We are now settled in Hoima, Uganda after spending
our first
week a few hours away at a Mission Conference. There we sang, preached,
went to
people’s homes, went to schools, and played with many kids. We saw many
encouraged, people freed from oppression,
and many come to know the Lord! I shared the Gospel to a group of
high
school age students who had heard it before and though it was familiar
it
hadn’t been their own conviction so that they believed and had faith.
None
responded when I asked but I encouraged them to talk to us after or one
of
their teachers later. Ten young guys came up and talked with some of the
Ugandans we went with. All of them wanted to follow Jesus!! Amen!
As for the title… When we were driving to various
locations
getting to this area of Uganda we passed many cows. The thing that stuck
out to
me was all the horns they had. I have never seen horns these big on any
animal.
Some go straight out into a giant V and others curve in to varying
degrees. It
struck me because they are impressive yet menacing. I even find beauty
in them.
Then on Sunday night as we were trying to drive back to Hoima with 20
people
stuffed into a 14 person van on muddy, uneven roads, we came to a stop
for a
group of long horn cows that were as tall as the windows of the vans.
These
horns were larger than any I had seen yet and I got to see them walking
right
next to me! It was stunning. These cows could have knocked us over yet
they
simply walked by. I tried to get a picture but the snap was too late and
my
picture missed them.
So, why tell you about this? First because it is
just so
cool to see horns longer than my arms and thicker then them sometimes
too. Also
because it seems like a good picture of menacing beauty. Beauty can
influence
people to do strange things. It is so good yet can lead us astray as
well. No
wonder the enemy likes to use beauty to try and entice us. 2 Cor. 11:14
states
that “satan masquerades as an angel of light.” Consider a young child
who see
the glowing red of the stovetop and is drawn in by its beauty only to be
burned
and hurt. We might not be babies anymore but beauty still can easily
entice us.
We see it all over the place; beautiful women to sell cars & drinks,
buying
shiny things to say “sorry”, choosing were to go or which product to buy
by
they way the look on the outside. I have fallen prey to buying that
pretty
looking cake to have it not taste that good and just bring damage to my
body.
One of the things this year that I have been asking
for more
and more is God’s wisdom. I think I am pretty smart and often make good
decisions, but God’s wisdom makes man’s wisdom look like folly. Beauty
in
itself is not bad but it is often used to lead us into places we
wouldn’t go
otherwise. A good way to not get tricked by beauty is seeing it for what
it is
and God can give us that vision. Discernment is a great thing to ask for
to
help us make right decisions, but I ask for God’s wisdom too because I
desire
to follow Him all the days of my life. Seeing with His wisdom will
expose those
things that might trick my vision and draw me in. I am reading the Old
Testament and I can’t get over how many Kings followed God for so long
to
eventually lead Israel astray and worship idols. I find my heart wanted
to
judge them until I think of my own relationship with God and how often I
have
veered from Him. So I pray that God will give me His wisdom and burn it
on my
heart so that I will walk a straight path towards Him. That is one of my
goals
so please pray for me too. I encourage you to start asking for wisdom as
well…
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who
gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
James
1:5
“…The wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all
pure,
then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, and good
fruit,
impartial and sincere.” James 3:17
God will answer and I want His wisdom for I believe
it will
not only help me walk straight but grow in me all of the above
attributes!
Let’s live wisely and not let the world entice us away from God
anymore!!
