.

What Does a Watchman Really Do?

Thoughts of an old graduate school friend have consumed me of late.  He is the "one that got away," but not in the way you might think.

Of all my friends from that part of my life, he is the only one whom I spent hours with, having  serious, consistent conversations about God.  I stumbled over myself at every turn, and I knew it, but I never gave up hope, never stopped praying that one day, God would move his heart, help him get past the intellectual stonewall of rationalism and accept Christ and the Bible by faith.

It never happened.  

That was thirteen years ago.  And the state of his soul still haunts me like my shadow tall beside me each morning.

The last time my friend and I met for coffee, I was newly married, teaching, and putting my husband through law school.  I learned he had moved back from Chicago after a failed stint in film school and a failed long-term relationship.  His brother had recently died.  Suicide.  His sister was still absorbed in dance.

I cried after we parted that day.  All the old defenses, all the intellectual banter to keep me at a distance were still there.  Visiting with him was just so...sad. 

Wherever he is, he is in his early forties, closer each day to meeting his maker.  Every now and then, I still awake from a dream of rounding a corner and bumping into him again, of trying once more to share the love of Christ with him.  But it's only just a dream.

What do you do, then, when someone from your past burdens your heart? When you want more than anything to share Christ with them, but time, distance, or the unknown separate you?

And what of the Great Commission in Matthew 28 that tells us to "go and make disciples of all nations" (v. 19)?  Sometimes, the going is made impossible by responsibilities that keep us firmly planted here at our specific latitude and longitude.  What then!?

Are we still called to be God's watchmen who stand upon the wall?

In the book of Ezekiel, God reveals a great deal about being God's watchman, not "to the remotest part of the earth" where I tend to think is most important but "both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria" (Acts 1:8).

I'm speaking of being God's messenger at home. 

When God appointed Ezekiel as a watchman, He described one part of the prophet's job description: just speak: "Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me" (Ez. 3:17).

This doesn't sound anything out of the ordinary--to speak the Word of God, all the Word of God, leaving nothing out.  The prophet Jeremiah was admonished in the same way.

But then God goes further, explaining, "Moreover, I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and cannot be a man who rebukes them, for they are a rebellious house.  But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD'" (Ez. 3:26-27).

Some scholars believe Ezekiel literally became a mute, unable to speak unless God placed words within his mouth.  If true, it's a poignant lesson for us about what we should say and not say--God's Word and His Word alone.

A few verses earlier, God gives a second job description: "He spoke with me and said to me, 'Go, shut yourself up in your house'" (Ez. 3:24).  GO HOME.

What?  Weren't watchmen to go out, stand on the highest wall, maybe wait for an audience, and then spill forth God's Word?  How else was Ezekiel to warn others if he was sitting at home!?

Yet, go home, Ezekiel went.  And the people began coming to him.  In chapter 8, Scripture records, "I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting beside me" (v. 1).  In chapter 14, Scripture says, "Then some elders of Israel came to me..." (v. 1).  And again, in chapter 20, "certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and sat before me" (v. 1).

Again and again, God brings to Ezekiel those who need to hear the message.  God gives the Words. God opens Ezekiel's mouth.  All Ezekiel has to do is then speak.

Please understand that I'm not saying God doesn't expect us to share the gospel with the entire world.  Yet, sometimes, I think we get so caught up in the belief that we are only serving as good little watchmen for the Lord if we are spreading salt and light on foreign soil.  I think we get caught up in the belief that if we don't see thousands saved, we're doing a poor job.

Being a watchman means one thing--being God's messenger, sharing all the Word of God, both in and out of season, period.

Yes, it's antithetical to our American mentality of numbers, statistical analyses, and success at all costs, but if others won't listen, it matters not.  We cannot simply change the message to give it mass appeal.  A watchman is a messenger, not a savior. 

And if we are prohibited from going to those who need to hear, that fact does not inhibit God in the least.  God can and will bring them to us.

You and I who are in Christ must believe that.  We must start perceiving ourselves as important watchmen in our own Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria--our city, our state, our country.

Considering the reach of the Internet, radio, and television in our present time, being a watchman at home may be more important than ever before.

There's no telling what God can accomplish through you...all from your own doorstep.

Who Picks Up the Slack When Christians Avoid Muslims?

Muslim wasn't a word in my childhood vocabulary.  I rarely heard it at home and if I did, it was some passing reference on the evening news.  Even by high school, Islam was a vague concept from World History class.

Somewhere in college, I picked up the very basic differences in belief systems between Christians and Muslims, enough to know about its chief prophet Muhammad and Jesus being demoted from Son of God to "just another prophet."

Still, in my mind, Muslims were a world away, ever-tanned people who lived in the deserts of Africa, who believed women to be worth less than the dust of the earth, who hit their knees to bow turbaned head in prayer three regimented times a day, and who lived to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Muslims were other-worldly.  They were the strange burka-clad women I saw every now and then at the mall. I always looked away, embarrassed, never sure how to get past the strangeness of their garb to even smile a greeting.

Then came September 11, 2001.  Suddenly, Islam and all Muslims were yanked up on center stage.  They weren't a people group "over there."  Muslims were now the neighbor next door.  And worse, some Muslims were extremists to be feared for their hatred of America.

But how could you tell which Muslim was waiting to go on a kamikaze mission in the name of Allah?

For awhile, it looked like the McCarthyism of the 50s would return with a vengeance, although this time, we were searching for Muslim terrorists instead of Communists under every rock. 

The result of this fear was separation, an "us" versus "them" mentality.

And when that happened, Christians stepped away from their duty to share the gospel.

Such is the argument Pastor Tom Doyle makes in the newest book, Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World?. 

He writes, "I believe Islamic terrorism is Satan's attempt to keep the gospel message away from Muslims.  The enemy thinks that if he can make the rest of us afraid of Muslims or make us hate them, then he can short-circuit Jesus' church from reaching Muslims."

It has been a week since I read this passage.  I still feel convicted.


Scripture commands Christians to share the gospel with all peoples.  The Great Commission doesn't exclude potential terrorists or extremists, doesn't give Christians an "out" for choosing fear over obedience.

Christ clearly said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”" (Matt. 28:19-20).

These aren't confusing words that can have a double interpretation.   All means all.

Yet, Pastor Doyle's book doesn't stop with this biting critique of modern Christianity.  Instead, he continues, saying Satan's attempt to short-circuit the path of the gospel "isn't working.  Jesus has stepped in and is opening Muslim hearts Himself."

The book proceeds to present narrative accounts of Jesus taking up the gauntlet and introducing Himself to Muslims, one at a time, in dreams.  These dreams then lead Muslims to a Christian--either in person or in an Internet chat room--who disciples them in the Word.

Slow down and think about this for just a minute.  

Christians have allowed fear, difference, not knowing what to say, embarrassment--whatever--to stop them from sharing the gospel with Muslims.  

So, Jesus has bypassed His ineffective disciples to do the job, Himself.

The Jesus who told you and me to go and tell, who gave His own life for us.....He is out there on the front lines sharing Himself.  He is issuing the call.  And even in the dangerous countries so steeped in Islam that they routinely kill family members who swear allegiance to Christ, He is winning souls daily.

Maybe you're like me and feel ashamed at having dropped your gaze when a Muslim walks your way.  More than that, though, I feel a call to arms, to push past the cultural differences, the fear, and try to win these Muslims to Christ.

There is a time for everything, and the real-life accounts in Doyle's book convince me that the time for the Muslim to come to know Christ is now.

With the Jesus film reaching 6.5 billion already, with the Internet penetrating formerly-closed countries, with Christian radio reaching 93%* of the world, with 60 million* in the Middle East able to watch a Christian apologist on television--the time is now.

If you avoid a particular establishment because it's owned by a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist...

If you avoid interaction with someone who dresses differently because of their religion...

I challenge you to overcome your prejudices, your fear, your embarrassment and see them as God sees them--as lost souls waiting for someone to share with them the truth of Jesus Christ's sacrifice at Calvary.

Otherwise, it will be said of our generation that the fields were ripe unto harvest but the willing laborers were so few that Jesus had to go, Himself, in our place.  

That's not what I want my Savior to say to me when I meet Him in the clouds.



Read a sample of Doyle's book here.  You'll be hooked.




*Doyle.  p. 264