Day of Learning

Sunday....day of rest and gladness, day of joy and light.....yes, it is the day we gather in places of worship to recognize the Lord and giver of our lives and also the sustainer and restorer of our lives. I spent all day yesterday in church...learning about the truth of the Word. It is truly amazing that at an age of maturity, one is still overwhelmed with learning the nuggets of truth in the Bible. One would think I'd know it all...raised in a devote and practicing Christian home. My parents made their decisions based on the truth as they saw it. It was right and good. I was educated in a Christian school through grade eight and went to a Christian college. I married a Christian man and have reared a family of eight children based on God's principles. Yes, one would think I should know it all. BUT, like all the rest of the children of the light...we are still learning. The closer we get to the source of light, the brighter and clearer it gets. I love the learning.

Yesterday morning was spent rediscovering the meaning of prayer in one's life. The pastor taught a process of prayer called "The Tabernacle" prayer model. It was taught to him by Dr. David Cho, pastor of the largest church in the world in Seoul, Korea. I had the unique privilege of attending Dr. Cho's church in the seventies. At that time, it boasted a membership of twenty thousand. Now it is three hundred fifty thousand. I recall taking a tour and listening to a talk about the church after the church service. It was exceedingly interesting. The one thing that stuck with me was that the church's shepherding elders contacted each church family once a week. I don't know if that practice remains there, but I was totally impressed. Who wouldn't want to be part of a fellowship that was concerned about where one was each week. Prayer requests were taken from the families and prayed over by the ruling body of the church. That was awesome to me. Perhaps that is why their numbers are so staggering. At any rate, I immediately embraced this prayer model because of the connection I have with Dr. Cho. My Korean children and my experience at that church and the Korean people tend to catapult me to those dear folks. One other thing about Cho's church that stirs my heart is that when one is a few blocks away, one can hear the murmur of people praying. Is that moving or what?

If one is interested in the Tablernacle Prayer Model...I am sure it is on the net somewhere.

In the afternoon, we learned about the healing power of Jesus. It was most interesting. The speaker was an RCA man who has been moved to bring Reformed Christians back to the teaching of the Word concerning healing. While God's will and man's faith are not scientific theory, the teaching was thought provoking and easy for me to assimilate. I have always felt uncomfortable with our beliefs about healing and found it very exciting to hear this movement toward what the Word teaches. There have been two extremes in the healing areas of Christian practice; one that God will heal each one according to the amount of faith they have and the other that the days of healing are over. This man showed from the Word that neither of these belief systems is correct. Much to think about.

It was a day to ponder. Now Lord, give me grace and mercy to put into practice what I know and have learned. In the name of Jesus.