Something To Think About Knowing where your going, 7/1

Palawan looks like a lovely place.  Unfortunately it wasn't where my friends wanted to go.  One can easily see how the mistake could be made, especially when you factor in different languages, accents and long distance communication, but the fact is Palawan and Palau are over a thousand miles apart.   Palawan--where my friends didn't want to go--is an island in the nation of Philippines.  Palau is one of the smallest counties in the world, but an independent nation.  The picture on the right is of a resort in Palawan.  The one below is of the Rock Islands, a lovely marine preserve in Palau (I was privileged to visit there week ago.). The Palauan Evangelical Church celebrated its 85th anniversary last week.  In keeping with the great commission, they are working on a partnership with The Evangelical Church in Indonesia, GIDI, to reach out to one of the unreached people groups on the Island of Papua.  I was privileged to be in Palau, last week for the celebration.  Some colleagues of mine have worked very hard on this mission partnership.  The church in Palau, my friends, and all of we guests were anxiously looking forward to the arrival of the the GIDI delegates from Indonesia.  We heard that they had departed from their home on the Island of Papua.  It was reported that they were in the airport in Manila, but then, from our perspective, they just kind of vanished. It turns out that when they bought their airline tickets, through an agent in Jakarta, they said "Palau" the travel agent thought they said "Palawan."  When the agent said "Pawlawan," they thought she was saying "Palau."  Everyone thought they were going to the right place, until they got there. More tomorrow, but for now let's see what we can learn from my new friends' experience. The near disastrous experience of the GIDI delegates was the result of an innocent mistake.  Satan, with complete lack of innocence, is the master of the "bait and switch."  Because of our falleness (SeeRomans 3:23 &Ephesians 2:1-3), we are apt to fall for his false advertising.  Just consider some of these statements from the Bible: "There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12) “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it."  (Matthew 7:13-14)  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name performmany [n]miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."  (Matthew 7:21-23) In future STTAs I'll say some more about getting to the right place, right now you find out more at the link at the bottom of this email. Almost, isn't good enough.   Make sure you end up in the right place. It's STTA. Representatives of GIDI, the Palauan Evangelical Church, and Liebenzell Mission sign the cooperative agreement. Find out more about CBC at our website, or in a recent newsletter. God's Story in His Own Words. our Easter message that presents the flow of Divine Revelation from "In the beginning," to the final "Amen." You can find out about how to get where you really want to be here.