In the "Lord's Prayer" found in both Matthew and Luke's Gospel, Jesus asks us to pray, "May your kingdom come, may your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." The very fact that Jesus asks us to pray for God's will to be done on earth, as it is in heaven, tells us that his will is NOT being done on earth.
 

If I asked the question, "Is God in control?", I am sure that many would not hesitate to answer "Yes, God is in control". I believe that God ultimately will be in control. The universe itself bears witness to his unchangeable moral and physical laws, such as gravity and "the soul that sins, it shall die" and yet there is something that God is not in control of. What is that you may be asking?... Man's  decisions and actions!

II Peter 3:9 states that "God is not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance." Is everyone everywhere coming to repentance and loving God as they should?... Certainly not!

Many have difficulty understanding how a God of love, could permit evil to happen. How is it that at this very moment, innocent people are being killed, tortured, raped, deceived, etc, etc.? I believe that the only answer is that God made us free moral beings and we have the ability to choose good or evil - The small child killed crossing the street hit by a car was not God's fault, but the fault of the drunk driver behind the wheel!

Each year, Jan and I participate in several fund-raisers for our full-time workers being sent out, as well as for interns which are required to spend one year (minimum) in another culture as part of their internship at the School of Missions Kerry directs.  

We were blessed at a recent event, where two interns were being commissioned to serve in Equatorial Guinea (the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa). It was an event like most, with 100 or so family and friends present, but this time is was different... Prior to praying for the two young ladies being sent out, each of their four parents gave testimony as to how God had prepared each of them for sending their daughters to Africa. What a blessing to hear testimony not only of how God prepares those being sent, but how he can prepare an entire family!

Please pray for these two young ladies, as well as a third intern to arrive later this year. They will be working in a school with over 400 children, under the direction of a recent married couple sent full-time from our church earlier this year (Matias is from E.G. and Ruth in Mexican). 

In March I visited our workers in Northern Africa in two countries. For security reasons, I am unable to mention which countries. I was so impacted in visiting one country (for the first time) where there are perhaps 15 known Christians! Less than two years ago, a worker was killed by Muslim radicals, as a  result half the Christian workers left the country.

What an honor and privilege it was to work along side for a few days with the teacher we sent 18 months ago and see the impact she and her colleagues are having in this very needy region, literally saving the lives of malnourished children, as well as sowing into their lives spiritually.

Please pray for these workers and others in very sensitive areas around the globe.