The Quilt

Last week in Atlanta, we experienced our first frost of the year. I know, many are thinking, “Wow, we’ve already had weeks of snow!” But last week’s weather reminded me of a special event in our life about 4 years ago.

In early 2007, the ladies of Byron Baptist Church contacted us with a question of how they could bless us as their missionaries. Some churches sent things in the mail that we passed on to our Russian colleagues or new believers. Others prayed intensely for our ministry. We appreciated each effort our supporting churches made to be a blessing to us. Unfortunately, Leslie and I had already experienced the disappointment on numerous occasions when churches sent care packages to Russia. Some packages made it; some came with things missing.We even had one package of little cards written by children in a Sunday School class, but the package arrived 8 months late. That church was so surprised when we finally contacted them to acknowledge receipt; I guess they figured we had just not cared to send our thanks. So, when Byron Baptist asked what they could send, I quickly said, “Don’t send anything; just please pray for us.”

But the ladies were persistent about wanting to do something for us, so I began to think about what could be done. Outside our St. Petersburg apartment a heavy blanket of new snow laid on the ground. I watched shivering Russian children walking to school, and my mind somehow envisioned a warm blanket of God’s love covering the people I saw. At that point, I quickly went to my computer to type our answer to Byron Baptist Church: Would you make us a quilt, a blanket that will represent your love for us and God’s love for the nations? Some might think this was an audacious request, but I really felt like it was the right response.

Only later during the summer of 2007 did I find out the other side to this story. Byron Baptist Church women received our response with shock. Not one among them knew how to quilt.

But with an attitude that can only be described as faithfulness and joy, they brought in an outside consultant to explain the process, and they mobilized their ladies to begin work.

Slowly at first, the work began as the ladies listened intently to what should be done.

Some youth also participated in the design and stitching.

We arrived for our summer stateside assignment in

Georgia In June, and Byron Baptist Church requested I come to preach. After the service we were presented with the most beautiful quilt I’ve ever seen in my life.

On the reverse side of the quilt, prayers were written out with signatures of those who labored to produce this masterpiece.

The quilt is still the centerpiece of our bedroom, and each morning we awaken to pull back the cover and read the faithful messages of those who wanted us covered in prayer and warmth. My prayer for the nations today is that, through the labor of His church, the Lord would gently lay His quilt of grace and salvation.

Theology of Blessing

The nature of blessing is much like blood distributed throughout the body. A good heart carries blood a long way. Good blood vessels are responsible for distributing 1800 gallons of blood to your extremities each day, removing impurities and delivering nutrients that you need. But when something blocks that flow, the heart is arrested, and the whole body shuts down. If something isn’t done to restore normal flow, you die. God’s blessing flows according to similar principles:

1.      God desires to bless us.

2.      God desires to bless the earth and all people through His children.

3.      Our disobedience blocks the reception/distribution of God’s blessing.

4.      Our repentance can remove the blockage.

As a child in Middle Georgia, I would accompany my father to rural Baptist churches. During times of severe drought, farmers would sometimes call a special prayer meeting for rain. I still remember hearing older farmers humbly crying to God for a blessing of rain and some relief from the intense heat that was killing crops, cattle, and even friends. Then, like men of faith, they would go outside and wait. When the first drop fell, someone would ask with a smile, “Did you feel that?” These meetings shaped my theology of blessing.

Last year I spent the summer months in Moscow where the capital city experienced not only record temperatures but sweltering smoke from peat fires burning out of control. It was impossible to see enough to drive, so the streets became a scene from some apocalyptic movie; just a few souls walked the sidewalks with wet cloths covering their nose and mouth. I read the newspapers each day with sorrow as I watched the death count move above 10,000. Tons of water were being dumped on these fires but really to no avail. Russian Baptist churches met to pray for rain and for a cool northern breeze. Russian church services were almost unbearable as people choked through songs and helped fainting elderly women. There seemed to be no place to hide from nature’s devastating effects. I won’t forget how in the wee hours of one blistering hot July morning, I heard people laughing below in the streets as the first drops of rain began to fall. Opening my fifth-story window to the darkness of the city, I felt a wave of rain hit me as it started falling harder and harder. I turned to Leslie who had joined me and said, “Did you feel that?” The laughter below turned to praise, and God’s name was being exalted from the awnings of a nearby storefront. People were dancing in the street. There was no denial that this was a blessing.

These days, most rural churches have ceased having specially-called prayer meetings for rain. Somehow we’ve moved beyond a rustic, childlike perspective into an almost existential fatalism – “if God wants to bless the earth with rain, He’ll send it.” But I would challenge this approach on theological grounds. It seems that the Bible presents a contrasting picture of our active participation as intercessors for blessing. Old Testament men of God were called upon to pray for blessing based upon the commitment and obedience of God’s people (see Deut. 11:17 and 1 Kings 8:35). And although Jesus says the blessing’s effects are felt by sinners and saints alike (Matt. 5:45), the Bible tells us that God’s blessing is a promise contingent upon the obedience of His people (Mal. 3:10). Apparently there is a special distinction in God’s mind as to who are His servants and who are not (Mal. 3:18), and yet God wants us to be His conduit through which His blessing flows to everyone as a testimony (Gen. 22:18). Economically, the world needs a good “rain”. So I am praying that God would bless those who are obedient to Him in tithes, in devotion, and in witness- so that all men might know the great and awesome power of our God. It’s a big prayer, maybe not politically correct, but it’s biblical. Did you feel that?