About a year or so ago, because of some circumstances that I will not get too deep into, Kelsi began doing Bible study with our tuk tuk driver's wife (Sinuin). We asked Boo Sovon (our tuk tuk driver) if he would be willing to do Bible study, and he always said that he needed to work, because they only had a year and a half left to pay off their house or it would be taken. So we kept on praying for him and his family and trying the best we could to help them towards this goal. When we got back from the States and gave him the moto, I told him that it was God providing for his family and asked if he would be willing to do Bible study, and he said yes.
Then one day, after he had already agreed to do Bible study, I asked him how paying off his house was going, and he said, "We lost the house already. We are living in a small house further away now." And my heart sank, but I realized that he already wanted to do Bible study, so I asked, "You lost your house, but you still trust in God? You still think that God is good?" To which he replied, "Yes. God is good. Bad things happen, but that does not mean that God is not good. When we go to heaven, then there will be no more bad things." And I was just in awe of his simple faith in this, because there are many Christians who struggle with this issue and it wrecks their faith, and here is a man who has just begun to follow Christ, and he already understands.
So we began our Bible study with the Ten Commandments, because I wanted to share with them the gospel message, and I think that the gospel begins with understanding how much we fall short of God's standard. We went through each in one sitting, and I explained each with the New Testament application when necessary.
The next week, I started by asking if they thought it was possible to keep all the Ten Commandments, and they said no. So I asked whether they thought they could just keep one commandment, which led into the story of Adam and Eve in the garden. This was important, because we needed to introduce them to the idea of sacrificial atonement, which was instituted in the garden of Eden when God slayed the animal to make Adam and Eve clothes. Sinuin had heard the story of Adam and Eve before, but a different version.
We jumped from this to the Roman road, which is a series of verses in Romans that explain our inability to follow God on our own, God's gift of grace to us, and how to make Christ Lord of our lives. Boo and his wife had already made the decision to follow Christ with their lives, but I wanted to make sure that they understood the cost and that it was every part of their lives, and also understand what it means to be a "Christian" which they understand better than most as "Following Christ."
Towards the end of our Bible study in Romans, I made a side comment about Jesus raising from the dead, and said, "Do you know that story?" and they both shook their heads "no" with a puzzled expression... So for the next two weeks, we watched the Jesus Film in Khmer with them, and it was a life changing experience for everyone involved.
In the beginning of the movie, it explains that Abraham was given a promise and it was fulfilled in Isaac, but then God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and when Sinuin heard this, she put her hands to her mouth and was horrified. As Abraham picked up the knife and raised it in the air, she got tears in her eyes and even shrieked. When the angel appeared and the ram was revealed, you could feel the relief in the room. In that moment, I longed to have my memory wiped, so I could hear the stories of the Bible with new ears. The story of Abraham and Isaac is one that I could tell from memory with all the New Testament applications and explain all the pictures, but it would be so great to hear it like Sinuin did, with all the tension and fear, followed by the relief of God's faithfulness.
Later in the movie, Jesus brings a girl back from the dead. When He comes walking in the house, Boo and his wife turn to Kelsi and I and say, "She's dead?" and we say, "Yes." Boo says, "But Jesus will bring her back to life." He was sure of it. There was no doubt, and he had never even heard the story. And when she sat up, they went crazy with excitement.
And it wasn't just the miracles that excited them, when Jesus was teaching the multitude and speaking in parables, they talked back and forth with each other and shook their heads up and down in agreement. They actively listened to the new truths that were being taught, and you could see in their eyes that the Holy Spirit was at work.
And then Jesus was crucified, and they cried. They put him in the grave, and there was just silence in the room. Finally a few minutes later, Jesus appears in the room with the disciples, and there again the excitement in their eyes was crazy! To them, the Resurrection was the most exciting moment in the film. You could see the puzzle pieces coming together for them, as they realized what it means to follow Christ as a risen Lord. You could see that what we had talked about in the weeks before about Jesus giving eternal life made much more sense in light of the fact that he defeated death!
What I really like about the Jesus Film is that, at the end of the movie, it explains why Jesus died and how the prophets said it would happen, and it uses flash backs in the movie to remind and wrap up the main point.
Although it seems backwards to have waited to watch the Jesus Film until after a few Bible studies, I think it was better, because they had a better understanding of grace and our need for Him to die. I am excited to continue to do Bible study with Boo Sovon and Sinuin. I like to see God working in their lives in such a mighty way.
We have just begun studying Philippians in our church home group, and this last week we studied the first chapter, in which Paul writes, "If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus."
I find myself attributing Paul's words to our situation. Kelsi and I would very much like to be back in the States with our family and friends, but we also long to stay and continue to disciple Boo and his family. We are hard pressed between the two. We are going to continue to be obedient in what God has told us to do: "make disciples." As long as we are here, this is our aim, and we pray that God is glorified in our lives.
Friends, thank you for your support of us in prayer and financially. We are always blessed by your obedience, and find ourselves being blown away by God's faithfulness to our family. We remember you all in our prayers, and thank God in every remembrance of you. Until next time...
BecauseHeLives,
Micah.
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