Broken Cisterns (from Restoration Church member Liz M)

As mentioned in a previous blog post, I recently had the opportunity to visit a reintegration center in Ethiopia for female victims of human trafficking and abuse. While there, our team facilitated a number of activities such as jewelry making, flower planting, photography workshop, manicures, English lessons, and more. During this time, we got to hear some of the ladies’ stories, many of whom had moved abroad with great hopes and promises of earning a decent income as domestic workers so they could support their families back home. Sadly, many of those dreams went awry upon arriving in their host country. My heart grieved for them - for their disappointment, loss of innocence, pain, and shame. I was angered by the deception and abuse they had endured. And grateful their lives had been spared and led to Agar.

Interestingly, I also found their stories to be quite analogous to many of our spiritual journeys. How many of us can identify with falling for the enemy’s empty promises for fulfillment, joy, peace, and satisfaction in things apart from God? Humbly and sadly I confess that I can identify all too well. Cognitively I know the end product of such pursuits, for it’s always the same – disappointment. And yet, I sometimes forget and once again turn to broken cisterns hoping for a different outcome. The outcome will never be different though. We were made for God and nothing else will satisfy. Until we properly value Him, all the things we improperly value will leave us disappointed and frustrated.

Jeremiah reminds us that there is only One fountain of living water, all else is an illusion, a counterfeit, a vehicle for disappointment.

“…for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” ~ Jer. 2:13

Notice the two evils identified here: 1. Turning away from God 2. Turning towards anything other than Him for satisfaction and fulfillment. Broken cisterns come in all shapes and sizes – careers, relationships, possessions, status, adventures, savings accounts, approval of man, comfort, diversions and pleasures, and the list goes on. These things in and of themselves may not be evil, but when they become the well from which we seek contentment and rest for our souls they can also quickly become the demise of our souls.

Praise God for His patience, grace, and love. Praise God that He is not a God of empty promises. He is the fountain of living water, the bread of life, and the giver of true rest and peace. He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul he fills with good things (Ps. 107:9).

Lord, forgive us for our wandering hearts and help our souls find rest in Thee.

by Daniel

Pastoral Prayer from 9/23

O Lord our God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. You set the earth on its foundations; you covered the deep as with a garment; you make springs gush forth in the valleys; you cause grass to grow and plants to spring forth; you cause the rain the fall and the tide to come in and out. You made the mood and the sun, and know the time for it setting. O Lord, how manifold are your works! May we sing to you, our great God and King, as long as we live; may the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our Rock and our Redeemer.

We pray that we would find your word more precious than gold and sweeter than honey, even drippings from the honeycomb. Take your word and make it a light unto our feet and a lamp unto our path. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of your law. Consume our souls with longing for you and your Word at all times. Make us understand the way of your word and cause us to meditate on your wondrous works, that our hearts and lives might be filled with delight. Yes, Lord God, we fix our eyes upon your ways and delight in your statutes; we will not forget your word.

And where we have – where we have forgot your word or outright rejected it – we come and ask for forgiveness.  We know that in Christ Jesus there is forgiveness as far as the east is from the west; as high as the heavens are above the earth. We confess our greed, our pride, our lust, our unforgiving hearts, our worry, our laziness, our unrighteous anger, our dull hearts toward you. Take a moment and by the power of your Spirit convict us of specific areas of sin in our lives that we might turn from that and turn to Christ Jesus. [Pause]

“Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things.” We give you praise Triune God for who you are and what you have done. You have done everything necessary to reconcile us back to yourself that we might find ourselves in the presence of the fullness of joy. Yes, we give you praise that you deliver those who confess Christ as Lord and Savior, you deliver them from the domain of darkness and transfer them into the kingdom of your beloved Son, Jesus.

May this message permeate the lives of those here are Restoration Church. May this gospel message bring balm to hurting souls and excitement to rejoicing hearts. May we as a body, weep with those who are weeping, and rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Build up our body, we pray. Increase our knowledge and cause us to bear gospel fruit that you might receive the worship you are rightly due.

We also pray for other local churches in DC. We pray for 4^th Presbyterian – grant them grace to continue faithfully proclaiming the excellencies of Jesus. We pray for pastor Aaron Graham and District Church. Grant them favor and use them to make and mature disciples in Columbia Heights.

We pray for those around the globe that have no access to this gospel message. We pray for the Tihami people of Yemen. Nearly 5MM with no gospel witness. We pray for the 169,000 Garre people of Somalia, and the 4MM Mazanderani people of Iran. All these people that 0.00% Christian. Raise up men and women to herald your gospel in these parched lands. We know faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ, so we plead with you to hallow your holy name amongst these people groups by bringing them the word of God.

And as we ready ourselves to hear your word, build our faith we pray. Birth faith in Christ where there is none; build faith in Christ for those who already believe. May your Spirit be active in this place tonight as your word is proclaimed. Convict us of sin; comfort us in Christ; change us for the glories of your name that we might have utmost joy in life. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus, Amen.

by Joey

Union with Christ

This past week we began our study of the book of Colossians by looking at the first two verses.

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.”

Specifically, we spent some time looking at what it means to be “in Christ.” One pastor theologian provides some helpful words to think about exactly what that means:

“After all, what exactly does it mean that we are joined to Christ or that he is in us and we are in him? Thinking spatially does not work. Christ isn’t stapled to our side. He doesn’t shrink ray himself so that he can live like a microscopic organism in our left ventricle. The union isn’t physical, but theological. Union with Christ implies three things:
Solidarity – Christ as the second Adam is our representative
Transformation – Christ by the Holy Spirit changes us from the inside out
Communion – Christ abides with us as our God”

(taken from Kevin DeYoung, The Hole In Our Holiness, 96)

by Daniel

Ethiopia (from Restoration Church member Liz M)

A Double Portion

Last month I had the incredible opportunity to travel with a team to Ethiopia and serve at a reintegration center for female victims of human trafficking and abuse. The center is called Agar, meaning “Helper” in the Ethiopian language, and as is stated on their website,

Many Ethiopian women move abroad each year in hopes of finding work that will support their families back home. However, these women often fall victim to human trafficking (specifically sex trafficking) or they find that work conditions in their host countries are far worse than they expected. Agar partners with three other organizations to create a reintegration program for women returning to Ethiopia. Agar's role in the program is to provide food, shelter, and clothing for the women and to meet their emotional and spiritual needs. The partner organizations focus on the women's mental and physical health, job skills training and job placement.

Currently there are about 25 women receiving services at Agar. I’d like to introduce you to one, who I’ll refer to as Halim, whose story deeply impacted me.

Halim appeared to be in her early 20’s and had a very sweet demeanor and smile, though she never showed her teeth. We were informed that a few years ago this young lady took a job as a domestic worker in Abu Dhabi in hopes of better supporting her family. Due to her family’s impoverished state, they had to borrow money to fund her travel expenses. Upon arriving in Abu Dhabi she quickly learned that her employer was quite harsh. Additionally, he insisted on keeping her passport and pay until her 2-year contract was up. Feeling powerless and vulnerable, she complied and fulfilled her two year contract. When she requested her payment, it was denied and shortly thereafter the employer pushed her off the 3^rd floor balcony. Thankfully Halim survived the experience, but with broken legs and lost teeth. A neighbor who witnessed the crime called the police and eventually the employer faced trial. The employer insisted it was an accident and the judge ruled in the employer’s favor and urged Halim to return to work for them. Halim refused and was then put in jail since she was now considered an illegal immigrant. Eventually she was deported and ended up at the airport in Ethiopia without anything to show for her two years of work and incredible shame for what had occurred. Providentially the Lord led her to Agar, where she is now awaiting teeth implants and receiving counseling and job training that will hopefully empower her and provide healing and confidence to reunite with her family.

Halim’s story is just one of thousands who have endured similar experiences.

As I reflect on each of the faces and stories we saw and heard I am reminded of the following passage, and therefore encouraged:

Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. ~ Is. 61:7-8

Though these promises are to a specific people group, the heart of the One making them remains the same. The same God of Israel, the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lives today and offers hope, healing, and restoration in Jesus. I ask that you intercede on behalf of these precious women and pray that they may each experience His abundant redemption and be able to testify to how the Lord bound up their broken hearts, set them free, and turned their mourning into praise.

(Some pictures from Liz's trip are below.  Click on the thumbnails for larger versions.)

by Daniel