Day: March 23, 2012

Adversity, Cambodia, Life

Complacent?

Angie Knight

100_4786That’s a word that’s been on my lips a few times today…especially in thinking of how some are towards growth…seeking God for more…and especially in living outside of the walls we’ve secured around our lives.  Complacent.

I was one.  With a capital “C”.  It makes me nauseated now to think of how I was—and would still be had God not gotten my attention with life…

You know…life.  The daily stuff that happens and then all of a sudden, life smacks you in the head with a brutal sharpness that causes your eyes to sting. 

God will deal with complacent…and I personally believe it nauseates Him.100_4805

What do you do with this disease?  Is it treatable?

I say, “yes”.  But it takes some knee work.  As in getting down on them and seeking God—asking for forgiveness for the hardness of our hearts and the blindness of our eyes to the plight of others.

I’ve witnessed complacency.  It sits comfortably on church pews all across our nation.  It has soft knees and not so soft hearts.  I’ve seen complacency fill a pulpit…from real life—to televangelist.  Those seeking that dollar bill…or mega-dollar bills.  Nauseating.

The day we went to the temples in Cambodia, I struggled inside with what I witnessed.  People kneeling before a lie…seeking to please a lie.  Walking miles in the heat for a lie…tears formed in my eyes as I watched one young woman, possibly early 20’s kneel down and offer something to the dead stone.

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But think for just a minute what we are doing every single day.  We offer up hours of our lives to dead stone.  Maybe it’s not stone, but it’s dead nonetheless.  It not only steals your time…but it steals your family.   It steals your future…and if I may be so bold to say (I may as well be bold—I told God I’d type what He dictated),  I believe it will steal your eternity in heaven…and hand deliver you one to hell.  Ouch.  That hurt.

Where are you sowing seeds of life?   In your church?  In your neighborhood?  Community?

Or in dead stone.

I’ve spent all the time I intend to with dead stone…I determined a few years ago, that God would have my full attention.  If He chose to rearrange my whole life—He could.  If He chooses now to send me across the “pond”…I’m His to send.

Truthfully, I am dealing with things since my return.  The first trip to Honduras brought things into focus…now, the lens of my camera has been cleaned again.  Bolivia brought insight and clarity.  Cambodia brings urgency.  An urgency that cannot be ignored.

When I came home from Honduras…God really began to deal with me about how I spent my time and money.  I worked on it…with His guidance and help.  I told a dear pastor friend today, Bolivia was different.  Maybe it was because Jeff and I were there together—but there was a feeling of dog-tired-joy.  Joy like I’ve never experienced.  Peace. 

100_4772Tonight—as I sit here—reliving moments of the past 3 years, I am praying for more insight into His plan.  I will change-rearrange-do what needs to be done to fall in line behind Him.  Following Him has been my “sign-off” on my blog for many years, then, I changed it to “Giving Him All”.  When I give Him my ALL, I am following Him…and I don’t intend to stop.

I can promise you I won’t be a favorite.  It happens when I leave and see God somewhere where the people are hungry for Him and then come home to where the complacent out-number the hungry…even in our own church.  My mouth sometimes gets in gear and I can’t stop it…so—if you are one of the complacent…you might want to avoid me for a while.

If you are not sold out completely—willing to give it all up for Him—then I’m afraid you are like the girl in the picture.  Standing before the dead stone.  You may not be bowing down…but you are there…stuck inside the rocky walls of life…and life has a tendency of crashing down…100_4798

Might I add—a crash helmet won’t help…

Only the helmet of salvation will.

Ephesians 6:10-18 NLT

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.   In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.  Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Amen.

 

© Angie Knight-The Knightly News 2012.  All rights reserved.

Cambodia

A Girl Named Nary

Angie Knight

100_5879Are you up for a walk?  It’s not far…(well, actually if you are standing by the road in front of their house it’s not far…but if you are still here—then it’s about a 23 hour plane ride and 12 hour time zone away.)

And it is hot.  Right now it’s lunch time in Cambodia.  And it’s very hot—sticky and there is quite a bit of dust in the air from the motorbikes.

So, if you’ve got a bandana or handkerchief, you might want to cover your mouth….otherwise, your throat and lungs will fill with the awful red colored dust and dirt….not so good.

We’re going to Nary’s house with my dear friend Rene`.

Rene` is the sponsor of a young girl from the Ampil School.  She has a quiet nature, but loves fun things.  This was one visit I was especially looking forward to, not having my own sponsored child in Cambodia, this was the next best thing.  100_5878Rene` invited us all to take part.  I got to be the photographer, Vanessa was the prayer partner, and Becky was the videographer.

Rene` planned it all out in advance.  She bought gifts for the mom and dad and made a bracelet for Nary.  She had other gifts for her, but the time, effort and thought put into each gift touched our hearts.  It was indeed a holy moment watching the two of them meet.

We were all crying by the time we left.

Vanessa prayed the most anointed prayer over the family, which was interpreted and we all prayed along in our hearts—asking God to draw this family into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, if they were not already His own.

100_5895Nary’s mom was so excited to have Rene` there that day.  She had cleaned and brewed a pot of tea, which she set out immediately in her best china tea pot.  I had to slip over to Ly, one of the interpreter’s and let him know quietly that Rene` was taking medication that would make her very sick if she partook of anything other than what her system was accustomed to.  I asked him to please let the family know that we were deeply touched by their generosity, but for Rene`’s health sake, she shouldn’t risk it.  They were okay with that—didn’t seem offended in the least, as a matter of fact, their faces were wreathed in pleased smiles as we took the last photo’s before leaving.

Nary’s mom also brought out the family picture album.  It was the sweetest thing I’d ever seen.  You do that for your relatives who haven’t seen your own children in a long time…to me that was Nary’s mom’s way of letting Rene` know “she was family”.  I even took pictures of her pictures of Nary as a baby and toddler.  She also showed us the whole family.  Nary is the youngest of three.

As we had begun the week singing a song called, “Holy Spirit Rain Down”, it happened that day underneath the tin roof of their open home.  100_5907The most precious anointing of the Holy Spirit poured down on us that day—and I am so grateful that Rene` asked us to join her.100_5998

One of the neatest things happened when we got back to Ampil School.  Nary saw Rene` in the school yard talking with some of the other children and left her class immediately and ran out to greet her again and hug her neck.  That was so precious to us.  Of course, we were all blubbering in tears again at the love and appreciation of this dear child.

If you would like to play a special part in the growth, maturity, spiritual guidance and health of a child, please contact someone at Mission of Mercy.  Visit their website at www.missionofmercy.org today and make a difference.  For as little as $34 a month, you can become part of a family in another part of the world….and the blessing of doing so will far outweigh anything you think you might miss out on here.

God bless you…and thank you Rene`.  For being such a dear friend—and for having the compassion of Jesus Christ.

© Angie Knight—The Knightly News 2012.  All Rights Reserved.