Thursday, January 5, 2017

Resident Alien in a Foreign Land

Today I tried to keep up with my personal goals for 2017. I read 6 chapters of the Greek OT (Torah), the first chapter of each of the five books of Moses. The sixth chapter was the 2nd chapter of Exodus which I just read on in light of the remarkable story of the birth of Moses and his escape to Midian. In it, I came across Moses' marriage and the birth of his first born, Gershom for Moses thought to himself, "Because I am a resident alien in a foreign land." (Exod. 2:22) Tomorrow is the official opening of the new academic year of our Bible College, MTS in Namaus. I will be driving up early (onwards and upwards to Mount Kinabalu, down to Ranau and then another 20 minutes to Namaus/Bongkod village). I will try to get my room cleaned up. I hope to stay in my room for just another week before moving to my new place.
New for me as for the first time in 12 months I will have a house called my own but it is an old house built 40 plus years ago. One kind Christian offered to have it refurbished last August but it has taken the contractor 4 months plus to have it completed when originally it was supposed to take only 2 weeks. This has taught me many things that in this part of the world requires great patience and it will not be easy to change things or culture how things are done. If by the second week I move to this new place, I will be still a resident alien living in a foreign land. I think part of my calling, in fact my calling in essence is to move from one place to another. Thus far in my nearly 35 years of knowing the Lord and 22 years of serving Him in a full-time capacity I have never been in one place longer than 6 years (Singapore's stint was my longest) with my pastorate in my home church comes a close second with 5 years and 3 months. In each and every place whether in my home state or home town I have lived like a resident alien in a foreign land, never settled literally and metaphorically, as settling on our lees is one of the worst sins one could commit for in that condition, we neither change nor move as the Lord bids.

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