A Habitation for the Lord

Over the years I (Mike) have heard many prayers for a "visitation" from God. However, I believe that it would be better for us to ask to be made into a "habitation" for the Lord. God has always desired to inhabit His people.

A visitor is welcomed into a house, but is limited on where he can go and what he can do (he cannot rearrange the furniture or remodel the kitchen, etc.) But an owner (one who inhabits) can do whatever he wants to with the house. The Bible says that salvation comes when we confess Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). The word "lord" means owner. In essence, when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord, we are surrendering ownership to Him giving Him the right to do whatever He wants to with our lives.

I was thinking of this as I was watching what was happening in our neighborhood. The picture below is a neighbor's home. The elderly lady who used to live there passed away a couple of years ago, and now the new owner is totally remodeling the home. We have seen this with several homes in the area where they will leave the main structure as is, but completely gut the interior putting in new wiring, plumbing, windows, roof, etc. Sometimes, they will even change the floorplan. They will then replaster and paint the walls both inside and out so that it will look like a brand new home by the time they are finished. Only the homeowner has the authority to do this.

This is what happens in our lives spiritually. When our old man dies and we surrender to Jesus as Lord (owner), we are giving Him the authority to change our lives; removing all the old trash, and making everything brand new so that He can dwell in us. He cannot do that if He is merely visiting. So, I have changed my prayers. I no longer want just a visitation. I want to become a habitation for the Lord. And, He can make whatever changes are necessary in order for me to become His dwelling place.

Yippee!

Yeah!  We just received official notice from the Debrecen Courthouse that the INSTE association has been approved for official status!  Praise the Lord!  We have a few more steps to complete the process, but the biggest step is finished.  Thank you for praying for us.

New Cultural Experience

Éva's parents' grave (with the red candle on it) in the Debrecen Cemetary

Friday we had a new experience.  We were invited to a dinner in honor of our landlady Éva's mother, Erzsébet.  Erzsébet néni passed away one year ago last week and many Hungarians honor their departed loved ones on the anniversary of their death.  Traditionally, Hungarians mourn their loved ones by wearing black for an entire year.  Friday morning, Éva decorated her mother's grave.  That evening, she and other family members went to a memorial mass at the Greek Catholic Church, Éva's mother's home church.  Afterward, all the guests were welcomed to Éva's home for a delicious home-cooked Hungarian meal that included stuffed cabbage, of course.

Éva really enjoys serving her guests her delicous cooking

Disturbing Trend

This short article appeared in the English language online newspaper The Budapest Times.  http://www.budapesttimes.hu/2013/04/14/hungary-high-in-global-antisemitism/  It tells of an increase in antisemitism in Hungary.  We have heard unkind and racist comments made by Hungarians about Jews and have seen reports of vandalism against their property here in Hungary, but did not realize it was this widespread and growing. In fact, the neo-Nazi Jobbik political party won seats in Parliament in the last election. This is concerning to us on two accounts.  One is that the Bible clearly states that God blesses those who bless the Jews and curses those who curse them (see Genesis 12:3).  The other is that the racist attitude extends to the Gypsies in the country.  We work with many precious Gypsy brothers and sisters and it hurts us when they are discriminated against, threatened and even harmed.  Please pray for Hungary.

Hamburger Party

We enjoyed the first, really nice warm day of spring today.  Sanyi and Márika invited us to their home for a "Hamburger Party."  Sanyi was excited about being able to taste real, American hamburgers grilled by Americans.  So, they provided everything and asked us to come to grill the burgers for them.

Mike demonstrated his skill on the grill.  The meat had a tendency to fall apart easily since Hungarian meat is generally ground a bit coarser than American hamburger, but Mike managed to hold them together.

The hamburger buns were huge, but they were big enough to hold all the yummy hamburger toppings provided.  Sanyi made some authentic-tasting American "cabbage salad" to go with the meal.  Some of the guests tried the cole slaw on their hamburgers, too. 

Any gathering is incomplete without a short devotion from the Word and some prayer.  Róbi shared some thoughts from the 23rd Psalm.

We enjoyed sharing a little bit of American culture with our Hungarian friends.  And we are all very happy that spring has finally come to Hungary!

Spring is Here!

Spring arrived today in Debrecen!  We are so glad!  The sun is shining and the temperature climbed over 60 degrees.  The picture above is from our apartment building garden.  It is lovely to see the flowers blooming.  Notice, however, that many of the tips of the leaves are brown.  That is because these leaves had already come up when we had the March 15 snow and ice storm followed by freezing cold temperatures.  Many plants were damaged by the cold, including many of the fruit trees in the country.  We also heard that the first three months of 2013 were the wettest January, February and March since 1902.  Many places in the country are experiencing flooding, but thankfully, we are not.  At least this means that our drought is over!

INSTE Association Makes Progress

We received good news on Friday from the Debrecen courts that the INSTE association has been registered.  This is good news!  It means that all the paperwork we submitted has been accepted.  Our next step is to wait for official word that the Hungarian Association for Bible Training (the Association name in Hungary), has reached legal status.  Then there are a few other final steps and we can begin working as an independent non-profit organization.  Praise the Lord!  Progress is always appreciated.

Of the Making of Books...

One of Leona's favorite quotes is: Ecc 12:12 "...of making many books there is no end..." That is always the case in the INSTE offices, but especially now as we try to anticipate the number of books that will be needed while we are back home in the US on furlough. In the first photo you can see the piles of books made so far for just Old Testament and New Testament classes. The second photo shows my work "tools": laptop, B&W laser printer (on left), color inkjet printer (right on small table) and the binding machine (on desk next to laptop). Where would I be without them?

We do thank God that INSTE is growing and that we need to be making many books to keep up with the number of classes. Keep us in your prayers as we prepare for our trip back to the US, and that INSTE in Hungary will continue to grow during our absence.

Happy Easter Monday!

Happy Easter Monday!  Today is a holiday here in Hungary.  Most Hungarians are visiting friends and family and stores and businesses are closed.  In the countryside, it is the day for the traditional "sprinkling of the girls."  The young men and boys go to the homes of their female friends and family, recite a cute little poem about watering the pretty spring flowers and then ask the young lady if they can "sprinkle" her.  They will drag her outside and toss a bucket of water on her.  The young lady is then expected to give the young man a treat of an Easter egg, cake, or something!  In the cities, the tradition is changed slightly.  Instead of tossing buckets of water, the young men spray the ladies with cheap perfume. 

It is cold here in Hungary today.  We even had snow flurries this morning, so the sprinkling with buckets of water outside may be curtailed in the villages, but the perfuming is going on as usual.  I could smell the distinct aroma of cheap perfume coming from the young ladies I passed on the street this morning.  Our friend Dezső told us last week that he was looking forward to being back in his village this week.  One thing he was looking forward to was catching his wife and daughter by surprise today and dousing them with a glass of water in the house.  Then he laughed a mischievous laugh.  At least it's a fun tradition for the guys!