God's blessings

The weeks are ticking by already. It seems like just yesterday that everyone was coming back to school. The weather was bitter cold, but the reunions warm and friendly. Well.... since then the warmth has been more tangible. We have been blessed with a wonderful bout of warm weather here in Purcellville, Virginia. It was warm enough for short sleeves and t-shirts! In January! I have been enjoying it thoroughly. The closer the temperature gets to that of Zambia, the happier I become. :)

I have had a little bit of a mix up with the Registrar's office here. It was an unfortunate miscommunication between the office, my professor, and myself. The professor graciously tried to straighten the situation up but was unable to do so without appealing the Registrar's decision to a higher authority. After much prayer and consideration, I decided that it was not prudent to appeal the decision. I am no longer taking Rhetoric this semester, which is rather disappointing. However, I do see the hand of God in the situation. This semester the class is full to capacity and there will be little time for the professor to do involved personalized instruction (which a course such as Rhetoric needs). However, the Fall semester class size is typically much smaller and therefore enables greater input on the part of the professor. I am eagerly awaiting it next semester.

Our Lord has been kind to me this semester. In spite of disappointments, I have been encouraged by my friends, my church, and opportunities that have opened up. This last week I auditioned to become a member of the worship team for the chapel services here at school and was accepted. I have long had the desire to help lead worship, and I feel so blessed that God has opened the door to it. What an intimate Sustainer we serve! He knows the desires of our hearts, and his timing is perfect.

Several have asked about the health of my ankle. I am happy to report that I am up and walking around. I can even jog in straight lines, which makes for an interesting sight for those around me. I am trying to be gentle to it, but I am hoping to be healed enough to play basketball for PHC (Patrick Henry College) in an upcoming tournament. The swelling has subsided, and the bruising is fading- all good signs I think.

I have recently been considering the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1: 20-21.

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

The admonition of Paul is frightening to the comfortable Christian. The complete subjugation of the heart, mind, and BODY to Christ renders one to be a billboard for Christ. (Its a poor example I know) It is a billboard that is not ashamed to stand up to the storms of peer pressure, and the battling winds of a relativist society. It is not afraid of damage nor destruction. It is a life whose value is not found in itself. It is a rare thing for a man to truly live for something... It is rarer still to find a man willing to die for something... and rarest of all is to find a man who is willing to die for something and count it as gain! Paul "eagerly expects and hopes" that he will not be ashamed, but that he will have courage so "that now as always Christ will be exalted..." There is nothing that attests to the work of Christ more than a heart like Paul's.... a heart that truly believes that "to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Praise & Prayer

-Mom and Dad's continued safety and ministry in Kenya. Praise the Lord for technology that allows for us to video chat. I talk with them as often as I can; I cannot say how thankful I am to have such wonderful parents.

-Praise the Lord for my loving sister, who just turned 20 on Jan 28th. She was recently in a car accident in Indiana. The Lord preserved her life because she was traveling on a highway, hit black ice, and slid into a telephone pole. She was able to walk away from the crash.

-Continued healing for my ankle.

-Growth in the knowledge of and desire for my Lord and Savior.

-For my professors, that they would continue to instruct us faithfully and in accordance with the Word of God.

-Thank the Lord for allowing me to attend Patrick Henry College. While no institution is perfect, God has used the faculty, staff, and students of PHC to work on my heart.

-For a close friend of mine, who has to return to Korea, probably in the summer, to fulfill an obligation to the armed forces of Korea. He is not encouraged by this. Please pray that God will guide him, sustain him and watch over him.

I will close with an excerpt from 1 John. 1 John 4: 7-12 reads: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

In Christ,

Martyn