About the Niamey, Niger Project

Niger is located in West Africa and 80 percent of its land is in the Sahara Desert. Most of the country is desert plains and sand dunes, droughts are frequent. The climate is one of the hottest in the world. Its estimated population of 11 million are 98% Muslim. Niger is ranked 172 out of 173 countries in the United Nations Developemnt Program's Human Development index, and only 13.6% of its population is literate (6.6% of women). The Reformed Church in America partners with the Evangelical Church of Niger. Their focus in the region is to help with community development, theological training, literacy, medicine, and agriculture. The Mission project for this winter is to build a guest house to assist the Evangelical church's programs. It will give them a facility to house people who come in from the countryside for training in evangelism, leadership and other minstry skills. Bruce and Laurie Hawley are the missionaries responsible for the project and will be working closely with Kay and Sue. More information is available on the Reformed Church website at http://www.rca.org/.

Kay and Sue will be in Niamey from January 26, 2009- February 10, 2009.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Fruit of the Spirit Devotion- Day 8

Day Eight- Goodness and Self Control

-What is self-control?  Read Romans 8:1-17.  What really has control over our lives?  Read Romans 7:14-25.  How often do you feel like Paul, not doing the things that you want to do, but doing those things you don't.  How can we gain control of our lives?

-Self-control is not about you at all, but about giving control of ones heart and thoughts to the Holy Spirit.  The more we yield control of our lives to God, the more self-control will grow in us; helping us to live by the Spirit producing good fruit.  What do we get when we give control to God?  We become co-heirs with Christ(Romans 8:15-17a).  Can you think of someone who is truly good?  What makes them that way?  The Bible talks a lot about goodness and evil, light vs. darkness, good fruit vs. bad fruit, the right path vs. the wrong.  Read Luke 6:43-45, Matthew 7:15-29.  What do these passages say about goodness?  Is it possible for a good tree to bear occasionally bad fruit?  Can we hope to ever be good?  Read Romans 5:5, Psalm 37.  The Bible links goodness and light, why?  Because light chases away darkness.  Read John 1:1-5.  In Psalm 37, it says that your righteousness will shine like the dawn.  Read Matthew 5:14-16, Philippians 2:14-16.  You are the light of the world and the more brightly you shine the easier it is for others to find their way.

Each year as I drive home from our Christmas Eve service, I always search the sky for the Star of Bethlehem.  It is a reminder to me to always be searching just as the wise men did long ago, but this year I realized that until Jesus returns we are to be that Star.  We need to shine more brightly so that others will see.  Light chases away darkness, goodness overcomes evil and love abides forever.  Go and bear fruit- GOOD FRUIT!!  

May your life become an abundant harvest.
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