Silver, Golden, Diamond or Platinum?

This coming Wednesday (Nov. 12) I turn 50 years old. I never really thought that I would make it this far. I'm not complaining. It's just when I was a teen, I did most everything I could it seems to prevent "getting older" from happening. Now that the big 5-0 is just around the corner, I thought that I would do a bit of waxing on my blog and not my legs.

In a marriage, when a couple share their 25th wedding anniversary, it's called their "Silver Anniversary". When they share their 50th, it's called their "Golden Anniversary". Now, depending upon your source, when a couple is celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, it is their "Diamond" or "Yellow Diamond" Anniversary and with 70 years of marriage, the couple arrive at their "Diamond Anniversary" as well. Maybe the couple aren't expected to remember that they celebrated a "Diamond Anniversary" ten years prior? Anyway, in researching for this blog, I was disappointed to find out that Platinum has become the modern celebration name for only 20 YEARS of marriage! Now, wait a minute! Does that mean that marriages should get all worked up for 20 years and celebrate a "Platinum" anniversary, but fall short in celebrating their "Silver"? Or is it that "modern" marriages aren't expected to last any longer than 20 years, therefore spend the money now, 'cause it'll all be over by the next five! (That's food for thought on another blogging day.)

Well, I'm about to turn fifty. Therefore, I've already celebrated my "Silver" and I guess that the "Platinum" has already gone by the way side. So. I'm coming up on my "Gold". I don't really feel like I'm 50. I guess I always thought that "those" people who have hit the "Fifty Something" category were somehow pushing the envelope towards meeting The Maker. In fact, a younger friend of ours' told Sharon today that I was not old, just "much closer to God". Well, bring it on!

I kind of like that. I certainly hope that after fifty years I would be closer to God. I hope that my life demonstrates that my walk with Him is a walk of closeness. I'm no Enoch (see Genesis 5:24), but I like the idea of walking closer with my Creator. I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior when I was 13 years old. I didn't walk very well with God the first 10 or so years of my Christianity. I learned to walk with Him since then and I kind of like it!

I think that I like the suggestions for birthday gifts are a bit better. The various sites suggest that the order of gifts for birthdays should be; 25 years Silver, 50 years Gold, 60 Diamond and 75 Platinum. Platinum at 75, I say, bring it on!

One last thought, I am NOT turning a half a century old. I am becoming one twentieth of a millennium!

Do You Believe in The Power of Prayer?

I want to tell you a story:

On Wednesday, October 29, 1996 at 3:05am our youngest daughter came into this world via an emergency C-section. Sharon and I were just a few months out of language school and were still very limited on our communication skills. We felt completely powerless as we watched our extremely little girl (she was less than 4 lbs) struggle for every once of weight gain and loss. We were praying daily for Priscila to gain the weight of about a handful of paper clips (about 5 grams). She would gain a few grams and lose even more. We would go to the hospital each day and they would tell us what her daily weight was from the day before. In reality, she was NOT doing well.

Back in those days (before 9/11) our Mission used to print the missionary's name and country of service. Also, back in the day, many Southern Baptist churches had Wednesday night prayer meetings where they would often pray for the missionary and his/her family. My birthday falls exactly two weeks after Priscila's. Southern Baptist churches, not knowing that Jeff Renard serving in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil had a very sick and dying little girl who was in a neo-natal unit in Niterói. Faithful Baptist prayed! They prayed for Jeff Renard, they prayed for his family and the family's welfare. God heard and responded to these prayers! The day after my 38th birthday, Sharon and I went to the hospital to see our little girl. Where we had been begging God for "just 5 grams", God gave Priscila 40! It was an answer to the power of prayer, not just our prayers, but the prayers of those faithful Southern Baptist in the churches around the USA and even the world.

One other part of this story that needs to be shared. Southern Baptist support their missionaries through various means, but primarily through two methods (Cooperative Program and The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering). The first method (Cooperative Program) the IMB receives a percentage of the total funds. The second method, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offer, 100% of these moneys go directly overseas to support the over 5,000 missionaries. IMB missionaries don't really have health insurance. When a situation like Priscila's birth takes place, the missionaries inform the Mission treasurer and either moneys are deposited into the missionary's account or accounts are settled directly with the hospital (or wherever). In our case, Priscila's hospital bill totalled US$43,000.00. When I went to "Accounting" to try to figure out how much was owed and how I should pay this, I was informed that the bill was already "Paid in Full". It is because of faithful Southern Baptist giving of their tithes and offerings that Priscila's account was taken car of. The words "Thank You" no where comes close enough.

For those of you reading this who are Southern Baptist, the simple truth is that we couldn’t be here without your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Those gifts are the means by which we devote ourselves to full-time ministry, providing us with a place to call home, food, medical care — even schooling for our children.

Christmas is once again coming around the corner and will be here before we know it. I know that right now the United States is in a financial roller coaster. I won't burden you with a "hard sell" to give this Christmas season. I would like to say that you honor God in you faithfulness. For, as a missionary serving with the IMB, it is both a humbling and exhilarating experience to live life dependent on the faithfulness and generosity of Southern Baptists. Thank you! Please know that many people around the world are truly celebrating Christmas for the first time this year because of your sacrifice for God’s Kingdom.

How's Your House, Jack?

As children, lots of us who grew in the United States or England (possibly others areas as well) grew up with nursery rhymes. We either had them read to us or we read them ourselves when we were in grade school. Honestly, a lot of them I don't completely understand, they were just rhymes, poems or songs that I learned as child.

Having four children, Sharon and I have passed some of these nursery rhymes down to our children. Since Sharon was the home school teacher for all of our children at least through the sixth grade, I guarantee you that our kids were exposed to some of these nursery rhymes too.

Today, during our worship time at the Orla Sul Baptist Church (Leblon-Rio de Janeiro), our Minister of Music, Fabiano, shared with us a verse that most of us also know and grew up with, Psalm 127:1

"Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain. " (NIV)

This got my ole' brain to thinking. I started wondering about what do I use to "build" my house? What type of a foundation do I have? What are the walls made of? Did I use quality products or did I try to cut corners? Would the Lord be pleased with the house that I have built, or would He be ashamed of the lack of craftsmanship, time and effort that I have put into the house that I've built for the Lord?

OK, so my analogy is a bit thin here, but hear me out. I started thinking about what do I use to "build" my house? For example, is my foundation built on (1) the Word of God (the Bible) or on the superficial material that the world has to offer; (2) is it built on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ or on my attempt to be a religious person; (3) is it built on salvation through grace, that is that there is NOTHING that I can do to earn or deserve God's favor or love for me or do think that somehow I've earned or deserve God's love through my attempts of good works or being a good person; (4) is it built on faith alone that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior or through or do I somehow think that my intellectual understanding of God and religion is enough; (5) is it built on traditions that are comfortable because I'm used to them or maybe it's the way that I do "church" but it's not necessarily biblical or based on a the truth of God's Word; (6) is it built on my trying to rush through a five minute "hurry up, I'm busy" quiet time with God, or am I enjoying my daily Bible reading and prayer time with Him? What have I been using to build my house? How about you?

Just some food for thought!

Hey, if no one has told you today that they love you, remember that Jesus loves you and that you are very special to Him.

Until next time.

Jeff Renard - Rio

(Note: for a good site on nursery rhymes and their histories, go to http://www.zelo.com/family/nursery/)

"This is the house that Jack built"

This is the cat
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the
crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the farmer sowing the corn,
That kept the the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

Missed it by that much!

I've not yet seen the recently released movie, "Get Smart". My children have all seen it and said that they loved the movie. However, I remember as a child the television version of that the show and Maxwell Smart always saying, "missed it by that much!" This phase came to me the other day and my mind started pondering the power of that comical phrase.

As a missionary here in Brazil I found that if you ask a Brazilian if they believe in God, most of them would say, "of course I believe in God!". One of the things that I quickly do is to open my Bible to the book of James and I read to them James 2:19 where James ask the readers a very important question, he writes: "You believe that God is one You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." (NASB) In the Portuguese, the word "[to] believe" is the word "crer". I always ask the Brazilian, does that mean that demons will also one day be with God in heaven (after all, the same word that the Brazilian used is the same word that I show them from the book of James)? Of which, I always get the same response, "of couse not!".

However, if you ask them do they "know" God, the answer may be different. In the Portuguese language, there are two words used of our one English word, "know", those words are "saber" and "conhecer". A basic understanding of these two words goes like this; the word, "saber" means to know about someone or something (for example, I know about President Bush, however, he never calls me to ask me of my opinion), the other word "conhecer" means to know intimately about someone or something (for example, I know my wife and children, they too know me as a husband and father). So, if you ask a Brazilian do they "saber" or "conhecer" God, especially to know Him in His fullness through a personal relationship through God's One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, the answer that you may get could be various.

My question to you is this, do you know Jesus? That is, do you recognize His historical reality (that He really was a person in history), or maybe His place of birth in Bethlehem, or His being a being a good teacher, or a leader of a movement within the Jewish culture of His time, etc.? Or, do you know Him as your Savior and Lord of your life? Jesus is quoted as saying in the book of Mark (8:36) "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (NKJV) What if you're like ole Maxwell Smart and you know many things about Jesus, but don't really know Him? What if you "missed it by that much!"? What if you've been doing the things of Christ (being kind to your neighbor, not gossiping, volunteering at your favorite charity, not robbing any banks, going to church, etc.), but don't know who He really is? Jesus said, (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB):

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

I would hate for ANY of us reading or writing this blog to be doing great things for Jesus, but not knowing Jesus personally. I would hate for any of us to miss it "by that much!"

Get out there!

As you know, my wife and I are missionaries serving in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I am, without shame, an American citizen. That is where God chose to have me be reared and I accept that fact. Our family lived across the bay in Niterói when the attacks on our country happened on September 11, 2001. My family and I watched in horror as we saw our country under attack. I remember clearly my feelings of powerlessness as I grieved over our nation and the strong desire that I had to return immediately to the States.

Well, we're 55 days away until our country will be voting for the next president. I am not going to tell you how you should vote, only that YOU SHOULD VOTE!!! I have been told more than once, "Don't blame me, I didn't vote for him". My comeback is, but, did you vote?!? Here in Brazil they have what I call a "forced democracy", that is, voting is mandatory. If someone here does not vote, they can NEVER run for public office, they run the risk of being fined, they could even face jail time. In the States too many people complain about their situation, but never do anything about it. My thoughts, VOTE! Use your right as an American citizen to mark your opinion. If you didn't vote, please don't complain about how bad the government is because you did nothing to change it.

There are two strong candidates out there running for the office of the President. It is your civil responsibility to see that the right one gets into office. Find out what each of them stand for. Find out about their histories. Where are they really on the issues facing America's future, where do stand regarding our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, where are they regarding our economy, etc.?

Both Sharon and I are registered voters. We will soon be receiving our absentee ballots, we will complete them and mail them in right away. If you're not registered, get registered. It's a painless process and in most states an easy thing to do. So, get out there and make your country happen.

May God bless America!

Jeff Renard - Rio

Blessings

Last week, we had the opportunity to have a couple of different people stay in our house. The first was a young married couple, he's an American and she's a Brazilian. They stayed with us during the week because she was trying to obtain a visa so that they could move to the States. The second person stayed with us a couple of days because he missed his return flight to the States, was stranded at the airport and couldn't book a new flight until a couple of days later.

The married couple were needing a place to stay while they went to and from the American consulate. As I'm sure that you know, staying in Rio hotels are very expensive and we were happy to be able to help this young couple save some money. The young husband's parents are new friends of ours' and are from Cushing, Oklahoma. Obviously we wouldn't open our house to just anyone. So, please don't go calling us up saying that you're wanting several days of vacation and are needing a place to hang out while you do tourism. However, we would love to fellowship with you if you are passing through Rio. The second guy had been working this summer in Rio on his practicum for his Masters and was a participant in out Small Group. He was at the airport returning to the States when he discovered that he had read his ticket wrong. It was never a question with Sharon and I if we should invite him to stay at our house while he purchased his new ticket and then had a couple day lay-over until his next flight out.

All three of these people expressed gratitude for us allowing them to stay with us. Honestly, we didn't think too much about it. We've always felt that the house that we stay in is itself a ministry since it's not really "ours" but IMB property. God has been good to us and we feel that it is only natural to pass this blessing onto others by sharing what great things He has given to us.

One of the interesting things to me is that doing things like opening our house for someone to stay as they obtain their visa, giving a ride to the airport for someone so that they don't have to take a taxi, or offering a meal to someone who has really just come over for fellowship, time has gotten away from them and they find that they are at our house when a meal is placed before them, these are normal events which become a blessings. Being a blessing to others is itself a blessing. When we open our homes and hearts to other we find that God always gives us more than we could give away. I must admit however that it is still sometimes easier to give than to receive. I still struggle at times with allowing others to bless me or my family. Giving is natural for Sharon and I, receiving some times take some effort. I was once told by a colleague, "don't rob someone of their joy when they're trying to bless you".

I guess what I'm trying to share is not a pat on my own back for opening up our home, but uplifted hands in praise to a God who loved us so much that He gave His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ. We are blessed to be IMB missionaries. We are blessed to have a house that Southern Baptist provided for us. We are blessed because we have a mission vehicle that can carry someone to the airport, hospital or to a new church start. We are blessed because you are giving to us every day that we are here in Brazil. So, I want to write and say to you, "thank you" for being such a blessing to us!

Your fellow servant,

Jeff Renard - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Are You Content?

Last Thursday (August 7, 2008) our Small Group celebrated two years of meeting weekly in our house. Our Small Group, or SG, is called "Brownies, Cookies e Presença de Deus" (meaning; "Brownies, Cookies and the Presence of God"). By request of our SG leader, I Bar-B-Qued three racks of ribs and three pork shoulders. It was a great time of the "Three F's" (food, fun and fellowship). I would love to be able to show you a photo, but the camera and the computer are having a dispute right now and I think that the computer has lost!

Anyway, the subject of gratitude came up and our pastor made the comment that whenever he has someone from the church come to his office for counseling, the first question that he asks the person is if they are participating in a Small Group? His observation was that many times when a person is actively participating in a SG, then the SG usually helps the person through their difficulty, thus there is usually no need of counseling from our pastor.

This caused me to remember the times in our family's life when we've gone through difficult and joyous time, it's been the support and the fellowship of either our Sunday School (SS) or Small Group that walked with us through these life events.

I guess that this then leads me to ask the question that is in my title, "Are you content?" If you're not, then maybe it's because you don't feel that you have the support of your SG or SS. If that's the case, then ask yourself, "what do I need to do to gain this support?" Prior to coming to Brazil, it was the support of the Young Adult Sunday School class of the First Baptist Church of Cushing, Oklahoma. Now, we get this same support (love, fellowship, feedback, etc.) in our weekly Small Group. Where is your's coming from?