Featured Article: The Hidden, Risen Lord

Andy Bonikowsky“And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.” (Luke 24:15-16)

The two men were thoroughly confused. A week ago they had been part of a growing crowd whose hope was that Jesus of Nazareth was the long awaited Messiah. But that was before the Passover celebrations had begun. Since then everything had taken a horrible turn.

In shock they had listened to the incoming bits and pieces of news until their expectations of victory and kingdom were a heap of dust. The upper room supper, the visit to the Garden, the mob of blood-thirsty men, the nightime arrest and disappearance, the shameful charade between Pilate and the religious leaders, and finally that gory end on the cross. For several days they had stayed in Jerusalem, stunned and groping for answers.

Then on Sunday a ray of hope pierced their dark thoughts as several of the faithful women had reported strange occurrences at the garden tomb. But Peter and John had raced off to check it out, only to return with no sighting of the Lord.

This disappointing report seems to have been the last straw for two of the Lord’s followers. With faces that betrayed their sorrow and crushed dreams, Cleofas and a friend started walking down the road that led to Emmaus.

At some point along the seven mile trip a stranger joined them. They had no idea who He was. They couldn’t have, for this traveler happened to be the very One they were talking about and He had purposely veiled their eyes. But why? One reason was to teach them that their Lord could be very near but be totally invisible to them. This would be especially important in just a few weeks when He left for His Father’s side. For obvious reasons it is also extremely relevant for those of us living in the Church Age.

A couple of interesting events in Scripture come to mind as related to this whole matter of God purposely hiding His person or work. Elisha’s servant in 2 Kings 6 was distraught because he could not see the Lord’s protecting army, but a simple request from the prophet made reality clear to him. Then in John 20 the Lord deliberately visited His followers when Thomas was gone. After he refused to accept his friends’ witness, Thomas received a mild rebuke from Jesus for not believing what he did not see.

And so, with perfect consistency, Christ gently chided this pair as they walked away from Jerusalem: “O fools, and slow of heart.” The rest of His conversation was taken up with explaining to them what the Word had to say about Himself. And that is always the correct place to go when we are uncertain of His presence. The risen, hidden Lord wants us to develop eyes to see Him in the written Truth. The moment He purposefully drops off the radar and we are tempted to fear . . . is when the Bible can come alive to our seeking, hungry hearts.

Dear Father, when I am tempted to doubt Your presence, help me run to Your Word. There, as I open myself to what You say, Your Son will reveal Himself and calm any restlessness of soul. Amen.

Prayer & Dates: April 2015

Click the link above to download a PDF of prayer requests and praises as well as the birthdays and anniversaries for April. Note: You will need to login to SecureCloud in order to view this document.  Once you have logged in, click on Files Shared, then Headquarter Happenings, then scroll to the month you would like to view. This step protects people with WWNTBM in restricted access fields.

From the Memo Board: April 2015

Important Dates

April 3
Adjusted pay date for those who normally receive funds on the 5th.

April 6
The Office will be closed in celebration of Resurrection Monday.

June 15-18
Family Fellowship Week at Brookhaven Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC.

 

Doctrinal Agreements

If you have submitted your doctrinal agreement statement, your new card for 2015-2016 will soon be available for you to download and print from your SecureCloud folder. If you have not yet submitted your annual agreement, please click here, or email [email protected] as soon as possible, indicating that you have read and are still in agreement with our Articles of Faith. If you have questions or concerns, please contact John O’Malley.

 

Estimated Payments

We often hear from tax preparers that one of the biggest issues facing missionaries at tax time is the failure to submit estimated tax payments throughout the year. Because missionaries are considered self-employed, they are liable for self-employment taxes. According to the IRS website, those who are self-employed should submit quarterly estimated tax payments if they expect to owe $1000 or more in taxes. Your tax preparer can help you to estimate how much should be submitted on a quarterly basis. The Office can assist you with submitting those payments to the IRS. For more information, email [email protected].

 

Ministry Bank Accounts

If your ministry has been chartered and established as a non-profit organization, we recommend having your ministry get a bank account in its name. Funds for purchases such as land may be able to be sent directly to your ministry, thus eliminating your personal tax liability. Please note that there are limitations to this option. Of course, regular support could never be sent this way. Please contact the missions office for more information.

 

Missions Website

Missions.Today is a blog where missionaries can share resources and tips about life on the field. The goal is to provide a portal of information where missionaries can share and receive materials pertinent to missions and Christian service. The site is user-driven, and is most useful when many individuals participate in sharing information. We encourage you to browse the site and participate by posting your suggestions and ideas.

 

Ian PriceNew Addition

Congratulations to David and Melissa Price on the birth of Ian George Benjamin on March 10th. Ian is the second child of the Prices. His older sister, Karis, is 2 years old. The Prices are missionaries in France.

From Our President: April 2015

Danny WhetstoneSatisfaction! Do we ever stop to think about what it takes to satisfy us? I love good food! There are times that I will get a craving for a particular meal. It happens most often when I have been overseas for awhile. Although I do love seafood, I crave a good hamburger. As a matter of fact I am typing this while I wait for a family to come take me for a Five Guys Burger! In a little while I will be satisfied. However, it will be a satisfaction that will be short lived. This experience will be repeated for a lifetime. The satisfactions that we enjoy are very temporal, and oftentimes intensify requiring more of the same.

In Psalm 17:15 the Psalmist said, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” This is our hope of eternal satisfaction. Perhaps it would be good for me to memorize this verse so that I can quote it every time I have a craving for something in this world. Dear child of God doesn’t the thought of this reality stir your heart today. We are sons of God, today. This is the love of God. 1 John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” How much love did that require? It required John 3:16 love. He gave His own Son for our redemption. So John went on to say in verse two, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear , we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” Now, that is our hope of real, everlasting satisfaction.

Are you craving anything today that would make you less righteous? This might be a good time for you to pause also and become very familiar with Psalm 17:15. We know from Paul’s writings that the difficulties of this life will mean nothing at all when we enter the glory that comes when we see Him. We have a promise from God’s Word that if we do hunger and thirst for righteousness we will indeed be filled. Would this then bring us to the conclusion that if we are not filled with His righteousness it is because we just do not have an appetite sufficient to be satisfied?

Though many miles separate us all, we still live in the same world. It has never been a friend of God, and that will not change until our Lord rules from Jerusalem. In the meantime would you pray for me? Would you pray that nothing in this world would be so appealing to me as the righteousness of God?

The song writer said, “Oh, I want to see Him and look upon His face.” This could be the day beloved. Let’s consider our appetite.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone